FIC: three pictures Daniel Edison has in his office (and one he's about to)
Title: three pictures Daniel Edison has in his office (and one he's about to)
Author: greta_garbo
Fandom: Community
Pairing: Jeff/Annie
Spoilers: Definitely spoilers for Pascal's Triangle Revisited. Let's just say general everything.
Word Count: 3630
Disclaimer: We'll just see what the paternity test says, Harmon.
Notes: Companion piece to "Man to Man" and "Proposal".
Spring 2011
Jeff closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I have to draw their fire," he finally said.
The two women he was with turned to him, their faces covered with shock. "Jeff?" Britta said, uncertain.
"Jeff, you can't!" Annie cried urgently.
"I'm almost out of it anyway," he sighed in defeat, holding up his gun. "I only have one paintball left." He held up his hand as Annie opened his mouth, already knowing what she was going to say. "And I'm not going to let one of you give me some of yours. That wouldn't be right."
Britta looked at him with respect, something he really wasn't used to coming from her. Annie's eyes welled up with tears. "Jeff," she whispered.
"Annie," Jeff said as he brought a comforting hand to her face. "It's just a trophy."
She nodded before throwing her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. Before he could over analyze his own actions, wrapped his arms around her, returning her hug. Looking over her shoulder, he noticed Britta watching them, looking vaguely uncomfortable and out of place.
"Thanks, Jeff," Britta said as he pulled away from Annie.
"Good luck," he said to both girls, but his eyes were locked on Annie's.
With a final nod, he ran out into the open, closing his eyes as the Glee Club opened fire.
That had been three hours ago.
Jeff sat on a bench in the quad, covered in paint, waiting for the game to end. He wanted to stick around, wanted to see what the outcome of the game was.
Wanted to see if Annie would win.
He knew Britta was out of it. About an hour after he sacrificed himself he saw her stomp off to her car, covered in the blue paint the Drama Club was using.
He'd played Bejeweled on his phone for a few hours, but as the hours dragged on, he became more and more anxious, and now he was sitting on the bench, his knee bouncing up and down. With Britta out of the game, Annie was completely on her own, and Jeff worried about her in the game alone. He knew she was stronger than she looked, but he wasn't sure she had it in her to make it on her own in paintball.
Just as he was trying to think of what he'd say to her if she lost, a lone figure emerged from the library. He looked up to see Annie walking toward him, a huge smile on her face. But, more importantly, there wasn't a drop of paint on her.
"Annie?" Jeff stood to meet her.
"Jeff, what are you still doing here?"
"I wanted to see how the game turned out."
"I won!" Annie exclaimed, bouncing in glee.
"Seriously?" He asked, excitement and pride building in his chest.
Annie nodded exuberantly before launching herself at Jeff, wrapping him in a tight hug. He returned it, pulling her in even closer.
"I never would have been able to do it without you," she whispered into his ear. "If you hadn't sacrificed yourself. Thank you." Jeff simply rubbed her back in response. "I can't believe you did that for me and Britta."
"I didn't do it for Britta," he admitted before he could stop himself.
Annie pulled back slightly, looking up at him with questioning eyes. He reached up, gently pushing a strand of her disheveled hair behind her ear, his eyes moving to her lips. Before he could do anything about it, though, the Dean's voice rang out across the quad. "Annie!"
She closed her eyes and let out a breath before pulling away from Jeff as Dean Pelton approached them. "Jeffrey, I didn't know you were still here," the dean said as he reached the pair.
"I wanted to see how the game turned out," Jeff replied, his eyes still on Annie.
"Well, Annie," the dean continued, for the first time ever completely ignoring Jeff, "we need to get you to the cafeteria for the awards ceremony."
Annie was bouncing again, and Jeff couldn't help grinning at her. "You're coming, right?" she asked him hopefully.
"I wouldn't miss it."
She smiled brightly at him and grabbed his hand, tugging him along as she followed the dean.
There weren't many students sitting in the cafeteria, and the ones that were there were covered in paint, looking disgruntled over the fact that they had lost. That didn't really matter, though. Annie's smile was more than enough to light up the whole room. "I still can't believe I won," she said quietly, eying the trophy that was waiting for her up on the stage. "You know, I never won anything before Greendale."
"You expect me to believe that perfect student Annie Edison never won anything? Not even a science fair?"
Annie shook her head. "The debate was the first thing I ever won." She tore her eyes away from the trophy and turned to face Jeff. "Everything I've won, I've won because of you."
"Annie, that's not true."
