Work Text:
Troy
The apartment is hot. Or maybe hot is the wrong word. Troy would describe the sun as hot, or a tea kettle as hot, or Abed as hot. No, the apartment is warm, and humid, which is quite possibly much worse. Troy could try to fix the air conditioner box, but it’s really late, and he knows it needs a new part anyway, so getting up would be too much effort. He thinks maybe he’d like to never get up, anyway, because lying on the carpet with his shirt off beside Abed, listening to the crickets and bathing in the moonlight from the open window… It’s safe. Despite the heat, it feels so perfect, just him and Abed and the night.
Abed
Abed would really like to focus on the here-and-now, because the temperature and humidity are becoming unbearable. He’s lying on his back, holding Troy’s hand, looking up at the glow in the dark star stickers they put up so long ago. Abed is concentrating on the stars, counting them over and over again as a distraction from the temperature, but even without looking at Troy he knows he’s staring at him. It’s not in a creepy way, but in a Troy way. Abed noticed a long time ago that Troy likes to stare at him, a lot. He supposes he became the object of Troy’s affection years ago, before they were even a little bit gay.
It’s too much -the heat- and Abed feels like he’s suffocating. He can feel a bead of sweat run down his face, into his hair, and that’s the breaking point.
Troy
Troy is happy to look at Abed. Abed, who’s staring at the fake starred ceiling with the same level of fascination as he might look at the real Milky Way. Troy would look at Abed forever, in the same way that he’d stay here on the carpet forever. Because it’s perfect. Because Abed’s perfect. Troy knows Abed feels the same way. Neither of them ever need to say it.
And then Abed is shaking his hand out of Troy’s, and muttering something, and after a second he’s sitting up.
Abed
Abed can’t handle the tropical level humidity surrounding him, and he shakes his wrist frantically to get his hand free from Troy’s sweaty palm. He sits up, knowing Troy is still watching him in concern, and looks around.
The apartment is dark and quiet, the only sounds being their breathing and the insects outside. Abed inhales deeply, considering his most likely option. He’s been self-harm free for months, so nothing’s fresh, and it’s not like Troy can see anything in this light.
“It’s too hot.” He mumbles, and in one swift movement he rips off his hoodie and t-shirt. “That’s better.” He says this with an exaggerated sleepy tone to his voice, hoping to disguise his anxiety as exhaustion.
Troy
Troy watches Abed tear off the hoodie he was wearing (it’s actually Troy’s hoodie that Abed stole), and then the t-shirt under it, and he accidentally lets out a soft gasp as he realizes that oh god Abed is shirtless.
He watches Abed lean back down, involuntarily unable to take his eyes off Abed’s chest (who gave him the right to look so gorgeous?). He expects Abed to go back to fake stargazing, but instead he’s surprised when Abed snuggles up closer to him and looks at him, amused.
“Troy, my eyes are up here.” Abed says quietly, a playful smile on his lips.
Troy swallows. He wants to say something cool, something he thinks Jeff would say, but his mouth betrays him. “You’re pretty.” He says instead.
Abed
Taking the hoodie off was a brave move on it’s own because it revealed his scarred forearms, but going full shirtless and matching Troy? That was probably the scariest thing Abed had done in a long time. (And he went to Greendale!) Yet he did do it, because he trusted Troy -not just to not say the wrong thing- but to say the right thing that would relieve all his anxieties.
Once his shirt is completely off, Abed feels exposed, and he leans back on the carpet again. The alarming thing is that Troy is staring at him. At his chest, and his stomach, and his abs (because of course he has abs). For a second, Abed worries that Troy is examining the scars that form constellations and little clusters on his stomach and just below his collarbone, as well as the little groupings on his ribs, but if Troy wants to stare at his scars, why not look at his arms?
And then it hits Abed. Ohhhh. Troy’s just being gay. Troy isn’t trying to make Abed uncomfortable by staring at his scars, he’s just ogling over his chest!
And so Abed scoots closer to Troy, resting his head on his arm but on his side, facing Troy, and says, in a way he hopes sounds charming, “Troy, my eyes are up here.”
Abed notices that Troy’s dreamy brown eyes seem just as satisfied admiring Abed’s face as his chest and torso. He watches Troy gulp, and then hears him stammer in the most adorable way, “You’re pretty.”
Abed giggles. Full-on giggles, and nestles closer to Troy. “Am I?”
Troy nods enthusiastically. “Very.” He confirms.
Troy
If Troy weren’t busy taking Abed in he’d probably feel a lot more embarrassed for his starstruck reaction to Abed than he does. He really needs to pull it together. They’re flirting now, or at least he thinks they’re flirting, but maybe Abed is the one flirting and Troy is just making a fool of himself.
Abed is resting his head on Troy’s bicep ( when did that happen?! ) and gazing fondly into Troy’s eyes.
Troy decides that he really needs to do something productive (and maybe a little bit cooler than saying, ‘you’re pretty’) and so he sits up, which prompts Abed to also sit up, and he cups Abed’s face, and delicately runs his hand down Abed’s neck, shoulder, and arm. When his hand reaches Abed’s, he takes it in his and kisses it like a knight would kiss a lady’s to show chivalry. He proceeds to kiss all up Abed’s wrist and arm, working on every little scar he sees. When he gets up to Abed’s shoulder, he moves to kissing his neck, still rising higher and higher.
Right before they’re fully kissing on the lips, Abed pulls away. “I knew you would handle me being shirtless really well.” He breathes.
Troy grins. “Was that okay?” He asks.
Abed nods. “More than okay.”
Troy smiles and turns his attention to Abed’s chest, because that’s what they’re there for. He traces each little cluster of scars, each row and crisscross, with his finger, before kissing them each in turn.
“Mm… Pretty boy.” He mumbles as he presses his lips to a particularly thick scar that forms an X on Abed’s left pec. “And handsome.” He breathes hot air over Abed’s skin, his mouth still traveling from scar to scar, and settling on a dozen horizontals on Abed’s stomach. “I’ll kiss it to make it better.” Troy mumbles again. He drags his lips over Abed's skin. It's not hard to find more scars to give attention to, and as he kisses them he says, his voice hot and heavy, "Aw, so many, so many…” And then he whispers a, “You’re so perfect."
Abed
Abed threads his fingers through Troy’s hair as Troy continues to dutifully kiss every last scar. Abed had heard of this trope before, and even been worried that it would make him feel uncomfortable if Troy ever did it, but now his fears are gone. Troy seems to be an expert at this, simultaneously validating and complimenting Abed, while at the same time humming little noises of sympathy and understanding with each scar he discovers.
When Troy gets to the last cut, a long, thick line that runs parallel to Abed’s collar bone, he kisses all the way along it, before pulling away from Abed’s chest and kissing him on the lips.
“Did I already call you a pretty boy?” Troy asks.
Abed scrunches his nose like a bunny. “I think you did, love.” He says affectionately.
Troy furrows his brow, thinking. “Well I think since it’s true, I can say it more than once.” He says, running a hand through Abed’s hair. “I love you, pretty boy.”
Time is a flat circle. Abed thinks, as he once again finds himself lying on his back on the carpet of his too warm room, holding hands with Troy and looking up at the fake stars. The only difference this time around is that now all of Abed’s scars are illuminated in the moonlight, and even though normally Abed would hide them from himself, he feels… Fine about their presence. Maybe what Troy did actually helped him, because the thing he had felt so ashamed of seems almost a reminder of Troy’s love now. And he doesn’t want to hide that.