Fic: Firefighters (Abed, Jeff)
Title: Firefighters
Fandom: Community
Characters: Abed, Jeff
Prompt: But who wants to work somewhere that isn’t dragon-friendly?
Word Count: 413
Rating: PG
Summary: Jeff stared back, an incredulous look on his face. “You expect me to believe that dragons exist?”
Notes: Written for the Ao3 Tags Challenge at 1-million-words. 29/9/15.
“But who wants to work somewhere that isn’t dragon-friendly?” Abed asked, cocking his head to the side as he considered Jeff. The two of them sat in the study room, awaiting the rest of the group for yet another study session that would not involve any studying.
Jeff stared back, an incredulous look on his face. “You expect me to believe that dragons exist?”
Abed shook his head. “No,” he said. “But tell me. What kind of workplace would deny a dragon?”
“Abed, dragons don’t exist. No workplace will accept dragons, because it’s impossible.” Jeff glared at him. “Aren’t you getting bored of playing pretend? Why don’t you come and meet the rest of us here, in what we call ‘reality’, and act like the adult the age on your birth certificate says you are.”
Abed reached across the desk for his phone, though he didn’t turn it on. He stared at the blank screen, and then returned it to the desk in front of him, while Jeff continued to stare at him as if he were crazy. Delicately, Abed bent his head, and admitted, “I miss Troy.”
“I know you do. We all do. But you’re better off without him to feed into your delusions.”
Abed sat back in his chair as if slapped.
“Sorry, that was…” Jeff started. Then, he slammed his palms down on the desk in front of him. “No. Forget it. I meant it. All Troy ever did was let you - no, encourage you - to live in your fantasies. But that’s not how the world works, Abed. As your friend, I’m here to tell you the real world sucks. It sucks, okay? And the sucking starts with the real world not having dragons in it.”
Abed said nothing.
“As an adult, you can’t go around asking people that. People already think you’re weird. And Troy… we all miss him. But people move on. They find something better, and they leave you behind.”
A nod. Abed offered Jeff a small, sad smile. “That’s why I like dragons,” he said.
Jeff stared at him - and for a moment Abed thought he was about to burst - but then visibly deflated. “Fine. What was the question again?”
“What kind of person wouldn’t want to work somewhere dragon-friendly?” Abed repeated, his smile widening.
Jeff sat back in his chair, holding his chin in one hand as if deep in thought. He glanced at Abed, sighed, and then said, “Firefighters.”
fin.
Fandom: Community
Characters: Abed, Jeff
Prompt: But who wants to work somewhere that isn’t dragon-friendly?
Word Count: 413
Rating: PG
Summary: Jeff stared back, an incredulous look on his face. “You expect me to believe that dragons exist?”
Notes: Written for the Ao3 Tags Challenge at 1-million-words. 29/9/15.
“But who wants to work somewhere that isn’t dragon-friendly?” Abed asked, cocking his head to the side as he considered Jeff. The two of them sat in the study room, awaiting the rest of the group for yet another study session that would not involve any studying.
Jeff stared back, an incredulous look on his face. “You expect me to believe that dragons exist?”
Abed shook his head. “No,” he said. “But tell me. What kind of workplace would deny a dragon?”
“Abed, dragons don’t exist. No workplace will accept dragons, because it’s impossible.” Jeff glared at him. “Aren’t you getting bored of playing pretend? Why don’t you come and meet the rest of us here, in what we call ‘reality’, and act like the adult the age on your birth certificate says you are.”
Abed reached across the desk for his phone, though he didn’t turn it on. He stared at the blank screen, and then returned it to the desk in front of him, while Jeff continued to stare at him as if he were crazy. Delicately, Abed bent his head, and admitted, “I miss Troy.”
“I know you do. We all do. But you’re better off without him to feed into your delusions.”
Abed sat back in his chair as if slapped.
“Sorry, that was…” Jeff started. Then, he slammed his palms down on the desk in front of him. “No. Forget it. I meant it. All Troy ever did was let you - no, encourage you - to live in your fantasies. But that’s not how the world works, Abed. As your friend, I’m here to tell you the real world sucks. It sucks, okay? And the sucking starts with the real world not having dragons in it.”
Abed said nothing.
“As an adult, you can’t go around asking people that. People already think you’re weird. And Troy… we all miss him. But people move on. They find something better, and they leave you behind.”
A nod. Abed offered Jeff a small, sad smile. “That’s why I like dragons,” he said.
Jeff stared at him - and for a moment Abed thought he was about to burst - but then visibly deflated. “Fine. What was the question again?”
“What kind of person wouldn’t want to work somewhere dragon-friendly?” Abed repeated, his smile widening.
Jeff sat back in his chair, holding his chin in one hand as if deep in thought. He glanced at Abed, sighed, and then said, “Firefighters.”
fin.