Thank you Free!: Iwatobi Swim Club for some how inspiring me to write this really lengthy piece of work.
Note: As the title states, this fan fiction is based on Ianthony. They are friends in the story, ahem. If you dislike kisses, Ian and Anthony as teenagers [briefly], and home departure, run. Run as fast as the wind!
Also, this is quite long. It starts off slow, but there is a build up. Enjoy. :)
The days have finally come. There was the idiot with a copper colored bowl haircut who wore a striped sweater and light brown khaki shorts throughout the day. There was the doofus that carried his 3DS everywhere with his bistre colored haircut shaped like lopsided ice cream on a cone, wearing a green Zelda shirt and tight white jeans. Both of these goofballs came to the decision that never came to mind long ago, but just a month since.
They bought everything necessary and outlined all locations in the area, organizing each detail exactly as wanted. Comfy cities such as Palmdale, Los Angeles made their task worth it. It was empty and the landscape was vast. The roads, grass, and sidewalks were clean as well. So were the homes. They were crafted perfectly, carefully painted, carpeted well, and seemed like residences great to build memories in. Which is exactly what this duo needed.
These two best friends decided to move from their old, beloved, and memory-filled home, the Smosh house, and the process was soon to be complete. They will be up and out into new territory in days ahead.
"Aah," Anthony groaned with relief. He leaned back against their kitchen's white tiled counter, and stretched his arms forward. "What a day," he beamed while looking at the ceiling of his home. Sweat was wiped away from his forehead caused by the heated weather with his hand.
"Agreed," Ian nodded, leaning against the lengthy wooden cabinets opposite of Anthony. Their entire day was spent prepping the last Lunchtime with Smosh in this home. That also came with arrangements with property owners and storing whatever they needed into luggage.
"You know," Anthony mentioned while patting his hair, "I was thinking about something earlier. Something we did long ago."
Ian turned his head to look at the fridge beside him. He opened the door and searched for something to quench himself. "Really?" Ian asked as he snatched a water bottle out of the door pocket, "What is it?" He managed to sip some water before Anthony spoke.
"Well," Anthony folded his arms and sat on top of the counter, "Remember that box we dug up when we were teens long ago?"
Ian hummed in amnesty while gulping down some water. He shook his head and said, "Nope."
"What? How can't you remember?" Anthony wondered surprised.
Ian shrugged and folded his arms. "I don't have the greatest memory of being a teen, unlike you," he responded.
"Oh come on dude. You have to remember, we put some of our stuff in there, our memories."
The taller of the two slumped his shoulders. He looked down at the floor attempting to recall some moments, however he could only withdraw some moments before they dug in. At the time, Ian was thin and often wore loose shirts with slacky jeans; his haircut was more plump as well. Anthony had a similar apparel to his current one and his present anatomy is nearly the same as it was back then. His emo hair is no longer in existence though. In November of 2013, he decided it was time for a change.
It was possibly the afternoon of an autumn day. Both of them were in their backyard by a massive cranberry bush. While they were standing by a pit they shoveled, Ian was carrying a shoe box with unfamiliar colors in Anthony's mind; possibly maroon. Inside was a large jar, at least the size of the box it was in, cluttered with items that the taller man can't call to mind either. Ian kneeled down and cautiously buried the box inside, perhaps smiling to himself and to Anthony.
After patting the spot, Anthony uphanded Ian and cleaned off some dirt on Ian's green shirt. The rest of his memory was faded, though he assumed they headed inside home right after. Most likely to play games and watch movies, eat dinner cooked by Anthony's mother, or make paper airplanes or weapons using old homework assignments.
"No," Ian pondered the moment himself before wagging his head, "I don't remember."
Anthony briefly thought for a moment and commanded, "Come with me to the yard." He clutched Ian by the watch on his wrist once he accepted his order and stormed off to the back door of their home. Ian walked along with Anthony and was pushed outside after their transparent door was slid open.
