Archive of Our Own

Abed was always pretty used to receiving a lot of cards and letters in his locker, especially during Valentine’s Day. For example, last year when he had gotten over twenty cards and a whole gift basket sent to him. Abed had read every single card, only to find that they were all the same. Someone complimenting his movies, providing a description of themselves and begging Abed to let them act in a movie of his. Below there was also a name and some contact info. It didn’t really work to get them in Abed’s movies, he much preferred the traditional casting method, but Abed kept all the cards he received anyway. They were stashed in a box under his bed and, if there were ever any last minute character changes, an actor couldn’t make it or any extras were needed, Abed found that the cards were useful.

This year on Valentine’s Day Abed hadn’t had the time to focus as much on the potential cards. Instead his focus was on the librarian, Mariah, and his and Troy’s efforts to land a date with her. Still, the next day when Abed went to his locker, he expected at least a few cards inside.

He turned out to be right, finding about 14 cards overall. Abed quickly glanced through every single one of them, finding that yet again they were the same. People who want to act and become stars. Except there was one card that caught his eye. This one didn’t have a name or any contact info. In fact, it had no details about the person writing it. Just a completely anonymous card.

Abed immediately read the whole thing.

"Abed. I think I really like you, a lot more than a friend does. Whenever im around you, I have these feelings for you. I dont know how to describe it. It's confusing, but they feel big. I didnt realize until recent what they might mean. I don’t think I can tell you this in person but I wanted to tell you somehow."

And that was the whole thing. Abed reread the card a couple of times, almost hoping that rereading it might tell him more on who this could be.

He put the rest of the cards back in the locker, but put the anonymous one between the pages of his film studies book. Abed made his way to his first class, wondering the entire time about the card and whether this will become the central plot of this week's episode.

That thought didn’t leave Abed’s mind throughout the entire day. He reread it a few more times during his classes and wondered what to do with it now. He was so curious about it. It was sweet yet fascinating to Abed. No one's ever written a card like this for him before.

When lunch time rolled around, Abed walked into the cafeteria and saw that Troy and Annie were already there, waiting for the rest of the study group. Abed quickly got his food and immediately walked to them.

“Hey, guys.” He greeted them as he sat down.

“Hey, Abed!” Annie exclaimed.

There was also a “hey” from Troy, but his voice quieter than usual. Abed think much of it. Instead he took out his film studies book and the card out of it.

“I got this in my locker today.” Abed told his friends and handed them the card. “I’ve never gotten something like this before in my life. It’s cool, maybe a new plot of an episode.”

Annie took the card from him and read over what it said. Meanwhile Troy leaned towards Annie and took a look at it as well.

“Awww, Abed! You have a secret admirer!” Annie replied, her voice extra sweet and cheerful. She gave the card back to Abed, who put it back inside the textbook. “Do you have any idea who it might be?”

Abed shook his head. “No.”

“You could try to look for anyone that has similar handwriting, then figure it out that way!” Annie suggested.

Abed thought about that plan for a bit. He wanted to know who it could be, but he wasn’t sure how he’d compare hand-writing.

“Isn’t the point of a secret admirer to be secret?” Troy asked. “That’s why it’s called a secret admirer.”

“Well yeah, but think about what this could be for Abed.” Annie said. “You two have been going around looking for girlfriends for months now. Wouldn’t it be great if Abed could find out who this girl is?”

Abed tilted his head to the side slightly. He hadn’t even thought about whether this card was from a girl or not. He didn’t really mind who it was from, but narratively a girl probably made the most sense. Media tended to be quite heterosexual in that way.

Abed figured dating anyone might not be a bad idea. Abed wasn’t the best at always getting his own emotions, but during last year he started realizing that he had feelings for Troy that seemed less than platonic. It was one of the many reasons Abed didn’t want them to start living together yet. Those emotions were still very much present, and Abed figured that trying to date someone else might just help him to get over his feelings for Troy. That's why he tried pursuing Mariah, and this person could also be good to date for the same reason.

“Whoever she is, she seems to have neat handwriting and some misspelled words. That narrows it down at least a little, right?” Annie suggested.

Abed nodded. She was right, it could help figure out who it is. Maybe it’d be good to at least try. "Looking for clues does sound cool. Like one of those crime films!"

Annie smiled and nodded encouragingly.

