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part ii - week 2
"I wanna watch a TV show together and when we're under the weather we can watch it in bed"
Pancakes For Dinner, Lizzy McAlpine
"Do you want to have a movie marathon at my apartment tonight?" Carly asked as they ate lunch together. "You could even bring Millicent if you wanted."
"I think Millicent has plans with my mom. Something to do with the wedding," Freddie answered. "But I'm sure she'll be sorry she missed watching—"
"Sleepless in Seattle," Carly supplied pushing around the last of her salad with her fork.
"Sleepless in Seattle after we watched it five…"
"Four!" she interjected.
"Four times in the last three years," Freddie said.
Carly scrunched up her face. "Do you mind? We could watch something else, maybe take a stab at the list of movies we said we should watch?"
"If we watched something new that means we'd have to pay attention, and then I couldn't kiss you if I wanted to," Freddie joked.
"Who says I don't want to pay attention? It's Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan," Carly replied.
"I've lost track of how many times you made me watch that movie, though," Freddie said. "I could probably quote the whole thing to you by heart right now."
"You could not."
"A 'ho, my father's kissing a 'ho!"
Carly leaned over and covered his mouth with her hand. "That's not the beginning of the movie! You're telling the story out of context!"
Freddie gently nibbled on her hand, causing her to giggle and pull it from his mouth, her heart skipping a beat just a little bit at the new form of physical contact between them.
"Freddie!"
"What?" he asked innocently as he took another bite of his salad.
She swallowed. "Nothing. So, do you want to watch Sleepless in Seattle tonight or not?"
"You know I'm going to," Freddie said.
"We could do a double feature," Carly suggested, desperate to be on equal footing with him, to give as much as she took. "Whatever you want, even one of those weird sci-fi movies you were always trying to get me to watch."
"They're not weird," Freddie defended jokingly. "And I honestly don't care what we watch. I never did as long as you were the person sitting next to me on the couch."
Carly looked down, it was another moment where she hated that she hadn't been able to see Freddie had been there all along. Or when she had, that she had let her stupid fear of ruining their friendship get in the way of possibly feeling something more for him. I'm so sorry was on the tip of her tongue (again), when he took her hand and smiled at her reassuringly, like he knew what she was thinking. Like he knew what she was going to say.
"So… movie night then," she said instead. "I'll order pizza and run to the store to get ice cream after I get Millicent from school."
"I can get the pizza and ice cream after my meeting," Freddie replied. "What do you want? Coffee? Vanilla? One of everything?"
"You can pick the ice cream flavors," Carly answered. "Since you're refusing to pick a movie tonight."
"One of these days I'm going to take you up on that offer and we'll actually have a Mad Max marathon," Freddie teased, remembering how much she had hated the series the first time they had watched it because it wasn't, in her words, cute.
"Anything but that!" Carly pleaded, her mind flashing back to the last scene in the movie… which had led to her crying and Freddie consoling her until he'd suggested putting on Raising Helen as a palette cleanser.
"Don't worry, I won't make you watch it again!" Freddie reassured her, squeezing her hand and leaning over to drop a kiss on her cheek before glancing at his watch. "I have to run, I have a meeting with a potential investor for the new app I've been developing. I'll see you later though."
Carly sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too but it'll only be a couple of hours and I'll be back," Freddie answered.
Carly puckered up her lips. "Kiss."
Freddie obliged, giving her a quick kiss on the mouth and standing up. "See you later, babe."
"Good luck, sweetie!" Carly replied, getting up to clear their lunch dishes away from the table as he left to go back to his apartment.
After she had cleaned up, she spent time writing sketches for iCarly and trying to get her laundry together for her weekly Q&A that was coming up. Then she added some snacks to her shared shopping list with Freddie and before she knew it, it was time to pick up Millicent from school.
.
