That Man in the Picture 1/3contrary_izybelApril 17 2011, 21:32:41 UTC
Tuesdays were probably his favorite day of the week. He couldn’t like Mondays best because no one ever did. And certainly not Wednesday, trash day, or Thursdays when he had to frantically search the house to make sure that thing didn’t get thrown away the day before. Fridays were decent, but he always had to spend his Fridays planning for Saturday and Sunday. Which lead to Saturday and Sunday where he’d have to actually do said plans.
No, Tuesdays were the best.
And this particular Tuesday Phineas had big plans. This particular Tuesday he was going to dig out the old snow cone maker from the attic.
“What? We can’t do something exciting every day.” Phineas reminded his brother who was giving him that look. That look, which was only slightly different from every other look, was the look of ‘we can do better.’ But it was a Tuesday and Phineas was in a good mood and he wouldn’t have Ferb and his looks ruin it for him.
Not that anyone could ruin his Tuesdays.
The Flynn-Fletcher attic was a mess on a good day. The rest of the time it was a complete disaster. One summer day the boys had tried to create a system to organize the clutter but they had ended up getting distracted by all the knickknacks and whats-its. But this time Phineas was determined! He was going to find that snow cone maker!
Or get distracted by a box full of old photos.
“Ferb, look at this! Wasn’t Candace cute as a baby?”
The green haired brother accepted the photo, lip twitching in the slightest smile at the sight of the red faced baby screaming. Accepting that they wouldn’t be getting much further than this box Ferb began digging through the pictures. There were pictures of their mother and her time as a performer. There were pictures of their father giving lectures about obscure items from history. There were pictures of Candace and Phineas and Ferb and…
“Wait, who’s this guy?”
Both brothers stared at the picture of the brown haired man. He looked familiar. Perhaps they had met him before. Given their adventures it wasn’t impossible. But why would they have a picture of him in their attic?
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before taking off down the stairs at the same time.
“Mom! Mom!”
Linda, who had been having yet another staring contest with a cake, turned towards them. “Cake is a sometimes food! I mean…yes boys?”
Phineas waved the picture in her face. “Mom, who’s this guy? And why do we have a picture of him in the attic?”
“Oh. Oh dear. Ferb, could you go play outside? I need to talk with your brother.”
They shared a look but Ferb obliged, taking Perry with him. If it was a private conversation Ferb wasn’t going to let anyone eavesdrop onto it. Not even a platypus.
Re: That Man in the Picture 2/3contrary_izybelApril 17 2011, 21:33:19 UTC
Mother and son sat at the table, neither saying a word for a few minutes. Finally Linda seemed to have gathered her thoughts and with a deep breath she began her story.
“Phineas, that picture is of Heinz Doofensmirtz. He and I dated back when we were teenagers. After Candace was born and my husband…after my husband died there was a period where I had to be by myself. That why Candace lived with your grandparents, because I was mourning. And while I was mourning…I ended up living with Heinz. I left Heinz after a year and returned to take care of Candace. To get my life back together.”
Phineas wrinkled his nose. “So what’s this got to do with me?”
Linda gently touched her son’s arm, meeting his confused expression with a grave look. “Heinz Doofensmirtz is your father.”
The young boy pulled away from his mother. “But…No. You said, you always said that Candace and I have the same father! You said he died!”
“I didn’t know how to tell you that some mad scientist was your father. How would I bring it up? And it doesn’t matter! Lawrence is your father. He loves you and Candace like you’re his own children.” Her eyes were watering and Phineas felt afraid. His mom didn’t cry. She couldn’t cry.
“It’s okay Mom. I understand why you did it. I,” he struggled for the right way to describe his thoughts, “I need some time to think.”
That night Phineas didn’t join them for dinner. Linda made sure to leave his food outside his door, making excuses about how he was probably just tired. When it was time for bed Lawrence made sure to tell the story he knew Phineas liked best. And if Lawrence hugged Phineas longer than normal no one said a word about it.
The next day Phineas was back at the table, babbling about his new plan to build an elevator that could go through the center of the Earth. No one mentioned the extra pieces of bacon Linda put on his plate and no one asked where the picture of that strange man had gone.
Almost two weeks later Phineas finally mentioned the man again.
“I want to meet him.”
