Author's Note: Ever since reading rashaka's Lava World story, I've been wanting to write something in that 'verse, since the way I think it tends to be written is pretty AU. And this is vaguely non-canon compliant (for reasons aside from the smut) since it assumes a much longer timeline, somewhere in or around 24-48 hours including stretching out events in the episode, and it presumes that there was a fairly well-established society of survivors organized by Shirley... Well, you'll see.

She tugged at the cord attached to the binoculars around his neck and he sighed as he moved in closer so that she could reach them. It wasn't that he minded, not exactly, but it was a pain in the ass. This was only the second time she had used their newly acquired equipment in the last hour but he knew Annie which meant it would be far from the last time today. He'd just have to get used to it, he supposed.

They had discovered the hard way that, annoying or not, him wearing their looted booty was the best method for sharing the binoculars. Having to hand them over to the other person? Wasted too much time. Attaching them to their waists? Interfered with mobility. Looping it loosely through their belt loops? Not nearly secure enough, easy pickings for desperate souls roaming the lavaways. He'd probably end up with weird looking rope burns before Lava World eventually consumed itself, but, yeah, it had proved the best option for them.

Having decided he'd suck it up, it was the ivery next/i minute that Jeff discovered their glaring miscalculation, the drawback they had forgotten to weigh: the potential for dangerous distractions.

Annie adjusted the binoculars as she looked through the viewfiender and yanked gently, pulling him along too. Jeff ended up hunched over, nose buried in her hair, lips brushing her temple, body angled against hers trying for the optimal position instinctively. Only one thought was left in Jeff's head at that point and it was one that would surely get him killed tonight: he had to know what hair care products she used and did any of them have a slightly less fruity scent? Because Annie's hair smelled great and considering they'd been at school for 7 hours and counting and she had transformed into a formidable warrior during an unusually intense game of Lava World... It was surprisingly bouncy.

That kind of distraction would mean death if he couldn't put his curiosity aside and focus on the very real dangers of Lava World; Chang's Locker Boys, Garrett's siren cry, Leonard's spitball attacks, and the most dangerous of all, lava floors.

Two hours later, Annie had satisfied his curiosity.

"I use a drugstore shampoo but I splurge on conditioner. And I have a overnight leave-in that I use once a week. I stick to using mousse because it has a lighter consistency and I only use sulfate-free products." Not for the first time tonight, Jeff wished he had a pen and a pad of paper but those had gone the way of civility in the new world; hard to find and even harder to hold on to.

"You're going to have to text me the names of the brands because I don't get that kind of longevity out of my-"

"Shh." She cut him off and grabbed the binoculars directly, pulling him, slightly off-balance at the unexpected, toward her once again. He steadied himself with a hand on the chair she was perched on and the other resting on her knee, just for somewhere to put it. They had been crouched on chairs, relaxing and shooting the shit during an unexpected but welcome period of downtime during their shift on sentry duty, and now, he found his face pressed against her cheek. Without questions about her hair plaguing him, Jeff couldn't help but notice how soft her skin was. She turned slightly, whispering, and her lips were only a fraction removed from his when she spoke.

"It looks like we have incoming. Not sure if they're hostile or not but they're not trying to be stealthy so I'm hoping it's the latter. But... Be ready." He nodded in understanding and their relaxed posture shifted into a readiness to pounce.

They tensed bodies relaxed a few minutes later as Troy and Abed, thinly camouflaged with plastic bags and crumpled papers, came into clear view.

"Jeff, Annie." They both nodded in acknowledgement at Abed's greeting.

"How's everyone holding up inside? Shirley still got everything under control?"

"She's had to set a few examples but, everyone understands it's a safe place now." Annie's explanation was accompanied by a slight smile as she answered Troy's question. "It's been nice. Good for everyone." Troy smiled and patted her shoulder as they made their way past them. Her gaze followed them before the blankets obscuring the entrance swallowed their retreating forms. "What time is it?" Jeff startled out of watching her at the question and checked his watch.

"6:15PM. Almost quitting time." Her response was a sigh as she leaned her head on his shoulder. He didn't say a word. Sometimes, in times like these, you needed a moment, just a few precious seconds, to let the weight of their new reality sink in. The people who didn't have a partner, the lone wolves, they lost it fast. He'd seen it happen. They jumped into the lava rather than be captured or they went too far without a friend to temper the dreams of power and death that lurked in all of them.

The end of their shift couldn't come soon enough.

They had grabbed dinner, care of Shirley, before they retreated to a secluded corner of Shirley Island with a good view of the other inhabitants and the door. They were reclined on chairs covered in cushions, three-wide, trying to rest up before their shift as rovers came up at 9.