A few hours later, she was at Freddie's apartment because Harper had kicked her out since she had plans with Tinsley. She was eager to see him again even though it hadn't been that long at all since they had had lunch together. When she had dropped Millicent off, he had still been tied up with his call, so she hadn't been able to see him then. She knocked twice and waited because she could hear him shuffling around in the apartment.
He threw the door open and she smiled at him. "Hi," she said tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling at him.
"Hi yourself," Freddie replied, taking her hand and pulling her inside.
Carly kissed him after he had closed the door and then hugged him. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," Freddie answered.
"How did your meeting go?" Carly asked as she let him go and he led her through the apartment to the living room, where he'd set up a movie night to rival the Gilmore Girls.
"It was fine," Freddie replied. "I think we made some traction."
"You were on the call for a long time," Carly said as she picked up a Peppy Cola and opened it. "That should be a good thing in the long run."
"Hopefully, or they might not think I'm a good investment," Freddie said, sitting down and pulling her with him.
Carly giggled and snuggled into his side. "For what it's worth, I think you're a good investment."
"As much as that thrills me unless you have about one million dollars lying around, it only means something sentimentally."
"I have a million dollars," Carly reminded him. "iCarly was pretty popular back in the day and you always made sure I was saving and investing."
"Well, as much as I love what you're insinuating, it won't help much unless you're a bigger company backing my new app."
Carly sighed. "I know, I know. I just want everyone to see how brilliant you are."
"I appreciate it, babe," Freddie said, kissing her again. "I know you probably haven't eaten since lunch. The pizza should be here any minute. Why don't we start the movie and eat some snacks while we wait?"
"I got busy," Carly admitted. "Well, not too busy. I just started writing sketches for iCarly and thought about doing my laundry for Tuesday's Q&A. We're going to have to do the show eventually."
"Or people will start to get suspicious?" Freddie teased as he hit play on the DVD remote.
"People won't get suspicious," Carly said as she put her hand on his knee. "They just get really angry and make posts on Reddit about how you're fake or your ego is too big, or something like that when you don't upload a video when they expect it."
"I told you not to read the comments," Freddie reminded her.
Carly sighed and took a chip. "I know but it's hard to ignore them sometimes."
"Well, don't feel pressure to do the weekly Q&A just because some random person with a Reddit account makes a post that you're an egomaniac or something like that," Freddie said, glancing at the television screen to make sure the commercials had stopped running and it was on the main menu.
"You know this is on Netflix," Carly said, picking up the DVD case. "I can't believe you actually own a copy."
"I got it in case it ever left streaming," Freddie replied. "I know how much you like it and I just wanted to make sure you always had access to it, whenever you wanted."
"Oh Freddie, you're just the…" Carly kissed him. "...sweetest!"
She reminded herself not to berate herself for all the time they'd missed being together together, for not being able to see what was right in front of her the whole time. She knew now and it had to count for something.
The doorbell rang and Freddie jumped up. "Pizza's here! I'll be right back."
Carly paused the movie, kicked her shoes off, and went to the bathroom to wash her hands before they ate dinner.
Once they started to eat pizza, they seriously got into the movie even though they had probably seen it a dozen times, including the four times they had watched it over the course of the pandemic. Freddie would never admit it, but he really liked it too.
"Should we watch another movie?" Carly asked when the movie was over and she was wiping her tears away with her napkin. "The offer's still open for you to pick a movie, you know. If you'd like, anyway."
"I really don't mind if we watch something else you'd like," Freddie said. "Or I'll pick a movie I know you like so we don't spend the whole rest of the night talking about what to watch. I mean… do you still want to have a double feature?"
"Do you?"
Freddie grabbed the remote and pressed the button for Netflix, scrolling through romcoms until he found another movie that she liked. Carly curled up in the crook of his arm while The Lakehouse started to play.
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"Do you want to spend the night?" Freddie asked when the movie was done.
Carly stifled a yawn. "I don't think I'll be much fun tonight. I'm kind of tired."
"You really don't have to worry about that," Freddie told her as he lifted her to her feet and steered her towards his room. "I just really like having you in bed with me… uh, no matter what the circumstances are."