She smiled at him adoringly. "It is. The debate, this game. I never would have won either of them if it wasn't for you."
"You won because you're you, Annie. I may have helped out a little, but you won them yourself. You won because you're amazing."
Annie's smile changed to something softer, and Jeff was suddenly taken by the overwhelming urge to kiss her. Instead, he took the cowboy hat off his head and placed it on Annie's. "To complete the gunslinger look."
She giggled at him as the dean approached, holding a camera. "Jeff, could you take the picture of Annie accepting the trophy for the paper?"
"Sure," Jeff responded, taking the camera from the dean. Dean Pelton walked onto the stage, Annie following him. "I want to thank you all for participating in our annual paintball game," he began. "And thank out for keeping it relatively safe and brief. Now, allow me to present the winner, Annie Edison!"
There was a smattering of polite applause as the dean handed Annie the huge trophy. She held it close to her, smiling at the crowd before turning her smile to Jeff, and Jeff realized that he was exhausted. Not exhausted from the game and then three hours of waiting, but exhausted in general. It was just so much work pretending that he didn't want her, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.
He snapped the picture.
Tranny Dance, 2011
Jeff stood quietly at one side of the room, sipping his drink. He was at the dance because his friends had pestered him until he finally agreed, but he wanted to keep a low profile to avoid anything bad happening like the year before. He'd spent the better part of an hour simply watching his friends dance.
"Hey," Abed said, appearing at Jeff's side, a video camera in his hand.
"Hey," Jeff responded. "What're you doing?"
"Getting footage for this year's video yearbook."
"Ah."
They were silent for a few moments before Abed spoke up. "You don't seem like you're having a very good time."
"I'm having a good time."
"You're standing in a dark corner by yourself, Jeff."
Jeff let out an annoyed breath. "Well, I think it's understandable if I'm a little bit tense, considering what happened last year."
Abed cocked his head to the side. "Are you expecting another declaration of love tonight?"
Jeff's eyes briefly flickered over to Annie, who was on the dance floor, giggling at the ridiculous dance Troy was doing. It was only for a second, but he knew Abed had noticed.
"No, I'm not. But I wasn't expecting it last year, either."
Abed merely shrugged at him and headed off to the dance floor to join Troy and Annie.
Not long after Abed's departure, Britta appeared at Jeff's side. She took a long drink from her punch while glancing at Jeff. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you I love you again."
Jeff chuckled. "I know."
"Then why are you standing over here in the dark by yourself?"
Jeff didn't answer, and Britta followed his gaze out to the dance floor.
"You're pathetic," she said with a slight laugh, lifting her cup back to her lips.
"I'm sorry?" Jeff finally looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, I guess you're just really into Troy's dancing?"
He looked back out at the dance floor, where Troy flailing about, his hand behind his head, the other holding one foot up. "How is it possible that he's so graceful when he's onstage, but once he's out on the dance floor he looks like an epileptic eight year old?"
"He's not that bad."
"You've been awfully quick to jump to his defense lately."
Britta seemed flustered for a moment before saying, "No, don't try to turn this around on me. We were talking about you."
"We were?"
"You never would have sacrificed yourself at paintball if it had just been me," she sayed, looking at him thoughtfully. "Hell, you probably would have shot me with that last paintball you had just out of spite."
"Hey! I'm not that much of a jerk!"
"But Annie was there, too," she went on, as if he hadn't said anything. "So you sacrificed yourself."
Jeff didn't try to argue. Britta was right, and he was just so tired of pretending.
The music changed to a slow tune. "You could be so happy if you just let yourself, Jeff."
Jeff watched as Abed and Annie wrapped their arms around each other to dance as Troy began to move toward Britta. "Care to dance, pretty lady?" Troy asked, offering a hand to Britta.
"Absolutely," Britta responded, taking his hand.
Jeff watched them go and then turned his attention back to Annie and Abed. Annie had her hands around Abed's shoulders, and his rested on her waist, dancing like two middle school students. Annie laughed at something Abed said, and Jeff's chest tightened.
Britta was right. He never would have sacrificed himself for her. He never would have done that for anyone but Annie.
He was tired of pretending.
Putting his drink down on a table, Jeff straightened his jacket and strode out onto the dance floor. He stopped by Abed and Annie and took a deep breath. "Can I cut in?"
Annie looked up at him, surprised, while Abed merely nodded knowingly. "Sure." He nodded at Annie, then walked off the floor, taking Jeff's place in the corner, raising his camera.