"Troy, you and I could figure it out! It'll be just like in Kickpuncher 7!" Abed suggested and looked at Troy, who was looking down at his food and didn’t even glance at Abed.

"Uhmm, I can't today!" Troy exclaimed, his voice shaking ever so slightly. "I have stuff to do. Really important stuff!"

That was strange. Abed doesn't remember Troy mentioning any plans, which he usually does. And before Abed had the chance to ask, the rest of the study group arrived at the table. And soon enough the topic got moved from Abed's card to Jeff talking about how Chang randonly arrived at his apartment yesterday.

-

When Abed got to his dorm room later that day, he pulled out the card and read through it once again. He thought back to all the crime movies and shows he's watched. Several of them have analysed a person's handwriting, attempting to understand what kind of person they are and comparing handwriting to try to find the exact match.

Just by looking at it, Abed couldn't deduce much about the person, despite his best efforts to get into the role. Even in said movies and shows, what they said often seemed over the top. But perhaps it also wasn't working because Abed was trying to use knowledge from trying to catch a murderer and solve a mystery of a secret admirer card.

What he could deduce from the handwriting was this: it was quite neat. Not as neat as someone like Annie's, but not too smudged or unreadable. Despite the neatness, there were some spelling mistakes. So maybe it was someone neat, but not too neat? Abed wasn't sure if that even made sense. Or how to figure out who is and who isn't like that.

Still, he took out his notebook and opened a new, blank page. He started writing about the secret admirer. Just any info he could gather from this one card. Underneath that, Abed started writing down possible suspects.

His first thoughts went to the study group. Almost immediately he eliminated every single one of them as an option. It simply didn't make sense.

It couldn't be Annie. She would never make a spelling mistake, and Annie seemed interested in Jeff instead of Abed.

It couldn't be Shirley, that's for sure. Especially since she's gotten back with her husband now.

Britta is probably morally against sending secret letters like this. Or something. Britta was always pretty unpredictable, but this just didn't seem like something she would do.

Jeff also seemed like someone who would never write a secret letter to anyone. Abed's not sure if Jeff even knows they have lockers, which further eliminates him as an option.

So that led to Troy. Abed would like it to be Troy, but that didn't mean it was. He could see Troy writing a secret letter to someone, but Troy would never send it to Abed. Troy was straight after all. At least all Abed's ever heard him talk about have been women. He'd never send something like this to Abed. So it couldn't be Troy either.

Then Abed thought about the people outside his study group. Vicki? No, she was dating Neil. Garret? Didn't seem like someone who'd write a card like this. Starburns? The only time Abed's ever received anything from Starburns was when he tried to sell drugs to Abed.

Abed eventually figured it could be someone from his film studies class. He's worked with several people to create short films and shows, so there were multiple options there. There were only three people Abed immediately crossed out as options: two girls in his film class who were dating each other, and the person who usually does sound for Abed's films. He had a girlfriend and very much didn't seem like the type to write a card.

With the options narrowed down somewhat, Abed started writing down the names of everyone else in his film studies class. From then on, he'd just have to see if anyone has handwriting that matches. That didn't sound too difficult.

Abed spent the next few weeks trying to see if he can spot any handwriting that looked similar, but it turned out not to be so easy either. There was only one person whose handwriting looked so different that Abed could confidently remove him as an option. With the rest it was hard to tell. He wasn't a handwriting expert no matter how many scenes he's watched. It all just looked like handwriting.

So as the school year was slowly approaching its end, Abed briefly had to abandon finding out who the secret admirer was. There weren't enough clues from the one card anyway.

And then Abed received another card.

It was a few weeks later, shortly before the school year was to end. Abed opened his locker and found two cards. One was yet another plea to act in Abed's films and the other was anonymous. This card had writing on one side and on the other, there was a photo of Kickpuncher with some hearts drawn around him. The card had a big piece of text saying "you KICKPUNCHED your way into my heart". Abed couldn't help but smile when he saw that.

On the other side there was writing, in the same handwriting as the card before.

"Abed. I wish I could tell you in person but I keep feelin so nervous every time Im around you. Every time we talk its both the coolest thing ever and the most nerve wreacking thing ever. I think I'm in love with you. I kept thinking that wasnt possible, but I think I am."

Abed was surprised to read that and to have someone say this about him. He knew plenty of people he's hooked up with that liked him or told him he's attractive. But someone in love with him? That was completely new.

He was even more curious now. Abed read through the card three more times. Then turned it around and observed the Kickpuncher reference for a short while.

