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Not long after the study group received the news of Pierce’s death, they did a lie detector test that Pierce demanded they do. It was less a thing where he wanted to see who was against him, and more him needing to mess with them one last time.
It was regular Pierce shenanigans, where he’d make each member of the group experience something deep and personal, and have his own way of disguising it as a gift, much like when he believed he was dying. However, this time, he wouldn’t be doing things like leading Jeff to believe his dad was coming back for him.
After each person was grilled with questions, they would receive at least one present, which was always a vial of Pierce’s own semen. Everything was normal, or as normal Pierce could keep anything, until it was Troy’s turn receiving what Pierce had left for him.
Pierce was asking Troy to sail around the world and do what Pierce himself had not. He saw himself in Troy, but also saw the kindness of his heart, and how much better of a person he could be.
Upon hearing this, the Greendale Seven didn’t know what to think. Surely Troy wouldn’t do it, after all, it was a small Pierce mind game, and sailing off across the world seemed too dangerous and preposterous! “I’ll do it,” announced Troy. He seemed deep in thought, as if wondering if this was even a good idea at all. The whole study group was silent, until Abed, not facing Troy, or anyone for that matter, replied with a simple “cool. Cool, cool, cool,” to which the lady monitoring the results of the polygraph says that he’s lying.
The night before Troy leaves, Annie exits the apartment and stays with Britta, so Troy and Abed can have some alone time, due to them being the closest out of anyone else in the group.
“Okay, guys! I’m going to go spend the night with Britta. I trust you two won’t get in too much trouble without me!” Despite her words of warning, she doesn’t seem to mean them at all and even wears a smile on her face.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Troy assures her, and Abed gives a small nod standing next to him.
“Okay, well call me if you need anything. I’ll see you tomorrow, Troy, okay?” She keeps smiling, but it doesn’t entirely reach up to her eyes. Annie gives Troy a nice, big hug, and then heads out.
Abed hasn’t talked much since Pierce’s will was being read, and he doesn’t have much to say. Instead, Troy decides to talk. “Wanna build a blanket fort in the Dreamitorium? Or a pillow fort?” He lets out a sudden gasp, and his face lights up, like he had the most brilliant idea. “Or a pillow and a blanket fort combined?”
Abed looks lost in thought for a few seconds, but Troy doesn’t mind. He could wait however long it takes for his best friend, and he doesn’t want to upset Abed by rushing him to any decisions. “Sure, why not? Let’s start bringing all the pillows and blankets to the Dreamatorium. I’ll go get Annie’s!”
Troy watches for a few seconds as Abed runs into Annie’s room for her pillows and blankets. He’s sure she’ll understand. It’s his last night with his best friend afterall. Troy gets all the pillows and blankets from their bunk bed and then takes down the blankets separating their makeshift room from the rest of the house, then brings everything to the Dreamatorium.
Troy looks around the Dreamatorium, its black walls lined with orange tape, and a singular door, which upon opening shows the engine. He remembers all the adventures him and Abed had gone on there, especially the Inspector Spacetime ones. He’ll miss being the Constable Reggie to Abed’s Inspector….
He hears Abed’s footsteps behind him, and he quickly turns to see Abed holding Annie’s pillows and blankets and even the cushions from the living room. “Abed, you’re a genius! I can’t believe I almost forgot the cushions.”
“If this is going to be our last blanket or pillow fort for years to come, then it should be the best one we’ve made yet.”
Abed closes the door behind him and they start building the fort together. When they’re done, they sit next to each other, a lamp lighting it up for them so they can see each other clearly. “This is awesome!” Troy looks around them, visibly amazed at their handiwork. Even if it isn’t even the most impressive fort, it’s theirs, and he loves it.
The duo does their signature handshake, but Abed doesn’t seem to be too happy, causing Troy to worry. “What’s wrong? If I messed up the fort, I can fix it.”
“No, it’s great. I guess I just don’t like that it’s your last day here. The Inspector can’t travel without his Constable. The adventures aren’t as fun alone, and Annie doesn’t know how to do them right.”
As Troy listens to Abed, his mood saddens. “To be honest, I’m really scared to go on this trip. One day, I was a completely normal guy, hanging out with you and our other friends, and then the next second I’m planning to sail across the whole world. What if something goes wrong? And I’ll miss you guys… especially you, Abed.”
“Then just don’t go,” Abed looks up at him. “If you’re nervous about it, you don’t have to go. Or take me with you.” Troy processes what Abed just told him, surprised at first, before his face falls solemnly.
“I’d stay if I could, but I promised Pierce I would do this. It’s too late to go back now. I have to prove that I’m a good man, the kind of man that Pierce wanted to be and saw in me. And you don’t want to go with me. You’d probably hate it out there, and then you would miss home, and I don’t know what I would do if you fell overboard or something.”
“It would just be like a regular adventure, except this one is even more real than all the other ones before! We’ll sail across the world together, and fight pirates and sea monsters. And we’ll pretend to be the bad guys, when we’re really the good, nice guys, just like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean.”
“I wish we could, Abed, I wish we could.”
They sit in silence for a few seconds, until Abed breaks it, almost hesitantly. “I love you.”
Instead of the usual ‘I love you, too,’ Troy decides to make a movie reference himself. “I know.” Abed looks up at him and they make eye contact, staring deep into each other's eyes.
Abed felt as if he had looked at Troy a million times before, and yet this was his first time truly seeing him. He knows that he and Troy met for a reason, and that they were there, together, in the Dreamatorium together for a reason. Like it was fate that they had found each other.
Troy looks into Abed’s wonderful, magical eyes and feels something he doesn’t think he had ever felt up until that point, or, at least, he hadn’t felt that particular thing so strongly before in his whole entire life. All he knew was that whatever he was feeling made him feel comfortable and warm, almost like a blanket being wrapped around him if he were to have been cold for a very, very long time.
The next thing the two know, they’re leaning forward, inching towards each other by the second. When they’re no more than three inches apart, they both slowly close their eyes, before moving those final three inches. Their lips press against each other, a tingling feeling, but a very pleasant one, moving throughout each of their bodies.
They slowly move from one another and open their eyes. Instead of saying anything, they just bask in the silence, processing what happened as they stare into each other’s eyes. From this moment forward, they both know that no matter how long they are apart from each other, they will always see each other again, and that first, special, kiss is the symbol of that.