Annie smiled up at Jeff, placing her hands on his shoulders, awkwardly trying to keep a respectable amount of distance between them. Jeff surprised her by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. She stiffened at the unexpected intimacy, then relaxed as Jeff held her even tighter, swaying to the music.
"I was starting to think you were going to stay in that corner all night," she said, looking up at him.
"I was thinking about it," Jeff responded. "But it looked a lot more fun out here."
Their eyes met, and a surge of nervousness went through him. "Annie, I..." She watched him as he struggled to find the words. "I...." He let out a deep breath. "I don't know how to do this."
She laughed. "Dance? Jeff, you're doing fine."
"No, I don't know.... I don't know how to say what I..."
"Jeff?"
"I should be able to do this. I'm really great with words. I just... suck with feelings."
Annie stiffened again. "Jeff, what are you-?"
He closed his eyes tightly. "I'm tired of pretending that I don't want to be with you."
He heard Annie gasp softly, and opened his eyes to meet hers, wide and wondering. "You're younger than me. You're really younger than me. And you're way too good for me and it's pretty much inevitable that I'll hurt you but I just...I don't care anymore. That's probably incredibly selfish, but I don't. I'm just so sick of pretending that I don't want to touch you and of being insanely jealous of every guy who talks to you and of fighting with you just to act like I don't want you-"
"Jeff," Annie said tearfully, bringing a hand to his cheek. "That's not selfish."
"It is," Jeff nodded. "And if you were smart you'd run far, far away from me."
"I'd be breaking my own heart if I did that. And yours, too, I'm guessing. Which would just break mine more."
Jeff raised his hand to Annie's cheek, mirroring her stance, wiping away a tear. She sniffled. "They're good tears, Jeff."
He smiled. "I don't think I've ever caused those before."
Annie laughed, and Jeff took a deep breath before leaning down to kiss her. It wasn't nearly as intense as their kiss a year beforehand. It was soft and brief, and when he pulled back, Jeff pressed his forehead against Annie's. "I think I'm in love with you."
Annie's breath caught, and he could tell that, even after his declaration, that wasn't what she had been expecting to hear. "Since when?"
"I don't know. But I do know that I've never felt this before. I do thing for you that I'd never do for anyone else. Sacrifice myself, take the blame for things I didn't do."
Eyes shining with tears, Annie took a deep breath. "I've liked you since the debate. I've wanted you since we kissed at the dance last year." She took another breath. "And I've loved you since you took the blame with the group for telling the dean about the butt flag."
It was Jeff's turn to be surprised. His eyes widened and his arms tightened around her back. "I love you," Annie said.
Jeff just shook his head in disbelief, at a complete loss for words. He pulled her as close as he possibly could. Annie rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes, and Jeff rested his cheek against the top of her head, doing the same.
A few yards away, Britta was watching them, her cheek resting against Troy's shoulder. "Finally."
December 23rd, 2011
"One more bar on the 'Annie's 21st Birthday Pub Crawl Extravaganza'!" Britta called out as everyone stood from the table, tossing cash down to cover their drinks.
"Jeff," Annie said quietly. "I'm really grateful that everyone's put so much work into my birthday, and I'm having a really good time, but... I'm really tired." She looped her arm through Jeff's and rested her head heavily against his arm.
"There's only one more bar," Jeff said, looking toward the door to the ladies' room, where Britta was impatiently calling to Shirley to hurry up, then over to Troy, who was snapping as many pictured of the gang as he could.
Annie snorted. "I'm pretty drunk and all I want to do right now is go home. I can't believe you aren't using this to your advantage, to get me back to your place to have your way with me."
"I don't need you drunk to have my way with you."
She giggled, turning her face into his arm. He shifted, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Carry me to the next bar?"
"Annie-"
"It's six blocks away!"
"Annie, Britta and Troy put a lot of work into planning this for you. I know it's just one more bar, but they'd be disappointed if you wanted to cut out before the grand finale."
Over at the ladies' room, Britta was pounding on the door, and Jeff could hear Shirley yelling from the other side, "I need just one more minute!"
"I'm not asking to cut out anymore, I'm asking you to carry me."
"I'm old, Annie. Carrying you six blocks could kill me."
"You're 35, Jeff. You're not Pierce. And I bet Pierce would carry me if I asked him to."
"That's because you're his 'Little Princess'," Jeff responded, poking at the plastic tiara resting crookedly on her head, which had come with the actual diamond tiara Pierce had given her earlier in the night. "He'd probably buy you a pony if you asked him to."
Annie grumbled unintelligibly, picking up a cherry stem, discarded from her drink earlier, and played with it. "I bet I could tie this into a knot."