Whoever this person was, it seemed like they've seen Kickpuncher and knows Abed likes it. It also seems like they've talked with Abed several times. That could slightly narrow it down, but probably not by much. Abed's told the people he's made films with all about the Kickpuncher franchise. One of his films even has a scene that's an homage to the second movie. Which meant everyone he's worked with has seen Kickpuncher and knows Abed likes it. So narrowing it down from them wouldn't be easy.

Still, Abed decided to see if he can spot anything new once he gets to the dorm. In the meantime, there were classes to worry about.

Abed still showed the card to Troy and Annie when he met up with them. The three of them were in Study Room F, waiting for the others to show up. And that's when Abed pulled out the new card.

"Another one? Awww!" Annie exclaimed after seeing it.

Abed gave them this one to read as well. Annie was smiling the entire time while reading. Meanwhile Troy had a facial expression Abed couldn't understand. Not that he could most times, but with Troy it tended to be a bit easier than with others.

"Did you find any clues on who it might be?" Annie asked, as she handed the card back to Abed.

Abed shook his head. "Not really. But I did narrow it down slightly."

"To who?" Troy asked.

"Well, I don't think it can be any of you guys in the study group. It could make sense narratively, but none of the options worked. So I think this could be the show trying to add a new character or show one of those shorter plots that's in the background." Abed explained. "I think it could be someone from my film class. So far I've only eliminated two girls and two guys from there."

Annie furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "Wait, do you think it could be a guy that wrote this?"

Abed shrugged. "Maybe."

"Would it be okay with you? If it was a- a guy?" Troy replied, his voice slightly quieter all of a sudden.

"Yeah. I don't mind who it is. I'd be fine dating anyone. A girl, a guy, anyone that’s neither or both." Abed simply stated, not quite understanding why the two of them were asking these questions. Why wouldn't it be okay if a guy wrote it?

Abed saw that both Annie's and Troy's eyes were wider than usual. In movies, that usually means someone is shocked. But that just confused Abed even more.

"Oh." Annie said then looked away from Abed for a few short seconds. She opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it soon after.

Troy didn't say anything either.

"Is everything okay?" Abed decided to ask, the wide eyes bugging him.

"Yeah, of course!" Annie exclaimed. "I'm just surprised. I didn't know anyone in our study group wasn't straight."

Abed nodded. "I didn't think it was relevant to mention before. Guys don't really approach me as much as girls do."

Annie nodded. She seemed to want to say something else, but before she got the chance to, Shirley and Britta walked into the library.

-

When Abed got to his dorm room that day, he did the exact same thing he did last time - took out the notebook, read the card one more time and started adding clues.

The new ones Abed could deduce were this - this person likes Kickpuncher and knows Abed does too. Also it seems that the two of them have talked several times. He wrote that under the clues and then crossed out one more person from his film class. His name was Elliott and Abed knew he didn't like Kickpuncher or movies similar to it. He's stated multiple times that he didn't like sci-fi or movies with robots or cyborgs. So he seemed unlikely.

But Abed wasn't sure about anyone else. Which means he'll have to do even more investigative work. To prepare, Abed put on a murder mystery movie. Maybe that will help him figure out some more clues.

The day after, Abed started questioning the people in his film class. He and his small crew had to do some extra shots for his newest short film, so it felt like a good opportunity to start.

Before the filming began, Abed briefly talked with a girl named Amy. She helped mostly with the costuming and makeup for his films. He brought up Kickpuncher too at one point, which she excitedly talked to him about. So she seemed like a possibility.

After the shoot was done, Abed talked to his cinematographer Larry. He seemed like the type of guy who might write a card, as he was mostly quiet and shy. But then Larry admitted to Abed that he didn't really like Kickpuncher, and only watched it because Abed asked him to. That eliminated him as an option (also he might be dead to Abed now).

Abed continued trying these kinds of conversations for others in his film projects and classes. But Abed gave up after 2 weeks. Not because he wanted to, but because everything else became so busy. Especially as the school year drew closer and as him and Troy were now about to move in together. Abed needed to focus more on that than the anonymous card. He still managed to cross out several people as options.

-

Abed received his next card during the third year. So much had changed in his life, not just from living with Troy now, but now he was also living with Annie. Things were changing and for once it didn't seem like too scary of a change like they usually do.