"What would you be doing right now, if we... If Lava World had never happened?" The question popped out of his mouth unexpectedly, surprisingly even himself. Annie turned to look at him, rolling along his outstretched arm so she was curled into his side.

"The same thing I would've been doing any other night back then. Finished up any reading I had, washed my face," She rolled her eyes as she took in his interested expression, "Yes, I'll give you a list of my skincare products too." She huffed out a silent laugh, her eyes bright. "Then I would've watched something with Abed and Troy for a bit and I would've headed to bed by 10, a book in hand or... You know, something that would've helped me relax."

"That sounds pretty good right now." She sighed, her eyes falling closed and her eyelashes fluttering gently against his chin. Her eyes opened slowly after a second.

"What about you, Jeff?" He considered her silently before shrugging.

"You promise not to tell anyone? Upon pain of death?" Her eyebrow raised in question but she nodded anyway. "Dinner, review my lesson plan, catch up on something sitting on my DVR and then my night time skincare routine, and bed." He looked at her, slightly uncomfortable, before he chuckled. "Boring, I know, right?" It was her turn to shrug.

"Is it? It sounds exactly like what I'd be doing. except I like to read in bed." He ran back over the conversation in his head and found himself relaxing into the cushioned chair, unaware he'd even been tensed. "Besides," He arched an eyebrow as she continued, "how could I ever think you're boring? We're fighting for our survival in Lava World, we're partners, I know better than that." She nudged his shoulder with her head and he smiled, his arm curling down around her.

They were silent after that.

It was their second shift as rovers when they ran into Britta, Chang's Locker Boys, and heard the rumblings of worse, Hickey's death machine all in one go. They glanced at each other, intuitively understanding what this meant; it meant no breaks, no rest, no time to relax. It would be all recon, and hyper vigilance, planning and preparation from here on out. Upon arriving back at Shirley Island after their encounter with Britta and Troy and Abed, they discovered the news had already spread far and wide, quickly and without constraint. It was the beginning of something, something big, and everyone knew it.

They were sent back out almost as soon as they got in the door.

Jeff moved slowly, cautiously, as they advanced along the hallway. They'd heard the Locker Boys were mostly done for but it didn't hurt to be careful. Annie was just as wary. She kept a close watch for any sign of movement and her hand stayed near to the binoculars at all times. She was, she confessed after her third unnecessary and sudden glance through the binoculars, a little jumpy.

"I couldn't tell." He smiled as he said it, teasing her, trying to help ease a little of her tension. He gloried in her rolled eyes. "Do you want to just take them?" He pointed at the binoculars but she just shook her head.

"I'm so used to them being around your neck that I'd probably forget I had them. Besides, what if you need to use them? It's easier for you to lean down than for me to stretch up." He gave a short nod and opened his mouth to respond when he was cut short by her sharp tug on the binoculars. He was pulled into the gesture as usual and grabbed her chair to steady himself, barely managing to suppress a less-than-dignified squawk. "Sorry." She turned her head to whisper the apology and her lips brushed against his.

They were still for a moment, neither of them certain what to do or how to move. He drew in a quick breath involuntarily, her lips drawn along with it, and that was all it took. Her tongue darted out to wet her lip, the lips already flush against his, and they were kissing frantically.

It was the danger, the constant threat of something, or, Jeff acknowledged, it was despite that.

Regardless, this was happening.

A faint noise, far down the hallway, had them breaking apart, gasping. It was amazing how fast Annie could go back to being all-business, all traces of lust wiped off her face. He admired her ruthless tenacity because his own heart was beating like he'd just finished a ten mile run and his breathing sounded loud in his ears.

"We, uh, we need to... To keep moving." Her fractured speech gave him some comfort that he wasn't the only one that was struggling to get his urges under control. Then he acknowledged the truth in her words. As much as he wanted to do otherwise, they had a duty.

"After you, milady." She smiled.

It had taken them 20 minutes but they had made it down past a second hallway, a combination of experience and luck. They'd been partners since the beginning and 'in tune' wasn't enough to describe their synchronicity after hours of working and moving together.

It was the sound of thumping, far off but loud, that caught their attention. As one, they perked up, Jeff cocking his head to concentrate on the noise and Annie tugging at the binoculars to try to get eyes on the situation.

"It doesn't sound like chairs." She had the binoculars to her face as she nodded and he dipped lower as the cord rasped against his neck.

"No, it doesn't and I can't see any movement, there's-" She lowered the binoculars, still holding them, and made eye contact, her eyes lingering for a second on his lips, "Nothing happening in the immediate vicinity." He swallowed roughly, nodding in agreement, before his eyes dropped to her mouth, focusing on the teeth biting into her lower lip.

