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perpetual_motionTitle: The Crux
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: West Wing
Pairing: Danny/Josh
Rating: PG
Summary: Danny and Josh find the crux of their issues.
Dis: Not mine. They shouldn't be under Wells's care, though.
Author's Notes: For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
writerpuppy, who requested it. It was fun, darling. Enjoy!
Flirting with CJ is easy. She’s witty. She’s sexy. She knows him well enough to not take the flirting seriously. She understands that a man in his position needs a little cover now and then. She doesn’t hope for or expect more than a smile, a compliment, and the occasional goldfish.
Danny wishes he could say the same for Donna. He watches her dote on Josh, and it makes his neck prickle. She smiles dazzlingly at every compliment, and she blossoms every time Josh defers to her. Danny doesn’t trust Donna. Danny wants Donna to drop her infatuation.
He helps her along by pecking Josh on the cheek one night as they all three split in the parking lot. Donna looks mildly shattered, but Danny doesn’t feel guilty. Donna’s smart. She should have recognized a hopeless case when she saw one. He says good night to Josh and drives away. He isn’t surprised when his cell rings five minutes later.
“Hello?”
“She went home crying. Thanks.” Josh sounds peeved.
“It’s not my fault she doesn’t see what’s right in front of her face.”
“It is your fault she’s crying.”
“It’s her own fault. She was willfully blind.”
“I wanted to tell her in my own time.”
“You haven’t found your ‘own time’ in the last eleven months.”
And that, really, is the crux of the problem. Danny flirts with CJ because it distracts people from the fact that he’s sleeping with Josh. Josh flirts with Donna to distract people from the fact that he’s sleeping with Danny. The difference is that CJ *knows* about Danny and Josh. Donna hasn’t been given this information. Danny knows why.
“You love her a little.”
“I…yeah. A little. Probably.”
“And you didn’t want to hurt her, so you waited for me to do something so that she could be angrier with me than with you.”
“What?! I did not!”
“Josh…”
“Okay, maybe I did. I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t-“ Josh cuts off. “I’m sorry.” He goes silent.
Danny lets him hang for a full minutes. “I’m forgiving you this once. Got it?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I got it.” Josh sighs. “I’m sleeping alone tonight, aren’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Danny waits. He won’t say it first tonight.
“I love you, Danny. Way more than her.”
Danny breathes a sigh of relief. “Love you, too.” He disconnects the call and breathes deeply. He’s more thankful than he’s willing to admit.
Author: Perpetual Motion
Fandom: West Wing
Pairing: Danny/Josh
Rating: PG
Summary: Danny and Josh find the crux of their issues.
Dis: Not mine. They shouldn't be under Wells's care, though.
Author's Notes: For
writerpuppy, who requested it. It was fun, darling. Enjoy!Flirting with CJ is easy. She’s witty. She’s sexy. She knows him well enough to not take the flirting seriously. She understands that a man in his position needs a little cover now and then. She doesn’t hope for or expect more than a smile, a compliment, and the occasional goldfish.
Danny wishes he could say the same for Donna. He watches her dote on Josh, and it makes his neck prickle. She smiles dazzlingly at every compliment, and she blossoms every time Josh defers to her. Danny doesn’t trust Donna. Danny wants Donna to drop her infatuation.
He helps her along by pecking Josh on the cheek one night as they all three split in the parking lot. Donna looks mildly shattered, but Danny doesn’t feel guilty. Donna’s smart. She should have recognized a hopeless case when she saw one. He says good night to Josh and drives away. He isn’t surprised when his cell rings five minutes later.
“Hello?”
“She went home crying. Thanks.” Josh sounds peeved.
“It’s not my fault she doesn’t see what’s right in front of her face.”
“It is your fault she’s crying.”
“It’s her own fault. She was willfully blind.”
“I wanted to tell her in my own time.”
“You haven’t found your ‘own time’ in the last eleven months.”
And that, really, is the crux of the problem. Danny flirts with CJ because it distracts people from the fact that he’s sleeping with Josh. Josh flirts with Donna to distract people from the fact that he’s sleeping with Danny. The difference is that CJ *knows* about Danny and Josh. Donna hasn’t been given this information. Danny knows why.
“You love her a little.”
“I…yeah. A little. Probably.”
“And you didn’t want to hurt her, so you waited for me to do something so that she could be angrier with me than with you.”
“What?! I did not!”
“Josh…”
“Okay, maybe I did. I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t-“ Josh cuts off. “I’m sorry.” He goes silent.
Danny lets him hang for a full minutes. “I’m forgiving you this once. Got it?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I got it.” Josh sighs. “I’m sleeping alone tonight, aren’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Danny waits. He won’t say it first tonight.
“I love you, Danny. Way more than her.”
Danny breathes a sigh of relief. “Love you, too.” He disconnects the call and breathes deeply. He’s more thankful than he’s willing to admit.
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no subject
on 2004-12-24 01:24 am (UTC)