ICEBREAKER - Part III

Disclaimer: all characters belong to Dan Harmon & NBC

A/N: Jeff doesn't say Annie's speech correctly because this is Jeff... not Abed. ;)

There was one new message.

Miss Edison, you have been placed on the shortlist for position #AACL541. We will call you within three working days to arrange a second interview.

Annie stared at the screen. She counted a number with her fingers and then put her phone away. Checking her face in the mirror, Annie grabbed a tissue from the box on the vanity. It was the last one. She sighed and used it anyway, dabbing it around her eyes to remove the excess signs of moisture.

"Are you decent?"

Jeff's voice broke her trance and she could feel the tears welling up again. Annie blinked them back and mimed a strong 'no'. She put the tissue into her coat pocket and walked out of the bathroom. Annie smiled at Jeff as he stood to the side. "I just got a text from the library. I've been shortlisted."

"That's great. Congratulations." Jeff stepped forward to embrace her. Annie accepted the hug, blinking back more unruly tears. She kept her head low as she backed away from Jeff and walked through the living room. Jeff whispered her name just as Annie neared the door. Her legs stopped working when he spoke again. "Milady?"

Annie shook her head. Her tear ducts seemed intent on playing hardball, so Annie decided to just throw a curveball at her feelings. She turned around and quickly realised she'd missed her mark. Jeff was at her right side with one hand poised on the liquor cabinet.

Annie sighed. She sat on the sofa, pulled the crocheted scrunchie from her hair and let her dark locks frame her brooding face. A moment of realisation later, Annie looked up at Jeff still standing by the cabinet. His eyes seemed to be burrowing into her very soul. Annie shook her head. "I should have left you at Greendale."

"What?" Jeff joined her on the sofa. "What's wrong, Annie? I thought you would be hap—?"

"What's wrong?" Annie scoffed. "What's wrong with you, Jeff?"

"Huh?"

"I've heard a lot of things today; actually this past week. I know you and Britta aren't getting married, which is…" Annie shrugged, "I don't know."

Jeff chuckled, "Great news? You know it wouldn't have worked."

Annie looked straight at him, "Why not?"

"'Cause I don't—," Jeff pulled a cushion out from behind his back. "Britta and I— we're ridiculous together. That's what you said, right?"

"Um," Annie sucked her bottom lip. She glanced at the liquor cabinet, "I said a lot of things."

"Like how we should respect each other?" Jeff smiled when Annie turned back to him. "Let others want what they want, no matter how self-destructive or empty our desires are?"

Annie's brow furrowed. "You remember all that?"

"I remember what I felt." Jeff swallowed, "Abed told me your exact words earlier today. It's partially what sent me to Duncan's liquor stash."

Annie glanced at Jeff's liquor cabinet again. "I might be ready for some now."

"The only thing in there is the Glencallan Pierce bequeathed me." Jeff shrugged. "I'm not exactly ready to drink it yet."

Annie nodded. "I've never worn that tiara."

Jeff got up from the sofa, "How about you wear that tiara when you get the library job and we'll celebrate with a glass of fine scotch?"

"De—," Annie paused. "It's a deal if, and only if, you tell me truth Jeff."

"What truth?" Jeff stopped by the kitchen bench.

"Borchert's lab," Annie fiddled with her scrunchie. "It wasn't the Dean, was it? Your," she licked her lips, "blast of passion."

Jeff's shoulders dropped. He shook his head, "Of course not."

"Was it Britta?" Annie looked up at him.

"Not Britta," Jeff answered straight away. Annie watched him take a deep breath. She smiled at him with eyebrows raised. He scowled back at her, "Not Abed either. Annie—"

She stood and proceeded to tie her hair loosely. Jeff caught hold of her arms and then moved his hands to her shoulders. Annie glanced at each of them. "It was a platonic blast of passion?"

"It was more than platonic," Jeff admitted. "Annie, I—"

"Before you say anything else, I need to confess something." She frowned when Jeff's hands left her shoulders. "I've been avoiding you this past week."

"I've been avoiding you too."

"I know," Annie nodded. "And when I realised why, I got upset. But it's not your physical absence that upset me. It was—"

"Everything else?" Jeff sat on the back of the other couch. "I know I haven't been completely there with you, Annie. I've been shutting myself off from you for years, and I realised that in Borchert's lab. I felt it before Raquel did. I just didn't get it clear in my head until that door opened. And then I was just too scared to deal with that realisation. It took me a whole week to find the courage to do something about it, and even then I needed a little prompting."

Annie smiled, "A little liquid courage."

"No." Jeff chuckled, "Abed first and then Duncan. I know. Neither would be anyone's first go-to for relationship advice."

"Nor the person I saw," Annie glanced to the side and then at Jeff. At his look of confusion, Annie clarified who it was. "Britta."

Jeff's brow furrowed. "Did she—?"

"I can tell she's not happy about it, but she's not angry either." Annie shrugged, "What did Abed say? Was it just—?"

Jeff pursed his lips. "I saw you counting on your fingers before, in the bathroom. I looked in just as you were checking your phone. Abed said you did that at home too; the finger-counting. I didn't understand, but he said something about binary code and that you can work that out in your head, so why would you need to count on your fingers? I—," Jeff paused, shrugging. "I still didn't understand. He said your head had been fuzzy since we saved Greendale. He said you spent so much effort trying to save Greendale that you didn't realise you were drifting from me until Britta and I—" He sighed, looking to the side.

Annie squinted. "Why did he say all that? I haven't—"

"He also said he'd read your diary," Jeff smirked.

