Scheduling Fun

Saturday, eleven days until move-in.

I own nothing!

Isabella awoke drowsily, curled under the covers of her small bed as she enjoyed not having anywhere to be. Snagging her phone off of the dresser she willed her eyes to focus and then grinned; she had about an hour and a half before it was time for her second date with Phineas. Or maybe it wasn't really a date? She considered for a moment before dismissing it with a shrug, she was going to spend all day with her boyfriend, who cared what you called it.

Pushing out of bed with a grimace she stretched briefly; what had started as a casual scrimmage at her first soccer practice yesterday had ended up quite competitive, and she was definitely feeling it in her legs and back. She hobbled into the kitchenette and grabbed a banana and a granola bar, along with some juice, before walking over and gingerly perching on the new futon, setting her drink on the round coffee table in the middle of the room.

Having finished her college-worthy breakfast, she splashed some water on her face and began working on her hair. Taking another look at her phone she was surprised to find a text from Phineas waiting, "Got here early. Couldn't wait to see you. Let me know when you're up. Love you. -Phineas" With a grin she ran the brush through her hair a couple more times before deciding it was good enough with a nod.

Walking towards the door she sent a quick reply, "Love you too. Be out in a minute." As she reached for the handle she looked down and flushed; while she was sure it would be memorable, she didn't think either of them were ready for her to go greet him without pants.

After having dressed in her usual pink and white, Isabella took her time walking down the stairs, trying not to wince. Opening the outside door, she was immediately met with the sight of Phineas leaning against the dorm wall trying to act calm, a large gray and orange backpack at his feet.

"Hey Phineas, you're here early," she greeted as he looked up, giving her a tentative smile.

"Yeah, I..." he shrugged, "I wanted to see you, so I figured I'd come up early." With a little chuckle he continued, "I'm not sure why I said ten."

"It's okay," she smiled, "I was already up." As she finished he stepped towards her, lightly taking her in his arms as she leaned in, savoring the warm embrace. As she wrapped her arms around him he nuzzled into her neck with a sigh.

"I missed you," he whispered into her hair, hesitantly running his hand down her back. At the warm pressure Isabella exhaled with a small groan, causing him to freeze. Phineas shifted back, looking at her with concern, and was met with a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, I'm just sore from soccer..." she trailed off, another low noise escaping her lips as he pulled her back in, his strong hands applying more pressure along her back and shoulders.

They eventually separated, Isabella blushing at the care shown while Phineas watched her contemplatively. Leaning in, he gave her a quick kiss before reaching over, grabbing the backpack with one hand while taking hers with the other. As they made their way up the stairs she smiled quietly to herself, watching Phineas' jittery enthusiasm clearly countered by his desire to carefully help her along.

Arriving at the third floor they exited the stairwell, Isabella unlocking the door and ushering him in. After taking in the room, now devoid of boxes except for a couple underneath an end table, he returned to her with a shy smile. "I know we've got big plans today," she raised an eyebrow as he gave her a teasing grin, "but do you think we could look at my class schedule first?"

"Sure," she nodded and went to get her schedule as Phineas made his way to the futon, sitting near the end as he set the backpack down against the coffee table and took out his phone. As she returned and scooted next to him he put an arm around her shoulder, holding her close as he brought up the class registration page.

"Alright, so," he started, "there's a bunch of general stuff and two-hundred level courses I still need, so what do you have on Monday?"

"I've got classes at ten, one, and six to eight...but don't you mean one-hundred level?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, I took care of most of those last year," he commented as she leaned in closer, resting her head on his chest. "Isabella?" he asked a bit unsteadily, ears starting to burn.

"Yes, Phineas?" she asked coyly, feigning ignorance.

"What do you," he cleared his throat, "have on...Tuesday?"

She gave him a further grin, watching pink creep up his neck and touch his cheeks. Now that he returned her feelings his naiveté was much more endearing and, she decided, something she was going to enjoy taking advantage of, starting right about now. With an exaggerated stretch she set her schedule on the coffee table, pulling her legs up on the futon as she rotated her head onto his lap. She guided his now-floating hand to her waist, feeling him tense up as she snagged the printout off of the table, placing her other hand comfortingly over his. From her new position she met his wide eyes with a big smile before returning her attention to the paper in her hand.

"Nine and two," she stated, trying to suppress a giggle at his look of confusion. After giving him a moment she elaborated with a grin, "On Tuesday...I have classes at nine and two."

"Oh, and…" he trailed off as he nervously glanced between her and his phone, licking his lips before blowing out a breath. "Sorry, Isabella," he began a moment later, brow furrowing, "this isn't working…"

Isabella looked up at him in confusion; seeing his expression her heart fell. "Oh...sorry, I'll..." she managed, unable to meet his gaze as she moved to sit back up. As she began shifting she was stopped by the pressure of his hand on her waist.

"Wait," he started softly, a faint grin revealing itself through his concern, "I didn't mean you needed to get up, I just…" He set his phone down and hesitantly continued, "Can I just hold you for a minute?"

"Of course," she brightened, rolling onto her side towards him as his hand found the small of her back.

As she settled, Phineas watched her in wonder; he felt like he was being drawn in anew, the fresh swell of emotions in his chest forcing his breath out in much-too-shallow gasps. He had always cared deeply for all of his friends, but in this moment he found it almost laughable how even those feelings paled in comparison to his current rush of emotion. He reached a tentative hand forward, lightly running his fingers through her hair as she closed her eyes and sighed, nestling closer. He cautiously began to move his other hand, kneading into her back.

