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Troy and Abed shifted closer together on Troy’s bed as the last of the Inspector Spacetime credits faded off the screen. Usually at this point, Abed would wander off back to the blanket fort to fall asleep in his own bed. But occasionally, he would stay to talk about the movie or show they had just watched, or because he was too tired to get up. Tonight seemed like one of those nights as Abed rested his head on Troy’s shoulder, probably content to just pass out like that, limbs tangled and hearts beating in sync with each other. It was probably a thought like this that prompted Troy to say it, to say what had been balled up inside him for about a month by now.
“I’m in love with you.”
He all but whispered it in the dark confines of the bedroom, and at first it seemed that Abed hadn’t heard. But mere seconds after the words were uttered, Abed tensed up and rolled away from Troy so he was on the edge of the bed, facing the wall. Within moments, obvious fake snoring was heard from that side of the bed along with suspiciously calm breathing. Troy shut his eyes and tried to pretend it didn’t happen, that he’d just dreamt the whole baring-his-soul thing and only needed to fall asleep to make it all go away. What he couldn’t see though was Abed, eyes wide open, staring at the wall deep in thought as his eyebrows creased in confusion and he continued to make snoring sounds with his mouth.
* * * * *
Britta, Jeff, Annie, and Shirley all walked into the library together the next morning, still laughing about how Duncan had made Chang fall into the fountain due to his “restraining order powers”. When they rounded the corner into Study Room F, it was to the image of Abed sitting rigid in his seat, surrounded by empty chairs and the textbooks he’d laid out in front of him.
The group quieted as they took their seats, concern for Abed etched onto their faces. “Abed, honey, where’s Troy?” Shirley ventured, worried along with the rest of them that something bad had happened between the two best friends.
“I left before him this morning. I needed to walk by myself so I could have time to think. I can’t figure out who we are. This is a curveball in the dynamic that even I didn’t see coming.”
Everyone exchanged anxious looks over the way Abed was talking and the “curveball” he’d mentioned. They were used to Abed speaking like they were all in a sitcom, but sometimes he used it as a way to avoid saying what he really meant. Britta gently put her hand on Abed’s arm and asked, “What curveball, Abed? Did something happen yesterday?”
Abed looked up at the group and tilted his head. “Last night Troy told me he’s in love with me.”
The response was a collective gasp and a few “oh”’s as eyebrows shot up and surprised looks were traded amongst them. Shirley seemed like she was about to pass out, Britta was smiling so wide it was creepy, Annie’s face fell for a second before regaining composure and looking genuinely happy, and Jeff was texting someone, no change to his features other than a temporary glance up at Abed.
Since no one else was saying anything, Jeff was the one who spoke next, still typing out a message to who even knows at this point. “What did you say back to him, Abed?” He feigned indifference but everyone knew he was as invested in this as they were. Hell, this love confession was probably the most interesting thing to happen to the group all month.
The room fell silent as everyone waited for Abed’s reply. Even Shirley seemed like she cared enough to at least look at Abed expectantly like the rest of them. Abed surveyed everyone in the group, lingering a little on Pierce’s empty chair before directing his words at a spot of empty table in front of him. “I pretended to be asleep.”
“Abed, what ?”
“Oh, honey, no”
“But aren’t you in love with him too?”
“You can’t do that to him, Abed, you need to talk to him.”
Abed took a deep breath and tried to drown out all the noise around him. If he hadn’t looked up to try to get everyone to be quiet, he might have missed Troy walking through the back door on his way to the study room.
The rest of the group realized what was happening a second later and stopped talking, making Troy’s calm walk around the table to the empty chair next to Jeff that much more painful. All eyes were on him as he took the new seat, and Troy finally looked up and around at everyone, skipping over Abed, before clearing his throat. “Look, I know you all know what happened, that’s pretty obvious. But I’d appreciate it if no one talked about it, okay? Can you all just agree to that?” Everyone nodded and Troy visibly relaxed a little before asking where Pierce was.
“I don’t know, but all things considered, let’s just be grateful he wasn’t here for this,” Jeff concluded to hums of agreement. As if on cue, Pierce barged through the study room doors, fumbling with his bags and tripping over his feet.
“Hey, all. I ran a little late this morning. What kind of prostitute stays for breakfast? They just keep getting needier and needier these days, I tell ya. What next, they want me to be on top?” Pierce dropped into his seat to the collective groans of the others and a pen thrown at his face. Only then did he notice the seating change. “What happened, Wonder Boy? You and the misses-” he jerked his thumb at Abed- “have a domestic?” Pierce cracked up at his own joke as the rest of the group shifted uncomfortably in their seats and glared at him. Thankfully the bell rang before anyone could respond, and the group packed up and got ready for an awkward day.
* * * * *
“And don’t forget to hagan su tarea,” Chang called after them as everyone filed out of the Spanish classroom. Abed started walking down the hallway to the cafeteria, wanting to make sure he got in line for chicken fingers, but Troy jogged up next to him and motioned for him to stop so they could talk.
Abed nodded and Troy sighed. “Look, Abed, I know what I said last night was weird or whatever, and I don’t think I regret saying it, but I don’t want things to change if you don’t want them to. I’m fine with not being more than friends, but I just need you to talk to me at least. You haven’t said a word to me since last night, and I hate it. A lot. So can we just go back to what we were before? I can bottle. I’m pretty good at bottling.”
Abed tilted his head, thinking for a second, before he responded. “I didn’t stop talking to you on purpose. I just wanted to make sure I understood the dynamic to avoid saying the wrong thing.” He looked down at his shoes, almost embarrassed, before continuing. “I can’t figure out who we are, Troy. A bromance that turns into a romance? It’s practically unheard of, and presents no real purpose other than fanservice. So I have nothing to go off of, no characters to identify as. It’s…” he looked back up at Troy, uncertainty etched on his face. “confusing.”
