Moving Too Fast
Thursday, thirteen days until move-in.
I own nothing!
"Ferb, how do I know that...Isabella and I aren't moving too fast?" The step-brothers were up in their room after breakfast, Phineas on his bed holding a large roll of blueprints while Ferb was reclined in his, reading a well-worn book.
Ferb quirked an eyebrow at his step-brother, simply looking at him for a moment before setting his book down with a sigh. He wasn't entirely surprised that Phineas was coming to him with questions now that his brother and Isabella were finally together, but he hadn't expected it to start the very next day, and certainly not at this part of the conversation. "Physically?" he prompted, quickly being met with a thrown pillow to the face.
"Ferb, you know that's not it," Phineas sounded genuinely offended, "we've only officially been together for a day, I'd like to think both Isabella and I have more self-control than that."
Ferb shot him a bit of a smirk, "Well, you did get back pretty late last night." Seeing Phineas' glare he held up a placating hand, "Okay, not physically, so…" as he waved the same hand, palm up, requesting elaboration.
"It's...emotionally, I guess," his brother began, "we basically started at 'I love you' and it's already built from there." As Ferb merely tilted his head slightly Phineas continued, "I'm not complaining, but it just...seems like the sort of things we'd be talking about months from now, not, you know, the day we got together." Phineas glanced up to find his brother giving him a half-lidded look; with a sigh he returned to contemplating his hands, his cheeks warming. "I'm going to have to tell you specifics, aren't I?" Ferb simply nodded with a small grin.
"So before we went to dinner, we were...well, we had finished unloading her car and were just sitting together, and she kind of fell asleep on me. And just being with her like that, I...well, I wasn't sure if I was ready to tell her I loved her, but it just sort of came out…" Phineas trailed off before swallowing nervously and looking up, finding Ferb watching him with a questioning gaze. "What? No, it's...it's not that; I don't regret telling her, it was actually a huge relief when she said she loved me too."
Ferb snorted, "As if there was ever any doubt," this time successfully dodging the pillow hurled his direction. "So, what's the problem then?" he inquired.
"Well, I didn't just tell her I loved her, I might have also accidentally called her Isabella Flynn." Phineas' concentration was broken by another snort from his brother as he saw him try and keep a straight face. Crossing his arms he simply glared at the green-haired teen, clearing his throat pointedly when he felt the muffled chuckles had gone on long enough.
As Ferb recomposed himself, expelling the last of his grin with a small breath, he simply inquired, "And how did she take that?"
"Pretty well, I guess. I mean, she was surprised, but it didn't upset her." Phineas seemed lost in the thought for a moment. "We actually talked about it for a bit after that...just, you know, in general...it just seems so surreal; this time yesterday I didn't even know she liked me, and now less than a day later we've already talked about marriage." As he saw his brother's smirk return he shot him a glare, completely failing to keep the smile off of his own face. "Just talking, Ferb, we're not making plans yet or anything," he followed up with a chuckle, realizing how ridiculous it sounded even to his own ears, "I haven't even gotten her a ring yet." As those words left his mouth he clamped his lips shut, eyes wide, having surprised even himself with the sincerity behind them.
After a minute of silence, Ferb contemplating the ceiling while Phineas attempted to rationalize his sudden personal insight, Phineas exhaled slowly and waved his hand in Ferb's general direction. "So, is that...specific enough?"
His brother responded with a reassuring smile, "Yes, although I still fail to see the problem."
"Ferb, we've been dating for less than a day! There's no way that this-"
Ferb silenced him with a glare. "Phineas, people date to get to know each other and become closer, and that's what you and Isabella have been doing for years. Just because she wasn't your girlfriend at the time doesn't make it any less significant." With a sly glint in his eye Ferb leaned forward conspiratorially, "Tell me, if you could marry her today, the wedding ready and exactly how you both want it to be, would you?"
Biting his bottom lip, Phineas examined his hands and the large roll of blueprints still clutched in them. Recalling both the proclamations contained in the design, along with the last few pages, he gave a little nod before declaring with surprising confidence, "Yes, yes I would."