Isabella let out a small groan in the back of her throat, thankful that he didn't stop this time; she could feel the warmth working through her sore muscles as she stretched a little, trying for a better angle. After a couple trips up and down her back, his other hand idly petting the side of her head, Phineas drew her close, holding her tight for a moment before lowering her gently back to his lap. As he continued stroking her hair she opened her eyes, surprised to find his cheeks wet with fresh tears.

He watched her, waiting for the inevitable question, when instead she merely gave him a small smile and reached up, brushing his tears away. As his heart threatened to burst from his chest he gave her a hesitant smile. "Sorry, I…" he chuckled, "I guess I just didn't think it'd still be this overwhelming, being here with you. I mean, I can't imagine this ever feeling normal, but," he shrugged, "after these past few days I thought I was at least getting used to the idea…" After losing himself in thought for a moment he returned his attention to her with a grin, "I hope this doesn't mean I'm going to break down crying every time we're together, though."

"You know I don't mind," she assured him with a smile, returning her hand to his cheek.

With a little nod in return he leaned back and closed his eyes, focused on the warmth of her hand and the feel of her hair, as he tried to organize his roiling emotions into something coherent. He knew now that 'I love you' didn't convey nearly enough, it probably hadn't for years, and although with a small grin he realized the phrase that did, today was not the day.

Isabella felt his breathing slowly calm as his hand resumed its motion on her back, her own heartbeat eventually returning to its normal pace as well. After a couple minutes of contented silence she felt his hands hesitate.

"So, are you ready to finish this up?" he broached.

"In a minute," came the quiet response as she reached up to take hold of his arm, pulling him closer.

"Okay," came the equally-whispered agreement as Phineas leaned over and tilted her up, kissing her forehead, "but I do want to get to your surprise eventually."

"Mmm," Isabella merely exhaled. After another minute she rolled onto her back, entwining her fingers in his as they reacquired her schedule and his phone.

"So," he asked with a nod, forcing his face back into a semblance of focus, "how about the rest of the week?"

"Wednesday and Friday are ten and one, and Thursday is the same as Tuesday. I also have soccer practice on Tuesday and Friday at five." Taking a break from her printout she met his eyes for a moment before looking back. "I've got a couple other clubs, but I'm not sure what their schedules are just yet."

"Okay," he said, returning his attention to his phone with some effort and making a couple more selections, "that about does it then. Thanks, love." As he returned her startled expression with a contented smile she felt her cheeks redden, bringing her own smile along with it.

"You're welcome," she replied bashfully, noticing as his eyes suddenly widened and he began turning equally red, earning him an incredulous look. "You didn't mean to say that, did you?" she teased with a grin.

"Not out loud, no," Phineas grinned back, "but that's okay." With a squeeze of her hand he lifted her up, brushing his lips against hers. After untangling themselves he reached for the backpack with an, "Alright," pulling it towards himself and unzipping the main compartment. First out was a large mechanical-looking book, primarily matte gray with a variety of circuit-ish designs etched throughout the cover in a number of metallic colors.

"This is the...actually, I don't have a good name for it," he shrugged, "so I guess it's the Ferbotronic Printer Mark Three."

"Mark Three?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, Ferb helped me build the Mark One by hand; that one wouldn't even fit in the garage. It didn't have the accuracy to make this one directly," he continued, patting the book, "so we used it to print the Mark Two, which was still pretty big. That one had enough precision to print the Mark Three, although we still had to manually assemble it."

"So...this is my surprise?" she asked, somewhat bemused. Admittedly, it was a surprise, but the idea of Phineas presenting her with an invention with no romantic overtones hardly seemed likely after the past few days.

"No, this is just something to help us out with it," he grinned, remaining purposefully vague. Setting the book on the coffee table, he reached back into the backpack and pulled out a large roll of blueprints, handing them to her. "This is your surprise," he simply stated, "I told you I'd find them."

As his words sunk in her eyes widened; she hesitantly unrolled them just enough to see her name emblazoned across the top page before carefully rolling them back up, looking at him in wonder. "Phineas, I...thank you," she managed, knowing full well how difficult it must have been for him to actually bring these to show her.

"Well of course, I designed it for you after all," he replied fairly convincingly, even as his hands betrayed his nervousness. Noticing his jitters he reached back into the backpack and pulled out a nondescript shoebox, handing it to her. "And this should be yours."

Opening the lid, she quickly flipped through some of the pictures and other keepsakes, confirming that it was the right box. Phineas had asked her if there were any mementos of them that she'd like him to bring up during one of their late night phone calls. He had already told her that the design was like a scrapbook, so she figured having some things of her own to add to it might be nice.

"So Phineas, what are we doing?" she asked, closing the box and setting it aside as she focused on the boy next to her, taking his hand.

"Well," he swallowed nervously, "I thought we could look over," he gestured past her to where the blueprints and box rested on the futon, "those, and maybe...build it together?"

His continued nervousness having her thoroughly intrigued, she gave him a reassuring smile. "Sure, Phineas, I'd love to."

bilaterus - Thank you so much for the kind words, I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far and it's great to hear that someone else likes the 'Isabella Flynn' part as much as I do. Hopefully the upcoming chapters do not disappoint!