Author's Note: This is a High School!Phineas and Ferb fic (high school; Jeet, Phin, and Izzy are all 16, Buf and Ferb are 17). Enjoy.
It was raining that day outside of the gym. The windows looked almost green, he noticed, because the color of the awning over the school melded with the air outside the windows, almost too high for the short-statured boy to see them.
Baljeet was sitting on the top of the bleachers, just like he did every Wednesday. He'd go to the library after school, and then at 4:05 (wrestling ended at 4:00), head to the gym and wait. At this point, he probably couldn't even stop the pattern if he wanted to. He'd grown accustomed to the sweaty, cold air of the gym. The location wasn't ideal; even the very scent of the cold metal bleachers was enough to send him into a panic attack if Baljeet sunk deep enough into his memories of PE the year before, but this was where he was told to wait. So wait he did.
A tinny squeak resounded through the gym, jolting Baljeet out of his thoughts as muscular silhouette appeared from behind the green door near the entrance of the boys' locker rooms. Baljeet's heart clung to his throat as he shifted his body weight from one side to the other in anxious anticipation.
Baljeet didn't have his glasses on (he didn't like to wear them, at least that's what he told people), but he saw the soft smile creep up Buford's lips as he slowly made his way across the gym. Baljeet scrambled down from his perching place a little less gracefully than he would have liked to, but he successfully slid into the taller boy's arms all the same.
Baljeet never liked the way Buford smelled after practice; the aura that surrounded him was just that of his companions that made everyday hell, but he couldn't help but want to envelope himself in the boy's sweatshirt, warm and soft like the embrace itself.
"I, uh, brought you something," Buford quickly ended the hug and looked at his feet, his voice a gruff whisper.
Through the dim light of the gym, Baljeet could see a red tint growing around Buford's face, from his nose and spreading across his cheeks. It was times like this that Baljeet liked him best. Of course, he liked Buford all the time, but when he wasn't the star of the school wrestling team or a school bully (he had to keep up his reputation, after all). He was simply the Buford who struggled in chemistry and loved goldfish (the actual fish, not the crackers, of course), and wanted to be seen as nice but just wasn't quite sure how. That was the Buford that Baljeet had fallen in love with.
"What is it?" Baljeet asked, almost as quietly. He sat back on the bleachers and walked curiously as Buford dug through the multiple pockets in his cargo shorts (seriously, what were they all for?). He thought he saw a small glimmer shine across his vision, but it could have just been a flash of lightning from outside. But as the glimmer solidified into a small pendant clutched in Buford's hand, a gold pendant with the letter B hanging on the end, it took a minute for Baljeet to even register it was for him.
Baljeet slowly held out his hand like an awestruck kid catching snowflakes, and he felt the cool metal chain fold into itself.
"I, uh," Buford looked over his shoulder, at the gym door still ajar, "I should go. My dad's uh… he probably wants the truck for something. I think he told me this morning not to take too long after practice."
Baljeet didn't respond verbally, still amazed by the pendant that was absorbing the warmth of his skin as Buford spoke, melding into his skin.
"Do you, uh, need a ride?" Buford quickly added onto his statement, growing flustered. "Sorry, I probably shoulda asked that first. I'm still really bad at this whole boyfriend thing, ya know."
Baljeet smiled. "I know. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine. I live just up the road, and I knew it was going to be raining, so I brought an umbrella," he said, gesturing to the backpack at the top of the bleachers and the Mary Poppins esque accessory next to it.
"Well, um… if you insist," Buford said, and stuffed his hands in his sweatshirt. "Sorry, I just… my dad, you know? And he doesn't…"
"I know, Buford. I understand."
Buford's lips were poised for a moment as if he were trying to search for more words, but eventually they settled into a smile. "Thanks, Jeet. I love you, you know."
"I love you t—eep!" Baljeet was cut off by the older boy pulling him to his feet by his collar, pulling him into a quick kiss. He was able to catch his balance just long enough to take in a deep breath of Buford's sweatshirt before he let go and dashed across the gym and out the door.