Chapter 1

~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Perry was floating. The world around him rippled and dipped in rhythms only the maestro of nature could understand. He breathed in and out, feeling his headspace empty out into blissful peace. He closed his eyes, lulling his body into a well-practiced meditation.

Inhale, exhale, inhale..

Wait, was someone calling his name?

Suddenly, a huge splash interrupted his meditation, and spun him a few inches out of the way. Growling, Perry the Platypus swished his tail into action and bobbed his head above the water.

Heinz Doofenshmirtz, his stupid, impossible, completely ridiculous, but adorably sexy boyfriend, also rose to the surface and let out a yelp of agony.

"Agh! The water is so cold! How are you swimming right now?"

Perry chattered, rolling his eyes, and flicked the surface of the water, splashing some in Heinz's face.

The man sputtered. "Hey! No fair!"

This began a well-overdo water fight, with each mammal trying to splash the other into surrender. Finally, Heinz called a time out, coughing from fits of laughter, and stumbled up to the surface of the water.

There was no one else in the indoor swimming pool, mostly because all of O.W.C.A.'s trainees were out for classes, and all their agents were on field work. Perry climbed out of the pool after Heinz, shook off his wet fur, then released a small microchip from his wrist watch.

Instantly, his teal fur was traded for a mane of teal human hair. Once his human lungs began to soak in oxygen, Perry leaned over and lightly punched his boyfriend in the arm.

"Careful. It's a miracle the agency's staff let you in here."

"I worked here for a little bit, remember?" Heinz chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows. "And it's not fair that you are technically semi-aquatic. I would have totally won that water fight."

Rolling his eyes endearingly, Perry reached over and set a gentle kiss to the man's lips. "Whatever you say, you dork. Come on, let's shower and get out of here. I'm starving."

Heinz would have definitely jumped in the same shower as Perry, but the agent playfully scolded him, promising some alone time later that evening. Perry still valued some sense of professionalism when they were in public.

Now washed and dressed, Perry and Heinz retreated into O.W.C.A.'s cafeteria to grab a bite to eat. The room bustled with both animals and humans alike, all communicating on the mundane proceedings of life.

Though honestly, Perry thought the mundane schedule to be quite a relief. It'd taken months of work to restore Danville after the debacle of last summer's latest threat. Whole companies had needed rebuilding, new security and medical sites had been added, and of course, many of the civilians had had a hard time readjusting to normal life again after the crazy scare.

Despite the tragedy, however, Perry was proud to say that Danville's resilience was unchallenged. And O.W.C.A., probably the most affected organization by the disaster, had come back more powerful and determined than ever before.

Agent Pinky the Chihuahua noticed Perry and Heinz, and sat down at their table, obviously pleased with what was on the menu that day. Perry tried to ignore the stares from his coworkers as they wandered to the tables around him. He was grateful Heinz never took notice of those kinds of things, probably because he was so used to it from childhood and had developed a sort of mental barrier towards it. But for Perry, it wasn't easy having his identity revealed, plus making public his new relationship with his former nemesis. Most of O.W.C.A. wasn't thrilled. Perry received so many death threats from anonymous coworkers. But he tried to ignore this for now, happy that Pinky was willing to accept them.

Although Heinz couldn't understand a word of what the little dog was saying, Perry was happy to translate.

Have you been out on your assignment, yet? Perry asked nonchalantly.

Mmm, yes. The little dog barked. Professor Poofenplotz was determined to raise a whole army of teenage girls to stamp out Danville. Luckily, I happened to arrive just in time.

An army, huh?

Well, in reality, I doubt any teenager in Danville would be willing to listen to her awful music videos. But at least another crisis was averted.

When lunch was over, Perry kissed Heinz goodbye and proceeded to one of his new classes. This week, they were going over different combative techniques, and the new recruits would need a little bit of direction.

When Perry entered the gym, he noticed Vanessa in the corner and waved. She giggled and waved back. Vanessa was already three weeks into her two month long internship at O.W.C.A. Although she was predominately working for the undercover and spying department, the girl was ambitiously learning everything about the organization that she could. It would be fun to see the girl learn combat alongside the new recruits.

Vanessa seemed unbothered by Perry's new role in her dad's life. If anything, she was happier their relationship turned out the way it did. It was both encouraging and reliving for Perry, who cared deeply for the girl, and didn't want to be an intrusion.

Perry thought's were interrupted with the ringing of the bell, and, with a subtle wink in Vanessa's direction, Perry turned and addressed his class.

