Hi there!

Here we are, already at the end of this story! I hope you all have enjoyed it!

Most of all *trumpet fanfare* to our dear Spazzumtard! Your gift is finally complete! I hope you enjoy this final bow on this Ferbella package! And Spazz says she likes my silly poetry... so I totally put that to use in this chapter XD I hope you're entertained by that, too!

(And I'm relieved, because now I can update for my other stories!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb.

TWENTY

"I know I'm a genius, love, but I refuse to calculate the kinetic viscosity of this completely theoretical liquid without the use of my calculator!"

Isabella didn't care; she ran, coveted calculator in hand, around the back of the couch. She held it out of Ferb's reach as he followed her, and she squealed when he caught her around the waist. She loved it.

"Isabella!"

"No!" she cried, though her capture was inevitable; she was laughing too hard to keep this up. She still tried to horde his calculator, even as he held her to him—but he picked her right up off the ground.

"Ferb!" she yelped, flailing in his arms, until he dumped her over the back of the couch onto the cushions below. She was so surprised, he easily plucked the calculator from her hands.

"Ferb!" she laughed again. "You're no fun!"

He folded his arms on the back of the couch and grinned down at her. He was so gosh darn cute! That smile seeped under her skin, wrapped happy little ribbons around her heart, and finished it off with a bow. All she wanted to do was lean up and kiss him!

But she couldn't.

Because they weren't even dating.

Because he was an idiot with really, really, really bad timing.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be working on homework?" Phineas asked, and Isabella sat up. She hadn't even noticed the younger brother. He was by the door, coat on, and he was patting his pockets as if searching for keys. When he found them on the counter, he plucked the keys up and grinned at them. "Doesn't look like homework to me."

Ferb threw his arms out toward Isabella, his expression easily implying, I would be, if it weren't for the calculator thief! It made her giggle.

"I would've been working on it if Ferb hadn't been chasing me. It's his fault."

Ferb's eyes narrowed into an incredulous glare, and it was with a smug smirk that she reached up and closed his mouth with two fingers.

"Are you sure this is what you want to be doing tonight?" Phineas asked, completely unperturbed by his brother's incredulity.

Exactly what Isabella had been thinking! She didn't need a fancy dinner—restaurants were crazy tonight—or flowers or chocolate. She didn't actually need anything more than what they were doing: staying at home, being together. But she wished it had a different intent behind it. She wished they weren't just doing this as "friends."

"It's Valentine's Day," Phineas probed a little bit more, silently nudging Ferb with his gaze. It was so obvious; his eyes were practically screaming, Do or say something, you idiot! at his brother.

Ferb stared blankly on, and Isabella knew what he was thinking; he was struggling with how to respond. He'd done that ever since he'd gotten back from Britain.

Yes indeed, Isabella finally realized she loved him; and once that piece fell into place, Isabella fell hard along with it. She'd been utterly swept up in the wake of that stunning completed puzzle. Everything he had ever been to her had solidified into a sense of love and longing so strong she couldn't even comprehend it. Everything she did, everything she wanted, everything, led back to Ferb Fletcher.

And as soon as that startling fact swallowed her whole, of course the stupid idiot went abroad for his second semester of college. She was left here, at their college, without him. Isabella had been miserable.

Phineas hung out with her a lot. A lot, a lot. They'd both lost their best friend, after all. In fact, she spent more uninterrupted time with Phineas, one on one with no other distractions, than she had in her entire life; and the cruel irony was that all she could think about was his brother.

She loved Phineas, of course. But she was in love with Ferb on a whole different level. He truly was her Person: capital P, to demark the singularity that he was in her life. He was Ferb, simple as that, and not even all this time with Phineas could make up for his loss.

She couldn't blame him for going, exactly. The entire second semester's tuition was covered if he did, since he got the offer to study abroad by some engineering company where his grandpa had once worked.

A whole semester's tuition to travel and build professional relationships and gain job experience—yeah, Isabella wasn't judging him for going. As much as it sucked for her, she pushed him to go.

He always lived for her, after all. He was always so damn selfless. So this time, Isabella didn't give him the option to be selfless. He needed to be selfish, at least in this regard. And if he needed a little push to get him there, then Isabella would do that with a smile—even if it killed her inside.

