fic: Trope #25
Title: Trope #25
Author: Pepper
Fandom(s): Community
Pairing: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Wordcount: 930
Rating: T
Warnings: Spoilers for 610: Basic RV Repair and Palmistry. Also, this is kind of depressing.
Also archived: On AO3 here
Disclaimer: Community isn't mine. A-duh.
Summary: The cold gets into your bones and won't let go.
Notes: From this milady_milord prompt: "Jeff and Annie sharing a blanket during the cold night on the road trip." Sorry, this probably wasn't exactly what you had in mind!
---
Abed had declared the episode finished, which was all well and good for the Dean's story arc, but as far as Jeff was concerned, there were a few loose ends that needed tidying up. For one thing, they were still stuck in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, with no power. For another, there was no goddamn booze.
He'd searched - sneakily, when no one was looking, because they kept making a big deal about it for some reason - but there was absolutely nothing in the whole stupid RV - no whiskey, no vodka, no sticky crap brought back from holiday that only got brought out when all the drinkable stuff had gone... not even a light beer. He had to face it: he was going to have to survive the night stone cold sober.
It was a horrifying thought.
And speaking of stone cold, the temperature had dropped so much now that he was beginning to shiver - but despite that, somehow everyone else seemed to have gone to sleep. Elroy had taken the bed, and had grudgingly allowed Abed to share it with him - seriously, there was no fat on the kid, and they were all a bit worried he might actually freeze to death. The Dean was draped uncomfortably over the passenger seat, looking like a cross between Moby and an octopus, and Annie was wrapped in a tight ball in the driver's seat, close by Jeff's shoulder. Britta and Frankie were leaning against one another, across the Formica table from Jeff. Several people were snoring. Jeff was at a horrible angle on the tiny, fixed sofa/bench thing, his head ached, he couldn't get to sleep, and he was trying to decide which to go for first, homicide or suicide.
Sometimes, Jeff hated his life - and sometimes he really, REALLY hated his life.
Annie shifted restlessly, and he looked up just in time to see her foot slip off the seat, and her whole body fall towards him. He reached out instinctively, just in time to catch her as she tried to take a header over the dividing wall.
"Whoa!"
They froze, staring at the others. Britta gave a kind of hiccup-cough, and then resumed snoring. No one else reacted.
With a relieved sigh - seriously, he was sick of the lot of them, and didn't want to speak to them for at least a few hours - Jeff turned to Annie, and tried to push her back into her seat. She scrabbled to help, but gravity was against her, and she only ended up falling further forward. "Okay, no, I - gah!" she hissed, nearly falling, and with a huff, Jeff gave up and just pulled her over the wall and onto his lap. "Jeff!"
"Shh. Look, I'm about to freeze to death, and you don't feel much warmer, so how about we...?" He raised his eyebrows, and she gave him a wide-eyed, shocked look. "I'm suggesting we cuddle to stay alive, Annie," he added, acidly. "I'm not making advances, okay - dirty mind much?"
"Ohhhh. Okay. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I am freezing."
Finding a comfortable position wasn't easy while also trying not to wake five other people, but eventually they found a workable solution. Jeff had both legs stretched out along the bench, feet dangling off the end, and Annie was sideways in his lap, leaning against his chest, with her head on his shoulder, one arm around him, and her knees resting on the table. They were wedged in tightly, with one blanket around their shoulders and the other over their legs. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but at least they were both warm at last. Jeff gave one last shudder as the cold began to leave him. He tightened his arms around Annie, leaning his cheek on her head, and feeling like maybe he could relax at last.
But apparently Annie wasn't quite ready to go to sleep yet. "Jeff?" she whispered.
"Mm?"
"You were kind of mean to Abed today."
Jeff was quiet as he thought about it. He had been kind of mean to Abed, it was true. He'd lashed out, and he wasn't sure exactly why. He just felt... uncertain around him at the moment, like Abed had got wind of one of his deepest, darkest secrets and was holding it over him, or something. He found he couldn't quite meet the kid's eyes. But that was crazy, right? Abed didn't have any secrets on him - and even if he did, he was totally trustworthy, he'd never do anything to hurt Jeff. Not on purpose, anyway.
Jeff blinked, staring into the night. It was crazy. It WAS crazy. This crushing feeling of impending doom? Completely crazy, and he needed to just stop it, stop feeling like this.
God, he could really do with a drink.
"I was kinda mean," he agreed, gruffly. "Sorry. I'll make it up to him. This whole stupid hand thing got me in a bad mood, I don't know why."
"Hmm." She didn't sound very convinced. "It's not just today though, is it?"
Jeff didn't answer. He didn't particularly want to talk about it - quite frankly, he had no idea where to start - but no, it wasn't just today.
"Oh, Jeff."
"I'll be okay," he said. It wasn't exactly the strongest argument he'd ever made, but mercifully she let it slide. He could feel her breath brush his neck when she sighed quietly.
"You'll be okay," she echoed. It sounded like a promise.
Jeff closed his eyes, and for a while, he let himself believe her.
