In The City of Love
A/N: I have sadly never been to Paris so I would like to apologize if I made any mistakes. I also don't own Phineas and Ferb.
Phineas was having a very hard time falling asleep, again. Ever since that trip around the world Phineas could not stop thinking about a certain raven-haired Fireside Girl. During the day there was usually enough distractions to keep his mind off of her but at night the only thing Phineas could thing of was Isabella. All Phineas could see when he closed his eyes was Isabella sitting on the beach, crying her eyes out. It broke his heart to see her so distraught. He wanted to hurt whoever had made her so upset, that is until he figured out that it was entirely his fault. Instead of being filled with anger he was engulfed in guilt. How on earth had he not noticed that he was the source of her sadness? At the time Phineas assumed that she was so sad because they were stuck on a deserted island and she thought Phineas was going to lose his bet with Buford and her summer would be ruined, not to mention he completely ignored her while they were in Paris and they didn't do a single fun, touristy thing while they were there. Phineas could not believe that he had been so idiotic in putting her summer on the line as well as his own. Even though he won the bet he felt that he had completely ruined her summer. If only there was something he could do to make it better.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. Phineas knew exactly what he was going to do. He jumped out of bed and glanced at the clock. 11:38 pm. Isabella was probably asleep but Phineas couldn't wait. Patience had never been one of his virtues.
Phineas silently changed into his signature striped shirt and blue shorts before sneaking down the stairs and across the street. He crept up to Isabella's house and tapped lightly on her window.
"Psst, Isabella, wake up," he whispered. "Isabella, I need to…" Phineas was cut off when the window suddenly opened.
"Phineas, what are you doing here? It's almost midnight," Isabella said.
"I know," Phineas answered, "but I feel guilty and I have to make it better."
"Phineas, you aren't making any sense," Isabella replied groggily.
"Hurry and get dressed. I'll explain everything when we get there. Meet me in front of my house in five minutes," Phineas answered, confusing Isabella even further.
"When we get where?" Isabella asked, but Phineas didn't hear her, he was already halfway across the street.
Isabella sighed and walked back to her closet to get dressed. She would gladly do anything for Phineas despite how crazy he could be at times. She dressed rather quickly and quietly snuck over to the Flynn-Fletcher house only to find Phineas pacing back and forth across the driveway.
When he saw Isabella he ran over to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the garage. "Come on Isabella," he said, "We're going to Paris."
"Didn't we do that last month?" Isabella asked.
"Why yes, yes we did," Phineas answered, "but this time we're doing it right."
"I don't know, Phineas," Isabella said reluctantly, "I think I'm getting sick and we don't have passports and even if we can get there everyone will notice we're missing before we can get back."
"Don't worry Isabella, I've got that part figured out. We'll use Candace's phone to transport to Paris, spend a couple of hours seeing the sights, and transport back before anyone wakes up."
"I guess it's ok then," Isabella said, giving in rather quickly. She knew she would regret not taking Phineas up on his offer even though he seemed to have completely lost his mind.
"Good," Phineas said as he pulled out Candace's phone. Making sure he had a firm grip on Isabella's hand he opened the phone and said into the receiver, "Go to Paris." Phineas and Isabella disappeared from Phineas' garage and immediately reappeared on the streets of Paris.
"So, Isabella, where should we start?" Phineas asked, smiling from ear to ear.
"Well, I'm kinda hungry," Isabella replied.
"Perfect!" Phineas said. Without letting go of Isabella's hand he pulled her to the nearest cafe.
The waiter led them to a small table in a corner of the patio. "What can I get you two this morning?" he asked in a heavy French accent. Phineas looked over at Isabella cuing her to pick anything she wanted.
"We'll have a Crepe Sucre to share please," Isabella said, ordering the first thing that came to mind.
"I'll bring it right out, Mademoiselle," the waiter replied.
As soon as the waiter had gone back into the kitchen to place their order Isabella rounded on Phineas. "Ok Phineas," she said, "Would you like to tell me what we're doing in Paris in the middle of the night?"
"Well technically it's not the middle of the night here, it's seven in the morning," Phineas said avoiding the question.
"Then what are we doing in Paris very early in the morning?" Isabella asked, restating the question. "Don't get me wrong, I lo… really enjoy being here with you. I'm just curious about why you were so intent on coming to Paris that it couldn't wait until morning."
"I couldn't sleep," Phineas answered lamely. He was saved from explaining his actions further by the waiter.
"Here is your Crepe Sucre," he said as he set it on the table between the two kids.
"Merci," they said in unison. The two of them enjoyed their crepe in silence, a silence Phineas was grateful for. Even though he brought Isabella to Paris for a very specific reason he wasn't quite sure how he was going to explain his reasoning to her.
When they finished their crepe Phineas finally broke the silence. "So, Isabella, what else do you want to do while we're here?"
"Well," Isabella said trying to decide what se wanted to do most. "I've always wanted to see the Mona Lisa."
Phineas smiled, "Me too." He left a couple Euros on the table and the two of them made their way slowly to the Louvre.
Before long they arrived at the museum and had to wait in a short line before being let in to peruse the galleries freely.
"Wow!" I had no idea the Louvre was this big! Where should we start?" Isabella said looking around in awe.
"How about this way?" Phineas asked as he took hold of Isabella's hand and pulled her into a random wing.
Pretty soon they were hopelessly lost. Isabella laughed as Phineas dragged her through the never-ending maze of galleries trying to find the Mona Lisa. While they wandered they passed an ancient Egyptian mummy, a Grecian urn, a painting of a woman leading an army and a winged statue with no head. After passing the Venus de Milo for the fifth time Phineas sat down in frustration.