She'd encouraged him to go, and only cried about it once he was gone.

From what she could tell, he'd cleaned up. He got a ton of job offers for when he finished school—so many he'd video called her the day before he was due to fly home with a wide-eyed stare, completely overwhelmed by his looming future. It was coming so fast, and she could tell that was scaring him a bit.

She'd talked to him for hours that night, like so many others, but that one time was better: she got to tell him "See you tomorrow." She could hardly sleep, she'd been so excited.

So no, Isabella couldn't blame him. His timing sucked. Really sucked. But she wasn't mad that he went.

She was mad because he hadn't asked her out before he left; nor had he managed to after.

Not yet, she promised herself determinedly. Because he was hers, even if he hadn't had the guts to make it official yet. But seriously, this was getting really ridiculous.

She didn't know if it was a confidence thing, or maybe a Phineas thing, or maybe he was in a state of total denial about her feelings for him? But even though she came over every night and grabbed lunch with him almost every day and was texting him each moment in between… Ferb had yet to ask her out!

Officially.

As in, he had yet to kiss her (because they had so many date-like outings, but she couldn't call them dates because he was being so distant and she really wanted to kiss him, but again: distant, and uuuggggggghhhhhh it was like as soon as they tiptoed into the "more than friends" realm, he just... shut down. And pushed her away).

The frustration was real.

"I'm a pretty smart guy, but you two really confuse me," Phineas muttered—loudly, with no discretion. He wanted Ferb to hear him.

Ferb pursed his lips and looked away, not meeting either of their eyes, and seeing it was enough to draw Isabella up from where he'd dropped her on the couch. She crossed around it and took his arm. There was no way he could avoid looking at her, now that she was wrapping his arm around her shoulders and nuzzling into his side.

"I don't really care what we're doing," she smiled prettily at Ferb and batted her eyelashes, "as long as we're spending time together, right, Ferb?"

He swallowed hard, and it took him a second before he managed to nod.

She'd flustered him. Point: Isabella!

She freaking loved when she flustered him, and she'd succeeded in doing so more and more frequently. Seeing it was a reminder that he felt that way about her; and at this point, she'd take what she could get.

"What Ferb meant to say was that he just wants to spend time with you too!" Phineas laughed, and Ferb glared at him.

"I'm perfectly capable of speaking for myself," he grumbled, but Phineas only smiled.

"Great! Use that skill to tell Isabella a few things—you know, a few important things you really need to tell her. I'll see you guys later!"

He opened the door and was halfway out, when Isabella called, "Wait, Phin! Where are you going?"

"Out," he responded simply, popping his head back in the door, and curiosity bubbled up in her.

She felt even more giddy as she cooed, "Oooo, Phineas, do you have a Valentine's date?"

Phineas burst into laughter. "What? No, I don't have any plans." At their confused expressions, he gave a wink. "But you two don't need me here, right? So you'll have the place to yourselves. All alone. Just to the two of you. Ferb. Seriously. Don't make me hurt you. Anyways, have fuu-uuun!"

He sang the last word until the door closed behind him, and Isabella was left to stare at it as her mouth popped open into a happy little smile.

God, Phineas was the best.

She turned her full attention back onto Ferb, and when he continued to gape awkwardly at the door, his brain still probably imploding from all the implications in his brother's words, Isabella vowed that she wouldn't let him avoid this any longer. Tonight would be the night.

Seeing the opportunity for what it was, Isabella pushed up onto her toes and, cupping his cheek, pressed her lips to his temple.

"Well, you heard him," she hummed, trailing her finger down his arm as she stepped back. "Looks like you're stuck with me as your Valentine's date, Ferb."

She'd pretty much lost the ability to control herself around him. It was everything she could do not to jump him most the time; so she couldn't help but flirt, and she flirted hard. Stealing his calculator was just the tip of the iceberg; she was amazed she hadn't fried his brain by now.

He didn't meet her eyes as he said, "Well thanks to a certain someone, I still have a kinetic viscosity to calculate."

"Keep on talking so nerdy to me, Fletcher, and I don't know if I'll be able to control myself."

This, at the very least, got him to smile; she could see it as he crossed back to the front of the couch. He picked up his pencil and studied his physics book, and she wondered if he knew exactly how true her statement was.

