The sun was beginning to sink below the trees, and Perry chattered to get Heinz's attention. The boy was fully focused on rebuilding the Inator, and had gotten pretty far from what Perry could tell, but he looked up at the noise.

Heinz looked around, as though only just realizing how late it had gotten. "I..." he started, then swallowed. "I'd rather not go home tonight if it's all the same to you." The boy smiled at Perry, but the expression was sharp and fragile around the edges.

Perry chattered in agreement and curled up under the ladder. Heinz kept reassembling the machine, but it quickly became too dark to see and he was forced to stop working. The boy reluctantly descended the ladder and joined Perry on the ground under the half-finished device.

After a moment, Heinz said, "Sometimes the woods feel more like home than home does." He was idly scratching something in the dirt, and Perry crept closer, though it was impossible to see. "I did live out here for a year, you know? With the ocelots. They're long gone, of course, somehow found their way onto a ship back to South America. But it still feels freer out here." The boy sighed and laid down.

It was a new moon, and Perry could barely see the silhouette of the boy's face by the starlight. Heinz always seemed to talk about himself more in the dark. Perry wondered when he would get to the point where he could monologue about his backstories in broad daylight, make light of them to someone who he was supposed to hate. This boy certainly wasn't there yet.

Perry curled up into Heinz's side, and they lay there in silence for a while. This was nice. It was comfortable. But Perry was worried about his growing attachment to his nemesis' past self. The boy was just so easy for him to like, which would make it all the harder when Perry had to leave.

Which he did. He did have to leave. He had to get back to his own time and protect the tristate area. He had to be there for his boys. And his nemesis.

How was Doofenshmirtz taking his absence? He had no way of knowing when he'd arrive back in the future. It could be moments from when he left. It could be years. And Doofenshmirtz was far too unstable to be left alone for so long. After all, part of Perry's job was to keep Doofenshmirtz from escalating. If the man believed that he had somehow gotten rid of his nemesis for good, Doofenshmirtz would fully blame himself. Whether he'd ramp up the evil or fade into depression was anyone's guess, but neither option was really an option to Perry. So he had to get back and take care of his Doofenshmirtz.

The problem, though, was that Perry was starting to think of Heinz as his Doofenshmirtz as well. Heinz needed him, almost more than his future counterpart did, and it would tear him apart if Perry left.

When. When Perry left.

This wasn't a question. He had to get back to his own time, even if it broke Heinz's spirit in the process.

Perry scooted closer to Heinz, shivering. The boy pulled him close and began to pet him, reminding him of all the times that Phineas and Ferb had done the same.

No, Perry didn't have a choice. But he knew leaving was going to break both of their hearts.

.:.:.

Herr Schnabltier seemed rather affectionate tonight. Heinz would never deprive someone he called a friend of something that they needed. So when the platypus scooted closer, Heinz pulled him to his chest and began to stroke him.

The platypus relaxed instantly. Though the night was too dark for Heinz to see his friend clearly, it felt like Herr Schnabltier was a long way away. Heinz wondered what he was thinking about.

The silence suddenly felt empty.

"You know, I don't think I've ever had company sleeping out in the woods before," he said. An empty silence let his thoughts wander, and he didn't want that. Not tonight. "I lived with the ocelots, and that was pretty cool, but they're solitary, you know? I mean, they taught me a lot, but they left me alone most of the time."

Heinz hugged the platypus a little tighter. "Sometimes we would all sleep in the den, but we weren't really together. And most of the time I was left to find my own way around."

Herr Schnabltier wriggled a little, and Heinz wondered if he was boring him. The platypus stilled after a moment, though, and Heinz figured he was just getting comfortable. Still, he needed to ask. "You're okay with me telling you all this? You're not bored, are you?"

The platypus shook his head vigorously against his chest.

"You're sure?" The platypus nodded. "Oh, good. I was worried that I was boring you or something. I suppose I was just making a mountain out of a molehill again. You know, that's what everyone tells me, don't make a mountain out of a –"

A paw on his shoulder cut him off. Heinz looked down, and though he could not see Herr Schnabltier, he imagined the platypus' eyes were filled with understanding.

Heinz smiled. "Thank you, Herr Schnabltier."

The platypus nodded, then burrowed into his shirt. After a moment, his breathing deepened and slowed. Heinz stared blankly at the shape in his arms as Herr Schnabltier fell asleep on top of him.

Fell asleep. In his arms. Heinz's mind froze. No one, not even Balloony, had ever shown him that much trust. (Though he supposed Balloony didn't count because he was an inanimate object.) But this… this wild animal who had attached itself to him for some unknown reason actually trusted him. Him. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the schnitzel, the dummkopf, the eternal screwup and failure. This platypus trusted him enough to make itself vulnerable and fall asleep in his arms. It was enough to take his brain offline.