In the meantime Abed hadn’t really continued his investigation on the secret admirer. He didn’t even find anyone new to cross out.

But one day Abed opened his locker and found another anonymous card.

This one had an Inspector Spacetime reference on it. There was the Inspector and Reggie standing next to each other and holding hands. There was text in big letters saying "The question isn't if I love you. But when I love you!"

Abed laughed at the card. Whoever this was knew him really well.

Abed started reading the card itself:

"Abed. I almost told you the truth a few days ago. Your so magical, it's impossible not to feel this way about you. I stopped myself. im scared what you'd say if you knew. I've never felt like this about another guy, I thought I had to feel this way about girls but you're way cooler and awesomer than any girl I've tried to date. I love you so much."

This card only surprised Abed more than the previous one. He had some more info on this person now, which might just help track them down. But Abed really had never imagined anyone would ever say all these things about him. Abed would like to say he's pretty confident overall, but he's heard what other people say. How they call him weird and robotic, and inconsiderate, and so much more. So hearing this was so much different. It shocked him, but Abed was really happy to read all those nice words.

He reread the card several times and smiled. It was on his mind the entire time during classes. Abed didn't show it immediately to Troy and Annie when he saw them at the library (mainly because Annie was very insistent on how important their newest biology assignment was, and Abed didn't have the time), but he mentioned it when they all got back to the apartment.

Annie once again let out her signature "awww". Troy, however, was being a lot more quiet. He mentioned that it was cool that Abed got another card, but not much more than that.

"Troy, this card has some more clues on who this person could be. You and I could figure it out! Detective Troy and detective Abed!" He suggested, really wanting to figure out who this person might be. Troy would be the perfect candidate to help. And it would mean hanging out even more with Troy.

Troy's eyes widened. He opened his mouth a few times, then closed it. After a few seconds, Troy nodded.

-

It was a few hours later when the two of them started their investigative work. Abed had suggested to go all the way - have their detective outfits, and really get into the role. But for some reason Troy declined. It slightly confused Abed. Doing this seemed perfect for the two of them, it was something they always did. So why didn't Troy want to this time?

Abed wondered if something was wrong or if he had done something wrong. He couldn't think of anything, but Abed wasn't always the best at understanding other people's emotions.

Abed was going to ask, but then Troy started talking and seeming suddenly more enthusiastic about finding this person.

The two of them sat on the bottom bunk in their blanket bedroom. Abed had taken out his notebook, as well as all three of the cards.

Troy read through every single one of them, his hands ever so slightly shaking as he picked them up. Abed figured it might be too cold in the apartment.

"Here's what I have so far." Abed stated once Troy had finished reading. He then showed Troy the notebook with a bunch of names already crossed out. There were only 6 people left still not crossed out.

"I think it's someone from my film class. Someone who knows I like Kickpuncher and Inspector Spacetime, and who likes both those things as well!" Abed continued.

"H-how do you know this person likes Kickpuncher and Inspector Spacetime as well?" Troy asked.

"Well, if they didn't like them then they'd probably give me a different card." Abed replied. "And there's an Inspector Spacetime reference, which you'd have to watch the show to understand. It makes more sense if it's someone who likes the two."

Abed looked at his list of people again.

"Janet and Rory have never watched Inspector Spacetime. And Leigh once told me he didn't like it." Abed stated, crossing out the names of all three. That only left him with three other options. "That's weird."

"What?" Troy asked.

"I must've missed something. The only people left are girls. But this new card says the writer is a guy." Abed responded. "We need to examine all the clues and suspects again!"

Abed started to flip back a few pages on where his notes started.

"Maybe it could still be a girl?" Troy suggested.

Abed stopped flipping the notebook. He looked at Troy and tilted his head to the side. That made no sense. "The card says the writer is a guy."

"Maybe whoever wrote it lied?"

"Why would someone do that?" Abed questioned.

"Umm." Troy paused. "Boredom?"

That just confused Abed more. This felt strange. The both of them have watched so many crime and detective films, Abed would think Troy would be better at this. But this idea made no sense. Why would someone lie about that in a card that so far has seemed to be quite truthful.

Maybe they need to watch more detective films.

"I think most human behaviour is confusing, but even I know that wouldn't make any sense." Abed replied. "I must've misjudged someone else from my film class."

"Oh." Troy quietly said.

Abed started looking at all the names he previously crossed out and tried to think whether any of them could be the right guy. Abed was pretty confident that he was right before, but he must have made an error somewhere.

