A/N: So, I have finally returned with a multi chapter fic! I completely lost all muse for my last one, but so far, I am very motivated to get this one started, all thanks to season six. This first chapter is pretty short, as I wanted a bit of a build up first, but I promise I have more in mind! Thanks for reading.
There was a content smile on Jeff Winger's face as he glanced over towards his girlfriend. Girlfriend. He still found that word a little weird; still couldn't quite comprehend how he was so perfectly happy being so…domestic.
Forty or not, he'd never been a fan of this lifestyle. It always ended badly; he was always so sure he was going to end up abandoned. If his own father could pull that kind of crap, who even knew what a girlfriend could do?
But she knew him inside out. She'd seen the best and the worst of him, been through so much with him, and yet she was still here. There was nothing to be afraid of with her, and he knew, after all these months of dating, that things weren't suddenly going to take a turn for the worst.
They had, like all couples, had their fights. There'd been disagreements, and despite both of them being stubborn and hot-headed individuals, they always came out of the other side stronger than before.
All in all, he was more than happy; he was ecstatic.
There was only one problem with this whole thing, really: the rest of the study group were still entirely unaware that Jeff Winger was in a serious relationship with Annie Edison.
It had never come up, really.
After all the ridiculous questions Jeff had been forced to answer, when he'd gone to the Dean about the 'student/teacher relationship' between himself and Slater, he had decided against letting the school know. Given their circumstances, and the fact the community college was still something of a joke, he was fairly sure nobody was going to get in trouble for it.
Surprisingly, Annie had agreed.
They hadn't attempted to step into relationship territory until the aftermath of saving Greendale; until he'd realised…so much.
When Annie turned around, he was still staring at her; she was overwhelmed by that sudden realisation. He'd been looking at her. Specifically at her.
There had been no 'screw it' moment, no throwing caution to the wind, and making out in his car the second they were aware from the group – Jeff had, for the first time in his life, talked throughout the night with a woman about his feelings.
Everything had been thrown out onto the table; they'd both admitted their fears, their struggles, everything they had felt over the years…and then came what was, quite frankly, a truly awesome summer.
When he'd imagined having sex with Annie, he hadn't quite expected her to seem so…aware of what she was doing. He knew she didn't have all that much experience, but she'd certainly learnt from somewhere.
It had been a mind blowing, awesome summer, and quite frankly, he'd found it hard to hide how happy he was, when he returned to Greendale after break.
Being a teacher there was still a pretty pathetic existence, but half of the time, he was just glad to know that he could still see Annie on a daily basis. They were both rather content in their choices, and somehow, it simply hadn't come up to the rest of the group.
Annie spent the summer feeling as if she was on cloud nine.
It didn't bother her that Jeff was technically a professor now; everybody knew what their confusing dynamic had been like over the years, and quite frankly, she didn't like to tell Dean Pelton – she was rather scared to see what kind of breakdown he would have, if he learnt that Jeff was no longer single.
With the exception of her narcotics addiction, which truly wasn't something she counted in this kind of situation, the twenty-four year old had never really done anything rebellious before. She'd not broken the rules, or gone all that off book, and knowing that nobody knew that they were finally dating was actually rather exciting.
Of course, 'excitement' slowly died down, in that particular aspect of things.
She, like him, was happy. Truly, undeniably happy, and that seemed to be about all there was to it.
And, as weeks went by, it seemed as if there was no 'right' moment to tell the group.
After all, how were they meant to admit, out of nowhere, that they'd been dating for quite awhile already? Really, it just didn't seem important.
After a weird couple of days, filled with prisoners, almost being murdered, and a temporary suspension, Jeff found himself curled up on his couch with Annie – and he was inclined to wonder why every day couldn't be like this. Why couldn't he always feel this damn happy?
With a smile, he tilted her head up in order to kiss her, and couldn't help but grinning against her lips, as he heard her happy hum.
It was funny, really, to think that they could have been this happy with everything for years now, if he hadn't been so damn worried about what others might have to say on the matter.
Still, he'd learnt not to ruin his own happiness by dwelling on the 'what ifs'.