"Perry?"

"W-What?" He was pulled from his thoughts by a familiar female voice.

His teacher, Agent L, a white platypus with green eyes, sighed. "I asked if you could tell me what the best method to incapacitate your enemies is."

"Oh..." Perry blinked. That was right, he was still in class. There was only five minutes or so until they were done for the day, and he had forgotten he wasn't free yet. "I... There are a lot of options, aren't there? It depends on a lot of things."

Agent L frowned. Clearly that wasn't what she wanted to hear. "I suppose you're right-"

"I know!"

Perry sighed. He didn't even need to look to the source of the voice to know who said it.

"Yes, Jordan?"

"Although there are a lot of things an agent can do to incapacitate an enemy, the ideal method is to get in their blind spot and take them down when they can't see you." Perry looked to his right to see the red platypus sitting proudly in his seat, the light shining off of his yellow hat band. "Uncle Archer was just talking to me about that."

Agent L beamed, the smile taking over her whole face. "Perfect, Jordan."

Perry slouched down in his seat and rolled his eyes. Of course. They hadn't even gone over that in class yet, Agent L had just asked him because Perry was one of the best Trainees they had at the moment. But his parents were letting him learn mostly from training, whereas Jordan, Mr. "Perfect" Goody-Two-Shoes himself, was getting personalized lessons from Agent A, Archer the Platypus. His answer had been a better answer anyway, Jordan just told Agent L what she wanted to hear.

"Well, with that, class is done for the day," Agent L concluded. "Don't forget, the rest of this week is field training. Three of you have been assigned an agent to shadow per day until next week, make sure you remember what day you're going into the field with an agent."

Finally. Perry hopped to his feet and was one of the first Trainees out of the door. He could catch up with his parents in their cubicles and then get back home to Phineas and Ferb.

He already could barely remember life without them, having been a member of their host family for a little over two years. Despite that, he looked forward to seeing them again after training every single day. He didn't just feel like some undercover agent around them, he really...really felt like their pet. Like a member of their family. Something that even his own parents hadn't gotten to experience.

Lost in his thoughts, Perry didn't really notice where his feet were taking him until he felt himself ram into something bigger than him...and fluffy. "Whoa, kid, where you going?"

Perry quickly backed away and looked up to see Agent D, or Dennis the Rabbit, staring down at him with an amused smirk on his face. "S-Sorry. I was just going to visit-"

"Your mother?"

Perry blinked up at him. "Yeah... How did you know?"

Dennis' smirk widened into a grin. "Call me intuitive. I've seen you around a lot. You're Merinda's kid, right?"

Perry nodded slowly. "Well, luckily enough, I wasn't doing anything. Follow me, kid."

The Trainee frowned. "I've been to her cubicle a lot-"

"I know, I know. But no harm, no foul, right?"

Perry shrugged. "Fine." He wanted to protest more, not appreciating being treated like he had only just been adopted. He'd been a Trainee for two years now- it was only a few months until he'd graduate and become an agent- but his dad had told him over and over again not to mouth off against the agents when he was only a Trainee. So he wouldn't. This time.

He followed the white rabbit down the hall, into and through the maze of agents' cubicles, until they eventually stopped at a familiar one. Inside, a dark green platypus was sitting at her desk, typing away at her computer, until the movement to her left caught her attention and she turned to look at them. Immediately, her chocolate brown eyes lit up as a smile developed on her face. "Perry!"

Perry wanted to run up and hug her, but he felt self-conscious about doing so with Dennis there, so he shuffled a few steps closer and grinned at her. Why was Dennis there, anyway?

Clearly his mom was wondering the same thing. Merinda glanced up at Dennis and cocked her head curiously. "Hi, Dennis. You need something?"

The rabbit was silent for a moment, seeming a bit lost in thought, before her question pulled him back to the present and he awkwardly cleared his throat. "R-Right, yes. Lilly just... Lilly sent me to see if you were going to be able to make it to the birthday party she's gonna have next week."