Fireflies were aloft in the air and tiny light bulbs in the grass flashed faintly. Sky was painted dark navy blue color while unfortunately the stars were sightless. By good luck, the moon still buttoned itself up on the same position it was in every day. It will be such a loss to not see it in the same position as it was in time to come.
Once Ian's wrist was released, he rubbed his watch down to ease the tension of it. Anthony browsed around the area with his eyes while swaying his head left and right. He took steps in the grass, and crooned the Super Mario Bros theme song to himself until he found the spot.
"It's here," he shouted at Ian while pointing at the bump. The spot was familiar, considering the site was risen higher than the rest of the ground and it was only a yard left from the doorway. Anthony gestured his hand for Ian to come, and Ian walked his way forward.
"Ian when we were like 16, we dug in some stuff under this spot. I just don't remember what," Anthony told as he scratched behind his neck.
Ian looked downwards at the ground. It was covered in some daisies and tulips, and a weed here and there. The immense elder bush was absent, but an old red marker cap was in its same place in the ground. Nevertheless, he kneeled down by the patch to observe the space. He lifted his head to see Anthony who happened to be looking down at him.
"Our neighbour's bikini," Ian said, "I remember us stealing it from her bed when she left the door open after she left her house. We stashed it inside."
Anthony instantly kneeled down beside Ian and rested his bottom on the heels of his feet. He smiled widely and prompted, "You remember something! And you know what this means, right?"
Ian shook his head and smiled along with Anthony, "Possibly."
Anthony astired up from his seat, speeding his way to their garage leaving Ian behind. This gave Ian time to fix his hair and move some of the plants in the way of the bump. The ground was high and bulgey, though it surely didn't stay like that. Anthony walked back to the backyard and handed Ian a mini-shovel out of the two he brought.
"We can start digging," Anthony suggested.
"Okay." Ian said.
Ian used his hands to move some of the risen dirt away. Anthony sat himself on the spot he was on before he scurried off and did as Ian did. Once the area was somewhat flat, they both thrusted their shovels in to gather more dirt to set aside. They pushed and rammed into the ground and continuously threw the soil behind them. Eventually, Anthony hit a cardboard like cover. It definitely didn't feel like a rock or stone.
"Dude, I think we found something," Anthony smiled even wider than before. Ian tossed his shovel aside and began rummaging in with his fingers until more of the top was revealed. Anthony used his shovel to press the ground to the side as he dug down. Once they hit slopes of the board top, the box started feeling loose. You could reach it right there and then, and not too difficultly, they did.
"You know what this reminds me of?" Ian asked Anthony, who was busy dragging and heaving the box up the tight ground.
"What?" Anthony asked with a slight strain in his voice.
"It's like a time capsule. You know, like how people store their stuff in the ground to find years later?"
"It is!" Anthony said, nodding lightly to Ian's observation.
Finally, they managed to bring the box atop of the ground. They slowy respired and respited, shaking their hands from the dirt and stress in their fingers. The box was somewhat how Anthony visioned it, just larger and a rosewood color instead, from Nike specifically. It wasn't a surprise to see it covered in dirt and some roots and bugs that were carefully taken off.
"Finally," Anthony huffed, "That took forever." Ian agreed, and sighed tiresomely. Somehow digging was a sport, especially after a long day of filming, walking, and talking.
Ian took the box and held it up to his ear, jarring it to see if he could hear anything.
"I hear some stuff." Ian assured proudly, "It sounds like we hid a lot."
"Give me it," Anthony instructed Ian, in which Ian gave him the box. Anthony pressed his ear against its wall, swinging it side to side for an effect and nodded, "You're right." They smiled.
Anthony set the box between the two of them. Both of them sat criss-crossed in front of each other on the warm turf beneath them, staring at the box impatiently.
"Well?" Ian asked.
"What?"
"Who's going to open it?"
Anthony gulped down. His chest was pumped with excitement, but also a lack of comfort. Whatever is in this decade old box could hold memories they never wanted to be reminded of now like they thought they would back then. But how bad could it be? Considering they were best friends, they know what would make each other uncomfortable or not. Though in retrospect, they've tricked each other more than anyone would could think. I guess that's what best friends like these do.
