Work Text:
Baby, It's Cold Outside
"I get that it's a religious thing and all, but are you sure that play couldn't have been cooler?"
Phineas Flynn shivered in his orange puff jacket as he held open the church door for his girlfriend. He might have had the inclination to dress warmer if he knew the snow was going to get this bad. She hugged herself as she passed from the warm interior to the frigid exterior.
"It's a historical event."
"Allegedly."
"You can't just embellish historical events for fun, especially not when those historical events are the central point of one of the world's major religions." Isabella Garcia-Shapiro laughed.
"You absolutely can. Show me one adaptation of, say, the Exodus from Egypt, Talmud or Bible, that doesn't liven things up a little." Phineas grinned. The door closed behind him as he took her hand and began walking back to his car.
"You're the one that insisted we come out to see the Nativity." She jabbed him in the side of his stomach with fist. He feigned a pained expression.
"I like the Nativity. Your mom's side of the family is Catholic, I just thought it wouldn't be right for you to be stuck just doing… Hanukkah stuff."
"Why, then, would you insist they update the presentation?"
"They just could.” Phineas suddenly looked thoughtful. “I could do it.”
Isabella knew that face. She glared at him, getting his attention. "Phineas, that's a bad idea. Borderline blasphemous. My mother would crucify you." The two approached the beat-up old SUV Phineas had gotten from his mother a year back.
"Very poor choice of words." Phineas opened the passenger side door as he fumbled for his keys. Isabella sat down, keeping her grim expression locked to his. Phineas nervously chuckled. "I'll put it in the maybe pile."
Tomorrow, Isabella would go home to her family and Phineas his. The Flynn-Fletchers had plane tickets to see Ferb in Europe. The Garcia-Shapiros (as in, the entire clan) had bus tickets to Danville, where all of them were set to congregate in the home of Vivian Garcia-Shapiro and her unnamed but almost certainly present husband. It was their last night of freedom before the two were tragically separated, for up to seven full days, and thrust into the realm of merry-making and gift-giving.
Phineas turned the engine over. It struggled and sputtered. He cranked the key as he insisted that it start.
"You're flooding it." Isabella leaned back in her seat.
"I'm not…" the engine roared to life. Phineas sighed relief as he made a mental note to replace the battery. "Flooding it." He finished, with complete confidence.
"Jeez." Isabella squinted as they backed out of the parking lot. The other patrons of the evening's performance were having hot chocolate inside the church, so they were the only two trying to leave.
"Relax. Your dorm is just a few blocks away." Phineas, equally squinting and equally uneasy, assured her. They rolled out onto the road slowly, as to avoid a fishtail. Isabella shivered.
"I'm all packed." She chattered through her teeth.
"That makes one of us." Phineas pumped the brakes as the car rolled over a hill. The poor traction of the wheels meant the vehicle ignored the stop sign at the intersection and simply slid into the middle of the street. This would have been a bigger issue if anyone else was around, but they weren't. Both of them pretended not to notice.
"You think this blizzard is gonna keep us from reaching Tri-State pass in the morning?" Phineas asked. Either way he would end up somewhere he liked being.
"I hope not." Isabella had grabbed a blanket from the backseat and had been snuggling it as the car finally began to heat. "Imagine the two of us stuck in a cold apartment, with only the warmth of each other's body heat to keep us alive."
Phineas checked his left to hide his blush, but Isabella caught it regardless. "Or don't. You should probably focus on the road."
"You're gonna give me a heart attack, what kind of Jewish-Catholic are you?" Phineas frowned mockingly. In truth, he hadn't considered any of the ramifications of being snowed in with Isabella farther than sharing hot cocoa and watching a movie. She had always had a much more active imagination. He regained his composure as the car drifted into the dorm parking lot, bumping the sidewalk as it turned.
Having slotted himself firmly between two sedans, Phineas carefully opened the door just wide enough for him to slip out. Isabella did the same. The icy air cut into their faces, almost immediately giving them a painful sensation. The door was a short walk away, but the intensity of the wind at this point made opening it a team effort. The two stumbled into the lobby of the girl's dormitories. The room was wide, with a few tables for studying, a few couches for lounging, and a single television for watching. The on those couches were three young women, coincidentally, Isabella’s friends.
Isabella’s nosy friends. It was impossible not to notice the couple practically tumble into the room, breathing heavily. Isabella helped a staggering Phineas back to his feet, pressing the button for the elevator as she rose.
“It’s bad out there, huh?” Ginger Hirano joked. Addyson and Gretchen just stared incredulously at the two. “If that’s the car we’re all stuffing ourselves into tomorrow, I bet we won’t make it halfway to Danville.”
