Work Text:
“What’s up, biiitch?" Ian says as he opens his front door.
“Hey, man,” Anthony says. The door barely closes after him when he starts unbuttoning his flannel and tosses it onto the couch. He walks into Ian’s house confidently, making himself right at home. It makes sense. He’s been here enough times for it to basically be his second home.
“Are you ready to try some tasty-ass soup?”
Anthony nods. “You know it,” he says. “Tonight, you’re the soup boy, and I’m the soup boy’s assistant.”
Ian leads the way to the kitchen. "This is it," he thinks . Ian’s been racking his brain for months trying to figure out a way to tell Anthony he’s in love with him. Then, when Anthony expressed interest in the soups Ian’s been making, Ian figured an intimate cooking session would be the perfect opportunity.
Now all he has to do is get the words out.
Ian and Anthony enter the kitchen. There’s music playing from his speakers, the lights are dim, and there’s a couple of lit candles scattered around to set the mood.
Anthony raises an eyebrow. “Wow. You really pulled out all the stops for tonight.”
“Yeah, well…” Ian says, clearing his throat. “You know how much I love soup.”
“Okay, so where do we start?” Anthony asks.
Ian walks deeper into the kitchen. “Well,” he says. “I could use some help cutting up the vegetables. Think you can handle that?”
“I think I can try.”
Ian smiles. He pulls two cutting boards out of the drawer and hands one to Anthony.
The sound of low music and knives clanking against the cutting boards fills the kitchen. There’s a comfortable silence between Ian and Anthony. After being friends for over twenty years — not accounting for the lost years post-Defy — they’ve gotten used to not having to fill every moment with conversation. These are the moments they can just be together.
Ian subtly looks over at Anthony, watching him cut a carrot. His hands are strong and steady. His fingers are curled around the knife, gripping it tight. Anthony’s wearing a black t-shirt that gives Ian a clear view of his toned, bare forearms and the tattoos he’s mercilessly teased Anthony about. “ God ,” Ian thinks. How he wishes he could just swipe the stuff off the kitchen counter and take Anthony right then and there –
“Vegetables are cut,” Anthony interrupts, turning to Ian. “What’s next?”
Ian blinks, coming out of his daydream. “Right,” he says. “Uh, we need to put the vegetables in the pan.”
Anthony follows directions. He and Ian stand side to side over the stove, tossing the cut up vegetables into the pan.
“Now we’re cooking,” Ian says. He grabs a wooden spoon and stirs the pot. “It’ll be ready in no time.”
“I can’t wait,” Anthony says. He jumps onto the counter next to the stove, and smiles at Ian. “I’m finally getting to try some of your world-famous soup.”
Ian huffs. “Calling it world-famous is a bit of a stretch.”
“Well, my bar is low. If it wasn’t for Uber Eats, I’d starve to death.”
“I promise I won’t let you starve.”
Anthony locks eyes with Ian. “I know you won’t,” he says, sincere.
Ian blushes. He shrugs, playing it cool, and continues to stir with the spoon.
Ever since Ian reconnected with Anthony, he realized his feelings were far from platonic. And he hoped Anthony felt the same way. Sometimes, it feels like they’re from completely different worlds, but somehow, they complement each other in exactly the right ways.
They’ve been there for each other at their highest and lowest. When they went their separate ways for those awful couple of years, Ian knew there was something missing from his life. Turns out, all that was missing was Anthony.
It wasn’t love at first sight, that’s for sure. They met when they were awkward pre-pubescent middle schoolers and Ian had no idea how to articulate his feelings back then (and it’s up for debate that he knows how to do it now). Ian isn’t even sure he was in love with Anthony back when they were still working at Defy. Falling in love with Anthony didn’t happen in one singular moment. Falling in love with Anthony happened slowly over years of friendship. And now, Ian is painfully aware that his heart belongs to Anthony. There are days where Ian is positive that Anthony feels the same way, but there’s just as many days that he talks himself out of it.
Tonight, Ian’s putting a rest to those doubts. At least, that’s the plan. He and Anthony are better than they’ve ever been. They’ve grown during their time apart and now they’re a team again. Nothing’s standing in Ian’s way except himself.
After a few more minutes of stirring and idle chit chat, the soup is ready.
Ian lowers the heat on the stove and turns to Anthony, still sitting on the kitchen counter. “Are you ready for the first bite?” he asks.
Anthony nods, excited. “Yes, please!”
Ian smiles. He lifts the wooden spoon up to Anthony’s mouth. He watches as Anthony takes a sip of the soup and swallows it.
Anthony’s eyes light up. “Whoa,” he breathes out. “This is so good, dude.”
Ian waves him off. “Shut up,” he says. “I bet you say that to all the boys that cook for you.”
Anthony shakes his head. “Nah. It’s reserved especially for you.”
For the next hour, they sit down at the dining room table and finish the soup. During dinner, they talk about everything and anything; work, what TV shows they’re watching, recent dates (Ian pretends hearing about Anthony dating doesn’t kill him inside). Once their bowls are empty, Anthony stands up from his chair.
“Thanks for the soup, man,” Anthony says. He pats his stomach, satisfied. “It lived up to the hype.”
“Are you heading out?”
“Yeah,” he says. “I gotta get some rest before work tomorrow. Turns out, running a company is actually a lot of work.”
Anthony leans down and gives Ian a half-hug. “Thanks for having me over, dude,” he says. “I had a great time.”
Anthony begins walking back to the living room. Ian gets up and goes after him.
“Fuck,” Ian thinks. “I can’t let him go. Not again.”
“Wait, Anthony!” Ian calls out. Anthony stops in the doorway. He turns to face Ian, confused.
“What’s up?”
“I need to tell you something,” Ian says. He takes a deep breath, preparing for what he’s about to say. “I love you.”
“Aw, I love you, too, man,” Anthony says, giving Ian a light punch in the arm.
Ian shakes his head. “No, no,” he says. “Not like that. I’m in love with you. I’ve felt this way for a while. And I’ve been trying to think of the perfect way to tell you,but there’s no perfect way, so I’m just saying it.”
Anthony stands in front of Ian, speechless. Ian watches him closely, wondering what could be going on inside his elusive mind. Fear runs through Ian, scared that he's said the wrong thing and destroyed their friendship.
“I’m sorry,” Ian says. He lowers his eyes. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way –”
“Shut up.”
Anthony closes the gap between them and pulls Ian into a deep, passionate kiss. Ian’s shock only lasts for about a millisecond, and he gets into it.
Anthony has nice, full lips. Ian puts his hands on Anthony’s waist and pulls him close. Meanwhile, Anthony puts his hands on the sides of Ian’s face, tenderly holding him. But before Ian can fully give in to the moment, Ian has something to say. He gently pulls away.
“Wait,” Ian says. “So you like me too?”
Anthony chuckles. “Yeah. I thought the kiss would be a dead giveaway.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know,” Anthony admits, giving a half-shrug. “I guess it just sort of…happened. But we just bought Smosh and were finding a rhythm, so I didn’t want to say anything.”
“Well, maybe we don’t have to say anything…” Ian says, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Anthony smirks. “I like the way you think, soup boy.”