Jeff laughed at her. "While it would be really hot if you could, nobody can do that. It's not possible."
"Audrey Horne did it!" Annie exclaimed.
"Do I have to explain to you that television and reality are different? Are you really turning into Abed?"
"So you really don't think I can do it?"
"Annie, nobody can do it."
"Wanna bet?"
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Sure."
"If I can tie it into a knot, you have to carry me to the next bar."
"And if you can't?"
"I'll do your laundry for a week."
"Deal."
Annie put on her formidable face, which was a good deal less intimidating under a haze of alcohol, and stuck the cherry stem into her mouth. Jeff watched her, amused, as her lips pursed, her jaw moved around, and her brow furrowed. He watched her with smug amusement as she seemed to grow more and more frustrated until she finally pulled the cherry stem out of her mouth. Jeff's jaw dropped open when he saw that it was tied into a neat knot.
"So," Annie said, looking at the cherry stem proudly, "how would you be most comfortable carrying me?"
"You- how did - that's..." Jeff was at a complete loss for words. Annie just smirked at him. "That's... unbelievably hot." She blushed, her smirk turning into a soft smile. "I think you're right, it's late, you're tired. We should just go home."
"But Britta and Troy would be so disappointed. And you are not getting out of carrying me now."
She stood up, a bit unsteadily, and held her hand out to Jeff. He took it, pulling her close to him as he stood. "Come on," he said close to her ear. "Let's just go home." He pressed a kiss behind her ear, and Annie shivered. But she's just won a bet, and she wasn't going to pass up the chance to have Jeff carry her six blocks.
"One more bar, Jeff," Annie said, pulling away. "And then you can take me home and have your way with me."
Jeff laughed, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "Okay. But you'd better not be too drunk to do anything when we get home."
"And you'd better not be too sore after carrying me, old man."
Shirley finally finished up in the bathroom, and the gang spilled out onto the sidewalk. Jeff buttoned up Annie's coat for her and then turned around, bending slightly at the knees. "Okay, hop on."
Annie smiled brightly before climbing onto Jeff's back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Jeff wrapped his hands firmly under her thighs.
Britta looked over at them. "What's that all about?"
"Jeff lost a bet," Annie explained.
"Yeah, but considering what you did to win that bet, I think it's safe to say I won, too."
"Jeff!" Annie cried out, embarrassed.
"I don't even want to know," Britta replied, turning away.
The gang started down the sidewalk, everyone breaking out into another round of 'Happy Birthday', as they had on the way to every bar that night. Troy continued taking pictures of the group.
"Happy?" Jeff asked.
"Hmm." Annie nodded, resting her chin on Jeff's shoulder. "I love you," she said, pressing her forehead to Jeff's temple.
"I love you," he replied, trying to glance back at her as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Happy birthday."
September 25th, 2013
"Hold on, I want to make sure he you can see the ring in the picture."
"Annie, this feels really cheesy."
"I just want to make sure that you can see the ring-"
"I feel like an idiot smiling at the camera like this."
"Jeff!" Annie whined.
"And with you holding your hand up like that, It looks really unnatural."
"I want to send my dad a picture with the ring in it."
"Yeah, so do I, but does it have to look so-"
"What?"
"Dumb?"
"Jeff!"
"I'm sorry, it's just... wouldn't it be nicer if it didn't look so posed and artificial?"
"Okay, so what do you think we should-"
Before Annie could finish her sentence, Jeff quickly grabbed the hand she was holding up to display the ring and threaded their fingers together, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth, taking the picture before she could protest.
"Jeff," Annie said, exasperated. She grabbed the camera from Jeff and hit the 'Review' button. Her face quickly shifted from annoyance as a smile blossomed onto her face. "Aww..." she said, showing Jeff the picture.
He just smiled, trying not to get too gooey. "I told you."
"Yeah."
"When are you going to realize that I'm always right?"
She was starting to look annoyed again. "Jeff."
Jeff leaned in and kissed her. Annie sighed when they separated, her eyes glistening lightly with tears. "I can't wait to be your wife."
"I don't deserve you," he said, running his fingers through her hair.
Annie sighed. "It's been over two years and you still think that?"
Jeff looked away, not saying anything. "If you didn't deserve me," Annie continued, "I wouldn't still be here." When he still didn't respond, she crawled into his lap. "And do you really think my dad would have give you this ring if you didn't deserve me?"
Pressing a kiss to Annie's shoulder, Jeff buried his face in her neck and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you."
