Snapshots

11. Ich Liebe Dich

Vanessa wanted to wipe that stupid grin off his face. At first, it had been nice to see his almost constant stoic expression slip, but now the way he kept looking at her was getting annoying.

And to make it worse, he would not shut up. Which might not be that bad if only she knew what he was saying. But she couldn't deny how she loved hearing his voice.

"I feel like you only invited me out here to show off, Ferbs," she muttered. He had one arm around her shoulders as they walked back to his apartment. Flat, she mentally corrected.

The drunk moron shook his head before starting another triad of nonsense, "Jesteś aniołem. Sei amore della mia vita. Tu amor vale mas que millones de estrellas." There was a slight slur in his voice, and his accent wavered between British and American in a way that made Vanessa melt.

But if she'd known he was such a freaking lightweight, she would have cut him off after the first drink. So far, this wasn't how she thought this trip would go. When Ferb had invited her to come visit him in England, she'd been thrilled. She wanted to see her boyfriend's college and catch up on all the psychical interaction that video chats, and even holo chats, couldn't replace. She happily cashed in on her built up vacation days from work. And how it burned her that she was still working at that little crappy cafe (not that she could complain too much, if she hadn't been working there, she might have never run into Ferb again).

She didn't expect him to drag her out to a pub with some friends from his university and spend the whole night proving to them that he did, in fact, have a girlfriend.

It was his last year of high school all over again.

Vanessa would have walked right past his flat if Ferb hadn't stopped. It was good to know he's still somewhat alert. "Where are your keys?"

Ferb stared at her, that same loopy grin on his face. His eyes found hers and the grin widened. "Tu as de beaux yeux."

She sighed, apparently not alert enough. Unless that was an answer, but she didn't think he'd be calling his keys beautiful. After separating herself from his hold, Vanessa began patting down his pockets. Not finding them in his coat, her hands hovered by his jeans' pockets, and she swallowed.

"Ma usaldan sin." His tone sounded encouraging even as the words meant nothing.

"I think you're enjoying this." A smirk curled her lips as she continued the pat down. She found the keys and wasted no time unlocking the door. Grabbing his arm, she pulled Ferb into his flat with her.

Seeming to take the contact as a sign, he spun her around with a surprising amount of ease and kissed her. He tasted like the cocktail he'd been drinking, but as he deepened the kiss, she couldn't find it in herself to care. Her eyes slipped closed. His hands wrapped around her waist as hers went to his neck, one continuing up to tangle in his soft hair. Her heart pounded against her chest, she could feel it throughout her whole body.

By the time he pulled back, Vanessa felt out of breath and disappointed by it ending. Ferb nuzzled his face against her neck, something he had to bend over slightly to do, before placing delicate kisses on it, working upwards from where the strap of her dress ended. A moan passed her lips. The random thought that maybe she should get him drunk more often flashed in her mind as his strong hands slid up her back. The kisses went past her neck, his lips traveling the side of her face all the way to her ear.

"I love you." His hot breath warmed her skin. "Ich liebe dich in allen sprachen der welt."

She smiled. That she understood perfectly.

Since it's canon that Ferbs' multilingual, I figured him rambling off various romantic phrases in different languages when drunk wouldn't be too much of a stretch. And I'm just going with the (non-canon) idea that Heinz taught Vanessa German (the last line means: I love you in every language in the world.)