"Oh, I almost forgot I got an invitation." Merinda's face relaxed back into a smile. "Yes, absolutely. Carson and I will be there."

Perry took a few steps to the side, feeling awkward standing in the middle of the two agents while they had a completely separate conversation.

"Oh..." For some reason, Dennis' icy blue eyes seemed to darken, although it was probably just Perry's imagination. "Carson, too?"

"Yeah, absolutely." Merinda chuckled, the grin remaining on her face. "What, did you think he wouldn't want to come?"

Dennis smiled back, although to Perry it seemed a bit forced. Strange. "No. I just... Just thought he was busy."

"No busier than the rest of us agents." If Merinda caught the same reactions from Dennis that Perry had, then she didn't show any sign of it. "No worries, tell Lilly we'll both be able to make it."

"Right." Dennis nodded briskly, turning like he was about to walk away.

Merinda actually kept talking, preventing the rabbit from doing so. "How old is Lilly turning, again?"

"Seven."

"Right, right." Merinda nodded thoughtfully. "It might not be any of my business, but I'm curious. Are you two planning on becoming mates soon? It feels like you've been a couple for ages."

The seemingly forced smile came back to Dennis' face. "Eh, we're just taking life as it comes right now. I think we're both pretty happy where we are right now."

"Okay, I was just wondering." Merinda smiled back. "Sorry to bother you."

"Absolutely no problem." Dennis' smile remained, although suddenly it felt much more genuine than before, and he finally walked off.

Merinda turned to face her son, still smiling. "So how was your day?"

"It was okay." Perry sighed. "I'm just sick of having to keep sitting in class. I can't wait to graduate into a real agent."

"Your father and I can't wait either." Merinda's smile developed into a grin. "You'll be up here with us and we'll get to see you a bit more often."

Perry nodded. "That and I can get away from all the other...irritating Trainees."

Merinda's smile vanished. "Honey, I've told you, they're just people living their lives, same as you. There's no reason to be so bothered by them. You need to make some friends."

"But I don't want to befriend any of them. I've told you that before. What's the point in making friends if I don't want to be friends with any of them?"

It didn't take long for Merinda's smile to come back, although this was clearly much more sympathetic than actually happy. "Sometimes you don't know who you actually belong with until you start getting to know them."

"Okay, well..." Perry sighed, unable to meet her eyes. "I have you, Dad, Penny, and the Flynn-Fletchers. I don't need anyone else."

Merinda clearly wanted to say more, but she had had this conversation with him before and they both knew what the other would say. She'd bring up some Trainees around his age that seemed like they'd get along with him, two examples being Peter or that one really quiet olive green platypus that always sat in the corner- was his name Maxwell? He couldn't even remember. Then Perry'd point out why there was no way that bond would ever last. Merinda would repeat "Are you sure? You don't really know them" over and over again until finally Perry lost his cool and snapped at her to stop. It never went well.

After a minute of silence, Merinda cleared her throat. "Well, I've got to finish this report up. You should see if you can find your father. He was in his cubicle last I saw, but that was a couple hours ago."

Perry nodded. "Okay, then. I-"

He was interrupted by another voice from outside the cubicle. "I heard from a certain white rabbit that you're planning on coming to Lilly's party next week?"

They bother turned to see a bright red platypus with almost black eyes standing near the entrance to the cubicle, his arms crossed and a small smile on his bill. "Archer!" Merinda returned his smile. "Absolutely. You just talked to Dennis, I guess?"

"Yep. Lilly loves you two, she'll be thrilled to see you there."

Merinda's smile grew into a grin. "Really? It never seems like we're that close."

Archer smirked. "Trust me. She's dating my best friend, I hear a lot."

"And we'll see you at the party? Even with all the murders?"

Perry knew bits and pieces of what she was talking about, but not a lot. He wasn't allowed to know that kind of information in detail until he became an agent. But several agents recently had gone missing, some of their bodies being found not much later. The agents were starting to get suspicious of everyone else, but Archer seemed to be gaining the most of that attention. Merinda, Carson, Dennis, Lilly, and a few other agents were the only other agents who still fully trusted him, insisting all the "evidence" against him was either made-up, circumstantial, or applied to every agent at OWCA. Surprisingly, the accusations hadn't seemed to bother Archer at all yet.

