Hello hello! Glad to see some of you stuck around. That's awesome, stoked to hear you're not totally repulsed by my writing. Sorry again for the delay in chapters, but as I said before, I'm in summer school abroad at the moment and haven't had much down time. England is wonderful! I'm staying in Cambridge and having a blast, learning so much, and spending time with wonderful people. Now it's time to make you wonderful people happy with another chapter of Cyrus goodness. He really is a piece of work, let me tell you.

I'll PM each reviewer today, I promise. I don't get internet in my room, so I only get a chance to be online a couple hours each morning in class, and even then only three days a week. Sorry I haven't messaged anyone yet, I will soon!

You're all awesome, and so is Community, and I don't actually own anything to constitute as awesome, so you all know I don't own Community. I just own Cyrus, the cheeky bugger.

X

Abed was sitting cross-legged in the blanket fort later that day trying in vain to focus on the computer screen in front of him rather than on the debate he was trying to not have with himself. He had given Cyrus the address earlier that day and was expecting him to arrive at any moment, and Abed was reminding himself over and over again not to ask Cyrus about Annie. None of my business. She's not mine. He wanted to tell Cyrus to stay away from his roommate, wanted to warn Annie against his brother, but his rational side kept telling him to leave them be and let the unexpected subplot work itself out.

But he couldn't help himself, the more he thought about his brother and his best friend-who-is-a-girl-most-certainly-not-a-girlfriend, the angrier he got, the more jealous he became. It's not part of the script, not how it's meant to be. Annie needs someone more her speed, and that someone might as well be my brother.

The buzzer rang and Abed moved mechanically to let Cyrus up into 303, mentally resolved to keep the conversation as far from Annie as possible. That was (of course) immediately broken when the first words out of Cyrus' mouth were "Damn, Abed. You did not tell me you had a hot Jew as a roommate. She's fine as hell!"

Abed inhaled sharply. "Cyrus, don't. She's a good kid, more than a piece of ass. You need to leave her alone."

"Not gonna happen, big bro. She and I have a date. A dinner date. I think she's great, so I made a move. Better than waiting, I think." Something danced in Cyrus' eyes, a knowledge that he couldn't possibly possess.

Abed took one step forward, "You just met her, you don't even know her."

"And you like her, I know you do. But you don't step up. I do, and that's why I get girls. You need to learn that lesson, man." Cyrus stepped around Abed and walked straight to the blanket fort, "What the hell is this?"

"My bedroom."

"It's shit. You actually live in a fort? What are you, five?"

"The girls get the rooms, Troy and I share this. It works for everyone."

"Still shit. We made our last fort when you were ten and I was turning six. My birthday party, remember?" He smiled as he stepped through the door and nearly ran into the new mini-Dreamatorium, "And why is there a huge box here?"

"That's none of your business." Abed tried to hustle his brother out of the fort and into the living room, but to no avail. Cyrus opened the box and was staring at the tape and paint structure.

"It looks like a holodeck. Is this a fake holodeck?"

Troy picked that exact wrong moment to walk into the fort, ignore the tension between the brothers, and say, "It's better than a holodeck. It's a mini-Dreamatorium, and it does simulations and adventures. It's the best."

Abed had never been one for embarrassment or shame, especially not about something as awesome as the Dreamatorium, but for some reason the look on Cyrus' face as he turned slowly to face his brother made Abed want to hide in a tree or under a rock and never come out.

"Of course it is. I don't know what I was expecting. You never change." Cyrus laughed and left the smiling Troy and wincing Abed behind in the fort. Abed closed his eyes for a brief second until he heard Cyrus' tall form flop into a chair in the living room. He followed his brother out into the living room and stood right in front of him.

"Cyrus, you're my brother, and that means I have to be nice, but I can't let you come in here and make fun of my place. It's mine. I work to pay rent for it, I'm in charge here. You've been kicked out of school for partying and cannot be called responsible, so you can't make me feel bad about what goes on here. My roof, my rules."

"Whatever, dude. Can I crash here tonight?"

"Of course. Just stay away from the fort and from Annie's room. Off limits."

"She's not yours, Abed. I know you'd love her to be, but if you haven't made a move yet you won't. I know you too well. So go watch Detective Whatsit or whatever and let us real men get the women we want. I'll go back to Dad's tomorrow, tonight I just want to hang out and talk in English instead of Farsi. Deal?"

Abed seethed internally, betraying no emotion, no anger. His ever-logical, Spock-like brain knew that Cyrus was right, but his heart was beating faster and his stomach felt like an ice cube and he hated his brother more than ever before. Abed Nadir was feeling jealousy properly and acknowledging the feeling's existence. This sucks.