"Hey, maybe we should head back inside." The air felt raw against his throat as Phineas breathed in the cold night. He bundled his thick, burly coat closer to his body, savoring the heat as he stared at his companion. It had been hours now and, while being outside had been enjoyable at first, he was more than ready to allow his skin to warm itself next to the fireplace in the cabin behind them.
"No! Just a little longer, please?" Large green eyes pleaded with him, giving off a look of desperation before crinkling along with the edges of a smile, "If you're cold, I'll hold you. Come here."
He felt his heart rate quicken, but stayed put, pulling his coat ever tighter, "I-I'm not cold. It's just been awhile now, don't you think? We should go back inside…"
"I like it out here." Phineas wasn't sure he heard the girl correctly, her faint voice barely carrying over the wind, "Just a little longer…don't leave…please, Phineas?"
For a moment, the frost bite that had been gnawing at his finger tips seemed to vanish. Body temperature was the least of Phineas's concerns as he was swept up in some sort of mild enchantment, unable to look away from the pretty little picture before him. Small flakes from the softly falling snow around them were caught in the tangles of his companions auburn curls, her cheeks flushed from the cold; and her trim little lips, usually so plush and pink and kissable, had faded to a blue tinted former glory with small cracks that seemed to grow the more her mouth trembled. He wondered, mildly, if they felt cold to the touch, and if so, how much? Perhaps, in theory, if he was to press his lips to them, the warmth of the contact would slowly start to return their loss of color, and the combined moisture from both breathes would soften the tender, dried skin.
"Ok." He found himself yielding before stop it, his every snow-littered step towards her causing a sharp, crisp crunch that seemed too loud in the quiet night. She rewarded him with a smile and wrapped a single arm around his waist, pulling him closer to her as she buried her face in his chest, grabbing a handful of his coat as though it were a part of him.
"You know what?" She murmured into the cloth, cold and slightly damp against her cheek.
"What?" Phineas looked down at her curiously, covering her as much as he could with the width of his arms. She lifted her head and looked at him tenderly, her eyes mild and unguarded.
"I'm happy."
The statement seemed slightly odd to him; of course she was happy, how was that different from any other time, any other day? Still, he smiled at her kindly, and playfully poked at her as he teased, "Yeah?"
"Yeah." She nodded at him, her lips returning his smile, "So happy, I could die."
"I suggest not doing that." Phineas laughed into her hair as he gave her forehead a kiss, "I think you dying would be very detrimental to this relationship."
His companion giggled alongside him, and the sight of it was simply too much. He pulled her into a kiss, and was pleased to find his hypothesis was correct as her lips seemed to melt against him. Her chilled hands slipped under his coat and pressed up against his back, and while he shivered at the touch, it was welcomed all the same. It occurred to him suddenly that there was someone waiting for him inside, but then he felt a tug, and he was stumbling along in the snow with his companion, their kiss broken only by the small bouts of laughter that would escape their lips. They were making their way farther from the cabin, and Phineas once more thought that it would be best to go back inside, but he shot the idea down almost at once. Just a little longer outside couldn't hurt, he reasoned, as he stabilized himself against the trunk of a tree, moist lips trailing the edges of his mouth.
'Just alittle longer.' He thought to himself, and pulled her closer to him.
Then, with a harsh snap of reality, he woke up.
It felt awkward; groggily awakening in a warm bed alone when just seconds ago he was outside, freezing and strangely elated. Phineas ran a hand through his messy mop of hair as he sat up, and felt a familiar small bundle of coarse fur rub up against his side. There was a soft chatter as his platypus snuggled up against him, and it caused him to crack a smile as he scratched the head of his favorite semi-aquatic mammal.
"Oh, there you are, Perry. Where'd you go last night? I was worried."
His pet only gurgled in response, leaving Phineas to invent his own reasoning for the disappearance, "Still exploring the new house, I see. I guess there's a lot to see here for just one little platypus. You know what Perry? You do a lot more than people give you credit for."
