This is ridiculous.

Annie turns her head left, and then right, and then left again. They look exactly the same. God, how can there be absolutely no trace? She chased the damn thing all they way across campus to the Air Conditioning Repair School, and saw it go into the ducts herself. She knows it's in here somewhere.

"Annie. Annie, can we- this is ridiculous," Jeff complains from behind her, breathing heavily.

She's glad he can't see the tears of frustration stinging her eyes. "I never asked you to come," she bites back at him, her breathing equally labored.

"Oh, please," he scoffs. "Like I'd let you do this alone. At night."

"It's 8:00pm!"

"It's dark! It's deserted! And who knows what's lurking in here."

"A stupid thieving monkey, that's what."

"Annie-"

"Jeff, if you don't want to help, then go back. This is important to me. This is not a pen or something, it's my necklace. It's- I can't replace it." She hastily picks a direction and sets off crawling, not really caring if he follows her or not. She didn't want him to come anyway. What exactly does he think is going to happen in here that she can't handle by herself?

Plus, having him here isn't helping at all. He refuses to split up to cover more ground, and his body heat is just exacerbating the already uncomfortable stuffiness. She knows it's probably worse for Jeff. The Repair School's air ducts are nicer, cleaner, and larger than the ones on the main campus, and he still barely fits in here. But she's finding it hard to feel sorry for him right at this moment.

Adding to her frustration is the fact that they discarded their outer layers ages ago, leaving Annie in a low-cut tank top and her skirt, and Jeff in a tight-fitting black t-shirt and his jeans. She really wishes she'd worn tights today, because Jeff's hands keep brushing against the bare skin of her legs, sending an unwanted jolt up her spine every. single. time.

And she swears it's happening more and more frequently.

So distracting. So very distracting.

Annie hears the rhythmic indentation of metal behind her.

Fine, whatever, he can come with me. Makes noooo difference to me. Stupid monkey, why'd it have to take something I really care about? Stupid air ducts. Stupid Jeff and his stupid biceps...

She forces the image of him peeling off his sweater out of her mind, because it inevitably leads to her imagining him removing other pieces of clothing, and that's just the opposite of help. She'd become embarassingly wet almost the instant she'd caught a glimpse of his impressive abs when his shirt rode up. And having him on her heels for the past fifteen minutes has done precisely nothing to lessen the effect.

Annie suddenly realizes she has no idea if she went left or right. No, no, no, we can't get lost in here! She stops abruptly.

Jeff crashes into her.

Whether he was unable to stop in time, or just wasn't paying attention, she doesn't know, but he's quite literally on top of her now. The scent of his cologne overtakes her, and he says something, but she has no idea what, because one arm is pressing into her side and oh my god one hand is on her hip, and his breath is hot against her neck, but it tickles the few strands that have fallen out of her hair elastic, making her shiver. "Sorry, what?" she manages to gasp.

"I said, you have to let me go first." His voice is low, his tone somewhere between pleading and commanding.

Annie swallows hard. "W-why?"

Jeff's fingers dig into her hip. "Because, if I have to keep staring at your ass in that skirt, I'm not going to be able to keep my hands to myself."

She should be shocked at his admission, but it only aggravates her more. Defiantly, she presses her hips back into his, her entire body rushing at the feel of the undeniable effect she's having on him, too.

He exhales sharply.

"So don't," she whispers.

For one long second, nothing happens. Then Jeff starts moving his hand slowly, sliding up from her hip. Lightly, cautiously, tentatively. Waiting for her to stop him, she knows, but she has no plans to stop this. Annie's eyes flutter closed and her whole body tenses in anticipation. His fingers wrap around her ribs. She holds her breath.

Just when her lungs are about to explode, his hand suddenly jumps to her breast. Annie gasps and whips her head to look at him, but before she can think, his mouth is on hers.

The dam bursts.

Every impulse, every thought, every feeling for him she's pushed away come crashing through with a vengeance. She kisses him back fervently, impatiently, and is relieved to find his lips just as greedy, his tongue just as desperate as hers. It's been so long since they kissed, she's surprised to find he tastes exactly like she remembers. And this is hurting her neck, and she can't quite reach him like she wants to, and he shifts his weight trying to get a better angle, and they almost lose what little balance they have, but she couldn't care less.

Jeff tears himself away, pulling back only so he can kiss and suck on her neck instead. Her stomach does a flip, and for a split second, Annie can't believe this is happening.

Then Jeff's hand starts moving on her breast, palming the sensitive skin through her remaining clothes, and she can't imagine this not happening.