Anthony brought his hand to the lid of the box. "I will", he answered. Ian nodded, and watched Anthony lift the lid.
"How about we lift it together?" Ian suggested. Ian placed his hand on the other side of the dirty shoe box.
"Okay," Anthony nodded, "On three. 1... 2... 3".
The duo simultaneously pulled up the top, unraveling a large container filled with objects they stuck in long ago. They both glanced on the medals, action figures, pictures, and a clutters of notes. Even the bathing suit Ian mentioned a few minutes ago. Their mouthes haven't been so wide open out of amazement since last year. Ian immediately took the jar while Anthony watched in anticipation to see him open it. Ian rapidly twisted it open, and tossed all the junk into the shoe box. Some notes ended up on the ground.
"Dude, this is so cool!" Anthony addressed eagerly, "Look at this!" Anthony picked up a Kenny bobble head doll from South Park from the litter. He jiggled his head in all directions, and Ian looked up delightedly.
"Aw, I used to love Kenny," Ian laugh softly as he petted and poked the head of the doll Anthony still held, "He's awesome". Once his hand withdrew from Kenny, Ian looked through the debri of medals stored. Many of them were Ian's winnings in racing and some mentioned Anthony's winnings in website designing. One even mentioned how Ian won an hot dog eating contest and a certificate for Anthony, the 'theme clothing of the week: emo' contest.
Anthony placed Kenny down and looked through more of the clutter. Ian picked up a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle eye mask and a Star Wars light saber. Ian tied the red eye mask around his face and pressed the button on the light saber. A rod from inside the shaft slid its way out and gave off a radiating light. The surrounding area came from a regular night tone to a strong light blue. Anthony gazed at Ian and laughed hysterically.
"Look at me, I'm Luke Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Star Turtle Wars!" Ian joked stupidly while posing in his outfit.
"Wow Ian," Anthony grinned. From the clutter, he picked up a blue TMNT eye mask and tied it over his head. While skimming through the junk, he found a miniature Pirates of the Caribbean sword, "Look at me! I'm Leo Sparrow from Pirates of the Ninja Turtles!" Ian giggled humorously at Anthony messing around.
After a few rough swings with the swords towards each other and sound effects they made such as 'pew' and 'puu', they set the toys away. Of course, they kept their eye masks on.
"Oh boy, that was fun," Anthony said. Then, as he navigated through the litter, he found some dumb phrases they thought up and quotes from their favorite shows, movies, and comics. Some like 'Up, up and away.. into my ass!', 'I'm not fat, I'm festively plump.', 'Someone has been pissing on my Gamecube and I'm about to close the case' and etcetera. In some crumbled papers, they drew horribly doodled explicit drawings of gore and sex, too.
"It sure was," Ian smiled, and laughed along with what they wrote, "We were so dorky man. Especially in these pictures." He lifted up the kiddish pictures up from a pile.
The photographs were adorable and geeky. Many of them consisted of Ian and Anthony messing around at the beach, hanging out at home, and skipping class and being in class. Some of them included close friends and family, many that they still hang out with. Very few consisted of females they ended up cutting it off with eventually. (Most of the girls didn't even last for longer than a week. Ian and Anthony don't even try now.)
However, there was this very particular picture that caught Ian's eye. There was Anthony, the picture taker, sitting on their black leathered office chair and Ian, smiling behind him feeding him a cheesy garlic breadstick with his free arm laid on Anthony's chest. Ian was wearing a baby blue shirt while Anthony was using a white shirt as a scarf in a way.
When he flipped to the back of the picture, Ian widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows high. It read 'the best boyfriends ever' and no way could he recall dating Anthony.. Or could he? Was it a joke? Should he ask? Even if he shouldn't have, he did.
"Hey Anthony," Ian muttered concernedly, awkwardly fiddling the picture, "I have a question."