The blue mammal gave him a slow blink of his unfocused eyes and waddled off the bed towards his water bowl, lapping up some refreshing liquid as his owner watched him with child-like fascination.
Giving a small stretch of his long arms, Phineas swung his legs over the bed, forcing him to get up, "Yeah, water probably isn't a bad idea, buddy."
He made it to the kitchen well enough, but as he reached up and grabbed a glass for his drink, Phineas couldn't help but think once more how strange his life had become. It had been a few months now since, as his brother put it, the "incident" occurred. Ferb had offered many times for Phineas to come stay with him, and the red head had taken his brother up on the offer a few instances, but some invisible pull kept drawing him back to his bitter-sweet love nest. It was self-torture, he knew; but a small part of him felt that he deserved the pain, in some sort of odd, twisted way.
It had been hard at first, Phineas reflected as he watched the faucet water fill his clear glass. Sleeping had been the most difficult; either he awoke in random moments of the night, the emotional ache so intense it felt like a physical pain in his chest, or he felt so out of tune with the world that he couldn't escape the deep sleep that overcame him. Those were the worst, to be sure. Entire mornings, once even an entire day, wasted away in bed with foggy dreams that left him feeling empty. Those were hours of his life that could never be returned and the thought of it left a detestable taste in his mouth.
He took a sip of his water, trying to wash the tang of bad memories down his throat. Things were getting better at least, or so Phineas reasoned with himself. Just the other day he had joined his family for a small dinner at his parents house, and it'd been quite enjoyable; in fact, he'd even gotten some inventing done. The Ferb-O-Matic Dessert Dispenser, they'd called it. Candace had been helping carry some pies to the table when, much to her surprise, her newly pregnant belly gave off a kick for the first time. She'd been so startled that she had dropped the carefully made pastries on the floor, and while Phineas was more than happy to feel the little thump from within his sisters swollen stomach, he had been looking awfully forward to that pie.
So, while his mother ran to the store to get more ingredients, he and his brother deemed it down-right silly to wait another few set of hours to enjoy dessert, and set to work at once. Their creations were not anywhere near their mother's masterpieces, to be quite honest, but they were satisifying enough, and their mother did seem pleased at not having to bake anymore once she returned home. Poor Candace had gotten awfully excited about the whole thing, and for a moment Jeremy had worried that she would go into premature labor if Linda didn't come back to see the invention. Phineas and Ferb had been more than happy to show it to the woman, however when she returned, the entire machine had mysteriously vanished from the backyard. As he thought about it, Phineas realized that, curiously enough, a new bakery shop had opened up later that day, owned by Danville's lucky farmer and his wife. What a funny coincidence.
Phineas shook his head with a smile and realized that the only bad part about that day had been the bit of stress involved of avoiding the Garcia-Shapiro family. He had not actually spoken to Isabella since he last saw her at the wedding; a word or two to let her know he was still alive didn't really count as conversation. In truth, he had been a little upset with her when the initial high of the day's intense emotions had worn off. If she'd only let her feelings be known to him sooner, or if she'd only kept the darn things to herself, he could have been living a different, likely more pleasant life at the moment.
'I could have been married, and be happily living with Adele...right?" The questionable thought made Phineas lower his glass and sigh, leaning against the countertop near his sink. A part of him was thankful to Isabella-even if she went about the execution of her confession very poorly, perhaps it was better to have everything out in the open. His family and friends expressed quiet relief at his decision not to become a husband, and that did speak some volume. Looking back on everything, he could see why. The relationship he had with Adele had been a bit more problematic than he'd initially realized, and Phineas had to admit that in a way he was glad that the whole taxing ordeal was over.
It still hurt, though. Every ounce of the entire situation still stung, even as he stood in the kitchen months after the fact, the resulting sore still throbbed in his chest. Once more, despite everything, he missed her. He missed hearing her voice, missed holding her before falling asleep, a part of him even missed calming her down after her small episodes; Phineas simply missed Adele.
