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“Dean!”
Craig groaned and came to a stop. He turned around to wait for Britta to catch up to him. “What can I do for you, Britta?” Craig asked. There was always the small chance that this was actually concerning a school matter and not an attempt to get Craig to be her next patient.
“Are you going to Garrett’s wedding?” she asked in a panic.
“Garrett’s getting married?” Craig exclaimed. He loved all of Greendale’s students, of course. But Garrett was definitely one of the more odd ones. He didn’t even know Garrett was seeing anyone! He was really failing as a Dean.
“Yeah, I know,” Britta said. “It happened an hour ago. So are you going?”
“I wouldn’t know; I haven’t received an invitation yet,” Craig said. He started walking back to his office. Garrett was getting married . He wasn’t sure if this was giving him hope for his own prospects of a happily ever after or dropping him into despair that at 43 years old he was still not married.
“Okay, well, if you do go, you have to be very careful,” Britta spoke up.
Craig startled. He hadn’t noticed Britta was following him. “Why?”
Britta moved to block his path. “Isn’t it obvious?” Britta asked. “You’re dating Jeff Winger. He does not do well with commitment and love and expectations. If you two go to this wedding, you’ll have to walk through a minefield of avoidance and self-doubt.”
Craig scoffed. “Jeffrey and I have been dating for three months. Neither of us are thinking about things like marriage.” Well, that was partially true. Craig had zero expectations about what the future might bring. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t daydream about what could happen. But he wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t about to tell Jeffrey that he had their china pattern picked out.
“But being at a wedding will undoubtedly bring up these thoughts in Jeff’s head. I’m a psych major, trust me,” Britta said.
And that last sentence did wonders to ease Craig’s worry. “We don’t even know if we’re invited to the wedding,” Craig countered. “Let’s not count our psychological traumas before they hatch.”
“Well obviously we’re going to be invited. You and I have to formulate a strategy on how to deal with Jeff.”
“I don’t really think that’s necessary.” Craig attempted to step around Britta but she moved to block his path.
“I think we do,” Britta emphasized.
Craig tried to avoid confrontation whenever possible. He wished everyone could just get along. Yet a conversation with Britta about Jeffrey’s aversion to commitment was something he was very eager to avoid. “ I’m the one dating Jeffrey. So if there is a problem, which there might not be, then I’ll figure it out.”
“There will be a problem!” Britta repeated. Craig rolled his eyes. “Hey, I’m the girl Jeff has come this close to marrying!” Britta held up her thumb and index finger nearly touching in front of Craig’s face. “Twice! I think I’d know a red flag when I see one.”
Craig opened his mouth and then hesitated. Britta wasn’t wrong on that note. “Well, you weren’t exactly an unwilling participant,” Craig commented. Then he spun around and hurried down the hall. He made it back to his office without being bombarded by anyone else.
He tried to shake off Britta’s comments. Him and Jeffrey were in a good place. Sure, the giant hand had been an experience but they’d fought well together during paintball...until Craig had shot Jeffrey. But that had led to a moment of vulnerability between the two of them. They were closer than ever now.
However, Craig was still worried when he received his invite to the wedding a few days later.
Craig loved to cook. Some of the most vivid memories he had as a child were cooking with his mother. It was an incredibly handy skill too. He’d missed cooking. When he moved out of his house at 17, he didn’t have enough money to make anything more fancy than a cup of ramen noodles or plain rice. And it was impractical to make such big meals for one person all the time. Sure, every now and then he’d splurge and cook for the love of cooking. But more often than not, cooking by himself made him feel lonely. Especially after his mother passed away.
So Craig watched with great joy as Jeffrey scooped another helping onto his plate. He smiled with pride. Jeffrey glanced up at him and caught him staring. “What?” he asked.
Craig shrugged his shoulder. “Did you like the fajitas?”
Jeffrey nodded, excitedly. “Yeah, it’s great. Your food is always amazing, baby.”
“Thank you,” Craig beamed. “It’s a lot of fun making dinner for two.”
“So I shouldn’t even feel bad that I’m taking advantage of you,” Jeffrey asked.
Craig scoffed. “Not at all. It’s my pleasure.” Craig was happy to watch Jeffrey clear off his plate. And after he was finished, Craig instinctively began gathering up their empty dishes.