"What is it?" Anthony asked, though he didn't even look up at Ian. He was too distracted playing with an old Virtual Pets toy and reading a list of things they liked back when they were teenagers.
"Just uh.. Well do you remember if we, we..," Ian stammered and gulped, "Dated?"
Anthony observed Ian for a few seconds and repeated, "Dated?" Then he smirked momentarily and responded sarcastically, "Hah, yeah, totally." He continued messing with the VP toy once again.
"Well if you don't think I'm being serious," Ian responded solemn and slid the picture of him and Anthony over the game, "Look at this. Then behind it."
Anthony's eyebrows furrowed. He placed the toy into the box and list onto the grass. He gripped the picture impassively, focusing on the actions in the snapshot. Proceeding, he flipped the picture to the other side and widened his eyes as Ian did. Ian nodded. Both of the friends didn't notice any markers in the area, nor were there any in their pockets, so neither of them could have written it now. The writing isn't even familiar, but the '- Ian' at the bottom right corner signified who wrote the text.
"I- I don't," Anthony couldn't spew out anything, he just laid his chin on his palm cockeyed. He shifted his body position while Ian fidgeted his fingers, and then on the rest of the papers and box. Eventually, he noticed a paper taped to the corner of the box top that was hidden underneath the base of the shoe box. He ripped it out of the corner, and over and upturned the folded piece of paper.
"Anthony, listen to this," he instructed Anthony. He finally fetched the picture away to ignore and forget. He sighed, but did as Ian requested.
The message was long on paper, however it mentioned a bewildering moment of their past they didn't remember, until now:
'Dear our future selves (we think),
Hey this is Ian and Anthony. Anthony and Ian. Whatever, Anthony always likes going ahead of the phrase. But anyways, we say hi from 2004. We don't really think you we will get to reread this in the future. Like what if there is a tornado or a dickass diarrhea explosion in the house and you guys end up leavin or something? Ok, we're doing this anyway.'
That was the beginning of the letter, and after a few paragraphs mentioning racing, school, games, family, and friends, the last paragraph caught their attention the most. The writing seemed pretty worn out too, considering Ian and Anthony weren't the most experienced writers during the time.
'Ok ok you dudes are probably bored now but we have one last thing to tell you. Anthony and me We are dating. Yeah, dating! It's been like 2 months but we really hope you guys are still together in the future. Like that would be awesome. But we dont really know. Anything can happen. I mean we are just expearimenting after all. :P I mean the make out sessions are great and so are the.. Ok me and Anthony are done. (Ignore the scratches and doodles there by the way. Anthony's dumb. But not as dumb as Ian)
-by Ian and Anthony'
And for those few minutes, Ian and Anthony were mute. They were in disbelief that they dated at 16, or whatever age they were at the time. Especially for two months, and they didn't even recall the make out sessions and any other nonsense they'd done. They weren't at ease from this, even if it was a long time ago, but they weren't upset either. Actually, Ian found it humorous, and smirked while rereading the passage.
"Why are you laughing?" Anthony asked Ian discomforted. Ian was giggling vaguely at the note. Anthony didn't find this very amusing at all.
Ian fixed his eyes on Anthony's and asked in a lively tone, "Why would I not? We used to date. It's funny".
"No it's not," Anthony replied, "It's actually pretty weird.. sorta."
"Oh come on," Ian diverted his voice. He picked up a Pokeball and pressed the center white button, revealing a tiny Squirtle he lifted up, "I'm sure even little ol' Squirtle here shipped it."
Anthony rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking down to the clutter in front of them. There wasn't much left to look back on except the bikini Ian mentioned. Out of all things, how could Ian remember doing that anyway? Anthony didn't even want to know what they did to it, or what could be on it now or what was in it back then. It did look stretched out though. If anything, Ian must have fitted into the red and white polka-dotted bathing suit. If they were dating, he probably did a lap dance for him in it too. He could only imagine it.