She was completely, astonishingly, irreparably head over heels for this geek.

She supposed she had homework too, though. She picked up a rather dense textbook—its density captured in its title: A Complete History of Global Negotiations—and made to sit next to him.

She didn't sit next to him, though.

"Ferb, you didn't leave enough room for me."

He looked up from the notebook where he'd been jotting down equations and lifted his eyebrow; he flicked his wrist out as if to say, There's the whole couch.

But he was sitting up now, and that was all Isabella needed. She hadn't been looking for room on the couch, after all.

Textbook in hand, Isabella lounged across his lap. Only when her head rested perfectly against his shoulder, her cheek against his collarbone, her book open to her current chapter, did she say, "Perfect. Thanks, love."

She made it a few paragraphs in before she realized he hadn't moved even an inch. She blinked up at him, and found him staring down at her, bright red and incredibly flustered.

Point two: Isabella.

"Well you've called me love," she justified, figuring that was the cause of this look. "I thought I'd give it a try."

With a smile, she went back to reading her book, and it took a few more paragraphs before he finally responded.

"I'm never going to finish this assignment, am I?"

Isabella bit her lip. She watched him as his eyes followed the movement, and she'd never wanted to kiss him more.

"It's the weekend anyway," she said, closing her own book and discarding it on the table.

He must have been able to read the look in her eyes, because he quickly looked away and exhaled, "Isabella…"

"Ferb," she answered evenly.

If he loved her as long as she suspected he did, she didn't understand why she had to try this hard. He had to know how she felt about him, right? She hadn't exactly been subtle.

But, then again, maybe it was precisely because he'd loved her for so long without her even knowing how to reciprocate that he was so worked up about all of this. She was rewriting the entire code of their relationship; and even though she loved him so much, he had yet to reboot.

She reached up to run her fingers along his cheek, but he caught her hand mid-way. Although he held it for a second, he quickly deposited it back on her stomach. He had that careful purse to his lips, and just like that, she felt all the doors to his soul snap shut.

No.

No, you know what?

Isabella loved him too much; she wasn't putting up with this anymore.

She pushed off his lap and sat beside him, specifically so she could meet his eyes.

"Why do you have this wall up around me?" she demanded, right then and there.

He blinked at her, clearly taken aback. It took him a beat to answer; and when he did, at least he didn't stoop so low as to deny he had a wall up. He knew he did. So he saved her the denial; but he fed her nonsense instead.

"It's… habit," he said quietly.

"That's bullshit, Ferb. I have over ten years of evidence saying that's not habit at all."

He shrugged and looked away, but—goddamn it—she took his face and made him look at her.

"Don't," she snapped. "Don't you look away from me ever again, Ferb Fletcher. Never again! And it's not habit."

His eyes blew wider than she'd ever seen, but she was on a roll, and she wouldn't be stopped.

"Habit is brushing against me all the time without faltering and habit's you reading my mind. Eating off my fork when I'm distracted and flopping over into my lap after a hard day so I can run my fingers through your hair. Habit is leaning on your arm during movies and you catching me every time I trip.

"But this," she ran her hands along his chest, took his shirt in her fists, held him to her so fiercely he wouldn't dare look away. "This, you putting space between us, you not letting me into your mind—this is not habit! This is torture, Fletcher, and you know it just as well as I do!"

"Isabella," he sighed, rubbing at his forehead, and she knew he was going to start with the excuses, but she wouldn't be having it!

"No, Ferb. No matter what you say, you putting distance between us will never be habit."

"But it is!" he cried out, shooting to his feet. "It is habit, Isabella! Not having you is habit!"

He was pacing, pacing so quickly now, as he ran his hands manically through his hair—Isabella had never seen him like this.

"Taking the back seat, suppressing how I've always felt with you—that's habit! You've never felt that way about me! And when things were suddenly different because I was tipsy and stupid—and I had to leave, and—"

"Ferb," she cut him off, and she left the couch to catch him as he paced. He went still, and his eyes were stormy as they met hers. He was killing himself over this: not being able to accept that something could actually happen between them. That she wanted it to!

…Maybe waiting for him to feel comfortable enough to make the first move wasn't good enough anymore.

But before she could, he let out a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. After a moment, he released it and shook his head. He was deliberating, but she could tell he'd come to a decision, because then he said it: "Isabella, what about Phineas?"

