Day eleven of MerMay prompt month.

I'm so proud of myself for posting this daily!

Friend - Ferb

Ferb sighed, leaning against the wall next to the sliding door, unseen from the yard. Phineas was so different, so clingy, and Ferb needed a moment. He wasn't used to all of this touching, but if he could take a breather, he thought he could probably withstand it until he left that evening.

"Oh, Ferb honey," his mom said sadly, watching him from her spot at the counter where she was slicing fruit. "I'm sorry about Phineas."

Ferb shook his head, silently telling her it was fine, but didn't move otherwise. If he moved, his brother might see him, which would completely defeat the purpose of his hiding.

Linda sighed, placing the knife down and bracing both hands against the counter. "It's not okay, but there's not much we can do right now." She looked up at him, catching his ocean blue eyes. "His therapy has been helping, but it might take a bit for him to acclimate to you being here. I've got him an appointment for tomorrow. That should help a lot."

Ferb's eyes narrowed slightly in thought. "I knew he was in therapy, but what does that have to do with me being home?"

She smiled, again looking more sad than happy. "He… he kind of fell off the deep end when you left, but I—" she cut herself off. "—we didn't notice how bad it was getting until, well…" She shook her head before moving on. "Anyway, he had become obsessed with you not being here."

Ferb didn't fully understand, but he got the idea of it. "And my return has caused a setback."

Linda hurried over to him, her hands holding his cheeks. "We are all so happy you are home. Never doubt that. We have missed you so much."

Ferb felt warmth rise inside him. This was the motherly comfort he had yearned for but never got (or expected to get) from Meris. He put his hands over hers, still on his cheeks. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be. This is my home, and I'm not planning to leave again," he reassured her.

Tears fell down his mom's cheeks and she nodded, sniffing and blinking. She backed away, grabbing a napkin from the stack to dry her eyes before returning to cutting up fruit.

Ferb looked back outside where Phineas was setting up a banner. "I'm sad that my presence has caused him to become less stable, but it's better that it happen now rather than later."

Linda chucked wetly. "Agreed." She wiped at her eyes once more before giving him a wry smile. "If you are looking for something to do that still gives you some time, your dad would probably like some help with the smoker."

Ferb grinned and headed off towards the garage.

His gaze followed Isabella as she flounced through the sliding door. Turning to Phineas, Ferb raised an eyebrow. "What… was that about?"

His shoulders rose as if Phineas was trying to hide away like a turtle. "I… I haven't always been a very good friend to Isabella…"

Curious, Ferb nudged him to continue.

Phineas shuffled in place, a tell he had always had when he was either going to say something he found uncomfortable, or he desperately needed to get his hands on some tools. "I just… Can we just leave it?" he pleaded. "I… I don't want to get into this right now."

Ferb blinked, but shrugged his agreement. He wasn't the type anymore to play mediator between two people who may or may not still like each other, not after becoming a go-between for Taron and Deema for so long after their breakup.

Ferb turned to help Phineas with some tables and he wondered, does Isabella still like Phineas? It had been years after all. She didn't act like she used to, so if she did still have a crush on him, she's been doing well with handling it. The old Isabella would never have called Phineas out over something that was bothering her. She would have rather suffered through it until she broke than hurt him in any way.

Buford burst through the gate at that moment, carrying a stack of boxed soda cans. "Bean Pole!" he belted with a grin. "Welcome home, man!"

Ferb raised his eyebrows at the large man—the formerly chubby boy certainly grew into himself. "Hullo Buford," he greeted, shaking his hand after Buford put the soda down on the table the brothers had just set up.

"Dude!" he said in his raspy voice, patting Ferb's shoulder. "Looks like I'm not the only one who works out, eh?" He waggled his eyebrows before elbowing Phineas. "Can't get this pipsqueak to even step foot into a gym."

Phineas playfully scowled. "That is a lie!" he defended himself, folding his arms indignantly. "They just won't let me back in after last time."

Ferb shook his head even as Buford began to chortle, not bothering to ask what had happened. Buford turned to look at him again, eyeing his arms straining against the seams of the button down he was wearing. "Seriously, what do you lift?"

Ferb shrugged. "Sorry Pike, I don't lift. I do more aerobic workouts."

Buford scoffed. "Dude no. Unless you were, like, constantly exercising—arms don't get like that without some good weights going on. You gotta tell me your limit."