"I think we should go back inside," Anthony advised. By the second, the sky was dimming darkly and the grass was sticking up uncomfortably on his legs. The winds were breezing consistently now too, but not roughly enough to carry any papers away.
"But why?" Ian questioned and settled down the Pokeball and Squirtle toy he held, "We should stay a little longer."
"We're moving a lot tomorrow and have to go to another meeting, Ian. It's getting late."
"It's not too late," Ian rolled his eyes. It was only ten thirty at night, and they usually slept around two or three in the morning. Ian thought for a second and pointed out, "Maybe.. You don't want to discuss the relationship we had when we were younger!" Anthony did dismiss his comment about Squirtle shipping them after all.
"No! It's not that," Anthony denied and blushed. His head maneuvered to face the fence and trees feet away from them, "Don't assume things like that."
"Well okaay," Ian dragged his voice, "Then let's keep talking about it."
"Why do you want to talk about it anyway? It was a long time ago." Anthony huffed. He peered back to Ian.
Ian shrugged and with a hint of joy said, "Because Anthony! I guess It's just awesome to see us still as best friends even after we dated."
"Well, dating obviously didn't work out," Anthony replied bluntly.
Not too long ago, Ian and Anthony discussed the idea of being more than best friends for a while. Ian proposed it. Considering they were single and didn't have much time to go out and explore the dating world, Ian thought, "Why not give it a shot?" Anthony was uncertain about the idea though. He wasn't sure why, seeing as males and females were a given option to him. The possibility of being too busy acting and editing and interviewing to actually date anyone concerned him a bit. The fear of any relationship conflicts that could affect the way they work together was regarded too.
"No need to be so doubtful Anthony," Ian sighed, "I'm sure after 10 years, we could experiment again."
"And what if it doesn't work out?"
"Like I said, don't be doubtful. Besides, if we made out and," Ian pointed to the blotched out writing on the letter that failed to cover up some wording, "Did more than just that and could still remain friends when we broke up, why can't we?"
Anthony would have commented, but he knew the statement would be doubtful as Ian didn't wanted. The way Ian put it, even if there was higher stance in their relationship a decade ago, it could still work out. Additionally, they have been friends for over 13 years. All they need to do is add some cuddling and erotic acts here and there, with whatever they consider relationship-py to be done, and bam, they're on their way to an upgraded type of love than just friendship. Somehow, it was hard for Anthony to abstain the idea of being together with Ian, or draw much judgments to it.
This entire dating dilemma also helped Anthony recall the rest of his memory of the moment he and Ian dug up their time capsule. After Anthony wiped off dirt on Ian's shirt, Ian thanked Anthony for cleaning it off. Anthony smiled and politely said, "You're welcome." and grabbed hold of Ian's hand.
They swung their locked hands' arms back and forth while looking at each other. Then, Ian cupped his palm on Anthony's cheek and forced his feet heels up to reach Anthony's face. He pressed his lips onto his, and the kiss was long lasting Anthony's memory went blank. That was all he needed to remember to bring a feeling back. The feeling was soothing and sweet.
While Anthony dozed off, Ian crawled his hand on the grass passed the shoebox over to Anthony's hand, which startled him a bit. "So?" Ian asked, "How do you feel about the dating idea?"
Anthony pulled his hand away from Ian's for a moment, then brought it back over his. He held it high and gripped it lightly, and nodded while mumbling, "I mean, I guess we could try."
"Really?" Ian asked hastily with a blissful look on his face.
"Yeah, sure!"
The beam that was brought to Ian's face made Anthony smile widely.
"Awesome," Ian bubbled in joy, "You finally said yes!"
"Just to tr-" Before Anthony could continue, Ian sat up to a kneeling position and leaned forward to hug Anthony. He wrapped his arms around Anthony's arms and back and laid his head down on his shoulder. Anthony could feel Ian's heart pulsing greatly and his warm chest on his own. He was unable to hug back since his arms were inert, but that was okay.