"Should we investigate? Find out if it's something dangerous, or..?"

"I don't know... Maybe we should just make our way to the end of this hallway and then reassess. It might be safer, smarter, to head back to Shirley Island and report our findings. We can make a plan of action from there. We can explore our options later." Forcing his eyes away from her, he noted her deep breath, and without another word, they pressed forward.

It didn't take them long to make it to the end of the hallway, already their third, an impressive accomplishment given they were only in the first half of their shift. They paused at the corner, bracing themselves against the wall, and tried to come up with a viable strategy. It was Annie who spoke first.

"Let's double up for now. We'll stick my chair behind yours, and we'll be ready to centipede if we have to retreat." It took less than a minute of consideration before he agreed. They arranged themselves quickly, Annie in front, binoculars already in her hand. "Oh god." He could feel the tension leave her as she relaxed her body against his.

"What, what is it?"

"The noise we heard, I'm not 100% sure but I think, I mean I'm pretty sure, it's the boiler room. I think," She hesitated, squinting through the binoculars, "I think it may have been ransacked or tampered with, but we're safe for now. Hickey was probably here, if I had to guess, but he's long gone now." He turned to look at her and felt some of his tension ease at her expression. She handed him the binoculars anyway, knowing that seeing was believing. He leaned forward, just slightly around the corner, as Annie turned to face him so that she wasn't in his way.

"I don't want to be too optimistic but, I think you're right." He smiled at her, still leaning forward, and she brought an arm up around his shoulders to keep her balance. He anchored an arm around her waist to help, peering through the binoculars once more before lowering them to his chest. He straightened, their arms still around each other, but didn't make a move to let go. Neither did she.

Moving as one, their lips met and it was messy and hot and so, so good.

He pulled her up, just a little, and her legs widened their stance but it wasn't enough. She slid down, mewling into his mouth, and moved her lips down his jaw.

"Sit." She murmured the command against his neck and he scrambled, as best he could, to obey. Their chairs were facing each other and while it meant he'd have to keep his knees bent, they'd definitely have more room to manoeuvre. The wonders of Annie's ruthless tenacity at work again. She followed him down, back resting against his drawn up legs, straddling his rapidly hardening cock, and teeth biting at his lips. This new position also freed up his hands which was a definite improvement. He slid them up her legs, resting them on her hips, helping her work herself against him.

She moaned in encouragement but somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew this wasn't the time or place to get her off. Instead, he moved them up, brushing her nipples through her shirt, her sweater discarded back at Shirley Island during their most recent rest period. They hardened under his fingers and he pinched them gently, filing away how her thighs tightened around his hips for future reference.

Given her situational awareness, Jeff hadn't expected Annie to let this go on indefinitely and, much to his dismay and grudging admiration, she pulled back after a few more minutes rocking against him.

"We can't, mmm," She let out a low indistinct moan as he kissed her neck. "We can't stay here. Our shift is almost done but we should tell Shirley and everyone else what we learned." He planted one more kiss against her pulse point before drawing back and nodding determinedly. This wasn't the time or place. They disentangled themselves slowly, righting clothes, smoothing expressions, and getting back into position.

With a last look down the hallway, they made their way back.

As it happened, their shift wasn't as finished as they had hoped.

Their report delivered, they went to grab drinks, taking advantage of the policy that privileged rovers, entitling them to premium rations. They moved back to their secluded corner, drinks in hand. It wasn't hard to look around and see how the fear was getting to people. Shirley was doing her best and it was a damn fine job at that. But people were scared and spirits were flagging. More and more rovers were being sent out, sentries were pulling double duty, and everyone was training, devising new techniques and strategies as they tried valiantly to prepare for the unknown.

It only took a look from Annie to know that they wouldn't be staying here for long.

"You want to go back out." It was a statement, not a question.

"Just for a bit. We're both tired, we need to recuperate or we'll be useless if something does happen, but... I need to know."

"Of course you do." He sighed. "Okay, but we're only moving through areas we know." She nodded her agreement. "We'll move toward my classroom, make our way to my office, I'm pretty sure Hickey and I left it locked, and then we'll come back." The smile that spread across her face drew an eye roll out of him. "Right back, Annie." She nodded quickly. "Verbal agreement or this is a no go." She huffed but caved.

"Yes, Jeff, I agree to your terms."

"Good." They finished their drinks, lingering to soak up a few minutes of the relative security provided by Shirley Island. He let his eyes rest on Annie; tired, dishevelled and still somehow looking more together than nearly anyone else present. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

They'd been back less than twenty minutes before they headed, once more, into the great unknown.