Hi everyone, this will be my first West Wing fanfic! I've just gotten into the series this summer and love love love it to pieces. Such witty writing! If I ever achieve that level, I'll consider myself a good writer. Anyway, there are many relationships in the West Wing that I would like to explore, but I will start out with Toby and Andi. What a great couple, and so unrequited, and I'm a total sucker for unrequited love. So here goes! Please enjoy.
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He could just make out the low hum of his desk lamp. It was background noise usually drowned out by the chaos of the West Wing during work hours. But now, it was just him, his pink bouncy ball and the desk lamp.
Toby Ziegler was not a romantic man. Passionate, oh yes, to be sure, but certainly not what most women think of as the dashing white knight in shining armor. His appeal was more academic, dry, a caustic wit that was lovable in a certain twisted way. He squeezed the pink rubber sphere in his right hand and took this time of quiet to contemplate the state of his romantic affairs. He had been married to a beautiful and smart woman, a congresswoman to be exact. But they had been driven apart. By what? The lack the children? Personality differences? The fact that they were both married to their respective jobs? Perhaps. But Tobias Ziegler was certain about one thing. He still loved her. He never stopped loving her. She was always the prettiest, smartest, funniest woman he had ever known. And unless he was very much mistaken, she still felt something for him.
The nature of their work ensured that, sooner or later, they'd run into each other and butt heads over a policy issue, often enough for him to keep a weather eye on her. Just in case she was getting enough time on her hands to start seeing someone. Toby's brow unconsciously furrowed at the thought. At least he'd be around to politely interfere. Not that he was the jealous type. More the silent, brooding, plotting revenge type. Some women would find that charming. Wouldn't they?
Toby glanced at his watch.
2:00 AM.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, internally making a decision.
Then, he stood, flung the pink ball at the far wall where it bounced into a stack of boxes, pulled on his coat and left his office.
Washington nights in the Spring were not meant for casual strolls by the lake. The crisp air stung his face and forced his hands deeper and deeper into his pockets. His breath hung in the air, reflecting the light of the many streetlights that guided his path. He watched the still surface of the lake, finding a path along its banks that led to her apartment.
He wondered if she was still awake.
But then he remembered that she was a complete night owl and preferred to work during the early hours of night. He smiled at this common trait of theirs. Little things that made them so perfect for each other. He jogged lightly to warm his feet and increase the blood flow in his body. And he wondered more about her. He wondered if she ever wondered about him. If she ever asked herself what Toby would be awake at 2 in the morning. If she ever had the inexplicable urge to see him.
Because he had those all the time. Toby loved his job, but hated it for the times it prevented him from dropping everything during lunch break and showing up at his ex-wife's office. And just seeing her. Sometimes the feeling would be overwhelming and he'd have to pull out a picture to appease the tugging in his heart.
He looked up, surprised. He'd arrived at the front steps to her apartment building and didn't even realize it. He clicked in the four-digit security code and slipped into the warmth. Take the elevator to the fifth floor, turn down the hall on the left, room 513.
He paused. He was sure she was awake, he could hear the faint strains of Debussy inside. Her favorite composer, he knew. Maybe he should take her to a Debussy symphony, she was always saying she never remembered to buy tickets for such things. His finger reached for the door bell, and taking a quick breath, quickly depressed it.
A slight commotion inside, muffled by the 2 and a half inch wooden door. She must of tripped over something in surprise that someone would be ringing her door bell at such an hour. Toby stared at his shoes, formulating words and sentences in his head. He was the White House Communications Director. Why was it so difficult to communicate to Andi that he loved her? It's been enough time for her to make her way from her study to the door by now, she must be looking through the peephole. Sure enough, he smiled inwardly at his accurate calculations, the sound of locks being undone, the door swung open.
Toby looked up at her annoyed expression. "Hi," he offered lamely.
"Toby, it's the middle of the night. What the hell are you doing here?"
"Can I come in?"
Andi's forehead furrowed a little deeper, "Wha – yes, I guess so, but first tell me why you're here."
Toby brushed past her and closed the door behind him and faced her. He titled his head to one side, "I wanted to see you."
"See me? Toby, we are way past the stage of midnight rendez-vous. Look if it's something about work, it could wait till -"
He cut her off. He backed her into the door, pressed his mouth firmly to hers and cut her off mid-sentence. Her lips were just as soft and warm as he remembered. Finally having their lips touching felt so good that he almost smiled into the kiss. His mind was still just conscious enough to register that she was kissing back. He rested his hands on her hips and deepened the kiss, asking for access to her tongue, which she gladly granted. She sighed softly and gasped lightly when his lips worked their way down the pale skin of her neck.
"Toby," she protested slightly, breaking for a moment to catch their breaths. Her eyes met his and she was surprised to see how sad and tired he looked. But in his eyes was an intensity that she had seen before. For her. "Toby, just tonight. Don't expect this to be a regular occurrence."
"Shh, stop talking. No talking. Not tonight," he replied as he shrugged off his coat and guided her towards the bedroom.
...
Reviews please? Not a lot of people write Toby/Andi stories but I wish they would! Come on, guys, these two belong together.
