Work Text:
It takes longer than anyone had hoped, but eventually, finally, Troy comes home.
His hair’s a little longer, and he’s got a beard now, and although he’s Skyped with Abed plenty while he was away, he still gets a little thrill at the look Abed gives him – a true full-body once-over, his eyes hungry and appreciative and lingering over Troy’s lips for just a moment before meeting his eyes. And then he smiles, and Troy’s heart skips a beat.
Abed looks good, too. Like, really good. His hair’s a little longer, too, curling at the ends in a way that makes him look soft and relaxed. Other than that, he’s essentially the same as he was when Troy first left, which is such a beautiful thought that it makes Troy want to cry a little bit.
When they meet at the airport and fall into their first hug after nearly three years apart, Troy worries that neither of them will pull away. Abed rubs a hand up and down Troy’s back soothingly and whispers, “I’ve missed you so much,” while Troy tries to keep it together.
“Abed,” he says into his best friend’s chest, “you know I never cry, but…”
Abed’s chest shakes with laughter as he pulls Troy in even tighter, impossibly close.
Everyone flies out to LA to see Troy, and he spends way too long pretending he’s not going to cry before he eventually gives in.
His first night home is spent on the floor of Abed’s apartment, eating pizza and laughing and reminiscing with his best friends in the entire world, who put up a valiant effort to fill him in on everything he’s missed over the past three years, from new cities (LA, DC, Atlanta, and a brief summer Britta spent back in New York) to new relationships (Shirley’s budding romance with a sous chef, Annie’s dating misadventures before finding her current girlfriend, and whatever unnamed thing is blooming – maybe for real this time – between Jeff and Britta).
“I can’t believe I missed out on so much,” Troy says wistfully, though he tries not to be too sad, because he’s home now.
“That’s what happens when you spend all your viable phone time Facetiming your little boy toy,” Britta smirks, and Troy tosses his napkin at her.
“Speaking of which,” Jeff says with a not so subtle nod to where Troy is huddled against Abed’s side, “should we put these two out of their misery and call it a night?”
Troy is a little offended, because he thinks he’s been extremely well-behaved for a man who’s been separated from the love of his life for three years. But he can’t ignore Abed’s hand, which has been slipping under the hem of his shirt and tracing patterns over Troy’s skin, and it’s getting harder to deny the fact that every place his body is touching Abed’s feels like it’s on fire.
He regretfully detaches himself from Abed and then helps him to his feet.
“I’ll clean this all up if you walk everyone out,” Abed says, squeezing his hand gently. He calls goodbye to everyone, promising to meet them at the hotel tomorrow before taking them all on an official Abed Nadir-approved tour of Los Angeles.
Troy leads everybody down to the lobby and fondly watches them head down the street to where their Uber is waiting, Annie looping her arm though Shirley’s and Britta sneaking her hand into Jeff’s back pocket as he drapes an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. His heart swells with a feeling he can’t quite name, but it feels close to the word family.
He takes his time heading back upstairs. He knows Abed doesn’t want him to help clean – “You’re still technically a guest here, Troy” – but he feels useless just sitting on the couch by himself while Abed does all the work. And honestly, he’s too keyed up to just sit still, too full of anxious energy about where the night might take them and how it feels to be alone with Abed now that nothing is left unsaid.
Inside the apartment, he watches Abed clear glasses from the coffee table and bring them to the kitchen sink, run a dishrag over the counter, place the leftover pizza in the fridge. It’s so simple, but so comfortable and domestic that it makes something ache within Troy. He can’t help but think of how badly he wants this life – waving goodbye to friends, cleaning up after a party, rehashing the events of the night in bed before they kiss and touch each other under the covers. He wants it all, and he wants Abed, too, so much he can barely think straight.
Abed must feel Troy’s eyes on him after a while, because he glances up and shoots him a smile – happy, but a little confused, too. He takes his time putting silverware into the dishwasher, and Troy wonders if it’s because Abed is as lost as he is, equally unsure how to proceed.
It’s silly. They’ve done this before, once. They’ve done it over the phone at least a dozen times. But the reality of doing it again in person, and knowing what it means this time, is sort of overwhelming. Troy wishes he had another drink to steady his nerves, and then decides it’s probably for the best that he didn’t.
When he can’t take it anymore, he makes his way to the kitchen. Abed has his back to him, washing his hands at the sink, and Troy takes the opportunity to rest his forehead between Abed’s shoulder blades and slide his hands over his hips. Abed stiffens almost imperceptibly at the touch.
“Is this okay?” Troy murmurs, rubbing small circles into Abed’s hips with his thumbs.
Drying his hands, Abed relaxes into Troy’s grip just a little. “It should be,” he says. “It’s not like we haven’t done this before. It’s just, now–” He breaks off and shakes his head. “I want this so bad I don’t even know how to start,” he breathes, and Troy’s grip tightens.
