It had been weeks now since Heinz's bunking in with the Murphys and by now, the family is warming up more to him. Of course, there are still those weird parts that are enough to annoy the family; Which is a surprise for most considering that they're normally a patient family. Turns out everyone has their limits and Heinz never fails to get on the Murphys' nerves sometimes.
One evening after dinner, the house guest chose to spend some quiet time in 'Doofenshmirtz Good Incorporated' which was actually Brigette's workshed. The woman didn't mind though, but she made sure to get all of her work things out of there. Still, she had to admit. She missed her beloved workplace.
To put it simply, Heinz was a rather peculiar guest.
Now the man returned to the house and was currently being helpful in drying up the dishes (by hand!), while Brigette and Martin prepared to lock up the house for the night. They watched Heinz as he continued to hum casually while wiping the dishes with… His lab coat. "At least he's being sweet in helping out," Brigette whispered to her husband as he looked strangely at Heinz. "He's been really polite these past few days too,"
Martin looked at his wife with a shrug. "True. In fact he's been improving ever since he's helped a few people in their jobs - including us." He smiled at the thought of it. The more he thought, he began to realise; As annoying as he can be sometimes, Heinz isn't as bad as he thought. Brigette saw the look on her husband's face and she felt the same; She nudged her husband. "We should really try to spend time with him sometime honey. Milo and Sara have done it, so maybe we should too? Just to get to know Heinz a little more,"
"That's a great idea dear," Martin's expression lit up in eagerness, only for that to falter. "But what can we do with him? And not to mention, where are we going for that?"
Brigette simply smiled at him in response. She already had an idea in mind...
The grocery store was the Murphy parents' destination for the morning and Brigette was driving with Martin and Heinz sitting at the back seat. Heinz was just being told of his hosts' plans and is literally excited. "You want me to help you do the groceries? Why didn't you say so last night I love doing groceries - Even if the counter people love to annoy the heck out of you." He added the last sentence flatly.
Martin chuckled in amusement. "I know right? And I thought I was the only one who thought that!" He leaned forward to Brigette. "Wow I didn't know he could get so excited over groceries. I expected this from the kids but from him?" The light brunette cast her husband an equally amused smile. "Oh I think it's cute. At least he's motivated," She moved the brakes to park at the grocery store. Soon, the Murphy parents and Heinz got a cart to themselves and began their shopping trip.
Of course Murphy's law worked as usual.
The sole Murphy man had his eyes everywhere with his hands shooting out to grab any falling canisters or to stop shelves from falling. Brigette had her hands on the cart while Heinz did the picking. The man in the lab coat was rambling on about these things called 'inators' along with a couple rants about a platypus in a fedora. The woman rolled her eyes amusingly. "Someone's really chatty this morning." She chuckled as she picked out some detergent. "So Dr D, you still keeping in touch with that… Platypus?"
Heinz shot Brigette an astonished look. "Who me? Keep in touch with Perry the Platypus? After he broke my heart? No way José!" He shook his head as he crossed his arms. "And for your information I did nothing. He did the betrayal thing, not me!"
Brigette looked strangely at him. She could tell by the sound of Heinz's voice that whoever this Perry the Platypus is, must have been a really close someone to Heinz until things happened. She decided against digging for more information and continued on picking items. Heinz eventually stopped rambling as well and offered to help the Murphys get some stuff on their list. Brigette and Martin exchanged shrugs and turned to Heinz, handing the list over.
"You can get all the condiments and choose the snacks," Brigette said with a smile. "We'll meet at the counter. Is that okay?"
Heinz nodded like an eager child. "Got it! I'll go get them right now starting with the mustard!"
The man excitedly ran for the shampoo aisle much to the Murphy parents' horror. "Dr D that's not where the mustard is! The mustard's that way!" Martin called out exasperatedly, his hand guiding to the right aisle. Heinz dashed past him chuckling meekly. "Oops! My bad - Ahhh!" He suddenly slipped on a wet floor and slid across the grocery store floor, away from the Murphys and down the correct aisle.
Martin cringed. "Oh. That's gotta leave a mark." He and Brigette stared after the direction Heinz disappeared to for a moment, before something cracked in them. He turned to Brigette with an uneasy look. "Somebody's gotta keep an eye on him. Next thing we know is him bringing us motor oil instead of soy sauce," Brigette winced at the possibility. Why does Heinz have to be so.. Unusual? She touched her husband's shoulder. "I'll go with you." Her husband nodded in response and they went their way trying to track down Heinz.
It took a while for them to find the single man dressed in the lab coat. But they found him in an uneasy situation - Heinz was wrapped in a conversation with three people, only one of which is recognised by Martin and Brigette; Roger Doofenshmirtz, and a couple clad in Drusselsteinian-style clothing. They both have long, pointed noses resembling the former Mayor's and Heinz's, which gave the pair a good idea on who they could be.
