A/N: Hello Icarly fans, this is my first Icarly fanfic. It is meant to fill in the gap between Carly and Freddie getting together in the reboot, and the five weeks before they say I love you. I hope you like the first chapter!

Freddie was the first to break their second kiss first, he seemed to be trying to restrain his inner child, and though he mostly succeeded, there was a gigantic grin on his face.

Carly chuckled and then panicked remembering how he'd taken her nervous laughter once before. "I'm not laughing because I— "

"I know." He said softly.

"What?" She frowned. "If you know, then why did you take what happened in Italy so badly?" The sadness on her face bled into her voice.

"Let's go sit and talk for a bit. I'll try to explain myself…" He said gently.

"We can sit on the couch downstairs. Spencer is not here, I kicked him out hoping this would go well." She said softly.

"It did." He assured her gently, she smiled, clearly relieved.

As they made their way downstairs and sat on the couch, Carly leaned into Freddie's chest. There was a stillness that was around them. It was familiar and comfortable because it happened so many times when they were alone together as kids. Now she understood what that stillness meant. She needed to be with Freddie, the context of their being together didn't matter and she wondered when exactly they had lost sight of that.

"I messed up, Carly, somewhere along the way I lost sight that you always made the choice to be my friend. Two divorces has taught me that people don't just suddenly drop their relationships, it's a choice to end them. Just like it's a choice to never cut someone out of your life."

"You didn't cut me out of your life, and you probably should have, I hurt you." She said gently.

"No, Carly. I was always assuming that because you didn't want to be my girlfriend that meant that I was less important to you." He sighed.

"It wasn't that I didn't want…that I didn't feel something more, but every single time I've dated it's failed. You are so much more than just my best friend and I wish I understood that sooner, I'm sorry Freddie." Carly said remorsefully.

He grabbed her hand. "Stop it with that, you shouldn't feel guilty for how you felt and that includes when I saved your life."

"I was confused that you broke up with me," Carly admitted calmly.

"I shouldn't have done that, how could I have expected you to take my feelings seriously when I kept denying them to your face. When I told you that yours didn't matter to me. You were stuck trying to interpret my mixed signals."

"I wasn't very good or I would have realized how you felt when you visited me in Italy. I thought you were over me." She said earnestly. "You dated Sam." She reminded him.

"Yeah, just add that to the list of stupid things that I have done, let me apologize for dragging you into that mess as a therapist. I love Sam, and I'm sure there is a guy out there for her but it was never me."

"You did fight all the time." She agreed.

"That's the difference with everyone else compared to you Carly." He said.

"Hmm?" She asked.

"I can't stand fighting with you, it hurts more than the idea that you may have never felt the same way I do." He said earnestly.

Carly anxiously agreed with him. "You should have seen the scarf that I knitted, it was long enough to put on a snake, although how would that even—never mind." She sighed. "The point is that I hate fighting with you too. Last night was the only real fight we've ever had and I could barely handle it and not in that hysterical crying sort of way that you see in most romantic movies where the first big romantic gesture goes horribly wrong like last night." She rambled anxiously before calming down. Carly looked in his eyes now. "My heart literally hurt and not because the guy I like yelled at me, but because I hurt the most important person in my life and damaged our friendship too."

"Even more important than Sam." He asked, surprised by the pride in his voice.

Carly was emotional but quiet. "Sam isn't the one I talked to every day after I got to Italy. That was you. I might not have been prepared for you to fly to Italy and ask me to be your girlfriend and I might laugh nervously when strangers see us together, but there's something about being yours that makes me happy. Being with you makes me happy and Freddie Benson and nobody else can do that."

"Well, that makes me feel special." He blushed.

"Good, because I have a boyfriend I want to make out with."

"If the 12-year-old me could see us now."

Carly grinned. "You're cute when you blush."

Freddie spoke with his old English accent. "Milady, how I have longed for your desire."

Carly didn't think she could smile any harder. "Good Sire, I would do anything to show the depth of my desire for thee." She said emotionally, imitating his olden-time accent with her own.

He whispered uncertainly. "Do you think we do this too much?"

"Who cares, it's fun, and honestly it's always been tiring pretending not to be myself. All the tall dumb guys, I wasted so much time trying to date. You are the one guy that truly laughs at anything I do or say. I wish that I realized sooner that you are the only one that I can be myself around…" Carly found herself unable to hold back tears now. "I know it took me years to get here, I wish that I always felt this way about you, it would have saved you so much pain."

