A/N: Wow guys. I did not expect such a response from everyone! Someone even asked if I planned on a sequel for this and the story didn't even end yet. Thank you very much for your support and encouragement for this story. I planned on posting in on the 31st but decided to go for earlier after such kind words from you all. Hope this finale meets up to the Annie/Abed ship standards! Thank you so much for staying with me all this time.

A/N 2: Anon review responses (in order from when I received them)- Guest: Most flattering threat ever. Well, since I don't like being taken hostage here's a very early and final update for Lessons in Modern Chivalry haha. / Anon: Me too! I read one where it was Abed wrapping up Annie's injury and that made me feel all squishy inside. / Guest: I am glad you enjoyed it! Jealous and offended Annie is pretty amusing to me. / Isabella: Not at all! Contrarily it was a huge compliment haha. Thank you for your review and I am glad you could see it in an episode. Hopefully we do get something like this in the 4th season because according to the Comic-Con panel, they were planning on having the Greendale 7 head to a convention of sorts. I do have other Annie/Abed stories in mind so hopefully you'll read those when I get them out. / Guest: Thank you! The best compliment is when someone says they can see this happening in the show, or see it being an episode. I hope this final chapter meets up with your expectations! / Guest: Thank you for the review! I hope this last chapter ties everything up for you nicely! / Atrus Valentein: Ask and you shall receive! Here is the final chapter, wayyy before Friday.


Chapter 7: A Moment

The man pulled down his hood, revealing a grinning Troy.

Annie clutched her chest, breathing hard as she calmed herself down. "Troy!" then as an afterthought to his cheap hooded disguise, "I can't believe that actually worked."

Troy walked over to them, reaching forward to give Abed a long-awaited Troy-and-Abed handshake, only to find Abed's hand was wrapped. "Han, what happened?"

"It's not wise to upset a Wookie."

Troy's eyes grew large. He leaned in close, his voice lowering to a slow, urgent whisper. "You punched a Wookie?"

Abed Solo nodded once.

Troy leaned back. "Whoa."

Annie chose not to correct Troy's thoughts as she gave him a hug of greeting. "It's good to know you made it out."

"Not out. In." Troy said.

Abed Solo rose an eyebrow.

Troy gave him a slow nod.

"Is this a movie reference I'm not getting?" Annie asked.

"No, Annie. We're not leaving yet. We're going back in there." Troy pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and offered it to her. Annie took it.

"'Putting the pop in your culture one disc at a time'? Troy, this is a flyer giveaway from one of the convention booths."

"Yes it is, Annie." Troy said seriously, "But everyone knows you can't start talking about a plan without laying out paper like you have a plan. It's unprofessional."

Annie threw her hands up in defeat.

"So this is what we do," Troy continued, taking the paper back from Annie, "We go back in there, but this time with our hoods up."

"Troy, we don't have hoods." Annie said in exasperation.

"Change of plan. I go back in there and buy you guys two outfits with hoods. Then I'll come back here so you guys can change and we can all go inside again."

Abed Solo and Annie nodded in agreement.

"Make sure it's something we can put on over our outfits." Annie added. "Abed can probably get away with a sweater since his pants are pretty normal… but I'm going to need pants and a top."

"Short-shorts and a sports bra, got it."

"Troy!"

"And a cape!" Troy quickly added.

"Troy, I said to put over our outfits. To cover us? A sports bra and short-shorts won't do that."

"I said a cape too!"

She gave him a threatening look.

"Okay. Sweats and a shirt. Stop pointing your laser eyes at me."

Annie smiled, pleased.

Troy turned to leave.

"Hey Luke?" Abed called after him.

Troy looked over his shoulder.

"May the Force be with you."

Troy gave Abed a smile and put his hood up and Annie watched him disappear around the corner of a building. She felt a jacket being placed around her shoulders. Annie looked over her shoulder and at Abed who just finished putting his vest on her. He shrugged, his eyes focused on one of the seams on the vest. "You were shivering. It's not much, but it's better than what you had on."

"Abed?" Annie asked, unsure.

Abed's eyes moved to her face.

"You're not Han Solo anymore?"

"No. The jacket came off." He walked a couple steps to the sidewalk and sat down on the space of curb in between Annie's car and another in front of it. He placed his hands carefully on his knees.

Annie followed his example and sat down beside him, pulling the vest closer around her arms. "Aren't you cold?"

Abed shook his head. "The female body conserves more heat around core organs causing less warmth to circulate to extremities like hands or feet— making women feel cold faster."

"Thank… you, I think."

"No problem."

They sat in silence for a moment. Then spoke at the same time,

"It was cool of you to come as Leia—"

"About the Firefly panel—"

They both paused.

"You first," Abed decided.

"Okay, well," Annie started, taking a deep breath. "I am really, really sorry about you and Troy missing the Firefly panel. It was my fault."

