A/N: This is just a oneshot. Enjoy :)
A wave of sadness washed over him as he watched yet another girl drive away from his home. Sitting down on the step outside the house, with the irritating drizzle threatening to mess his hair, Anthony's mind was plagued with bad thoughts. It wasn't so much that he would miss the girl; it was more to do with the fact that he was lonely. Aged twenty six and he still hadn't found someone he could have a serious relationship with. At first it hadn't bothered him too much seeing as he was pretty busy with YouTube anyway, but after his recent birthday he couldn't help wondering if things were ever going to change. Would he eventually find someone to settle down with or was he destined to spending Saturday nights alone, curled up in front of his computer? That didn't sound particularly desirable. But at the same time, he couldn't see himself with a perfect wife and screaming kids running around everywhere. He had no idea what he truly wanted. Maybe staying single forever would be the best option after all. Shivering slightly as the cold water droplets stung his bare arms, he brought his knees up to his chest. Going back inside the house would be the sensible thing to do at this point as the rain started getting heavier but moving required effort, something which he was not prepared to put in. Besides, the rain was comforting in a way. He couldn't think of any particular reason why but it just was.
Ian sighed as he looked out of the window to see Anthony still sitting in the cold. He had never seen him look so miserable before, or seen him willingly get his hair wet for no good reason. Grabbing an umbrella, Ian went to the front door and opened it to join Anthony on the step. Anthony hadn't even acknowledged his presence as Ian opened up the umbrella and sat down beside him.
"Hey," Ian said softly.
"Hey," Anthony responded, his eyes remaining glued to the puddle in front of him.
Ian studied the dark-haired man fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt. "What's the matter?"
Anthony stayed silent for a while as he tried to formulate an answer that wouldn't make him look completely pathetic. Ian didn't think he was going to get an answer until Anthony finally spoke. "Katie left," he mumbled.
A look of sympathy passed over Ian's face and he gave Anthony a brief hug. "I'm sorry man. I know you liked her."
"That's the problem though," Anthony finally lifted his head up to look at Ian. "I didn't like her. I mean, she was great as a friend but you know…I want something more than that."
Ian nodded in understanding. "Don't let it get you down Anthony. I'm sure you'll find someone else soon enough."
"No," Anthony shook his head. "I don't think I will."
"Don't be so negative. Are you really gonna give up this easily?" Ian said, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to make sense of what his best friend was saying.
"Why shouldn't I? I'm twenty six Ian and I still haven't found the 'perfect girl' that I want to be with. I'm sick of waiting and searching. I'm just sick of everything," Anthony was ashamed to find himself close to tears and quickly brought a hand up to rub at his eyes.
Ian hated seeing Anthony like this. It wasn't often that he saw his friend get upset and he still didn't quite know how to handle it. "Is there something wrong with me?" Anthony suddenly asked him.
"Of course not. What makes you say that?" Ian frowned.
Anthony clenched his hand into a fist and hit it against his thigh as his frustrations started building up in his head. He hated admitting these things to himself and more importantly, to Ian. "I just can't seem to get…close to anyone. Every girl I've dated, I don't know…I guess I just don't connect to people," Anthony sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair.
"Anthony, listen to me carefully," Ian said in such a serious tone that Anthony looked at him with curiosity. "You're perfect just the way you are so don't think for one moment that you're not good enough for anyone. Any girl would be lucky to have you and if they don't think that way then it's their loss."
"You're just saying that," Anthony muttered but he couldn't help grinning at Ian's words.
Ian smiled at the brighter expression on Anthony's face. "I'm telling the truth you know."
Anthony's grin faded into a small smile as the negative thoughts started taking over again. "Whatever you think, that doesn't change the fact that I'll probably die alone," he said regretfully.
Silence fell between them as Ian attempted to come up with something else encouraging to say. He desperately wanted to say the right thing to cheer Anthony up and stop him from giving up hope but his mind failed. He decided to go with his initial instincts and wrapped an arm around Anthony's shoulders. "You're cold," Ian stated after observing the raised bumps on Anthony's arms.
"You can go inside if you want," Anthony said. He didn't want Ian to sit down in the cold with him just because he pitied him.
Ian just shook his head. "I want to stay here," he said as he tightened his grip slightly. Anthony couldn't help finding the warmth of his best friend pressed against him quite relaxing and rested his head against Ian's chest. He looked up to see his reaction and was relieved to see that Ian wasn't looking at him strangely.
"Just out of curiosity, what would be your perfect girl?" Ian asked him.
Anthony thought hard for a moment. He had never actually considered what his definition would be. He had just kind of assumed he'd know as soon as he met her. "I don't know," He answered honestly. "What about you?"
Ian didn't hesitate with his answer. "I'd want someone who I could talk to about anything, someone who laughs at my crappy jokes but also tells me when I'm being dumb. It would be cool if they were into video games too, preferably Skyrim or Halo but I guess I could settle for Mario Kart," Ian was smiling so widely that Anthony couldn't help being interested.
