Christmas Wish part 2
(Spoiler for the P&F 2nd Dimension movie)
'So, what should we do first? There's ice skating, the main stage with fashion shows and a concert, Santa's grotto, a petting zoo...' Heinz read aloud from the brochure.
Perry's ears perked up and he grabbed the scientist's arm tightly. Doofenshmirtz looked down at the grinning young man who was now pointing at the VERY long line-up for Santa's Grotto.
'Really, Perry? We just got here and you want us to stand in that huge line-up? Look at it! It's got to be a mile long. Can't we wait until it settles down a bit?' Heinz asked, feeling a headache coming on from just looking at all those people.
'It's SANTA! Come on, Doofie! Let's go see Santa!' the teal-haired man insisted, pulling his nemesis toward the lineup.
'Did you just call me Doofie?' Heinz was so startled that he actually let himself be dragged along.
'Let's go see Santa!' Perry churred again, eyes lit up with pure happiness.
'Okay, fine. We'll do Santa's Grotto first,' Heinz sighed in agreement. It was hard to be upset with someone who looked that cute when he was happy. Still... it was a LONG line-up.
Heinz wanted to be upset over the 2 hour wait in line just to see Santa Claus, but Perry hadn't stopped grinning ear-to-ear. The little platypus-turned-human even let out an excited churrr when they finally reached the front of the line.
The scientist blinked in surprise when he was pulled onto the stage and let go only when Perry dropped down onto Santa's lap.
'HoHoHo! And how is my favourite secret agent doing today?' the jolly man in red laughed.
{Wow... Santa really does know everything} Heinz thought to himself.
'We're having a great Christmas, aren't we, Heinz?' Perry's chocolate brown eyes flashed over to his stunned scientist, then back to Santa.
'Yes, I guess we are,' Doofenshmirtz found himself agreeing and even smiling back at his nemesis.
'HoHoHo! Heinz Doofenshmirtz, you've been on my naughty list for years. But since you've given up evil for at least this one special day and Perry is my favourite platypus...'
Santa reached into a big red bag next to his chair and pulled out two colourful boxes tied with fancy ribbons. Doof found himself mumbling his thanks as he accepted the unexpected gift. Perry just churred happily and held his present close.
'Photo time. Smile boys!'
Heinz blinked as a camera flash left him momentarily dazed.
'Thanks Santa!'
The scientist looked over at his companion's words and blushed. Perry had decided thanks just wasn't enough and had taken the opportunity to lean in to nuzzle the jolly man's cheek.
'Thank you and we're leaving now,' Heinz grabbed Perry's arm and all but yanked him from the other man's lap. Perry met his eyes, then half-turned to wave goodbye to Santa Claus. The scientist continued to blush and decided it was best if he got the former-platypus as far away from Santa's Grotto as he could.
'HoHoHo and Merry Christmas!'
(No, Santa's not a perv, I promise. And Perry is delightfully naive when it comes to human affection)
'That was fun. And we got presents!' Perry shook his box, wondering what was inside.
Doofenshmirtz had finally stopped dragging him along once they found an unused bench to relax on. Even the gawky-looking scientist looked curious about the contents of his unexpected gift.
'We could always save them for later... or just open them now,' Heinz rolled his eyes as Perry ripped open the wrapping paper and yanked out a stripped teal and brown scarf.
'What did you get?' chocolate brown eyes watched eagerly as the scientist slowly opened his gift. Nimble fingers pulled a deep purple and black scarf from the box.
Heinz felt tears coming to his eyes, but blinked them away. It really was a sweet gift.
'Now we match!' Perry exclaimed, reaching down to pluck the older man's scarf from his hands and throwing it around Heinz's neck with a smile.
Heinz felt his cheeks heat up when he found himself nearly nose-to-nose with his now-human nemesis.
'So, what's next?' the younger man's voice broke the moment and the scientist found himself staring in empty air when Perry dropped both ends his scarf and plopped back down on the bench to glance through the brochure.
'Right...' Doofenshmirtz wanted to sigh in disappointment. Really, how long had it been since he'd last dated? He really shouldn't be feeling butterflies in his stomach over his nemesis turning into a human. And Perry was a guy... not that he really had an issue with gay people, but he'd never once thought about another guy in that way. Not until the cute teal-haired young man suddenly popped into his life. Oh right... naked in his bed...