Phineas? If she were being honest with herself, her crush on him had faded long ago—longer than she ever recognized, at the time. That silly crush could never measure up to the infallible ease of her existence when she was around Ferb. Even when she was only thirteen and crushing hard on Phineas, that ease had existed. Being around Ferb made her whole being feel at peace.

Ferb was probably the only person that she could be totally unguarded around. She could trip and cry ugly tears and it wouldn't matter. She could be silly and giddy and it'd make him smile. It wasn't some crazy fiery, electric passion like all the movies and books had promised, but it was something even better: it was the only relationship she had where being herself, fully and truly, was effortless.

The sparks followed from there.

It made her think about something Ferb had told her, when they'd danced together at her quinceañera. He'd been trying to get her to see that a boy that made her feel insecure and always second-guess herself wasn't really that singular, encompassing love she wanted so badly. With that one person, even when life was hard, existing with them was easy. You were swathed in security of self, and it was because you were with that person that you felt that way.

That was what being around Ferb felt like. And answering his question now was incredibly easy, too.

"Phineas is wonderful and amazing and so fun to be around," she responded, watching him give a painful nod with each adjective. She took his shirt again, and when she couldn't pull him back to her, she stepped to him instead and looked him right in the eyes. "But I don't love him, Ferb. I think you've known that for a while."

She hadn't expected him to start shaking his head, to actually take her hands and pull them off his shirt, like her touch burned him. He didn't meet her eyes when he next spoke.

"But you don't get it, Isabella. All this time, I was the one that ruined your chances with Phineas. It was all my fault, and you never knew that."

Isabella pursed her lips. She didn't know what he was talking about, but it sounded like…

"Are you saying you sabotaged my chances with Phineas?" That just didn't seem possible; obviously Ferb had always put her happiness first. More than he should have, the dolt!

She was relieved to see him adamantly shake his head; apparently the idea of his sabotage was just as preposterous to him as she felt it was.

"No! No, I never… did anything. Not on purpose. It's just—" he sighed, "Isabella, Phineas always knew how I felt about you. He could tell. So…"

Isabella's eyes grew wide.

Phineas had been able to tell Ferb always had feelings for her… so he probably never saw her as a potential romantic partner. He never would have, if he knew his older brother liked that girl.

"So Phineas never would have…" she trailed off, and Ferb slowly nodded his head. Studying him, she could see the slight quiver to his form, the immense fog of fear that surrounded him; he was worried she'd hate him now, at this realization.

But when you loved someone as much as she loved him, it would take a whole hell of a lot more to get her to hate him.

"Well… good," she responded.

And to her surprise, Ferb immediately blurted out, "Good? How is that possibly good? I ruined what you always wanted, and—"

"Ferb," she cut him off again, "I don't want Phineas."

Because waiting wasn't good enough this time. She refused to wait any longer. She didn't even care anymore if she had to make the first move. She didn't need the reassurance of him taking that first step; she was entirely sure.

"It's more than good, because I was never in love with Phineas. Not really. I know that I never was," she sucked in a breath, "now that I actually know what love is. Now that I can recognize it when I feel it!"

"You…" Ferb began, but emotion drowned out his voice. She nodded anyway, because she already knew what he was trying to say.

"What," she laughed, "you need some grand romantic gesture to prove it to you?"

He opened his mouth. Then he closed it again.

Then, in a quiet voice, he said, "That would be nice, actually. Yes."

She started laughing so hard that it almost wasn't possible for her to reach for his face, push up on her toes, and press her lips against his.

She could feel his shock in the curve of his mouth, but she swallowed his breathy gasp and kept kissing him anyway. He was too stunned to react at first, and she fought the urge to smile.

"Relax, Ferb," she told him, speaking against his lips. "You're trying to think about it, love, but just move instead. And don't forget to breathe."

It was the same advice he'd given her the first time he kissed her. She'd been too surprised to act then; and his soft words of instruction had been branded into her mind as she'd gained the courage to kiss him back.

His gentle laugh told her he recognized what she'd done, and he melted under her fingertips. His hands found her waist, and finally he was kissing her like he actually meant it.