"I love you," she replied.
Jeff held on tighter.
THE END
Author: greta_garbo
Fandom: Community
Pairing: Jeff/Annie
Spoilers: Definitely spoilers for Pascal's Triangle Revisited. Let's just say general everything.
Word Count: 3630
Disclaimer: We'll just see what the paternity test says, Harmon.
Notes: Companion piece to "Man to Man" and "Proposal".
Spring 2011
Jeff closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I have to draw their fire," he finally said.
The two women he was with turned to him, their faces covered with shock. "Jeff?" Britta said, uncertain.
"Jeff, you can't!" Annie cried urgently.
"I'm almost out of it anyway," he sighed in defeat, holding up his gun. "I only have one paintball left." He held up his hand as Annie opened his mouth, already knowing what she was going to say. "And I'm not going to let one of you give me some of yours. That wouldn't be right."
Britta looked at him with respect, something he really wasn't used to coming from her. Annie's eyes welled up with tears. "Jeff," she whispered.
"Annie," Jeff said as he brought a comforting hand to her face. "It's just a trophy."
She nodded before throwing her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. Before he could over analyze his own actions, wrapped his arms around her, returning her hug. Looking over her shoulder, he noticed Britta watching them, looking vaguely uncomfortable and out of place.
"Thanks, Jeff," Britta said as he pulled away from Annie.
"Good luck," he said to both girls, but his eyes were locked on Annie's.
With a final nod, he ran out into the open, closing his eyes as the Glee Club opened fire.
That had been three hours ago.
Jeff sat on a bench in the quad, covered in paint, waiting for the game to end. He wanted to stick around, wanted to see what the outcome of the game was.
Wanted to see if Annie would win.
He knew Britta was out of it. About an hour after he sacrificed himself he saw her stomp off to her car, covered in the blue paint the Drama Club was using.
He'd played Bejeweled on his phone for a few hours, but as the hours dragged on, he became more and more anxious, and now he was sitting on the bench, his knee bouncing up and down. With Britta out of the game, Annie was completely on her own, and Jeff worried about her in the game alone. He knew she was stronger than she looked, but he wasn't sure she had it in her to make it on her own in paintball.
Just as he was trying to think of what he'd say to her if she lost, a lone figure emerged from the library. He looked up to see Annie walking toward him, a huge smile on her face. But, more importantly, there wasn't a drop of paint on her.
"Annie?" Jeff stood to meet her.
"Jeff, what are you still doing here?"
"I wanted to see how the game turned out."
"I won!" Annie exclaimed, bouncing in glee.
"Seriously?" He asked, excitement and pride building in his chest.
Annie nodded exuberantly before launching herself at Jeff, wrapping him in a tight hug. He returned it, pulling her in even closer.
"I never would have been able to do it without you," she whispered into his ear. "If you hadn't sacrificed yourself. Thank you." Jeff simply rubbed her back in response. "I can't believe you did that for me and Britta."
"I didn't do it for Britta," he admitted before he could stop himself.
Annie pulled back slightly, looking up at him with questioning eyes. He reached up, gently pushing a strand of her disheveled hair behind her ear, his eyes moving to her lips. Before he could do anything about it, though, the Dean's voice rang out across the quad. "Annie!"
She closed her eyes and let out a breath before pulling away from Jeff as Dean Pelton approached them. "Jeffrey, I didn't know you were still here," the dean said as he reached the pair.
"I wanted to see how the game turned out," Jeff replied, his eyes still on Annie.
"Well, Annie," the dean continued, for the first time ever completely ignoring Jeff, "we need to get you to the cafeteria for the awards ceremony."
Annie was bouncing again, and Jeff couldn't help grinning at her. "You're coming, right?" she asked him hopefully.
"I wouldn't miss it."
She smiled brightly at him and grabbed his hand, tugging him along as she followed the dean.
There weren't many students sitting in the cafeteria, and the ones that were there were covered in paint, looking disgruntled over the fact that they had lost. That didn't really matter, though. Annie's smile was more than enough to light up the whole room. "I still can't believe I won," she said quietly, eying the trophy that was waiting for her up on the stage. "You know, I never won anything before Greendale."
"You expect me to believe that perfect student Annie Edison never won anything? Not even a science fair?"
Annie shook her head. "The debate was the first thing I ever won." She tore her eyes away from the trophy and turned to face Jeff. "Everything I've won, I've won because of you."
"Annie, that's not true."
She smiled at him adoringly. "It is. The debate, this game. I never would have won either of them if it wasn't for you."
