Oof, it's been forever, huh? Sorry about that folks!

I'll say it right now: I really don't like how I've written Abed in this, or Troy for that matter. They might be the toughest for me to write. If you have any pointers on how to make them better, please let me know!

title: why is the morning after always so weird?
characters: britta perry, troy barnes, abed nadir, jeff winger, annie edison
setting: apartment 303
pairing(s): britta x troy, jeff x annie
word count: 1319

It's like Abed is making a point to fumble with the keys.

Britta works to not let too much of her discomfort show. She crosses her ankles. Casually bobs up and down. Works to ignore the sound of fresh coffee sloshing in the tray of cups she held. Troy just grins at her, as though totally unaffected by their time at that bar on L Street the night before. Maybe he is. Maybe he's just so much of a golden boy that nothing awful can ever affect him.

And maybe she's just overthinking things because her bladder is about to explode.

To think, it could have been Annie standing out here. Instead, it's Britta, simply because Annie was doing a very un-Annie thing and sleeping in for once in her life.

"She's not usually this tired, though," Troy had noted before they left, with a concerned glance towards Annie's closed bedroom door and everything. And Britta had just done the chill thing, saying Annie was fine and hey, why doesn't she just go with them instead, because hey, love me some Troy and Abed time!

She just hadn't counted on the orange juice Troy had woken her up (sweet, thoughtful, and her brain wouldn't allow her to fight back) with to affect her so quickly.

"Oh, thank God!" Britta pushes past her companions into apartment 303, feeling like she's about to burst. Damn her for actually believing Abed when he said the line at the coffee shop wouldn't be fifteen minutes long.

"My skills-"

"Are better for other things. Yeah, I know buddy."

Britta rolls her eyes. There's noise from the bathroom, clearly from the shower running. Desperate times. Britta barges in anyway.

Through the noise of the spraying water, Britta can hear Annie's patented shrill gasp, coupled with the frankly grating sound of slick feet sliding against wet-porcelain. There's even a comical thunk.

"Troy and or Abed! What have we discussed?!"

"Just me," Britta clarifies. "I've been needing to pee for the past two hours. Seems you've turned me against public restrooms."

Annie is silent for a few moments. Unruffled, Britta goes about taking care of business as quick as possible. She can do the whole bathroom talk thing when one member of the party isn't standing behind a curtain in the nude. But she's getting there.

"When did you guys get back?" There's something in Annie's tone that Britta can't quite place. Shame? Anger? Come on, psych-brain, you can do this!

"Few minutes ago."

"Did you hear anything?"

"Did we hear anything?" Britta repeats with a laugh. "Like what, you conducting the Trans Serbian Orchestra?" Annie manages to laugh with her. It sounds odd and high-pitched. Well, higher than usual.

"I think you mean Trans Siberian Orchestra, and no, I just... Nevermind!"

"Hmm. Okay. Well, hurry up. We got you some chocolate chip baggle's." Britta waits, hovering at the door. Annie doesn't laugh at the way she pronounces the word anymore. She just promises in a vague sort of voice that she'd be out in a few minutes. Britta shrugs, shuts the door, and wanders out into the kitchen area.

Troy is riffling through the fridge for something, while Abed stacks the bagels in a perfect circle on a large plate. Silently, he points to another plate where her own much healthier (and way more expensive) organic bagels are sitting.

"Annie should be out in a few," Britta informs them, then grabs one of her bagels and rips a piece off. She proceeds to pop it into her mouth and chews vigorously, adding around it: "Guess being at the bar made her feel grosser than it usually does."

Troy appears out of the fridge with a carton of milk in hand. "Nah, she showers like that everytime we get back from those places. Not that I, uh, think about her in the shower, or anything. Maybe once upon a time, but that was 'cause you guys- Right, Abed?" His expression shifting nervously away from Britta, he starts to take a drink from the carton.

"Yeah. Sometimes she-" Abed cuts himself off. His head inclines to one side, his expression full of unreadable concentration. It could only mean a new, startling fact was to be expelled in three, two...

"Jeff is in the shower with Annie."

Troy proceeds to gag on the milk he's chugging down. Britta's eyes go wide, before narrowing. A wave of smugness and irritation washes over her. Seriously? All three turn and stare at the bathroom door, and, as if they summoned him, Jeff wrenches it open and stalks out. He's dripping wet, and there's only a towel swathed around his hips.

"I thought shower sex was lame," Britta remarks snidely. He doesn't even have the common decency to make a face or retort back - it's just a straight line for the front door.

"Jeff, what about your-?"

"I have spares in the car, Abed!"

Abed proceeds to set the car keys back where they were. He notes impassively, "Jeff thinks I was talking about his clothes."

There's the familiar squeak of the shower taps being turned off, followed by a complete silence. Abed looks thoughtful. Troy looks like some combination of nervous and impressed. Britta... isn't sure how she is. Part of her wants to confront Anne, for a number of reasons. Another wants to run downstairs and hack off Jeff Winger's dick, watch as his less than impressive power over women be fed to the birds.

"Britta doesn't seem like the type to fall into the role of the jealous ex," Abed observes. "Not again. Not after Vaughn."

Troy looks over wildly, seemingly at a loss for words. Britta wants to groan out of pure what the actual flying fuck exasperation. She settles on shooting Abed a glare. But the man continues, unperturbed. "I've always found it interesting how everything has flipped over the course of the seasons. Not unexpected, but interesting and eye-catching nonetheless. Jeff started the study group for the sole purpose of sleeping with Britta. Annie joined the study group simply because she saw Troy did- I'm sorry, am I not supposed to connect this to TV out loud?" he asks, apparently catching on to the pointed looks both parties are giving him.

"Not right now, man," Troy mumbles. Honestly, he looks like the kid who just met his idol, and then saw said idol shove their tongue down the throat of his sister and girlfriend.

...She should start coming up with better analogies.

Britta jabs a finger at Abed, then at Troy (with more gentleness than even she knew she possessed, thankyouverymuch). "Alright, for startsies, I'm not jealous. That sort of thing is petty, and juvenile, and stupid-"

"But you-"

"Not. Jealous. Now-" and at this, Britta straightens her posture and flicks her hair away from her shoulders. "I'm going to go talk to Annie. You two eat, alright?"

"Should I call Jeff back up?" Abed asks.

Britta thinks about it for five seconds.

"Nah." she smirks. "He bared his naked ass for a whole student lounge to see. I'm sure he'll be fine."

The bathroom is still full of steam when Britta knocks once and steps inside. Annie is sitting on the floor with her back against the tub, swaddled in a fluffy purple robe, her knees drawn to her chest. Her wet hair is falling over into her face, and her blue eyes look like pools of misery. And embarrassment. You know what, scratch that. She's just one giant ball of embarrassment.

"Heeeyyy-"

"You think I'm gross, don't you?" Annie interrupts. "Gross, and weird, and..." She's blushing, and Britta forces herself not to groan. Because knowing about Jeff and Annie doing the dance with no pants? Ew. Having to think about it more than she should? No thank you. She seats herself awkwardly on the floor across from the younger woman, feeling the moisture clinging to the tiles seeping through the fabric of her jeans.

"Trust me Annie. You'd have to be doing some pretty awful things for me to think of you as gross."

Fresh color seems to jump to the younger woman's cheeks.

Britta grimaces.

"I don't want to know."

Abrupt ending, I know, but then again, I'm not exactly happy with how any of this one turned out.