Ferb vaguely noticed Phineas's eyes widening, but he raised his chin at Buford. "Tell you what, I'll go with you to the gym sometime this next week and we can figure that out, yeah?"

Buford slapped him on the back. "Good man!" He turned to Phineas. "What else do ya need me to do?"

Ferb made his escape from Katie, who was relentless with hinting for him to ask her out on a date. It wasn't that he didn't find her attractive, but he literally just got back. Dating was so low on his list of things to do that it was practically a non-thought at the moment. He ducked around the back of the tree, leaning against the bark and letting the roughness of it ground him.

The whole afternoon had been a lot of fun. He and Baljeet had gotten into a debate that ended when Buford lifted the tall yet still extremely skinny Indian over his head to the cheers of most of the crowd. Holly and Gretchen booed him for interrupting such an educational discussion but, after dropping Baljeet off with his girlfriend, Buford silenced at least half of the heckling by sweeping Gretchen into a deep kiss.

Ferb had laughed at the unexpected sight, but now he cringed at the memory. That was when Katie had started her pursuit. He had asked her when the expressive couple had gotten together, and she had somehow taken that as him flirting with her.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Phineas and Isabella talking, both of them smiling brightly at each other. Ferb sighed in relief. He had worried that there was something seriously broken between them after Isabella's remark that morning, but it looked like they had reconciled.

However, even as he watched, Ferb saw Phineas's face freeze in panic. Whatever the redhead said because of his agitation, Isabella looked to have found it unnerving. And Phineas was too distracted to notice it, because he just kept talking. And Isabella's eyes kept dimming.

Phineas said one last thing to her, and she nodded absently. Phineas turned away from Isabella, but Ferb could see him cringing as he left her. She, however, stepped around the corner of the house, away from the crowd. He felt something tugging within him to go after her, but just before he stepped out from behind the tree, he glimpsed Katie off to the side and he ducked further back.

Carefully watching until she wasn't looking his way, he dashed around the house. He was worried that Isabella had left, but there she was just sitting in the dirt, eyes staring at nothing in front of her with her glasses having been pushed to the top of her head. He walked closer. "Isabella?" he tentatively spoke, suddenly unsure of himself. They didn't know each other anymore. Could he still even offer her comfort? The odds were high that he'd just make it worse, right?

Isabella glanced up at him, her eyes focusing for a moment before they began to fill with tears. She sniffled and he was suddenly thrown back in time to an unnamed island.

"Hey Ferb," she said, giving him a watery smile. She patted the ground, inviting him to join her.

He sat down, wishing he had remembered to put a handkerchief in his pocket. He had lost that habit years ago, though—there was no point in carrying a square of cloth meant to remove liquid from your face if you are surrounded by water, after all.

He glanced back at the opening, pondering if he should go get her a napkin… but he didn't want to leave her. Instead, he reached over and squeezed her hand. Isabella's head snapped up, her eyes wet and wide as she stared at him. He didn't speak; he simply gave her a half-smile and tried to convey with his eyes that he'll listen when she's ready to talk.

Tears spilled over as she attempted to return his smile and her breath hitched. She shook her head, not ready to say anything, so he gave her hand another squeeze and relaxed back against the siding. Isabella twisted her hand under his until she could squeeze his in return, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder.

He had to remind himself that, before yesterday, they hadn't seen or spoken to each other in five years. And even yesterday they only spent a couple of hours together!

But it was comfortable with Isabella—holding her hand, letting her lean on him, just being together. It was as if the years apart had vanished in an instant.

"Phineas…" she began, her voice soft, and Ferb brought his focus back to the present situation. "He… he said some things that…"

"That what?" he pressed gently when she didn't continue.

Isabella shook her head a little. "I doubt he meant it the way he said it. Something about what I said set him off."

Ferb frowned, thinking back to what he had seen. Something definitely had triggered Phineas, making him overly anxious. "What did you say?" he asked still as gently as he could.

She breathed in, preparing to tell him, but she let the air out in a rush and she lifted her head from his shoulder. He immediately felt the loss. "It was stupid," she whispered self-consciously.

Ferb squeezed her hand again and she glanced over at him, tear tracks drying on her face. "It was not," he said simply. "Please tell me."

