A few weeks had passed and before anyone knew it, it was the day of Halloween. The gang had all planned to meet up at the Flynn-Fletcher house for a big costume party.
Buford walked around his room putting stuff together for his costume. He was going as a caveman. He allowed himself to briefly wonder what it was Baljeet was going as. He wished he was there to ask him, but with it being a Saturday afternoon, he was more than likely trying to piece together a costume at the last-minute because he'd been so excited about his school work that he'd forgotten it was Halloween. Buford missed having the highly academic and borderline neurotic young teen within eyesight. They saw each other as often as they could, but with both being in school, that only left the weekends and because midterms were coming up, even some of that time went into their studies and that meant less time together.
They'd try to have 'study sessions', but little studying would actually get done. It was more like tutoring for about 15 minutes, then Buford would lose focus and just stare at Baljeet until the boy gave in and they wound up making out until either Ferb or his mother walked in, depending on where they were.
Buford got his costume together and threw it on the bed. He then flopped down right next to it and stared at the ceiling, his thoughts consumed by the Indian boy who had changed him so drastically from the neighborhood bully who was failing every class. It was a gradual change, of course, but who knows where Buford would be if he hadn't made the change.
Buford was currently a student with a solid B average, quarterback for his high school's junior varsity team, and even making plans to go to college; something that hadn't even been a thought when he was younger. He was even making plans for the future. He wanted to try to get into football professionally or if that doesn't work out, he could be an architect or something to use his brain instead of his brawn.
He shook himself from his thoughts and sat up, wondering if he should head over to Baljeet and Ferb's place. He was there so often, it was almost his place too. Baljeet was slowly but surely getting over the betrayal of his relatives. As a result, he cried less and became more 'fun-seeking' as Buford called it. Buford was glad, but he just wished that there was something more he could do for his boyfriend. Then, he got an idea.
He sent Ferb a text message...
Linda and Lawrence Fletcher were setting up for the party they were helping throw for the kids. They had plans to go to a party for adults that was starting soon, so they were already in costume. 'Lindana' and 'Max Modem' were walking around the house making sure everything was just right. Phineas came rushing down the stairs in his knight costume and opened the front door for his warrior princess, Isabella.
Once she arrived guests began to flood in. The Fireside Girls, Django, Irving, and all of the other kids from the neighborhood and school were there. Phineas looked around for his brother and 'cousins' as his family officially dubbed them, but they had yet to arrive.
"Mom, have you heard from Ferb?" he asked his pop star mother.
"Not today, I'm sure he'll be here. Enjoy the rest of your guests, sweetie." she said rubbing his cheek. "Your father and I will be heading out in a few minutes. Jeremy will be here to watch out for you guys while we're gone."
"As much as he disliked the idea of being babysat at his age, Phineas was glad it was just Jeremy. His soon to be brother in law was very cool and he really hadn't a problem with that. In fact, as soon as he was brought up, he walked in one of his band's shirts with his guitar and an amp.
"Hi, Ms. Linda," he called from the front door. "Hey Phineas, can you give me a hand with my stuff?"
"Sure, and Phineas went to help get his equipment from the car. The plus side of having a popstar for a sister and a rock band member in your immediate family was the impromptu free gigs. Jeremy's band had finished their tour for the year so he stayed in his and Candace's townhouse about 15 minutes away.
The ginger and blond men set up the equipment and by the time they'd finished, they spotted Ferb walking in. He was dressed in a suit minus the jacket and had on shades and fingerless gloves. As soon as the brothers came within speaking distance and Ferb saw the questioning look on Phineas' face, he simply said: "secret agent", and left it at that.
"Where's Baljeet and Buford?" Isabella asked, joining the brothers.
"Baljeet told me to go on ahead. He didn't seem to want to come for some reason, but I think once Buford gets there he may be able to change his mind." Ferb replied cryptically.
Buford knocked on the boys' dorm room door with his usual authority. He'd ditched the caveman idea once Ferb had told him what Baljeet was planning on going as.
The door slowly opened and Buford's eyes met the eyes of a very depressed Baljeet.
"What's the matter, shorty?" Buford asked, trying to be as sincere as possible, it was a little hard to take him seriously with him dressed a devil.
Baljeet didn't even bat an eye when he'd seen his boyfriend's costume. All he said was "...my father died this morning."
It was like all the air had been sucked from Buford's lungs. Out of sheer reaction, he grabbed Baljeet and held him as he began to sob. He got them inside the dorm and sat the boy down and held him until he'd finished.
"I do not understand why I am so upset. I mean, he threw me out, called me every vulgar name he could think of, and...what is the matter with me, Buford?"
"Nothing, 'Jeet. You're not the kind of person to be unaffected by someone's death, no matter how they treat you. You're too kindhearted for that."
"Mother blames me. She called me in hysterics and said it was all my fault. He was so brokenhearted with having a freak like me for a son that he lost the will to live."
Buford's eyes flashed red with rage, but he settled realizing him exploding wouldn't help right now.
"I had hoped that one day, he'd see the error of his ways. He'd realize his mistake and try to make amends, but he died hating me. My father, the man who helped give me life, died hating me."
Buford didn't know what to say. He was never close to his father. If he died tomorrow, Buford wouldn't bat an eyelash, so he had no idea how to relate to or help with what Baljeet was going through, but he knew someone who did.
"Have you told Ferb?" Buford quietly asked.