Carly blushed. "Well, I really like being in bed with you. I would love to sleep over. But your mom's not gonna find us in the morning and freak out. Is she?"
"Should we go sleepover at your house then?"
She shrugged. "I don't see the point, we're already here."
"I'll just lock the door," Freddie said as he went to his drawer and got her a fresh pair of pajamas from his dresser.
They got ready for bed together and Carly decided, that falling asleep in Freddie's arms was one of her new favorite things.
The next morning when Carly woke up, she woke up alone and with a scratchy throat. She groaned, it was the tell-tale signs of the beginning stages of a cold. Something she was so not in the mood to have to deal with.
Freddie's bedroom door opened and all she wanted to do was burrow deeper under the covers.
"Are you okay sweetie?" Freddie asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed with her cup of coffee.
"Not really," Carly mumbled as she turned over on her back. "I think I'm coming down with a cold."
"There is a cold going around right now," Freddie said, putting the back of his hand on her forehead. "All the moms in the group chats are talking about it. The good news is, it's just a cold and you'll be okay in a few days."
"It's a few days where I can't really do anything though," Carly said.
"It's not like we're going out every night, painting the town red. We can just do what we've been doing this whole time and I'll take care of you."
Carly sat up. "You could get sick too you know."
"When you factor Millicent in and the fact that she goes to school, you won't be the only one at fault."
Carly groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I can't get sick. What about iCarly?"
"Don't worry, the audience will understand!" Freddie said, leaning over and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Do you want some tea?"
"Isn't that my coffee?" Carly asked.
"But tea would make you feel much better," Freddie told her.
"People always say that and I haven't actually ever had solid proof that it's true," Carly said. "I could drink my weight in tea and it wouldn't cure the raging sore throat that I'm sure is going to materalize in the next twenty-four hours."
Freddie handed her the coffee mug. "Do you want me to get anything for you?"
Carly took a sip of her coffee. "Cough drops, cough syrup, the usual stuff."
They had been friends long enough that Freddie knew what the usual stuff was. A bag of ice, his mother's chicken noodle soup (with dill), lime popsicles, and Eat Pray Love. She'd also always liked having him around when she was sick even when they were kids.
"I'll put an order in and go make you something to eat. Are scrambled eggs okay?"
Carly didn't really feel like eating anything but she knew that Freddie would insist she ate something It was one of the only ways he took after his mother. So she nodded her head. "Scrambled eggs will be fine," she answered.
Freddie dropped a kiss on her forehead and went off to make her breakfast. She checked her social media accounts and tried to sip her coffee even though she didn't want to swallow too much because of how irritated her throat felt. But she had made a big deal out of getting it, so she felt like she needed to drink it. She took a small sip and made a post about not feeling well on Twitter, then turned off notifications as questions rolled in about how it would affect new content (and the odd tweet about how she was a diva). When she was done, she put the TV on and flicked through the channels until she settled on a show on ID.
Freddie returned with her breakfast arranged on a tray along with a glass of orange juice, a cup of tea, and a bright orange Dayquil.
"Tea?" Carly asked as he sat down next to her and she began to pick at the sourdough toast.
"I figured the coffee wasn't doing it for you," he said.
"You figured right," Carly answered, looking at it longingly as he took it away from her.
"We can get lattes every day when you feel better," Freddie promised.
"I'm not very hungry," Carly said as she took a bite of eggs and chewed them, grimacing as she swallowed.
"My mom's working on a huge pot of soup for you right now," Freddie told her. "But just try to eat a little bit, okay?"
"Fine," Carly sighed, taking another bite of her eggs and smiling at him as she chewed and swallowed.
He smiled back and pushed her hair away from her face, her heart skipped a beat at the look on his face. Tender and so filled with… love… it had to be love, she had to look away, hardly able to stand it. She couldn't think about love, not when she wasn't feeling well and when she already felt emotional. The lump growing in her throat made swallowing even harder. She reached for her juice and took a sip to ease it. Then switched the channel to Hallmark because she really didn't want to hear about dismemembered body parts while she was eating.
