"Hey," Freddie mumbled, kicking his feet along the floor slightly as he stood right by the door of Spencer's apartment. Carly couldn't help but notice he looked like he was planning his escape, getting ready to flee.

"Sorry, ugh, I was looking for Spencer…" his voice trailed off as he looked up and caught Carly's gaze, his eyes flickering away immediately, refusing to hold eye contact.

"He ducked out to grab lunch, should be back in five." Carly said, trying to sound as bright and cheery as possible, as though her insides weren't currently ripping themselves up from embarrassment and regret over her sudden declaration of love the day before. "You're welcome to stay and wait."

Freddie took a few steps forward, towards the couch but stopped short, his eyebrows fixing in confusion as he looked from the couch to Carly and back again.

"Ahh, no, that's fine. I'll just come back later."

And with those words he turned, walked out the door and closed it behind him.

"Well that was considerably awkward," Harper said.

Carly jumped. She had completely forgotten that Harper was there. Her world shifted the moment Freddie had appeared, her mind only fixed on his unexpected appearance. She groaned, throwing her head into her hands and glancing up at Harper through her fingers.

"My worst fear is officially confirmed, I ruined our friendship in three words."

"What? No, you can't possibly know that yet!" Harper said, crossing the room and landing at the table beside Carly. She pulled on her arm, shaking her slightly. "It's been, what, fifteen hours. Give him some time, you're both still in shock is all."

"Shock?" Carly asked, her eyebrows lifting sceptically. "We didn't experience some big trauma Harper, I told him I loved him, he doesn't feel the same way and now we're doomed to slowly become strangers." She sunk lower and lower down her chair as she spoke, as though she was trying to disappear under the table.

"You're not going to become strangers," Harper said, rolling her eyes. "It's going to be awkward for a bit but in no time you'll be back to where you were before."

Harper pulled at Carly's shoulder, forcing her to sit back up in her chair properly.

"Actually no," Harper continued. "I don't think you'll be back where you were, I think you'll both be stronger for it."

Unfortunately for Carly she did not see things getting any better as the week progressed, everything felt like it was getting worse. She no longer knew how to speak to Freddie, she was forced into silence when he was in the room. Although actually being in the same room as him was rare - she was convinced he was avoiding her. She couldn't be one hundred percent certain because she was also avoiding him. iCarly business, with the exception of actually filming, was now handled strictly via e-mail as she had taken to working from her apartment rather then the studio, and she was fairly certain he was doing the same.

Freddie lay in bed, watching the dull light from the moon peek through his curtains and dance along the wall. He couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept well all week, not since that night with Carly.

Every night was the same story. Thoughts would keep him up until the early hours of the morning, tossing up the pros and cons, trying to decide if he should run back to her and ask for a do-over. Once he finally fell asleep his dreams were consumed by her.

The dreams all started good, he and Carly finding themselves in the joy of a new relationship. blissful and happy. But things would grow and change and shift until their relationship was something unrecognisable, something ugly, a monster rearing its head. And then she would disappear.

He had always loved her, although maybe the way he loved her had changed over the years, adapted to their circumstances and the dynamic of their friendship. He knew he loved her now, that's what made everything so much more terrifying. The idea of ruining what he already had with her even if deep down he knew that it could become so much more.

He pulled his phone out from where it was charging and opened up his messages. He found Carly and read over their recent conversations. His fingers hovered over the keyboard and for just a moment he considered typing out an apology, a message of reconciliation, a suggestion that they talk. But it was 3am so he tossed the phone to the side, pulled his bed covers up around his neck and tried, yet again, to find sleep.

"Alright, before I wrap up for the night I need a little help, Freddie is going to come and join me," Carly said into the camera. Her eyes glimmering and her voice gliding naturally as she flew into the final iCarly segment of the live stream.

Freddie joined her in front of the camera, ready to present the bit they had planned.