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When the agent returned home, he was exhausted. Wonderful aromas hit Perry's nose and made his stomach growl as he walked into his apartment. Had Heinz already made dinner?

The artist had his back facing Perry, and was humming to a tune inside his head as he cut up a pile of vegetables. The agent, smirking at the man's adorableness, stealthily sneaked up behind the man and put his arms around his waist. Heinz jumped for a brief moment, but chuckled when he realized who was cuddling him. The sight was even funnier, seeing as Perry was a bit shorter than Heinz.

"Hello!" Heinz laughed. "I swear, you're as silent as a.. well, whatever doesn't make any noise, like uh.. oh, a fox! Silent as a fox, you are."

Perry grinned and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek. "I didn't know you were making dinner."

"Well, I had some time, and I was hungry, and knew you'd probably be hungry, so I just figured, hey, why not use up that avocado sauce from last night? It's a pasta dish, with tomatoes and spinach."

"Mm. Sounds delicious. Thank you, you didn't have to do that."

Both Heinz and Perry had made the agreement, upon rejoining the agency last year, that they were going to go completely vegan. Perry had already been leaning towards borderline vegetarian, but figured it was time he show his coworkers true respect, plus, try a healthier lifestyle. Although both had found the adjustment difficult, they were starting to get used to the change. And even though Heinz had quit the agency a few months prior to follow his artistic passion, he was so excited about learning the new dishes, that he hadn't quit the pact.

The two settled at the table for dinner and gobbled down the meal with fever. Perry had to agree that the dish was absolutely stunning. He knew he was blessed to have a man that could cook, since his own culinary skills were absolutely appalling.

"Are you ready for your art show this weekend?" Perry grinned.

Heinz sighed. "Honestly, I'm terrified. I think people have been responding to my work online, but what if they see my paintings in person and realize how amateur they are?"

The agent reached out and took his boyfriend's hand. "People will love your work, baby. You'll see! They are absolutely gorgeous."

A solid blush crept though the man's cheeks at the word baby. Perry grinned; he loved using it, knowing how secretly happy it made his partner. "You're biased." Heinz finally murmured, pouting.

"Only because I know I'm right."

"That doesn't even make any sense."

"You don't even make any sense."

"Your mom."

The two looked at each other for a split second, then burst out laughing. Despite their constant bantering, it was never mean-spirited, and always ended in the two of them sharing a good laugh. Perry smiled at the way his boyfriend's eyes shone and crinkled around the corners. They had come a long what their relationship had been a year ago.

After dinner, the two retreated to the bedroom. The room was now a complete collage of both Heinz and Perry's mess, with a drawer full of blueprints, many of Heinz's paintings hanging on the walls, and an assortment of Perry's emergency weapons on the drawer counter.

Heinz wiggled his eyebrows at Perry suggestively, making the agent chuckled and pull his boyfriend in for a long-relished kiss. The two fell into the bathroom, somehow managing to start the shower and remove their clothes without injury.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Perry laid awake, staring up at the ceiling, listening to the gentle breathing of his partner, who was cuddled up against his chest. The agent was seriously beginning to wonder if he was unknowingly ADHD, because he couldn't get his mind to shut up. Or maybe, he was just scared of falling asleep, for fear of the nightmares that awaited him.

Or maybe, it was the anxiety of the little secret that was hiding in his bedroom.

Carefully, as not to disturb Heinz, Perry reached up to the counter, and pulled a little box out of his O.W.C.A. fedora. He opened it to show the beautiful silver band that sat inside, and watched as it glistened against the moonlight.

The ring Heinz had worn when he was married to Charlene had been gold, so Perry had gone with silver. Engraved on the back was the date of their first meeting. It was made of sterling silver, but it wasn't too heavy. Perry thought it looked a lot like Heinz.

He'd bought the ring yesterday. But despite the excitement of their relationship, Perry was still wondering if it was too soon. He'd thought for sure Heinz would be exhilarated, but now, doubts were starting to creep into his mind.

What if the man said no? Or what if he wasn't ready? Where would that leave them? And could Perry really do this? He was so happy, and loved this man so much, but was he ready for this level of commitment?

He closed the box, set it back in his hat, and laid his hands against Heinz's bare shoulders, rubbing them lovingly. His partner shifted and subconsciously leaned into the touch, but he didn't wake. Perry smiled and closed his eyes. He would deal with these thoughts in the morning. For now, he was content just to fall asleep listening to Heinz's soft breathing.