Both Murphys instinctively felt the need to keep hidden. And they did, a fair distance away. "What's going on with them? Why is Heinz talking with… Mayor Roger Doofenshmirtz," Brigette's eyes slowly widened as something sunk into her. Of course, Heinz and Roger are brothers. She can vaguely recall any time Heinz ever spoke about him. In fact, he never talked about his family (aside from his daughter and ex-wife) at all. But why? That was the question. The both of them kept watch…
Meanwhile Heinz is being forced in conversation with his 'family' much to his annoyance, but mostly fear considering his father's presence. Roger was being casual in tone at least, but the parents had scowls. This was not unnoticed by Heinz and he tried to avoid their gazes. "So older brother, I haven't seen you for quite a while since your… Penthouse exploded." Roger's voice was surprisingly sympathetic, which caused Heinz to feel internally surprised. "How have you been? Have you found a place to bunk in for a while?" His brother rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"Oh sure I did. Why? Did you think I'm gonna waste my life wallowing in the dumps homeless while you bask in your precious Mayor life?" Grumbled Heinz bitterly.
Roger took no offense by the comment and instead, chuckled slightly. "Of course not. I know you Heinz, always finding a way in life despite the countless… Setbacks." He smiled at Heinz softly. "Thank goodness you've found nice hosts to take you in. People kind enough to house you with them aren't easy to find nowadays. I hope you're doing well," Now Heinz felt a minuscule touched. Roger was being so nice to him. He opened his mouth to respond only for the scathing comments from Mr and Mrs Doofenshmirtz to interrupt.
"Hmph! As if anyone would take that schnitzel in." Sneered Mrs Doofenshmirtz. "Oh Roger I wouldn't have faith in him if I were you; You're successful while he's got nothing." Her husband nodded in agreement, his gaze setting on Heinz. "Who are you staying with now?" Asked he. Heinz averted his gaze in uncomfortable silence. "A nice couple who have kids. They were so kind enough to let me bunk in with them I..Have a lot to thank them for." His words actually touched the Murphys who are watching him still.
The parents erupted into fits of laughter at this while Roger looked surprised, and then relieved at his brother's answer.
Mr Doofenshmirtz shook his head wiping a tear from his eye, chortling still. "Heinz you must be joking. A nice couple taking in a dummkopf like you? Don't make me laugh - A nice couple!" Heinz said nothing, biting his lip. And then his mother spoke up. "I'm not surprised if they are willing to kick you out. The poor things must be driven nuts with you around! How horrible it must be for them to house a Schnitzel like you!" Heinz looked stung at this and he looked away, eyes screwed shut with hurt; Roger glared at his laughing parents and was about to tell them off. But another voice cut him to it.
"H-Hey! Don't call him that..."
The Doofenshmirtz parents stopped laughing and they found themselves on a receiving end of a pointed stare coming from Martin. The man looked visibly uneasy, but his eyes contained boldness from the desire to stand up for Heinz. Brigette stood by him, her hands over her mouth for she was horrified by the act of verbal abuse. Heinz looked over his shoulder at his hosts in surprise while his parents looked somewhat annoyed. Mr Doofenshmirtz went up to Martin scowling. "And who do you think you are, meddler? I can call my son whatever I like - Mind your own business!"
The Murphy man did not stand down. "Well I hate to tell you, but it is my business when you call Heinz that!" Retorted Martin, his uneasiness vanishing altogether from the Drusselsteinian man's arrogance. Brigette sided with him, glaring at Heinz's parents with disgust. The bearded man looked baffled, and pointed his glare on Heinz. "Who are these people? Do you know them?" Demanded Mr Doofenshmirtz.
Heinz looked in between his parents and the Murphys in silence. The Murphys standing up for him seemed to have inspired him by a large amount. He set a bold eye on the former pair. "They are the Murphys. The most kindest people I have ever known and they are the only family who took me in when I needed them most!" Martin and Brigette looked at Heinz with awe.
The Doofenshmirtz parents were in shock. "So these people are the ones who took you in?!" Exclaimed the mother. When receiving the positive for an answer, her husband nudged her and they communicated via silent eye language. The bearded man coughed a bit, setting his stare on the Murphys. "I'm sorry, but you taking in that Schnitzel is a big mistake. With him around you won't be able to live long!"
Martin rose a brow. "Oh? And care to explain exactly why?"
The Murphy was unprepared for what happened next. He and Brigette were greeted by a flood of horrid vocabulary from the Drusselsteinians. Some phrases are said in their language, but even so, the Murphys could tell they were insults and it caused them to hold onto both of Heinz's hands in case he felt hurt - Roger watched this act feeling awful. Nobody had done that to his brother before and it made him feel ashamed. Why did he not do that to Heinz?