"You won because you're you, Annie. I may have helped out a little, but you won them yourself. You won because you're amazing."
Annie's smile changed to something softer, and Jeff was suddenly taken by the overwhelming urge to kiss her. Instead, he took the cowboy hat off his head and placed it on Annie's. "To complete the gunslinger look."
She giggled at him as the dean approached, holding a camera. "Jeff, could you take the picture of Annie accepting the trophy for the paper?"
"Sure," Jeff responded, taking the camera from the dean. Dean Pelton walked onto the stage, Annie following him. "I want to thank you all for participating in our annual paintball game," he began. "And thank out for keeping it relatively safe and brief. Now, allow me to present the winner, Annie Edison!"
There was a smattering of polite applause as the dean handed Annie the huge trophy. She held it close to her, smiling at the crowd before turning her smile to Jeff, and Jeff realized that he was exhausted. Not exhausted from the game and then three hours of waiting, but exhausted in general. It was just so much work pretending that he didn't want her, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.
He snapped the picture.
Tranny Dance, 2011
Jeff stood quietly at one side of the room, sipping his drink. He was at the dance because his friends had pestered him until he finally agreed, but he wanted to keep a low profile to avoid anything bad happening like the year before. He'd spent the better part of an hour simply watching his friends dance.
"Hey," Abed said, appearing at Jeff's side, a video camera in his hand.
"Hey," Jeff responded. "What're you doing?"
"Getting footage for this year's video yearbook."
"Ah."
They were silent for a few moments before Abed spoke up. "You don't seem like you're having a very good time."
"I'm having a good time."
"You're standing in a dark corner by yourself, Jeff."
Jeff let out an annoyed breath. "Well, I think it's understandable if I'm a little bit tense, considering what happened last year."
Abed cocked his head to the side. "Are you expecting another declaration of love tonight?"
Jeff's eyes briefly flickered over to Annie, who was on the dance floor, giggling at the ridiculous dance Troy was doing. It was only for a second, but he knew Abed had noticed.
"No, I'm not. But I wasn't expecting it last year, either."
Abed merely shrugged at him and headed off to the dance floor to join Troy and Annie.
Not long after Abed's departure, Britta appeared at Jeff's side. She took a long drink from her punch while glancing at Jeff. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you I love you again."
Jeff chuckled. "I know."
"Then why are you standing over here in the dark by yourself?"
Jeff didn't answer, and Britta followed his gaze out to the dance floor.
"You're pathetic," she said with a slight laugh, lifting her cup back to her lips.
"I'm sorry?" Jeff finally looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, I guess you're just really into Troy's dancing?"
He looked back out at the dance floor, where Troy flailing about, his hand behind his head, the other holding one foot up. "How is it possible that he's so graceful when he's onstage, but once he's out on the dance floor he looks like an epileptic eight year old?"
"He's not that bad."
"You've been awfully quick to jump to his defense lately."
Britta seemed flustered for a moment before saying, "No, don't try to turn this around on me. We were talking about you."
"We were?"
"You never would have sacrificed yourself at paintball if it had just been me," she sayed, looking at him thoughtfully. "Hell, you probably would have shot me with that last paintball you had just out of spite."
"Hey! I'm not that much of a jerk!"
"But Annie was there, too," she went on, as if he hadn't said anything. "So you sacrificed yourself."
Jeff didn't try to argue. Britta was right, and he was just so tired of pretending.
The music changed to a slow tune. "You could be so happy if you just let yourself, Jeff."
Jeff watched as Abed and Annie wrapped their arms around each other to dance as Troy began to move toward Britta. "Care to dance, pretty lady?" Troy asked, offering a hand to Britta.
"Absolutely," Britta responded, taking his hand.
Jeff watched them go and then turned his attention back to Annie and Abed. Annie had her hands around Abed's shoulders, and his rested on her waist, dancing like two middle school students. Annie laughed at something Abed said, and Jeff's chest tightened.
Britta was right. He never would have sacrificed himself for her. He never would have done that for anyone but Annie.
He was tired of pretending.
Putting his drink down on a table, Jeff straightened his jacket and strode out onto the dance floor. He stopped by Abed and Annie and took a deep breath. "Can I cut in?"
Annie looked up at him, surprised, while Abed merely nodded knowingly. "Sure." He nodded at Annie, then walked off the floor, taking Jeff's place in the corner, raising his camera.
Annie smiled up at Jeff, placing her hands on his shoulders, awkwardly trying to keep a respectable amount of distance between them. Jeff surprised her by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. She stiffened at the unexpected intimacy, then relaxed as Jeff held her even tighter, swaying to the music.
