Right on time, here's chapter 4! Next week's update will be a little sketchy, it all depends on the amount of work I have. Plan on Friday, as usual, and I'll try to update it then.

This chapter may be slightly more ...interesting than usual. And there are at least 3 puns, I bet if you can find them, you will LOVE them!

**Disclaimer**

I don't own Phineas and Ferb.


Chapter 4: Stargazing


Isabella was confused. She lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the past few days. It was Wednesday, and school was now over for winter break. Under normal circumstances, she would still have been melancholy because of Phineas being asked to the dance, but following Mrs. Lipton's advice had led her to a state of uncertainty rather than depression.

It was a good thing Isabella had followed the advice; otherwise, she wouldn't have noticed Phineas's subtle but strange behavior. He had been a little more affectionate than usual, and had hugged her at the end of each school day, causing her to collapse into Phineas-Land each time.

I've got to stop doing that, she thought, still embarrassed from her uncontrollable reactions. Isabella liked Phineas's new behavior, and she thought that perhaps he had begun to catch on to some of her constant hints.

At the same time, however, he had seemed more oblivious than usual. When he had taken her hands on Monday, Isabella thought for sure that something was different, but it amounted to nothing. Had Phineas somehow started to like her back, or was it just random and insignificant?

Suddenly, her phone vibrated on the night table next to her bed. Isabella rolled over and checked it; Phineas was calling.

Why is Phineas calling me? she thought as her heart rate picked up.

"Hello?" she asked uncertainly.

"Hey Isabella, I was just making sure we're still doing the Astronomy project at your house tonight, right?"

Isabella's eyes widened; she had completely forgotten about the project!

"Ye-yeah! You can come over around 8. Sound good to you?"

"Yep! I can't wait, see you then!" and with that, Phineas ended the call.

Isabella checked the clock; it was already 6:50! How long had she been thinking?

Great, she thought, heading to the bathroom to take a shower and brush her teeth. Then she put on some warm winter clothing: a long sleeved, lavender sweater dress, along with dark purple nylons, and furry white boots. Once she had freshened herself up, Isabella set to cleaning up the house. Not that they would be inside much, but Isabella wanted everything perfect for her crush.

After she finished speed-cleaning, Isabella rummaged through the closet, looking for some cute but warm snow gear. She settled with a purple coat lined with fluffy white wool and pink gloves, which were thin enough to let her write with a pencil. Her coat had a hood, so she didn't bother to grab a hat. As she looked through the closet, Isabella spied a bit of Mistletoe still in storage. She smiled and grabbed it along with her other gear.

Isabella hung the mistletoe right above the entryway at the front door, hoping they would be standing under it sometime during the night. She then checked the clock; it was now 7:50.

I've still got a little time, Isabella thought, so she decided to mess around on their grand piano for a couple minutes. After finishing playing through one of her (A/N: and my) all-time favorites, Clair de Lune, she absentmindedly started playing the low chords from Heart and Soul, a simple, yet highly popular duet song. Just as she was squinting to read the digital microwave clock in the kitchen, somebody started playing the high part right next to her!

Isabella flipped her head around, accidentally hitting Phineas in the face with her long dark hair. He laughed, then took a seat next to her and continued playing. Isabella grinned at him mischievously, and the two started up a crazy duet of Heart and Soul on the piano. As they played, Isabella couldn't help but admire how good Phineas was at jazzy piano and improvisation.

After they finished on a high note, Phineas helped Isabella up, and she noticed that he was already in his snow clothes. She was going to thank him for playing with her, but her mom walked in and beat her to it.

"That was brilliant, you two tortolitos!" Vivian Garcia-Shapiro said loudly, hugging both Phineas and Isabella and nearly picking them up in the process. A huge blush played across Isabella's face. She knew the English translation for 'tortolitos', and she was glad that Phineas didn't know Spanish.

"Mom!" she whispered fiercely into her mother's ear. "He's right here!" she mouthed angrily.

Vivian laughed as she set the pair down.

"He's definitely a keeper, and it's my job to embarrass you, chica!" she said to Isabella as she walked out.

"What does 'tortolitos' mean?" Phineas asked Isabella after her mother had left.