"Oh, you know me, Merry. None of that's ever gonna keep me down." Archer's smirk developed into a grin matching Merinda's. "Soon they'll catch the killer. Or all the murders will die down naturally. A killer can only go for so long, right?"

"I guess you're right. Well, I have to get back to work, Archer. I guess I'll see you at the party?"

"Who knows? We might see each other sooner than that, work and all."

Perry glanced at his watch and blinked in shock. 4 pm? Already? He had to head home, the Flynn-Fletchers tended to panic if he wasn't home by 4:30. He wanted to say bye to Merinda, but she was still finishing up her conversation with Archer, so he awkwardly gave her a small wave and slipped out of the cubicle.

Time for the long walk home. As Perry started back down the hallway, he sighed. He couldn't wait to become an agent and get the special equipment that came with the job, most notably all the various methods of transportation that could get him place to place way faster than his legs.

He was lost in his wishes for a rocketcar or jetpack until a familiar blue shape caught his attention. "Hey, buddy, how was your day?"

It was Carson the Platypus, Merinda's mate and his dad. Perry grinned up at him as they approached each other. "Dad!" He hugged Carson, which he hadn't had a chance to with his mom. "It was okay. Glad I'm done, though." He backed away and frowned. "I'd talk to you more, but I've got to get home or the Flynn-Fletchers will get worried about me."

Carson nodded, mirroring Perry's grin. "You do that. Your mom and I were gonna go check on Penny soon, since we haven't had a chance to see her much since she was shifted to the adoption center. Do you want me to catch you up on what happens?"

Perry nodded. "Absolutely! I miss her."

His dad gave him a final pat on his shoulder. "Okay, see you tomorrow, bud."

If only that was true.

(...)

Perry hadn't been assigned to field training the next day, so technically he was free. But Major Monogram would get after him if he didn't at the very least come in to OWCA while in training, so he found himself in the gym, building his strength by doing push-ups in the corner. After what felt like ages of this, Perry sat back against the wall, catching his breath.

He glanced around the gym. Several pairs of Trainees were sparring across the gym, but he didn't really have anyone he wanted to spar with. They were all a little scared to try and keep up with him anyway. Besides, one of them was a familiar bright red platypus, getting all sociable with everyone and acting like he owned the place. The Trainees didn't really think Jordan was that nice, right? No one is genuinely alwaysthat friendly, it's just not possible.

He turned his attention to the other side of the gym, and on the opposite side of the room, sitting with his back also against the wall, was a semi-familiar olive green platypus Trainee, who he thought was named Maxwell. Apparently he was also hiding in the corner unsure of what to do.

Their eyes met briefly, and Perry immediately glanced down at the floor, feeling awkward. He hated making eye contact with strangers. It was one of the things he liked about being undercover- he didn't have to make eye contact with anybody.

He glanced at his watch. 11am and no one had come to talk to him yet. That was a bit strange, usually Major Monogram liked to confirm that all the Trainees were in fact training, and he normally did so at least an hour sooner every day. Maybe with all the murder cases he was just getting swamped with work.

There was movement out the corner of his eye, and Perry turned to see Major Monogram walk into the room. Speak of the devil, there he was. He knew it couldn't have taken much longer.

Monogram met his eyes, and Perry frowned. He didn't look normal; there were heavy bags under his eyes like he had barely gotten any sleep, and the frown on his face was so deep that there was no way it was just his resting face. After a moment of the two awkwardly looking at each other, Monogram pulled his gaze away and cleared his throat. "I need Trainees Jordan and Perry to follow me to my office, please."

Perry's frown deepened. Well, that wasn't good. He had never once been called back to Major Monogram's office before; no Trainee was supposed to be, that didn't begin happening until they graduated into agents. But he had called Goody-Two-Shoes Jordan, also. What could he possibly want with both of them?