"Do you mind if I take a shower after I eat?" she asked, finally looking at Freddie again.
"Of course not!" Freddie answered. "I'll go over to your apartment and get your toiletries and new pajamas for you if you'd like."
"Oh…" Carly trailed off, suddenly feeling embarrassed about asking him if she could use his shower when she could make the short trip to her own apartment and do it there since that's where everything was. "I guess I could just go home after I finish eating if you're going to have to make a trip over there."
"I really don't mind!" Freddie assured her. "It's not any trouble at all. You just stay here and watch your movie, and I'll run over and get your stuff. Harper should still be there to help me with a change of clothes and…"
"Yes," Carly said. "But Freddie, I don't mind going home. I don't know why I asked you if I could shower here—"
"Shhh! Carly, I want you to feel comfortable here! I want you to feel like you belong here!" Freddie interrupted. "You don't have to go home because you think my going to get your things would inconvenience me. I want to do it. Unless you'd feel more comfortable at home, then you can leave."
Carly shook her head. "No. I don't want to go home. I want to stay here… with you."
"Well then—"
"But you better let me text Harper what clothes to have ready because knowing her, she'll probably send over the sexiest most uncomfortable pajamas she can find thinking 'sick' is code for something else."
Carly reached for her phone and shot Harper a text asking for clean (nonsexy) underwear, the "My Way or the Rosè" t-shirt that Freddie had given to her, and her second favorite pair of pandemic lounging pants. Then she told Freddie what body wash and shampoo to get, she still felt like it was a lot of effort. If Freddie hadn't been so insistent on her staying, she would have just left despite wanting to stay with him, herself.
"I'll be right back," Freddie promised before Carly could offer to go home again.
All of five minutes later, Freddie returned with a small bag of her things and offered to get the shower started for her if she wanted.
"You really don't have to," Carly answered, glowing just a little from the attention. "I know how to run the shower. We do live in the same apartment building after all."
"I'll just make the bed for you then," Freddie replied.
"Oh, I don't have to lie around all day!" Carly protested as she took her bag from him and pressed it to her chest. "I don't feel that sick."
"I'll work on my new app and you can write iCarly sketches if you want to," Freddie said. It won't be a completely lazy day just a restful one."
Carly sighed, looking at the bed again. "You don't have to hang out with me all day if you have other things to do."
"I'm all yours," Freddie answered, the look from earlier had returned.
"Okay," Carly replied, looking away shyly again before escaping to the bathroom.
When she got out, they spent the rest of the day in bed together working on iCarly stuff and watching Hallmark movies with silly names, while Freddie made sure he kept her hydrated and well-fed.
Later that day, when it was finally time to go to sleep again and she was dosed up on children's Dymatap (cherry, not grape), she wondered if it was too soon to hope that maybe Freddie would let her stay forever even after she was feeling better.
But she told herself that it was too soon to think about forever because they had only just begun.
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A few days later, she was feeling much better and eating stale Froot Loops in her own kitchen when Freddie came into her apartment.
"Do you want to go food shopping with me?" Freddie asked.
"We always go food shopping together," Carly said.
Buying groceries for everyone had been her and Freddie's designated Covid assignment from Marissa during lockdown. They had liked going together so much, that they had continued to go together after the restrictions had been lifted.
"I know," Freddie answered. "But this is going to be the first time we're going together as a couple and I didn't know how you'd feel about that."
"I don't see why being a couple doesn't mean we can't shop together anymore," Carly said. "I'm getting tired of eating old cereal and takeout."
"A new grocery store just opened and guess what babe!" Freddie told her.
"What?" Carly asked as she dumped the rest of her cereal down the drain and turned the garbage disposal on.
"They have a Skybucks in it and an open bar. You can drink beer and grocery shop at the same time."