Troy breathed a laugh, grinning as he grabbed Abed’s hands and looked into his eyes. “Buddy, how about just being Abed for now? Maybe we’re setting a precedent here, being a bromance-turned-romance, and what we do is gonna be the example that others follow in the future. So just for the time being, just do what Abed would do in this situation, and I’ll just do what Troy would do, and we’ll figure it out together. How does that sound?”
Abed’s lips quirked up just the tiniest bit, but Troy knew that was his version of a smile. “I still need a little time to think about it,” Abed muttered, “but this time I’ll think about it as just myself.”
Troy’s smile could blind the sun. “Okay, buddy, sounds good.” And he let go of Abed’s hands and raced him to the cafeteria, where there were hopefully still chicken fingers left.
From around the corner, Jeff, Annie, and Shirley watched as the two boys took off down the hallway. Jeff and Annie turned to Shirley to gauge her reaction to what had just happened, seeing as she hadn’t really explained to anyone how she felt about the recent turn of events.
Upon seeing their expectant faces, Shirley sighed. “Look, I know what you’re thinking, but… Abed and Troy are my friends, and I love them, and so does God, even if they make a few… lapses of judgement now and then. If they’re okay with going against the Word of the Lord, then I have no right to stop them, so I’ll just observe and be happy that they’re happy.”
Jeff and Annie’s faces brightened. “Shirley, that’s very Christian of you,” Annie chirped, grinning as she linked arms with Shirley and they all started off down the hallway to lunch. “I’m sure Troy and Abed will be very glad you’re supportive of them.”
“Well, they’re still going to hell no matter what I do,” Shirley couldn’t help but mutter under her breath. When she was sure she wasn’t heard, she smiled at Annie and Jeff and let them lead her towards the cafeteria for some heavenly chicken.
* * * * *
At study group after school that day, while they were still waiting for Abed to arrive, Shirley explained her feelings to Troy. “I don’t think it’s right to ask you to change who you are, especially since God is the one who made you that way,” she conceded, clasping her hands in front of her on the table and trying her best to look kind.
Troy gave her a small smile and thanked her for being so cool about everything. “But honestly, I don’t know if your blessing will be necessary because I don’t even know how Abed feels. He seemed… vaguely positive, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
Jeff glanced up from his phone and scanned the room. “Where is Abed anyway?”
As if on cue (again), everyone could suddenly hear a violin playing from outside the room. Abed appeared in the door to the library, flanked by none other than a string quartet. As the violinist softly played in the background, Abed started to sing:
Somewhere out there
Beneath the pale moonlight
Troy’s breath hitched as he immediately understood what this was- a grand gesture meant just for the two of them. He broke out into a grin as Abed continued:
Someone’s thinking of me
And loving me tonight
The quartet started up as Abed finished, and Troy stood up from his seat to pick up the duet:
Somewhere out there
Someone’s saying a prayer
That we’ll find one another
In that big somewhere out there
Troy and Abed began walking slowly towards each other, as was called for in the moment, knowing everyone was watching from the table with vague interest in what was going on. Troy continued his part as the quartet performed from the corner of the library.
And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star
Abed carried on the duet as they met in the middle of the room, all shaking hands and blinding smiles.
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we’re sleeping underneath that same big sky
Abed hit the high note as Troy grabbed his hand, turning them to face their audience for the big finale. They both joined in for the last few lines, their voices melting together perfectly as the music swelled around them.
Somewhere out there
If love can see us through
Then we’ll be together
Somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true
The violinist played them out as everyone at the table (except Pierce) stood up to give them a well-deserved round of applause. Troy and Abed took a collective bow, still holding hands and grinning wildly. Troy turned them to face each other as everyone sat down, grabbing Abed’s face in his hands and kissing him. The kiss didn’t last long because both parties were smiling too much for it to even work, but they put their foreheads together instead, breathing in each other’s air and giggling every time their noses accidentally bumped together.
“This is a big act for future Troy-and-Abed’s to follow,” Troy whispered, rubbing his thumbs over Abed’s cheeks just because he could.
“I know,” Abed breathed back. “I wanted to create a unique gesture for people to recreate when they think of us.” He wrapped his arms around Troy’s waist, not caring that the study group was probably staring at them at that moment.
“I love you,” Troy mumbled as he pulled Abed into another kiss, only drawing away when he thought of something. “How did you get a string quartet on such short notice? And how did you afford it?”
“They’re from the Greendale Orchestra, I’m surprised you couldn’t tell,” Abed replied, nodding over to the quartet. Now that he had mentioned it, it was pretty clear that the musicians were composed of a pregnant woman, a homeless man, a middle schooler, and Leonard. Troy laughed because of course, then finally turned him and Abed to face the group, interlacing their fingers in the process.
“I don’t think we needed to see the mushy bits, but your singing was great guys,” Jeff commented, sounding nonchalant but giving away his feelings by beaming widely. Annie and Britta had tears in their eyes and even Shirley looked worked up. Pierce’s eyebrows were knit together as he tried to figure out what was happening. As he opened his mouth to ask, Abed figured it would be best to tell him rather than let him guess something way worse.
“Troy and I are boyfriends now,” he blurted out, glancing over at Troy to see him grinning, never taking his eyes off Abed as he nodded along. The lovestruck expression would probably take some getting used to, but it didn’t seem like it would be a problem. If anything, Abed figured he could stand seeing that face every day for the rest of his life. A face just for him, not playing any character, not doing any impression. Just Troy, being in love with just Abed. And Abed being in love right back.
THE END