“I know the feeling,” he confesses. “Do you want to maybe go lie down and we can figure it out from there?”
Abed nods as he turns around, but then he stops, staring down at Troy with an impossibly soft look in his eyes. Troy swallows nervously.
“I might, uh…” Abed drops his gaze to the floor before looking at Troy again, eyes finally landing on his lips. “I might kiss you before we get that far. If that’s okay.”
Troy finds himself nodding dumbly as Abed put his hands around his waist and leans in, and then all of his thoughts fly out the window and he is nothing but pure reaction to Abed’s actions.
God, this is what he was missing out on for three years – no, longer than that, more like the entire time he knew Abed. What a waste, every minute he spent without Abed’s lips sliding over his, his teeth grazing Troy’s lips lightly before his tongue slips into his mouth. How did he ever go more than five minutes without Abed’s hands all over him, sliding up under his T-shirt and then slipping lower to grab his ass and pull him closer?
Troy slips a thigh between Abed’s legs just for the thrill of hearing his sudden intake of breath before he pulls away from the kiss. “Troy, we should move,” he says, and the sharp edge to his voice makes Troy a little weak.
“Yeah, moving is – we can move,” Troy says shakily, tugging Abed closer by his hoodie and dragging him backward through the apartment. He trusts Abed not to let him crash into any furniture along the way.
When they reach the bedroom, Abed backs Troy up until the bed hits the back of his legs. He sits, his eyes widening when he sees Abed sinking to his knees in front of him.
But instead of reaching for Troy’s jeans, Abed reaches down and unties Troy’s shoelace, gently pulling off first his sneaker and then his sock before moving to work on the other shoe.
Something twists deep in Troy’s stomach at the sight of Abed kneeling in front of him, his hands delicately working through the knots in Troy’s sea-weathered, fraying shoelaces. It’s such an intimate position, and all of his movements are gentle, from the graceful way he works through the tangled laces to the almost reverent way he brushes his thumb over the bone of Troy’s ankle. It feels a little bit like Troy is being worshipped. It’s a dizzying thought.
“Abed,” he murmurs, reaching up to brush a hand through Abed’s hair, “do you remember when Britta made us take that love language quiz? What did you get for your results?”
Abed’s hands still for just a moment before finishing their task and coming up to rest on Troy’s knees. “Acts of service,” he finally says, quietly, glancing up at Troy before looking away.
Troy’s hand finds Abed’s chin and tilts it up so that the two are gazing eye to eye once again. “Awesome,” Troy breathes, leaning in to capture Abed’s lips in a kiss.
Abed’s hands tighten over Troy’s knees before sliding higher up his leg as he shifts his weight to lean up and into the kiss. “I remember yours,” he says suddenly, his mouth still close to Troy’s. “Physical touch. But I think you like words of affirmation, too.”
Troy’s grip on Abed’s hair tightens as he nods. “I’m that obvious, huh?”
“You are. But I like that. Sex is a really bad time to misread cues and body language, so the fact that you’re so easy to read…it makes it better for me. I’m not so worried that I’ll do something wrong.”
His hands are still rubbing up and down Troy’s thighs, slowly and with a firm pressure that drives Troy a little crazy. He closes his eyes and feels Abed move in closer until his lips are near Troy’s ears.
“Plus,” he adds quietly, “it’s just really hot to hear your reactions. Even over the phone it used to drive me crazy. I can’t wait to hear them and see them in person this time.”
“Ah, fuck, Abed,” Troy groans, already so far gone for this, and it’d be embarrassing if Abed hadn’t just told him how much he likes it. But he’s Abed, and just like in all things he’s already preempted Troy’s reaction and worked to troubleshoot before the issues even arise. Troy loves him so much he can hardly breathe.
“Come here,” he whispers, tugging Abed into his lap and pushing his T-shirt up to get a grip on his bare waist.
“You could never do anything wrong, by the way,” he says breathlessly as Abed kisses his way down his neck. “Or if you did, I’d just tell you. You don’t have to worry about that. I don’t ever want you to worry when we’re doing this.”
Abed’s lips pause against Troy’s jaw. “Thank you,” he says softly, before latching on to Troy’s neck and sucking lightly, smiling at the resulting whimper.
It doesn’t take long for their kisses to grow heated and desperate. Troy tugs at their clothes until they’re lying in a heap on the floor and then falls back onto the bed, reaching out for Abed, who pauses for a moment at the edge of the bed.
“You okay?” Troy asks softly, propping himself up on his elbow.
Abed nods silently, stroking a hand up Troy’s calf, eyes seeking out every inch of bare skin. “You’re so perfect, Troy,” he whispers reverently. Troy thinks he might melt.