He sighed, getting to his feet. It didn't really matter, he'd learn in a few minutes anyway. It probably wasn't anything major. Perry wanted to think maybe it was praise for being such a great Trainee, but the distressed expression on Major Monogram's face implied otherwise- he looked like the furthest thing from proud of them.

Jordan caught up to them at the door. "Sir, is something wrong?"

Monogram sighed. "Come with me to my office, I'll explain there. We should be in private." He turned to walk down the hall, before pausing and glancing back to the two Trainees, not quite meeting either of their gazes. "But... Don't worry, neither of you have done anything wrong."

Perry bit the inside of his bill. Well, that's something, I guess. But if neither of them were in trouble... Why was any of this happening? And why was Monogram so determined not to look either of them in the eyes? He glanced at Jordan, who seemed just as confused as he felt. But the trio walked in awkward, solemn silence, down the halls until they reached Major Monogram's office.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, Jordan opened his bill. "Sir, what's going on?"

Major Monogram sighed, sitting in his chair on the other side of the desk. Perry and Jordan exchanged another glance before each pulling up a chair in front of him. Once everyone was settled, Major Monogram finally began to speak. "There...were three more murders in the case right now."

Perry frowned. "Three more agents were murdered? Just like that?"

"And... Why is this any of our business?" Jordan cocked his head. "I thought this case was confidential."

"Yes. That's true. And you two are the only Trainees I will tell." Monogram glanced between the two of them, giving them stern looks before continuing. "I expect both of you to keep these details between each other and no other Trainee until the case is solved."

Perry and Jordan both nodded. "And why are we the exception?"

"Because, well..." Major Monogram sighed again, his gaze softening and falling to the desk. "Because now I believe the case is far more personal to both of you, and you deserve to know."

What did he mean? How was it suddenly more personal? Unless... Perry hesitated. "Those... Those three murders last night. Who were they?"

"...Right." Monogram nodded. "Right. Right. I'm afraid...our murderer managed to catch up to three of our best agents." He inhaled deeply. "The first was Agent L, or Lilly the Rabbit."

Well, that sucked. Wasn't she friends with his parents? Merinda was just talking about her upcoming party yesterday. This would probably shake her pretty badly.

Perry realized that Monogram hadn't kept going yet. Jordan noticed this, too, but actually pointed it out. "Sir... What about the other two?"

Major Monogram met Perry's gaze briefly before he closed his eyes. "A-Agent M and Agent C... Merinda and Carson."

Perry heard the words, he did. And he saw Monogram speak the words. He felt the soft plush of the chair beneath him as he held it in a death grip. He even tasted the bile rising up in his throat. So why did it take so long for him to process what he said? The office was silent for what must have been several minutes.

Finally, Perry understood what Major Monogram was saying. Wait, did he? No, that couldn't have been right. He just said his parents' names. There was no way that was right; a silly little murderer couldn't catch up to them. They were two of OWCA's best; they'd take the murderer down at the first sight of trouble. Maybe OWCA had a...a Malinda and a Cason, or a Marina and a Kristen. No, of course it wasn't actually his parents, just a misunderstanding.

That was when the Trainee realized he had been quiet for a while. "S-Sorry." He swallowed, trying to quench his mouth, which had gone noticeably dry. That was a bit of a scare. "I thought you said my parents' names for a second."

Silence. Major Monogram stared at the desk, seemingly refusing to meet Perry's gaze. Perry frowned, turning to Jordan as he began to grow more desperate. "H-He didn't... Right?"

Jordan didn't look him in the eyes either.

Wait, no. That wasn't true. That couldn't be true. How the hell could it be true? "R-Right?"

"I did," Monogram said softly. "Perry, your parents' bodies were found in one of our storage warehouses around 1am this morning."

