Siblings' Quest |Phineas and Ferb Story|

Part Fourteen: Say Something

(A/N: Lmao it's been a hot minute since I updated this. Forgive me my lovelies)

Phineas lazily trudged up the stairs until he reached his initial destination; his bedroom. It was who knows how late at night and all he wanted to do was crawl in his bed and hopefully sleep away the pain. While the talk with his mother finally gave him information about his dad, he didn't feel any better about the situation. Candace was still missing, Ferb was still ignoring him. Not to mention the fact he almost ended his own life three hours ago.

He was still in shock he attempted that, he really had been pushed over the edge by all of this. But what could he even do now? His family was still a mess, and as much as he wanted to believe what Isabella said, he wasn't sure they would ever be the same again.

Phineas flopped down onto his bed and sobbed, clinging onto his pillow with whatever strength he had left in him. Even with the little affection he received from Isabella earlier, he was still touch-starved and craved any endearment he could get. I don't want to hate you, Dad. He thought sadly, curling up in a ball. But why would you do this?

His thoughts were disrupted when he sensed a presence nearby, standing in the doorway of the room. He didn't bother looking up, he knew who it was, and there was no use in speaking to him.

But after a couple seconds, Phineas couldn't handle him just standing there in complete silence staring at him. He slowly raised his body up to face his stepbrother, revealing his depressing appearance. "Are you gonna say anything?" He asked.

Ferb remained quiet, taking in a quiet inhale. His eyes occasionally averted to his feet, since the eye contact he made with his brother would result in more awkwardness. Phineas sat up properly, pushing his pillow aside. "Look Ferb, Mom told me about my dad." He said, "Honestly, I could care less about it. Right now, I just want my family back. My real family. You, Mom and Dad, Candace. You guys are my family, okay? Not my cheating father."

The taller boy seemed stunned to hear Phineas say something like that. But he couldn't say he blamed him. Even when Linda told him about it, he was angry. How could a man have done such a thing like that to his pregnant wife?

Phineas sighed, still bothered by the non-responsive boy. "Can I at least know why Mom told you? And what you were thanking her for?" He asked. That thought had been lingering in his head for a while, he just never had the courage to ask until now.

Silence, yet again. Why did I think this was worth it? He asked himself defeatedly, slowly beginning to lay back down. His best friend in the whole world clearly wasn't going to talk again anytime soon, or possibly ever again, so what was the point?

But he suddenly stopped when he heard the British voice speak, "I was thanking her for being my mother."

Phineas swiftly turned his head to look at him, shocked to hear his voice again. Even if it was quiet, it was still Ferb's voice. He didn't even realize how much he missed it. "What?"

Ferb slowly stepped in the room, hesitant to continue speaking. But he kept reminding himself that it was okay to talk, no one was going to hurt or yell at him for doing so. Especially not Phineas. He unconsciously pricked the skin of his finger as he sat down on his own bed, facing his brother. "I was thanking her for being a good mom to me."

"What made you thank her for that?" The redhead asked, furrowing his brows in concern.

Ferb shrugged, resting his arms on his knees. "I was thinking about my mother back in England." He confessed.

Phineas immediately frowned at the mention of his biological mother. He was aware that she wasn't a good person, but he didn't know exactly how she treated him and Lawrence. All he knew was she was emotionally abusive, and perhaps scarred them for life. "You don't talk about her much." He said, though he understood why he wouldn't want to. "She was that bad, huh?"

"The worst." His stepbrother shook his head, "Anyway, I got to thinking about it five years ago when Candace was leaving. I don't know why, but it was really hard to see her go. I was getting sentimental and I told Mom how much it meant to me that she treated me like her real son. She told me she understood how it felt to be mistreated by someone you love, so she told me about Cameron, your father."

It was odd to hear Ferb talk this much at once, but Phineas wasn't complaining. After not hearing a single word out of his brother for almost a month, he was glad to know he was comfortable speaking again.

"She didn't want me to tell you and Candace because, well, I'm guessing she said she doesn't want you to hate him?" He went on, earning a small nod from Phineas. "And that's why I didn't want you two to look for him, I didn't want you guys to be hurt by what you'd find."

"I appreciate that." The redhead sighed, "But why did you stop talking to me? And why did you tell Candace about our dad and not me?"

Ferb glanced upward at the ceiling, "I told her because I thought she'd be able to handle it. But I was wrong, she's gone and it's all my fault."

"Ferb—"

"And I stopped talking to you because I was— I don't know, I was afraid to." He admitted, lowering his head. "I thought about my mother again and..I was just afraid."

Phineas gave him a sympathetic look, "You never have to be afraid with me, you know that, right?" He asked, putting his hand to the taller boy's shoulder. "Your mom's not here, she's not gonna hurt you anymore. You're allowed to talk, especially to me."

Ferb nodded, feeling somewhat comforted not only by his words, but by the touch on his shoulder. Like Phineas, he was craving affection as well, but was too caught up in everything to try to accept it. "I know."

"This is the most I've heard you talk." Phineas chuckled, "If only Candace were here to hear it."

The mention of her name made his smile fade instantly. Both of them seemed to realize how devastating it was that their sister was gone, but Ferb wasn't quite as upset, since he was still in touch with her. Phineas, however, received no interaction with her whatsoever, and he still wasn't sure when she'd ever call back.

The redhead sighed and stared at the floor, "She's not coming back, is she?"

Seeing tears in his brother's eyes, Ferb quickly sat next to him on the other bed, gently rubbing his shoulders. Phineas let out a quiet sob, leaning against him.

"It's okay, Phineas." Ferb assured, wrapping his arms around his brother to hold him in a comforting hug, to which was instantly reciprocated by the shorter boy. "She'll come back someday."

"H-how do you know?" Phineas asked weakly.

Ferb sighed, gently rubbing his back. "I just know she will. She's not one to abandon her family."