And now to set the hook, Ferb thought as he joined his brother for breakfast.

"Just nine hours to go," Ferb said. "Think you can make it?"

"Not a problem, bro."

"I'll double the bet if you want to push the cutoff until midnight."

"No!" Phineas said quickly. "No, that's okay. I can't take too much of your money, Ferb, you'll never be able to afford your game."

If they haven't kissed by 5:15 I'll dye my hair purple.

It's a good thing we aren't trying to invent anything today, Ferb thought. Phineas is so distracted he would have killed himself by now.

Phineas had dressed up a bit - an actual collared shirt and khakis, unusual for him - but Isabella had gone for highly-attractive casual. The tank top and tight shorts had guaranteed her Phineas's almost undivided attention, and he'd had enough trouble helping to set up for the party without catching himself in the folding tables. He'd been wandering around the party with her for almost two hours now. As Ferb watched, Phineas checked the time again, then smiled and started counting down the seconds. Ferb pulled up his phone and checked the time on it himself: 5 o'clock on the dot. Phineas looked at him and mouthed the words, "You lose," as he led Isabella off to the side of the house where they might find a bit of privacy.

Ferb switched his phone over to camera mode, waited thirty seconds, and followed them. He peeked carefully around the corner, then realized he hadn't needed stealth; the two of them were so focused on each other that they wouldn't have noticed a freight train going past.

They were talking too low for him to hear them; Isabella looked down shyly and then peered back up at Phineas through her lashes. Phineas said something to her and she laughed, looking back up at him again and reaching up to run her hand along his cheek. She said something back, and Phineas leaned down to kiss her.

Their first kiss was tentative and hesitant, as if to confirm that, yes, they were really doing this. They paused briefly to look in each others' eyes, then their mouths dove towards each other like they were trying to merge together. What little separation there had been between the couple was gone as their arms wrapped around each other. Isabella's left leg bent at the knee, popping her foot off the ground perfectly as she leaned into Phineas's embrace.

Ferb held up his phone and snapped a picture, sending it off with a two word subject line: "I win." He checked the timestamp on the message: 5:08.

Phineas and Isabella wandered back into the party hand-in-hand, only to be congratulated by their friends and told, "About time, you two."

Phineas looked at Candace and asked "How did everybody know? What's going on?"

Candace showed him her phone, with a picture of him and Isabella kissing deeply. "Ferb just sent this out. So either he's gotten really good with Photoshop, or he just won the betting pool."

"What betting pool?" Phineas asked suspiciously.

"When you two would finally hook up, duh," Candace answered.

Isabella blushed and squeezed Phineas's hand. "Can you send me a copy of that picture?" she asked Candace.

"Who was in this pool?" Phineas asked.

"Pretty much everyone. Except you two, obviously," Candace said.

Off to the side, Linda said, "Ferb, I don't have my purse. Lawrence, can you cover me?"

"I can, love. Here you go, Ferb, this should take care of both of us", Lawrence said, handing Ferb ten dollars.

Phineas's jaw dropped. "Mom? Dad? You too? Was Isabella's mother in on this as well?"

"Oh, of course she was. I told Vivian her guess was too optimistic; she picked the first of June. I really thought it would take another couple weeks, though," Linda said.

"Hah," Candace said. "I picked yesterday. Why did you have to wait until today?"

Phineas looked at Ferb, still collecting his winnings. "Why indeed?" Phineas asked, his eyes narrowing.

Phineas and Isabella were laying back in the grass pointing at the clouds when Ferb came over. "Here's the tenner I owe you, Phineas," he said.

Phineas sat up, as did Isabella. He accepted the offered bill, then gave Ferb a devious look. "You totally cheated in the betting pool, you know. You're not supposed to try to influence the results."

"Technically, that was never stated as part of the rules," Ferb answered defensively.

"I'm sure Candace would love to hear that interpretation," Isabella said with a grin.

Ferb winced and handed Phineas another bill. "Here's an extra ten dollars. Take your girlfriend out for ice cream tomorrow."

Phineas started to respond, "She's not..." before he realized what he was saying. He looked at Isabella in wonder and asked, "Is she my girlfriend?"

Isabella smiled at him coyly. "She is if you want her to be."

Phineas said, "Yes, yes I do," and leaned over to kiss her again.

Ferb escaped while they were suitably distracted.

...and, like Ferb, I'll make my exit here as well.

Thank you to everyone who's read this far, and to everyone who's favorited or followed it. I do notice and appreciate it.

Extra-special thanks to my reviewers - I've been enjoying watching your responses as the chapters have gone up, knowing what was waiting for you here at the end. I spend far too much time waiting for the 'new mail' light to light up on my phone.

The next story may or may not be in the Foundation timeline. (I haven't decided. It could go either way. I may officially refuse to decide.) Working title is "Visions of the Future", but it may get pre-empted by another story. No time estimate for when it goes up.