Chapter Text
Leaning against the railing Sam takes a deep breath in. The week was one of the worst he had. It’s been six months since they won the election and it felt like they weren’t achieving anything. Everyday was a battle which was not won or lost but filled with promises and compromises. He always assumed that once they won they would be making a difference but theses days every victory came with a compromise, every step forward led to two steps backwards. His thoughts wander over to Lisa, the reason he had needed to leave his apartment and get some fresh air. She had mailed him the rest of his stuff and after the day he had, it made him think about he’s decision to leave his life behind and join the Bartletts campaign.
Taking a deep breath, he realised he was being ridiculous he would have never passed the opportunity to get a president elected, to make a difference even if they were tiny. He was so lost in thought as he stepped away from the railing to return home and deal with the package Lisa sent him that he didn’t realize there was a person walking by him resulting with him crashing quite spectacularly into the man.
The man catches him steading him before he can fall back “Shit, Sorry.” Sam apologies’ into the mans broad chest, stepping back straighten his glasses “Sorry, sorry was lost in my thoughts.”
“Sam?” a hesitant question came from the man. Sam looks up to see Tony standing in front of him.
“Tony!” Sam replies enthusiastically, throwing himself back at the man for a hug. “Dam, it’s good to see you.” stepping back he asks “How are you? What are you doing here? Where have you been? What are you up to these days?” Sam asks bringing brightly
“Woah, slow down there Samster” Tony says holding up his hands defensively “I’m good, I live here now, Peoria, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, Nothing much work takes up most of my time.” Tony replies all in one breath
They book grin at each other “What’s wrong?” Tony asks
Sam’s grin falters “Who said anything is wrong?”
“Saam, this is me you are talking to. You have this look when something is eating at you” Tony replies shrugging
“No I don’t, I haven’t seen you in years, how would you know” Sam replies
“Cause I know you, somethings don’t change. Now what’s wrong?” Tony replies
Sam wonders how a man he’s not met for more than 7 years has realised that something was wrong when the people he has been working with for the last year or so, the people who have become as close a family to him have not noticed this thing that has been eating at him slowly since they took office.
Sam turns back to leaning over the railing his eyes automatically drawn towards the white house that was lit in the distance, the water reflecting its lights. He feels Tony as he comes to stand besides him. They both keep silent, lost in thoughts when Sam finally speaks,
“I used to think that if I found the guy and got him elected I could change the world, and we did, Josh found the guy and we worked hard, we struggled and we fought tooth and nail to get him elected but now that we are in the white house it feels like we have not made a minuscule difference in the world. Its beens six months filled with compromises and broken promises, I just feel like we are failing at making that difference we all used to dream of”
Tony doesn’t speak for a while and just gazes off into the distance. When Sam is just about to say something to break the silence, Tony says “For a long time I believed that I was not doing enough at work, there are so many unsolved cases, so many families with no closure. So I used to work on cold cases in my free moments, I was doing this for three months and was running myself ragged that my active cases were slipping.
One day, after I almost got killed, because I wasn’t paying attention as I was running through one of the cases in the back of my mind, my boss took me aside and told me what’s the point of running yourself to the ground to the point that I was useless on team, that if I was giving my 100% to the cases that were active while they were going on that those cases would be solved so much faster and that me dying or burning out was not going to help anyone. At the end of that case I took a second to enjoy the fact that we gave closure to a father who had thought he had pushed his son to suicide but it was murder…
Long story short, those people who’s lives are getting a bit better cause of all the bills you’ll have pushed through even through the compromises they are making a difference, even if it is tiny it make all the difference to those people. So you think of those people and you keep doing what you're doing. It might get better it might get worse but remember each person you’re doing it for. And you won’t feel like you’re failing all the time.”
Sam just closes his eyes and breaths in letting the information sink in before looking at Tony, “Thanks I think I needed that reminder, dam it’s good to see you” and shifting the conversation tone “Peoria, Philadelphia, and Baltimore huh, how’s that been? You still a cop?”
Tony grins “It’s great to see you too, a Fed now, working for NCIS, its been a wild rid getting here” Sam replies “You had dinner yet, want to catch me up on your life? And on what’s bugging you..”
Tony hesitates, him and Sam have had a rocky past and his really not sure if he should rekindle that. But thinking on the shit day he’s had and the reason he’s been running this late at night he thinks what’s the worst that could happen.
They fell into something easy after that night.
Not right away, Sam had work, and Tony had cases but slowly, lunch dates started appearing on both their calendars. Dinners when Tony’s schedule allowed. A quick coffee after Sam’s or Tony’s late nights at the office.
It was casual, easy and fun.
Tony made Sam laugh. In a world of high-stakes politics, where every sentence was measured and every smile meant something, Tony just… existed. Loud, ridiculous, nosy and so real.