Silence is Bliss: Ferb/Perry one-shot(NOT PAIRING)

When Perry the Platypus was told that he would be staying with a normal family as a normal pet as his agency cover, he thought it would be simple; he would laze around the house, eating, pooping and letting the kid or kids play with him until he was summoned away on a mission. He was told by all of the bigger agents not to become too fond of his owners, or some villain could try to exploit his love for them somehow. Perry swore to himself this wouldn't happen, and he wouldn't show TOO much love to his owners and make them like him TOO much. He promised not to make them love him too much, and he wasn't going to love them too much either.

That was all before the Flynn-Fletcher family walked into the pet store.

He never really expected kids as young as Phineas and Ferb to fall in love with him the moment they saw him; a crosseyed, pudgy platypus pup just sitting there looking plain. They were four year old boys at the time, and all boys their age wanted something fun and exciting; something they could play with, but these two boys were different. They wanted something special; a pet no one else had.

The car ride home was an unexpected experience. Perry, as a pup, just sat in Phineas' lap looking cute, though it was a bit awkward as Phineas was still too small not to use the car seat. The seat belt buckle jammed into the platypup's side, but Phineas didn't seem to catch on; he just hugged his new pet platypus with love and excitement.

The four year old Ferb, on the other hand, just sat in his own car seat quietly, reaching over and gently, and quietly petting his head. Perry learned right away that the boys were polar opposites; Phineas was bubbly, cheerful and a chatterbox, while Ferb was calm, polite and quiet.

Perry dreaded it at first.

But, over time, against his own free will, Perry had allowed the boys to completely capture his heart. Every day, Phineas and Ferb would feed him, brush him, give him baths, play with him, and completely shower him with love. It was unlike anything Perry expected. He often had to "wander off" to go to work for the OWCA, but the boys never minded. At the end of the day, he would come back and be showered with love after dinner before they all went to bed.

When Phineas was younger, though, he hogged Perry. He always insisted Perry sleep in HIS bed. He never meant to hurt Ferb's feelings when he said, "Perry loves me more! He should sleep in my bed!" Phineas was only five when this happened; he was only joking. Only Perry seemed to catch onto the dissapointment Ferb emited. The five year old Brit didn't really show it; he quietly nodded and allowed Phineas to bring Perry into bed with him every night. No one caught onto Ferb's sadness, but Perry could feel it every night.

Ferb would always ask, "Can I sleep with Perry?"

And Phineas didn't mean to sound greedy. He didn't really mean to hog Perry; Perry knew he wasn't trying to be mean or hurt Ferb's feelings. He really thought he was only doing what Perry wanted most. But, whatever Phineas' intentions, it was always the same answer; "But I wanna sleep with him, Ferb! He likes sleeping in my bed more!" And every time, Ferb would always sigh and surrender, allowing Phineas to bring Perry into bed with him.

Phineas didn't mean it; he just loved having a pet to sleep with. He didn't mean to make Ferb feel unloved and neglected, and he had no idea how hurt it made Ferb feel. There were even some days where Phineas spent the entire day playing with Perry; Ferb was forced to either comply and do what Phineas wanted to do with Perry, or go inside and have a juice box. And when Ferb eventually went inside, Phineas just didn't seem to care. He had once even overheard his own parents gushing with their neighbors about how adorable Perry was, and how cute it was to watch Phineas play with Perry. Lawrence managed maybe one or two comments about Ferb, but Ferb simply didn't do a lot with Perry. He didn't play with him as much as Phineas did.

Ferb felt like the older sibling right after the new baby came home; neglected and unloved.

Perry recalled that one night, though; when Phineas and Ferb were around seven years old.
Phineas had accidentally eaten rotten food and had terrible food poisoning. His fever was growing and Linda had to take him to the hospital while Lawrence stayed to watch Candace and Ferb. Perry had stayed on the porch with Lawrence and Candace to watch Linda drive off with Phineas; they were all worried, and he could feel it eminating from everyone.

But Ferb hadn't joined them. Last Perry saw him, he was upstairs in the bedroom. Perry had thought that when everyone rushed out of the room after Linda said, "I need to take him to the hospital!", Ferb had followed. But he hadn't.

Perry remembered darting back into the house and pulling himself up the stairs to find Ferb. He was a LITTLE less pudgy by this point, but he still had some trouble with the stairs when he was on all fours.