"Don't cry, Carly." He held her face consolingly. "It's not your fault. I told you that and I meant it." He said softly.

Unfortunately, this did nothing to stop her sudden burst of sobbing, it reminded Freddie of how much she longed for her father to accompany her to the father-daughter dance.

"Everything I have done is awful." She wailed anxiously.

"Shhhh…I'm sure you've got it in your head that I hated you Carly, but I could never." He said urgently.

"Are you sure?" She asked trying to calm down.

"I promise." He was very seriously.

"Why not? What makes me special, I don't understand why you don't hate me." She asked sad and puzzled.

"Because I can't, even at my lowest, angriest moment. It hurt so much more for me to ever think that you would think that being your friend doesn't matter to me. Us dating, that's my dream but…"

Carly suddenly spoke in an old, wise voice. "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live—Harry Potter…" She said with a small smile.

"Exactly, I spent way too much time dwelling on the dream of having you as my girlfriend, and I carried losing that dream around with me for way too long when I thought it wasn't possible anymore…" He admitted. "I realize now that I need you, Carly. I need you in my life no matter what, so…that's why." Freddie kissed her tenderly, it was quite similar to her kissing him before leaving for Italy, simple and intimate. He pulled back, lost in her wonderful eyes.

"I need you too, Freddie," Carly said softly. "All these years I didn't understand what my feelings for you, meant…I wish I had." Carly felt guilty and it was all over her face. "I was so stupid."

"You are not stupid, Carly, please don't ever say that about yourself again." He told her adamantly.

"I just want you to know how sorry I am Freddie." She threw her arms around him still crying but it was silent now.

Freddie gave a long, subdued sigh over her shoulder. It was clear that guilt was eating away at her. "Carly, you have nothing to feel guilty about, all that matters to me now is that we are together."

Carly finally calmed down, "I just wish I could make up for lost time."

Freddie gently held her face. "We will, I don't plan on wasting any of my time with you."

"Ooooh…now I'm the one feeling special." Carly blushed and kissed him with renewed eagerness, until her stomach growled. "I hope you didn't hear that." She whispered sheepishly.

"You're hungry, we can fix that, let's go out to dinner." He said.

Carly shook her head, using her best Cookie Monster voice. "Me want pizza!"

Freddie changed his voice to match hers. "Cheese or Pepperoni?"

"Too hungry to care!" She shouted with a grin.

They burst into laughter. "Gwen used to get annoyed with me anytime I did that around her." Freddie said sadly. "I think having a Millicent and losing her first husband destroyed her inner child."

Carly closed her eyes and leaned into Freddie's embrace. "If I lost you I know I wouldn't ever be the same anymore so I get it."

He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Me too."

Carly hugged Freddie tightly before letting go so he could order pizza, which he insisted on paying for despite Carly's protests. They ate together for a while laughing about the upcoming ICarly sketches and whether or not to bring back The Idiot Farm Girl…

"Maybe that would be good to do together as a couple. I always wanted to be a cowboy anyway." Freddie said thoughtfully.

"I don't know." Carly said calmly.

"Too soon." Freddie nodded in understanding.

"It's just so new to me, embracing these feelings I have, wanting you as my boyfriend, I want to keep it between us and the people we know for now." Carly admitted nervously.

"I have been in this relationship about a decade and a half longer than you." Freddie agreed with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." She said frowning at him.

"It was a joke, Carly." He reminded softly. "We can take things slow, I'd do anything to make you happy," Freddie assured.

"I am happy." Carly said with a smile. Then her phone went off. "It's a text from Spencer—What's happening we're dying over here…" Carly sighed. "Damn, I forgot that I promised Spencer I would tell him how things turned out for us." She got up and turned back to Freddie taking his hand. "Want to come with me, boyfriend?" She made sure to emphasize the last word intimately.

Freddie stood up and squeezed her hand trying to keep his voice even. "It feels good to hear you call me that." He admitted quietly.

"It feels good to say it." Carly said locking eyes with him before leaving the room together, her leading him by the hand as she so often did when they were kids.

A/N: I have always loved Creddie so that it is happening after all these years is so gratifying! I'll have more before too long.