Chapter Text
There were a lot of things that stressed Linda out at the moment. At the top of the list was that she thought her step-son hated her, or that maybe Ferb had some mental health struggles that Linda just didn’t notice, or that maybe–
“Hey, Mum, do you have 5 minutes before you leave for work?” Linda heard Ferb ask from the stairwell, looking over at her.
Linda was sure she looked to be on the edge of a panic attack, but upon hearing Ferb, she looked up at her son and let out an audible sigh of relief.
“Hey Els! Glad to see you're doing a bit better, I was worried about you for a second there, love!” Linda said, followed up by: “Yeah, I’ve got some time! What d’ya need, kiddo?”
If she saw the way Ferb visibly recoiled at hearing his birth-name, she made no comment of it.
“Uh, after Phin came down to look for Perry, he said that you were really anxious after I basically bolted out of the kitchen during breakfast. And, um, I just wanted to say that it wasn’t your fault, I just had a lot going on in my head at once, so, yeah. I just had an anxiety attack, and therereallyisn’tanythingtoworryaboutsopleasedon’tbemadatme.” (⁴) Ferb said, tumbling out words that he hoped made sense.
“Oh, kiddo…” Linda said, coming over to Ferb and pulling him into a hug. She embraced him for a moment, and then sat down on the stairs, patting right next to her, offering the other half of the step to Ferb.
Once Ferb took the seat, Linda looked at her hands and took a shaky breath.
“Do you remember when I met you?” Ferb shaked his head.
“I think you were about 3 or 4, and me and your Dad had been dating for a few months before we decided to introduce each of our families to each other.
“Now, before I met you, and before your Dad met Phineas or Candace, we had talked a lot about each of you
“The first time you two came over, you introduced yourself as Elias.” Linda took another shaky breath. She needed to make sure she did this right.
Ferb thought he was about to shit himself.
“I remember looking at your Dad, and he just looked back at me with this look that said if I didn’t call you Elias, he was going to drop me without a second thought. You were, and are, his entire world. So, do you wanna know what I did, kiddo?” She finally looked over at Ferb.
He didn’t know what to think about what was going on, but he shaked his head.
“Well, I kneeled down, and said “It’s nice to meet you, Elias.” and you and your Dad just started beaming.
“So, you were Elias. We called you our son, and everything. And then, when you were about 6, someone got into your head, and you stopped wanting to be called Elias, and only Ellie. And I can’t tell you how much that broke my heart. It wasn’t because you wanted to be called Ellie, it was because your smile had gone away. All I ever want for you, or Phineas, or Candace, is to be happy and healthy.
“All of that is to say, I think I know why you ran from the table this morning, and if you are my son instead of daughter, just know that no matter what, I'll always love you, kiddo…” Linda trailed off, looking down to her hands, taking a shaky breath.
Ferb took a moment to let it all sink in before saying anything.
“I…” Ferb started, and then stopped. How did he even want to tell her? “I was planning on coming out tonight actually… But, I guess now’s as good a time as any.” He continued, wringing his hands almost painfully. Linda looked up at Ferb from her hands the moment he started talking.
He took another breath to steady himself a bit. “I’mtransandmynameisFerbandIdidn’tevenreallyrealizethatatonepointwhenIwasakidIthoughtIwasaboy,butnowIhaveandIknowyoualreadysaidthatyou’llalwaysloveme,butI’malsokindareallyscaredthatyou’llhatemebecausethat’sbeentheonlythinggoingthroughmymindsinceIrealizedearliertoday.” (⁵) Ferb let out all in one breath hopping that his mom understood and that he didn’t have to repeat any of it. It’s scary enough coming out as is.
“Ferb, huh?” Linda said, more to herself than to Ferb, while looking off to the side a bit, almost like she was seeing how the name felt in her mouth.
Ferb hitched his breath.
She looked back over to Ferb smiling. “That’s quite a handsome name for my handsome boy.” She continued, opening her arms up for a hug.
Ferb dove in, and she wrapped around him tight in her arms. “I’m thankful you told me, kiddo. It’s nice to finally meet you, Ferb.” She finished. Ferb started silently crying in her arms, grateful that his Mum accepted him for who he was.
They both sat there in comfortable silence for a moment before Linda said “Hey, just curious kiddo, how were you planning on coming out?”
Ferb jumped at the sudden noise before immediately relaxing. “Oh, uh, is it okay if I let that just be a surprise until tonight? It’s nothing big, but I just wanna get everyone’s first reaction to it…” He said, hopeful his Mum would be satisfied with that answer at least until tonight.
“That makes sense! I can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned!” She replied, a bit disappointed, but understanding regardless.
An alarm on her phone then went off, reminding her that she had to go to work.
“Well, as much as I love hanging out with you kiddo, I do have to go to work…” Linda said, giving Ferb one last squeeze and a kiss on the forehead. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned for tonight!” She said excitedly. Getting up, and ruffling Ferb’s hair.
“Oh, and Ferb, I don’t want to assume anything, but let me know if you want to get your haircut, and I’ll get an appointment scheduled as fast as I can.” She said, looking back at him with a loving look, before grabbing her keys and heading out the door.