They fell into their online persona with ease, bouncing off each other, grinning, laughing, talking amicably as they presented to their audience. For just a moment they could both pretend that this was real, that they were actually just as happy and free with each other as they had ever been

"And you're clear," Spencer announced from behind the camera where he had stepped in for Freddie to end the show.

The moment the words passed through Spencer's lips Freddie felt the atmosphere shift. Carly's face fell, she shuffled to the side out of his space and made herself busy packing up in silence.

"I'll look through all the comments and stuff at home later," she announced suddenly, pulling the silly hat she had been wearing from her head and placing it down. She hesitated for just a moment, waiting to see if he would stop her but Freddie just nodded and watched her leave.

Spencer watched the two best friends but remained silent.

"What's going on with you and Carly?" Spencer asked the second the elevator door closed on her.

"Huh," Freddie said, blinking up at him, trying and definitely failing, to look perplexed by his question. "There's nothing going on with me and Carly."

Spencer sighed, staring at the younger man, his usual carefree face fixed with concern. "You won't look at each other, you hardly talk, you can barely be in the same room as each other…" he rattled off all the things he had noticed over the week.

Freddie tried to turn towards the door, desperately hoping that he could leave and not enter into the conversation.

"I'm not stupid," Spencer continued. "I raised Carly and I've known you since you were this big." He reached down, his hand indicating the height of his knee.

"Well that's an exaggeration," Freddie countered.

"Dude, you're still that big."

They both chuckled momentarily, Freddie staring down at his feet as he kicked them nervously.

"Point is I know both of you. I can tell when something's wrong," he continued.

Maybe it was wrong to talk to Spencer about everything, he was Carly's brother and he didn't want to tell him anything she wouldn't be comfortable with. But he couldn't help but feel that she wouldn't mind, she trusted Spencer and he had always looked up to him. If there was anyone she would be ok with him talking to, it was Spencer. So he shrugged and walked over to Carly's desk on the far side of the studio, perching himself on the edge of the table and waited for Spencer to join him.

He took a deep breath and started talking.

"She told me she loved me and I," he stopped. What had he done? Panicked? Rejected her? Suggested he didn't care for her? He didn't really know, it had all been too much, too scary, too real and he had pushed her away. "I left."

Freddie shrugged his shoulders slowly, unsure what else to say, hoping Spencer wouldn't push him for an explanation.

Spencer let out a long breath, the air passing through his teeth and creating a thick sound.

"So what," Spencer said slowly, Cleary thinking his next words through. "You don't feel the same way?"

Freddie was quiet for a moment, looking down at his hands and picking at a nail, trying to avoid Spencer's gaze. "She's one of the most important people in my life."

"You're afraid?" Spencer asked, trying to see if he could get a different reaction out of different suggestions.

Freddie didn't answer. He was afraid, but vocalising it felt stupid.

"I've been lucky enough to know both of you for a long time, and if you ask me, you two have an undeniable connection. It's what makes you such great friends." Spencer said, launching into a longer explanation. "You get just as excited talking about Carly as you do all your geeky tech stuff. When everything went south with Gwen, Carly was the first person you turned to. When you enter a room you almost always make a bee-line straight for her and you normally have this intuitive way of knowing what she needs."

"You've noticed all that?" Freddie asked, finally looking up at Spencer as he spoke.

"I'm her big brother, it's what I do."

Freddie pulled his face into a tight grimace, everything Spencer had said was true, but it didn't change the fact that eventually losing Carly was his biggest concern.

"I get it," Spencer continued. "You're scared. You've had a tough few years, relationships haven't ended well for you. But what if she's the one for you? Your happily ever after? If you keep running you'll never get it."

"But what if I lose her?" He asked, choking on the words as he finally put his fear out in the open.

"You think you haven't started down that road already?" Spencer asked. "You can't even look at each other, what makes you think you'll be able to just go back to the way things were before?"

Freddie gulped, he hadn't considered that, they'd always managed to move on from conflict, but this definitely all felt very different.

"I know I'm ranting, so I promise I won't bring any of this up again after today but just answer a few questions for me," Spencer said.

Freddie nodded, "Sure."