“We’re watching Olive the Other Reindeer.” Gretchen sunk back into the couch. “You guys want to join us?”
“Or are you keeping Phineas all to yourself tonight?” Addyson snickered.
Isabella thought about it for a moment. She quickly shoved a still-recovering Phineas into the open elevator. “Yes. Yes I am.”
“I actually like-” Phineas started, but Isabella quickly put her finger over his lips and shushed him. The elevator door closed as she punched the button for the third floor.
“Olive the Other Reindeer.” He finished, almost in a sigh. Isabella mischievously took his hand. He would have objected on most nights, he thought, but she looked so darn cute when she thought she was getting away with something. “Gee, your hands are ice cold.” He laughed, pulling her closer. She pressed her cheek up against the sleeve of his jacket.
The ding of the elevator interrupted the comfortable silence that developed thereafter. Isabella pulled Phineas out of the elevator and, after some key-fumbling of her own, into her dorm room. She let go of his hand and, almost reading his mind, pulled some milk out of the fridge, some cocoa and sugar out of the cupboards, and a pot off the pot rack. Tri-State State’s dorms had small but very functional kitchens, about 20 square feet in total. The rest of the dorm was equally cozy. Isabella pulled off her jacket and threw it to Phineas, who put it next to his on the coat racks.
Phineas was a pretty simple guy by most standards. While he had spent his entire High School career pining after Isabella, it occasionally dawned on him just how lucky he was that this whole thing worked out in the first place. Not a single date until after graduation, and suddenly he’s in a very permanent-feeling partnership with the one person he could have ever seen himself being with. One such moment of clarity was seeing the inside of her dorm. It was, generally, a very packed space. Christmas lights were tacked up to the tops of the walls, a small, Charlie-Brown-esque tree stood in the corner, and a lit Menorah (She had lit it just before meeting Phineas) sat in the center of the small dining table, which only seated two people. An odd way to achieve mood lighting, but it was hard to ignore the romance in the atmosphere.
His analytical mind was interrupted by the sharp bitter smell of cocoa in front of him. “Earth to Phineas.” Isabella waved the canister under his nose. Phineas almost sneezed, but held it in awkwardly.
“Yeah?” He groaned, through a pinched nose.
“I asked if you wanted marshmallows.”
“I- I really think I should be getting back to my place.”
“Phineas, you’d freeze to death out there. Or get pneumonia and die. Stay for some cocoa.”
“Fine.” He nervously sputtered. He searched in the fridge for some whipped cream, and grabbed it. “I just gotta have some whipped cream, too.” Tight space. Tight space.
Isabella bumped into him as she reached for the spoon on the wall. She almost tripped over her own feet, but Phineas quickly caught her with his free hand.
He gulped a bit. His hand was around her waist now. She steadied herself, blushing the tiniest bit. He quickly pulled his hand away and went to the work of peeling away that darned silver sealant from inside the canister.
“Hey, why don’t you put some Christmas music on? My phone’s hooked up to the speaker.” Isabella slid her phone across the counter. “Password is your birthday.”
Phineas picked it up. And her lock screen was a family photo from last christmas. He had been eagerly included. He shuffled a playlist of old Christmas records. The first song crackled to life, the comforting analog sound relaxed the room.
“I really can’t stay.” Began a silky feminine voice.
“Baby, it’s cold outside.” A smooth man continued.
“I’ve got to go away.”
“Baby, it’s cold out-”
Silence for a second.
“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch.”
Isabella chuckled as she finished mixing the ingredients. Phineas sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “What? That one makes me a little uncomfortable.”
“Just at the moment?” She snarked. Phineas blushed a bit. He couldn’t see it, but she was blushing a bit too, having failed to stop herself from blurting the first one-liner she could think of. She poured the cocoa in silence.
She set a hot mug in front of him. Phineas tasted it. It had to be the best cocoa he’d ever had. “This is lovely.” He muttered. “Hold on, What's in this?” He asked.
“Oh, I like to add a little cinnamon. Why, was it weird?”
“No, it was a little... magical actually. Like you cast a spell on it.”
He quickly finished his drink and rinsed the mug out in the sink.
“Okay, you're overselling it. It was really good.” Isabella stared at him from across the kitchen. She stared at the floor as she brushed her hair back before looking back up again. “You want to watch a movie?”
“Isabella, it’s been a good night, but I gotta get going if we want to leave on time tomorrow.”
“C’mon. At least until the snow dies down.”
“You’re being very insistent.”
“I like to think of it as ‘opportunistic’”. She grinned. “And I am just looking out for you. Have you ever seen a blizzard that bad?”
