IT Crowd fic (Moss)

[DarkGlasses]

I have to post this super fast so sorry for mistakes etc.

I wrote this up last night. I haven't written fanfiction in over a year now so I'm not quite in the habit yet. The characters may seem very 2D but completely unintentionally. It's hard to keep things in character when writing a fic based on a sitcom, especially one as quirky as the IT Crowd because most actions and facial expressions can't be conveyed well. I might regret posting this later but for now it's an impulsive move. It's not the best, but I hope you like.

 

P.S. The format's really crap. If I can edit later, I will.

 

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Moss hung his coat up, scratching his nose awkwardly as he sat down at his desk. Roy and Jen were supposedly already hard at work (Jen was on the phone and Roy was likely playing a computer game), and neither looked up or acknowledged his presence. He sat, awaiting a comment.

 

“Bit late?” Roy broke the silence that was making Moss more and more uncomfortable.

 

His eyes shot up, and he fiddled with his fingers a bit, “... is that all you've got to say to me?”

 

“Um... I suppose. What? Have I forgotten something? Oh!” Roy slouched uncomfortably in his seat, he assumed the worst, whatever that might be. He was considerably drunk the night before, “did I do something last night?”

 

Moss huffed and crossed his arms. He turned his head away from Roy in a disgruntled fashion.

 

“What is it? What have I done?” Knowing Moss, this could have been the most insignificant thing, but he was letting his paranoia get the best of him.

 

He was pleased to see Jen enter the room, breaking the tension somewhat.

 

“Douglas just called, he wants to see you Roy.”

 

“What for?”

 

“He didn't say, but there was an emphasis on the now.”

 

Roy feigned a smile, up and left. Jen watched as he walked out the door.

As soon as he was out of site, Jen pulled up a chair on the opposite side of Moss' desk, bursting with excitement, awaiting the gossip.

“I heard you two in here. What's going on? Has Roy done something?”

 

All Jen received was a glare from Moss, which immediately turned her wicked smile into a frown. She shifted in her seat nervously, “what is it, Moss?”

 

He wanted to be angry, he did, but he could feel the disappointment taking over, almost immediately. Jen noticed his eyes watering, and the pained expression that was growing on his face. He turned to his side, taking off his glasses and sniffling. Jen was about to ask him what was wrong, when she was cut off with a quiet

 

“Hmpt'Chshh!”

 

“Oh!” Jen leant back and laughed sheepishly, “I thought you were crying.”

 

There was a short silence before Moss turned back, though he didn't look up at Jen. He kept his eyes on the desk.

 

“I was crying,” Moss stated embarrassedly, with a hint of grumpiness. He sniffed and wiped away the tear hanging from his chin.

 

...

 

Roy came bursting through the door, sighing loudly and rubbing his brow. “Oh, fuck me! I thought something, I thought I must have, you know, something must have...” his voice trailed off as he darted his eyes between Jen and Moss.

 

Moss turned away from Roy, rubbed his eyes and quickly slipped his glasses back on, hoping he didn't notice the tears.

 

Roy gulped and his relief turned back into fear. He didn't say anything, he waited for an answer. Or something. He'd never felt so awkward.

 

The silence seemed to last forever to the three, their breathing was shallow and they didn't move a muscle.

 

Then Moss started to feel it again. At the worst time possible. He slowly raised his hand and pressed it against his nose, hoping the sensation would go away. It only grew stronger.

He turned his head to the left slightly to see if either Roy or Jen were looking at him, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. His eyes snapped shut and he lurched forward, shaking with a sneeze before he could do anything more-

 

“Hnt'CHSHH! ... Flip!” He buried his head in his hands, cheeks glowing red.

 

There was another embarrassing silence. But not for long.

 

Moss was startled by the sound of Roy's howling laughter. In a matter of seconds Jen joined in too. Moss wasn't having it.

He shot up and ran to the disgusting ground floor bathroom, locking himself in. He wanted to regain his composure, and he had to do so in solitude. He was at his most vulnerable, and he hated every second of it.

 

Roy and Jen quietly waited just down the hall. They could hear Moss loudly blowing his nose.

 

“Moss?” Roy yelled out, walking closer to the bathroom door.

“I didn't mean to laugh. It was just, the awkwardness of the situation, you know,” he wriggled awkwardly, motioning for Jen to join him.

 

Her heels clopped against the floor, “Moss, we just want to know what's going on. You can tell us!”

 

Moss studied himself in the grimy mirror. He fixed his hair and tie, and wiped his eyes and nose with some toilet paper until he felt he looked satisfactory. He slowly opened the door but refused to make eye contact.

 

“I've got a cold.”

 

Roy and Jen exchanged glances and an “okay” was unintentionally shared in unison.

 

“And you forgot my birthday.”

 

Roy immediately blurted out an “oh, Jesus. That was today?”

[RiversD]

Oh, poor Moss!

I was actually impressed by how close the characters seemed to their TV-selves. The IT Crowd does tend towards exaggerated characterisation anyway, so I can understand you worrying about them seeming thinner than they should when they don't have the actors behind them. I say you did a pretty good job with them, though.

Moss's sneezes are really cute, as well. I especially liked:

On 18/08/2016 at 0:51 PM, DarkGlasses said:

“Hnt'CHSHH! ... Flip!” He buried his head in his hands, cheeks glowing red.

because that felt like a very Moss moment to me.

Also, once I knew what the problem actually was, I appreciated “... is that all you've got to say to me?”  more, because that seems like just the way Moss would drop a hint.

Nice one.

[DarkGlasses]

On 27/08/2016 at 10:40 PM, RiversD said:

Oh, poor Moss!

I was actually impressed by how close the characters seemed to their TV-selves. The IT Crowd does tend towards exaggerated characterisation anyway, so I can understand you worrying about them seeming thinner than they should when they don't have the actors behind them. I say you did a pretty good job with them, though.

Moss's sneezes are really cute, as well. I especially liked:

because that felt like a very Moss moment to me.

Also, once I knew what the problem actually was, I appreciated “... is that all you've got to say to me?”  more, because that seems like just the way Moss would drop a hint.

Nice one.

Oh, thanks a lot for the feedback, really appreciated! Really.

I'm glad the characters came across well.

I'm halfway through part three, I wasn't going to continue until somebody showed interest. I will now.