March 3, 2001
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY FERBMISTER!"
Ferb jerked awake to find Phineas' nose hovering inches above his face. He didn't move until Phineas jumped from the bed to the floor in one motion, after which Ferb sat up.
"Okay, okay, so I know last year wasn't the greatest birthday ever for you, and that's partially my fault—"
What was he talking about?
"So this year I made sure I had something ready for you in advance!"
Phineas bounced up to Ferb's bed with something in his hands. It was what appeared to be a screwdriver.
Ferb didn't want to hurt Phineas' feelings by pointing out he already had a screwdriver and that the one Phineas was holding was a little small, but before he could say anything, Phineas shoved it into Ferb's hand. And the screwdriver grew to fit it.
Ferb's eyes widened, and he looked back at Phineas, who was wearing his signature grin. "It grows as you grow!" he said happily. "So you don't ever have to buy a new one! Plus, it's made out of some non-bi-gradeable—" he paused. "Did I say that right?"
Ferb shook his head.
"Oh well. Some non-bi-gradeable material, so it won't ever rust or wear down!" He stopped again. "Do you like it?"
Ferb, in response, gave Phineas one of his rare smiles.
Phineas lit up. "YES!" He jumped up onto the bed and wrapped Ferb in a bear hug that cut off his air.
Ferb coughed, but Phineas took no heed and leapt onto their get-you-dressed machines they had made several weeks ago and spun around as the machine painted stripes on his shirt. But he was so excited the lines blurred a little bit, and the shirt looked a little lopsided. Ferb climbed onto his own and waited the split second while the machine blew his clothes on, and then the two brothers left the room together.
"Happy birthday, Ferb." came the voice of his father as he entered the kitchen. Lawrence ruffled Ferb's hair as Ferb happily sat down at the table. A second later Linda placed a plate with a pancake down in front of him. Ferb looked up in surprise and pointed at himself.
Linda nodded. "Happy birthday," she said, and Ferb gave her a half-smile. "Thanks, mum." he said.
Linda Flynn and Lawrence Fletcher were to be married in July.
Candace bounced into the room and rubbed her knuckles on the top of Ferb's head for a brief second— almost a noogie. "Happy birthday, rat." she said.
"Candace!" Linda scolded. But Ferb didn't take offense to it. That was simply the way Candace showed affection to Phineas and him.
"Can I have pancakes too, mommy?" Phineas asked, bouncing into the seat next to Ferb.
"Yes, Phineas, I made pancakes for everyone." Linda said.
As the soon-to-be family of five gathered around the table, Phineas talked about what special plans he had "for Ferbmister's birthday."
Ferb tried to remember what his birthdays had been like before Phineas Flynn. They could not have possibly been this amazing.
He wasn't even sure Archie had remembered.
"Ferbmister, we're gonna have somuchfun!" Phineas exclaimed, and continued with even more enthusiasm (if such a thing was possible).
"We're going to carpe diem." Ferb said quietly.
Phineas stopped in the middle of his sentence and turned to Ferb. "Huh?" he asked.
"'Carpe diem' is latin for 'seize the day.'" Ferb elaborated.
Phineas' eyes widened. "That. Is. AWESOME!"
Everyone in the room flinched away from his sound.
"Ohmigosh I love that so much! Can I use it?" Phineas asked, bouncing up and down in his chair.
Ferb nodded.
Phineas squealed and shoveled another three bites of pancake into his mouth, then moved on to talk about how much he had planned for this day in particular.
…
Since March 3, 2000, many things had happened in the lives of the Flynn and Fletcher families, that most would not think made a big difference.
Phineas had stopped having nightmares about his father's death several months into he and Ferb sharing a room. Ferb had grown slightly more confident about sharing his own ideas, and about saying something when something made him uncomfortable.
Candace had started to become obsessed with what her little brothers were doing, and it was really starting to get on her mother's nerves.
The Flynn family's dog, Bucky, was growing old, and often stayed in the living room, not doing much. Linda and Lawrence had shared their concern about his failing health and had discussed getting a new pet once the dog passed— or "went to go live on a farm with Kindly Old Man Simmons" as Lawrence put it.
Many neighbors had approached Linda about things her boys were doing and was she really sure it was safe? Linda had no idea what they were talking about.
Phineas and Ferb, in September, took Kindergarten by storm and redid most of the playground. They became very popular, very quickly, in more than one way (Buford Van Stomm did not particularly like them).
But the two mostly preferred to play together. Ferb because he was more than a little shy and didn't want to test his luck just yet, and Phineas: "Because Ferbmister's my best friend." What other reason was needed?
During the school year, everyone wanted to be their friend during recess, and during the summer, everyone always came over to their backyard whenever they could. After all, the two had pledged to carpe diem. And everyone wanted a piece of that.
Fin