Author's Note: This is going to be a fairly short chapter, and one which highlights some of Candace and Ferb's flaws and gives them a chance to really talk to each other. Ferb is probably more talkative here than he's ever been before or will be since in this story, but it was necessary for plot purposes since Candace and Ferb aren't as natural at non-vocal communication as Phineas and Ferb are and Isabella and Ferb will be. Not to mention that the sibling dynamic between these two really deserves a chapter of its own, since it's an important yet underrated relationship (Candace and Isabella are the worst offenders when it comes to only talking to Phineas and ignoring his brother in the show, and although in Candace's case that's actually kinda shippy for her and Phineas it's still nice to get her and Ferb to talk every once in a while.)

Maybe this is not a very inspiring author's note. I guess that's because it's not an incredibly moving chapter either, but it still matters to the general course of the story so don't skip it. Please read and review!

It had happened. Her brother had broken up with her.

Candace supposed she really should have seen it coming – the uneasiness, the discomfort, the way they'd been growing apart over the last few days… and frankly, hadn't she all but convinced herself that this was for the best? Dating her brother, as fun as it had been, was insane. She simply couldn't be with Phineas in a romantic fashion. That's what she had thought the first time the matter came up – was that really only three weeks ago? – and that was what she knew now. He may have drawn her in with his dorky charms, but… it had to stop. And now he himself had brought a stop to it.

So why was she feeling so sad? Why had she argued against him, as if a tiny part of her didn't want them to break up? If… if her relationship with Phineas was so impossible, so unsalvageable… why hadn't she embraced its end?

It didn't matter, not anymore, not right now. They had parted on harsh terms, Phineas' words had hurt her, and she had clearly hurt him. She hadn't meant to spill the beans about Isabella's crush, it had just… slipped out somewhere. But seriously, she knew Phineas didn't like secrets, and that he would feel betrayed. If his sister had been keeping something so important from him, of course he would freak out. But then there was the other thing, which seemed to have hurt him as much as the crush thing did.

The reason Ferb was staring at her at this very moment.

Her busting.

Candace tried to avoid her stepbrother's looks, but eventually his eyes boring into her skin couldn't be avoided forever. "Okay, so I try to get you guys in trouble sometimes. It's not like you haven't done anything to deserve it, and the stuff you build is really dangerous. But hey, our relationship was dangerous too, and at least that's over now. I don't know what I was thinking to agree to it in the first place… it could never have worked out, no matter how much Phineas would have wanted it to…"

Ferb blinked at her.

"What? Is this still about me trying to bust you guys? Okay, so maybe I tend to overreact to your projects, and some of them are harmless and fun I suppose, but I just can't stand seeing you being so much better than me at everything, and maybe I should have just told Phineas that rather than let him storm away in the assumption that I only ever had his worst interests at heart and such…"

Ferb blinked again, and Candace groaned. "Oh, come on! I know your tricks, Fletcher, and you're not going to guilt-trip me by blinking. Maybe what I do isn't always right, but it's not like you're always so perfect either."

Ferb blinked for the third time, leading to an annoyed sigh from his sister. "Ferb, if you really want to tell me something, you've got to stop blinking and start talking. Phineas might be able to distinguish between the blinks for 'you've got a bit of leftover food on your cheek' and 'your clothes are on fire', but I'm not." She frowned. "Are my clothes on fire?"

The greenhead chuckled mildly and shook his head. "No, and you're wrong on two other accounts as well. One, we never try to be better than you or build dangerous things or do anything to give you legitimate reason to bust us, and two, your relationship with Phineas was not as one-sided as you just presented it as."

Candace frowned. "What do you mean, not one-sided? Phineas' feelings towards me were totally one-sided! I mean, sure, I accommodated him and he was a great friend, but that doesn't mean that there was ever true romance in play from my side. And if you guys don't try to be better than me, then why is that always what ends up happening? Why do you always outdo me at everything, and drive me crazy! And you… you don't even care! Phineas has an excuse because he's so freaking blind, but you know Mom wouldn't like what you get up to, you know how much pain I go through every week, every day when it's summer, but you don't tell Mom and Dad, you don't help me, you don't tell Phineas anything… you can't stay in the shadows forever, Ferb! Not only is that bad for you personally, it's hurting the people around you!"