By the time the verbal lashing finished, Heinz was already weeping silently while Martin and Brigette looked unfazed. Leaving Heinz to be consoled by his wife, Martin faced the elder Doofenshmirtzes. "Is that all?" He received a nod from them and he smirked. "Oh I'm sorry. But my wife and I had far more worse chaos than Heinz ever gave us." He glanced at Heinz. "When you're a Murphy living by the fact that anything that can go wrong will go wrong around you, you go through a hectic life. But, when Heinz came into my life it gave me a new insight." He rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sure he is a bit of a mess, acts a little off and bugs me sometimes. But that was nothing! I've met and encountered people a lot worse than Heinz and oh! I think I'm standing in front of two of them right now!"
The Doofenshmirtz parents now looked uneasy and they gulped. But Martin wasn't finished yet. He went to Heinz's side and held his shoulder. "Your son deserved far better. Heinz is amazing, smart and incredible but you, his parents, never bothered to see that!" Brigette stepped forward with a firm glare. "Where were you both when Heinz contributed to society? And where were you when he was actually successful not once but twice! If you didn't know, it is because of your son that the whole tri-state area is saved from those plant monsters! Yet you say he was a Schnitzel?! A waste of time and space?!"
The light brunette exhaled deeply from her angry fit before continuing shakily. "You do not deserve to call Heinz your son! If anything, he is much better off without you sorry fools dragging him down like that!" With that being said, she turned around in a huff with Martin following along with an emotional Heinz; Shooting a final death stare at the now silent Doofenshmirtz parents to stand with Roger looking at them very disappointedly.
The trio was quiet throughout the rest of the grocery trip and the car ride home was just as quiet. Heinz sat in the backseat, looking really solemn and tears were even brimming his eyes. The sight literally broke the hearts of the Murphy parents. They cannot blame him for wanting to cry after what happened. Their vehicle stopped at home and they made their way to the house. Heinz was lagging behind his hosts, and Martin and Brigette shared sad glances.
With Martin taking the groceries to be packed away, his wife went to Heinz and gently held his shoulder. "Are you okay Dr D?" Asked Brigette softly.
The gaze Heinz sent her way tugged at her heartstrings. She has seen that look in her children after they had been bullied and it really melted her heart. Heinz sighed, trying to blink away tears. "O-Oh.. I'm okay Mrs Murphy. Don't worry." He forced a weak smile. "I never got to say thank you for.. earlier. They're my parents. You didn't have to do that and make an image of yourselves back there…"
Brigette shook her head slightly before laying both hands on Heinz. "No Dr D. If anyone's making an image of themselves it's them. I can't believe they're actually your parents.." She inhaled before continuing. "They were being so cruel to you what kind of parent does that?" Heinz shrugged at that. "You tell me." He lowered his gaze and began to make his way to the stairs. The Murphys watched him go.
Heinz looked at them one last time. "I'll be upstairs cooling down. You know where to find me if you need me, Mr and Mrs Murphy."
He left for upstairs, leaving Martin and Brigette by themselves. The fact that Heinz just called them by name instead of 'mom and dad' made them feel awful. If not, they felt terrible now for not letting him call them that; Now that they knew why. "I feel terrible now Martin. When he used to call me 'mom' I always tried to stop him. But now I know why he keeps doing that…"
Brigette was close to tearing up from the guilt. Martin hugged her, feeling just as guilty for Heinz had done similar to him. "I feel the same way too. When he called me dad.. Oh how I wish he can call me that again. I actually miss it already," The two Murphys gazed up the stairs thinking to themselves. They have to make it up to Heinz somehow, especially after what happened today; And they have a perfect idea on how. But first, family dynamic changes will have to be made...
That evening, Heinz came trudging downstairs, his eyes slightly bloodshot and the bags beneath them looking baggier. When he went to the room to 'cool down' he was actually crying his heart out in anguish. He was thankful for the Murphys, but the words coming from his birth parents hurt him. While his hosts can't understand much Drusselsteinian, Heinz was able to and what his parents said to them about him cut him like a knife. Is that what they really thought of him? A brainless, dumb, pathetic waste of space?
Even until now, the comments still rang in his head somewhat and he was desperately trying to get that out. He soon reached the bottom of the stairs where he was greeted by Sara Murphy, who's coming from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn. She smiled cheerfully at Heinz. "Hey Dr D! Have a good nap?" She asked nicely, trying to suppress any sympathy as to avoid him from sensing her knowledge of what happened. Heinz smiled af her in return. "Yeah, it's a good nap. Thanks Sara," He noticed the popcorn and tilted his head. "What's with the popcorn?"
