Keep Your Enemies Closer Ch 5

Doofenshmirtz stared out the windshield idly, not really paying attention to the road, but more to the depressed person next to him. Perry had his head pressed against the window, and he was looking outside, staring blankly into the darkness. Doofenshmirtz assumed he was probably too focused on thinking about something, and he really felt bad about putting Perry in that position.

When the request had come out, he'd definitely meant it. He wanted Perry to live with him. He wanted to spend every second he could with him. Over the last couple days, their relationship had changed, and he found he was just content on being with Perry, rather than trying to annihilate him. Doofenshmirtz guessed these feelings had been there before, but they'd been ignored because he was too focused on his goal, a goal to rule the Tri-State area. It was practically written in his job description that he was supposed to hate anybody who got in his way, and that person was Perry.

But now that he'd had time to take things slow and not be so focused on his hatred, he was beginning to see that there never really was hatred there. It was a fake mask Doofenshmirtz convinced himself he was supposed to wear. But the mask had been shed, and he was starting to see that maybe, just maybe, he loved Perry the platyperson.

Doofenshmirtz vaguely realized that they'd returned back to the D.E.I. building, and on autopilot, parked the car. He unbuckled, and said, "Perry, we're here." When he was met with silence, he looked up, and saw that Perry had indeed fallen asleep, just as he had predicted.

Doofenshmirtz sighed. He didn't really want to wake Perry up, as Doofenshmirtz had already caused him enough stress. So he got out, walked over to Perry's side of the car, and opened the door. He leaned over Perry's sleeping form, and unbuckled him. Then, gently, he picked Perry up bridal style, and shut the door closed with his foot. He then made his way to the elevator that would take them to the top of the building.

Once there, he walked until he had reached his bedroom, and stepped inside. He looked between the bed, and the makeshift one below, trying to decide which Perry should go on. "Guess I'm sleeping on the couch," Doofenshmirtz sighed, and laid Perry down on his bed. After a bit of fumbling, he managed to get Perry's jacket off, then moved to take off his shoes and socks. He then tucked Perry in, and sat on the side of the bed, just taking in Perry's form.

There was a sense of vulnerability about him, and with the evidence of having cried, the vulnerability was more prominent. At the same time, a sense of peace had settled over the boy, one which would undoubtedly be gone by morning. Doofenshmirtz raised a hand to Perry's hair and played with it, eventually coming down and stroking the side of his face. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?" Doofenshmirtz whispered.

Doofenshmirtz felt a small tear roll down his cheek, and smiled at the irony of it. He wiped it away, then looked back down at Perry. He leaned over, his lips just inches away from Perry's own. He took in every feature on the boy's face, and raised his hand to cup it again. He placed a small, featherlight kiss on Perry's cheek, and whispered, "I love you, Perry the platyperson."

He moved away quickly, being sure to not wake Perry as he did so. He stood up, and walked over to the door, pausing just before he left. He took one last look at Perry, and said, "If only I could admit that to you while you were awake." and shut the door.

****

Perry woke up the next morning with a massive fog over his head. He had no idea where he was, and didn't remember what had happened the night before. He sat up in the bed, which he didn't know how he got there, and looked around. The place looked vaguely familiar, and Perry realized suddenly that he was in Doofenshmirtz's bed.

'Oh God,' Perry thought. 'I didn't sleep with him in his bed again, did I?'

Perry, determined to find the answer, got out of the bed, and headed towards the door. It was around 8 in the morning, so if Doofenshmirtz was awake, he would definitely be eating breakfast. If there was one thing Perry knew about him, it was that he was a man of routine. And if he wasn't in the kitchen, he would be someplace else, sleeping.

He took a quick glance out the door, and saw a mess of brown hair sticking out from underneath a blanket on the couch. Perry gave a small sigh of relief, and shut the door again. Now, he had to remember what had put them in seperate rooms in the first place, which Perry wasn't so sure he wanted to know the answer to that.

Then it hit him.

He remembered everything. He remembered what had happened the night before, and how Doofenshmirtz had asked him to leave his family and stay with him. He couldn't believe he'd let himself become so vulnerable in front of his arch nemesis. He didn't know if that was a sign of becoming weaker when it came to Doofenshmirtz, but he knew one thing for sure - things would never be the same between them.