"Who's the lucky girl?" Anthony grinned at him.
"W-what are you talking about?" Ian stuttered.
"You obviously have a special someone in mind," Anthony poked him affectionately, causing Ian to squirm away from him. "Who is it?"
Ian's cheeks grew a notably darker shade of pink and a million excuses started running through his head. "It's freezing out here. Let's go inside. We can watch a movie and eat some popcorn; well we don't have any but-
"Ian," Anthony interrupted him. "Just tell me."
Seconds passed as Ian stared at him, contemplating whether now was the right time to tell him the truth or put it off for another time, yet again. Anthony waited patiently for his answer, determined to find out who Ian had fallen for.
Ian had always believed actions were better than words and seeing as he had apparently lost the power of speech, he tentatively leaned in closer. His heart was racing at a hundred miles an hour as he got close enough to feel Anthony's breath on his lips. Slightly encouraged by the fact that Anthony hadn't pushed him away, he closed the gap between them. The contact of their lips sent a tingle down Ian's spine and he used his free hand to stroke Anthony's cheek gently before pulling away. He bit his lip nervously as he tried to guess what Anthony was thinking. Was he mad at him? Did he like it? Was he going to reject him? "Um…w-was that okay?"
Anthony was at a loss for words. "I…er- wow," he just about managed to stutter out. So the person Ian liked was him all along? Was he being naïve or was Ian just really good at hiding things?
"I was waiting for the right moment to tell you but then you were always going out with girls and I figured you'd be angry if I told you so I never bothered and-
Ian's jumble of words was cut off as Anthony pulled him in for another kiss. The umbrella fell from Ian's hand and clattered on the ground, completely forgotten as Ian wound him arms around Anthony's neck and kissed him back. Sucking on his bottom lip, Anthony tangled his fingers in Ian's hair whilst his other hand came to rest on the small of Ian's back.
Reluctantly, Ian pulled away and took in the sight of his best friend before him: water droplets running down from his hair to the bottom of his chin, plump lips and cheeks even redder than usual. Yep, he had definitely fallen for this guy. "I know I'm not exactly special but I…um…care about you a lot and I just thought you should know," Ian cast his gaze downwards. Despite Anthony kissing him back, he doubted he actually felt the same way. It was one of those dreams that had always seemed too far-fetched.
"You're special to me," Anthony whispered, a sincere smile gracing his features.
Ian looked up. "You mean that?" he asked shyly.
"I know what it's like to be let down by people who supposedly care about you over and over again. You're on of the few people I can actually trust and you've been there for me for as long as I can remember. Of course I mean it," Anthony blushed at how sappy he sounded but he didn't regret a single word of what he just said. It was the truth after all.
Ian smiled at him but then looked up to frown at the darkening sky. "We should probably head inside now. It looks like there's gonna be a storm."
Anthony stood up and held his hand out so he could pull Ian up. Keeping hold of his hand, he walked back into the warmth of the house and sighed happily. "I'm gonna go dry off," he told Ian before disappearing to the bathroom. Ian went to his room to do the same.
Anthony was just finishing drying his hair when he heard a knock on the door. After switching off the blow dryer, he called out "Come in."
Ian glanced at Anthony's perfectly styled hair and felt slightly nervous as Anthony made room for him on the bed. "So…what happens now?" Ian asked as he sat down.
"Take things slowly and see how it goes?" Anthony suggested. He definitely didn't want to rush things with Ian. He was really hopefully that things would go well between them and rushing things wouldn't help at all.
"Sounds good to me," Ian exhaled with relief. At least that elevated some of the pressure.
Anthony looked at him with a slow smirk spreading across him face. "Oh no," Ian said.
"What?" Anthony feigned innocence.
"Whatever you're gonna do, don't do it," Ian started shuffling away from him.
"I just wanted to know how long you've felt this way about me," Anthony laughed at Ian's obvious discomfort.
"Long enough," Ian shrugged. He wasn't about to give away any more secrets.
"That's not very descriptive," Anthony pouted with fake disappointment. He scooted closer to Ian and pestered him some more. "Come on, I'm curious."
Ian shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. "No way. Maybe one day but not now," he had barely finished his sentence before Anthony was on top of him, hands all over him as he tried to tickle the answer out of him.
"Anthony stop!" Ian spluttered out between giggles as he writhed underneath Anthony's grasp. "You know I'm ticklish."
Anthony ignored his pleas to stop and continued with the torture, unable to stop laughing at how red Ian's face was getting. It was crazy to think that he was technically in a relationship with Ian now. A few years ago, Anthony never would have considered the possibility. Now here he was with his best friend pinned between his thighs as he tickled him to death. Maybe he wasn't going to be so lonely after all.