"Uhm... nothing important, ready to go outside?"

They checked out the window; it was nearly dark, and the stars were just beginning to come out.

"Yep, I've got everything here," he said, pointing to the Astronomy textbook and paper he was holding.

"Great!" Isabella said, quickly putting on her coat and other snow gear.

"How did you come in, anyways?" she asked as they walked towards the back door.

"Your mom answered the door and let me in, and I saw you playing the piano and decided to 'play along'," he responded, grinning at his little pun.

Isabella rolled her eyes as Phineas opened the door for her, and they stepped outside into the Garcia-Shapiro's backyard. The snow had formed a white blanket over the grass, and little snowflakes occasionally floated down to the ground.

"So are we going to sit on some chairs to watch the stars or what?" Phineas asked, surveying the dark yard.

Isabella hadn't thought of that.

"Umm..."

Phineas noticed Isabella's lack of a plan and came up with one on his own.

"How about," he said, starting to go into inventor mode, "We build snow chairs! And we can add reclining seats, and footrests, and seat warmers, and drink holders, and-"

"Or we could just keep it simple build a snow couch," Isabella interrupted, hoping she could be closer to him.

"No, that's not as-" Phineas stopped for a second and looked like he was thinking. "Actually, a snow couch sounds great! Let's start building."

Isabella was surprised, Phineas would usually have unintentionally blown her off. Shrugging, she set her homework down started collecting snow for the model. Phineas started forming the seats and back, while Isabella created one of the armrests. She then decided to make the other one much closer to the first than a traditional couch, more like a small loveseat, and tried to start building.

Tried being the keyword. As Phineas leaned down to detail the base of the partially-formed couch, Isabella pushed too hard and accidentally collapsed the whole armrest on top of him!

"S-sorry, Phineas," she giggled, wiping chunks of snow off of his head and coat.

He suddenly stood up and walked away from Isabella, shaking the snow off of him as he went. Isabella soon lost sight of him in the dark night, wondering where he was going.

Phineas isn't actually mad at me, is he? she thought, slightly worried. Isabella got up as well, her brow furrowed in confusion, and she began to look for him.

"It was an accident, Phineas, I didn't mean to!" Isabella called. "Where is he?" she thought, looking around her yard.

I didn't hear the gate open- Isabella felt something whizz by her ear, and whirled around to face nothing but blackness.

What was that?

Suddenly, a snowball flew out of the darkness and exploded right on Isabella's coat! She squealed and heard Phineas laugh from somewhere.

"Oh, you're not getting away with that, Phineas Flynn!" Isabella shouted, racing to take cover behind the snow couch. She remembered her snowball-making patch she had achieved as a Fireside Girl, and had 20 perfect snowballs made in just a few seconds.

Isabella tucked her hood over her head, then peeked over the couch. Phineas was nowhere to be se- wait. Isabella squinted, and sure enough, there was a barely visible red tuft of hair poking out behind her backyard shed. Grabbing her snowballs, Isabella got ready for attack.

3 … 2 … 1

"Charge!" Isabella yelled, sounding like an excited toddler on Christmas morning. She jumped the couch and ran at Phineas, throwing snowballs all the while. Phineas sprang from his hiding place and began running around her covered pool, trying to dodge her snowballs. He threw one back and nailed Isabella on the leg, while all of hers were missing.

"You throw like a girl!" he shouted jokingly as he ran next to the house. But right as he said that, one of Isabella's snowballs hit him squarely in the head, and Phineas promptly fell over into a hill of snow.

"You're gonna pay, Phineas!" Isabella hollered, jumping onto Phineas and straddling him. She pulled off her gloves and began tickling him through his coat. Phineas burst out laughing and struggled to get away with Isabella on top of him.

"Do I throw like a girl?" Isabella shouted, laughing just as much as Phineas. Phineas continued fidgeting but managed to nod his head amidst laughing. Isabella's eyes glinted with amusement; she was going to have to try harder. She was moving her hands to tickle inside his coat, but was taken by surprise when Phineas reached forward and began tickling her side!