Maybe he could play it off and pretend it never happened. He highly doubted that Doofenshmirtz wanted to return to that memory, after the way he reacted last night. It would probably be best for both of them if they just forgot the memory and moved on. They could avoid the awkward situation and just go back to the way it was before, of them just being friends.

But the question was, did Perry really want that to happen?

Yes, Perry had broken down about the issue the night before. But that was because he was utterly distressed about having to decide between his family, and his arch nemesis - a choice that should've been easy, but Perry soon found out it wasn't. After sorting out his thoughts, he came to the unbelievable realization that he was beginning to see Doofenshmirtz as more than an enemy or a friend. Perhaps someone he would want to spend the rest of his life with.

But he still didn't know if he could find the strength to leave his family. They'd been with him since he was little, caring for him, and making every day an adventure. Plus his job. What would Major Monogram think if Perry suddenly left to be human and fall in love with his arch nemesis? He'd probably have him institutionalized...

"Perry?" The man in question scared Perry so bad he nearly screamed. But he managed to compose himself quickly and open the door. He found a man wrapped in a blanket, his hair in a frazzled mess. (Well, it was always like that, but now it was even more so.)

Doofenshmirtz looked at Perry strangely, momentarily forgetting why he came to the door in the first place. Perry looked unusually calm after what happened last night. Even if Perry hadn't remembered because he'd just woken up and was still sleepy, the memory would've been triggered by seeing him, and a reaction would have taken place. But Perry remained the same as if the event had never happened, which for some reason, kind of ticked Doofenshmirtz off.

There was no alcohol involved, so there was no excuse for not remembering. Perry remembered, and was apparently deciding to pretend it never happened. This made Doofenshmirtz feel like his feelings for Perry had never existed, because they could be so easily shoved aside and thrown away. This made Doofenshmirtz a little angry, but he decided to be calm about it, and perhaps get Perry's side of the story.

"Are you okay?" Doofenshmirtz asked hesitantly, looking for any sign on Perry's features that said he remembered. Perry nodded slowly, making eye contact with the floor instead of the person in front of him. Doofenshmirtz sighed, "Well, good. After last night, I thought you would-"

"Maybe we s-should just forget about last n-night," Perry interrupted. Ah, so he was going to play that game.

"What do you mean?"

"I m-mean, let's just return to the way things were. It's easier for the both of us."

Doofenshmirtz bit his tounge so he didn't say anything too rash. It definitely would not be easier for him, but if that's what Perry wanted, that's what he would get. He had expected this, after all - that he would have to sacrifice his own happiness for the happiness of the person he loved, whether that person knew it or not.

But it still made him mad that Perry didn't even want to acknowledge that the previous night had even happened. He felt like he was being pushed aside and forgotten about, and he'd had enough of that in his childhood. He really wasn't too thrilled about going back.

But Perry would have his wish. "I suppose," he said, subtly irritated. It didn't look like Perry picked up on it though, as he just nodded again. "Well, uh, I need to get into my room," Doofenshmirtz changed the subject, remembering why he had come there in the first place. "I need to get my clothes so I can go to work. You're welcome to join me again, if you want."

This time, Perry smiled and nodded, making Doofenshmirtz nearly melt. If only Perry knew what he was doing to him...

Perry side-stepped to allow Doofenshmirtz into the room, and he exited, going to sit on the couch to watch TV and wait. Once he was out, Doofenshmirtz closed the door, and walked over to sit on the bed. He sighed, placing his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought if even a simple smile caused Doofenshmirtz to melt.

He wiped his hands down his face, then stood up, walking over to his dresser. He pulled out his normal clothes, put them on, and walked back out of the room. He found Perry idly flipping through the channels, but when he stepped out of the room, Perry looked up. He smiled, and stood up, walking over to stand next to Doofenshmirtz.

They walked out of Doofenshmirtz's apartment together in silence, Doofenshmirtz barely registering that they'd forgotten to eat breakfast. The thought was pushed aside, as they walked to the elevator, and rode up to the next floor. Neither of them said anything as Doofenshmirtz led them to his work bench, and neither of them continued to say anything as they began to work. Occasionally, an order would be given by Doofenshmirtz for Perry to retrieve something, but other than that, they worked in silence.