'Heinz... Heinz... Doofie... Dr. Doofenshmirtz,' a pale hand waving in his face snapped Heinz out of his thoughts, blush still imprinted on his cheeks.
'Oh, my phone...' Heinz flipped it open, realizing that Perry must have heard it ringing and tried to get his attention.
{He called me Doofie again...}
(Location: Hawaii!)
'Hello... Oh, hi Vanessa!'
The brunette leaned back, feeling the sun on her body as she relaxed in the beach chair in her hottest black bikini.
'I just thought I'd call and say Merry Christmas,' Vanessa commented, eyeing one of the lifeguards as she half listened to the phone.
'Merry Christmas, Sweetie! Are you and your mom enjoying yourselves?' the scientist asked.
'Yeah, we're having a lot of fun. You're not doing anything evil on Christmas, are you?' Vanessa found himself focusing back on the conversation again at the thought of her father ruining Christmas for someone back home.
'No, not this year. Actually, Perry and I are at the mall and we're just about to head to the main stage. Perry wants to see "The P&F Christmas Spectacular" that's starting soon,' her father continued.
'Have fun. Wait... you and Perry the Platypus are hanging out at the mall together?' Vanessa couldn't help but think that that was just weird, even for her dad.
'Well, he's not really a platypus right now. We're not sure how it happened, but he got turned into a human and now we're spending Christmas together. Here, you can talk to him.'
Vanessa sat up straight in her beach chair when a younger man's voice wished her a "Merry Christmas" over the phone.
'Merry Christmas to you too,' the goth teen replied, wondering for a brief moment if she could bust her dad with this knowledge. But it was Christmas...
'Well, I'm glad you're having a good holiday, Dad. You two enjoy the concert,' Vanessa smiled as her father said goodbye and hung up. Laying back in her chair, she congratulated herself for her good deed of the day.
{I wonder how cute Perry is as a human...}
It was late-afternoon when Heinz and Perry finally approached the skating rink at the far end of the mall. All in all, the day had gone well. The concert had been a blast and Heinz had been pleasantly surprised that the teal-haired man had grabbed his hand as they danced along to the music. Then window-shopping as they walked through the mall. Really, the scientist wasn't going to complain if his nemesis wanted to keep holding his hand the entire time.
And now they were watching the ice skaters and debating whether to rent skates or not. Heinz was a bit embarrassed at the idea, but Perry's excitement was quickly changing his mind. They were just about to head to the Skate Shack when they were approached by two familiar boys.
'Hey, you were the boys from the concert,' Heinz commented aloud.
'Yep, we sure were. Did you enjoy it?' the redhead asked, smiling up at them.
'It was... great,' Perry half smiled, wondering if the boys knew... No, they couldn't. Their memories had been wiped after the alternate dimension incident. They shouldn't remember Heinz... Dr. Doofenshmirtz or Perry's agent status. But this was Phineas and Ferb he was thinking about...
Heinz was surprised to see his companion looking at bit nervous at the attention. That was strange. Perry had, in the course of one day, been naked in his bed, walked around without underwear, all-but-glomped Santa and had held the scientist's hand through the mall. Yet, here he was looking embarrassed and uncertain just because these two boys from the concert had decided to approach them. Curious...
'Actually, we were wondering if we could speak to you alone for a moment.'
Doofenshmirtz felt their hands separate as Perry was pulled off by the little red-haired boy. Chocolate brown eyes met his for a moment and the former-platypus offered him a smile before he turned his attention back to the two boys who wanted to talk to him.
'Um, okay then. I guess I could just wait here... or go get some hot chocolate,' Heinz decided, glancing over his shoulder as he went, just to make sure Perry wasn't going to run away on him.
Once they reached a semi-secluded area, the boys finally turned around and gave the older man their full attention.
'Are you having a fun Christmas, Perry?' Phineas asked, eyes glued to the teal haired man.
'Yes, I am... Wait a minute. How did you...?' Perry stared in shock at his boys.
'Ferb and I built the machine that turned you into a human. And we kinda snuck you into Dr. D's tower while you were asleep. Actually, we kept you a platypus until we got you there, then turned you into a human. It was just easier that way,' the red-haired boy explained.
'Well, that explains how. But, why did you do all this? And how did you know about Doofenshmirtz anyway?' Perry asked.
'You remember the time we helped Dr. D build a portal to an evil dimension?' Phineas grinned, looking overly pleased with himself.