Isabella shrieked with laughter and tried to pry Phineas's fast-moving fingers from her, but suddenly Phineas had flipped her and was giving her no mercy. He used one arm to pin her arms down and the other to tantalize her waist. It only got worse when he reached under her coat and started to tickle her stomach as well.

"Please, no more!" she begged, weak from laughing as she kicked her legs. Phineas grinned and shook his head.

Then, without warning, the snow on the roof of the house slid off right onto Phineas and Isabella, pushing him onto her and burying them in white fluff! Phineas finally stopped tickling Isabella, but neither could stop laughing for several minutes afterwards. Isabella was laughing so hard, she had tears in her eyes.

After mostly regaining her composure, Isabella realized that Phineas was still lying right on top of her, and she began to blush. When he started getting up, she wanted to cling onto him, but it was probably better to get up than get hypothermia from being covered in snow.

Phineas pushed several heaps of snow off of himself and Isabella, and then got up, pulling her up as well. Isabella stood with wobbly legs, and then fell down again, collapsing yet again into another fit of uncontrollable giggles.

"I - can't - control - myself," she gasped, not quite as recovered from the tickle fight as she had thought. Phineas smirked, and then scooped her up into his arms, walking towards the incomplete sofa.

He lightly set her down, and then set to completing the couch as Isabella dusted the snow off herself and gradually stopped her giggling. Once he had finished, Phineas plopped down next to her on the extra small couch - credit to Isabella.

"Cozy," he commented, settling right up next to her so they were nearly touching. Isabella reddened at the close proximity but was thoroughly enjoying it. After a second's hesitation, she scooted even closer to close the distance between them. Luckily, Phineas didn't seem to mind.

"Maybe we should start actually working on the assignment we came to do," he said, smiling. Isabella nodded, giggling at how much they had been messing around.

"Oh, here are your ...gloves" Phineas remarked, holding up a pair of drenched pink gloves still plastered with snow. He half-heartedly offered them to Isabella, who shook her head and pushed the sopping wet gloves away.

"I'll just go get another pair," said Isabella, but she was stopped by Phineas.

"Wait, I've got a better idea!" he exclaimed, and Phineas pulled off his right glove and gave it to her. "I'm left handed and you're right handed, so just wear my glove, and then..." he trailed off, looking down at his hand.

"Ooo-kaay," Isabella replied dreamily, enjoying the boy's nervousness. After pulling on his glove, she slowly grabbed his warm hand. Phineas interlaced his fingers with hers, making her heart jump. The couple smiled and stared into each other's eyes for some time, until Phineas shook his his head to clear his mind, and looked up.

"Um... I guess we should find Orion," Phineas finally said rather quietly. Isabella nodded unconsciously before snapping out of it as well. She leaned over and grabbed their homework, then pulled out the drawing of the constellation Orion. Luckily, they were using a clipboard with a light, so they could read without holding a flashlight.

Phineas and Isabella examined the drawing, then looked up at the starry sky to find the constellation. The pitch black expanse of sky was littered with little clusters of shining lights, and an occasional shooting star would light up the night.

Isabella sighed, staring up into the never-ending space.

"It's so beautiful," she whispered.

"So are you," Phineas whispered back, squeezing her hand.

Isabella felt her heart melting and gave him an endearing smile. The dark night helped hide her deep blush, but at this point, she wouldn't have cared anyway.

"Thank you," she sighed, leaning into him and resting her head on his shoulder. Isabella was on cloud nine, and was in no hurry to leave. "Thank you so much."

He looks so adorable, she thought, admiring his fascination with the stars. After a second, Phineas turned to smile down at her.

Isabella suddenly got the urge she'd had for years yet again. She would normally back out of it, but Isabella hadn't been thinking straight ever since she had started tickling Phineas. And we're already so close together, she thought. Gathering courage, Isabella lifted her head from his shoulder and slowly leaned towards him. She closed her eyes, and was about to touch when-

"Found it!" Phineas exclaimed, pointing up at a specific group of stars. Isabella jolted up at the sudden noise and snapped her eyes open. She was a little disappointed at not accomplishing her impulsive desire, but Isabella was still beyond happy.