"I was starting to think you were going to stay in that corner all night," she said, looking up at him.
"I was thinking about it," Jeff responded. "But it looked a lot more fun out here."
Their eyes met, and a surge of nervousness went through him. "Annie, I..." She watched him as he struggled to find the words. "I...." He let out a deep breath. "I don't know how to do this."
She laughed. "Dance? Jeff, you're doing fine."
"No, I don't know.... I don't know how to say what I..."
"Jeff?"
"I should be able to do this. I'm really great with words. I just... suck with feelings."
Annie stiffened again. "Jeff, what are you-?"
He closed his eyes tightly. "I'm tired of pretending that I don't want to be with you."
He heard Annie gasp softly, and opened his eyes to meet hers, wide and wondering. "You're younger than me. You're really younger than me. And you're way too good for me and it's pretty much inevitable that I'll hurt you but I just...I don't care anymore. That's probably incredibly selfish, but I don't. I'm just so sick of pretending that I don't want to touch you and of being insanely jealous of every guy who talks to you and of fighting with you just to act like I don't want you-"
"Jeff," Annie said tearfully, bringing a hand to his cheek. "That's not selfish."
"It is," Jeff nodded. "And if you were smart you'd run far, far away from me."
"I'd be breaking my own heart if I did that. And yours, too, I'm guessing. Which would just break mine more."
Jeff raised his hand to Annie's cheek, mirroring her stance, wiping away a tear. She sniffled. "They're good tears, Jeff."
He smiled. "I don't think I've ever caused those before."
Annie laughed, and Jeff took a deep breath before leaning down to kiss her. It wasn't nearly as intense as their kiss a year beforehand. It was soft and brief, and when he pulled back, Jeff pressed his forehead against Annie's. "I think I'm in love with you."
Annie's breath caught, and he could tell that, even after his declaration, that wasn't what she had been expecting to hear. "Since when?"
"I don't know. But I do know that I've never felt this before. I do thing for you that I'd never do for anyone else. Sacrifice myself, take the blame for things I didn't do."
Eyes shining with tears, Annie took a deep breath. "I've liked you since the debate. I've wanted you since we kissed at the dance last year." She took another breath. "And I've loved you since you took the blame with the group for telling the dean about the butt flag."
It was Jeff's turn to be surprised. His eyes widened and his arms tightened around her back. "I love you," Annie said.
Jeff just shook his head in disbelief, at a complete loss for words. He pulled her as close as he possibly could. Annie rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes, and Jeff rested his cheek against the top of her head, doing the same.
A few yards away, Britta was watching them, her cheek resting against Troy's shoulder. "Finally."
December 23rd, 2011
"One more bar on the 'Annie's 21st Birthday Pub Crawl Extravaganza'!" Britta called out as everyone stood from the table, tossing cash down to cover their drinks.
"Jeff," Annie said quietly. "I'm really grateful that everyone's put so much work into my birthday, and I'm having a really good time, but... I'm really tired." She looped her arm through Jeff's and rested her head heavily against his arm.
"There's only one more bar," Jeff said, looking toward the door to the ladies' room, where Britta was impatiently calling to Shirley to hurry up, then over to Troy, who was snapping as many pictured of the gang as he could.
Annie snorted. "I'm pretty drunk and all I want to do right now is go home. I can't believe you aren't using this to your advantage, to get me back to your place to have your way with me."
"I don't need you drunk to have my way with you."
She giggled, turning her face into his arm. He shifted, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Carry me to the next bar?"
"Annie-"
"It's six blocks away!"
"Annie, Britta and Troy put a lot of work into planning this for you. I know it's just one more bar, but they'd be disappointed if you wanted to cut out before the grand finale."
Over at the ladies' room, Britta was pounding on the door, and Jeff could hear Shirley yelling from the other side, "I need just one more minute!"
"I'm not asking to cut out anymore, I'm asking you to carry me."
"I'm old, Annie. Carrying you six blocks could kill me."
"You're 35, Jeff. You're not Pierce. And I bet Pierce would carry me if I asked him to."
"That's because you're his 'Little Princess'," Jeff responded, poking at the plastic tiara resting crookedly on her head, which had come with the actual diamond tiara Pierce had given her earlier in the night. "He'd probably buy you a pony if you asked him to."
Annie grumbled unintelligibly, picking up a cherry stem, discarded from her drink earlier, and played with it. "I bet I could tie this into a knot."