"I did not want to ruin his party with my problems. I just made an excuse to stay and let him go on. In fact, I would ask you to do the same. Nothing will be solved with both of us sitting here."
"You honestly think there's anywhere else I would be right now?" Buford smirked.
"I figured you'd say something along those lines. Just to be clear, I'm not forcing you to stay."
"You're right. I'm forcing you to go."
"What?"
"Baljeet, that man lost all rights to your pity when he threw you out. I won't let you continue to let him affect your life this way. You need to be out and around your family and friends now, not sitting here in this room driving yourself into a deeper depression over people you can't change."
"But..."
"No buts, nerd." Buford shouted in his 'bully voice'. "Look, I'll make you a deal. You come with me and give it one hour. If in that time, you're not having even a little bit of fun, we'll leave no questions asked. Deal?"
Baljeet thought about it for a few seconds and decided to give it a try. Besides, Buford was giving him a look that said it wasn't really a question, so he got up and got his costume on."
Baljeet emerged from his bedroom in an all white suit with a pair of wings attached to his back. "It's really surprising," Baljeet started. "to think that you would pick a devil's costume while I chose an angel's is a pretty odd coincidence."
"Coincidence. Yeah." Buford said pushing his angel out of the door.
Buford and Baljeet arrived and were greeted by several familiar people. They all complimented their costume choice and made small talk.
"There you guys are!" Phineas yelled. "I was worried you wouldn't make it!"
Baljeet was taken aback that his absence meant so much to Phineas and apparently everyone else. Jeremy began to play another song from his sophomore album "Cul-de-sac Dreamin'" and everybody began to dance. Baljeet was lost in the music and the company of his friends and time seemed to melt away. He was still hurting inside, but when he was with so many people who cared about him, he felt like he could actually get past it all.
The night went on with games, food, and lots of fun. Jeremy had just finished his last song and stepped up to the mic.
"Well guys, it's about time to call it a night, but before we do, it's time to announce the winners of the costume contest."
"Contest?" Baljeet yelped. He wasn't aware that anything like that was going on.
"Yeah, he announced it when you weren't here." Isabella explained. "People have been voting all night for the best costumes and the votes have been tallied. If you came with a costume, you were automatically entered."
Baljeet didn't like the idea of him being judged but he figured there were better costumes than his, so he probably didn't get much attention anyway."
"In third place, Irving, who came dressed as...Phineas."
"WHOOOOP! OH YEAH!" Irving cheered as he ran up to the stage and collected his little trophy. Everyone else was clapping except the main group who were wondering where that kid's obsession came from.
"In second place...Secret Agent Ferb!"
Ferb shot a grappling hook from his wrist and swung onto the stage, eliciting a huge reaction from the crowd. He took his bigger trophy and $50 gift certificate to any store in the mall and stepped to the side.
"And our winner...or should I say winners, Buford and Baljeet, the Devil and Angel of Danville!"
"Yes!" Buford yelled pulling a stunned Baljeet up to the stage through a sea of applauding people. Buford held up their trophy while Baljeet shakily held their backstage passes to Candace's next concert, which they probably could have and would have gotten anyway. Buford wrapped one arm around his angel and kissed him square on the mouth, making the crowd cheer even louder.
Buford loved putting that shell-shocked look on Baljeet's face. "So, you regret coming?" he asked.
Baljeet listened to the cheers and looked out at everyone. "No, tonight was...tonight was great."
Baljeet never received an invitation for his father's funeral. If he had, he wouldn't have gone anyway. He'd decided that Buford was right. They stopped being family the moment they threw him out. He was more somber that day, more withdrawn. Everyone noticed. Vanessa, Ferb, Monty, even their biology professor, Jake.
Class had ended for the day and as everyone was filing out, Jake called Baljeet over.
"Everything alright, Baljeet? You seem a little down."
"Uh, no sir." he lied. "I'm just a bit tired is all."
Jake wasn't believing it for a second, but he wasn't going to push it.
"All right, get some sleep. I need my top student on his top game." he said and watched as Baljeet nodded and slowly walked away. "I hope he'll be all right."
Perry snuck into Ferb's dorm room window and sat himself beside his owner's desk. He saw the trophy from the Halloween Costume Contest and a photo of him, Phineas, Isabella, Buford, Baljeet, and somehow, Irving. Perry liked that picture very much because you saw Ferb smiling, not smirking but a genuine smile.
Ferb turned in his chair and saw that he had company. "Perry! Glad you could make it. I've just put the finishing touches on it." He then reached out and wrapped what looked to be a collar on the platypus' neck. Once it was on, he then pressed a button on his own wristwatch and asked Perry to say something.
"What would you like me to say?" came through the speaker on the collar. Parry looked down shocked at what just happened.
Ferb just grinned. "Mission accomplished. This is your translator. It can only be activated by my watch., so you won't have to worry about it happening anywhere else. When we're not alone, I have set it to be linked to a pair of bluetooth headphones that way only I can hear you, everyone else will hear your chirping. What do you think?"
"It's brilliant, Master Ferb."
"Master? You'd think after all of this time together, the formalities wouldn't be needed."
"Of course, Ferb." The platypus chuckled in a deep, almost lyrical voice. He sounded as suave as his persona, Agent P, is in action.
"Well, where do we start?" Ferb asked. "Tell me about yourself."
"Well..." and the two spent hours properly getting to know one another on a level neither thought possible.