"No, it probably was better this way. The actors are never as interesting as the characters they play. I was setting us up for regret." Abed nodded, his eyes far away in thought. "Yeah. It was better that we missed the panel. I'd only be disappointed to find that Summer Glau didn't actually have the inner turmoil and complexities of a psychic girl prodigy pursued by the Blue Sun Corporation."

Annie looked confused. "What?"

"You know, 'two by two, hands of blue'—"

"No, I know who the Blue Gloves are— we had a Firefly marathon last month, remember? I meant, why did you punch the reporter then? It was not very in-character of Han Solo to just punch anyone out of the blue."

"Oh. That." Abed looked at his fingers curiously, as if he just realized they were broken. "He touched you. It made you uncomfortable."

There was a short pause. Annie's eyes widened a little at the edges in realization, then softened. Abed was pointedly not looking at her while he examined his hands, turning his hand over so it was palm up…

"Yes," Annie began, slowly, "but you shouldn't hit someone for it."

"Why not?" Abed said so quickly it was almost an interruption. His attention snapped back to her and for a moment Annie saw that he was livid. Just for a moment. Then it was gone, a thin façade of control slipping easily over his features. He looked back at his broken fingers, the only evidence that he was ever furious playing in the tremor of his hands.

Another pause passed as Annie took Abed's demeanor in. His mannerisms felt familiar— her thoughts traced back to a vague memory: Abed examining his Indiana Jones whip as she scolded him about leaving if he had been so livid... Her eyes wandered the features of his face, in quick searching movements.

"Because," Annie began, licking her lips unconsciously. She wondered why her mouth was suddenly dry and her words were all of a sudden so hard to find, "you could've gotten hurt. What if he punched you back?"

"Then I would have punched him again. Harder." His voice was devoid of any trace of emotion, yet Annie knew he meant every word.

"But Abed, hitting people is wrong. Violence, is wrong—"

"What he did to you was wrong."

"Well, yes—"

"Annie," Abed said, looking away from his hands and staring placidly at something across the road, "I believe in eye for an eye. I cheer for the underdogs on TV not because it's popular, but because in TV the formula dictates they get their revenge against the bully. I've come to the defense of my friends before. And so have you. I think you will recall the fight for Jeff's manhood during our first Christmas together two years ago?"

"But that was different."

"How? Jeff was threatened. You were threatened. When you boil it down, the fundamental elements of the conflict remain the same. If anything, yours warrants more reason as you had been physically and mentally violated whereas Jeff got in trouble only because he deliberately involved himself in the crossfire to defend me for getting cookies for the group."

"But that affected the whole group," Annie reasoned, soothingly, "That was important."

Abed looked at Annie again. "You're important."

Annie's eyes widened under the weight of his words. As if realizing he said too much, Abed looked back at his injured hand, resting on his knee. He continued on. "By hitting the reporter I have ensured that he will think twice before harassing another woman again."

Annie's expression suddenly turned coy and a little shy. "Abed… when did you become so chivalrous?"

"Wait. What?" Abed glanced back at Annie, a little panicked. "I wasn't expecting that. Listen, Annie, you can't just do a 180 degree turn like this without warning. It throws off the balance of the story, not to mention our relationship dynamic— especially when people expect a certain character reaction from you."

Annie's demure mannerisms didn't change, in fact she looked intrigued. She smiled a little, looking up at him through the length of her lashes. He continued on, faster now, his uninjured hand switching back and forth in a quick succession of pointing at her and then himself. "What was supposed to happen is that we share a sort of companionate moment in silence while the new advice and lessons we gathered from each other settle— What are you doing?"

Annie was slowly leaning into him. "Abed, are you nervous?"

His hand stopped with the pointing. "What? No. Annie whatever you are thinking about it is a bad idea and you should stop."

"Stop what?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Annie," Abed said warningly, as their proximity decreased. "Annie, you are confused because I just played hero and now you are confusing me with Jeff."

As if someone just dunked cold water on her, Annie withdrew away from him, repulsed. "What has Jeff got to do with this?"

"A lot actually," Abed said, seemingly more comfortable with their new distance. "We brought him up in conversation a minute ago, remember? Besides, seeing as he is your primary romantic interest I think—"

"Abed, no. I am not confusing you with Jeff—"

Abed cocked his head to the side, confused, "You're not?"

"—I just think it's very sweet that you care that much. About me. And I wanted to thank you." One of her shoulders went up in a shrug with the words "thank you" as if she was shy to say the phrase at all.

"Oh." Abed said, not sure what to say in response. "Well, this is new. Am I supposed to say thank you back? Wait— it just came to me," he smiled, a rare, toothless, large Abed smile, that pushed back his cheeks and revealed two large dimples. He pointed at her with his uninjured hand. "You're welcome."

Annie smiled gratefully back at him.

A second passed, two, then Annie leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. She was already pulling back away from him when she realized what she had done. She opened her eyes in time to see Abed beginning to open his, and she felt an onslaught of panic start to form at the pit of her stomach. Abed only had the chance to open his eyes and give her a curious, confused expression the word "what" forming at his lips before Annie went haphazardly in for a second time with every intention of prolonging what she was sure would be a thorough analysis of her poor judgment.