This began to frustrate Doofenshmirtz even more. He knew that, no matter what, they could never truly return to the way things were before. There would always be this silent tension in the air, and it would make everything seem ten times more awkward than it actually was. It was starting to get annoying.

They broke for lunch, and went back downstairs, where Doofenshmirtz made them sandwiches. Perry had gone over to sit on the couch and turn the TV on. Doofenshmirtz joined him a few minutes later with 2 sandwiches in hand. He handed Perry his sandwich, then sat down next to him. He then noticed what channel it was on - The Soap Opera Channel. Doofenshmirtz inwardly cursed.

Apparently, a man and a woman were talking about their love life. The woman had just confessed, and the man was about to respond.

'We can't be together,' the man said. 'If something were to happen, I couldn't bear to lose you as a friend.'

The woman was crying now, 'So you're rejecting me?' she asked defensively. 'How does that keep me as your friend?'

'You're like a little sister to me. Eventually these feelings will go away, and everything will be back to normal.'

'So, you expect me to just forget about this? About my feelings? About loving you?'

'That would be best for both of us...'

At this, Doofenshmirtz suddenly hopped up and shut off the TV. "Uh," he said intelligently, "we should get back to work..."

Perry looked at him strangely, but nodded nonetheless. They went back up to the lab, and continued to work in excruciating silence until dinner. This gave Doofenshmirtz far too much time alone with his thoughts, as he was becoming more and more frustrated with the silence each minute it passed by. Eventually, they finally went back downstairs, and Doofenshmirtz cooked dinner for them both.

They sat down at the small table in complete silence. A table at which, just yesterday, they were talking and laughing as Perry struggled to eat a pancake. The tension in the air was beginning to overtake him, and Doofenshmirtz felt he could breakdown any moment. As a single tear rolled down his cheek, he quickly put his utensils on the table, and covered his face, letting out a bearly audible curse, "Dammit..."

"What?" Perry asked.

At this, Doofenshmirtz let it all go, and yelled, "Goddammit, Perry!!" At this, Perry nearly jumped out of his chair, surprised such harsh emotion could come from the doctor. "Do-do you have any idea what you do to me?! I mean, every smile you give me makes me melt, and every time you come close to me, I get thrown into a frenzy!

"And you expect me to just forget and move on? That's not possible, Perry! I've gone in too far to just forget about it! I mean, I lo-" Doofenshmirtz stopped, and slapped a hand over his mouth. He really hoped Perry didn't catch that.

"You...what?" Perry asked. Dammit.

Doofenshmirtz sighed, "Alright, I love you, Perry the platyperson."

"You...lo-" Perry's eyes went wide. Doofenshmirtz loved him?

Hearing it said aloud threw away every single reservation he'd had about it. As long as he could be with Doofenshmirtz, it didn't matter that he'd have to give up his family or his job. And, eventually, his family would move on and find another pet, and Major Monogram could hire another agent. But no one could replace a lover, and that's exactly what Perry wanted to be to Doofenshmirtz. Not an enemy or a friend, but someone he loved with all his heart.

Perry ran over to Doofenshmirtz and jumped on him, enveloping him in a big hug. Doofenshmirtz was clearly surprised, as he didn't really know what was happening. Perry wrapped his arms around the doctor's neck, and said quietly, "You really are an idiot."

At that, Doofenshmirtz finally reacted, and wrapped Perry in the same tight grip. A few stray tears rolled down his cheeks as he said, "Perry, you-you love me, too?" Perry nodded. Doofenshmirtz let all the tension in his body, which he hadn't known was there, go, and laughing slightly, said, "Thank you, Perry the platyperson..."

He'd never felt more happy in his entire life. Not as he was trying to take over the Tri-State area, or on a date with one of his many girlfriends. No, now was the moment he'd been waiting for his whole life. To be truly accepted and loved for who he was, and not what he wasn't.

They both slept peacefully that night, each relishing in the warmth and care of the other. They'd both found what they were looking for in the oddest of places, but that's what love was, wasn't it? That the only thing predictable about love was its unpredictability.