“No way, I got it,” Jeffrey said. He grabbed the plate out of Craig’s hands.
“I can help,” Craig complained.
“Did I help with dinner?” Jeffrey asked again.
Craig followed Jeffrey into the kitchen. “That doesn’t mean that you need to clean up,” Craig said. Without warning, Jeffrey grabbed his waist and lifted him up on the counter. “Jeffrey!” Craig squealed.
“Sit here while I clean up,” Jeffrey said. Jeffrey pecked him on the lips and walked back out to the dinning table to grab more plates.
“This is silly,” Craig protested.
“It’s only fair, baby,” Jeffrey pointed out. “How’d the meeting with the debate team go today?”
“Well,” Craig began, reluctant to let the argument go. “It could have been better. We got held up forever because they debated when they wanted to schedule practice for next year. Hopefully they can keep up that energy with an actual debate.”
Jeffrey chuckled beside him. “They have big shoes to fill,” Jeffrey said.
Craig rolled his eyes. “Jeffrey, it’s been years since you helped out the debate team.”
“And yet people still talk about it.”
“It’s not the great debating skills of the participants they talk about,” Craig replied. Jeffrey gave him a smirk. An arrogant smirk that had Craig narrowing his eyes in suspicion. “What?”
“You sound jealous,” Jeffrey commented. He walked up to Craig, hands on either side of Craig’s thighs.
Craig put on a thoughtful face. “I do remember my offer of a night of companionship being rejected,” he mused.
“Forgive me, I was an idiot back then, baby,” Jeffrey said. He wrapped his arms around Craig’s waist and pushed in between Craig’s legs. Craig was more than happy to encircle Jeffrey’s neck to bring him closer.
“I suppose I could be persuaded,” Craig purred. Jeffrey smiled and leaned over to kiss him, pulling Craig impossible close. Craig could still taste their dinner on Jeffrey’s tongue. It was an odd thing to be turned on by but Craig had stopped questioning his turn ons long ago. Instead, he carded his fingers through Jeffrey’s hair, tugging lightly. Jeffrey quickly stepped back.
“Still have to finish cleaning up,” Jeffrey said. Craig pouted as he watched Jeffrey turn around and continue emptying out the pots.
“Riiiiight,” Craig said. “Your rush to finish has nothing to do with the fact that a certain show starts in ten minutes.” Jeffrey looked over at him with a sheepish smile. Craig’s heart clenched. Moments when Jeffrey was adorably ordinary instead of the collected, sexy, aloof professor did things to Craig’s heart. “You’ll finish faster if I help you.”
“I’m almost done,” Jeffrey responded. “Though, it would be a great help if you could remind me to pick up my tux from the dry cleaners after classes tomorrow. I forgot to swing by today,” Jeffrey said.
Craig froze for a second. Other than Jeffrey recounting how Garrett had proposed, they hadn’t really discussed the wedding. The whole committee was going so the question of whether they would go as “a couple” hadn’t been brought up.
“Ooooh, a tux,” Craig gushed. “Can’t wait to see that.”
“You just saw me in a tux last week,” Jeffrey said.
“I know, which is why I’m looking forward to it.”
“What are you gonna wear?” Jeffrey asked.
“Mmm? Oh, to the wedding? I’m sure I can dig up a suit from my closets,” Craig commented.
Jeffrey glanced back over his shoulder. “A suit? Really?”
“What’s wrong with a suit?” Craig asked, voice small.
“Nothing!” Jeffrey reassured. “I’ve seen your closets though. You have a lot more variety to choose from than a suit.”
“It’s a wedding, Jeffrey. All eyes should be on the bride and groom.”
“I’m pretty sure my eyes will be elsewhere,” Jeffrey said. He gave Craig a long look and a warm smile before continuing to wash the dishes. Craig jumped off the counter and wrapped his arms around Jeffrey’s waist. He ran his hands over Jeffrey’s well defined abs.
“People would never believe me if I told them how sweet you are.”
“I have a reputation to uphold, baby,” Jeffrey commented.