He finds her nipple through the two layers - far too many layers - and twists it between his thumb and forefinger.

"Jeff," she breathes out, bucking into him, reaching one hand up and clawing for him, finding the back of his head and gripping his hair tightly.

He fists the thin material of her tank top and pulls, hard.

Stitches rip.

He pulls again, harder.

Annie squeezes her eyes shut.

And again, until it gives way completely.

Thank god...

When he finally slips his hand under the lace of her bra, Annie's breath catches in her throat, and Jeff chokes back a groan. She grabs for his shirt, uselessly curling her fingers into the fabric. He's wearing too many clothes, but he's the one in control.

Or completely out of control, she can't tell. He starts kissing her harder, and faster, his lips and tongue and teeth moving roughly over her shoulders and neck while his fingers tweak and twirl. God, her panties are drenched now, she can feel it. She writhes under him, grinding back into him, savoring the little grunts and groans she can feel deep in his chest. Her pulse is thumping between her legs. She wants more.

She clenches his t-shirt in her fist and yanks.

Jeff lets go of her so he can help, and together, they tear his shirt off over his head. He rips off the scraps of her tank top and deftly undoes the clasp of her bra with one hand before reaching back underneath again.

It's almost too much. At the sudden contact of so much of his skin against hers, Annie's arms give out.

But she doesn't fall; Jeff doesn't let her.

Now he's holding himself up one one arm, and her up with the other, and she can't help but be impressed. Somehow he manages to keep her secure and still play with her nipple, sending shocks of pleasure straight to her clit.

It's not enough.

Annie suddenly realizes her hands are free. She frantically reaches back to hike up her skirt, claw down her soaking panties, and then fumble blindly with Jeff's pants. She finally, finally gets him free, and wraps her hand around him as best she can.

They both gasp.

Annie can't believe how hard he is, how huge he feels. She's flooded with a need she's never felt before. Too overwhelmed to speak, Annie spreads her legs as much as she can, and rubs the head of his cock into her, getting him slick with herself. Trusting that he'll trust her enough to know what she's doing, she doesn't hesistate, and starts to guide him in.

Jeff's lips stop still against the nape of her neck.

God, he's even bigger than I thought. She shifts her hips to get a better angle, and almost cries out in relief when he slips inside her. She lets go and clutches at his arm, letting him take over.

He pushes achingly slowly into her, stretching her out and filling her inch by inch. It hurts, and Annie forces herself to inhale deeply to alleviate the pain, focusing instead on the way Jeff's breathing is becoming more and more ragged. She can feel his heart pounding against her back, feel his grip on her skin tightening.

When he's completely buried in her, Jeff lets out a long, shuddering breath. "God, Annie..."

She shivers, raking her nails down his arm, and then reaching between her legs. She's determined to make this stop hurting as quickly as possible. The second she presses two fingers into her throbbing nerves, she moans. She's close already. Annie touches herself, barely noticing the way her hips start to roll.

Jeff presses a soft, lingering kiss to her shoulder blade, and slowly pulls out a few inches before gently pushing back in.

Oh, fuck, yes. Again...

Reading her mind, Jeff does it again, pulling out slightly farther this time, and thrusting in harder.

Annie gasps and rubs her clit faster, the pain melting and mixing with her need for him to do it again.

The third time, he pulls out almost all the way, and then surges back into her just as he pinches her puckered nipple.

Her orgasm breaks unexpectedly. She whimpers as waves of pleasure roll and crash through her, but Jeff stops moving, and oh, god, no, why did he stop moving? Annie twists and trembles under him, helpless and hopelessly out of control while she comes.

It's not enough. She needs to see him, needs him to come, needs him to keep-

Annie gasps.

Jeff has pulled out of her completely. She can feel his weight shift, and his arms cross tightly over her stomach. Suddenly the tunnel spins and Annie finds herself face to face with him, his eyes dark with intent. Jeff pushes her down, and the cold aluminum hits her spine with a shock that makes her arch up against him. Impatient, he settles down onto his elbows, trapping her against the holy shit cold! metal. Jeff captures her lips with his, swallowing her squeak of protest, and plunges all the way back in.

God.

Yes.

THIS.

He sighs and sinks into her, engulfing her completely.

Annie has to swallow a sob. Of relief, of pleasure, of happiness. This is what she needed.

Still kissing her, Jeff starts to move. Annie snakes one hand down and touches her sensitive clit. She rubs herself gently, moving her hips to meet his, wrapping her other arm around his neck, letting the taste of his lips and the pressure of his hands and the weight of his body wash over her. The feeling of him.

