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“There it is, Ferb,” Phineas grinned, bending his nose against the viewport of the Centennial Chihuahua. “Batuu, the coolest planet in the galaxy.”
“Don’t get distracted sightseeing, Farmboy,” Isabella called from the cockpit, flipping switches overhead as she calculated their landing trajectory. “Remember, we’re on a mission here.”
“Yeah, but we’re gonna be spending the whole day here,” Phineas replied. “We’ve got time to look around. Right, Ferb?”
Ferb’s thumb popped up.
Isabella disembarked first, Phineas trailing behind her adoringly. He was so lucky to have made a friend like her. And not just a friend, but… well… He blushed to remember how she’d kissed him at the victory party on Yavin.
Exactly six months ago.
His eyes widened at the grandeur around them. The towering spires, cargo ships soaring overhead, the ambient John Williams music overlaying the scene. As he passed under the arch, he blinked against the bright sun on the other side. “Check it out, Ferb! They’ve got a rollercoaster!”
Ferb blinked at the mountain before them, where a steam train full of screaming passengers thundered around the bend. “That’s so cool!” Phineas exclaimed. “We have to ride it!”
“Hey Farmboy, whatcha doin’?” Isabella tapped his shoulder, jerking her thumb in the opposite direction. “Black Spire Outpost is that way. This is Frontierland.”
Phineas cleared his throat. “Right. I knew that.”
Ferb rolled his eyes. Phineas sheepishly allowed Isabella to lead him by the hand this time. Traveling the galaxy with Isabella always reminded him how little he had seen. It seemed like only yesterday he and Ferb had left Tatooine for the first time.
They approached Oga’s Cantina. “Our contact is in there,” Isabella pointed. “Let’s go.”
“Ummm…” Phineas scratched the back of his head. “Why don’t you wait for him? Ferb and I wanna check out Dok-Ondar’s real quick.”
Isabella rolled her eyes. “After you’re done with your little shopping trip, you know where to find me.”
Phineas squeezed her hand before they split up.
Upon entering Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities, Phineas was immediately overwhelmed with choices. Dok-Ondar’s establishment was less a shop and more of a museum, with so many artifacts on display it made the boys’ heads spin. “Wow,” he murmured. “I think I came to the right place.”
His ears reddened a little as Ferb gave him a curious look.
Something caught his eye as he wandered the various stalls. “Check it out, Ferb, a holocron! Do you think Isabella would like this?”
Ferb took the artifact from him, examining it. “It’s more of a Jedi thing, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Phineas stroked his chin as Ferb checked the price tag and did a double take. “What would be a good gift for a pilot?”
Ferb shrugged, then glanced at the jewelry section, removing a kyber pendant from the rack. It had been a while since his lightsaber had been destroyed on the Death Star; he really needed to build a new one.
“Good idea, Ferb!” Phineas exclaimed. “I’ll get her a necklace! Girls love that stuff!”
He combed through the various offerings on display. “Oh, hey, a japor snippet! That’s perfect!” His face fell. “Oh, man, I should’ve thought of that sooner. I could’ve carved her one myself. I can’t give her a storebought one. I guess I could save that idea for her bat mitzvah.”
He cast his eyes elsewhere. “Maybe a pet.” He pressed a hand against a green glass tank with a juvenile dianoga in it. “This guy’s kinda cute. What do you think, Ferb?”
As usual, Ferb’s expression made words unnecessary.
“Maybe a montage will help,” Phineas mused.
The seven-string hallikset was beautifully crafted, but Isabella wasn’t much of a musician. The jetpack seemed promising, until Phineas accidentally sent it flying without a rider. The Gungan skull seemed macabre (not to mention a little played-out.) The Felucian fireflies looked pretty— until the Felucian houseplant started eating them. He tried the clone trooper helmet, Kaleesh battle mask, Jedi youngling training helmet, Mandalorian visor, Ubese tracking helmet, Mickey Mouse ears and the Tusken Raider wrap, but none of them really fit with Isabella’s wardrobe.
Thoroughly discouraged, Phineas slumped his shoulders. “Man, this is harder than I thought,” he lamented as Ferb laid a comforting hand on his back. “I have no idea what to get her.”
“Hello, boys,” the store’s Ithorian proprietor rumbled through his translator, folding his spidery hands. “Can I help you find anything?”
“I’m looking to buy a gift for someone,” Phineas explained.
“Ah, a gift.” Dok-Ondar stroked his wispy beard. “What’s the occasion? Birthday? Wedding? Housewarming? Or perhaps doing some early Life Day shopping?”
“It’s for my… um… she’s sort of my girlfriend,” Phineas explained. “It’s our six-month anniversary.”
“Aren’t you a little young to have a girlfriend?” Dok-Ondar inquired with a twinkle in his eye.
“Well, yes.” Phineas blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes I am.”
“Well, what kind of things does your girlfriend like?”
“Flying, shooting, tinkering… You know, scoundrel stuff,” he replied. “Also the color pink. Oh! And chihuahuas. She named her ship after one. I’m not really sure what a chihuahua is. Do you have one, by any chance?”
Dok-Ondar made a rumbling noise in his throats. “You really like this girl, don’t you?”
“Isabella’s the best!” Phineas beamed. “She’s the coolest, cutest person in the whole galaxy. I bet if I made a tracker to measure her cutie-chlorian count, it would be off the—”
“You want to give her something she’ll never forget?” Dok-Ondar laid a hand on his shoulder.
He nodded vigorously.
“Take her to the top of the spire tonight,” the Ithorian advised.
“Why?” Phineas cocked his head. “What’s up there?”
“Tonight is the Fire of the Rising Moons,” Dok-Ondar explained. “You’ll want to catch a good view of the fireworks.”
Phineas grinned. “Thanks!”
Dok-Ondar patted his shoulder.
Phineas offered Isabella a hand as she pulled herself over the edge and clambered on top of the petrified spire. “Alright, Farmboy, what did you bring me up here for?”
“Wait for it.” He scooted up next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
She leaned her head against his, smirking curiously. “Not a bad view from up here.”
Phineas checked his chronometer. “Three, two, one.”
Her eyes widened as a shower of brilliant jets rose over the mountain peaks, their stony faces bathed in blue and red. Balls of gold and crimson burst in the sky like supernovae, fiery trails arcing in their wake. “Whoa…”
“Do you like it?” Phineas asked anxiously, squeezing her hand.
She grinned. “I love it.”
“It’s been six months since I met you,” he whispered. “I’ve always tried to make every day an adventure, but with you… you’ve taken me on adventures I never could have imagined.”
Her face grew as pink as the goggles perched on her head. “Phineas… no matter where I go, being with you is like seeing the galaxy for the first time.”
The fireworks were even more stunning reflected in each other’s eyes.
“I love you.”
Phineas smiled warmly. “I know.”