Heinz tightened his arms a little and curled up just a bit tighter. The platypus shifted, and he froze, but Herr Schnabltier just settled right into the boy's chest and let out a soft churr of pleasure.

After a moment, Heinz began to drift. His last conscious thought was that if anything attacked them in the night, at least he would make a good meat shield for the platypus.

.:.:.

Perry woke up slowly. He was nice and comfortable in one of the boys' arms, despite the hard ground they were laying on. Why were they on the ground anyway? He couldn't remember…

He opened his eyes, and rather than seeing Phineas or Ferb as he expected, he saw Heinz, face slack in sleep. That's right. Perry was stuck three and a half decades in the past with the child version of his nemesis, and they had spent the night under the half-completed time machine that would hopefully take him back home.

Perry settled back down, watching the boy's face. It was calm and peaceful, and again he was strongly reminded of Phineas. Not that they looked the same, but the only time they were truly still and relaxed was when they were asleep. Even when physically still, their minds were always moving. It was a trait he had always loved in Phineas and had always seen to a lesser extent in Doofenshmirtz, but this boy was proof that his mind was always working full force.

After a few more moments, Perry shifted again. The boy's arms tightened, and Perry resigned himself to laying there until Heinz woke. Not that it was a hardship.

The morning was nice. The sun had just burned off the last of the predawn chill, and it was slowly warming up. Birds sang merrily, and though Perry couldn't understand what exactly was being said, he thought he could pick out a few territory disputes. Ah, the simple life of a wild animal. No evil scientists to fight, no chance of being flung back into the past.

Heinz stirred, and Perry chattered a greeting. The boy's eyes opened slowly, then he blinked and shot up, barely missing hitting his head on the incomplete Inator.

"Good morning, Herr Schnabltier," he said, then seemed to realize he was still clutching Perry. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, releasing his hold.

Perry patted his arm, trying to let the boy know that he was okay, he was used to being cuddled.

They both crawled out from under the machine. Heinz stretched and cracked his back, and Perry, remaining on all fours, followed suit. The boy looked up at his Inator. "I can probably get this done by midmorning, especially since I already got it up and working once." He looked over at Perry. "What do you think?"

Perry gave him a significant look. His stomach was growling, and while Heinz routinely skipped meals as though it was no big deal, Perry needed to eat at least twice a day.

Heinz's face fell, just a little, and Perry instantly felt guilty. He took a step towards the boy, but Heinz waved him off.

"You need to eat. It's fine, I'll be here." The boy's voice was steady if quiet. Perry watched him for a long moment before Heinz made a shooing gesture, smiling. "I'll be fine, go on."

Perry smiled back, then turned and trotted into the woods in search of food, resolving to get back as quickly as possible.

.:.:.

It was an odd sort of quiet without Herr Schnabltier. Not that it wasn't quiet with him, he couldn't speak after all, but it was certainly less lonely.

Heinz shook his head, trying to focus on his Inator rather than the glaring absence behind him. It was hard. He'd only met the platypus a few days ago, and he was already far too attached. He enjoyed the platypus' presence perhaps more than the platypus enjoyed his. The Inator wasn't going to fix itself, however, and this was something that Herr Schnabltier really wanted him to do, for some reason. So Heinz kept working.

He'd gotten more done the previous night than he thought. In fact, there were only a few things left to install, a few bolts to tighten, not forgetting the self-destruct button, though this time he installed it in a place where it was less likely to be hit by accident.

As he was tightening one of the last few structural bolts, he heard a rustling behind him. Heinz smiled. Herr Schnabltier must have found something to eat pretty quickly. He hadn't been expecting the platypus to be back so soon, but he turned around anyway to greet his friend.

The clearing was empty.

"Herr Schnabltier?" he called, climbing down the ladder cautiously. "Are you there?"

There was another rustling sound and the sound of a branch breaking.

"This i- this isn't funny." His voice shook, and he berated himself for his irrational fear. It was probably just Herr Schnabltier trying to have a little fun. No need to be scared.

The rustling started again, and this time Heinz could see the leaves and undergrowth moving. That looked… bigger than a platypus.

He could feel himself shaking madly. This had to be some sort of joke, a cruel trick played on the weird Doofenshmirtz boy, but he had a sinking feeling that this was not a joke at all.

And then he heard the heavy wet breathing that sounded like a growl. Heinz knew that sound, but no, it couldn't be what he thought it was, there was no way, because there were no more wild goozim in this part of Drusselstein. (There are no wild ocelots, either, a traitorous voice whispered in the back of his head.)

A massive brown furry paw emerged from the underbrush, and yes, yes it could, in fact, be a goozim.

Heinz screamed. In the back of his mind, he thought that he might be embarrassed by how high-pitched his scream was if he weren't so terrified.

Some angst, some fluff, some backstory, and a cliffhanger!

Thanks for reading.