Sara looked at her bowl. "Oh this? It's for a Dr Zone marathon! The christmas special is on first! Milo and I are watching - You should join us!" The man in the lab coat looked fallen. "Me? Join you? I don't know.." He didn't get a chance to say no for Sara began to drag him to the living room by the wrist. "Aw come on! It'll be fun! Besides, it's got Orton Mahlson in it!" Soon the both of them were plopped in the center of the couch. Milo was there too with Diogee in his arms - He beamed happily at Doofenshmirtz and patted the empty spot beside him on the right.
"Hey Dr D! Come sit with me and Diogee!"
Milo said happily and Heinz reluctantly took his place, with Sara sitting at his other side. Strangely he couldn't help but feel something different in the air. The Murphy siblings are sitting extra closer to him as they watched what's on TV. Is something going on? Heinz couldn't help but think. Not long later, Martin and Brigette came in smiling at their children and Heinz. "Hi kids! Mind if your mother and I join you?" Asked Martin. Both kids nodded and pressed themselves closer to Heinz in making more room for the parents.
Martin and Brigette sat down; Brigette being beside Sara while Martin is with Milo. They both had one arm wrapping around their family, including Heinz. With them, the man couldn't help but feel loved, cared for. Something he never had from his own parents. It is their loving and caring attitudes that made Heinz call them 'mom and dad' in the first place - But after what his parents said, Heinz began to feel the need to get ahold of himself. He's not a Murphy, or a kid as young as their kids. But still…
"Is something wrong Heinz?"
Heinz stiffened at Martin's voice. The Murphy dad spoke gently to him, but his usage of Heinz's name instead of 'Dr D' spooked him a bit. Why the sudden formality? He laid that aside and looked at his lap. "Nothing really, Mr Murphy. I was…" He found himself being given unconvinced looks from the Murphy parents. He sighed. "Okay maybe I'm not. My folks hurt me a lot in what they said. I couldn't help but think that maybe they're right when they said I'm being a waste of space and bothering you two to death-!"
Heinz didn't get to finish for Brigette suddenly grabbed his shoulder. Hard. Her ocean eyes filled with motherly firmness. "You are not a waste of space or bothering us to death for the only time you ever will be is never!" She stressed out these words to make sure they enter Heinz's head. Heinz was stunned, his lower lip quivering before he opened his mouth to speak. "B-But I was being a huge burden for you-!" He was interrupted once again. This time, by Martin. "Oh no. Nobody uses that kind of language in this house, that's an order." He said firmly. "Heinz, no offense but those pointy-nosed idiots are garbage not worth listening to. They say they are your parents but their actions speak otherwise, which makes them very unworthy. You shouldn't let them down you like that. No kid ever deserves parents like that."
"But they're the ones who made me so that still stands," Heinz pointed out miserably. "Plus they're all I had while growing up…"
The Murphy adults looked at each other and back at Heinz. "But, did they ever give you so much as a hug or an 'I love you' when you feel lost?" Asked Brigette. Heinz can only mutter a 'no', causing the light brunette to rub his back. "Oh Heinz, don't you get it? The only real parents are the ones who love their kids unconditionally. They nurture them, they encourage them, they do everything to make sure their kids feel important to them."
"They definitely don't talk bad about their kids to others in front of them either." Sara added.
"Or call their kids a waste of space because that's just wrong!" Milo said with a wince of disgust. Diogee barked in agreement.
Heinz stared at the Murphys in surprise, and then realization washed over him. His parents may have been the ones to birth him to the world. But they failed to give him a loving life, only giving that to the goody-two-shoes brother of his. The Murphys on the other hand? Heinz had only been with them for weeks, but because of their warmth, love and kindness, he felt so much at home, like… He was actually their son. He never thought he'd get to feel parental love for himself if it weren't for them.
"I-I don't know what to say.. Except.. You're right. Real parents always love their kids and never the opposite! Like how I do with Vanessa! It makes much more sense now!"
Heinz was beaming with glee from realization and his hosts smiled happily. Martin reached out to pat Heinz's shoulder. "Now you got the hang of it. Good job buddy." The man in the lab coat smiled, and then Sara spoke up. "Uhh hello? The show's starting! The bromance breakup angst is coming up!" Her parents rolled their eyes at their daughter's quirk and faced front. But not without giving Heinz one more comforting.
Brigette stroked Heinz's back before letting her arm rest behind him."Now remember Heinz, we are always open and if anything bothers you, don't be afraid to talk to us." From beside Heinz, Martin looked in agreement with Brigette's words and he smiled knowingly at him. "Yeah better listen to your mom." He paused, before looking ahead with a formal smile. "She knows best after all."
This acted as a final crack in the dam for Heinz and his pupils dilated with tears brimming his eyes. He couldn't control himself anymore and he began to bawl, hugging his family from both sides. "Mom! Dad! Sister and brother! Thank you! I love you guys!" He cried out openly with real tears of emotion, causing the Murphy family to shed tears as well while hugging him too. Martin and Brigette especially.
"We love you too, son." They both said with love, and Heinz cried on them some more.