Holiday Magic

Christmas Wish Part 3

'Hey! I think I'm finally getting the hang of it... WHOA!' Doofenshmirtz flailed, his feet going in all directions. Moments later, he was kissing the ice for the umpteenth time that afternoon. A churring laugh hit his ears and the scientist pouted up at his human nemesis.

Perry attempted to hide his smile by covering his mouth with his hands, but the chuckles continued to escape.

'Hmph! I don't see why you're better at skating then I am, Perry the former Platypus,' Heinz grumbled as he tried, unsuccessfully, to get to his feet.

'I have great balance,' Perry commented. The teal-haired man bent down, locking fingers with his scientist. A swift tug had Heinz all but flying into his arms. The former platypus was amused to see the older man's pale cheeks redden as he tried to straighten himself.

'Here, let's try this,' Perry instructed, grasping the other man's hands in his own and pulling him forward. The agent glided backwards with ease as he supported his skating partner.

'I'm doing it. I'm skating!' a wide smile came over the scientist's face before he frowned at the shorter man holding his hands. 'And I shouldn't have to say this, but I will. You, Perry the former Platypus, are showing off.'

'Oh relax, Doofie. Enjoy the moment,' Perry added a surprise twist, spinning Heinz around.

Once the doctor got over his shock, he was amazed to find that his nemesis managed to turn them around, so that they were skating back the way they came.

'I am...'

'Hmmm..?' Perry looked deep into his partner's eyes, waiting for him to continue.

'I am... enjoying the moment,' Heinz admitted, redness tinting his cheeks again.

Perry smiled and leaned up to nuzzle the other man's nose with his bill... er, nose.

'Me too,' the teal-haired man commented, feeling a strange jolt in his chest area. It wasn't unpleasant... just odd.

'HEY! Why don't you watch where you're going? You nearly ran over my nerd!'

Perry quickly dragged himself (and his partner) to a stop and looked over his shoulder at the voice.

'It's okay, Buford. I should have been paying attention,' Baljeet gasped, feeling his bully's arms holding him protectively close.

'It's not okay. I don't care if it is Christmas,' Buford argued, helping the smaller boy to straighten up.

'Oh, I'm sorry, Baljeet. I was... lost in the moment. Are you alright?' the teal-haired man asked, watching the pair with concerned eyes.

'Yes, I'm okay. It's really nothing to worry about,' the Indian boy tugged on Buford's arm, trying to keep the violence to a minimum.

'Well... I guess you did say sorry. Just don't let it happen again,' Buford growled, dragging his nerd in the opposite direction.

'Merry Christmas!' Baljeet attempted to wave and keep his balance at the same time.

'Merry Christmas!' Perry and Heinz waved back, turning to stare into each other's eyes once the boys were gone.

Awkward smiles came over their faces from the strange run-in and neither could keep the laughter from slipping out. Between chuckles, Perry suggested that this might be a good time to finish up and Heinz couldn't agree more.

'Cute kids,' Doofenshmirtz's voice dripped with sarcasm, but Perry could see the smile on his lips even as he bent to untie his skates.

'So, what now?' Perry flung his skates over his shoulder and took hold of Doof's arm so they wouldn't be separated by the crowd. He missed the startled look the other man gave him as they walked toward the Skate Shack.

'Well, the mall is closing and it is close to dinner time. Do you want to go out to dinner?' Heinz felt his cheeks heat up, AGAIN. This entire day felt a lot like a date...

'Sure! I'm starving. Oooh, lets go out for sushi. I love sushi. Do you like sushi?' the former platypus asked, looking up at him.

{Those eyes should be illegal. They are just too... Cute? Adorable? Tempting pools of chocolate that you feel like staring into for hours... Ack! Dinner, Heinz. Focus on dinner!}

'Uh... yes. Yes, we could go for sushi,' Heinz agreed, trying to ignore the feelings building inside of him as his now-human nemesis held his arm and leaned against him with a contented smile on his face.

{This is not a normal relationship, Heinz. Soon, he'll be a platypus again and still your nemesis. And you'll have to go back to being evil and fighting him.}

Doubts continued to cloud the scientist's mind even as he opened the door to let Perry into the taxi, then climbed in after him. The younger man seemed happy to snuggle up to him as they drove toward their destination.

{Yes... soon he'll be a platypus again. But at least I'll have this memory after he's gone.}

Heinz sighed, feeling a smile tugging itself onto his tired lips. Now they just had to get through dinner without another episode like breakfast...

(Sorry guys, dinner is getting skipped. But Heinz will fill you in)

Heinz felt his thoughts drifting as he popped "Miracle on 34th Street" into the DVD player in the lab.

{After the breakfast incident, who would have guessed that Perry the Platypus would be an expert with chopsticks?}

Taking a seat on the couch, he waited for the menu to pop up on the giant flat-screen he'd had NORM install the other day.

{Let's see... I've got the popcorn, the DVD remote, the wine and glasses. I even have NORM standing nearby to pour the wine. Now where's Perry?}

Heinz was jolted from his thoughts as the younger man sat down and curled up next to him on the couch. Perry handed him part of the blanket he was currently snuggled under and churred in excitement as a picture of Santa Claus flashed onto the screen.