Their noses bumped, their lips slid together, and then she was full on making out with him, her nervousness making the kiss sloppy and not at all romantic. Her hand went out to his knee to steady herself as she was suddenly wracked with anxiety at what would happen when the kiss was over— and it was bad, it was getting worse—

"Ow," Abed mumbled through her mouth, "Hand."

She pulled away from him, her hand lifting quickly from his injured one that had been resting on his knee. "Oh my God," she said, hysteria slipping through her words. She transferred the feeling into worry. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Abed said, nonplussed. He wiggled his injured hand a little for emphasis.

"Oh God." Annie repeated. Her face started crinkling, she felt her eyes begin to water and she— oh God— she was going to cry.

"What's wrong?" Abed asked, his expression concerned.

"Oh God, oh God. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I— oh my God."

"Annie?"

Annie was wringing her hands frantically on her lap. Abed automatically reached for one of them with his good hand. He grasped it comfortingly, his thumb stroking the skin between her thumb and forefinger.

"I—I—" she was taking deep breaths now. "I am really sorry about that just now."

"No apology necessary," Abed said, perfectly composed. "You were overwhelmed, and we shared a moment. It was actually pretty appropriate. I was aware of the 30 percent chance you might have gone for it." He gave her a small smile, "You beat the odds."

Annie started to calm down a little. "Really?" A tear she had been struggling to keep at bay dropped down her cheek when she blinked, and she gave him a watery smile. "I mean, like, it wasn't weird or anything?"

"Yeah." Abed said, still stroking her hand patiently, "Well, the second one was kind of messy, but the first one was nice." Abed withdrew his hand from hers to unbutton and reach into one of his belt compartments of his Han Solo outfit. He pulled out a Kleenex and offered it to her, which she took gratefully before dabbing it on her cheeks. She laughed a little, sheepishly, balling the Kleenex into one hand. Abed reached over and slipped his hand back into her free one again. He gave her a fleeting smile.

"How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?"

"Mm." Abed looked up thoughtfully. "Nope. Can't answer that. Usually I am told I say all the wrong things."

Annie laughed lightly through drying tears, gently hitting Abed on the shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding his. "That's not true."

Abed's eyes met hers and he smiled again, briefly. "Would it make you feel better if I agreed with you?"

Annie's expression turned quizzical. It was hard to tell if Abed was flirting with her. She cocked her head to the side, opening her mouth as if to tease him, but then thought better of it. Her gaze lowered to their joined hands, and her mouth closed to smile a little, almost shyly— but mostly in quiet gratitude. She never had a friend quite like Abed, and that familiar feeling she got every time they shared a... a moment— after the Dreamatorium, when he asked her to move in, watching chick flicks with her while she tried to get over Vaughn— returned. She couldn't quite pinpoint or describe it except as intense appreciation. Abed was her rock. There was irony to finding the most imaginative and detached from reality friend she had ever known as the one who anchored her.

As if reading her mind Abed squeezed her hand lightly. She squeezed back.

Just then they saw Troy jogging up the steps and over to them. He was carrying a large bag and looked proud. "Abed, found the Inspector Spacetime sweater you always wanted!" He skidded to a stop in front of them and held the sweater up before placing it across Abed's knees. Troy was about to go for a Troy-and-Abed handshake, but stopped himself as if he remembered Abed's broken hand and instead kneeled down on Abed's other side where Annie wasn't sitting. He leaned forward and bumped his shoulder lightly twice with Abed's as a substitute handshake and Abed gave him a look of thanks before saying "pew." Troy grinned before he looked at Annie, his expression turning more serious. He put the bag down gently at her feet. "Annie, they only had a medium and I hope you're okay with sweats. I was gonna text you about your pants size but my mom told me that if I ever asked that question again I would get 'it.' I don't know what 'it' is, but she made it sound threatening enough for me to know it was not going to be muffins."

Annie smiled. "That's fine, Troy. A metal bikini under anything smaller than a medium and sweats would probably be really uncomfortable anyway."

"Cool." Troy said, using Abed's word. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "How about you guys get changed so we could go back in there?"

Annie took off the Han Solo vest and placed it in the bag. She slipped easily into her new outfit after she figured out how to get the overlaying cloth of her metal bottom off, and then both Troy and Annie helped Abed get into his sweater without further hurting his hand.

"The rest of the night went on normally. Well, as normal as a day with Troy, Abed, and Annie could be."

"Abed, are you going to narrate our day again?"

"Oh, I love it when you do that! Can you refer to me as Spider-Troy again..."

FIN


A/N: Thank you for reading and joining me on my first journey on the Annie/Abed fic ship! I hope you all liked it. Please drop me a review or a message with your thoughts- I'd love some feedback on the whole story or this moment that they shared. I do plan on writing more Annie/Abed in the future because I adore them so perhaps you all can join me on those voyages too haha.