She had no idea whether her rant had gotten through to her brother just from the expression on his face alone – it was Ferb, after all – but then he nodded. "You have a point, Candace. I have been too passive. I notice what's going on around me, but I don't speak up unless anyone does something which might directly affect the status quo – such as Phineas subconsciously acting on his crush on you, or, hypothetically, you busting either of us. I guess I'm more like Phineas than one might think in that regard. As for why I never helped nor hindered you, I figured that your chances of success, truth be told, were low, and that informing Phineas would only make things worse. You can't tell me I was wrong there. I didn't act because I was concerned people might end up hurt if I did, and I stick by that thought."

Candace sighed. "But what about me, Ferb?" she murmured, suddenly feeling rather depressed. Could it be an after-effect of her break-up? "I got hurt emotionally so many times in the process of trying to bust you, it made me feel like the world's worst failure. Sure, maybe I shouldn't have done all that, but I… I just don't understand… I can't deal with it that you're always the better siblings and no one takes me seriously, they think I'm just some neurotic, good-for-nothing loser sister who's probably paranoid or hates her brothers or whatever, and… and…"

She was cut off by Ferb walking over to her and putting an arm around her shoulder. It was strange to see him do that with that emotionless expression still on his face – and frankly, it kind of made her miss that closeness with Phineas – but she appreciated the gesture and smiled at him. "Thanks, bro."

He patted her shoulder, the 'you're welcome' implicit but clear.

"I don't know what to do, Ferb" she said softly. "I don't know what to think. About you guys, and me, and what you can and should do… you think I should talk to someone about that?"

Ferb gestured towards the exit, and Candace squinted. "You mean, I should talk to Phineas?" He nodded. "Wow, got that one right. But that wouldn't help anyway, would it? He just doesn't get negative emotions. Considering it took him all this time to figure out that I was trying to bust you guys…" She shook her head. "Ugh, why is it that a guy who can build so many impossible things can be so stupid?!"

Her brother contemplated that for a moment. "Maybe he isn't stupid" he finally concluded. "Maybe he's just not letting negative thoughts distract him from what really counts. Yes, he now knows you were trying to bust us, but in the end you'll still be siblings, you'll just be going through a rough patch. And if the end results would be the same, then maybe Phineas' mind has a selective obliviousness that makes him not see those things that would never change the relationships in his life but could temporarily disturb them. And that might mean he's wiser than both of us."

Candace blinked. "Wow, that's… that's deep, Ferb" she muttered. "I guess it even fits. I… I never thought about it like that before. I feel like I've been discovering all these new things about Phineas lately that I'd never realized until now…"

She noticed the grin on her stepbrother's face and blushed fiercely. "And that does not include romantic feelings towards him, because I didn't have those! Sure, I liked him, still do, but in the end he was only my brother to me and Phineas was the one who had the romantic feelings. Maybe I shouldn't have led him on so long, but this way it worked too, I guess."

Ferb smirked. "So you're seriously going to ignore how relaxed and happy he made you? How he comforted you, and how you looked at him sometimes? Candace, your attraction to him might have been less outspoken than Phineas' to you, but it was there. It surprised me too, but you returned your brother's feelings. You shouldn't try to pretend otherwise."

His sister clung to the heater, backed into a corner. "I – that's not true! Sure, I might have thought he was cute once or twice, but that's just physical appearance and sibling love… I never once told him I loved him in that way, because I couldn't do it! I mean, because it wasn't true!" Ferb's gaze remained unflinching, and she tried to look anywhere but at him. What was this? Why was Ferb doing this? She had been doing such a great job at convincing herself to put all this behind her and now he was trying to convince her that she couldn't forget those weeks, that she had feelings for Phineas…

…but even if she did, they could go away on their own. She had had feelings for Jeremy, hadn't she? Strong ones, in fact. And yet, she hadn't had any heartache anymore over the past three or four weeks. Ignoring the source of those feelings' disappearance, Candace contently concluded that feelings could disappear, and that meant that even if she felt something towards her little brother right now that would be inconsequential in the long run as long as she convinced herself that this could never be. She told Ferb, who was giving her an inquisitive look, as much.

He wasn't convinced, but eventually shook his head. "Fine. But you can't avoid him the way you've been avoiding Jeremy, because there is one big difference – he's your brother, and unless you intend to move out in a matter of months you'll have to work things out."

And as her stepbrother, too, left the clothes room, paused in the toilet to get some water from the sink for his sore throat and then headed for the exit, Candace found she had no answer to that.