A/N: Hey! Huge thanks to FrostyJudge, jolleIQ, Galaxina-the-Seedrian, MarieFlynn, Yma, MysteryPerson1234 and my No. 1 Reader (I love you for everything :3) for the reviews. You guys are amazing!
This one is based on a prompt from FrostyJudge, hope you all enjoy!
I don't own Phineas and Ferb.

At an inhumanly late hour, someone finally came up with the suggestion of going to sleep. Isabella welcomed the proposal with gratitude (after all, sleepover had sleep in the name), even though she was too tired to comprehend who had said it.

The gang walked outside, to the backyard; they were dragging their feet, rubbing their faces and yawning. Everyone basically threw their sleeping bags wherever and crawled into them, exhausted after the whole day (and a half of the night).

Only when she lay down, wrapped up in the soft material, did she feel her tiredness. All parts of her body seemed to be thanking her for finally resting. She lay on her back and noticed the clear, starry, night sky above her. She held her breath in awe and gathered all her strength not to fall asleep.

Everyone seemed to have already passed out, and yet she couldn't take her eyes off the deep, dark space. It was stunning yet intimidating at the same time. She admired the sight, feeling very, very small.

The silence suddenly hit her. She could barely hear even the breaths of her friends over the quiet rustle of the leaves. In the streets there were no cars; not even a single person crossed the road.

Isabella decided to close her eyes for just a while, and indulged in the peace and quiet. She sharpened all her senses and breathed in. She could still feel the warmth radiating from the ground on that August night, but the chilly air was already announcing the imminent arrival of fall. A gentle breeze blew a strand of hair off her face, causing her to shiver. Another summer was coming to an end...

Isabella opened her eyes and looked around. Everyone was asleep, who knows what was going on in their dreams at the moment... Everyone? No. A couple of meters away, she noticed two tiny reflections of light in Phineas' eyes. His calm gaze was fixed on the sky. Phineas was hardly ever so calm. What was he possibly thinking about when he thought nobody was looking?

The tiny lights twitched. Did he notice her? For a while, there was nothing but perfect silence.

"Isabella?" She heard a whisper. "You're not asleep?"

"No," she replied even quieter. "Just watching the sky."

Another while of silence.

"Come over here then. It'll be better together."

"Sure."

He smiled as he heard Isabella crawling ungracefully towards him in her sleeping bag. Finally, she lay next to him with a sigh.

They fell silent and let the wonderful sight do the rest. The starry sky was creating an indescribable atmosphere, which they both interpreted differently.

Isabella was looking up, aware that Phineas was lying right next to her. They had the whole night to lie there and admire the stars. It was one of those moments when time should simply stop, for the sake of these two people who couldn't get enough of each other and wanted to fully savor their moment together. Who would grasp these minutes and hide them on the bottom of the deepest drawer, just to relive them over and over again, if they were able to. Both that awareness and these thoughts were enough to make her aflutter, she didn't even have to look at him. Besides, if she did, her face would be just inches away from his... within the reach of her hand... She desired to hug him, feel him close, and breathe to the rhythm of his deep, steady breaths. It was better to be cautious.

Phineas, meanwhile, observed the stars, feeling a subtle warmth inside, now that Isabella was near. With the rest of the gang asleep, it was as though it were just the two of them. He glanced at her, turning his head just a tiny bit, so that she wouldn't notice. The stars were reflected in her open eyes, the pale moonlight was falling upon her skin; she made an even more wonderful sight than usual. Her chest was slowly rising and falling, but her breath was so quiet that he couldn't hear it, as if she didn't want to break the perfect silence of the night. If he wanted, he could reach out his hand and slide it across her cheek. Maybe it would leave a pleasant, tingly feeling on her skin...? However, before he made up his mind, she moved slightly and their eyes met.

She blinked a couple of times.

"Hi," she mumbled sheepishly, as if they hadn't been lying next to each other for the last half-hour.

"Hey." He smiled, and they faced the sky again. "It sure deserves the admiration it gets..." he whispered.

"Yes... It's hypnotizing," she admitted. "But also... kinda terrifying."

"Why?"

"Just think... We're literally gazing into a dark, undiscovered space. Into infinity."

"Oh, I get it." Their voices still weren't louder than the rustle of the oak tree's leaves in the backyard.

Isabella brushed her hand through her loose, ruffled hair slowly, and crawled deeper into her sleeping bag.

"It's not so scary and undiscovered, though," he added after a while. "Would you like to listen?"

"Of course," she replied. That sleepy feeling abandoned her temporarily.

"For example..." He looked around the sky. "There. See? Those five stars. That's Lyra."

Isabella's gaze followed the dark silhouette of his arm and spotted the constellation.

"The largest star, that one over there..." he continued, "is Vega. It's forty times brighter than the Sun."

"Really?" she said, amazed. "It must be so far away... Many light years..."

"Uh-huh. Twenty-five, to be specific..."

"Whoa. And the Sun is... eight 'light minutes' away."

"That's right," he said with approval. Not that he was underestimating her, he was just positively surprised that there was someone else who remembered such details. Others might think it was boring, but he always found these details fascinating.

He discreetly peered over at her again. She was looking at the sky attentively; her eyes slightly closed, her brows furrowed, as if she were wondering about something. A weak gust of wind messed up her raven hair. He suddenly longed to run his fingers through it; so softly that she wouldn't be able to tell whether it was him or just another puff of the wind...

He fought the urge, again.

"Where did its name come from?" she asked suddenly.

"Which one? Vega or Lyra?"

