West Wing FF: Look if you like [Sam/Toby; PG-13]

[black_eyedgirl]

Title: Look if you like
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Sam/Toby
Rating: PG-13
Length: 2,300 words
Disclaimer: All belongs to Sorkin, Wells et al
Spoilers: Through Manchester Part 2
Summary: Sam, somewhat misdirected anger, and dark nights spent in secret meetings.
AN: For inlovewithnight, as a pinch-hit for the Toby/Sam ficathon at partnersbaby. The request was: Post-ep for

Comments

[inlovewithnight]

Oh, I *love* this. Thank you so much. It just slots in so perfectly, and the last line is wonderful.

::rereads happily::

[black_eyedgirl]

:) I'm glad you enjoyed it. I haven't played with that area of canon much, so I was a bit concerned with how it would turn out. Thank you!

[chaos_harmony]

Oh, this is lovely. I've only just started watching The West Wing, but I've been reading more fanfiction for the series than is probably healthy. I stumbled across your journal while scouring the Internet for good Sam!fic, and oh, this does not disappoint (and I'm not even that big of a slasher - though at this point, I could probably be persuaded to ship anyone with anyone on the show, within reason, and with good enough fic). Will you mind if I friend you? :)

[black_eyedgirl]

Hey :) So, obviously I friended you back. It seems we have more than a few fandoms in common.

The West Wing is the fandom I return to most often, being the first thing I wrote fanfic for, and obviously I love Sam best ♥

Keep open-minded regarded shipping - we could always do with more variety. (She says, as one of the compilers for the fandom newsletter!)

[saturn92103]

This is fantastic!

[black_eyedgirl]

Thank you :)

[raedbard]

Oh, you. *happysigh* It's just that you're brilliant, you know? And I'm in my stupid-squeeful place again. This is beautiful.

Why don't we (collective we) write more stories about this point of the show? When inlovewithnight requested it I was all: ohh, shiny! But then couldn't actually remember any times when anyone had given it any significant attention. Or is that my faulty memory? I'm guessing people went there before us, but even so. (Feel free at this point to poke me towards the obvious fic I've forgotten and watch me remove my foot from my mouth ...)

ANYWAY. Boys! The way you write them, which GAH. There aren't enough people writing the pairing for there to be a dominant way-to-do-it and so I have so much different-but-the-same love for Atticus' way, or quirkytaverna's or anyone else who wrote for the 'thon, but, I don't know. There's something dark and nighttime-y about the way you do it, when Sam's all broken and there's inappropriate touching. Happysigh. <3

and part deux

[raedbard]

He wants to pretend at being a lawyer, instead of listening to Oliver Babish talk to him like the degree on his wall is a joke.
Owwwww. :(

And, um, I have huge levels of love for him sleeping and getting woken up by Toby, even if he wasn't asleep on Toby's couch at the time. (Couch!porn. There should also be more of that. *g*)

He wants to make a joke - are you saying I need to wash? - but Toby’s gaze is liquid and night time soft.
Mmmmm. Yes. I can just add this to my personal things-they-forgot-to-show-us-that-really-did-happen canon, right? "Night time soft" = <3

He says that a lot at the moment: ‘don’t worry.’ ‘I trust you’. Sam hadn’t known that Toby understood the meaning of reassurance.
Caring!Toby is unsettling, it's true. Probably a way of measuring international crisis levels could be worked out from it. ;)

The lights are still off, but Toby hears him. Toby says, “Do you want one?”
I just ... I mean, he knows Sam's there! And then he's all suave and 'Cigar, m'sieur?' and I just melt a little more inside. :D

“Yeah? We

Re: and part deux

[black_eyedgirl]

See, and there was me thinking, as I posted this, 'I've written this before ;)

(Though that was 3 years ago, and bits of it make me cringe. And it was a Toby POV. I write Toby POV so much more than Sam. Why do you think that is?)

So anyway, I'm glad that you liked it. I do remember at one point we had a conversation about there being a trend in fic written during the show that made Sam angst a lot during S3. Which we found slightly odd. But I was rewatching those end of S2 eps to inspire me, and the way Toby looks at Sam there... *sighs*

See, when I was rambling about doing justice to the Schiff acting-through-body-language thing the other day? This is what I meant.
I really have to watch Toby in order to write him - I can't just write him from memory. Because I forget just how physical his acting is. Normally, for getting body language, I watch vids (to see them without dialogue and context) but TWW is kind of lacking in those. *tempted*

Also, I love hearing about Sam's old boyfriends friends from college. <333)I have so much