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Ever since realizing that he was asexual and coming out, Troy had felt so much freer, so much more comfortable with himself. It had allowed him to think of his body in a new way, in a non-sexual way that made him much less uncomfortable and much more confident. It had helped him finally understand why he’d struggled so much to relate to his peers in high school and even now at Greendale.
And, of course, it had transformed his and Abed’s relationship into something new. Something amazing.
They hadn’t slept together even before Troy had realized that he was asexual, because Troy hadn’t been … ready. He’d figured he would be ready eventually.
He had never been ready.
So when he'd eventually stumbled across the word asexual, Troy had realized without a doubt that that was him. He’d told Abed soon after, and Abed had been wonderfully accepting. Annie had been too, when Troy had told her. He hadn’t told the others yet, but both Annie and Abed assured Troy that there was no need to rush. He’d tell the study group when he was ready, and if he was never ready, then that was okay.
Since Troy didn’t want to sleep with Abed, they found other ways to be close, intimate and express their love for one another.
It was wonderful.
They held hands. A lot.
While walking to class, while they ate lunch, while they were studying, while they watched movies, while they did literally anything that it was possible to do while also holding hands.
Abed’s hand fit perfectly in Troy’s. Their fingers laced together like it was the only thing they’d been made for. Abed’s hand was always a little warmer than Troy’s. It was always soft, safe, and gentle.
Sometimes, Abed would stim by tapping his finger’s against Troy’s hand while they were holding hands. It was always very fun, and made Troy unbelievably happy. There was just something so amazing about the fact that Abed was comfortable stimming with Troy.
They also kissed. Often.
Troy had his limits when it came to how much kissing he was comfortable with — as well as what kind of kissing he liked. But generally, Troy really liked kissing. He especially liked kissing Abed.
They kissed basically every time they said hello or goodbye to each other, most often just a small peck on the lips. It was such a small thing, but it was always an amazing reminder that they were boyfriends, and it never stopped making Troy giddy.
They often kissed when they were excited about something — like when a new season of a show they liked was announced, or whenever they came up with a new awesome idea for a world or story they could imagine in the Dreamatorium.
More times than Troy could count, the two of them stayed up late at night, somewhat awkwardly fitting themselves into the bottom bunk of their bed, and held each other, kissing slowly and gently.
They kissed in the mornings too — but only after brushing their teeth, because Abed couldn’t stand kissing with morning breath.
Often, when they held hands, Troy would lift Abed’s hand to his lips and kiss his knuckles. Troy kind of felt like they were an old married couple whenever he did that, which wasn’t a bad thought at all. He really liked the idea of growing old with Abed.
Abed never really kissed Troy’s hands — except for if he was doing an homage to something — but he did kiss Troy’s cheeks a lot. It was adorable, and Troy loved it every time.
They also touched in other ways.
They hugged a lot. A lot more than they'd used to. Troy loved hugging Abed. Abed didn’t always know when it was appropriate to hug — which was why he rarely initiated it — but once he realized that it was hugging time, he gave some of the best hugs Troy had ever gotten.
Troy also found himself simply leaning closer to Abed, almost regardless of whatever situation they were in. If he was close to Abed — whether they were standing close by each other, or sitting beside each other, or even walking beside each other — Troy would often subconsciously lean his body closer to Abed. It was as if he was physically drawn to him, like a magnet or something. Maybe he was, honestly.
Sometimes they fell asleep together, if they’d stayed up too long talking and kissing in the bottom bunk. Troy really liked it whenever that happened. He loved waking up with his head on Abed’s chest, feeling it rise and fall with Abed’s breathing. It felt … magical, almost.
Of course, it wasn’t every day that they could touch each other like that. Abed didn’t always like to be touched. When he got very overwhelmed, especially when his senses were overwhelmed, he sometimes couldn’t stand the feeling of people touching him.
Whenever that happened, Troy would make sure to never, ever touch him until Abed said he was ready.
Instead, he simply stayed close to Abed — if that was what Abed needed — and let him know that he was there. They often watched movies together whenever that happened, each of them sitting in their own recliners. Close, but not touching. In the same space, but without crossing any personal boundaries.
Not every act of love or intimacy was shown through touching, and Troy learned something new about that every day.
Not every act of love or intimacy was what Troy had thought it had to be. He was always, always learning, and he was extremely grateful for that.
They made food for each other, listened to each other rant, talked about weird and nerdy things together, sat silently together and enjoyed each other’s company, watched a lot of TV together, said “I love you” as often as humanly possible, and so much more.
They were there for each other, and they showed each other how much they cared in ways that both of them were comfortable with.
Troy didn’t like sex, so they didn’t sleep together. Abed didn’t always like touch, and so Troy kept his distance whenever that happened.
They both liked holding hands, so they held hands as often as they could. They both liked kissing, so they kissed a lot.
They simply liked being around each other. So that was what they did.