Thankfully, it seemed Ferb hadn't left the room or shut the door; the door was still open, giving Perry little trouble in going into the room. It didn't take him long to hear soft sniffles and whimpers coming from a small lump under Ferb's blanket. Perry felt it instantly; a wave of guilt and sadness. Perry considered going and letting Lawrence know, but that wasn't an option, really. Perry figured, as a pet, it was his duty to comfort Ferb.

He waddled over to Ferb's bed and churtled slightly. It was only then when Ferb poked his head out from under his purple blanket. Perry didn't show it, but he was crushed. Ferb's face had flushed; it was tear stained and his eyes were red from the crying he had been doing. It hadn't been doing it for long, but it looked like he was crying hard.

Ferb sat up and just stared at the monotreme, as if he was wondering if Perry was going to chastise him or something. Perry waited for a moment, and when nothing happened, he pounced up into the bed next to Ferb. Ferb crawled back so that his back was leaning against the headboard of his bed, folded his legs, and spread his arms out, beckoning for Perry to jump into them. Perry quickly did, and curled up in Ferb's lap as the boy pet him gently with shaking hands.

Perry recalled silence for a good two minutes, apart from the occasional sniffling from Ferb. At first, Perry thought Ferb couldn't handle being without Phineas after having him around and attached by the hip for so long, and that Phineas being so sick all of a sudden deeply hurt him. It did, but that wasn't why he was crying.

Perry was almost startled when Ferb spoke.

"Would...would you be...m-mad if I said...I was mad at you, Perry?" His tone was shaking, his voice cracking from the constant crying.

Perry looked up at him without meaning to. He didn't understand the question coming from the hurt little seven year old. Ferb didn't think he could understand anyway; he just needed to let his feelings out to someone, and whispering them to Perry was a good way to let it out.

"I-I-I...Everything...was fine un...until you came. Wh-When we b-bought you, I-I was th-thrilled t-to have a p-pet...b-but--but now, ev-everyone...i-is pay-paying so much a-attention to you. Ph-Phineas gets to sleep with you ev-every night, and M-Mum and D-Dad l-love wa-watching him pl-play with you."

Perry quickly snuggled into Ferb's pajama covered stomach. He quickly understood what this was all about, and just quietly listened to Ferb vent.

"...Ph-Phineas w-won't ev-even play with me anymore. H-He's always playing with you. C-Candace won't play with me, M-Mum and D-Dad are always b-busy...and you don't love me ei-either because PHINEAS is the one who always plays with you...with toys and balls and...plays pretend. All I do is pet you..."

There was a small pause as Perry contemplated all that he was hearing. It seemed Ferb had gotten the idea that because he didn't do a lot with Perry outside of taking basic care of him, Perry didn't love him. And because Phineas was the one always doing something with Perry, everyone was paying so much attention to Phineas and Perry that Ferb felt they were shoving him out of everyone's eyes and hearts.

"...I think something is wrong with me, Perry."

Perry seemed startled by the sudden statement and he looked up to find Ferb's shaking was becoming worse as Ferb continued to pet him.

"...I don't play the same games the other kids play; I just read, color and play with blocks. Ev-Everyone else...ev-everyone else is bored of me...I'm not special like Phineas."

Something about this statement suddenly jabbed Perry in the heart and made him want to hug the poor boy.

"Everyone loves Phineas because he's smart and creative, and nice, and everyone likes him. But I'm boring...and weird..."

Every word was sounding more and more familiar to Perry as the boy kept talking like he was talking to a brick wall; Ferb knew he wasn't going to get a response, but it felt good to let go and release all of his feelings to his pet.

"...I'm not as special as Phineas. Even if he says I am..."

Perry couldn't stand another word of this; it was sounding too familiar, and Perry was growing far too sympathetic. He rose from Ferb's lap and turned to face Ferb. He quickly jumped up, his front paws leaning against Ferb's chest to help him stand as he nudged Ferb's head affectionatly. Ferb's shaking slowly lessened as he wrapped his skinny, long arms around the fluffy meat brick. Perry wanted more than anything to just tell him that Perry loved him just as much as he loved Phineas, and that just because everyone else didn't pay as much attention to him as they did to Phineas or Candace didn't mean they didn't love him. Ferb was just as loved as Phineas.

But Perry could not. All he could do was nuzzle Ferb, who hugged him tightly.