What was worse was that for all his longing, he couldn't even talk to the girl. He'd tried calling her to no avail; at first the phone would merely ring and ring, and he'd leave a message or two pleading with her to answer. Apparently he didn't beg nearly well enough though. The few items of true importance that Adele had in the house were collected by her friends, and shortly afterword her phone number was changed. The situation was clear enough to comprehend; Phineas had been given his chance with her, fouled it up beyond repair, and had been promptly dismissed from her life with the clean cut of a business transaction.
The realization hadn't been an easy thing to swallow, but he managed to cram it down all the same. It had taken some time, but Phineas had finally accepted the loss of his relationship with his fiancee, and slowly, ever so slowly, he was gathering his life back into some resemblance of order.
Yet fate, as it turned out, had a very queer sense of humor. Phineas was determined to give a gallant attempt at having a normal day, and so after showering and eating, he forced himself to enjoy his afternoon with a bit of brainstorming. He had been content with toying with his partially made blue prints and small scale prototypes, and almost didn't hear the knock on his front door pounding so softly down the hall.
"Ferb?" Phineas called out as he made his way towards the door, slightly baffled. His brother had visited him only yesterday to drop off Perry, and the two had made no further plans; in fact, if Phineas remembered correctly, Ferb was supposed to have a meeting with the Mayor today on behalf of the city counsel.
"Hey, what's-" Phineas could not find the words to finish his sentence as he opened the door, meeting the stare of a green eyed girl who gave him a small, timid smile.
"Hello, Phineas."
Phineas blinked back his surprise, trying to gather his courtesies as his guest waited patiently before him, "Oh! Hi, Jacqueline, ah...what are you...?"
The older woman chuckled as she ran a hand through her bobbed auburn hair, gracing Phineas with an understanding smile as she spoke in her soft accent, "I'm sorry to intrude. I would have called, but I thought perhaps it would be better to come over in person. I didn't want you to think I was trying to avoid you…due to the circumstances."
"Um..." Phineas could only smile politely at her, still as confused-if not more so-than before.
"May I come in?" Her expression was almost amused as she watched Phineas jump slightly, mentally swatting himself for his discourtesy.
"Oh, uh, yeah, no, please come in!" He stepped aside and ushered her in, quick to jump into his role as a host and begin the obligatory offerings, "Would you like anything to drink or eat? You like tea, don't you? I have some I could make for you in a jiffy. Here, take a seat."
Jacueline only gave a small, gentle laugh and waved away his nerves, her hands continuing to hold onto her purse in a manner that suggested she didn't intend to stay long, "Thank you very much, but I'm fine, really. I just wanted to ask something of you, if you have a spare moment."
"Of course. Is everything all right?" Phineas let his thumbs dangle from the edges of his pockets, balancing on the balls of his feet as he looked at the woman with a mixture of concern and blatant confusion. He hadn't expected to speak to any of Adele's family again after what had happened; least of all her older sister, and so courteously at that. His expression turned weary, though he did his best to mask it.
"As all right as it can be, I suppose." Jacueline averted her eye sight from him for a moment, as if to consider her words, and spoke with careful deliberation, her tone soft as though she were telling him a secret of great importance, "Though that is not always quite good enough, is it?"
Phineas gulped. Gulped back the guilt, the shame; gulped back the wave of apologizes he wanted to spew at his guest. An apology was deserved, he knew that, and he wanted to do the right thing, but in that moment his cheeks were flushed and his heart was racing, and all he could manage was the decency of lowering his head in silent disgrace.
Stale, uncomfortable seconds ticked by without a word as Phineas waited to be reprimanded. No doubt, he would be told what a disappointment his actions were and how it had caused such a large, unnecessary mess. He was prepared to accept the accusations with quiet admission, but all he heard was a small sigh, and looked up to meet eyes that looked nearly as tired as he felt.