“Come here.” He’s begging now, and Abed follows where he’s led, lying on top of Troy and letting his hands wander everywhere they can reach. He grinds almost lazily against Troy, who’s so hard by now he can barely think.
“You gotta do something else or I might die,” he gasps, and to his sheer annoyance Abed just laughs.
“Tell me what you want and I’ll do it,” he says, trailing his lips over Troy’s collarbone.
“I want you,” Troy groans, half arousal and half frustration.
But it’s enough to get the message across. Abed reaches into the drawer of his bedside table to draw out a bottle of lube and a condom. He’s watching Troy again with that sharp, dark look that makes something hot and molten curl up deep in his stomach.
“Have you ever done this before?” Abed asks as he coats his finger in lube, and there’s no judgment in the question, but Troy’s still a little embarrassed to answer honestly.
“Not since I left for the trip. I, uh…I didn’t think to bring lube on the boat, honestly.”
“It’s too bad they don’t sell lube anywhere in the world outside of the United States.”
“Shut up.” Troy huffs out a laugh and knocks his knee against Abed’s shoulder. “I don’t know. Sometimes I'd do it. But it felt kind of weird doing it alone, after we…I kind of wanted to wait and do it with you. Or at least, I was hoping I’d get the chance to do that.”
“Oh.” Abed’s eyes widen nearly imperceptibly before he ducks his head to press a kiss against Troy’s thigh. “Yeah. Cool. Cool cool cool. Here we are, I guess.”
“Here we are,” Troy murmurs as Abed’s lips trail up his thigh. Eventually, he looks back up at Troy, who nods slightly, and then Abed’s finger is gently pushing into him, Abed watching anxiously for his reaction the entire time.
“I’m okay,” he breathes, and Abed smiles, reaching up with his free hand to interlock his fingers with Troy.
It feels so good, partly because it’s just objectively great and partly because Abed is so careful with him, gentle and attentive and determined to make it amazing for him. He speeds up his movements when he can see Troy getting needy, and when he whines, Abed adds another finger, kissing and touching Troy all the while and whispering what a good job he’s doing.
“You look so good like this,” he whispers, and now that Troy knows he means it, that this isn’t just about sex for Abed, it makes him feel hot all over. “I can’t believe you didn’t let anyone else do this to you while you were gone. You waited for me.”
He inhales shakily as he watches Troy moan helplessly below him. “I can’t wait to fuck you, Troy,” he says, and Troy almost wails.
“Abed, please, I’m ready now, please fuck me now,” he begs, shameless and achy for it. Abed’s eyes flutter shut for a moment before he nods and carefully rolls on the condom.
He kneels in front of Troy and pushes Troy’s legs up and open. “Are you okay?” he asks quietly.
Troy can feels his eyes well up at the question, because it’s so gentle of Abed to ask him when really he should be the one asking if Abed is okay – Abed, who had to say goodbye to Troy and waited so long for him to come to his senses, for him to finally come home. And yet he’s the one making sure Troy is okay with everything going on, and he’s the one stroking Troy’s face, the one brushing his thumb over Troy’s lip…
Troy sucks on the tip of his thumb lightly just to watch the way Abed’s lips part in awe before nodding. “Please, Abed,” he says softly.
And then Abed pushes into him, carefully, and before they can help it they’re both moaning loudly at the feeling.
“Oh my God, Abed, Abed,” Troy pants, his hand scrambling to grab on to his friend’s shoulder, his hair, any place he can reach.
Above him, Abed’s breathing heavily, trying so hard not to move until Troy begins to roll his hips impatiently. Then he moves in earnest, thrusting into Troy and making him see stars.
They’d had phone sex, and shared videos, and had even gotten off watching each other on a Skype call once, so Troy knew how hot things could be between them. But it was nothing compared to the real thing, the way Abed moves so fluidly over him, the way his hands never still, like he could never be touching enough of Troy at once. His hair falls into his eyes as he drops his head down, pressing wet kisses all along the side of Troy’s neck and face.
“Oh my God,” he whispers, and Troy whimpers at how wrecked Abed sounds. “Oh my God, Troy – Troy, I–”
He grinds into Troy, slow and dirty, before his pace picks up again. Troy wraps his legs tightly around Abed’s hips and just rides every wave of pleasure, of desire, of affection that washes over him as his brain tries to convince him that what he’s doing is real.
“Fuck, I want this forever,” Troy breathes, and Abed grips him tighter, stifles a whine by biting into Troy’s shoulder.
All at once through his blissed-out haze Troy realizes that what he just said is completely, irrefutably true. He wants Abed forever, all the sex and love and heat and laughter and magic and fun he brings along with him, and even the bad times, too – Troy wants it all for every second of the rest of his life. Abed, I love you, he thinks wildly, dizzy with the intensity of it all. He doesn’t know whether he’s about to come or propose on the spot.