...somehow, though, he seemed to slowly get the idea.

"...you do love me, don't you, Perry?"

Perry wanted to smile. He purred lightly, nuzzling Ferb affectionaly.

"...you don't mind that I don't play with you a lot, do you?"

Perry just nuzzled him, and Ferb seemed to take that as a 'yes' and hugged him tighter.

"....I shouldn't be mad at Phineas. He loves you a lot and just wants to play with you a lot.. He wants to sleep with you all the time because he loves you. He doesn't mean to hog you..."

Perry lowered and nestled into Ferb's chest lovingly, and Ferb snuggled into Perry's soft fur, soaking up the silent comfort. He soon fell deep into thought, and slowly lowered himself onto his mattress, his eyes slowly closing as he curled up with his beloved platypus in a soft silence.

It was quiet. It was very quiet for hours. Perry relished every minute of it. This was what he loved about both boys. With Phineas, he could play and excersize and have fun all day long. With Ferb, he could relax and simply enjoy the quiet. This often took place when the boys took naps and Perry had no missions; Perry could just lounge with both the boys and enjoy the calmness. When Phineas tired him out, Ferb relaxed him. It was the perfect combination, and Perry couldn't have asked for anything better.

Ferb had taken that long moment to sort out all his thoughts, and just sitting there petting Perry helped a great deal.

It was that day they both realized they had more in common than they had known. They could show love without being overly affectionate, and that was ok.

An overdose of love and smother was what they both had Phineas for, who they both worried for in the hospital at the time....

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...but Phineas recovered.

Perry recalled Phineas coming home the next day, and Ferb finally had the courage to tell everyone how he was feeling, with a little encouragement from Perry, of course. Perry recounted how everyone looked so incredibly heartbroken when they heard Ferb felt unloved and neglected because of Perry, Phineas most of all. Phineas had sworn to Ferb that just because they didn't show it often, or didn't say it, it didn't mean they didn't love him. If anything, it meant that they were so sure, they didn't need to say it because they all just kind of knew.

Ferb never felt more secure with his quietness than before that day, nor Perry. A bond that was already strong became even stronger that day; between brothers, between a boy and his pet, and between a family.

Years passed since that day, and Perry once again found himself in Ferb's lap, his human's hand stroking his soft fur as the platypus snuggled into Ferb's stomach. By now, Ferb was 18 years old, and seeing as it was May, Phineas was still 17. Said 17 year old was snuggled into Ferb's side, Ferb's arm wrapped around him affectionatly as they all napped on the couch. The school day had been exhausting on the boys, and the day's mission had been exhausting on Perry. They were all completely comfortable just passing out on the couch.

Perry shifted a bit when Phineas' eyes opened just a tad to look up to his two silent companions. Phineas smiled and reached over to pet Perry's soft head. Ferb opened one eye to look down and witness this, and leaned against Phineas in mock jealousy.

"Phineas..." He playfully whined.

"Whaat?" Phineas responded in a playfully whining tone.

"...you never pet me like that." Ferb whined again.

Phineas just laughed, snatching Perry from Ferb's lap.

"Well, you're not my pet." He laughed as Perry was placed in his lap and pet.

Ferb leaned against the redhead again, his weight causing Phineas to lean over a bit.

"But aren't I your favorite...?"

Phineas shook his head and laughed; for someone who claimed to be a man of action and the "strong silent type", Ferb sure seemed to whine a lot during moments like these. Though, mostly for loving banter, which was all in good fun.

"Ferb, you know I'm not gonna pick between the both of you. I love both my quiet animals." Phineas giggled in response to Ferb's lack of being quietness.

Ferb released a small laugh and pulled Phineas closer to resume their mini nap. Perry sighed a bit and settled down in Phineas' lap.

Perry loved both of his boys dearly, he really did. But there were some humans he related to more than others. He and Ferb, two silent animals who didn't say a lot, but spoke more than anyone else did in their actions alone, and did the greatest things in place of saying great things. Most of all, both were Phineas' silent guardian angels; one his pet agent, the other his brother turned boyfriend.

'I have a weirdly wonderful life...and to think I wanted a NORMAL family as a pup......nah, that wouldn't have been as interesting.' Perry soon thought to himself in a calm happiness as he settled down to return to his nap.

The three fell asleep like that; on the couch, cuddled up together, lost in their dreams and memories.

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