Day eight of MerMay prompt month.

Let the [slowburn but drama-free] Ferbella begin!

GUYS! I got my first review for this fic! Thanks Queen of the Wallflowers!

Braid - Isabella

Watching the sun rise or set was one of Isabella's favorite things to do on her dock. She could spend hours sitting there: watching the water, watching the sky change, watching the people. But there was something special about the sunrise and sunset. More often than not, she could be found in the wee hours of the morning or the last hours of the evening sitting on her dock post, letting the water splash against her feet as she sketched or wrote stories.

Her dad completely blamed her needing glasses on these activities, but she refused to stop and he knew it.

She usually sat there alone, which was perfectly fine with her. She kind of felt… detached from her old friends. After spending so long caring for Phineas, it made sense that she ended up kind of left behind. Not that they shunned her. It was more like, "Oh yeah, Isabella is here too." But, to be honest, she found she had not minded as much as she expected to.

So many years ago, after finding out about Milly's sleepover that she wasn't invited to (and being mistaken for Katie), Isabella had done some soul-searching on her dock. And she realized she didn't need to be invited to everything to stay friends with all of them. Since she had given up Fireside Girl leadership to Holly, and missing out on more than a few patch earnings, they kind of outgrew her. And she celebrated that with them.

Did it bother her? Of course it did. But that was alright-ish. She had the ocean, her family's new restaurant, and her stories that took up most of her time anyway. She was actually in the process of illustrating and writing a series of short stories based off of some Mayan history. It was a fantastic way to get in touch with her heritage, and she was so excited for it! If she could get it right, she might even be able to publish it as an anthology!

She had finished her version of the tale of the hero twins one evening as she sat on her dock. Once she had put her notebook in her bag, she spent the rest of her time there varying from people watching to scanning the ocean for a hint of jumping dolphins or maybe even a breaching whale. As she sat there, she thought about her life up to that point.

Was it weird for a girl who was such a social butterfly as a pre-teen to become a practical loner at eighteen? She didn't feel like she was weird, but she also didn't know if there was something she should be changing. Her life, as it was at that point, worked for her. She still talked with all of her old friends; maybe not as often as she once had, but often enough that she didn't feel lonely. And it always made her day when she would get a random message from one of them.

No, she wasn't lonely. She was doing great with her life. And now that the rough draft of her story was finished, she could maybe go out on a date. Adyson had been hinting (strongly) that she needed to 'get out there'. She had always had an excuse handy after that disaster of a relationship in junior year with Balthazar Horowitz—the name alone should have tipped her off. But maybe it was time to try dating again.

As if on cue, Isabella noticed someone moving out of the corner of her eye and she turned around to see a man walking up the path that went between the parking lot and the rocky cliffside. He looked to be about her age and she had to admit that what she could see of him, which was mainly his physique at that point, she found attractive. He was too far away, and with the sun setting, the lighting was too poor for her to pick out any specific features. She did take note that he seemed to be carrying a duffle bag, but then he walked around the bend and she turned back to the ocean.

A dolphin flipped and Isabella smiled. Tomorrow was surely to be a great day.

When Isabella went to the seashore again that next morning, the last thing she expected to find was someone she hadn't seen in five years.

At first she wasn't sure if she was seeing him correctly. The green hair was a different shade, but not only that it was in a style she hadn't seen before. It wasn't often one saw braids on a man with short hair.

"Ferb?" she asked cautiously, studying the man in front of her. He turned around and a large smile formed on his face as his eyes lit with recognition. It was Ferb!

Isabella beamed up at him—he was so tall now! "How are you?!" she said happily. "Did you just get back?"

Ferb nodded and she had to suppress a chuckle. He was still so quiet, not voicing his answers unless it was either necessary or he wanted to.

"Great! It is so good to see you!" She raised her gaze, studying his hair. "New hair color?"

He grinned and cocked his head as if to show off his differently colored hair. "Yes, well. It didn't get as much sun as it used to," he answered, his voice low and a little rough.

She wanted to roll her eyes—he was acting like it was naturally green, the goof. She gave him a wry smirk. "I'm surprised to see just you—I didn't think Phineas would let you out of his sight for months when you came home."

He matched her smile. "Well, that might still be the case. They don't yet know I'm here."

Isabella felt her mouth fall open. "They don't know?!" She laughed lightly. "Oh, you better brace yourself then!"

Ferb chuckled softly but didn't respond to that. Instead he asked, "How have you been these last few years?"

Memories from the last few years sped through her mind, but she continued to smile. "Oh, there's so much I wouldn't know where to start. I do have a question for you though."

Ferb teasingly focused all of his attention on her, his eyebrows rising as if waiting to be astounded. Isabella bit her lip to stop the giggle and, adjusting the glasses that had slipped down her nose, gave him a solid glance.

"Why didn't you ever email me?" she asked him.

Ferb hesitated for a moment before turning the question back at her. "Why didn't you?"