“Oh, yes. We wouldn’t want anyone to think there’s a heart in there somewhere,” Craig teased. He was more than happy to remain in that spot, head resting on Jeffrey’s back, while Jeffrey finished cleaning the rest of the dishes.
When he finished, Jeffrey turned around and wrapped his arm around Craig’s shoulders. “Come on, it’s about to start. Craig never would have guessed that Jeffrey was such a fan of reality TV. He was more of a romcom person himself. But Jeffrey was oddly attached to the people in the show and watching him react was oddly entertaining. Craig was more than happy to snuggle up to Jeffrey on the couch. All thoughts of the wedding were out of his mind for the rest of the evening.
Craig was waiting in line for the buffet. This night, while a disaster in awkward interactions, was actually going as well as he had expected. Garrett’s mother telling them all to not take the spotlight gave everyone an excuse to go do their own thing. And while normally Craig would love to be by Jeffrey’s side, Britta’s words had done their damage. Now he was nervous about marriage and proposals and the future. It made him even more nervous to think that Jeffrey would notice his nerves.
Craig ran his fingers over the incredibly soft tie. It had completely surprised him when he’d been hurriedly changing in the back seat of Frankie’s car to discover a tie that was definitely not his yet looked suspiciously familiar. He was completely paranoid that he’d somehow ended up with one of Jeff’s expensive ties. But there was no time to think in the panic of being late for the wedding. And while Jeffrey and him hadn’t had a moment alone yet, Craig had been floored that Jeffrey had the exact same purple tie on as him.
“Can I have this dance?” Craig looked over to see Jeffrey with his hand out to him, bowing slightly.
Craig could hardly answer past the lump of emotions in his throat. He nodded eagerly and grabbed Jeffrey’s hand. Jeffrey led them to the dance floor and smoothly started guiding them in a slow dance. This was a night Craig would remember for a very long time.
“Did you like the tie?” Jeffrey asked.
“I do! Thank you,” Craig replied.
“I’m glad I switched out the ties,” Jeffrey began. “I was going to give it to you before leaving Abed’s place but with all the chaos I would’ve definitely forgotten.”
“It’s very beautiful. Probably the most expensive thing I own,” Craig joked. “You shouldn’t have.”
Jeffrey shrugged. “I thought it…” Jeffrey paused looking off to the side. He then made eye contact with Craig as he said, “I thought it would be nice to match. You know, like a couple.”
Craig's face hurt from how hard he was smiling. “That’s very sweet of you, Jeffrey.” Jeffrey smiled down at him.
Craig enjoyed swaying around the dance floor with Jeffrey. When the song came to an end, he expected another slow song to come on. Instead a familiar tango came on over the speakers. Craig was surprised and looked at Jeffrey who was smirking.
“You did this?” Craig asked.
Jeffrey shrugged. “May have slipped the DJ a few dollars. Shall we?”
Craig eagerly agreed. The guests on the dance floor quickly moved away as Craig and Jeffrey began dancing with practiced ease. It wasn’t the same in a suit. Craig was really missing his form fitting dress and heels in that moment. The genuine smile on Jeffrey’s face this time made up for it. When Jeffrey dipped him, it ended with a heated kiss.
There was a roar of applause when they separated. He could hardly remember being this happy before. It didn’t even cross his mind that they were doing the exact opposite of what Garrett's mom had asked of them.
Jeffrey and he danced a few more songs after that. Craig was in such a good mood that he wasn’t even bothered when Chang stole Jeffrey away to hit the bar. Everyone at the wedding now knew he wasn’t straight so that was one weight off his shoulders. It became infinitely easier to talk to strangers after that, so he mingled with various guests. And if he shifted conversations to the wide variety of classes Greendale had to offer, well, no one could blame him. Frankie even joined in on a couple of pitches.
Of course, with so many Greendale students and employees in attendance, something was bound to go wrong. Luckily no one in the group was at fault. Well, if it wasn’t for Jeffrey, maybe the whole thing about Garrett marrying his cousin would’ve stayed undiscovered, but they’d all would’ve found out at the lady’s funeral, surely!
After Chang convinced the bride and groom to stay together, the wedding really got crazy. Alcohol always made Craig sleepy so he was still sober at the end of the night. The same could not be said for some of the other members of the group.
