(no subject)
Didn't think I was gonna do it, but I did.
Title: We'll Always Have Paris, Texas
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Seriously, don't sue me. I'll just end up crying on you, it'll be a whole big thing.
Summary: It's all about John. I just wanted to make myself feel better. I'm not sure it's worked, exactly.
Spoilers: If you've read any of the obits, you got the gist of it.
[-----]
There was only one guy who ever actually knocked on Jed's door these days.
Generally, people were announced. Generally, Debbie just kind of opened the door and called some names, and he waved them in. On the other side of the office, CJ would just appear - shimmering in and out of the room, and boy was he ever grateful he had enough respect for the office to never be caught doing the nasty with Abbey, because CJ didn't believe in announcing herself. God love her, but sometimes she scared the crap out of him; Leo was right about her needing a cowbell.
But, there was a knock on the main door, the one close to Debbie and the desk that Charlie used to sit at. He was going through replacement-Charlies so much that he was sure that someone was going to start calling him Murphy Brown sometime soon, but he didn't care. Charlie was Charlie and nobody was going to replace him.
Jed took off his glasses, stood up, put down the briefing report. "Come in." The door opened, and the first thing he saw was that wry sideways grin, the one that went all the way up to his eyes, and Jed couldn't help but grin back. "Leo. The big-time politician has time for us little people?"
He shrugged easily and strode into the room. "I always make time for my fans." He took Jed in a big hug, warm and strong, as strong as Jed could ever remember it. Leo was far more relaxed now; the campaign was doing him better than Jed could have ever imagined. "How are you, sir?"
"You're gonna have to quit with the 'sir' soon," Jed said.
Leo looked at him with mock warning. "You wanna jinx it?"
"All I said-"
"Don't tempt it," Leo said.
Jed frowned, baffled. "Tempt what?"
"The - you know."
Laughing softly, Jed shook his head. "You're a superstitious old crank, you know that?"
"I seem to recall you keeping a particular nickel in your pocket through the entire first election," Leo said.
"Only because you gave me that nickel."
Leo shrugged. "It was my lucky nickel. It's not my fault you made a joke about Texans and big hats the same day I gave it to you."
Jed bit his lip, not quite wanting to tell Leo that the only thing he kept in his pockets these days was that damn nickel. He shook his head. "Seriously, what are you doing here?"
"What, I can't just stop by?"
"Leo."
"I'm serious," Leo said. He took a seat on one of the couches and motioned for Jed to take the opposite one. "I'm really just here to be here. You had half a second free, I had half a second free, they happened to coincide."
"You don't exactly have time to just stop by," Jed said, rubbing his hands nervously. "I remember how much we worked Hoynes-"
"Your campaigns were a little bit different than this one, if I recall."
"Not that different," Jed said. "Dark horse candidate, veep candidate who was far stronger within the party, staff chock full of first-timers. Sounds kind of familiar."
Leo glanced away in that sort of no-argument-there way that he had. "Yeah. It's different, though."
"'Cause you don't get to call the shots this time?"
He smirked at that. "I'm not complaining."
Jed grinned, but it fell, slowly but surely. "You don't have much time here."
Leo shrugged imperceptibly; it was more a cock of his head than a movement of his shoulders, but it was enough for Jed to get the message. "Not much, no."
Jed nodded. In a futile attempt to keep his voice from choking up, he started, "So, hey, don't take this in any way but a completely heterosexual, manly kind of-"
"I miss you too." He smirked. "Homophobe."
Jed leaned forward, fingers interlaced, elbows on knees, knuckles to lips. "Had to go and say that." He hated the way his voice was breaking. "God, Leo, you know I'm happy for you, but once you get to the end of the line here-"
"I'll still be there for you," he said. He leaned forward and braced his forearms on his knees. "I'm the one who got you here. You really think I don't wanna see what's next?"
Shaking his head, Jed said, "You're gonna have a whole different life after this. Trust me. I'm gonna be doing whatever the hell it is ex-presidents do, and you're gonna be God knows where."
"You'll know where," Leo said. "You think I'll stop hearing you just 'cause we're not gonna be in the same place? You really think that kind of distance is gonna keep me from you?"
Jed chewed his lip a bit. "Gotta admit, I'm a little worried about that."
"Well, just stop being an idiot, and that'll resolve itself soon enough," Leo said matter-of-factly.
Jed rolled his eyes, leaned back and scowled at Leo. "I'm really feeling the love."
Leo regarded him almost warily - Jed could see the mischief in his eyes and in the way the corners of his mouth were threatening to turn up. "You mean that in a completely heterosexual way, of course-"
"Shut up," Jed said, still scowling. "You got time for a game of chess, or are you too busy jetsetting and hobnobbing?"
Leo gave a careless shrug and said, "For you? I got all the time in the world."
No, you don't, Jed wanted to say. He had no idea how much time he really had left with Leo; if the Santos-McGarry ticket won, there was no telling when Leo would next have time for him. For a moment, Jed didn't quite know what to do. Then he looked at Leo, with that sure, warm smirk of his, that gruff countenance that was always hiding an explosive, infectious grin. He got it.
One moment to the next. If that's how Leo wanted to treat it, that's how Jed would take it. He grinned, got up, and pulled the chess set out of his private office. One moment, then the next, and if that was it, that was it, nothing either of them could do about it. It would never be enough to satisfy, Jed thought. He shook his head and set the chess board up, listening to Leo say something about the campaign, about Josh, about his grandchild, about his life.
Never enough to satisfy, he thought, but maybe enough to remember.