"Lyra."

"Okay, so... There was that myth about Orpheus and Eurydice," he started.

"Oh, right." She nodded. "He received it from Apollo... He was so gifted that his music had an ability to enchant all living creatures..."

"And even trees, stones, et cetera," he finished. "You remember it really well, maybe I won't weary you by telling the entire story."

"No, no, go on," she encouraged him. Of course she knew the myth; in every detail, to be perfectly honest. But she wanted to listen to him anyway.

"All right. So, Orpheus and Eurydice were a married couple, as you know. Unlike many marriages in the mythology, a happy one, might I add. Do you remember what the problem was?" he asked.

"Uh-huh. Eurydice was so charming that nobody could help falling in love with her..." Isabella replied, at which Phineas smiled slightly. He was glad he could have a light conversation with her, on a topic that some people might consider boring. It was the best thing about her - she was his companion for anything.

"Yes. That's exactly what happened to Aristaeus, Apollo's son. He didn't know Eurydice was Orpheus' wife... He saw her once, and started chasing her; some say it was an attack though," Phineas kept talking.

Isabella glanced at him, watching him gesticulate as he went on with the story. His gaze was focused on the sky, presumably Lyra. She loved it when he was talking about things that fascinated him. Especially now, late at night, his voice was becoming calm, quiet, and soothing. Not soporific though - there was a specific vibrance in his whole behaviour as he spoke. He always made contact with his listener, and he was able to go on and on about the topic he was familiar and comfortable with. She could listen to him for hours...

"And then... Remember?" he asked.

Isabella turned her sight to Lyra too. "She stepped on a snake... It bit her and she died."

"Exactly. Not being able to find his wife, Orpheus was really miserable and distressed. He looked for her literally everywhere."

"It's... romantic." Isabella stifled a yawn. What time could it be?

"Wait for what he did next," said Phineas, forgetting for a while she knew the story perfectly. "He went down to the Underworld and started playing the lyre."

"Even the Furies were moved..." Isabella added.

"They were crying. Just imagine how sad a song it must have been..." he said in wonder.

"Oh my goodness."

"Yes. So anyway, Hades let him take Eurydice back, but there was one condition." He turned to her, as if asking a question.

"He couldn't look behind himself on the way out," she said sadly, remembering the next part.

"Uh-huh. And as he was about to get out, he felt a sudden need to take a look at Eurydice." He fell silent, seemingly deep in thought. Isabella peered over at him, in curiosity.

"I've always felt kinda sorry for him, you know," he finally said.

"You mean...?" Isabella didn't understand what he had in mind.

"After all that time, it must have been extremely hard for him not to glance at her once in a while... He must have been so happy he found her!" explained Phineas.

"Yeah, it was really cruel..." Isabella admitted. "Maybe Hades just knew Orpheus wouldn't be able to keep himself?" She glanced at him.

"What I'm trying to say is, how could anyone forbid you from looking at the person you love?" Phineas said, and their eyes met.

They gazed at each other for a couple of seconds. The gesture was so obvious, so meaningful, yet too subtle to cause any further thoughts.

Isabella broke the silence. "Tell me how it ended."

"Not very happily... Orpheus spent the rest of his life just wandering around and singing sad songs. There are a couple of versions of the myth explaining how he died. Either way, after his death, the muses placed the lyre in the sky."

They both turned their gaze to the constellation again, unknowingly sharing the same thoughts. There wasn't another moment throughout the night when they wanted just to take each other's hand and feel the warmth more than now.

"Thank you for the story, Phineas," Isabella said, her voice almost inaudible.

"My pleasure," he replied. "Is it less scary, now when you know something about it?"

He was smiling; she couldn't exactly see it, yet she heard it in the tone of his voice.

"Uh-huh, definitely." She smiled as well. Of course - it was less scary ever since she had him beside her; but now even less so.

She closed her eyes, promising to herself it was just for a moment.

Meanwhile, Phineas was having an intense internal discussion with himself. He's been struggling with resisting the desire to stroke Isabella's hair or cheek, or grab her hand ever since she had lain down beside him. It was this special, intimate atmosphere, that made him feel she might actually not mind. Weird things tend to happen to people at night...

He finally turned to lie on his side and took a breath to ask her something; only to notice she finally fell asleep. His heart melted instantly - she looked so innocent and defenseless... Her eyes were closed, a couple of strands of hair seemed to be tickling her face. Her breaths were steady, even and calm.

Phineas involuntarily reached out his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling. Not being able to help it, he brushed his thumb against her cheek gently. It was such a pleasant feeling. Her skin was soft and warm...

Phineas knew he would be in a very difficult situation if she woke up now; and yet, he kept stroking her cheek slowly, wishing he had the courage to do it when she was awake.

He scooted closer to her, wanting to give her a quick peck on the forehead. However, he stopped when he was just an inch away, as a sudden thought occurred to him. What if she didn't like it? He shouldn't just use the fact she was unconscious to do whatever he wanted... Besides, if he was ever to kiss her, he wanted her to know. He wanted to see her reaction. Her look as he would lean in, her first words after he would kiss her... Reluctantly, he moved back to his previous position.

He touched her cheek just once more, intending to remember this adorable feeling. Her mouth curved into a slight smile this time, making him instantly take his hand back. She sighed silently in her sleep.

Phineas gradually felt exhaustion take over. He took one last look at Isabella before closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, Isabella," he mumbled, not caring she couldn't hear it. "We should do this more often."

Thanks for reading and please review!
ElleFreak is out, peace!