"Abed?"

"Yeah?"

"I-" Troy started before pausing again. "What do you think you'll do when you find out who this person is?"

Abed shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. If I like him then I could try going on a date. That sounds cool and could be an interesting narrative."

"What if you don't like him?"

"Then we'll just be friends." Abed stated.

"Don't you think that would be weird?" Troy asked.

"Why would it be weird?"

"I don't know! Just if you suddenly find out a friend of yours is in love with you. Wouldn't it be awkward to be around them? Or it could change your friendship?"

Abed thought about it for a bit. "No. If we're friends then I don't think this would change anything. We can still be friends. I wouldn't want to just stop hanging out with someone over this."

Troy nodded.

"Abed, I-" Troy started, but cut himself off. Abed looked over at Troy, waiting for him to say whatever he wanted to say. "I, uhh… I'm sorry for not being so great with the clues today. I had dance class today and guess I'm too tired."

"That's okay." Abed replied. "We can do this tomorrow instead. Or I can ask Annie. She might have some ideas."

"Okay." Troy said. "I might take a nap. But maybe we can watch a movie afterwards?"

Abed nodded in response.

He left the blanket bedroom shortly after. He still had his notebook in his hands so, while Troy was asleep, Abed went to Annie's bedroom. He knocked on the door and a few seconds later, it was open.

"Hey, Abed!" She greeted him.

"Hey. I wanted to ask if you want to help out with solving who the card-writer is! I feel like you'd be pretty good with solving clues."

Annie smiled. "I'd love to! But I thought you and Troy were trying to solve it?"

"Yeah. Troy was giving confusing answers and said he was tired. I figured you could help instead." Abed responded.

"Totally!" Annie said and let Abed in her bedroom.

Abed sat down on the edge of Annie's bed while Annie sat down on a chair by her desk. They were sitting right opposite each other.

"What do you have so far?" Annie asked.

Abed gave her the notebook, on the page with all the clues written down.

"I think it's someone from my film class." He told her. "So far I know this person likes Kickpuncher, Inspector Spacetime, doesn't always have the correct spelling of words, and is a guy."

Annie looked at the notes for a few seconds in silence.

"He likes Kickpuncher and Inspector Spacetime?" Annie mumbled to herself. "Can I read the cards again?"

"Sure." He gave her all three of the cards and started fidgeting with a pen while she was rereading all of them.

"Abed, are you sure it's someone from your film class? I think Troy wrote these." Annie said after she was done.

Abed shook his head. "No. That's not possible."

"Why not? He likes Kickpuncher and Inspector Spacetime. He knows you like both of those as well. You two hang out and talk all the time. I don't think it can be anyone else!"

"It can't be Troy. He's straight." Abed stated.

"You think he's straight." Annie said.

"I'm not following."

Annie sighed. "You think Troy is straight and don't want to believe it could be him, but how do you know for sure? Maybe he isn't. I mean, I thought you were straight until you told me otherwise. And I thought that I…" Annie paused for a second. "I thought I was straight too until recently."

Abed tilted his head to the side, confused by what Annie was saying.

"Growing up it was like there wasn't any other option on what to be other than straight. I didn't know any people who weren't. Except for my ex-boyfriend, but he came out as gay a while after graduating." Annie started, looking away from Abed and instead at her hands, which were fidgeting with each other. "And I guess I never realised that I might not be straight myself. But when you came out I started thinking and now I'm pretty sure I'm a lesbian."

"Oh. Cool. Cool cool cool."

"Is that okay with you?" Annie asked, still looking at her hands and not at Abed.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Abed replied.

"I don't know. I was just nervous to tell anyone."

"No need to be nervous. You're still Annie no matter who you like." Abed simply replied.

"Thanks, Abed." Annie smiled widely, looking back at Abed this time. "Anyway, I still think it's definitely Troy. And that maybe he's not as straight as you think?"

Abed still didn't quite believe that. As much as he'd like it to be Troy, it just wasn't realistic.

"I don't think it's him. It has to be someone from my film class." He wasn't sure if he was more trying to convince Annie or himself. It wasn't like she didn't have a point, but there was just no way it was Troy.

"Are you in love with Troy?" Annie asked, which slightly surprised Abed.

Slowly he nodded.

