Always

by ipwnyourmother

But they'd always been like this, hadn't they? One-shot. Spam or Seddie, depending on your preferences.

A/N: I don't own iCarly. I sat down to write and this is what came out. I like to think it's Spam, but I suppose it could be interpreted as Seddie if you squint. Whatevs. Imply whatever pairing you like. Review if you feel inclined.

It happened when neither of them was paying any attention. In fact, looking back, they would say that that was the only way you could really describe it – as just happening. There was no wooing, no falling in love, no epiphanic moment when they realized they couldn't live without each other. It was the most unromantic thing in the world – there was nothing exciting about it. But still, it was the most perfect thing in the world – especially for them. After all, they'd always been kind of quirky about everything else, so why should love be any different?

It started when Carly went away to college and Sam decided to stay in Seattle; their goodbyes were tearful and hard, but in the end they knew it would be okay. It was only four years and there was always holidays and vacations and webcams to guarantee that they didn't drift apart. So that part was okay, really. But Carly's going away meant Sam needed someone else to spend her free time with and there he was, bright and smiling and willing to take her out to lunch whenever she wanted – and pay, no matter how many orders of fried rice she wanted. And it was so easy, so natural, to laugh and to joke and soon they became so much closer. They'd always been friends, of course, but before it had been almost an obligation. Yes, they were friends, but they weren't really friends, were they? Still, neither of them actually noticed the change in their friendship. Carly noticed, when she came home for the holidays, but her comments about how they seemed so much tighter now seemed strange to their ears. What did she mean? They'd always been like this, hadn't they?

And then one day it came out that she didn't know how to roller skate and he seemed offended by the very idea. He couldn't believe that she'd never experienced the joy of coasting about on four wheels – though, when he expressed this, she told him very seriously that she'd been in a car before, thank you very much. This didn't throw him off though, and it wasn't long before he was forcing skates onto her feet and dragging her to the park. She wasn't thrilled about it – why skate, when she could drive? Honestly, skating took so much more effort. Still, they had fun. And then, when she almost fell because she hit a stick, he caught her hand and kept her upright. And that was natural, too. Hadn't they always touched like that? It was easy; it was right. And they'd always been like this, hadn't they?

Soon, they were always touching. They would hold hands, she would lean on his shoulder when they watched TV together; sometimes, when they were out in the city together, he would throw his arm around her shoulders and she would wrap one arm around his waist and grab his free hand, while reaching up with her other arm to take the hand that was around her shoulders. It was natural for them, to be constantly entwined, wrapped up in each other. They were all smiles and laughter and as they walked around together people would look at them and smile the way they always do when they see a couple in love. But they didn't notice, because why would they? It was just second nature for her to touch his hand when he said something funny or for him to brush her hair away from her eyes when it covered them. And Carly came home to visit and was surprised when they had to unwind themselves from each other in order to give her a hug hello. But they'd always been like this, hadn't they?

One afternoon he agreed to babysit the daughter of one of his neighbors and Sam arrived to raid his refrigerator only to find the apartment in utter disarray. He'd lost control of the five year old girl long ago and was sitting on the couch shouting half-hearted 'no, don't do that's as the little girl tore the place apart. Sam had the situation under control in five minutes flat and then they were playing truth or dare. And when the little girl dared her to kiss him, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world, and they'd turned to each other without blinking and she'd pressed her lips against his and they'd moved on to dare the little girl to put underwear on her head without another thought. And then it became easy, the kissing – a kiss hello, a kiss goodbye, a kiss for good luck, a kiss just because they damn well felt like it. And Carly came home for a visit and was astounded to find that when Sam left the apartment she planted a long kiss on his lips and left as if it was nothing. But when Carly questioned him about it, he acted like he didn't have a clue what she was going on about. Because they'd always been like this, hadn't they?

And when Sam lost her job and therefore also lost her apartment, it made perfect sense that she should move in with him, didn't it? Where else was she going to go? She didn't even really have to ask, she just showed up at his door with her things and announced that she'd be living there from now on and then they sat down and played Jenga so that she could put of the mounds of homework that she'd yet to do. And this time, when Carly came home to visit, she wasn't even surprised to find that they were sleeping in the same bedroom – they'd always been like this, hadn't they?

And then one night they were eating take-out from the Shining Wok and as he swallowed a bite of rice he turned to her and said, "We should get married." And she took a bite of an egg roll and nodded her agreement and the next day they picked out a ring and Carly came home to visit and squealed and clapped and wasn't even surprised that the circumstances of their engagement hadn't been romantic in the least. Honestly, they'd always been like this. Hadn't they?

They were married in the summer so that Carly could be there as the maid of honor, and everyone was smiling and when several people admitted that they hadn't even known that the two of them were dating, they laughed and said that that was weird – because they'd always been dating, they thought. But maybe not. Because they hadn't always been like this, had they?