"I'm gonna kill him." Annie muttered through her teeth. Her right hand formed a fist and then Jeff's left hand covered it. Annie stared at his hand while he spoke.

"Just wait until Troy can make it for the funeral and I can get you off on an insanity plea."

Annie smiled, and then frowned. "Troy, Pierce—" Annie moved back to the sofa. "So much has changed this year. I was afraid of losing Greendale for a lot of things, but mostly because I didn't want to lose the foundation of our group. That place was where I started feeling accepted for who I was. It may've sucked some years out of my life and not really helped me with my career plans, but Greendale gave me a family. A family more accepting and complicated and crazier than anything I had experienced before. It gave life to my robotic and rational existence. It allowed me to grow as a person and not slide back to the stilted over-achiever I was in highschool." She paused when Jeff sat beside her. "I was afraid to lose Greendale because I thought I might lose a part of myself if I lost that foundation. I nearly did before you came back to the campus. You started the study group, Jeff. I may not have been part of your original plan for it, but I'm really glad I found it by accident."

Jeff smiled. "The group wouldn't have been the same without you Annie. You were there to call me out on my bullshit from the start. I put so much effort into learning nothing that I didn't notice when I was actually learning something until— Well, I worked it out later." He repositioned himself sideways on the sofa; one leg bent under the other, his left foot hovering dangerously close to Annie's. "Remember when we did that model U.N competition?"

"Oh god," Annie covered her face with her right hand. She then stared at Jeff clasping her other hand in his. "What about it?"

"The world still needs more women like you. Greendale or no Greendale, you've got the ability and the intelligence to survive out there. You just have to believe in yourself like you did with everything Greendale threw at you. Dioramas, paintball games, Chang, lost pens, people who aren't worthy to share your name, yam-murderers, Chang, expulsion, gas leaks, ass-crack bandits, The Dean, drunk and idiotic psychology professors, minuses, Chang, Subway—"

"Jeff," Annie chuckled. "I get it."

"And me," he squeezed her hand. "Not that Greendale threw me at you, but I threw things at you that you didn't deserve. I expected so much from you and hardly gave you anything in return." Jeff looked down for a moment. "I'm really sorry, Annie." He looked back up again and brushed her hair out of her eyes. He sighed. "I don't deserve to have you in my life."

Annie frowned. "Jeff, is this the scotch talking or—"

He kept his eyes locked on hers as he stood and offered his hand, "Milady."

Annie swallowed. Her knees suddenly felt numb. She stared at Jeff's expectant expression; his eyes barely blinking, his forehead creased, his mouth jerking at the sides every few seconds. He was just as nervous as she was. Annie willed her legs to function and accepted Jeff's offer, "Milord?" She hadn't meant it to be a question, but she had no time to analyse it. Jeff pulled her off the sofa and caught her when she stumbled into him. Annie murmured an apology as she patted his chest; then she giggled and smiled at Jeff smirking back at her. She took a step backwards.

Jeff took a step forwards and grabbed her waist. His lips were on hers immediately afterwards. She could taste the scotch on his breath. Her hunger for more of it hindered her ability to stand, but luckily Jeff caught on to the problem before Annie tripped over her own toes. They fell onto the sofa with ease. Annie leaned forward, placing one hand on Jeff's thighs while the other hand attempted to move his head in another direction. She heard him mutter something and then he pulled away.

"Is that bubblegum lipgloss?"

Annie pursed her lips and slid back onto the sofa, not daring to look at him.

"It goes well with the scotch."

Annie managed a quick glance before his smirk turned her frown into a happily smothered grin. This time Jeff leaned into her. She felt one hand on her back pulling her closer. Jeff's other hand was finger-walking around her legs and soon she was sitting on his lap. Her hands felt around his neck and his hands moved up and down her back. Annie leaned into him, but there was something small and pointed sticking into her hip. "Ow," she murmured, moving her head to look at the spot. "Okay, I know that's not—"

"What is it?"

"Something in your jacket," Annie stuck a hand in the pocket and pulled out a key. "Where does this go?"

Jeff stared at it. "Um, that's Duncan's. I think it was for his window."

Annie smirked. "The one you were going to climb out of?" Jeff grimaced and shrugged. Annie tossed the key over her shoulder. "Bet you're glad you—" Jeff pulled her into another kiss. As their lips parted, Annie gasped.

"What is it?"

"I left my car outside."

Jeff nodded, "That's generally where cars go."

Annie whacked the back of her hand against his chest. "It's in a no-parking zone— I think."

"Annie," Jeff cupped her cheek. "I want to take this slow."

"What?" Annie's brow furrowed.

"This thing that we have," Jeff's mouth moved around as if he was trying to say the right words. "That we never quite spoke about before the make out."

Annie felt her shoulders tense. "You don't want to—?"

"I do." Jeff smiled as he breathed out. "I really really do, just—"

Annie's shoulders relaxed. "Not yet," she nodded. Annie slid off his lap and got off the sofa.

"And I don't want to keep this— keep us a secret, but I don't want everyone to know right now." Jeff picked up Annie's briefcase and placed it into her hands. "I want to have you in my life and know that it's real first."

Annie nodded, "So no holding hands in the corridors." She started walking towards the door.

"I don't yet know what Greendale's policies are about teacher student-teacher relations." Jeff smiled when Annie turned back to him. "But maybe we could at Disneyland." Annie's eyes lit up. "It would be my first time out of Colorado," Jeff walked towards her.

"Wait, you're serious?" Annie's whole face beamed. She took hold of Jeff's hands. "You would actually—?"

Jeff kissed her quiet, "How about this summer?"