Jeff laughed at her. "While it would be really hot if you could, nobody can do that. It's not possible."
"Audrey Horne did it!" Annie exclaimed.
"Do I have to explain to you that television and reality are different? Are you really turning into Abed?"
"So you really don't think I can do it?"
"Annie, nobody can do it."
"Wanna bet?"
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Sure."
"If I can tie it into a knot, you have to carry me to the next bar."
"And if you can't?"
"I'll do your laundry for a week."
"Deal."
Annie put on her formidable face, which was a good deal less intimidating under a haze of alcohol, and stuck the cherry stem into her mouth. Jeff watched her, amused, as her lips pursed, her jaw moved around, and her brow furrowed. He watched her with smug amusement as she seemed to grow more and more frustrated until she finally pulled the cherry stem out of her mouth. Jeff's jaw dropped open when he saw that it was tied into a neat knot.
"So," Annie said, looking at the cherry stem proudly, "how would you be most comfortable carrying me?"
"You- how did - that's..." Jeff was at a complete loss for words. Annie just smirked at him. "That's... unbelievably hot." She blushed, her smirk turning into a soft smile. "I think you're right, it's late, you're tired. We should just go home."
"But Britta and Troy would be so disappointed. And you are not getting out of carrying me now."
She stood up, a bit unsteadily, and held her hand out to Jeff. He took it, pulling her close to him as he stood. "Come on," he said close to her ear. "Let's just go home." He pressed a kiss behind her ear, and Annie shivered. But she's just won a bet, and she wasn't going to pass up the chance to have Jeff carry her six blocks.
"One more bar, Jeff," Annie said, pulling away. "And then you can take me home and have your way with me."
Jeff laughed, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. "Okay. But you'd better not be too drunk to do anything when we get home."
"And you'd better not be too sore after carrying me, old man."
Shirley finally finished up in the bathroom, and the gang spilled out onto the sidewalk. Jeff buttoned up Annie's coat for her and then turned around, bending slightly at the knees. "Okay, hop on."
Annie smiled brightly before climbing onto Jeff's back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Jeff wrapped his hands firmly under her thighs.
Britta looked over at them. "What's that all about?"
"Jeff lost a bet," Annie explained.
"Yeah, but considering what you did to win that bet, I think it's safe to say I won, too."
"Jeff!" Annie cried out, embarrassed.
"I don't even want to know," Britta replied, turning away.
The gang started down the sidewalk, everyone breaking out into another round of 'Happy Birthday', as they had on the way to every bar that night. Troy continued taking pictures of the group.
"Happy?" Jeff asked.
"Hmm." Annie nodded, resting her chin on Jeff's shoulder. "I love you," she said, pressing her forehead to Jeff's temple.
"I love you," he replied, trying to glance back at her as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Happy birthday."
September 25th, 2013
"Hold on, I want to make sure he you can see the ring in the picture."
"Annie, this feels really cheesy."
"I just want to make sure that you can see the ring-"
"I feel like an idiot smiling at the camera like this."
"Jeff!" Annie whined.
"And with you holding your hand up like that, It looks really unnatural."
"I want to send my dad a picture with the ring in it."
"Yeah, so do I, but does it have to look so-"
"What?"
"Dumb?"
"Jeff!"
"I'm sorry, it's just... wouldn't it be nicer if it didn't look so posed and artificial?"
"Okay, so what do you think we should-"
Before Annie could finish her sentence, Jeff quickly grabbed the hand she was holding up to display the ring and threaded their fingers together, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth, taking the picture before she could protest.
"Jeff," Annie said, exasperated. She grabbed the camera from Jeff and hit the 'Review' button. Her face quickly shifted from annoyance as a smile blossomed onto her face. "Aww..." she said, showing Jeff the picture.
He just smiled, trying not to get too gooey. "I told you."
"Yeah."
"When are you going to realize that I'm always right?"
She was starting to look annoyed again. "Jeff."
Jeff leaned in and kissed her. Annie sighed when they separated, her eyes glistening lightly with tears. "I can't wait to be your wife."
"I don't deserve you," he said, running his fingers through her hair.
Annie sighed. "It's been over two years and you still think that?"
Jeff looked away, not saying anything. "If you didn't deserve me," Annie continued, "I wouldn't still be here." When he still didn't respond, she crawled into his lap. "And do you really think my dad would have give you this ring if you didn't deserve me?"
Pressing a kiss to Annie's shoulder, Jeff buried his face in her neck and wrapped his arms around her. "I love you."
"I love you," she replied.
Jeff held on tighter.
THE END