"She misses you, Phineas." The words came not quite as a shock, but they were odd to hear all the same. Jacueline's pretty expression fell flat as she spoke, her shoulders sagging in sympathetic remorse, "She simply won't admit to it. It was…an awful thing, what you did to her, and I know that was never your intention, but just the same…you hurt her terribly."
Even though the words had been expected, Phineas still couldn't help but grimace, "I know…I'm sorry, I didn't-"
Jacueline stopped his sentence with a small gesture of her hand, her tone an odd concoction of sadness and understanding, "You didn't, I agree. You do not have to explain yourself to me, Phineas. I only ask…Adele…" She lowered her hand, and looked down towards the floor, "…I don't want my little sisters heart to be turned bitter because of your mistake. She needs closure, and I know you have attempted to contact her and she's refused you, but Adele needs to have a proper ending to all of this if she is to truly move on with her life."
Jacueline raised her head, her gaze meeting his with a stern purpose, "Not long ago, I thought you would be apart of my family. Now, the only thing I ask of you is to help Adele to let go of you."
'But I still-' Phineas caught his breath and swatted away the thought. Still what? Still loved her, still wanted her to love him and hold him, to come running back into his arms saying that everything could be worked out? What nonsensical notions those were; obviously a relationship between the two of them was not compatible, he'd accepted that.
Yet as he watched Jacueline stare at him expectantly, the familiar shade of green caused his heart to lurch, and for a moment it was as if all of the aching he'd worked so hard to overcome came rushing back at full force.
"Uh…" Phineas rubbed the back of his neck, taking in a slow breath as he attempted to pull himself together, "Yeah, no, that sounds fair, but how am I supposed to…?"
"Adele is currently staying with our parents. In a few hours, they will be attending a lecture for my fathers work. My mother told me that Adele will not be going, and will likely remain home for the rest of the evening…"
"So, you won't be telling her I'm coming?" Phineas grimaced; Adele did not like to be taken by surprise. He wondered what her reaction would be to him suddenly showing up upon her door step with words of remorse and peace that she obviously didn't want to hear.
"If I did tell her you'd be coming, she'd leave. You know this well, do you not?" Jacueline's stare turned hard as she met his eyes, her tone quiet and even, "This will not be easy, Phineas, but it must be done. Perhaps for your sake as much as hers, no?"
His gaze traveled back down to the floor. Perry had curled himself protectively in front of his feet; he knelt down beside him and scratched his side, causing his tails reflex to respond, and for a moment Phineas almost smiled.
'For every action, there is a reaction…' He mused as Jacueline's passive aggressive watch turned curious, 'But if nothing is done, nothing will ever happen.'
"Well," Phineas spoke the words softly, straining to keep the wrench out of his tone, "I guess sometimes you have to take a few steps back before you can start moving forward, huh?"
He stood back up and met his guest's observation, a nervous clench in his stomach as he spoke with smile, "You know, sharks have to keep moving forward…"
"Yes." Jacueline agreed softly, and for a moment he thought he saw a flicker of pity in her eyes, "Or they'll drown."
"Yes." Phineas repeated, and he wondered if this is what drowning was like; submerged in something that could not be fought, helpless but struggling all the same in a sort of desperate, determined hope, "Yes, they will."
This chapter is actually not completed, but I figured I've made you guys wait so long that you at least deserved a snippet of what was to come. I hope you're all not too disappointed that there wasn't a whole lot of progress in this…I was originally going to try and just make another 16-page or so chapter so that we'd be closer to the ending, but I've been mulling ideas around in my head for what I'm hoping will be a pretty epic Phineas and Ferb story, so it's lessened my drive for writing this one. I figured I could at least give you guys smaller chapters at a faster place than waiting forever and a day for me to find the inspiration to finish my long chapters. Ether way there's only a bit more of the story to wrap up, so I hope you enjoyed this! I'll try to get the next chapter up within the month. Fingers crossed!