-end-
I think I might be done for a while now.
Title: We'll Always Have Paris, Texas
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Seriously, don't sue me. I'll just end up crying on you, it'll be a whole big thing.
Summary: It's all about John. I just wanted to make myself feel better. I'm not sure it's worked, exactly.
Spoilers: If you've read any of the obits, you got the gist of it.
[-----]
There was only one guy who ever actually knocked on Jed's door these days.
Generally, people were announced. Generally, Debbie just kind of opened the door and called some names, and he waved them in. On the other side of the office, CJ would just appear - shimmering in and out of the room, and boy was he ever grateful he had enough respect for the office to never be caught doing the nasty with Abbey, because CJ didn't believe in announcing herself. God love her, but sometimes she scared the crap out of him; Leo was right about her needing a cowbell.
But, there was a knock on the main door, the one close to Debbie and the desk that Charlie used to sit at. He was going through replacement-Charlies so much that he was sure that someone was going to start calling him Murphy Brown sometime soon, but he didn't care. Charlie was Charlie and nobody was going to replace him.
Jed took off his glasses, stood up, put down the briefing report. "Come in." The door opened, and the first thing he saw was that wry sideways grin, the one that went all the way up to his eyes, and Jed couldn't help but grin back. "Leo. The big-time politician has time for us little people?"
He shrugged easily and strode into the room. "I always make time for my fans." He took Jed in a big hug, warm and strong, as strong as Jed could ever remember it. Leo was far more relaxed now; the campaign was doing him better than Jed could have ever imagined. "How are you, sir?"
"You're gonna have to quit with the 'sir' soon," Jed said.
Leo looked at him with mock warning. "You wanna jinx it?"
"All I said-"
"Don't tempt it," Leo said.
Jed frowned, baffled. "Tempt what?"
"The - you know."
Laughing softly, Jed shook his head. "You're a superstitious old crank, you know that?"
"I seem to recall you keeping a particular nickel in your pocket through the entire first election," Leo said.
"Only because you gave me that nickel."
Leo shrugged. "It was my lucky nickel. It's not my fault you made a joke about Texans and big hats the same day I gave it to you."
Jed bit his lip, not quite wanting to tell Leo that the only thing he kept in his pockets these days was that damn nickel. He shook his head. "Seriously, what are you doing here?"
"What, I can't just stop by?"
"Leo."
"I'm serious," Leo said. He took a seat on one of the couches and motioned for Jed to take the opposite one. "I'm really just here to be here. You had half a second free, I had half a second free, they happened to coincide."
"You don't exactly have time to just stop by," Jed said, rubbing his hands nervously. "I remember how much we worked Hoynes-"
"Your campaigns were a little bit different than this one, if I recall."
"Not that different," Jed said. "Dark horse candidate, veep candidate who was far stronger within the party, staff chock full of first-timers. Sounds kind of familiar."
Leo glanced away in that sort of no-argument-there way that he had. "Yeah. It's different, though."
"'Cause you don't get to call the shots this time?"
He smirked at that. "I'm not complaining."
Jed grinned, but it fell, slowly but surely. "You don't have much time here."
Leo shrugged imperceptibly; it was more a cock of his head than a movement of his shoulders, but it was enough for Jed to get the message. "Not much, no."
Jed nodded. In a futile attempt to keep his voice from choking up, he started, "So, hey, don't take this in any way but a completely heterosexual, manly kind of-"
"I miss you too." He smirked. "Homophobe."
Jed leaned forward, fingers interlaced, elbows on knees, knuckles to lips. "Had to go and say that." He hated the way his voice was breaking. "God, Leo, you know I'm happy for you, but once you get to the end of the line here-"
"I'll still be there for you," he said. He leaned forward and braced his forearms on his knees. "I'm the one who got you here. You really think I don't wanna see what's next?"
Shaking his head, Jed said, "You're gonna have a whole different life after this. Trust me. I'm gonna be doing whatever the hell it is ex-presidents do, and you're gonna be God knows where."
"You'll know where," Leo said. "You think I'll stop hearing you just 'cause we're not gonna be in the same place? You really think that kind of distance is gonna keep me from you?"
Jed chewed his lip a bit. "Gotta admit, I'm a little worried about that."
"Well, just stop being an idiot, and that'll resolve itself soon enough," Leo said matter-of-factly.
Jed rolled his eyes, leaned back and scowled at Leo. "I'm really feeling the love."
Leo regarded him almost warily - Jed could see the mischief in his eyes and in the way the corners of his mouth were threatening to turn up. "You mean that in a completely heterosexual way, of course-"
"Shut up," Jed said, still scowling. "You got time for a game of chess, or are you too busy jetsetting and hobnobbing?"
Leo gave a careless shrug and said, "For you? I got all the time in the world."
No, you don't, Jed wanted to say. He had no idea how much time he really had left with Leo; if the Santos-McGarry ticket won, there was no telling when Leo would next have time for him. For a moment, Jed didn't quite know what to do. Then he looked at Leo, with that sure, warm smirk of his, that gruff countenance that was always hiding an explosive, infectious grin. He got it.
One moment to the next. If that's how Leo wanted to treat it, that's how Jed would take it. He grinned, got up, and pulled the chess set out of his private office. One moment, then the next, and if that was it, that was it, nothing either of them could do about it. It would never be enough to satisfy, Jed thought. He shook his head and set the chess board up, listening to Leo say something about the campaign, about Josh, about his grandchild, about his life.
Never enough to satisfy, he thought, but maybe enough to remember.
-end-
I think I might be done for a while now.