What kind of sick twisted dream was this? It must have been a dream, there was no other explanation. Perry pinched himself. Nothing. He was still sitting in the same office. But they couldn't be dead! They just couldn't be! His mother had been making plans for the rest of the week! He had just hugged his father hours before! He...he had just been told he'd see his father the next day... No, he had to go. He had to check their cubicles. They were probably still there. Or maybe they just showed up to work late. Maybe the murderer made it look like them when the bodies were fake or two other blue and green platypuses. He had to see for himself. They couldn't actually be gone, they-

"Perry?"

He blinked, shaking his head to clear it. Who had said that?

"Perry?"

He felt a soft nudge in his side and groaned, reluctantly opening his eyes. The blinding light of the sun greeted him. Once his eyes adapted to the sunlight and he opened them all the way, an olive green shape out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. "M-Maxwell?" Perry sat up, glancing around. He wasn't in Monogram's office, he was in his backyard. Right. He had fallen asleep in a warm patch of sunlight after coming home early from OWCA. "Maxwell, what are you doing here?"

The olive green platypus bit the inside of his bill. "We... We had agreed that I'd come over once the girls were done with school. But if- if you want me to leave, I can-"

"N-No, it's fine!" Perry shook his head. "Sorry, I forgot. I... I got a little distracted, I guess."

Maxwell frowned. "When I got here, you were asleep. I left you alone until just a few minutes ago. You started tossing and turning a lot and seemed pretty distressed. I wanted to wake you up before things got worse. I...hope that was alright..."

Perry met his gaze and smiled slightly, feeling too emotionally drained to give him a full smile. "Yeah, I needed it. I guess I could call you my hero. You pulled me out of that dream right before it got really bad."

Maxwell returned the slight smile, but it quickly turned back into a frown. "That dream you were having... Is that related to what happened this morning?"

"I guess." Perry sighed. "What probably happened is reflecting on my parents brought back a lot of repressed memories, so my dream was showing them all to me over again." He snorted. "Thanks, brain. That's exactly what I needed."

Maxwell hesitated before placing his paw on top of Perry's own. Although that wasn't the first time that had happened, it still threw the platypus off-guard a little bit. "Well... I'm here for you, alright?"

Perry's breath caught in his throat, and he quickly forced himself to nod to not appear like an idiot. "T-Thanks." Suddenly the full knowledge of his surroundings sank in, and Perry panicked. "Wait, the kids are home from school, right? W-Why aren't we in our mindless states? Did something happen?"

Maxwell shook his head, an amused twinkle in his silver eyes. "No, they're just having snacks that Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher made. They'll probably be outside soon."

Perry exhaled. "Right. Okay." His brain was still scrambled from the dream, apparently. "And you can call her Linda."

Maxwell hesitated before nodding. "Alright, if you're sure."

"Absolutely. Our kids are friends, right?" Perry smiled and laid back on his stomach, resting on all fours. "And..." He paused, biting the inside of his bill. Did he dare to say it? "I...guess we are, too?"

Maxwell mirrored him, down to the smile on his bill. "Y-Yeah, I guess we are." He laughed softly. "That makes you my first friend outside of my host family, then."

"And you mine." Perry hesitated. "Outside of Penny, that is. And Doof, but he counted as a frenemy to me for years, so I still have trouble considering him a proper friend."

"Right." Maxwell paused thoughtfully. "Your nemesis relationship with Doofenshmirtz is pretty well-known in OWCA, you know."

"It...is?"

"Well, not only has he been such a prominent figure in OWCA's history, for both good and bad reasons, but you're OWCA's best agent. So yeah, agents have been talking a lot about your relationship for years now." The small smile came back. "I think you two were already developing whatever relationship you have back when I graduated. I never formed that kind of relationship with my own nemesis, though."

Perry roughly knew every member of LOVEMUFFIN, at least by their faces, if not by their names. Intrigued, he opened his bill to ask Maxwell more about who his nemesis was, but he immediately shut it again when he heard a familiar female voice ring through the air.

"Hey, guys, I'm- where is everyone?"

It was Candace. She stepped through the gate into the backyard, her backpack slung over her shoulder. Thankfully, Perry and Maxwell were both on all fours already, so going back under cover wasn't difficult for either of them.