She made a face at him, but then her cheeks flushed with guilt—she had barely thought about him the whole time he was gone, and that was usually to complain about Phineas being so different without him.

She glanced away, not answering his question much like he hadn't answered hers. Fair was fair, after all. "Want some breakfast?" she asked him instead, pointing to a nearby restaurant.

Ferb smiled at her, nodding in agreement before his pale cheeks pinked slightly as his stomach made its own audible answer.

As they sat down across from each other, Isabella noticed his odd hairstyle again and she wondered how long his hair actually was… at least on the top of his head. The sides were trimmed pretty short. But the top was in what looked to be a french braid, tied at the back with about an inch of loose hair sticking out of the band.

Ferb had been studying his menu, not noticing her observation, and she quickly glanced through it, picking the first thing that sounded good when the waiter came by. After they ordered she focused all of her attention on his face, her hands steepled in front of her. "So, Mr. Fletcher. Tell me why you are on this side of the Atlantic without alerting your family to your presence?"

Ferb's lips pursed, doing his best to keep from smiling. Good man, considering this was an extremely serious interrogation.

Dang it, Isabella thought, having to bite her own lip as well.

Seeing her struggle was too much for him and Ferb burst out laughing. Which in turn caused her to do the same. This continued until their drinks arrived. Seeing the waiter watch them with wary eyes helped them calm down.

"Seriously though," Isabella said after sipping at her orange juice. "Why haven't you told them you were coming?"

Ferb shrugged. "Honestly, I don't have a good answer," he admitted. "I should have told them I was coming home, but a lot of things ended up happening that I simply forgot."

She raised an eyebrow at him as he sipped his iced tea. "And, what, you couldn't just text them when you landed?"

This time Ferb looked at her ruefully. "I, er… I actually don't have a phone."

Isabella blinked. Twice. Three times. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, what?"

Ferb laughed. "It's true. I don't have a phone. Never got one while I was away. We did most of our family communications through email or online video calls."

She leaned back in the booth, studying him for a moment. He didn't seem to mind at first, then he raised an eyebrow at her. That caused her to turn it into a game, and she continued her perusal. He seemed to notice this, however, and began to return the favor and Isabella felt her cheeks warming.

She looked away, not missing the look of triumph in his eyes at winning their unspoken game. She rolled her eyes at him, which just caused him to chuckle again. "Do you want to use my phone to text your family?" she asked.

Ferb's eyebrows rose as he thought it over. "It's not a long walk, is it?"

Isabella watched him warily. "About a half an hour," she answered slowly.

He frowned. "Huh… I thought it was closer…"

She reached across the table, placing her hand over his. He glanced up at her startled. "Ferb," she began seriously. "You have been gone for five years. There have been a few changes in just the layout between our neighborhood and the beach, let alone the rest of the city." She released him and sat back. "I can't stop you, but I would ask that you really consider calling for a ride."

Ferb watched her, wide-eyed. He nodded slowly in understanding. "After breakfast then," he said with a grin. "If I can still use your phone, that is."

Isabella smiled back. "Of course."

His head tilted, and Isabella noticed his hair was still well braided. Not even a wiggle with the movement. "How are you getting home?"

She blinked, tearing her gaze away from his hair to focus on his eyes. "Huh? Oh, I'm not. My parents opened a restaurant about three years ago and, during the summers, I work lunch and dinners there."

One of Ferb's eyebrows raised. "Is that where you got your tan?" he teased.

She laughed. "No, I usually spend time around here everyday. It's nice." Isabella noticed his furrowed brow and spoke before he could. "And, before you ask, I ride my bike here from home." She stuck her tongue out at him.

At this point their food arrived, and Isabella found her eyes caught back on Ferb's hair. This time, though, he noticed. "Did a seagull poop on my head?" he asked, mostly lighthearted.

Instantly Isabella tore her eyes away. "Nope!" she blurted. She shook her head. "No, nothing like that," she repeated in a calmer tone, adjusting her glasses. "Sorry, I was just looking at the braid…" He simply looked at her, silently requesting she explain. "It's nothing. I just found it different. Really cool, but different."

"Oh?" Ferb looked surprised at her attention to his hair. "It's quite a common style in Cornwall."

"Can you tell me more about Cornwall?" she asked, taking a bite of her pancakes.

Elf

An elf is a type of humanoid beings from Gremanic mythology. They are generally thought of as having magical powers and supernatural beauty, and vaguely apathetic towards humans.

For many centuries, and in many countries, elves varied in size and appearance, such as in the story The Shoemaker and the Elves or the tales of Santa's elven helpers. They returned to being thought of as humanoid in both size and appearance with stories such as The Lord of the Rings.

[To picture Ferb's hair, think Sokka from Avatar, but braided. It doesn't continue down the back of his head, instead being tied at the crown. If you want an actual image to view, do a search for Short Man Braid and ignore all of the cornrow braids that will come up. The image I used for myself is actually in not too far down the list—look for a man with lighter hair.]