“You’re so pretty, baby. And you smell so nice. I love the way you smell.”
Craig had never seen Jeffrey drunk before. Craig would see Jeffrey with a glass of scotch multiple times throughout the week, but he never reached a level where other people would know he’d been drinking. Not that Craig was necessarily complaining. Jeffrey had been using him to stay upright for the latter half of the evening. And having Jeffrey so close to him was never something to complain about. Drunk Jeffrey was also very talkative. Though, this attention was making it a little more difficult to get Jeffrey’s door open with Jeffrey refusing to release him from a tight hug.
“Jeffrey,” Craig lightly scolded. “Let me just-”
Of course, that was the moment Jeffrey started singing. “ And now that your rose is in bloom...a light hits a gloom on the grey.”
“Jeffrey, you’re gonna wake people up,”Craig complained. Damn Britta for asking the DJ to play that song near the end. Craig managed to push Jeffrey away long enough to open the door.
“ I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey,” Jeffrey continued. Craig was incredibly amused by Jeffrey but he had to focus on making their way to Jeffrey’s bedroom. Jeffrey had his arm slung over Craig’s shoulder, leaning most of his weight on Craig.
“Tonight was fun,” Jeffrey said. He started laughing uncontrollably; Craig almost lost his grip on Jeffrey. “His cousin!” Craig snorted out a laugh too, but quickly had to refocus on keeping Jeffrey upright.
“Come on, we’re almost there,” Craig said.
“And to think I’d been jealous of the guy,” Jeffrey added.
“What?” Craig exclaimed. But then they reached his bed and Jeffrey promptly threw himself on it. “Oh no! Get up, Jeffrey!” he pleaded.
Jeffrey mumbled something into the bedsheets that Craig couldn’t make out. Craig lightly pulled at Jeffrey’s arm, trying to get him to sit up. “Please, Jeffrey. You’ll never forgive me if I let you wrinkle your suit.” After much tugging and pulling, Craig managed to get Jeffrey to lay on his back. He supposed that was progress. Craig started unlacing his shoes.
“The cake was good,” Jeffrey commented.
“It was a little dry actually,” Craig said.
Jeffrey chuckled. “Chang added some vodka to our pieces. It was actually soggy.”
Craig stared at Jeffrey’s zoned out face. He had no idea if Jeffrey was being serious or not. Craig shook his head. He had no way to know if vodka soaked cake was “too far”. Though if it had been Chang’s idea, it probably was.
He moved on to Jeffrey’s pants. Jeffrey having seemingly fallen asleep was making this whole process much easier. Craig took a moment to admire his peaceful face before folding up his trousers, extremely mindful of the creases. When he went to unbutton his vest, Craig’s fingers ran down Jeffrey’s tie. It was a kind gesture for Jeffrey to get them matching ties.
Craig was so caught up in his head that he startled when he felt a hand touch his cheeks. He looked up into Jeffrey’s very awake face and smiled. “I thought you were out for good,” Craig said.
“I’m perfectly sober,” Jeffrey proclaimed. Craig chuckled at the obvious lie. He resumed with his job of undressing Jeffrey and started unbuttoning his vest. “What happened to my pants?”
“I took them off,” Craig explained.
“Baby, I don’t know if...I mean, I can try…”
Craig tilted his head to the side, trying to decipher what Jeffrey was on about or if it was drunk nonsense. Then it clicked in his head. “Oh! No! That’s not why I’m undressing you,” Craig exclaimed.
“It’s not?”
“Of course not! You’re far too drunk to consent right now,” Craig said. “But I know how you take extra care of your clothes. I don’t want them to get wrinkled.”
“Oh,” Jeffrey said. He let Craig pull him into a sitting position and put up little fuss as Craig slid him out of the blazer and vest. Craig began loosening the tie next. Jeffrey’s hand came up to toy with Craig’s identical tie. “You really liked it?” he asked. And it was definitely the quiet of the night that made that question seem so much more vulnerable than it was.
Craig stopped what he was doing and cupped Jeffrey’s face. “I loved it, Jeffrey. Thank you.” He pecked him lightly on the lips. Craig gave him another warm smile before ridding Jeffrey of his tie and button down. With more care than he’d ever shown any of his clothes, Craig went about hanging up the rest of Jeffrey’s tux. He then grabbed one of Jeffrey’s plain night shirts and helped him pull it on.