Oh fuck, she wasn't actually prepared for this. The heat of his lips, his hands on her, the intense longing she felt, how easy this was, how much she wanted even more of him. She was not prepared to protect her heart from this; and he stole it.

No. She gave it to him. She needed him to have it.

Maybe he always had. He'd always protected it, after all.

She was the one to take things a little further. She had no idea what the hell she was doing, really; but it didn't seem that hard. She pushed him back down on the couch, and this time when she crawled onto his lap, it was so she was facing him.

Oh, his hands were on her legs now. And she liked being a little taller than him as she kissed him. Yup, this was an excellent choice.

She was so into him that when he pulled back to say something, she started kissing a line down his jaw, too.

"This… isn't really happening, right?" he gasped. "This is just a dream, isn't it? I've had this dream before. I'm going to wake up, aren't I?"

She giggled at how endearing that was, and her nose nuzzled his as she shook her head. No, this wasn't a dream. She prayed to god it wasn't, because she wasn't sure she could muster the bravery to initiate this a second time.

"But… this is happening so fast. I haven't even told you I love you."

With a deep breath, Isabella pulled back enough that she could see him, eye to eye. Her hands held both of his cheeks, her thumbs running gentle trails across his skin.

"Ferb, you never needed to tell me. You've been silently telling me every single day since we were kids. I was just too dumb to listen."

His eyebrows rose, but she wasn't done.

"I'm the one who needs to tell you that I love you. And I do! I—" She let out a nervous laugh, and she folded forward, hiding her face against his neck. "I love you so much, Ferb. You're way more than my best friend, I just couldn't recognize it."

She felt his faltered breaths rising and falling beneath her. She felt the quick thrum of his heartbeat flutter along her eyelashes. She felt him.

"You… do?" came his quiet voice, and she sat up.

"Of course I do, you dumb Brit!" she exclaimed, smacking him in the chest. "I love you so much, it's—ridiculous. Do you even know how much I love you? And how freaking hard I've been trying not to jump you?"

He blinked at her: at her furious frown, at the way she couldn't maintain it and it morphed into a giddy smile, at how she couldn't hide how much she adored him.

"So… this is for real," he realized, and she couldn't help it: she swooped back down and started to kiss him again. It had been too long; she was already addicted to this.

When she finally broke for air again, she declared, "Oh, it's real. You are mine, and you better buckle up, because I am not letting you go."

Finally, the shock faded from his face. It was replaced with a determined smirk—the same way he'd looked at her at Adyson's graduation party, when he'd closed the distance between them and kissed her so thoroughly he'd broken her mind.

"I think I can live with that," he responded. He leaned forward, but before his mouth was on hers, he hesitated just beyond her reach. His words were a whisper against her: "Happy Valentine's Day, Isabella."

God, did he even know the effect he had on her?

And then he was kissing her again, running his hands along her legs and hips and up her back and—oh my god, this was incredible.

It was hours and hours later that they heard the keys in the door, and Isabella pushed on Ferb's chest, forcing him to sit up on his knees from where he'd been pretty much pinning her to the floor.

Yeah… the couch didn't have enough room, but everything else was too far. So… floor it was.

"Ferb!" she hissed under her breath as he looked down at her with heavy, entranced eyes. Damn his hair was messy, and he was fucking sexy like this; but they didn't have time!

"Knock knock," Phineas called out, and she and Ferb untangled and scrambled to find his shirt.

And her shirt.

And her pants.

Dear lord, Isabella had been in heaven.

"Uh—no! Phin!" she yelped. Panic made her voice high and breathy.

Or maybe that was just how Ferb had left her.

Thankfully, Phineas didn't open the door beyond a small crack. He wisely stayed in the hall, as if he knew exactly how this evening had turned out.

Maybe he wasn't as blind as she thought. He was blind, of course. But maybe not terribly blind.

This must have been Phineas' plan all along, because from the other side of the door, he laughed, "I really hope I interrupted something."

Fuck, he did. He really, really did. She hoped he hadn't been listening at the door, because hearing the noises she'd been making would have been really embarrassing!

Damn Brit. Ferb didn't seem to have any more comments about moving fast once they really let themselves go after each other. He didn't have anything else to say at all tonight, actually—beside quiet commands that made it a bit easier for his hands to roam.

If Phineas had heard her…

Why did Ferb have to be so good at everything?

