Act Your Age: minor canon divergence AU.
"So, I heard Isabella is off to Tri-State State," Baljeet started.
"Oh, wow, really? Huh. Haven't seen much of her this summer." Phineas tried not to let his disappointment about that show.
Buford was digging through the fridge "Why do parents buy such weird food? Everything's 'lite', 'low', 'non', 'free', or 'diet'."
"So she's...leaving?" And she hadn't told him? Had their friendship fallen apart that much?
"Yes. Huh, I always thought the two of you would end up together."
Phineas sighed. "I wish. She's like the one girl I could actually see myself dating."
"Like 'you are in love with her' kind of one girl?" Buford looked back over his shoulder.
"No, like the 'I'm not really into girls' type of one girl." He paused, thinking over his wording. "I guess."
There was a pregnant pause.
Baljeet broke it, "Wait, you are gay?!"
Skin hit skin as Ferb facepalmed.
Phineas' eyes widened. "What? No! How did you get that from that?"
"Uh, probably 'cause you just said you ain't into girls, genius."
"Yeah, but I'm not gay. I'm not into guys either." He looked between his friends. "I'm ace." Seeing next to no recognition in their faces, he rolled his eyes. "Asexual?"
Understanding hit Buford first. He frowned. "If you're asexual, that mean we've been misgendering you all these years?"
"Uh, no, not that kind of asexual." Again, he waited for them to get it. It was a wasted effort. "I don't feel sexual attraction. I thought you guys knew this about me, after all the awkward conversations about who you found hot in high school." He could tell they were thinking back on it.
"We thought that was just how you are."
He didn't get what Baljeet meant by that. "Well, it kind of is?"
Buford leaned back against the now closed fridge. "So, what you're sayin' is, the whole reason you never picked up on Isabella's obvious crush on you is 'cause you literally can't feel attraction that way."
"Exactly!" He grinned before the rest of the sentence sunk in, and he froze. "Isabella has a crush on me?"
