Minor warning for slight mentions of child neglect and everything you'd expect with Dr. Doofenshmirtz's parents
It was a well-known fact that Heinz Doofenshmirtz didn't have many friends.
He had his daughter, Vanessa, and his nemesis, Perry the Platypus. He supposed he also had his brother, though his relationship with Roger was strained to say the least.
Being generous, there were three people in this world that he could confidently say he cared about.
It wasn't even that he didn't care about anyone else - it was that no one else seemed to care about him.
Maybe he was being unfair. After all, Heinz wasn't exactly the type of person who made friends easily, though it wasn't for lack of trying.
So. Three people. Well, there was Norm, too.
Heinz could relate to Norm. Not in the whole being a robot thing, but in wanting a father.
He sighed, putting down his tools and going into the kitchen. He wouldn't be getting any work done while pondering.
The problem was that he didn't know how to be a father. He tried his best with Vanessa, but he had no clue what he was doing. Somehow she was turning out to be a good person, even with his lack of knowledge and confidence.
If Heinz was being honest with himself, he was probably just in denial over having another child to take care of. He didn't trust himself enough with the responsibility.
Was that how his father had felt? Did he not know how to handle his children, or did he just not love them enough? Maybe it was a mix of both. He'd probably never know.
Norm joined him in the kitchen and started making muffins.
Heinz peered into the fridge, not really looking. He pulled out the ingredients for doonkleberry pie and got to work.
He thought back to that morning, where he'd once again denied Norm being his son. He'd sounded just like his father.
After he had failed to jump off the diving board, after Only Son came home, every time Roger beat him in sports - he'd always been ignored.
Heinz could remember exactly one time his father had praised him. He'd gotten a better grade than Roger in science - the only thing he'd always excelled in.
"Good job," he'd said.
Of course, shortly after, he'd lamented that he couldn't have the same knack for sports, or something more manly. Still, it was approval all the same, and he'd treasured those words for years.
He'd noticed how Vanessa had taken to calling Norm her brother. He really had been part of the family for a while, aside from Heinz's denial.
He was turning into his father, wasn't he?
There was a difference between good evil and bad evil.
Heinz put the half-finished pie to the side and turned to Norm.
"Say, how'd you like to go play a game of catch?"
His eternal smile seemed to grow a bit happier.
"I'd like that, Dad."
Heinz Doofenshmirtz didn't have many friends, but he could confidently say that he cared about four people.