Once Ian finished expressing his thanks to Anthony, Anthony didn't say any more. He was just relieved to be released from Ian's grip. His sweater did make the hug quite snug and lukewarm though considering the weather had become more cool.
Finally, it was time for the couple to go inside. Ian and Anthony began placing all items back into the shoe box. They placed the games on one corner, the pictures in the center, and the notes and letter on the other side. With their shovels, they dug back in the grime and dirt they dug out into the hole. Ian took the lid and pressed it on the top, and promptly arose from his seat on the grass. So did Anthony, who lifted up the box. They both stretched their arms forward, backs backwards, and their legs outwards; sitting can sure make someone tired.
"So uh, where are we going to put this?" Anthony asked and raised the box up so Ian could see. He shrugged.
"I dunno," Ian answered, "We can find out when we go inside." Anthony nodded in agreement. They walked back into their living room through the backdoor, which Anthony slid shut.
Both of them plopped down onto the couch feeling relieved by the cushion material, which felt much better than the ground. Anthony placed their box down onto his lap, and Ian veered to his right to lay on Anthony; they were together now, after all. Though it would take some time to get used to for Anthony and even Ian, since it was declared quite suddenly. Being a couple wasn't the only reason why Ian laid his head on Anthony's shoulder though.
Once Ian lounged himself down onto the couch, he glanced the room. It felt emptier, and it certainly was. Maybe not physically, not yet, but the thought of knowing someone else would be replacing objects with their own items ached his heart. Knowing the furniture the duo have used for weeks, and some for plenty for years, will be withdrawn from its rightful place felt irregular. It wasn't just the movement furniture that felt appalling though, but also the memories.
Ian and Anthony did feel the need to create new ones in a brand new area, but leaving behind old memories would be unusual. After years of acting in the same neighborhood, ambling and chatting on the same streets, playing video games, watching shows and videos, and laughing in this very home; it almost felt like a waste. Even if it was, the waste was valuable. Certainly without the home city of Sacramento, California, they would have experienced completely different lifestyles than they did now. They wouldn't be in this house, or together.
"Anthony, can I ask you a favor?" Ian eyed up to Anthony, who was nearly about to fall into a deep sleep. He tilted his head low enough so his cheek would touch Ian's soft hair. Clumsily, he opened his eyelids.
"Sure," Anthony said lazily.
Ian sat up straight and asked, "Can we make a new time capsule?"
"Now?" Anthony groaned and slouched forward.
"No silly," Ian responded playfully, "I mean tomorrow. Tomorrow we can do it, and then bury it in the ground of our new home. We'll fill it with stuff we did in this home and the times we had together"
"Sounds good to me." Anthony nodded and smiled idly, "Anyway, I'm heading to sleep now." He gestured his thumb to his bedroom and pressed down his hands to the couch to help lift his body upwards.
"Wait," Ian urged. Before Anthony could walk to his room, Ian leaped his entire body onto the floor and faced Anthony. Ian rapidly took out his phone and mumbled, "I know what the first picture inside should be."
Ian pushed his finger onto Anthony's lips so he wouldn't remark. With a smile, Ian cupped Anthony's cheek the same way he did long ago. On his tippy toes, he quickly took the moment to press his lips against Anthony's. Anthony was briefly stunned by the sudden but easily calmed himself as they slowly warmed up to each other into an equal rhythm. Their eyes were closed as the moment proceeded on and Ian lifted up his phone. The red button was pressed, and a picture was taken.
And it was a picture that ended up in their hands 10 years later in their new home; with great fortune, their experiment worked.
Whaaat? I wrote a fan fiction after the longest time of NOT writing or uploading anything? Unbelievable. Anyway, I apologize sincerely for not updating. I had a terrible writer's block and I could only visualize an event rather than jot it down. Luckily I did this time. Something about Ian and Anthony looking back on their past really keeps my heart beat pumping faster. I love it. :D
I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did writing it. :) Maybe I'll write some more fan fictions soon. DON'T STOP YOURSELVES FROM CRITICIZING MY WRITING BY THE WAY.