I so sorry about the cliff hanger! Maybe this chapter being updated quickly will make up for it.

WARNING: slash, boy love, guy on guy. Don't like it, don't read. Mentions of rape.

Disclaimer: if I actually owned anything, we all know Phineas and Ferb would be together. But alas~

OoO

He couldn't remember ever being this angry, or this hurt. It was like someone had ripped his insides out via his throat, and left a big gaping empty feeling inside him. It was this anger, this hurt, that forced him into the house on stomping feet, slamming open doors until he got into the living room. Candace had attempted to hold him back but she was both heavily pregnant and short as hell, whereas he was both tall and stocky. He easily shrugged off her restraining hands.

Ferb had been hoping it wasn't true- that his step-sister was wrong or even lying. He'd be okay with her lying if it meant it wasn't true. But upon entering the living room, everything was confirmed. He stopped still and just stared, fighting the urge to turn around and run, fighting the urge to puke, to cry, to scream. To do anything. He just stood there and forced his expression into an emotionless mask, something he'd perfected since his mother had died so many years ago.

Candace was at his shoulder now, grabbing his elbow as if she expected him to do something bad. Maybe throw a few breakable objects, scream a few obscenities, punch a few faces. He wasn't really that type of guy, but he didn't really think he was in the right state of mind to judge what he would and wouldn't do. He was so mad, he probably could throw a few objects around right at that moment.

His eyes were trained on the couch, or more specifically, trained on the redhead who was currently sitting there, his arm around Isabella in an obvious show of affection. The girl's head was on Phineas' shoulder, and she was smiling in a modest sort of way- as if she were obscenely happy but didn't want to rub it in anyone's faces. Phineas' face was much like Ferb's own, completely expressionless. They just stared at each other in silence, which Ferb noted was the first time his step-brother had made eye contact with him in over a week.

Finally, he broke the silence, his voice coming out a little croaked, a little angry. It made Isabella jump and Phineas wince, but he didn't really care. "You're dating?"

"Ferb!" Candace hissed from behind him, her grip on his elbow tightening. He didn't understand why she was giving him this obvious warning, or what she was even warning him about, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered, except the cold look in his step-brother's blue eyes as they glared into his own.

"So what?" he asked in a nonchalant manner, his arm around Isabella's shoulders tightening. The raven-haired girl looked a little worried and out of the loop, but then again, it was unlikely she knew anything about what had been going on lately. The only person Ferb had told was Buford, and Phineas probably hadn't told anyone. He might have told Baljeet during a skype call when Ferb was out of the room, but there was no way of telling for sure.

Ferb attempted to string together a coherent sentence, honestly shocked at the blatant and nasty way Phineas was treating him. It wasn't like the feelings he had was actually incest, but then, who would believe that? They'd grown up as brothers, treated each other like brothers, hell, even shared the same fucking bath as brothers (when they were kids, of course). The only thing he managed to force out was a stumbled, "but... you don't even like her!"

Isabella's mouth fell open and she gave Ferb a look of hurt and betrayal, but really, what was he supposed to do? Phineas had never showed any signs of interest in her at all. If he ever liked her at any point, Ferb would have picked up on it. Better for her to find out now rather than later, when she was more emotionally invested in the relationship.

In fact, he was a little disappointed in his brother for doing this. Going out and dating some random girl was bad enough, but dating a close and personal friend was just horrible. Ferb was fairly sure Phineas was only doing it because he was angry and confused- and wanted to prove something to his green-haired step brother. What he wanted to prove, Ferb was unsure of, but it still didn't justify using Isabella like a tool.

Phineas' mouth thinned and his eyes narrowed, a sure sign of his anger. Ferb wasn't as good as reading his brother, but he had picked up a few things over the years. Sure enough, the redhead's left hand twitched every now and again, something that always happened when he was agitated. "What, you think you know everything about me?"

"Well, yeah," Ferb responded, feeling a little hurt at the question. Of course he did. "We tell each other everything."

The redhead snorted, still maintaining eye contact, although his blue irises were ice cold. "Clearly we don't tell each other everything, right, Ferb?"

Isabella slowly pulled herself out of Phineas' embrace, looking like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Ferb didn't blame her. Imagine finally getting together with the guy of your dreams and having his step brother storm in and start picking fights for no apparent reason. It would be enough to unsettle anyone. The obviously uncomfortable raven-haired girl looked between the two boys rapidly, as if she could glean more information just from their expressions.

Phineas' words cut Ferb, especially because of the hidden meaning behind them. Was the redhead actually pissed off at him because the green-haired teen hadn't confided in him about his weird feelings? Or was the smaller boy just saying that in an attempt to lash out and cause as much hurt as he could? Either way, Ferb found himself swallowing and clenching his fists, not sure if he wanted to cry or hit something or both. "Fuck you."

"Ferb!"

He'd honestly thought it was Candace admonishing him, but when he turned his head, he realized it was his step mother standing in the doorway, looking scandalized at his cursing. Ferb had no idea what to say, so said nothing, and neither did anyone else.

"You two need to stop fighting," Linda told them sternly, narrowing her eyes at the both of them.

"I don't know what's going on, but Phineas didn't really do anything," Isabella said quietly, looking quite frightened when Ferb turned a glare onto her. After a moment of staring at him with wide eyes, the girl seemed to draw herself up and return the glare, as if to say, 'it's true, so don't get bitchy at me!'