She'd just gotten her pants back on when Ferb tossed her her shirt, and seconds later, she squeaked, "Uh…"

She had no idea if she should tell Phineas to come in. This was pretty… obvious, after all.

"Finished?" came the redhead's dry question, and when she didn't respond, he must have taken that as an answer in itself. He pushed the rest of the door open and ambled inside.

"Hey guys!" He dumped his keys and coat on the counter—neat Phineas was not—and turned toward them with a grin. "Well you sure look like you had fun."

God, she could only imagine how she looked. Electric fire was still coursing under her skin. Her hair was frizzy and tangled. Her clothing was a bit rumpled. She was flustered and devastatingly over-stimulated.

Damn Brit.

"Homework," Ferb said with a surprisingly casual shrug—Isabella had no idea how he managed—but Phineas' grin turned downright devious.

"Yeah. Of course. Homework." He crossed all the way to his room, saying, "Well don't let me stop you!" with a sweep of his hand. But half a second after he'd strolled inside his bedroom, he poked his head back out. "By the way, Ferb, your shirt's on backwards."

And then he let his door close, and Isabella was left to stare at it as her jaw dropped open.

Slowly, she turned toward Ferb. His hair was so messy… which made sense. She'd always had a thing for running her fingers through it. And, just like Phineas pointed out, his shirt was indeed on backwards. It was just one of his pajama t-shirts, easily mistaken when they were in a hurry, and now they were both cracking up.

They were so horrendously overt that even Phineas was instantly left with no doubts.

"Way to go, Ferb," she hummed, sauntering up to him, and he pursed his lips as he watched her. She ran her hands up his chest and decided, "I suppose we need a little practice, hm?"

His face flushed the most brilliant pink, and her insides skipped. Honestly, how could he possibly be shy now? Now, when only minutes ago he'd so readily been making her moan? Oh, Ferb.

She bit her lip as she watched him. He was studying her in equal measure, and she could see the shock churning there. Maybe the past few hours were finally settling in. Maybe it was something else.

"What?" she finally breathed, unable to fight her smile any longer; it stole across her face as she blinked up at him.

Slowly, Ferb shook his head. "I can't believe you're looking at me like that."

Damn, his words were phonic heat that pooled deep within her; it was everything she could do not to throw herself on him and find a way to make him believe it.

But he was still her goofy smartass of a best friend, and she wouldn't be letting him off that easy.

"Hey, I've been looking at you like this a lot, Fletcher. It's not my fault if you never saw it!"

"You're one to talk," he teased, and somewhere along the line, their laughter turned into another kiss.

Isabella honestly had no way to know what to expect: going from best friends for so long and transitioning, somehow, into intimate partners. She hadn't been sure how that would go, and when Ferb was acting so squeamish and distant, she'd been nervous.

She should have known being physical with him would just sort of… fall into place. It was Ferb. Even if something embarrassing happened—and she knew if was bound to, because she was so astoundingly inexperienced—she knew there really wasn't anyone else she could ever be more comfortable with. If she had to blunder through this with someone, at least it was with Ferb.

Ferb… her mind hummed as he bit at her lower lip, and she literally went weak in the knees. He held her up anyway, and that was when she knew she wouldn't be going home tonight.

They couldn't do anything. At least, not anything that required protection; she wasn't prepared and she doubted Ferb was too, considering she'd ambushed him with all of this. But she wouldn't be leaving him tonight, either.

She rather liked kissing him standing up. She could be so close to him, and it reminded her of when he'd kissed her during his turn for King's Game. Thinking of that moment still made her giddy.

And if, while standing, she could press her hips against his and make his breath sputter off beat, make his fingers tighten on her and a gasp catch in his throat… well, that didn't hurt anything, either.

His bedroom was so familiar when they eventually stumbled into it. The semester he'd been gone, there were nights she'd crashed in here after finishing homework with Phineas. She'd missed him so much, and there had been something comforting about being amongst his things. She never did anything creepy like go through his drawers; she just lied in here hugging his pillow and breathed in the ghosts of his presence.

She remembered Ferb's astonished face the first time he'd video called her in the morning and woken her up in his bed. She'd been embarrassed to admit she'd slept there because she missed him so much, but when he stared back at her with a half-flustered, half-pleased smile, she'd thought it had been worth it.