Sensing that Phineas was discouraged Isabella suggested, "Why don't we go try some fancy cheese at that café we passed a couple of minutes ago and see if they have a map." She pulled Phineas off of the bench and led him to the café where they ordered some fancy cheese and bread, which they devoured quickly.
When they finished eating Isabella found a map of the museum and led them straight to the Mona Lisa, much to Phineas' chagrin. "I can't believe you found it that fast, you're amazing!" Phineas said amazement.
"I did have a map," Isabella responded, blushing at the compliment.
"But it was in French!" Phineas replied incredulously.
After spending a couple minutes enjoying the genius of Leonardo da Vinci Phineas and Isabella decided to leave the museum and see more of the city. Before long they were strolling down the Chaps-Elysees and Isabella was locked in a deep internal struggle.
After their last trip to Paris Phineas had made Isabella so distraught that the Fireside Girls had made Isabella promise to be careful when it came to her feelings for Phineas. She promised that she would stop jumping to conclusions and that she would wait for absolute proof before she made a move.
However, she was having a very hard time not jumping to conclusions. Why would Phineas bring her here to the city of love, unless he liked her? However, there were reasons to believe that this was just a friendly, innocent trip to Paris with no ulterior motives. Phineas hadn't said or done anything romantic since they arrived. He hadn't even tried to hold her hand for more than a few seconds.
Of course, Isabella could make the first move and hold his hand. His reaction would be a good indication of his feelings. But she didn't think she could handle his rejection. Nevertheless, she knew she had to do it, she would regret it if she didn't. So, she took a deep breath, reached out and took Phineas' hand in her own.
"Isabella, your hands are so cold!" Phineas exclaimed.
That was not the reaction Isabella had hoped for. In fact, she was so upset at his response that she completely blocked out her surroundings.
Suddenly, she realized that Phineas was pulling her towards a little shop on the side of the street. "We can at least get you a beret," he was saying. "Most of your body heat escapes from your head so wearing a hat might help warm you up."
Phineas let go of Isabella's hand and grabbed a pink beret that matched her dress. "How about this one?" he asked, placing it on her head.
"I like it," Isabella replied. "What do you think?"
"I think you look magnificent," Phineas said. After paying for the beret they resumed their stroll, but this time it was Phineas who was locked in an internal struggle because he didn't quite understand what was going on. He had always thought of Isabella as a friend, a really good friend, but still just a friend. But when she had held his hand he felt something different, and that's what confused him. Sure, he had felt that way before, but looking back it was always when Isabella was around, like the time they shared a fun preserver on the boat of romance or when she saved him from the haunted mansion he built. Could she be the cause of this strange feeling? And why was his heart suddenly beating so fast? Did she do that too? He had so many questions with so few answers. Perhaps if he held her hand again things would be a bit clearer. He quickly reached out and grabbed her hand, absent-mindedly entwining their fingers together. Unfortunately, things did not get any clearer. Hs heart was still racing and his fingers were tingling.
Isabella was also very confused. She had been so sure that Phineas didn't like her the way she liked him but now she wasn't so sure. He was holding her hand and she could feel his rapid heartbeat under her fingers.
The only thing either of them knew was that they thoroughly enjoyed their position and didn't want it to end.
After a couple of minutes they found themselves at the base of the Eiffel Tower.
"Look how pretty these flowers are," Isabella exclaimed as she walked up to a little flower stand. "And they smell wonderful," she said.
"In that case we'll have to buy one," Phineas replied as he picked a single red rose and handed it to Isabella, making her blush. Before she could say anything he continued, gesturing to the enormous tower that stood above them, "Let's go to the top, it's almost time to go home."
Isabella concurred as Phineas led her to the elevator. When they reached the top they walked over to the balcony and looked out at the city.
"Wow, it's beautiful," Isabella said, commenting on the view of the city.
Phineas turned to look at Isabella, to agree with her observation, but he lost all train of thought when he saw her. Her long black hair was glistening in the Parisian sunlight and her deep blue eyes were sparkling. Phineas could see another couple standing behind Isabella in a loving embrace and he finally understood why his hand was tingling and his heart was beating so fast. He was in love with Isabella. Without thinking, he leaned in and kissed Isabella lightly on the lips, surprising her. Before she had time to respond Phineas pulled away. Seeing the shocked look on her face Phineas immediately began to apologize. "I'm sorry Isabella. I don't know what came over me, and I just totally ruined our friendship…"
Isabella cut him off with another kiss. She was so thrilled that Phineas had finally seen what was standing in front of him this whole time. And things finally became clear to Phineas. He knew that Isabella loved him too.
As realization struck Phineas quickly pulled away and asked, "The reason you were crying on the beach, the day we flew around the world, was because of me, wasn't it? We were a boy and a girl, alone in the city of love. Romance should have been a foregone conclusion. But it wasn't, and it was entirely my fault. I'm so sorry, I should have realized…"
Once again, Isabella cut him off. "Phineas, you don't need to apologize, everything turned our perfectly." She smiled as she put her arms around his neck and said, "Just promise me something."
"Anything," Phineas replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Let's not tell anyone. I have a feeling the Fireside Girls would kill me if they found out. I kinda promised them that I wouldn't do anything crazy with you, and transporting to Paris in the middle of the night could be seen as slightly crazy."
"Well, I would hate for you to lose the respect of the Fireside Girls." Phineas paused. "Speaking of the Fireside Girls, we should probably head home, it's almost morning."
Isabella sighed, "I guess we should."
Phineas pulled out Candace's phone and said into the receiver, "Go to Isabella's house."
In a split second Phineas and Isabella appeared in front of her house, still embracing each other.
Before Phineas pulled away he leaned in and tenderly whispered, "Ma chérie je t'aime," and kissed her delicately on the lips.
Phineas slowly pulled away and returned to his room, where he was finally able to get a peaceful night's sleep.