"Forget Carly for a moment, we're just talking hypotheticals now, what do you want from a relationship?"

Freddie answered quickly, this was something he had thought a lot about over the years. "Connection, trust, friendship, teamwork, a sense of belonging… no, family."

"You have every single one of those things with her already."

"I'm scared," Freddie said lamely. He felt as though he was being backed into a corner, though not by Spencer, by his own thoughts and needs.

"You should be scared, you're putting your heart on the line," Spencer smiled. "One last question, if everything worked out with Carly? How would you feel then?"

Freddie fought the small smile he could feel pulling at his lips. "I'd be really really happy."

"Right," Spencer said loudly as he stood up straight and cracked his knuckles. "I need to go feed my falcon."

Freddie still felt uncertain, worried, confused. But something now felt a little more at ease.

He could wait. An hour, a day, a week. Think things through over and over again, plan his words, psych himself up, but it didn't seem right.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, lifted it to his ear and waited. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey Carly, can we talk?"

Carly couldn't remember a single time she had been as nervous to see Freddie as she was at that very moment, sitting in her living room waiting for him to knock on her door and let himself in.

The last week had sucked and she had mostly avoided him in an effort to keep her emotions under control but now she was faced with the reality of finally addressing everything.

The walk from Spencer's apartment to hers wasn't a long one but she was feeling impatient as she waited for each second to pass until he arrived.

"Thanks for answering the phone," Freddie said as the door swung open and he wandered over, taking a seat on the couch beside her.

"Always," she said, smiling even though she knew it wouldn't reach her eyes.

Freddie was quiet for a moment. Staring down at his hands that were wringing in his lap.

"I owe you an apology," he began but she immediately cut him off.

"What, no! It was all my fault, I shouldn't have said anything."

Freddie sighed, pulling a face. "Just listen to me ok?"

She nodded, shrinking into the couch slightly. This was it, this was the moment when he told her he couldn't be friends any more, that they couldn't work together anymore, that he needed space from her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't handle things very well when you told me how you feel and you deserve better." He stood up, anxiety getting the better of him and making sitting still almost impossible. He began to pace backwards and forwards as he spoke. Carly's eyes were fixed on him, but she remained seated, listening intently.

"I panicked, you mean the absolute world to me Carly and the only thing I could think of was the possibility of one day losing you. I don't need to go into my history, you were there, you know it all. But I've not had the best luck when it comes to relationships and the idea of facing all that again, but this time with you… I couldn't do it."

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have put that on you." Carly said, regret cursing through her for the hundredth time that week.

"No," Freddie stopped pacing, turning to look at her, his mind cheering him on as he prepared to take the final leap. "It was for the best, I don't think I would have ever got here without knowing how you feel. I want a do over, I want to tell you I'm scared but I want more with you."

"You do?" She stood up, walking towards him. Her face filled with hope. When she reached him his hands fell to rest on her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I do." He said softly.

They stood, face to face, his arms around her, watching each other. The only thing they could hear was each other's breathing and their own heartbeats echoing in their ears. They were on the edge, ready to take one more step and fall over the edge of the cliff together.

Fall into their future.

Freddie moved one hand from her waist to her hair, playing with the strands that were falling around her face as he thought about what to do or say next.

Carly leaned into his hand, inviting him to stop combing his fingers through her hair and to rest them on her check, cupping her face instead. Her eyes stared into his, nerves brimming at the surface as she decided to try what had failed to disastrously last time. Her eyes dipped to his mouth and she watched his tongue dip out and trace along his lips for a moment. She looked back at his eyes again. Bright and warm and friendly. She moved forward slowly, giving him time to retreat just to be sure. But as she inched closer and closer, tilting her chin up just so he ducked, meeting her in the middle.

Their lips touched gently, hesitantly, before diving into a much deeper kiss.

Carly had always thought that kisses were for the present, a much too fleeting present, when words stopped and the moment took over. But this kiss was the future, a promise. It felt purely sacred. Like everything they had been, everything they were and everything they ever would be was summed up in that one electrifying moment. It was short and simple but so very perfect.