"Oooh, that's exciting!" Carly said, rinsing out her bowl and putting it in the dishwasher. "I don't have anything going on. Do you want to go to the store right now?"
"Sure," Freddie replied.
Carly got her shoes and purse from the closet. When she was ready to go, she went over to Freddie and wrapped her arms around his waist. "By the way, hi," she said as she gave him a kiss.
He grinned at her and kissed her. "Hi," he replied.
"Since we're going food shopping, how about I cook tonight?" Carly suggested as she took his hand and pulled him out of the apartment. "We could even have dinner all together since it's been a while since we had dinner all of us together."
"I think everyone else has plans tonight."
Carly shrugged and pretended to be disappointed. "Too bad. I guess you're stuck with me."
"That is too bad," Freddie answered as he pressed the lobby button and the elevator doors rolled shut. "Too bad I can't stand you."
"Too bad," Carly said, sighing with fake dejection, a small smile playing on her lips as she fit herself into the crook of Freddie's arm.
Food shopping as a couple wasn't much different than food shopping together when they were friends. They had both agreed to keep the public displays of affection to a minimum until they decided to tell the iCarly audience they were together.
But at the same time, Carly couldn't resist letting her fingers graze Freddie's while they were picking out apples, or brushing up against him in the ice cream aisle while he got a carton of her favorite ice cream. She wanted to hold his hand, and she had to fight the temptation to kiss him between the bagged wine and non-alcoholic beer just because of how adorable he looked trying to convince her to try a new limited batch IPA from their favorite brewery.
She found herself agreeing to try it (even though they'd have to commit to a six-pack because they weren't selling singles). But she liked the way his eyes lit up and the way he smiled at her when she said yes even for something as trivial as alcohol choices. It was something that had made her heart skip a beat, even before they were something more just to see him smile.
She wished she had said yes more even in their more recent past.
"Do you have everything you need?" Freddie asked after she had chosen a bottle of prosecco for their dinner together that night.
"Yeah," Carly answered. "Let's go home. But first, we should probably pay for these groceries and get some iced caramel macchiatos because my half-and-half was sour so I couldn't have coffee and I could use coffee right now."
Freddie shook his head. "Carly, I told you to start buying pints instead of quarts of half-and-half."
Carly shrugged. "I like having it around in case I want more coffee in the afternoon or if you're over."
"These days, you're at my apartment more often than I come over to yours," Freddie said as he guided her into a check-out aisle. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed her a 10-dollar bill. "Go get coffee for both of us, I'll pay for your groceries if you're not back by the time it's our turn to check out."
"Oh, you don't have to do that!" Carly said.
"I want to," Freddie replied, pushing her towards the Skybucks kiosk. "Now go. I know you're probably starting to get a migraine because you haven't had coffee yet and it's almost noon."
Carly stopped and realized Freddie was right. She could feel the fringes of a migraine creeping up her temples. "Okay, fine but only because I don't want to have a headache all day. I owe you though."
Freddie waved her hand. "Forget about it."
Carly went and ordered two venti iced caramel macchiatos and paid the difference. When the orders were finished, Freddie was waiting for her at the entrance. She handed his drink to him and reminded herself not to offer to Venmo him money for her food because she didn't think he'd take her up on it.
She decided that the next time, she'd send him to get coffee and pay for his groceries.
Except her mind wandered to a future where they'd share one supermarket bill. She shook the thoughts away because maybe two weeks into a relationship was too soon to start thinking about their future together.
But she just couldn't help it.
TBC…
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Author's Note:
Hello there! Sorry for taking so long to update. Much like Carly, I caught a cold last week and it stalled the creative process a little longer than I would have liked. I was also with my sisters and nieces/nephews, and I only had my tablet to write on, which made it all the harder to write. I hope you liked this chapter. I'm hoping to have chapter 3 (and a one shot) up much faster than this chapter.
If you're so inclined, please leave a review. I'd love to hear what you think!
Until next time!
Love,
Holly