Linda looked up from her book so fast he could swear he heard her neck pop. Her face paled and her eyes grew wide. But before she could say anything he threw his hands up.
“It’s not that I don’t love you or Dad. I just want to meet him. I can’t explain it.” His eyes were probably as wide as hers and he had to force back the lump that had formed in his throat. He had to keep calm. “Please?”
That afternoon, while Phineas and Ferb played at Isabella’s house Linda searched the phone book for Heinz Doofensmirtz. Just the one, so she couldn’t pretend there were too many listings for her to call. Just the one.
Deep breath. “Heinz. It’s Linda. We need to talk.”
---
Phineas. Who named their kid Phineas?
“Our kid.” Doofensmirtz reminded himself, watching the orange haired boy dig through a box of old gears. He was a clever boy, probably got his brains from good old dad. Haha, oh yes, of course his son would be smart. Vanessa was just as smart but she never put her mind to things like building inators.
Almost a year had passed since Linda called with the news. He had a son. A son who wanted to meet him. And though he had resisted at first Doofensmirtz was glad he had started spending time with the kid. Only alternating Saturdays when it didn’t conflict with Vanessa’s weekends, of course.
“No, no, no! You can’t put that fusion chamber with that particle board. Put it here.”
“Sorry. Ferb usually does all the fusion related stuff.” Phineas said, scratching his head. It was an awkward movement, one that remind him too much of himself.
Crap. This was his kid.
“Well that just means you’re ready to learn to do it yourself. Norm! A screw driver for the scientist in training!”
Re: That Man in the Picture 3/3contrary_izybelApril 17 2011, 21:35:03 UTC
---
(Bonus after the credits!)
“It still seems weird that your half brother is my half brother.” Vanessa said, sipping her too hot mocha. Yes, only Cup o’ Ferb could make her drinks the burning temperature she desired. Which was why she spent every afternoon there. No, it did not have anything to do with the green haired kid running the place, thank you very much.
“He’s my step brother, so we’re in no way related. Which means this,” Ferb waved a finger between the two of them, “is totally normal.”
“Sure, whatever.” She chuckled. “Are you going to finish that muffin?”
Re: That Man in the Picture 3/3cheriestarSeptember 23 2011, 16:21:03 UTC
First, I want to say I laughed hard at the "Cake is a sometimes food." line. I know her pain XD
The rest of the story was just as great. I just love the idea that Doof is Phineas's dad, that they would work on inventions together, and that Norm is helping out.
Re: That Man in the Picture 3/3contrary_izybelSeptember 25 2011, 05:36:12 UTC
Thank you! But seriously, there's no other option. Doof has to be Phineas' dad. And Norm is totally Doof's other son. Which means Norm needs to start helping Phineas and Ferb with their projects.
No, Tuesdays were the best.
And this particular Tuesday Phineas had big plans. This particular Tuesday he was going to dig out the old snow cone maker from the attic.
“What? We can’t do something exciting every day.” Phineas reminded his brother who was giving him that look. That look, which was only slightly different from every other look, was the look of ‘we can do better.’ But it was a Tuesday and Phineas was in a good mood and he wouldn’t have Ferb and his looks ruin it for him.
Not that anyone could ruin his Tuesdays.
The Flynn-Fletcher attic was a mess on a good day. The rest of the time it was a complete disaster. One summer day the boys had tried to create a system to organize the clutter but they had ended up getting distracted by all the knickknacks and whats-its. But this time Phineas was determined! He was going to find that snow cone maker!
Or get distracted by a box full of old photos.
“Ferb, look at this! Wasn’t Candace cute as a baby?”
The green haired brother accepted the photo, lip twitching in the slightest smile at the sight of the red faced baby screaming. Accepting that they wouldn’t be getting much further than this box Ferb began digging through the pictures. There were pictures of their mother and her time as a performer. There were pictures of their father giving lectures about obscure items from history. There were pictures of Candace and Phineas and Ferb and…
“Wait, who’s this guy?”
Both brothers stared at the picture of the brown haired man. He looked familiar. Perhaps they had met him before. Given their adventures it wasn’t impossible. But why would they have a picture of him in their attic?
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before taking off down the stairs at the same time.
“Mom! Mom!”