Phineas jokingly threw up his hands in mock surrender. She was right, after all. “I take it anything but Olive the Other Reindeer would suffice?” Phineas picked up the remote and powered on the television. The couch was really small. Only two people would fit. They call those loveseats. There was a single, very comfortable looking blanket.
Phineas felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. This whole thing was weird. Phineas and Isabella had been seeing each other for about a year and a half, give or take two weeks.
They had kissed three times.
Hugged about forty-five times by his recollection.
Held hands more often than that.
And now, all of a sudden, spur of the moment, he’s in her room. It smells like cookies. He’s on her couch. He just knows that there’s only one of these comfortable blankets. The lights are dim. And it’s just the two of them. What did she expect? What did he expect?
Absentmindedly, Phineas clicked through streaming services. “Have you ever seen Elf?”
“Who hasn’t seen Elf?” Isabella craned her head slightly towards him.
“Yeah.” He mumbled. Should he put on something romantic? He could always go to his favorite classic.
“Do you like Home Alone?” Phineas asked.
“Oh, do I!” Isabella cracked into a grin. “When I was little, I had a crush on Macaulay Culkin.”
Phineas, almost imperceptibly, sunk into the couch a bit. This was throwing him for a loop. He felt a tiny bit insecure.
Isabella was busy sprinkling tiny marshmallows and putting whipped cream onto the hot beverages, but out of the corner of her eye she tried to gauge his reaction. She stifled a giggle.
“R-really? You know, I always admired the-” Phineas almost choked on his own saliva, “I liked the character he played.”
“You know, I think that was it, too.” Isabella set down both hot mugs on the table in front of Phineas and flopped into the couch next to him. Her gaze became fixed to his. Phineas didn’t remember her being this close when they were watching the birth of Christ earlier that evening. He felt his face get a bit red.
“He always seemed to know what he was doing.” She continued, grabbing a mug and sipping it. “He was smart, he had his neat little inventions, and his bravery and ingenuity were cute. I thought he was funny, too. Of course, I was only four years old at the time.”
Phineas couldn’t help but feel like she was trying to get a rise out of him. He puffed out some air as he tried to regain his composure. He tried, and failed, to look casual putting his arm up on the sofa. “So, what ruined him for you?” He casually took a drink of his cocoa. It was nice, at just the right temperature.
“I… I met someone smarter. Better little inventions. More bravery and ingenuity. Cuter.” She hesitantly put her head on Phineas’ shoulder. Phineas spat a bit of his drink on the table. Isabella recoiled suddenly. “Eww! Phineas!”
“S-sorry!” Phineas looked around for a napkin or a paper towel or something to no avail. He quickly got up and grabbed a dry hand rag from the sink.”I-is this okay?” He was in a full blush at this point. He had lost.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” She laughed. All the tension Phineas had felt disappeared. It had to be the best sound in the entire universe. He wiped up the drink and sat back down. “Listen, the snow’s stopped…” Isabella started, looking towards the door. Phineas was transfixed in a train of thought.
He wasn’t supposed to think about it, after all. He wasn’t supposed to worry about tonight, he wasn’t supposed to worry about tomorrow, he wasn’t supposed to worry about the implication of romantic lighting or the closeness of the couch or the body language he used or anything like that. He didn’t need to worry about packing or the weather. He knew where he wanted to be, and it was right here.
Phineas gently grabbed Isabella’s shoulder and pulled her close. He took a drink of his cocoa, grabbed the blanket from behind, and threw it over the two of them as he gently stroked her hair. She seemed a bit red in the face now. That was hard to get out of her.
“Whatcha doin, Phineas? I thought you had to get home.”
Phineas kissed her lightly on the lips. He wrapped his arm around her tighter. “We could just stay like this, you know. Forever.” Isabella suppressed a squeal. Her face was beet red.
“I- I suppose there are worse fates. But what about being on time? And, uh, what are the girls gonna think if you stay up here?”
“They can think what they want.” Phineas laughed. “At least you can say you tried to shove me out the door.”
“I guess it could start up again. The snow.” Isabella managed to squeak.
“You said it yourself, Isabella.” Phineas smiled, “It’s cold outside.”
A/N: Hey fellas I'm back to writing lmao I wrote this in a night or two because the Christmas fic I actually planned was a terrible idea. Hope you enjoy it, and I hope I have more time to write these in the future. It was really good for my soul to get back to these two. If not for how positive the reception to Stranger Summer was I probably wouldn't have kept writing. If I continue writing, it will be more short, sweet, and self-contained fics like this. Thanks for reading.