"That's weird, usually they're outside by the time I get home from school," Candace murmured to herself. Her attention was then captured by the two platypuses, sitting not far from the tree. "Oh. My. Gosh. Perry, who's this little cutie?" She came running over and bent down in front of the two platypuses, immediately gently scratching the top of Maxwell's head. The olive green platypus was clearly uncomfortable from the sudden affection, and Perry did his absolute best to stay mindless and not break out into a grin.

"I didn't know Danville had other platypuses," Candace said, turning her attention to Perry. "Well, look at you, buddy." She grinned. "Getting into the dating game yourself, are you?"

Perry froze, feeling his cheeks grow noticeably warmer. He almost managed to forget that Candace had practically no filter. And why should she around them? She didn't even know they were sentient.

Thankfully, Candace didn't seem to notice Perry's embarrassed reaction, standing up and adjusting her backpack straps. "I have got to find out who your new friend is! Phineas and Ferb will probably know." She ran inside.

Perry exhaled, immediately turning to face Maxwell with an awkward smile. "S-Sorry, she... She's pretty outgoing."

To his surprise, Maxwell was grinning back at him. "Her energy reminds me of the twins', honestly. It's fine. I just wasn't expecting her to immediately start petting me."

"Neither was I," Perry admitted, feeling himself adopt Maxwell's grin. "It took her years to start liking me, but apparently she fell in love with you almost instantly."

The olive green platypus' silver eyes sparkled in the sunlight. "Maybe that's why she began to like me so quickly. You did all the heavy lifting for me." He paused, turning his gaze to the grass for a moment, before lifting his head back to Perry with a smirk in his eyes. "So... Boyfriend?"

"W-What?" Perry froze, barely managing to stutter the one word out of his bill.

Maxwell laughed. "Well, that's what she implied I am to you, right? Your boyfriend?"

"I-I..." Clearly it was just a joke, but it was hitting Perry hard and he couldn't quite figure out why. "S-She just doesn't...d-doesn't know that we-" He exhaled, closing his eyes and forcing himself not to focus on the amused glint in Maxwell's eyes. "S-She'll probably learn the truth from the kids."

The two fell silent for the next few minutes, just listening to the sounds of nature and feeling the sunlight on their fur. Although Candance didn't come back outside, Phineas, Ferb, the twins, and their friends all came rushing out. "Hey, buddy!" Phineas ran over to Perry and immediately sat next to him, petting him. "I hope you had a good nap."

Perry resisted the urge to snort. If he only knew.

Phineas turned his attention to Maxwell. "You've been keeping him company, right? Perry could use some friends like him."

"Phineas!" Isabella called. "We only have a few hours until we have to go, do you have any ideas for what we can do?"

"Right, coming!" The boy gave each platypus another gentle pat on the head before running back over to the group of kids. But Perry didn't pay much attention, he was too busy running over Phineas' last words to Maxwell in his head.

"Perry could use some friends like him." Maybe Perry was just losing his mind after being so emotional all day, but the sentence gave him chills. It took him back to another sentence he had heard what felt like only minutes earlier. "You need to make some friends."

Perry sighed, hearing the conversation with his mother reply in his mind again. Would she be proud of him? He was finally making friends...kind of. Perry bit the inside of his bill, glancing over at Maxwell. The olive green platypus was watching Angela and Andrea intently, a slight smile on his face and the sunlight glinting off of his fur.

Perry felt his chest tighten, just looking at him. Why... Why did it feel wrong to call Maxwell a friend? That's... They had just agreed they were friends, right? So what was the issue?

"Sometimes you don't know who you actually belong with until you start getting to know them." Merinda's words echoed in his head, and Perry pulled his gaze away from Maxwell, staring at the grass in front of him. She had meant friends, right? Of course she did, he wasn't even three at the time, she wouldn't have worried about him having anything more than that. But...

One of Maxwell's twins ran up to the two platypuses although he still couldn't tell Angie and Andie apart. "Are you two having fun together? Just lying there doesn't seem very fun."