She's never felt anything this good.

It's not long before Jeff sets up a relentless pace, filling the aluminum tunnel with gasps and sighs and breathless moans, and the thunk, thunk, thunks that time his thrusts. Annie runs her hand over his shoulders. He drops his head down and circles his tongue around her nipple before taking it into his mouth and sucking, hard.

Annie throws her head back. "Jeff!"

He groans into her chest and starts fucking her even harder, even faster. She digs her nails into his back, and scrapes them up into his hair. He's pushing her back to the edge faster than she ever imagined possible, everything in her building, rushing, so close to losing herself completely.

Jeff suddenly releases her nipple and lifts his head to look right at her. She's not quite prepared for the intensity of his gaze, for how it seems to burn right through her. Neither is she prepared for him to lean onto his right arm so he can reach down and grab her hip with his left. He pulls her into him, changing their angle.

"Oh, Je..." His name dies on her lips. She doesn't know what just happened, but she can feel him everywhere now, straight down to her toes. Her eyes flicker open and shut, but she can see him looking at her, his face hovering inches from hers, like he's entranced. She slides her hand down from his hair and runs her fingers along his scruffy jaw. He closes the small gap between them and presses his lips to hers.

GOD, close... I'm close...

She moans into his mouth.

He stops.

Oh FUCK, so close...

"Jeff," she pleads.

He obliges, thrusting wildly. The second he starts spilling inside her, she comes again. Annie clings to Jeff as he buries his face in her neck, his muffled grunts and moans filling her ears. She bites down on his shoulder, marveling at how fucking satisfying it is to feel him pulsing and coming in her, to be this close to every inch of him, to hear him mumble her name, to come with him.

Jeff groans, stiffens, and stills. He finally relaxes his grip, and collapses on top of her, both of them desperately trying to catch their breath.

He's heavy.

And she actually can't feel her legs.

Or her arm.

She couldn't care less.

And then she hears something.

Annie tenses.

Jeff lifts his head and looks at her curiously.

She hears it again, and she can tell from the way Jeff's eyes are widening that he does, too. Maybe it's just the stupid monkey...

That hope is promptly squashed when they hear the distant, yet unmistakable, "Hello?" echo through the ducts.

In a flash, Jeff has pulled out of her, and she doesn't have time to register it because she's too busy finding her panties and her bra and it's a scramble to get somewhat dressed and - oh fuck I don't have a shirt now! - they can't worry about anything other than getting the fuck out of there. Jeff grabs Annie and helps her climb over him so she can lead the way, assuming, she hopes correctly, that she knows where to go.

They sprint on hands and knees, the aluminum clanking loudly under them, but it's impossible to be quiet in here, anyway. Annie turns corners on instinct, her mind spinning too fast to remember the sequence lefts and rights. She's also trying to ignore the odd sensation of him dripping out of her and down her leg, because really, she just needs to focus on getting them the hell out.

"Who's there?"

Annie can't tell where the voice is coming from. But it feels like they're gone too far now, have they gone too far? Did she miss it? Oh god, did she take a wrong turn? What the hell are they going to say if they're caught? What if-

She sighs loudly in relief when she turns another corner and spots her pink cardigan and Jeff's sweater. She grabs them both as they scramble by and tosses Jeff's over her shoulder. Annie's wondering how the hell to put on her cardigan while still moving because she does NOT want to stop, they're not out yet, but she also doesn't want to run around campus in only her bra. So with the scraps of her tank top in one hand and her cardigan clasped in the other, she keeps going.

Jeff grabs her waist. She's about to yell at him when the tunnel goes dark, and then light. Oh. She quickly pulls her arms through his sweater and then takes off again, still holding onto her own clothes.

Okay, now it's just left... left... right... there! Annie sees the literal light at the end of the tunnel and bursts through the grate. She hits the ground running, barely slowing down enough to grab her backpack from the floor, shoving her clothes into as she runs. Jeff is right behind her.

They race across campus to the parking lot.

They don't stop until they reach Annie's car, and then they only have time to glance at each other, equally speechless, before they hear a "HEY!". Jeff takes off for his own car, and Annie curses the fact that she drove today. She throws open her door, throws in her backpack, and tries not to spin her wheels as she peels out.

She gets home quickly, and runs upstairs. Annie immediately heads for the bathroom, glad that Troy and Abed are nowhere to be seen. She slams the door shut, and stands in front of the mirror.

And then it hits her.

I just had sex with Jeff.