As she moved back, her lips separating from his, she had one question. "What made you change your mind?"

"Spencer pointed out that things were already a mess between us and that by not taking a gamble I risked losing you anyway. And since losing you was my fear it didn't make sense to keep trying to talk myself out of this."

"I'm a gamble am I?" She asked, eyebrows waggling, teasing him just slightly.

"Yep, but I'm all in on this bet," He promised.

"I'm so glad to hear that."

She surged forward, kissing him again. This time it was passionate fire and she couldn't wait to learn just how many other ways their lips could work together. It was physical, her hands tracing his body. His gripping at her and pulling her so close they just might meld together.

When they finally came up for air all she could do was smile, her heart growing as she watched him.

He grabbed her hand and lead her back to the couch, sitting again, although this time practically on top of each other.

His hands played at the seam which ran along the side of her jeans, fingers brushing over her knee, as he looked at her. His face was fixed with thought.

"What?" She asked, leaning into him just enough to bump her shoulder to his.

"I'm thinking about the divorce, you said the other night that going through with it wasn't what you wanted."

She nodded slowly. Embarrassment beginning to seep back in.

"I still want to go ahead with the divorce," he said. "I still want to go ahead with it because if we ever get to that point I want it to happen naturally."

Her heart dipped and then soared just as quickly as she listened to him speak.

A small blush crept across both their checks as he kept talking, their eyes avoiding each other, looking anywhere else as he touched on a topic they weren't ready to explore yet.

"One day, if we get there, I want to be able to propose properly. I want to be able to call you my fiancé, get swept up in all the excitement, plan a wedding. And then if it ever happens for real I want to actually be able to remember our wedding."

"I think I can handle that."

"Good."

"Good," she whispered against his lips.

"It's done," Freddie announced as he waltzed across the studio and placed a quick kiss to the top of Carly's forehead before leaning up against her desk casually. "The email just came through. We are officially divorced."

"We should do something fun to celebrate!" Carly said, looking up at him from her computer. "A fancy meal to declare that you are officially my boyfriend as of right now!"

"Boyfriend, I like the sound of that," he winked as he pushed the lid of her computer down. "I guess that means I have to call you my girlfriend."

She swatted his hands away from her computer. "I think that title suits me more than wife anyway, wife sounds old!" She screwed her face up in playful disgust.

"No it doesn't! If you think it sounds old then what does that make me? I've had three!"

"Grandpa." She muttered under her breath.

He laughed at her for just a moment before pulling the laptop from under hands, demanding her attention again.

"We have 5 minutes before the live stream starts, get off this thing already."

"I was just sending out one last tweet, making sure everyone knows we're about tos start."

They roamed around the studio in relative silence, doing the final tasks before Freddie finally pointed the phone at her and counted down from 5.

"Welcome back to iCarly, tonight I have an exciting announcement." She grinned at the camera, her face filling with excitement,

Freddie watched her, confused, from the other side of the camera. They hadn't planned any announcement.

"Freddie, get over here."

He screwed his eyes up, quietly asking her what she was doing, but she just grinned and pulled him into frame.

"We have an exciting announcement." She repeated her phrase from before, her hand pointing between the two of them. "As of today we are officially divorced!"

Freddie knew the chat on the live stream would be going wild, people already jumping to conclusions and making up stories.

Carly kept talking and he jumped in easily, filling in gaps as they launched into the story. Informing their audience of the accidental marriage, their attempted annulment, the leaking of the wedding videos and finally the divorce.

"There's been so much talk online and neither of us have addressed it yet," Carly was wrapping up their story. "So I figured now was the time to let you know that Freddie and I aren't married, but we are dating."

His jaw dropped slightly, he hadn't been expecting that announcement so soon in their relationship, but it felt right. He quickly closed his mouth and turned to her, pulling her in for a quick kiss, right there for all their fans to see.

A/N: And there we have it! They finally got their act together! Only one more chapter to go, I'll see you all next week :)