Disclaimer: Community is property of Dan Harmon, NBC, et al. No copyright infringement is intended, and I am making no money from this story.
A/N: This was written for my brother, a Jeff/Abed fan. He gave me a list of prompts to write with, and despite the first three of them being jokes, I managed to work them all in. The prompts were: orange, pig, pants, fake, habit and hungry. He also asked me to include a game of some sort. I did my best!
Jeff likes to watch Abed.
It starts one Tuesday afternoon in the study room, when it's just the two of them. The day has been long, terribly long, and far too hot. And Jeff is bored. He sits in his usual chair around the table, while Abed has seated himself on the floor with his back against one of the couches. Abed either hasn't noticed Jeff has entered the room, or is too busy with what he's doing to bother with conversation, because he hasn't looked up once since Jeff sat down. Jeff doesn't mind.
He sits at the table in silence, a book open but ignored in front of him. He can feel a streak of sweat sliding down his back, and wonders how he can possibly be sweating when the air conditioning is on full blast. He taps a pen quietly on the pages of his book, and looks over at Abed.
Abed is totally absorbed in his own book, a notebook with a bright orange cover. He turns the pages occasionally, eyes scanning each one slowly, carefully. Jeff wonders what's in the notebook to so capture Abed's interest. Maybe something he and Troy have been cooking up together. Or maybe some new set of charts and figures tracking something as equally disturbing as the girls' menstrual cycles. The more he thinks about it, the more Jeff wants to know. He is about to open his mouth and interrupt Abed, ask him what he's reading, when the door to the study room opens and the rest of the group file in, talking amongst themselves. This is enough to disrupt Abed, who closes the orange notebook gently, and stows it away in his bag, before joining the group at the table.
The next time Jeff finds himself watching Abed, it is a Friday morning. Abed and Troy are sitting together on one of the couches in the study room, talking excitedly about something completely ridiculous. Jeff isn't really paying attention. Nor is he paying attention to Britta, who is seated beside him on the opposite couch, talking at length to him about some issue or another. What Jeff is actually paying attention to is Abed.
First it's his hands. They twist and turn as Abed speaks to Troy, illustrating each point with a gesture. His fingers are long and slender, his palms large and rounded. Jeff decides he rather likes Abed's hands.
Then there's his mouth. Abed's mouth is interesting. The way he curls his lips around each word, the way his tongue flicks out every now and then, just slightly, to wet those lips. The way he constantly looks like smiling, but never quite commits. Jeff decides he rather likes Abed's mouth.
And of course, there's his voice. Most people seemed to find Abed's voice robotic and insincere, but Jeff finds something soothing in the constant tone. There is comfort in the familiarity of it, and the way he annunciates each word with perfect clarity. It's nice to listen to. Jeff decides he rather likes Abed's voice.
In fact, Jeff decides he rather likes Abed as a whole.
He tries to focus on what Britta is saying, but in reality he is too caught up in watching Abed to know what it is she's talking about. He can only hope she won't bring it up later on.
Jeff watches Abed again on Monday. It is lunch time, and the whole group is in the cafeteria. They are sitting at opposite ends of the table, the rest of the group between them. There is a tray in front of Jeff, but no food on it. Jeff knows he should eat something, but he just doesn't feel hungry. It is enough for him to watch Abed eat.
There is a specific way Abed bites into his food that fascinates Jeff. He seems to always take just a little too much into his mouth at one time, and then has to really work to chew through each mouthful. It should be off-putting, but Jeff finds it sweet and amusing. He has started to find more and more things Abed does sweet and amusing, at that.
He shakes his head, deliberately not thinking about how much Abed can fit in his mouth, and watches him finish his lunch in silence.
It becomes habit before too long. Whenever they are in the same vicinity, Jeff observes Abed, never saying anything, always averting his gaze if Abed looks his way.
Two weeks later, and Jeff is, as usual, watching. Just watching. Like that Tuesday several weeks prior, he and Abed are alone in the study room. They both sit at the table, neither one talking. Abed is doing a crossword puzzle. Jeff is pretending to send a text message, but is actually just typing the word 'no' over and over again. That should probably mean something, he thinks vaguely, but he isn't prepared to delve any deeper. Instead he continues hitting the keys, and looking at Abed over the top of his phone.
Abed is chewing on the end of his pencil. The soft sound of teeth biting through wood fills Jeff's ears. He writes the word 'maybe?' on his phone. Then suddenly, Abed speaks.
"You've been watching me," he says without looking up.
Jeff puts his phone down on the table, and tries to deny this.
"Don't try to deny it Jeff. I know. I'm usually the one doing the observing. I notice these things." He sounds so calm. He still hasn't looked up from his puzzle.
"Right," Jeff says. He can't think of anything else to say.
"I just have one question," Abed continues. He finally looks up, straight at Jeff. "Why?"
Jeff pauses for too long. He can feel an uncharacteristic blush rising in his cheeks. He wills it away, blinks hard, and opens his mouth. "You're… interesting to watch," he supplies.
"What is it about me that you find so interesting, Jeff?" Again, so calm. So serious.
Jeff pauses again. Then he lets out a long, soft breath, the word, "Everything," escaping his mouth and floating away before he can stop it. His immediate feeling is to regret what he's said. But then Abed does something unexpected.
He smiles.
It's a proper, fully formed smile, with just a glimpse of teeth. And he stands up, and walks over to stand beside Jeff. He places a hand on the man's shoulder and says, "I'm not that interesting. But I'm flattered that you think I am. I think I am about to do something very interesting though, and not at all like me."
Jeff turns his head slightly and looks up at him. Abed is still smiling, just slightly now, but still real. Everything about Abed is real, Jeff has noticed. He has no want to be fake, unlike Jeff. Half the things Jeff does are phoney. He thinks perhaps he should work on that some, when all of a sudden Abed is bending down, closing his eyes, and kissing Jeff.
It is a quick, gentle kiss. Jeff has had better, and he has had worse. But he has never had one quite like it.
They are both quiet for a time. Then Abed invites Jeff back to his dorm room. Jeff doesn't know what to say. He picks up his mobile phone, and looks at the screen. 'No' a dozen times, then 'maybe'. He keys in 'yes'. He saves the message to his drafts. Then he nods, and Abed takes him by the wrist, and leads him down the hall, crossword puzzle left forgotten on the study room table.
In the dorm room, they kiss again. Jeff's stubble scratches against the soft skin of Abed's cheek. Then Abed touches him, almost gingerly, on the hip. It isn't much, but it is enough. Jeff's pants suddenly feel tight, and he shifts uncomfortably. Abed's hand doesn't leave his side.
"Jeff?" Abed says.
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you were watching me."
Jeff feels dopey, but is absolutely sincere when he replies, "Me too, Abed. Me too."
Abed removes his hand from Jeff's hip, and touches his face just as tenderly. "It feels good to be considered interesting, even when you're not."
"You're more interesting than a flying pig," Jeff says, then decides perhaps he's ruined the moment they were having by mentioning pigs.
Unsurprisingly, Abed withdraws his hand from Jeff's face. And he laughs.
Maybe Jeff has ruined the moment. But it is worth it just to hear that sound.