Phineas and Isabella inefficiently sketched out Orion onto their big paper, more focused on each other than on the actual assignment they were supposed to be doing. Isabella couldn't help but stare at Phineas, and he would often stop to stare back. She was elated when he rested his forehead on hers for a few seconds before turning back to the project. After a while, her eyelids started to droop, and Isabella had to fight to stay awake.

After what seemed like forever, the pair finally completed their picture of Orion. Isabella yawned and checked her watch lazily; it was 11:07!

"Looks like it's past your bedtime," Phineas whispered jokingly, glancing at her watch as well.

"Let's just go to sleep right here," Isabella mumbled, closing her eyes and nuzzling into Phineas's chest. He chuckled and let her rest on him for a few moments.

"Okay Isabella, time to go write our report now," Phineas whispered in her ear after a little too long, talking to her as if she was a baby. They slowly stood up, Phineas not letting go of Isabella, and still holding all of their homework.

Phineas walked a sleepy Isabella to her computer room and sat her down next to him. He opened up a Word document and began typing the report on Orion, with Isabella leaning on him.

"How do you think I worded this sentence, Isabella?" Phineas quietly asked the girl resting on his shoulder.

"Mmmmm..." Isabella muttered, not opening her eyes. Phineas smiled and decided not to disturb her anymore. As he typed, Phineas's eyes kept being drawn to the girl resting on his shoulder.

She is so gorgeous, he thought, wanting to stroke her long, silky hair. Phineas then turned back to the monitor and widened his eyes at what he had just absentmindedly typed.

Another interesting feature of Orion is the way the light reflects off of her hair, almost making it sparkle.

Phineas frantically backspaced on the document until no embarrassing content remained, then he looked down to see if Isabella noticed. She was fast asleep, slowly inhaling and exhaling cool breath onto his chest.

Smiling, Phineas finished his last thought and wrote a quick conclusion, then saved the file to the computer. He checked Isabella again; she was completely out. He considered waking her, but he didn't want to when she was already so deeply asleep.

Phineas dislodged Isabella from his shoulder, carefully prying her arms free of his stomach. He then leaned over and, as gently as possible, picked her up bridal-style. Isabella let out a soft moan, then was quiet again. Phineas was surprised at how light she was, given that she was such a tall girl.

He carefully carried Isabella up the stairs, trying to avoid making the steps creak. As he walked up, Vivian peaked out from the master bedroom to see who it was. When she saw Phineas carrying her sleeping daughter, she smiled at him warm-heartedly, waved goodnight, and shut her door.

Phineas made it up the stairs and through the hallway, then carefully maneuvered Isabella through the doorway and laid her down on her soft pink bed. He inched off her purple coat and fluffy boots, and put them to the side to make her more comfortable. Phineas then pulled the covers over Isabella's slender body and slid a pillow under her head.

Once finished, Phineas admired her for a bit, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest under the blankets. Isabella muttered something in her sleep and turned over, obviously engaged in some dream.

"Goodnight, Isabella," Phineas whispered, tiptoeing out of her room. At the door, he stopped and thought about the amazing day he had spent with her. After a moment's hesitation, he tiptoed back and gave Isabella a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," he breathed as quiet as can be, leaving Isabella in silent bliss.


So I sort of think of this chapter as an explosion of fluff. I'm a pretty ecstatic about it, to the point of where I'm thinking of releasing an entirely separate one-shot of a similar, fluffy evening with Phineas and Isabella. Of course, there would be many differences, and it would probably be slightly longer. There were a lot of things I didn't implement into this chapter to go with the story, and a one-shot would give me a little more freedom. What do you guys think? Should I eventually write another short story similar to this chapter, or throw the idea out the window?

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Guest/Disabled PM Review Responses:

1/5/13 Guest: Thanks! Did this chapter continue the trend you mentioned?

anonymous writer: Well I guess not everybody likes Phinabella, but I'm glad you think it's well written, thanks.

1/7/13 Guest: Thanks for reviewing, but could you elaborate a little more than "write more" please?

PeanutJon: It's fine, thanks for the review.

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If you liked it or didn't like it, please tell me in a review. I want criticism for my work, so feel free to tell me how you think I can improve. Thanks for reading!