Spoilers: Lots of spoilery stuff is used in this fic, so don't read if you're avoiding spoilers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Community, yo

Something

Something's going to happen.

They both know it, but neither wants to be the first to acknowledge it. Annie knows that if she brings it up, Jeff will do what he does best: deny, deny, deny, and then any chance of them ever moving forward will be gone. Jeff doesn't want to bring it up because he's still concerned about looking like the aggressor in his relationship with Annie. At least if she comes to him, then their friends won't be able to claim he seduced her with ill-intent.

So they wait. They wait, and they get closer, and each day they let slip a little more; just another tiny nugget that assures them both, in the deep recesses of their minds, that something is going to happen.

It doesn't start with the look, but the look makes it more real to Jeff than it was before. Annie can berate him for doing bad things, and then smile widely when he makes them right; she can nod along with his speeches, and implore him to fix things because he is the leader; but the look... the look is different. It isn't for anyone. It isn't planned. It isn't overdone. It isn't anything. It's just a look.

But when her smile reaches her eyes, Jeff realizes just how long it's been since she's looked at him that way, and he knows in his gut that he doesn't really have it within him to ignore the way it makes him feel anymore. Everything has been awful for so long, and in a single smile, a flash in time, it all melts away and he feels calm. She is reassurance in human form, and she brings him back down to an even keel.

And he knows in that moment that something is going to happen. It has to, because he isn't sure he will be able to stop himself from kissing her the next chance he gets.

He goes home. He doesn't kiss her goodnight the way he wants to, but he does leave her with a lingering hug and the promise of a text message to assure her that he makes it home safely. For the baby of the group, it amuses him how often she acts like the mother.

When he does arrive home, he pulls out his cell phone and sends her a cheeky message teasing her for her concern. She texts back that it's not silly to be concerned about her friends, and he tells her that it is when they've got guns like his. She texts that she hasn't noticed his 'guns,' and that maybe he should work out more. She follows this up with an emoticon of a silly face to let him know she's joking, and that of course she's noticed. It's hard not to.

Jeff smiles down at his phone, preparing to tease her for the insinuation, only to have it buzz in his hand. Annie tells him she's going to bed, and he curses at himself for missing his window of opportunity to carry on with her. After a pretty bad night, he really wants to talk to his best friend.

Jeff invites the gang out to dinner, and Annie refuses, saying she wants to hang out with Abed in the Dreamtorium. She wants to know what he gets up to in there, and she's doing her best to become closer friends with him since they're living together now. It's hard for her to know what he's thinking (when and when not to throw out the buttered noodles), so she's going the extra mile to be his buddy.

Jeff brushes her dismissal off and goes out with the rest of the group. The table at the restaurant, technically, is full with him and four of his friends, but even though there aren't two empty seats, it still seems like something's missing. He's trying really hard not to be jealous that Abed has Annie to himself right now.

Annie texts him later to tell him a little bit about the secret world of the Dreamatorium, but her tone has changed. She's less flirty than she usually is, and when he tries to throw her with an insinuation, she deflects it like a pro.

He goes to bed that night feeling really empty.

At school Abed is acting weird, but that's to be expected. What's really weird is that Annie is acting weird. She isn't meeting Jeff's eye, and she's not carrying on with him playfully like she usually does. Jeff has a sinking feeling that somehow between 'the look' and the Dreamatorium episode, everything has changed between them. He wants to blame Abed for this, but he knows he can't. Not really. If there is any one person to blame, it's him for not kissing her on his way out the door.

Jeff corners Annie after Biology. He demands to know why she's being so evasive, and she gives him a long, rambling explanation about why he's bad for her mental health. She cites not only legitimate reasons (relationships are complicated, it's all in your head, discretion), but things that make absolutely no sense (earth two, one-armed Jeff from the darkest timeline). He doesn't bother arguing with her on any of the counts because he knows that even if he doesn't understand it all, these are legitimate reasons for her.

She doesn't meet his eye when she tells him they should just focus on their friendship—that their friendship is important to her and she never wants to lose him in that capacity. Jeff promises that she'll never lose him, period. She seems unconvinced and leaves before the tears brimming in her eyes can fall.

Jeff needs to know what the hell happened in the Dreamtorium. Then he needs to burn it down... or, you know, furnish it.

Jeff attempts to threaten Abed into giving up what went down in the Dreamtorium, but he should know by now that Abed doesn't deal in threats, especially when he knows they're empty. The younger man is tight-lipped, but makes a few cryptic comments about Annie embarking on a new story arc without messy love quadrangles. Jeff tries to think of who the fourth person in that quadrangle is. He hopes to heck it's not Abed.

He finds out later about the text Troy sent to Britta during the Blade debacle and feels no small amount of relief that Annie hasn't already moved on.

Jeff asks Annie about her new story arc. She looks at him wide-eyed and plays dumb, but he knows she knows what he's talking about. They both spend too much time around Abed, who maps out their lives like they're characters in a TV show.

She tells him that she's simply focusing her attention on the things that matter: grades, friends and finding a job to fill her time in the summer months. She plans to volunteer at the local hospital under the health care administrator there, gaining valuable experience in her field of choice so she'll be able to use him as a reference when she applies to masters programs next year.

"That's great," Jeff says. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"Nothing," she answers. "That's the point."

Annie walks away and Jeff hangs back to let that sting for a moment. She's genuinely trying to cut him off now, right when he's more ready than ever to let her in.

He wonders if this is Karma paying him back for not accepting her when she was offering herself to him.

Someone sabotages their Biology project. It's a disaster, and Professor Kane, ever the philanthropist, offers them a C for their efforts. Annie loses it and goes on a mission to find the guilty party and make them pay. She drags Jeff along with her, not because she's ready to let him become a part of her new story arc, but because he used to be a lawyer and he should be good at this kind of thing.

As it turns out, she doesn't really need his help at all. She's more adept as a lawyer after an hour than he was after years of practicing. He can't help the way that turns him on.

And then he remembers that she's cut him off romantically, and his heart hurts.

Annie catches up with him as he's leaving the building. She's radiating happiness and confidence, and it actually gives Jeff a moment of pause. He's been consumed with the way her decisions are impacting him, but hasn't taken much time to really consider what they're doing for her. She smiles at him brightly and her eyes crinkle at the corners. It's not the same 'look' from weeks earlier. It doesn't hold the same promises and secrets that that one did... but it's nice anyway. She's happy, and he's helped her get there.

He goes home feeling better than he has ever since the Dreamatorium debacle.

It's almost 2 a.m. when Annie knocks on Jeff's door. It's pouring rain outside and she soaked through to the bone, but she doesn't shiver. Instead she closes his apartment door behind her and wraps her arms tightly around his middle, resting her ear over his heart. He wraps her up in his arms and ignores the chill and wetness permeating his clothes and his entire body.

"I'm sorry," she mumbles against his shirt. He rests his cheek on top of her wet head.

"Me too," he says softly. It's all he needs to say. They both know that when it comes right down to it, their relationship is a series of mistakes and slights, on both of their parts. The word 'sorry' means more than just, "I'm sorry I said it was all in your head," or, "I'm sorry I said I was done with you." It means they're both done. It's not worth fighting anymore, and they're sorry they ever tried.

Jeff helps Annie peel off her soaked layers of clothes and pulls her with him into the bathroom where they both get under the hot spray of the shower. They warm up together while their lips and fingertips ghost over each other's bodies.

They knew something was going to happen. Some things just needed to happen before it could.

End

This fic was unplanned, and I honestly didn't know where I was going with it when I started writing. I hope it makes sense, lol.

Hope you liked it. Let me know!