It suddenly occurs to him that he can say it out loud, so that’s exactly what he does. “Abed,” he moans, his nails digging into Abed’s back. “I love you. God, I love you so much.”
He hears Abed’s sharp intake of breath as his hips speed up. “Fuck, Troy,” he hisses. “I love you too.”
His teeth scrape against Troy’s earlobe as his hips snap brutally against Troy’s. “I love you so much, Troy,” he repeats. “Please…please, don’t–”
“I won’t, I promise,” Troy babbles, barely knowing what he’s agreeing to at this point. “I love you, Abed, I promise, I won’t leave again, I promise I’m here…” He gasps at a particularly sharp thrust from Abed. “Oh, fuck fuck fuck, please let me come, Abed, I’m so close…”
Abed fucks into him once, twice, three more times before he shudders, panting Troy’s name against his neck as he comes. Troy whimpers at all of the sensation, kissing Abed’s temple and smoothing a hand through his hair until he’s calmed down enough to move.
He carefully disposes of the condom before sliding down Troy’s body, dropping gentle kisses all over his chest and stomach before pausing at his legs. “You did so well, Troy,” he whispers, kissing Troy’s knee delicately and carefully spreading Troy’s legs open.
Troy moans at the feeling and the praise, and he sees Abed’s eyes light up. “I mean it,” he whispers, planting slow, lazy kisses up the inside of Troy’s thigh. “You were so good, baby. You made me feel so good.”
His voice is low and growly, and combined with his soft lips and the hot sweep of his tongue, it’s almost too much. “Abed,” Troy moans weakly, reaching a hand to grip Abed’s hair.
“It’s okay, baby. You can come soon. I just want to make you feel good first…”
He bites and sucks his way up one of Troy’s thighs and down the other until Troy’s hips are rolling of their own accord, desperately chasing something Abed’s teasing but refusing to give. Just when Troy feels like he’s going to lose his mind from the agony of it all, Abed pauses, locking eyes with Troy and smoothing his hands over his thighs.
“I really love you,” he says softly. “You know that, right?”
Troy nods, a little dumbstruck and in awe of the man in front of him, who can leave him a whimpering, shaky mess on the bed and then shatter his heart within minutes.
“Of course I do, Abed,” he breathes. “And I love you too.”
“I know,” Abed whispers, pressing one more kiss to Troy’s thigh before turning his attention where Troy really needs it.
Troy’s eyes fall shut as Abed takes him into his mouth, all wet heat and careful focus on making Troy feel as good as possible. His hands grip Troy’s thighs, his ass, one hand moving to scratch gently up Troy’s stomach, and it’s all so good there’s no way Troy is going to last long. He tugs on Abed’s hair, gently, in warning, because he has no words left in him, they have long since left the building, and all that’s left to do is moan helplessly until he comes, shivering and whimpering through his orgasm until Abed gently pulls away.
He lets Troy catch his breath, resting his cheek against the side of his leg until Troy’s eyes can focus on Abed’s again. “Hey,” he says then, quietly.
“Hey,” Troy says back, and all at once he’s laughing, covering his face with his hands and giggling from the sheer joy of the moment.
Abed smiles back, a little confused, before getting up to get a washcloth and clean them both up. Troy is still giggling a little as he curls into Abed’s side and lets himself be held.
Slowly, steadily, Abed’s long fingers trace abstract patterns over Troy’s back. His brain is loud in the comfortable silence, and it takes him a moment to speak. “So no alarm clock tonight, right?”
“Nope,” Troy answers happily.
“No life-changing voyages on tap for tomorrow?”
“Nada.”
“I might not let you leave this bed tomorrow,” Abed says casually, like it’s just occurred to him.
“Baby, we got money now,” Troy reminds him, stretching with a grin. “We don’t ever have to leave this bed again.”
Abed hums as he stares fondly down at Troy. “I think we did all of this wrong,” he says quietly, sounding almost sad. “I should have told you I loved you before you left. We shouldn’t have had to figure things out while you were halfway around the world.”
“You’re right.” Troy nods solemnly and squeezes Abed a little tighter.
“But I’m okay with how we got here, as long as we made it here eventually,” Abed continues, dropping a kiss to Troy’s forehead.
Troy feels impossibly soft as he gazes up at Abed. “Do you want to be my boyfriend?” he asks quietly.
Abed huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, I do,” he admits. “You know I’m going to marry you one day, right?”
“Yeah,” Troy breathes, rolling over so he can straddle his boyfriend and drop soft kisses onto his lips, again and again. “But boyfriends first.”
“Works for me,” Abed smiles, and pulls Troy in for another kiss.