I had this idea during a conversation I had with a friend last week, and I just now finally got around to editing it and posting. The working title for this fic was "what happens what mads has gay presidential thoughts at 2am" sooooo draw your own conclusions about what follows lol...kinda fits in with my other Josh/Sam story (I haven't decided what exactly is happening with that particular series) but obviously way in the future.

"It's not too late to turn back, you know."

Sam turned to him and smiled, and Josh couldn't help but smile back.

"Actually, I think it's definitely too late too turn back, but thanks for the confidence boost," Sam teased.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Josh conceded, and squeezed his husband's hand. "Did you ever think we'd actually get here?" he asked.

"Yes," Sam answered immediately. Josh raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I mean, of course I didn't visualize every detail of our lives—"

"I'd say this is a pretty big detail…"

"Would you shut up for like ten seconds I'm trying to be cute here," Sam looked at him with mock exasperation and Josh was overcome with fondness for the man he had chosen to spend his life with.

"Yeah, okay."

"I was saying," Sam glared at him pointedly. "That I never really put much thought into where exactly we would end up, but I always knew we'd do great things. And I always knew we'd do them together." He paused and looked at their surroundings. "I'd say we've done some pretty great things."

"Hey don't look now, but you might have a couple more pretty great things to do still," Josh replied playfully.

"We," Sam corrected. "We've still got some great things to do. I couldn't do any of this by myself."

"Of course you couldn't," Josh agreed. "Everyone knows I'm the real brains of this operation. You're just the pretty front man."

"You think I'm pretty?" Sam teased.

"I didn't say that," Josh teased back, and Sam surprised him with a loud kiss on the cheek. "Hey!" he protested, but Sam just shrugged unapologetically.

"Gonna have to get used to me doing that," he reasoned. "The American people expect it."

Josh mumbled something to the effect of the American people can shove it up their ass but even he wasn't entirely sure what exact words came out of his mouth, even as he was saying them, because he knew his protest was just on principle. While Josh had never been the most comfortable with random public affection, he had long ago come to terms with the fact that his partner was very comfortable with random public affection, and that for some reason he and Sam had become something of an iconic couple in the past few years. Josh blamed the internet, Sam told him he was turning into a grouchy old man. Josh still blamed the internet.

"I'm not entirely sure what you just said," Sam patronized, "but I'm fairly sure I disagree."

"Why the hell did I marry you?" Josh asked rhetorically.

"I dunno, I ran out of other options and you must've been desperate," Sam shrugged. "Oh well, you're stuck with me now."

"Yeah, something like that," Josh rolled his eyes.

"Hey Josh?" Sam asked, his tone turning serious.

"Yeah?"

"Are you nervous?"

Josh huffed out a laugh. "Absolutely petrified. And I've got the easy job. You?"

"Nah," Sam brushed off. Josh glanced over at him and in fairness he didn't seem all that tense. Josh shouldn't even be surprised, Sam was a natural. Nothing ever seemed to phase him. Josh wished he had some of his lover's confidence. "I mean, maybe a little," Sam added. "But it's a good nervous, you know? Like when I was graduating law school, or when we got married…" he trailed off with a shy smile and Josh lifted his hand to brush softly down Sam's cheek. Sam captured Josh's hand with his own, holding it there for a moment, before pressing a light kiss to his knuckles and letting their joined hands fall between them.

"You have no reason to be nervous," Josh assured him quietly. "You were born for this, you know that, right?"

"Baby, as long as you're by my side, I could never fail."

"Oh god, that was just awful," Josh laughed.

"Hey, I'm trying here!" Sam protested.

"Well maybe try a little less next time," Josh suggested.

"Actually, I think I can do whatever I want now," Sam reminded him.

"Okay, actually you and I both know it doesn't work like that," Josh corrected.

"Don't I get to be the judge of that?"

"No."

"Oh, well then what the hell are we doing here?" Sam smiled, causing Josh to roll his eyes.

"Exactly what I've been asking myself for the past year," he grumbled, and Sam used their join hands to pull Josh close to him.

"Hey," he whispered, nose brushing against Josh's temple as Josh rested his head on the other man's shoulder. "We did it. The hard part's over. Now we just get to do what we do best."

"Yeah, running the free world, piece of cake," Josh huffed. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Okay, haven't you learned by now that asking that question is, like, exactly when things go wrong? Besides, we've been here before," Sam reminded him. "A couple of times now, actually. We probably have more experience with this than anyone else alive."

"You know it's gonna be different this time though, right?"

"Of course it'll be different, it's different every time," Sam responded softly, kissing his lover on the forehead. "Everything we do has its own challenges, but that's never stopped us before. I think it'll be even better this time, because we have nothing to hide. We get to be us. I get to hold your hand and dance with you at parties and kiss you without worrying that someone will see and when things get tough, because we know they will, we can lean on each other. So that's why I'm not nervous," he finished.

"I love you," Josh whispered, unable to form any other words to express just how he felt about this man. It was quite possibly the most important day of Sam's life, yet here he was doing everything in his power to comfort Josh, when it should be the other way around.

"I love you too," Sam responded. "I know this is going to be hard for you, probably even harder than for me sometimes…"

"Sam, no, we've talked about this, I'm fine," Josh interrupted.

"I know you're fine," Sam agreed. "But just in case you're ever not fine, I hope you know I would do anything for you, up to and including invoking a military response, if needed."

"Hopefully that won't be needed, then," Josh commented dryly. "But I know. That's why I'm fine."

"We're really about to do this, aren't we?"

"Well, you're about to do this. I think my job for the next few years is just going to be to stand there and look pretty."

"Thank god you're good at that, then," Sam smiled.

"Well, I've definitely gotten lots of practice," Josh joked back.

"Sir? It's time."

Josh lifted his head from Sam's shoulder and stepped back so that their hands were their only point of contact.

"Alright," Sam nodded at Bram, who shot them a thumbs up. It was nice to have a staff they knew so well, Josh thought. At least, it made him a lot more comfortable not to be constantly surrounded by strangers when they were doing Sam's whole 'adorable couple in public' thing. "I guess that's our cue."

"Last chance to back out," Josh teased one more time, not that he in any world expected Sam would want to. He didn't want to, either.

"Hey," Sam stopped them and squeezed Josh's hand, so that the other man turned to look at him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Josh repeated. "Let's do this."

Sam squeezed his hand again and Josh squeezed back as they both turned towards the open door that would lead to their future.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Joshua Lyman-Seaborn, and President-Elect Samuel Norman Lyman-Seaborn.

That ended up being both longer and sappier than I intended but Sam and Josh make me feel things because these boys just love each other a lot okay?! I have a few things on deck, hopefully one of which is a new chapter of What's Next...sorry it's been so long, but I'm almost done with the semester then I'll have three weeks off to write!