Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly.
A/N: Set sometime during Season 2.
They always argued over who out of the two of them was the most perceptive. Although both girls agreed that when it came to matters involving food or petty crime, Sam was the undisputed expert, and that when it was about book-smarts or people skills, Carly easily claimed pre-eminence. But they never could quite agree on who should be considered the best at perceiving things, be it people's feelings and motives, or the causes and effects of events.
Take for instance their present situation. Carly thought that it all went back to the counselling sessions. Her father had been due for shore-leave after serving his second tour in the Gulf, but instead of returning home, his sub had been redeployed to the Sea of Japan. It seems North Korea had test-fired some missiles, and all the military people who made decisions about where submarines went were feeling nervous. And Carly didn't mind that her dad was in the navy, she really didn't. She knew why he did it, and that what he did was really important, and that even though he couldn't be with her and Spencer, he still loved them. And according to the globe of the world she had in her room, the Sea of Japan was actually a little closer than the Persian Gulf - only one ocean away from Seattle, rather than two. But it still felt like it was a terribly long way away for her father to be, and she missed her Dad, and she felt that he was somehow in a little bit more danger, because all the other warships in the Gulf had been American or British, and all her dad's sub really had to do was patrol, and maybe occasionally lob a missile inland against some baddies. But (also according to her globe of the world) right next to North Korea was China, and China had their own warships and submarines, and North Korea had warships and submarines, and what happened if there was a mixup or a mistake, or someone important got angry, or lobbed a missile somewhere where they weren't supposed to? And why would North Korea even test missiles anyway unless they were planning on using them against someone?
Carly had spent so much time thinking about these things that she hadn't had time to think too much about her schoolwork, and, predictably enough, her grades had suffered. Spencer had noticed, because even though sometimes it seemed like he wasn't paying attention to Carly's life, he actually really was. Apparently the armed forces offered counselling services to the families of defence personnel, and it was free and Spencer thought it might help so he took her with him to see a counsellor one day. And after talking to the counsellor for a while, and talking to Spencer, Carly realised that it was perfectly normal for her to feel anxiety about her father, and helpful to talk about it with others, and that it was important for her to have a stable home-life and a strong support network, and she sort of already did with Spencer and Sam and Freddie, so she felt a bit better about things afterward. She also saw that it was important to tell those who cared about her that she appreciated them, and she resolved to do so.
Spencer already knew that she appreciated him, but Carly told him again anyway, and they hugged. She told Freddie after their next iCarly webcast, as he was packing up his tech gear, and while Sam was downstairs hunting for food, so that she wouldn't make fun of Freddie if he got all emotional. Freddie smiled, and they hugged, and even though Freddie held on for a little too long like usual, Carly didn't mind too much, because she really did like having him as a friend, and they both knew where the boundaries were.
After Freddie left and it was just her and Sam sitting on the couch like usual, chilling out to a rerun of Girly Cow and sharing a tub of popcorn (Carly had even let Sam put melted butter in - though just a bit), Carly had turned to her friend.
"So, my counsellor said that I should tell my friends and family how much I appreciate them always being there for me."
"Yeah?" replied Sam nonchalantly.
"Yeah... So I just wanted to say thanks. For always being there for me. And supporting me... and stuff. And just for being a fantastic friend in general... The best a girl could ever hope for. You're really important to me, ya know?" Carly was aware that she was rambling a little, but somehow, telling Sam how important she was made Carly feel warm and fuzzy inside. And the tiny, beautiful smile that crept onto Sam's face made Carly glad that she had followed her counsellor's advice.
"Right back at ya kid," was all Sam said, but it was enough.
So it was that Carly always said the counselling sessions were to thank for their present situation. Not because they made her realise her feelings towards Sam - that was to come a little later - but because they encouraged her to articulate her feelings. And having done so once, and been rewarded with such a nice smile and such a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, it became a lot easier from then on to do so again.
Sam, of course, believed that it had all started a lot earlier, with the actual growing of the feelings between them. Although Carly always argued that without being able to articulate them, the feelings would have come to nothing. Sam, however, liked to point out that all the talking in the world would have come to nothing if they hadn't grown to love each other first. Sam also said that she and Carly communicated how important they were to each other in the very same actions that had caused them to love each other in the first place. The way that, as Carly had pointed out, they were always there for each other, and could always accept and support, regardless of flaws or the craziness that life threw at them. In the way that, as long as the two of them were together, they felt like everything else would be okay, and that they could deal with absent fathers and abusive mothers and insecurities and brushes with the law, and just generally take on the world, or at least make a web show that was popular all over the world. And in the way that they had so much fun together, and could spend hours and days talking about or doing the most random stuff, as long as they were doing it together. And in the way they complemented and completed each other, and just plain knew each other, better than anyone else; better almost than they knew themselves.
Sam would later claim that she had perceived the growing feelings between the two of them before Carly had, but had been unable to articulate them until Carly had paved the way. Carly, of course, had no way to verify this. Nor could she verify who it was that thought of kissing the other first, for both of them liked to claim that honor for themselves. She and Sam just had to settle for stating that their first kiss had been a mutual effort, and very much appreciated by both parties involved.
So it was that they found themselves in their present situation. Having shared kisses and held hands and unabashedly told each other 'I love you' more than once, they were now on their first 'official' date. In public. As a couple, if anyone were to ask. It was more than a little exciting. And it was also a little scary, but at the same time not really, since this was just Carly and Sam, together like usual, and they had always been so comfortable and natural with each other.
So they found themselves at a nice restaurant, just fancy enough for Carly not to look out of place in her pretty new dress, but not so fancy that Sam couldn't get away with wearing a good pair of jeans and a button-down blouse. The food was standard faire, but good, and more importantly (for Sam) came in large servings. There was soft music playing in the background, and the girls sat across from each other at an honest-to-goodness table-for-two. And although their conversation between courses was nothing too different from their normal conversation, it still felt different, because now they perceived themselves as a couple. And although they still shared the same affectionate touches and loving glances they'd always shared, they no longer had to be quite so secretive about it anymore - they were together now. Both of them realised that they still had obstacles ahead of them, and that they were still figuring things out as they went, but they also knew that they had reached an important milestone in their relationship, and that the love between them was still most definitely growing.
Carly and Sam might never be able to agree about the exact causes that led to them being together, and very much in love. But, they both agreed, whatever the future held, by getting to where they were presently, they had made a very good start.