'Yes, yes I remember. The question is how did you two remember? Major Monogram wiped your memories!' Perry glanced around warily, just in case Heinz was listening in on their conversation. Nope, he was clear across the room and in line for hot chocolate. All clear.
'Invisible helmet head-systems,' Ferb commented, yanking what appeared to be the top of his head off, revealing the top of his real head.
'You remembered this entire time?' Perry gasped, staring at the pair in shock.
{Four and a half months? If Major Monogram finds out that they were able to keep a secret this big for four months...}
'Yep. We wanted to wait until a really special time to tell you. And what's more special than Christmas?' Phineas threw his hands in the air.
'But if you remembered, then why do all this?' Perry gestured to his new human body in confusion.
'Well, we noticed that you were a bit gloomy after your last battle with Dr. D and figured you'd want to spend Christmas with your nemesis,' the redhead admitted, giving Perry a look that he couldn't quite figure out.
'You're my boys. I wanted to spend Christmas with you too,' the former platypus sighed, kneeling down so he could be at eye level with the boys.
'Silly, you have us every day of the year. So, have fun with Dr. D today and we'll hang out with you tomorrow,' Phineas laughed.
'Oh and by the way, you should automatically turn back into a platypus at midnight tonight,' Ferb added.
'Oh look, here he comes now. Have a good Christmas, Perry!' Phineas threw his arms around the older man's neck and gave him a quick hug. Ferb unexpectedly did the same once his brother stepped back.
Perry blinked away unexpected tears and waved goodbye to his favourite human children as he straightened from his crouch.
'See you later, Dr. D!' Phineas called out over his shoulder as he and Ferb walked away to leave the pair alone.
'Bye boys!' Heinz would have waved, but his hands WERE full...
Perry smiled and eagerly took one of the paper cups from the older man's hands.
'They seemed awfully familiar. Have we met them before?' Heinz commented, glancing at his companion.
Perry just smiled and shook his head, taking a sip from his cup. Hey, this hot chocolate stuff was pretty good.
'You sure we don't know them? I know we just saw them in concert, but still... I feel like I know them from somewhere else,' Heinz mused aloud, even as Perry pulled on his arm and led him in the opposite direction.
'Didn't you say something about renting skates and actually getting out on that rink, Heinz?' Perry commented, successfully distracting the scientist.
'Oh yeah, I did,' Heinz recalled, sipping his drink as the headed toward the Skate Shack.
'Boys, did you know that man?' Linda narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest in a protective-parent stance. She had walked around the corner in time to see her little boys hugging a strange man in the middle of the mall.
'Sure. He's dad's cousin, Philip. He's in town to visit his boyfriend,' Phineas replied, smiling innocently back at her.
'Oh, I didn't recognize him. I'll make sure to ask your father to invite them over for dinner sometime,' the woman smiled, relieved that the boys hadn't been in any danger. She should have known that they wouldn't randomly hug strange men at the mall.
'Sounds great, mom,' Phineas agreed, already thinking of all the great adventures he and Ferb could have with human-Perry.
'What sounds great?' Lawrence walked up, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder.
'Inviting your cousin Philip and his boyfriend over for dinner,' the woman answered, leaning up to kiss her husband on the cheek.
'I have a cousin named Philip?' the man wondered aloud, deep in thought.
'Sure you do, Dad. We just haven't seen him in a long time,' Phineas spoke up.
'Oh, cousin Philip. Yes, now I remember. Wasn't he in the army?' Lawrence asked as they all headed to pick up Candace from her part-time job.
'Well, he does work for the government,' Ferb commented.
'Oh right, yes. The government. You know, it would be jolly good to see him again.'
'Here's his number. But he said he'd be busy until after New Years. The whole government thing, you know,' Phineas handed a small sheet of paper to his father and shared a smile with Ferb.
'Right, of course,' Lawrence tucked the paper into his pocket and took the opportunity to hold his wife's hand.
'So, what do you boys know about Philip's significant other?' Linda asked.
'Dr. D? He's an inventor who happens to live in a penthouse suite downtown. Perry, I mean Philip, comes to visit him a lot,' the red-headed boy answered.
'That's wonderful. I'd love to see his inventions sometime,' Lawrence turned to wave Candace over to them. After a long afternoon at the mall, it would be nice to spend some quality family time together. It was Christmas after all.
...tbc...
Note: This chapter turned out longer than expected, so looks like there will a third Christmas chapter.