It was so much better getting to sleep in here with Ferb, rather than the ghosts. She'd already been wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants; she had a designated set here for when they had homework nights. And of course he'd been more than willing to remove her bra… so she was practically in pajamas already.

She didn't exactly feel sleepy, though, and neither did he; and she had to say, this was way better on a bed than it was on the floor.

It had to have been the early hours of the morning that she finally started to grow tired. It was hot in here, even after her pants had long been discarded again. Now Ferb held her to him, his legs entwined with her bare ones under the covers, and Isabella told herself to breathe.

Breathe. Think. Recover.

She was still reeling from his touch, and his smug smile in the dark told her he knew it.

"Oh my god, Ferb," she murmured sleepily against him, and his chest shook with silent laughter.

"You could get used to this?" he guessed, and she sighed contentedly.

"No, I already am. This is a thing. I'm a permanent fixture now, Ferb; you've got me hooked."

This time, his laugh filled what little space there was between them.

"Then you'll have to work on being quieter."

"Hey, that's your fault," she giggled, tilting her head up to press her mouth against his one more time.

She woke up with him spooning her, which was incredibly similar to the morning when they'd woken up at Adyson's graduation party.

That morning, however, Ferb had scrambled back, apologized, and been silent for hours. It marked the start of a very long year of denying feelings, realizing feelings, and still having him try to act as platonic as possible.

This morning, though? She woke him up by straddling him, and when he opened one sleepy eye and smiled—dear lord, Isabella's heart could barely take it! This morning marked the start of something she was going to do everything in her power to keep forever.

She hadn't been able to stay long since she had a group project she was meeting up with people for. She needed to shower and change and giggle to herself incessantly over how happy she was.

All day, she couldn't stop thinking about something, though: something Ferb had said. That would be nice, actually. Yes.

He was probably teasing when he'd answered her that way, but she wanted to make some grand romantic gesture anyway. She wanted to woo him. To make sure he knew she was so in this. Heaven knew after this long, he definitely deserved the effort.

She toiled away on her plan for a couple of hours. She stopped by the store. She got it all set up. And then she sent the text:

Hey, Ferb! I need your help with this stupid poetry assignment! If you want to come over, I'll provide the frozen pizza!

It wasn't a lie, necessarily. It was a mistake she'd made at the start of semester and had regretted since: she'd signed up for a poetry class as one of her electives, having been promised an intriguing critical analysis of contemporary form. And she got that… in part. The other part of the class was actually practicing contemporary form.

As in, writing poetry.

As in, something Isabella could not do.

So this wouldn't have been the first assignment Ferb had helped her with.

Ferb responded immediately that he'd be there, and she couldn't help but smile. Of course he would. Ferb was always there.

She had it all set up by the time he arrived. He looked a little shy when she let him in, probably uncertain what the protocol was now. What was allowed? Could they kiss all the time now, was she his girlfriend, did he have to watch for boundaries still?

As far as Isabella was concerned, the answers were yes, yes, and no, in that order; but they hadn't really talked about that yet, so they went about their business like they usually did.

It wasn't until they were making their way to her couch that he saw it: the heart-shaped box of chocolates and the stuffed bear (at least, she was fairly certain it was a bear; those damn things were pretty amorphous). There was a single rose and she'd even lit a pretty smelling candle.

"Isabella…" he said with a grin, eyeing the after-Valentine's Day clearance rejects, but she pushed him down on the couch.

"Hush! You promised to help me with my poetry assignment!"

"An assignment, hm?" he asked cheekily, but she opened her notebook to the page in question with a flourish.

"Yes! Now you have to listen to it, and—"

"Since when do you write the assignment before I'm here to help you?" he laughed, but she glared.

"Or I could not read it."

He smirked and silently gestured for her to go on.

Right. Okay.

"Now you know I'm no poet," she prefaced and he snorted. "I mean it! You know I'm bad at poetry."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he told her.

"I'm serious, Ferb! Like, lower your expectations now, before I even begin."

He plucked the amorphous teddy bear-like creature off the table, holding it by its little heart-shaped paws. He grinned at it for a second, before turning it around and making it look at her.

"Read it," he said in a high voice that she thought maybe was supposed to belong to the bear?