The other twin ran up to her. "Maybe platypuses have a different definition of fun, Angie! Besides, you remember how Mom and Dad sometimes don't do anything except sit on the couch together? Mom said that sometimes the people you love most are the people you don't do much with."

That was it. The nail on the head. As Perry turned to look at Maxwell, he just so happened to be glancing at him at the same time. Perry looked into his silver eyes, so much more playful and happier than he had ever expected them to be, and it hit him like a sack of bricks. He felt weird calling Maxwell a friend because he couldn't see him as just a friend.

He... He had feelings for Maxwell. And it was time he accepted that.

Well, that was great. Now, on top of everything else, he also knew he had a crush on one of his teammates. That definitely wouldn't make the relationships in their team even more difficult.

Perry inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. No, things could be the same as they were before... Except... He had been hoping to try and distance himself from the team, but... Did he really? He wanted to get away from Jordan and preferably Astrid still, definitely, but now not only did he care about Penny, but... Perry reluctantly admitted he did find himself caring a lot about Maxwell, too. How was he supposed to work on a team where he actually enjoyed being around two of his teammates and barely tolerated the other two?

Perry frowned, getting deeper in thought while keeping his gaze on the kids making phone calls and grabbing scrap metal from the garage. Did Maxwell still like working with him? Or would he rather go back to working solo again? Because if those were the only two options, then... Maybe it would be better to stay on the team for now, otherwise staying close to Maxwell would be hard.

Unless...

What if Maxwell was open to a third option? A third option where Perry got to stick around him but avoid Jordan and Astrid? And as much as he loved Penny, he did have to reluctantly agree that she was doing much better than he was at getting along with Jordan and Astrid and should probably stick with them at OWCA if she wanted to, at least for the time being. That just left him and Maxwell. Maybe... Maybe he could talk to Monogram about pulling him and Maxwell off the team but letting them work as partners?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Maxwell's voice. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. After you and Jordan left, we planned out what we think we should do next with DANGER."

Perry turned to look at him again, watching curiously to hear what he would say next. Maxwell continued, "We decided that tomorrow we'll infiltrate their base again and try to take down Dennis and Rodrigo."

Perry nodded thoughtfully. "Take down the foundation so they'll crumble more easily?"

A smile spread across Maxwell's bill. "Yeah, exactly."

He couldn't help but mirror Maxwell's grin. "That's really smart. Let's just hope it works out. Did I miss anything else?"

"Not really," Maxwell admitted. "Penny just... She told us her story." He hesitated. "About her struggles with the adoption center."

"Oh..." Perry bit the inside of his bill. That was a really sensitive spot for her. Damnit, he should've been there for her earlier. "Yeah, it was a pretty rough patch in her life." He laughed weakly. "I guess everyone just had an emotional breakdown of some sort this morning, huh?"

"Not Astrid," Maxwell said. "She kept her cool just like normal."

Perry sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know she does it." Suddenly feeling a little playful, he smirked over at Maxwell. "Maybe she's a robot."

Maxwell grinned. "That would explain a lot. I mean, she's older than the rest of us, right? We don't really know anything about her past."

Perry chuckled, but despite the lighter mood between them he wasn't able to get what Maxwell had said about Penny out of his head. He had been so wrapped up in his own emotions recently, he had almost forgotten his cheerful little sister had a lot of things she was struggling with, too. He should probably check in with her tomorrow.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the familiar sounds of construction and realized that while he and Maxwell were talking, their kids had already started building some massive structure, although it was too early to figure out what it was yet. Maxwell's gaze had settled back on the twins, who were playing rock-paper-scissors in the corner of the yard, although Perry wasn't quite sure why.

He felt his chest tighten again watching the light smile on Maxwell's bill and the sparkle in his silver eyes, and he resisted the urge to sigh. At least he knew why he felt this way, now. But it was gonna be difficult to handle; Perry never thought he'd ever form feelings this strong for any agent at OWCA, whether platonic or romantic. It was weird, and... He wasn't sure how he felt about it.