---
END.
Author: Pepper
Fandom(s): Community
Pairing: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Wordcount: 930
Rating: T
Warnings: Spoilers for 610: Basic RV Repair and Palmistry. Also, this is kind of depressing.
Also archived: On AO3 here
Disclaimer: Community isn't mine. A-duh.
Summary: The cold gets into your bones and won't let go.
Notes: From this milady_milord prompt: "Jeff and Annie sharing a blanket during the cold night on the road trip." Sorry, this probably wasn't exactly what you had in mind!
---
Abed had declared the episode finished, which was all well and good for the Dean's story arc, but as far as Jeff was concerned, there were a few loose ends that needed tidying up. For one thing, they were still stuck in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, with no power. For another, there was no goddamn booze.
He'd searched - sneakily, when no one was looking, because they kept making a big deal about it for some reason - but there was absolutely nothing in the whole stupid RV - no whiskey, no vodka, no sticky crap brought back from holiday that only got brought out when all the drinkable stuff had gone... not even a light beer. He had to face it: he was going to have to survive the night stone cold sober.
It was a horrifying thought.
And speaking of stone cold, the temperature had dropped so much now that he was beginning to shiver - but despite that, somehow everyone else seemed to have gone to sleep. Elroy had taken the bed, and had grudgingly allowed Abed to share it with him - seriously, there was no fat on the kid, and they were all a bit worried he might actually freeze to death. The Dean was draped uncomfortably over the passenger seat, looking like a cross between Moby and an octopus, and Annie was wrapped in a tight ball in the driver's seat, close by Jeff's shoulder. Britta and Frankie were leaning against one another, across the Formica table from Jeff. Several people were snoring. Jeff was at a horrible angle on the tiny, fixed sofa/bench thing, his head ached, he couldn't get to sleep, and he was trying to decide which to go for first, homicide or suicide.
Sometimes, Jeff hated his life - and sometimes he really, REALLY hated his life.
Annie shifted restlessly, and he looked up just in time to see her foot slip off the seat, and her whole body fall towards him. He reached out instinctively, just in time to catch her as she tried to take a header over the dividing wall.
"Whoa!"
They froze, staring at the others. Britta gave a kind of hiccup-cough, and then resumed snoring. No one else reacted.
With a relieved sigh - seriously, he was sick of the lot of them, and didn't want to speak to them for at least a few hours - Jeff turned to Annie, and tried to push her back into her seat. She scrabbled to help, but gravity was against her, and she only ended up falling further forward. "Okay, no, I - gah!" she hissed, nearly falling, and with a huff, Jeff gave up and just pulled her over the wall and onto his lap. "Jeff!"
"Shh. Look, I'm about to freeze to death, and you don't feel much warmer, so how about we...?" He raised his eyebrows, and she gave him a wide-eyed, shocked look. "I'm suggesting we cuddle to stay alive, Annie," he added, acidly. "I'm not making advances, okay - dirty mind much?"
"Ohhhh. Okay. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I am freezing."
Finding a comfortable position wasn't easy while also trying not to wake five other people, but eventually they found a workable solution. Jeff had both legs stretched out along the bench, feet dangling off the end, and Annie was sideways in his lap, leaning against his chest, with her head on his shoulder, one arm around him, and her knees resting on the table. They were wedged in tightly, with one blanket around their shoulders and the other over their legs. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but at least they were both warm at last. Jeff gave one last shudder as the cold began to leave him. He tightened his arms around Annie, leaning his cheek on her head, and feeling like maybe he could relax at last.
But apparently Annie wasn't quite ready to go to sleep yet. "Jeff?" she whispered.
"Mm?"
"You were kind of mean to Abed today."
Jeff was quiet as he thought about it. He had been kind of mean to Abed, it was true. He'd lashed out, and he wasn't sure exactly why. He just felt... uncertain around him at the moment, like Abed had got wind of one of his deepest, darkest secrets and was holding it over him, or something. He found he couldn't quite meet the kid's eyes. But that was crazy, right? Abed didn't have any secrets on him - and even if he did, he was totally trustworthy, he'd never do anything to hurt Jeff. Not on purpose, anyway.
Jeff blinked, staring into the night. It was crazy. It WAS crazy. This crushing feeling of impending doom? Completely crazy, and he needed to just stop it, stop feeling like this.
God, he could really do with a drink.
"I was kinda mean," he agreed, gruffly. "Sorry. I'll make it up to him. This whole stupid hand thing got me in a bad mood, I don't know why."
"Hmm." She didn't sound very convinced. "It's not just today though, is it?"
Jeff didn't answer. He didn't particularly want to talk about it - quite frankly, he had no idea where to start - but no, it wasn't just today.
"Oh, Jeff."
"I'll be okay," he said. It wasn't exactly the strongest argument he'd ever made, but mercifully she let it slide. He could feel her breath brush his neck when she sighed quietly.
"You'll be okay," she echoed. It sounded like a promise.
Jeff closed his eyes, and for a while, he let himself believe her.
---
END.