'Yes, I get it. You like Santa,' Doofenshmirtz grumbled. Familiar feelings of jealousy swept through him.

{Oh come on, Heinz. Jealous of Santa, REALLY? So what if Perry smiles every time he's around? He smiles when you're around too... sometimes}

The scientist looked down to find that Perry had taken the opportunity to rest his head on his shoulder, his attention unwavering from the TV screen. Heinz felt his eyes well up with tears at the tender moment and he wiped them away discreetly with his free hand. What a wonderful Christmas...

Doofenshmirtz blinked at the black screen in front of him. He must have fallen asleep. What a strange dream. Perry had been turned into a sexy human man, they'd gone to the mall, then out to dinner, then watched a movie...

{Teal hair... Is Perry cuddled up on my couch with me? Awww, he's so cute when he's sleeping. Looks like it wasn't a dream after all. But if we sleep like this, we'll be really sore in the morning, so...}

The scientist gently shook his nemesis awake. Tired brown eyes blinked up at him and the former platypus let out a familiar questioning churrrr.

'We can't sleep here, Perry the... well, just Perry. Come on, you can stay here for the night. We can figure out how to get you back to normal tomorrow,' Heinz led the way, pulling a drowsy Perry behind him.

'I wonder why I didn't notice that before. Vanessa must have put up the mistletoe,' the scientist commented aloud to himself as he stepped into the kitchen with Perry in tow.

'Mistletoe?' the former platypus asked curiously, still half asleep.

'Yes, yes. A Christmas tradition. If two people find themselves standing under the mistletoe, they have to kiss one another,' Heinz replied, without thinking much of it.

'Aren't we standing under the mistletoe?' Perry asked, his chocolate brown eyes starting up at the taller human.

Heinz froze in shock. Technically they were standing under the mistletoe... and Perry was a human...

Perry pouted and wondered why the scientist was making such a big deal out of a kiss. His host family kissed him all the time. Well, normally on the head, but Heinz was taller than him, so he'd have to try the more direct approach.

Hands on Doofenshmirtz's slim hips for balance, the former platypus raised himself onto the tips of his toes and pressed their lips together.

{I forgot to ask how long these kisses were suppose to last}

Heinz felt his heart skip a beat at firm lips pressed against his own and he was left staring down into his nemesis' brown eyes in shock. Caught up in the moment, time seemed to slow to a crawl. The evil scientist found himself returning the kiss lightly. It was soft, unaggressive and over sooner than Heinz wanted it to be.

{I just kissed my nemesis... Well, he kissed me. But still, I just kissed my nemesis... and I liked it}

'Was that long enough?' Perry asked. The teal-haired man cocked his head to the side and stared up at him with naive curiosity.

'No... I mean yes. Yes, it was,' Heinz coughed, feeling the awkwardness slip it's way back into his life.

'Okay. Let's go to bed then,' Perry stepped back and pulled on the taller man's arm, leading the way back to the bedroom the whole mess had started in.

Heinz rolled over and hit the snooze button.

{Stupid alarm. Why didn't I turn that off yesterday so I could sleep in? It's too early to wake up and find yourself cuddling a platypus...}

Doofenshmirtz froze, mind whirling as the previous day's events flashed through his head. Perry the human, skating at the mall, Santa, dinner, a movie, the KISS under the mistletoe, cuddling in bed with his nemesis...

'Awkward...' Heinz groaned, noting that Perry had somehow turned back into a platypus during the night. The little mammal's soft teal fur was warm against his chest where the platypus was curled up, still fast asleep.

{I guess I could let him sleep a bit longer. Especially since I don't have to build an Animal-Inator. And it's still pretty early, so I'll just rest my eyes for a bit...}

When Doofenshmirtz woke for the second time that day, he noticed a distinct lack of platypus in the room.

'Oh sure, use me as a pillow all night then run away in the morning. Curse you, Perry the Platypus,' Heinz grumbled, stumbling out of bed. Slipping out of his pajama bottoms and into his regular turtleneck, pants and lab coat, he made his way into the kitchen.

{Need coffee. Need coffee. Oh look, coffee!}

It seems that his guest had left a treat. A fresh pot of steaming hot coffee and a box of blueberry muffins.

'Merry Christmas, Perry the Platypus,' the somewhat-evil scientist sighed, wondering where his little platypus agent had run off to. Probably back to the agency. Oh well. At least he still had a photo to remember their special day together.

Heinz pulled the photo out of his lab coat pocket and smiled. Perhaps he'd skip doing evil today and go photo-frame shopping instead.

The end... of Christmas anyway.

Note 1: I'm dedicating the mistletoe kiss to my little sister who reminded me that every Christmas story needs one :)

Note 2: Yes, I finally slipped my second favourite couple into a fic! Buford x Baljeet!

Note 3: I do have a special "New Years" chapter for this fic (still being written). Please be patient though, as I have a few other Phineas and Ferb fics on the go.