"Is that why you don't want to believe it's him? You two care about each other so much. You should at least talk to Troy!" Annie told him, but Abed still just couldn't believe her words to be true. It couldn't be Troy. It was just wishful thinking to want Annie to be right.

Which is why Abed didn't bring it up to Troy after his conversation with Annie. He didn't say anything about the cards when Troy woke up and the two of them watched Clue. Nor did he bring it up at any point in the next several days. Annie tried to encourage Abed to. But he couldn't. There was no guarantee Annie was completely right.

-

Almost a week later, Abed found another card in his locker. This one didn't have a reference to any movie or show. It was blank on the outside. Abed opened it and started reading.

"Abed. I want to tell you the truth. i want to tell you who I am. It feels like the scariest thing ever but I need to try. I dont know if I can write it down so meet me by the fountin at 4:30 today. It might be less scary to just walk to the fountain. I love you."

"Cool. Cool cool cool." Abed whispered to himself. He'll finally be able to meet whoever has been sending these cards. This was a really exciting way to continue the narrative and Abed couldn't wait for 4:30.

For the rest of the day, Abed couldn't stop thinking about the event. He told Annie and Troy about it, who smiled at him and seemed happy. Annie wished Abed good luck. But neither of them said much more about it.

It felt like time was going by slower than usual as Abed waited for his classes to end. During his film class, he scanned the room and wondered which person seemed more likely to show up. He tried to think of any scenes where characters are waiting for something and tried to see if anyone matched the mannerisms from those movies. Though he failed to see anyone that matched.

During the study session, Abed couldn't focus on biology a whole lot. He kept glancing at the digital clock on his phone, and thinking about any scenes or movies with similar plots.

There weren't too many Abed could think of, but a few teen shows had similar episodes which came to mind. He thought about how the characters reacted then to finding out about the person and what the expected reaction could be.

And then it was 4:28. Abed was by the fountain. He was fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie and looking around. There weren't many people walking around Greendale. Most people would've left by now. The few that Abed did see, he didn't recognise.

He looked at his phone again. 4:29. Abed made a knot with the strings and then immediately untied it. He did this a few times then looked around again. No one.

4:30. Abed continued looking around. Suddenly there was a tap on his shoulder.

Abed immediately turned around.

It was Troy. What was Troy doing here?

"Hey." Troy said, though he wasn't looking at Abed.

"What are you doing here?" Abed questioned, still not really understanding the situation.

"Umm, it's me." Troy admitted. "I'm the one who wrote you all the cards."

Abed briefly froze. That didn't feel right. It's not Troy. It wasn't supposed to be Troy.

Abed wasn't sure what to say or do. He was so adamant that it had to be someone from his film class. That it could never be Troy. Abed couldn't comprehend that he was so painfully wrong.

"I know I tried to convince you that it was written by a girl. I'm sorry I lied. I got nervous!" Troy continued. "It was like I wanted you to know it was me who wrote it, but you knowing was also the scariest thing ever. Still, I need to tell you. I love you, Abed."

Abed was still frozen. This wasn't a simulation, that much he knew. He wasn't in the dreamatorium and neither he nor Troy were playing a character right now. Which meant that this was real? This was real. Troy really did return his feelings.

"Abed?" Troy called for him, growing nervous at Abed's silence.

Abed unfroze and moved his head to look at Troy. This really was happening.

"I didn't want to believe it could be you writing. I thought that was just wishful thinking. I crossed you off the list early because I didn't want to get my hopes up." Abed finally said. "Because I'm in love with you too."

And suddenly Troy had on the widest smile ever. It immediately made Abed smile as well.

Then Troy put his arms around Abed and pulled him into a hug. Abed gladly hugged him back. Troy always gave the best hugs.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear you say that." Troy told Abed, his head resting on Abed's shoulder.

"Me too." Abed replied.

A few seconds later, the two started pulling away from the hug. They looked at each other. They were still incredibly close, looking at the other as if there was no one else around to look at.

It was Abed who leaned in closer this time. Then he finally kissed Troy. When Troy kissed back, it felt ecstatic. Not even four "cool's" would be enough to describe how amazing it felt. Abed's been wanting to kiss Troy since season one. It was better than any movie scene could ever even visualize.

When they pulled away from the kiss, both Troy and Abed were smiling widely.

"Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool." Abed said, to which Troy chuckled.

Troy took Abed's hand in his and the two of them started heading back to their apartment, the smiles and excitement never leaving them on the way.