Chapter Text
Amanda and Shayne stood at the Smosh office coffee-corner. The smell from the many ‘My Favorite Coffee’-bags was palpable. In a good way, mind you. Ian'd crammed them in seemingly every cupboard.
"He's such a gentle soul".
"Oh, absolutely."
Amanda towered over Shayne as he smiled up at her. They were talking about the podcast they did with Anthony. He was their new boss and colleague. Maybe even their new friend. But Amanda, ever the empathetic friend, sensed something in Shayne's voice.
"What's that tone?"
"What do you mean?"
"Hey, you can tell me."
Amanda gently poked Shayne's cheek and scrunched her nose while smiling at him. Shayne blushed. He couldn't get the words "mommy? "Sorry, mommy?" to stop looping in his head, and was feeling very guilty about it at the same time. He was barely holding it together.
"Alright, alright... I'm just feeling... I don't know. A little worried, maybe?"
"Why are you worried?"
"Well..." Shayne turned to the coffee machine to buy himself some time and to get out of Amanda's intoxicating aura.
"I mean, I've known Ian for years now. He's become one of my best friends, you know? We had so many deep talks and I feel like I know him much better than Anthony does."
"Oh…” Amanda slightly squinted her doe-like hazel eyes. “Are you jealous?" She teased.
Amanda loved Shayne. As a friend. Yeah. She loved the way he always looked like he was up to something. His care-free demeanor. It must be his guarded upbringing as a child-actor that made him so different and interesting to talk to. Amanda saw him as this cute prince she felt a need to protect from the world.
"No, it's not like that. It's just, Ian has been, well, I don’t know. So on fire ever since Anthony came back? Like, he has a spring in his step. Don't you notice it as well? The dude is positively glowing.” Shayne laughed. “I don't want that to change, you know!”
“I have noticed that,” Amanda replied. It was true. Ian was like a different person. Actually, the change in him had happened a couple of months prior to Anthony’s return. He’d started dressing better, his complexion seemed more healthy and he made more jokes. They still were very dark, but that was just Ian’s style.
Shayne looked down, a small, pained smile on his face. “But I was also there when he wasn't... When it was all clouds and walls around him. And I just don't want him to go back to that dark place, ever."
"Shayne, you're so cute when you're in your protective brother mode." Amanda beamed at Shayne and he couldn't help but blush again. He coughed, but answered:
"I've seen my friend go from dead behind the eyes to an absolute state of bliss - thanks MindSpace -” Shayne laughed at his own joke. He continued in a lower voice. “And you know, I just don't trust Anthony yet to not do something unexpected again."
~
Anthony was on his way to get coffee, frowning and sulking. Amanda had seen right through him on the podcast. "I need to keep an eye on her," he thought to himself. She was such a beautiful woman, and totally Ian's type: incredibly funny, with big... eyes… And most importantly, she was a very down to earth person. Ian loved that in women. But Amanda was being a bit too real in Anthony's opinion. Too sharp. Why did she keep comparing him and Ian to being two dads? In turn, Anthony had purposely let slip how she had kissed Ian that one time. He wanted her to know he knew. By this time though, the entire Smosh cast and even some of the crew had kissed Ian. It meant nothing. Right? It didn't make them better friends with Ian. Where was Ian?
"Anthony!"
"Ah, there you are!" The panic that had temporarily hijacked Anthony’s nervous system, dissipated somewhat.
Ian wore a fitting dark blue t-shirt and ochre yellow pants. His light blue and green eyes, accentuated by his golden glasses, beamed at his best friend.
"Are you ready?"
"For what?"
"To get even more scared than last time?"
"Oh shit, what are we playing?"
"The Dead Space remake. I'm legit already shitting myself."
Anthony laughed nervously. He loved horror games but also hated them. Loved them because of the rush, of how scared Ian got and how he could protect his best friend. But playing those kinds of games also gave him nightmares afterwards. Not that he told anyone. They walked past the coffee corner.
"Hey boss-men!" Shayne exclaimed. Amanda saluted them.
"Children," Ian called out with a grin and in an unidentifiable accent.
Anthony laughed compulsively. All Ian's jokes were funny to him, he couldn't help it. They continued to walk through the vast and industrial looking Smosh office.
A crewmember had prepared the gaming room and greeted Ian. Ian gave her a convoluted handshake. Anthony frowned.
"Wow, you guys have a secret handshake?"
"Sure do," Ian said with a smirk as he made heart-hands towards the crewmember.
Anthony felt his blood pressure rising and he blurted out: "We also have a secret handshake, right Ian?"
"Abso-freakin-lutely" Ian answered casually, and they did their own exploding-fist-bump-high-five-handshake. Anthony held eye contact with the crewmember while doing it.
Dead Space was just as scary as it had been in 2013 and Ian and Anthony's throats hurt from screaming when they were done recording.
~
The next day, Shayne saw Anthony at the coffee-corner at the Smosh office.
"Good Mythical Morning!" He joked in his loud stage voice.
"Hey bro", Anthony said softly.
"So, Anthony, you and Ian, huh? You're best friends again, that's awesome."
"Just like old times - no, better than old times. It feels incredible, actually."
"You could say that."
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
Anthony looked Ian up and down, like he was measuring him up. "Aren't you like, good friends with Ian as well? Not that he talks about you, but I just figured it, as you've worked with him all these years." That came out a bit meaner than Anthony had planned, but these were his feelings, he couldn't help it.