“I can put it on myself,” Jeffrey complained. Though he made no effort to stop Craig. Once that was done, Jeffrey fell down on his bed again. “Fuck...how am I still this drunk?” Jeffrey asked the ceiling. Craig started making his way out of the bedroom. “Where are you going?”
He looked back over his shoulder at Jeffrey. “I was gonna get you some water. And probably aspirin too.” Craig was hardly expecting a reply so he was halfway down the hall when he heard Jeffrey call out a thank you.
Craig returned to the bedroom with two large glasses of water and the bottle of aspirin. “Here, drink this before you pass out again.”
“Thanks, baby,” Jeffrey said. He sat up slowly and then carefully took the glass from him. Craig watched him swallow down the water. He wasn’t sure if he was expected to stay or leave tonight. Sometimes living right next door made things more complicated rather than convenient. It would be very easy for Craig to go back to his own apartment and sleep in his own bed. Jeffrey was still drunk; he probably wanted to be left alone. They’d see each other tomorrow anyway.
He decided to tuck Jeffrey into bed and bid him good night. When Jeffrey placed his empty glass on the table, he looked Craig up and down. “Are you going to sleep in your suit?” he asked.
“Of course not,” Craig said. And he happily started undressing. He wasn’t about to deny Jeffrey anything. Craig grabbed one of Jeffrey’s plain T-shirts and then snuggled into the other side of the bed. Jeffrey wrapped his arm around Craig and pulled him close until they were facing each other.
“I have to warn you, I’m a pain in the ass when I’m hungover,” Jeffrey said.
“Soooo, you’re perpetually hung over?” Craig teased.
“Very funny,” Jeffrey mumbled. “We should’ve stolen some more cake.”
“You really liked that cake,” Craig asked.
“It was good.”
“I think that was the vodka talking.”
“Maybe. The food was decent,” Jeffrey added. Craig grunted. “You didn’t like the food either?”
“Meatballs are not really…’wedding’ food, you know?” Craig said.
“What would you have at your wedding?” Jeffrey asked.
Craig froze and stared at Jeffrey. Should he answer that? Jeffrey seemed perfectly calm waiting for an answer. Jeffrey was far too drunk to be setting up some sort of trap with this conversation. “Well...it would be nice to skip the buffet and have waiters.” Craig paused, studying Jeffrey’s face closely. He was ready to change the conversation at the first sign of panic. “Some sort of seafood would be nice.”
“Lobster?”
Craig scoffed. “Do I look like I can afford something like that? Maybe shrimp, or even salmon.”
“Salmon’s fancy,” Jeffrey agreed. “Live band would be nice too.”
Craig’s heart was racing a mile a minute. “I’d, um, sacrifice the live music for a bigger wardrobe budget,” Craig said honestly. Jeffrey probably wouldn’t remember this conversation in the morning anyway.
Jeffrey chuckled. “How many outfit changes?”
“Oh, just two! Or five, I don’t know,” Craig replied.
“That’s a lie,” Jeffrey said.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, come on, baby. You are totally the type of person who’s dreamed of their wedding day,” Jeffrey said. “You wear your mother’s wedding ring. You’re the one that said you dreamed of settling down.”
Craig felt like all of those things were reasons to be dumped in Jeffrey Winger’s eyes. Luckily for Craig, he was far too tired of hiding parts of himself to make other people comfortable. “I dream of settling down, not necessarily the wedding.”
Jeffrey furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s the difference?”
“Well…” Craig started. He stared at Jeffrey’s throat, unable to meet his eyes. “I dream about living with someone, decorating a place together, waking up next to the same person every day, spending perfectly ordinary evenings watching TV on the couch. Don’t get me wrong, I’d go absolutely crazy planning a wedding, but...I’m more interested in making a life with someone.” Craig glanced up at Jeffrey’s face, which was way too thoughtful for a drunk person. “Some day,” Craig added. “Way in the future.”