All the built up adrenaline overwhelms her and she starts to shake. Annie takes a deep breath and turns on the shower, trying to ignore how much having his sweater on actually makes her... well... miss him. She sits in the bathtub for a long time, letting the warm water run over her as the adrenaline fades, and is replaced with exhaustion. Her entire body feels heavy. She finds little red marks and bruises starting to form on her hip, and a few up her side from where the fabric tore.

I had sex with Jeff.

She doesn't regret it.

She just kinda wishes he was still here.

Eventually Annie drags herself out of the tub and pulls on her bathrobe, walking dripping wet back to her room. The silence in the apartment tells her that Troy and Abed are thankfully still bunking at school.

Maybe I should text him. Just to make sure he got home okay.

Annie grabs her backpack.

Right, now... where is my phone? Because it's not... okay, not there... well, I wouldn't put it in that pocket, but... hmm, nope. Where the hell could it-

She freezes.

It was in her shirt.

Oh god. Ohhhhh no. Oh, no no no...

It was in her shirt, and must have fallen out. She doesn't remember that happening, but she was more than a little distracted. It was in her shirt, and her shirt is in pieces.

So much for making an escape.

Annie groans in frustration and collapses on her bed. It's too early to go to bed, but she's asleep before another thought can enter her head.

When Annie wakes up in the morning, a sense of foreboding hangs over her. I wonder if I can get expelled for this. She gets up to make some breakfast, and stares into the cupboards. I wonder what Jeff's doing... A knock on the door startles her, because, seriously, who could be knocking this early?

Annie opens the door, and can't stop the smile from spreading across her face.

"Morning," Jeff greets her, trying (and failing) to be nonchalant about it.

She stifles a giggle. "Good morning."

"Umm. Here." Jeff pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to her.

It's her phone. Annie gasps and hugs him. "Oh, thank god! Where did you find it?"

He chuckles as he hugs her back. "Well, it's... umm... can we talk in your room?"

"Oh! Troy and Abed aren't here, but sure." She lets go of him and leads him across the apartment, suddenly realizing how ridiculous she must look after falling asleep with wet hair last night. Jeff follows her in and closes the door behind him while Annie searches her dresser for an elastic. She can't find one, so she quickly runs a brush through her hair and hopes she looks presentable enough. She turns around.

Jeff is standing by the door, his arm stretched toward her, his hand in a fist.

She blinks at him. "What are you doing?"

He simply smiles, and opens his fingers.

Something shiny drops down, dangling under his hand. Something shiny, and gold, and...

"Oh my god, Jeff..." Annie steps forward and takes her necklace from him. "What... how...?"

"Before you think too much of me," he teases, pointing at her. "I have to confess that I didn't go crawling back through the vents for that."

Annie sits down on her bed, still dumbstruck.

Jeff sits next to her. "I did, however, try to call you last night, and I got Chang instead."

She winces. "Ugh. I should've guessed. Is he going to rat us out?"

"At first he was. But I went back to school to talk him out of it, and then I realized I was trying to reason with Chang. So I paid him off instead."

Annie traces the pattern on her locket.

"And the guy is beyond broke. He would do almost anything for cash at this point, including spending most of the night chasing a monkey through the air ducts. He claims he had to actually wrestle it to get your necklace back, but he's pretty delusional on a good day, so who knows."

"Hmm," she hums.

"What?"

Annie shrugs. "I dunno, I still think pretty highly of you."

Jeff smiles down at her. "So... we had sex last night," he says, but what he means is, that did happen, right?

"We had sex in an air duct last night." Yeah, that was unexpected.

"We had unprotected sex in an air duct last night."

Her eyes widen. "Oh, I'm on the pill!"

"Yeah, I mean, I didn't... umm, I figured you knew what you were doing."

Annie smiles at him. "I kinda did. I mean, it was all pretty fast."

Jeff looks hurts and clasps a hand over his heart.

"Oh, not that! Not... it was... no, just the whole..."

He cracks a smile, and they both burst out laughing.

When they calm down, Annie reaches over and latches her arms around his neck. "Thank you." She gives him squeeze before letting go.

"You're welcome," he says, still smiling at her. It doesn't fade as his eyes wander down to her not-very-tightly tied bathrobe. "Hey, wait a minute, did you say Troy and Abed aren't here?"

"Yeah, they're bunking at Greendale, because apparently the dean is a better roommate than I am, and-"

Jeff shuts her up. Her kisses her hungrily, threading his fingers into her messy hair and hoisting her into his lap. Suddenly he breaks away from her, grinning up at her wickedly. "And?"

Annie grins back as she slowly undoes the tie of her robe. "And I'm never going to complain about that again."