Linda, who had been having yet another staring contest with a cake, turned towards them. “Cake is a sometimes food! I mean…yes boys?”
Phineas waved the picture in her face. “Mom, who’s this guy? And why do we have a picture of him in the attic?”
“Oh. Oh dear. Ferb, could you go play outside? I need to talk with your brother.”
They shared a look but Ferb obliged, taking Perry with him. If it was a private conversation Ferb wasn’t going to let anyone eavesdrop onto it. Not even a platypus.
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“Phineas, that picture is of Heinz Doofensmirtz. He and I dated back when we were teenagers. After Candace was born and my husband…after my husband died there was a period where I had to be by myself. That why Candace lived with your grandparents, because I was mourning. And while I was mourning…I ended up living with Heinz. I left Heinz after a year and returned to take care of Candace. To get my life back together.”
Phineas wrinkled his nose. “So what’s this got to do with me?”
Linda gently touched her son’s arm, meeting his confused expression with a grave look. “Heinz Doofensmirtz is your father.”
The young boy pulled away from his mother. “But…No. You said, you always said that Candace and I have the same father! You said he died!”
“I didn’t know how to tell you that some mad scientist was your father. How would I bring it up? And it doesn’t matter! Lawrence is your father. He loves you and Candace like you’re his own children.” Her eyes were watering and Phineas felt afraid. His mom didn’t cry. She couldn’t cry.
“It’s okay Mom. I understand why you did it. I,” he struggled for the right way to describe his thoughts, “I need some time to think.”
That night Phineas didn’t join them for dinner. Linda made sure to leave his food outside his door, making excuses about how he was probably just tired. When it was time for bed Lawrence made sure to tell the story he knew Phineas liked best. And if Lawrence hugged Phineas longer than normal no one said a word about it.
The next day Phineas was back at the table, babbling about his new plan to build an elevator that could go through the center of the Earth. No one mentioned the extra pieces of bacon Linda put on his plate and no one asked where the picture of that strange man had gone.
Almost two weeks later Phineas finally mentioned the man again.
“I want to meet him.”
Linda looked up from her book so fast he could swear he heard her neck pop. Her face paled and her eyes grew wide. But before she could say anything he threw his hands up.
“It’s not that I don’t love you or Dad. I just want to meet him. I can’t explain it.” His eyes were probably as wide as hers and he had to force back the lump that had formed in his throat. He had to keep calm. “Please?”
That afternoon, while Phineas and Ferb played at Isabella’s house Linda searched the phone book for Heinz Doofensmirtz. Just the one, so she couldn’t pretend there were too many listings for her to call. Just the one.
Deep breath. “Heinz. It’s Linda. We need to talk.”
---
Phineas. Who named their kid Phineas?
“Our kid.” Doofensmirtz reminded himself, watching the orange haired boy dig through a box of old gears. He was a clever boy, probably got his brains from good old dad. Haha, oh yes, of course his son would be smart. Vanessa was just as smart but she never put her mind to things like building inators.
Almost a year had passed since Linda called with the news. He had a son. A son who wanted to meet him. And though he had resisted at first Doofensmirtz was glad he had started spending time with the kid. Only alternating Saturdays when it didn’t conflict with Vanessa’s weekends, of course.
“No, no, no! You can’t put that fusion chamber with that particle board. Put it here.”
“Sorry. Ferb usually does all the fusion related stuff.” Phineas said, scratching his head. It was an awkward movement, one that remind him too much of himself.
Crap. This was his kid.
“Well that just means you’re ready to learn to do it yourself. Norm! A screw driver for the scientist in training!”
“Right away sir!”
Reply
(Bonus after the credits!)
“It still seems weird that your half brother is my half brother.” Vanessa said, sipping her too hot mocha. Yes, only Cup o’ Ferb could make her drinks the burning temperature she desired. Which was why she spent every afternoon there. No, it did not have anything to do with the green haired kid running the place, thank you very much.
“He’s my step brother, so we’re in no way related. Which means this,” Ferb waved a finger between the two of them, “is totally normal.”
“Sure, whatever.” She chuckled. “Are you going to finish that muffin?”
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The rest of the story was just as great. I just love the idea that Doof is Phineas's dad, that they would work on inventions together, and that Norm is helping out.
Major Kudos to you.
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Logic.
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