Perry was normally okay with silence, but in this moment, felt like he'd burst if he didn't try and start another conversation. So he did. "You really care about your family, don't you?"

Well that sucked. Those were really the first words out of his bill?

Apparently Maxwell didn't mind, though. He looked back at Perry with a slightly wider smile and sheepish expression in his eyes. "Is it...that obvious?"

Perry chuckled. "Hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I think I've made it pretty clear how I feel about the Flynn-Fletchers over the years."

Maxwell nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just... I'm not used to my emotions being so readable."

"Well..." Perry hesitated. "I like it when you express yourself more. I wish you would."

Maxwell gave him a small smile. "Thanks. I can't make any promises, but... Thanks."

They were silent for another few minutes before a figure appeared over the fence to their backyard. "Angela, Andrea?"

The attention of the two twins- and Perry and Maxwell- was pulled over to this figure, and he realized it was Esther. "Girls, it's time to head home."

"Wow." Maxwell cocked his head curiously. "I don't think Esther's finished work that early in a couple weeks."

"Mom, you're home already?" One of the twins came running up to her, with the other close behind.

Esther grinned and nodded. "Yep! I wanted to get done early today because I'm going to be at work all day again tomorrow. I figured if I picked you up now, we could maybe play Kleptocracy? You two were saying you wanted to."

"Yay!" The girls clapped their hands. Almost immediately after, one of the two came rushing over and grabbed Maxwell from the grass. "Come on, let's go home!"

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Maxwell said with a smile that was just subtle enough for the twin to miss it.

"Yeah, see you." Perry forced himself to keep his face straight as the Bridges were replaced with Phineas and Ferb walking over to him.

"They're such a cool family," Phineas was saying. "I had no idea anyone else in Danville even had a platypus as a pet. And they're so fun, too. Aren't they?"

Ferb nodded, bending down to pick up Perry. Phineas gently scratched the top of his head once he was elevated. "I'm glad you like Maxwell, bud. You two make good friends."

For the first time, Perry had to admit that that was probably true. But... Did it have to stop there?

Ooooooooh, things are slowly kicking in now...

Oh, hi xD Perryfan68 here, actually writing an A.N. On my old account, I wrote these all the time, but then I stopped because it felt obnoxious. But I just wanted to add one here :) First of all, I'm sorry for getting this chapter out a couple days late. Idk if anyone noticed, but I did, and I feel bad about that. The back half of this week has been insane.

But the main reason I'm writing this is to give everyone who's reading this a massive thank-you. Unfortunately I can't do much other than say thank you, since all you guys can do is read my message. But this story has blown up way more than I ever expected, being almost as popular as some of the stories I used to be proud of on my old account. Its popularity isn't massive, but for a passion project that I decided to start writing while rewatching the show for the first time in five years? I was expecting like 200 views and the only comments to be from my BFF (you know who you are :D), and this story is giving numbers that blow that out of the water.

I know it's a really strange interpretation of the PnF universe, so I do majorly appreciate all the support I'm getting for it :D And I'm feeling nice, so, since this is also probably gonna be the only A.N. I'll have in this story (idk maybe one will be at the end), I'll give you guys a fun little fact:

I'm planning on this series having four main stories, one of which you're reading right now. Obviously, this story is from Penny and Perry's POVs. The next story, which I am currently planning, will actually be from Jordan's POV, and then the following two stories will be from Astrid's and Maxwell's perspectives, respectively. So you know what you're looking forward to :)

Again, thank you guys so much again for all the support, I really really appreciate it :D The next month is gonna be really busy for me, so I might end up having to take this story on another hiatus- I know, I don't think any of us want that- but I promise, no matter what, I will continue to make progress on this story, and I'm not gonna let myself quit this series, even if it takes me ten more damn years to write xD I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon, so don't worry about this series never being finished.

(P.S, if you read that whole thing, especially if you're from the future and still have the rest of the story to go, you have my appreciation and approval. I'd give you more but I can't. Lemme know in the reviews if you actually finished, 'cause I doubt most people will read this whole thing :D)