Shayne might be shorter than Anthony, but he stood up as straight as he could. "Yes, actually, I am. We talk about work, cars, our feelings... And Ian?" Shayne exhaled through his nose, smiling. "He's just the best. I'm so happy to be his friend." Under his breath, he added, "best friend."
Was Shayne boasting about his friendship with Ian? Anthony's chest hurt. All those years away from Smosh, he had not been there for his best friend. It was all his fault. And now Ian confided in this overrated Disney-prince.
"I'm so happy for you, dude. And thank you for keeping an eye on him all this time."
Shayne relaxed a little and lowered his voice. "Ian may not always show it, Anthony, but he feels things very deeply, and he cares way more about things, about people, than you think. But he also gets more hurt than he'd ever let on. So just..." Shayne blushed. *author's note: he's blushing a lot this fic!!* "Just be careful, okay?"
"Of course," Anthony replied, not looking Shayne in the eye. He walked away.
~
After a long day of shooting video's, Shayne stood at the coffee-corner once more. He looked at his cup. There was an angry gnome printed on it. Damien had given him this cup years ago. He'd been in hysterics over the gnome’s ugly 'mug'. But now that same mug was mocking him.
"The hot one's back. Your days at Smosh are all but numbered. The hot one hates you!"
"Shut up, intrusive thoughs-gnome", Shayne told the cup out loud.
"Who are you talking to?"
Amanda had appeared, like she could sense when something was the matter.
"Nobody!" Shayne said a bit fast. He quickly tried to fix his hair. Amanda noticed.
"Did you know you look really hot when your hair's unruly like that?" Amanda asked, a suave purr escaping her lips.
"What?"
"What? Nothing!" Amanda shouted, wide-eyed. "Stupid, stupid, you're married!" She scolded herself.
Anthony walked up to the coffee-corner, his hair extra dark, extra shiny. He wore a tight black shirt and grey jeans. Somehow he managed to look better every day the cast saw him.
"Hi Anthony", Amanda greeted him with a smile.
"Hi Amanda! Hi Shayne, you look great", Anthony said.
"Not as hot as you." Shayne looked defiantly into Anthony's dark eyes.
A smirk contorted Anthony's otherwise immeasurably beautiful face. "Sure you are dude, I think we both have our own strengths in the looks department," he said. But Anthony knew he was the hot one. He was the oldest and the hottest. He got a hot cup of coffee to boot.
"Oh my god! I've got a whole basket full of apples, you can both take as many as you want!" Amanda referenced an old Greek tragedy. Nobody got it. Amanda loved working at Smosh but she was saddened at how knowledge of the arts was sorely lacking in some people, however hot they were.
More and more cast and crew descended on the scene. When Ian arrived, laughing and arm in arm with Courtney, it got too much for Anthony to bear and he walked away again.
~
It was late at the office. Ian hung around as usual to tidy the place up. Yes, they had cleaners and everyone did their best to put the props back in the right place, and to not mess up the kitchen too much. But Ian liked roaming around the place in the evening. He wasn't in a relationship and he didn’t have a pet anymore. So why would he hurry to get home? And lately, ever since Anthony came back, the office felt more like a home, even when nobody else was there. Or were they?
Ian was putting back some wigs when he suddenly felt a presence. Someone very familiar walked up to him from behind and put his hands over his eyes.
Ian felt the blood surging to his cheeks. He knew exactly who it was.
"Hello darkness my old friend", Ian sang. A high-pitched laugh close to Ian's neck made all his hairs stand on end.
He turned around to face Anthony, who had just broken his silence.
"You shouldn't hang around here alone, after hours... You're lucky it's me, buddy."
"But I'm not alone," Ian's eyes twinkled in the dark.
"I guess you aren't. Finally! It's just the two of us. I've been waiting all day, no, all week for this!"
"To creep up on me?"
Anthony scoffed. "No, you idiot. To hang out!" Anthony sighed and leaned back against the shelf behind him. "I know I've been a bit on edge lately. But it's just... you're such good friends with everyone here.” He closed his eyes.
“Back in the old days it used to be just us two. And then, more people joined. And more. I don't like to admit it, but I didn’t like it at the time. You however, you got along with everyone back then as well. It’s just so much harder for me to make new friends, Ian, and regardless, I just wanted to be with YOU.” Anthony opened his eyes and saw Ian staring at him with his big, blue eyes. “I guess I still have to get used to that, even now. I have to get used to the fact that you like Shayne, Amanda, Courtney and the rest better than you like me and we have a ways to go before we are really back to being best friends."
Ian took a step towards him.
"Don't you get it, Anthony?"
Anthony didn't get it. Ian could be so hard to read. He shook his head.
Ian sighed, and smiled while looking up at his best friend. "Yes, I LIKE all our employees, yes, I have friends other than you. But..." he slowly stepped even closer, and reached up to fix one of Anthony’s wayward curls. He slowly lowered his hand, softly touching Anthony's cheek in the process. Anthony gulped.
"You are, my fire", Ian sang.
Anthony knew what to do. "The one desire", he chuckled.
"Let's get some coffee, shall we?"
"How about some weed instead?"
“Never change, Anthony.”
They laughed and high-fived.