Title: Breathe Deep

Category: Community

Ship: Jeff/Annie- Mention of Jeff/Britta

Genre: Romance

Word Count: 1035

Rated: PG

Summary: Their relationship is measured in their smell. Schmoop bingo: perfume/cologne

She leans over his shoulder, her low neckline in his line of sight as she quotes the evils of man. He checks out her perfect creamy young rack even as his mind screams pervert. Man is evil. Still, as she leans in, giving him a view into perfect damnation, he catches something else. Her smell. It's clean, earthy and everything a woman should be: soft, delicate, intoxicating. And that, more than her awesome breasts has him leaping out of his chair. Her smell is driving him crazy until all he can think about is hauling her to him and sinking his face into her neck so he can drown in her fragrance. It's after he's left her in their study room along with his cell phone that he truly realizes why he left like the hound of hell is on his ass. He didn't expect her to smell like a woman, little Annie 'Adderall' Edison didn't smell like a little girl. She smells like a woman and now that he knows that, he also knows he would never be able to see her as a child again.

She's saying good-bye to the first group of real friends she has ever had and it hurts. Truly, deeply like a fatal cut and as she leans into him, she tries to convince herself that saying good-bye to him doesn't hurt more than the rest. She rests her chin on his strong shoulder, as his arms circle her waist. She feels his face in her hair, his whispered words breath on her skin but they are all dim. She presses her nose to the collar of his suit. He smells like wood, spice, expensive cologne and clean sheets. It's as warm as his embrace and she wants to stay, right there… forever. Still, she slips into her perky happy Annie smile and breaks the touch, allowing Vaughn to pull her away. She gets as far as the end of the parking lot where Vaughn's friend is waiting with a van ready to take them to the airport. Her hand slips from her boyfriend's hand and she's grounded to the asphalt. Vaughn turns to her, his dirty blond hair covering part of his face; it helps as she shakes her head softly. He sighs and gives her a knowing look, so much for the hippy lost in his own world. He leans in and brushes his lips across her cheek and whispers 'good luck mountain flower' before he gets into the van.

She stays until she can no longer see the van; he's a good guy. She knows Jeff would disagree but she knows better. She turns back, making her way to where the dance is still taking place. She's not sure what she's going to say to her friends and wonders what she can say that won't make her sound silly and childish, when all of a sudden, he's in front of her and it's slipping out. This is where she wants to be, she's not ready to move on from here, from them, from him. How they get to being locked in each other arms, she's not sure, one minute they're taking about living two lives, the next she's leaning in and kissing him. And then, he's kissing her back. Britta, Vaughn, Slater, they all disappear as she swims in a world where only two things exist: Jeff Winger lips and his scent.

They're back to normal, well as normal as he and Annie could be. Their 'tranny dance' make out is a distant memory. Sure, he still wakes up with wet sheet some mornings when he dreams about her but it's in the past. She's back to being sweet Disney-face school-happy Annie and he's back to being gross as she says. He should be happy and he is. Britta and he are back to bantering friends, over the awkwardness her insincere declaration of love caused. He's back to hooking up with random women. All is well. But then, he's having a drunken make-out session with Britta and it's awkward again. For one, whatever attraction they once had for each other has run its course and now kissing Britta who is now one of his best friends is like kissing a relative, an attractive one but family nonetheless. And two, it makes him realize that there's another study group member that he has very un-family like feelings for and this time it's not going away. He lets Troy drop him off and even allows him to take his car. It's the kid's birthday and he didn't help to make it a good one.

He doesn't go up to his apartment, instead, he starts walking and even though he tells himself not to, his drunken feet led him to her place and she could have a worse place to live. He knocks on her door even though he knows it's late or early depending on the day and waits. He's put at ease slightly when she cracks the door open with the chain still on. Even with the alcohol still running through her system, she still has the sense to be careful. She opens the door fully, looking at him with sleepy confused eyes. She opens her mouth to ask but he doesn't let her, he's spilling it all at her feet: his stupid drunken kiss with Britta in the back seat with Abed next to them. He sees the frown on her face as he tells her; and then, he's saying more. How it's her he wanted to be kissing. How he wanted to call over the summer but was too chicken shit. How's she nineteen and he's in his mid-thirty's and he feels sleazy but he can't help but want her. She whispers she'll be twenty in two weeks and he laughs slightly. She takes his hand and pulls him inside. That night as he lays next to her, both fully clothed, he holds her next to him. He breathes in and smells the jasmine from her shampoo, the vanilla from her lotion. He whispers against her skin that she smells nice. Her nose rubs against his throat and she tells him he smells like smoke.