A/N – Inspired by a musical moment in the new episode, "Troy Story." Everyone belongs to Dan & Swampy. Ferbnessa Forever!
Music to Her Ears
"Finally!" Vanessa Doofenshmirtz muttered to herself as her little rosewood sedan zipped past the Danville City Limits sign. The drive from Ackerton had felt especially long this morning. Spring semester at the University had ended yesterday, and she had packed up for a quick weekend visit to her hometown. Dad had flapped around some about her not spending the entire three month break there, but Vanessa had a job she actually liked at the Olson's Supermarket pharmacy counter in Ackerton, not to mention the glorious solitude of the bungalow she was renting near the campus. Danville was still 'home' – but this bird had flown the nest, and bunking at Dad's – or Mom's – was something she could tolerate only in small doses these days.
Her foot attacked the accelerator as she merged onto the westbound lanes of the Tri-State Freeway. She could see the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building looming downtown, but she wasn't heading there. She wasn't even heading for her mother's elegant hillside home. There was someone else who was her top priority now, as he had been since their first date last Thanksgiving, and her soaring spirits blossomed into a smile as she turned the corner onto Maple Drive.
Not surprisingly, something was going on in the Flynn-Fletcher back yard. A craggy stone turret resembling the ruins of a medieval castle loomed over the suburban house, and as Vanessa pulled into the driveway, she spied over the fence a banner emblazoned with the words HIGHLAND GAMES. She could hear the sounds of cheering and revelry and over all that, a piercing wail that suggested the strangling of a goat. Ugh, bagpipes? Vanessa rolled her eyes as she bravely stepped out of the car. Well, she supposed they were a requirement at any respectable Highland Games, but that didn't make them any less annoying. The noise always reminded her of her father's feud with a bagpipe-playing neighbor when she was sixteen, the incessant racket of the instrument, and even worse, the incessant racket of Dad's griping about it.
Walking through the gate, she took a quick survey of the grounds. A lot of familiar faces were still coming around for these famous Ferb and Phineas get-togethers. Buford appeared to be going for a world record at the caber toss. Phineas and Isabella were engaged in a Highland Fling. And Baljeet was pestering Ginger to taste some haggis that probably had curry in it. Vanessa skimmed over these sights, seeking out a certain sweet, square-nosed face.
Without warning, her heart leapt, sending a surge of warmth from her cheeks to her toes. Before her stood a towering pillar of Scottish manhood, resplendent in the full regalia of the Clan Fletcher. The green-haired laddie in the kilts cradled his pipes under one arm, his skillful lips and nimble fingers coaxing from the instrument a lively tune that made her feet tingle. Ferb's eyes met hers and he fumbled a note or two as she saw that dazed, dreamy look wash over him, but he swiftly regained himself and dropped his sweetheart a beguiling wink. Delighted, Vanessa blew him a kiss as she skipped across the lawn to meet him.
Surely, she thought, there was no more enchanting music in the world than that of the bagpipes.
THE END
A/N – "Bagpipe solo!" As soon as we saw Ferb in his kilts in last night's "Troy Story," I thought, oh, there's an inspiration for a Ferbnessa moment if ever I've seen one!