"You know what, Phineas was right," Linda sighed, shaking her head. "It is about time you two had separate bedrooms. Being around each other all the time must be frustrating."

Ferb struggled for breath, feeling like he'd been punched in the gut. He managed a broken sounding "what?" and turned to look back at Phineas, who was studiously avoiding eye contact now.

"I moved into Candace's old room," the redhead explained, sounding a little ashamed. "I thought we needed a break from each other." There was a pause, and he finally looked up, narrowing his eyes. "You know, before our feelings towards each other start to change."

"I don't think it'll go that far, Phineas," Linda laughed, completely oblivious. "You two would never hate each other."

Ignoring the urge to facepalm at the woman's words, Ferb glanced behind him at Candace, who just shrugged apologetically, looking at a loss. He turned forward again, looking at his brother, starting to feel the dreaded stinging feeling behind his eyes that foretold tears. He really didn't want to cry at that moment, he'd much prefer to get it all out when he was alone, or at the very least with Buford. When he next spoke, his voice gave away his emotional state quite easily, which frustrated him to no end. "Why?"

He quite clearly saw the way Phineas winced and looked ashamed, and those blue eyes focused on the floor. His voice was quiet, as if he weren't really angry anymore, just wanting to leave and have some time alone. "I guess people just get tired and... weird around each other sometimes."

"That's enough now, both of you," Linda cut in, frowning at them both. She probably suspected something more was going on than she had originally thought, what with Ferb looking like he was about to cry and Phineas looking like he'd murdered a puppy. "Dinner is in half an hour. Isabella, I think it'd be best if you went home."

"Of course," the raven-haired girl stood and started to collect her things.

Linda left the room and Ferb turned to look at Phineas, who wouldn't meet his eyes. Feeling something akin to rage, the green-haired teen barked the boy's name and waited until he looked up. When he did, the older of the two glared at him. "Fuck you."

Ferb turned and pushed past Candace- gently, of course- leaving the room before he really lost it. He wasn't quite sure if he'd end up crying or hitting something (probably Phineas) but it didn't really matter anymore. "Phineas, what the hell?" he heard Isabella say clearly as he left. Candace caught his elbow just as he reached the front door, looking worried and upset.

"Are you okay?"

"Just dandy," he was tempted to snarl, but forced himself to be civil with her. After all, she hadn't done anything bad to him. And he was a gentleman at heart, his basic morals screamed at him to be polite to a pregnant woman, especially his older sister.

"Ferb, I'm sorry," Candace's lips turned downwards.

He pulled his arm from her grip as gently as he could and pushed the front door open. "Aren't we all?"

OoO

He'd taken his motorbike to Buford's house, knowing the brunet was probably busy with his psychiatrist or whatever, but not really caring. He could wait as long as he needed to, just as long as he got to vent the entire story to his friend at some point.

He was surprised when he stepped up to the front door and it opened before he had a chance to knock. Buford stood on the other side, looking just as surprised to see him, before his face broke out in a smile. "I was just going to go find you."

"Funny that, I was just coming to find your mother," Ferb joked, earning a punch to the shoulder for his efforts.

"Please, you know you're here for me," Buford grinned, before taking on a more serious tone. "So what's up?"

"I..." he hesitated, not wanting to talk about it in the open, but not really wanting to go inside either. Instead, he suggested their little hidey-hole they'd been frequenting a lot lately. "Diner?"

"Sure," Buford shot him a smile before going to the garage to get his bike. The ride there was long and peaceful, with no traffic to speak of, just the kind of thing Ferb needed to prepare himself to spill everything that had just happened. He was a private person by nature and he wasn't used to sharing everything with someone else other than Phineas.

When they sat down opposite each other in their usual booth at the diner, Buford let out a laugh and shook his head. "You know, we're starting to turn into girls."

"How so?" Ferb asked, the corners of his mouth turning up. The brunet always started these things off with a few jokes, and it always worked in getting the green-haired teen to loosen up.

"What with our little catch up gossip sessions all the time," the bully snickered.

"If that were true," Ferb smirked, "we'd be talking about boys all the time."

There was a pause and they both cracked up laughing, because the fact of the matter was- they always came here to discuss either Baljeet or Phineas. Maybe they were turning into girls.

They ordered two coffees and sat stirring them for a while, both avoiding bringing up the subject of why they were there. Obviously both of them wanted to get something off their chests, and Ferb didn't really want to go first. So after he took a sip of his coffee, he locked eyes with Buford and nodded slightly. "So, what's up?"

"Why don't you go first?" the bully offered, seeming a little uncomfortable. "We always get distracted by my shit and never end up talking about your problems."

"Don't be an idiot," Ferb admonished, although it was pretty much true. Well, he didn't really mind. Helping Buford with his dramas helped Ferb forget his own. "Just tell me already."

"Fine, fine," Buford glanced down at the booth table and stayed silent for a long time. Eventually he took a deep breath and looked up, making eye contact with Ferb, who was seriously starting to get curious. "Well, uhm... Baljeet's coming back."

OoO

DUN DUN DUN DUN!

YAY BALJEET! Anyone else super excited for his return? I am. So very, very excited.

And thumbs down for Phineas' bitchy attitude. I know it seems out of the blue, but don't worry, that'll be explained later on.

Review? Reviewers get chocolate wafers. CHOCOLATE WAFERS!