Isabella watched him with wide eyes, but he didn't move. He kept his face calm yet curious. He would wait until she was ready to tell him, and even if she didn't, he wouldn't move unless she said to. Minutes passed them by before she relaxed and gave him a soft smile. "Okay," she whispered, leaning back into his side. She took another breath. "I saw something last night, when I went back to the beach."

Ferb's eyes crinkled. "You really do go to the beach a lot, huh?" he teased.

She responded by jabbing her elbow into his stomach and he chuckled. "Do you want me to tell you or not?" she asked firmly, but her eyes were alite with cheer.

He squeezed her hand again, nodding at her to go ahead.

Isabella shifted her head and he felt what just have been the pink earpieces from her glasses rub against his shoulders. "I was sketching something in my book—actually it was the mermaid you told me about," she admitted with a smile. "And I saw… something with almost human looking feet go under the water."

Feb refused to let her feel him stiffen, but he just barely controlled it. Fae! She saw you, you stupid koi fish! "What do you think it was?" he asked, doing his best to keep his voice even.

Isabella snorted. "The only thing that came to mind was that your story about the Mermaid of Zennor influenced my imagination."

Something released in his chest. "Well, that does happen," he murmured.

Isabella huffed a short airy laugh. "I'll bet," she teased.

Ferb frowned a little, thinking back to the start of this conversation. "What did Phineas say when you told him about what you saw?" He complimented himself for sounding so calm.

Isabella's shoulders drooped. "He… he brushed me off. Said it was a dolphin, or just something I imagined." She shook her head. "But I know I didn't. I know I saw something. I have no idea what, but it wasn't a dolphin."

Ferb nodded in agreement—he definitely was not a dolphin. But she didn't know that… and, to his surprise, he had a sudden desire to tell her what she had seen was actually him…

Ignoring that, Ferb thought about Phineas… He was pleased that his brother was trying to keep what he was a secret. However, scoffing at a friend never works out well. But Phineas was always a terrible liar… Poor guy.

He squeezed Isabella's hand one last time. "Phineas… he's having a hard time adjusting to me being home. All day he has been jumpy and a little… off." He turned slightly so he could look into her eyes. "My suggestion would be to talk to him tomorrow after his therapy appointment, after he has a chance to recenter himself."

It will also give me the chance to guide him through some deflection options that won't be so hurtful…

Isabella thought about that, then nodded in agreement. "Okay, that sounds good. It will give me time to not feel so raw about it too." She smiled at him, lifting her head from his shoulder and removing her hand from his. "Now, can you help me find my glasses?"

Ferb's lips twitched and he lifted a hand to her head, knocking down her glasses to her nose. She blinked and her cheeks flushed. "Found them," he quipped as he stood up. She glared, adjusting them properly on her face before accepting his help standing.

Ferb watched as Isabella avoided Phineas for the rest of the party, though she was extremely helpful to him by attaching herself to Katie, thank fae. He did find himself watching her a few times over the next couple of hours, each time thinking back to the urge he had to share his parentage with her.

Honestly, he didn't exactly know why he decided against telling her. He might not know her very well—even as children they didn't really have much to do with each other unless Phineas was around—but he did know she wouldn't do anything bad with the information. Besides, it was kind of an informal secret anyway.

Science was 'unofficially' aware of the fantastical elements in humanities history and the remnants still around today, but they didn't hunt them or anything. No testing, no experiments. There were too many descendants established in the science communities or other powerful political positions for something like that to happen.

It didn't matter anyway. Maybe, if something like this happens again, he'll tell her later. But for now, he'll keep it quiet.

Asrai (Ashray)

English folklore describes the asrai as an aquatic fairy that lives in seas and lakes. They are described as timid and shy, sometimes said to be standing between two and four feet, other times depicted as tall and lithe.

In some tales, the asrai will perish if directly exposed too long to the sun, turning into a puddle of water if they are caught by fishermen. In other tales they describe them as having green hair and either a fishtail or webbed feet.

[Artistic license happening here: this world is a relatively good place with no major conspiracies going on. I mean, come on—the bad guys are L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N! Enough said.]

[Also, some fae posterity are into science or politics for the same reasons as any of us might—because they found it interesting or they wanted to make a difference. Some might be corrupt, or might be working towards their own agenda, just as us humans do, but mainly… the same things we go through, they go through too.]