Jeffrey looked at him for a long moment and then slowly nodded. He leaned over and kissed Craig. Craig’s mind was racing. What did this mean? Did he freak Jeffrey out? Had he said too much? Craig was too busy worrying to even enjoy the kiss before it was over. Jeffrey’s hand came up to cup his cheek. He rubbed his thumb against Craig’s skin.
“That sounds nice,” Jeffrey said.
And despite all the times Craig told himself to take this slow, Craig allowed himself to picture doing those things with Jeffrey.
But Jeffrey wasn’t there yet. Hell, Craig wasn’t sure he was ready for that. So he thought it best to try and diffuse the seriousness of the conversation. “How much would you bet that Garrett chose their wedding song?”
Jeffrey laughed and pulled Craig into him. “The worst possible wedding song,” Jeffrey agreed. Craig wrapped his arm around Jeffrey’s waist, savouring the feeling of them tangled up like this. “What song would you have picked?”
Craig almost sighed out loud. Jeffrey was really going to make him keep thinking about a possible wedding that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, if at all. At least now his face was buried in Jeffrey’s chest, so they could avoid eye contact. “Um... My Heart Will Go On ?”
“No!” Jeffrey complained.
“Why not? It’s a beautiful song,” Craig said.
“Yeah, made famous by a movie where the guy dies! It’s a sad song,” Jeffrey argued.
“It’s not exactly easy to pick a song for such an important occasion.”
Craig went through a mental list of all his favorite romance songs. Jeffrey had a point. Most romantic, slow songs were on the depressing side. He was picturing himself swaying on a dance floor with Jeffrey in a gorgeous tux...what would the music be?
“ Give your all to me ,” Jeffrey sang in a whisper, “ Give my all to you. You’re my end and my beginning. Even when I lose, I’m winning. ”
Craig waited for a moment, holding his breath. When it was clear Jeffrey was done singing, Craig spoke, “I’ve never heard that song before.”
“ All of Me by John Legend. It’s a slow piano song,” Jeffrey said.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It should be. He wrote it for his now-wife.”
He couldn’t think of anything else to say. They were quiet for so long that Craig began to doze off. He was on the edges of sleep when Jeffrey broke the silence again.
“It does sound nice. Settling down. Some day…” Jeffrey whispered.
Craig was busy making a big hangover breakfast. Britta had texted him early saying everyone was completely hungover and they needed sustenance. Craig was more than happy to rise to the challenge. He had his pop playlist playing lightly in the background. Jeffrey was still dead asleep. Craig was not looking forward to being the one to wake him. Though he was fairly hopeful that Jeffrey wouldn’t remember much of their conversation last night. He had been terribly drunk, after all.
Craig gleefully flipped a pancake and turned to continue cutting up fresh fruit.
“I’m dying,” Jeffrey announced as he entered the kitchen. Craig looked at him. Jeffrey’s hair was past the point of adorable bedhead and looked like it hadn’t been brushed or washed in a week. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and he had no swagger to his steps today.
“Morning, Jeffrey,” Craig chirped. Jeffrey walked up behind him. He wrapped his arms around Craig’s waist and buried his face in his neck.
“Too happy for so early, baby,” Jeffrey complained.
“It’s ten in the morning, Jeffrey,” Craig pointed out. “Everyone’s coming over for breakfast soon.”
“I know, saw the chat,” Jeffrey mumbled. Jeffrey moved away and grabbed Craig’s cellphone off the counter. Craig assumed Jeffrey planned to shut off his music. He wouldn’t blame him. He knew hangovers included horrible headaches. He continued to cut up the strawberries. After a few moments, Jeffrey set down his phone where it had been, music still playing. “I’m gonna shower,” Jeffrey said. He kissed the top of Craig’s head and then walked out of the kitchen. “If I’m not out in twenty minutes, it means I somehow drowned in there.”
“I’ll set a timer,” Craig called back. He turned to take out the pancake and start cooking another one. He hummed along to the end of the song that was playing. When the next song began, a piano filled the kitchen. Craig furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t recognize this song. He picked up his phone to check the song title: All of Me by John Legend.
Craig felt tears prickling at the edges of his eyes. He smiled to himself; Jeffrey must have queued this song earlier. He stood at the center of the kitchen, listening to the heartfelt lyrics.
Jeffrey was right. This would make a perfect wedding song.