"Oh my gosh, Ferb!" she laughed, but miraculously, she was less nervous. He was such a dork, it was ridiculous; and it made her feel better. "So it's… it's called Knight in Silent Armor."

He raised his eyebrow at her, so she buried her face in her notebook. God, there was no way she would have the guts to read this to him if she looked at him!

But she'd written this for him and she'd made the decision to do something silly and romantic for him, so she would do it, goddamn it, come hell or high water!

She cleared her throat; and began.

"There once was a green-haired fella

Who changed the life of young Isabella.

Never a soul could you meet

That was ever so sweet

In this story that I will tella."

She hesitated, waiting for any number of things he could tease her about. Her rhyming, for starters. The fact that she had to change and invent words just to make it work out. Or even the fact that, for an assignment supposedly for her contemporary form poetry class, she'd written the whole thing as a series of limericks.

But Ferb didn't say anything. He made no noises of derision, and from her peripheries, she could tell he hadn't even moved. So she went on.

"Ferb was a boy unlike any other;

Isabella, a girl babysat by his mother.

Ferb was shy, he was bright,

But out of her sight

As she pined after his dear brother."

This time, she stole the faintest glance at him. He was hugging that dumb bear to his chest, staring at her so intently she had to quickly bury her face in the notebook again.

It took her several swallows before she could keep reading.

"One day he began to tug at her heart.

With quiet tongue, he was bold and smart

And endeavored to woo with noblest of deeds.

With small acts of kindness, he planted the seeds

And their friendship from there did start.

"The brother, alas, was caught in his muses.

Unwittingly her fragile soul he abuses.

Devote and caught up in seizing the day,

No time for the heart when boys are at play.

He leaves Isabella's love with bruises.

"In comes her kind knight with hand extended,

Soothing her attempts in life offended.

Holding her close, he knows her so well.

She stopped being stubborn and finally fell;

And Isabella finds her heart has mended.

"So if ever you sink deep within woe

Know never it shall always be so,

For this bard knows well

And Ferb's love does tell,

Broken hearts can only grow."

The notebook felt like a thousand-pound barrier between them when she finally finished; but despite its heaviness, she still couldn't convince her limbs to drop it. She was nervous to see his face, his reaction to her silly love poem.

But the whole point of this was about being brave, right? The damage was already done, so now she needed to face it. With one more breath, she peeked up over the paper at him.

He was still watching her carefully; and his eyes were smoldering. It was a look that stirred something inside of her, made her crave something she didn't yet have.

"Well... what do you think?" It couldn't have sounded more raw as it left her mouth. She supposed that made sense; never before had she put her heart this far out on the line. Ferb was everything to her.

Ferb unlaced his fingers and pushed up from the couch. The bear tumbled to the side as he closed the distance between them, and her breath hitched as he took her face between his palms.

"All this because I said I'd like some grand romantic gesture?" he said quietly, and a shy grin curled at the corners of her mouth.

"Because I love you."

His whole face lit up as she said it. She believed he'd always been just as much of a romantic as she was; he'd just never really showed it.

When he pressed a soft, agonizingly wonderful kiss against her lips, a light, trilling sigh escaped from her heart. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back; but this was different from any kiss they'd shared before.

This one… this was testing the waters of something even more deeply intimate than what they'd achieved last night. This was a kiss with all cards on the table, a royal flush. It was gentle and tame and slow and purposeful, and it made every inch of her ache with want for him.

Who'd have ever thought they'd make it here?

If only her younger self could see her now.

"Your poetry is rubbish, love," Ferb murmured against her lips, and she pulled back just enough to deliver her playful glare.

"Well, it looks like it served its purpose, now didn't it?"

He hummed in agreement before hooking his hands under her thighs. She squealed as he lifted her, and he kissed her all the way until he deposited her on the couch.

She pulled that stupid bear out from underneath her and tossed it to the side, but then he was over her, laughing, kissing her, holding her and making her whole world feel bright.

Unfortunately, she actually did have a stupid poetry assignment she needed to write. But with Ferb smiling down at her like she was the most precious thing in the world…

Well, the rest of life would just have to wait.

Tadaaaaaaaa!

Happy Valentine's Day, Spazzumtard!

All my love,

Lilly-Belle