Diamonds

by fictorium

Summary:

;Josh has something to ask Amy.

Title: Diamonds
Rating: PG
Pairings: Amy/Josh, Josh/Donna
Spoilers: set post-show, in the Santos administration
Disclaimer:  Property of Aaron Sorkin, John Wells, NBC et al. No harm and no profit, I swear.
Summary:  Josh has something to ask Amy.

He offers to buy her coffee, and there isn't time for anywhere but the mess, but they're both used to that by now. Time is for other people, a luxury that all their combined wealth can't afford.

It's January, and he jokes about buying her ice-cream, which makes Amy realize they're on dangerous ground. Josh is at his most considerate, his most thoughtful, when he's about to blow somebody's house down. Today Amy is going to be that unfortunate recipient, and she scrambles for clues that she might have missed, hints that she hasn't picked up on.

When he shows her the ring, she thinks she might throw up. She has to tell him that it isn't right for her to see it first, to fake a smile when it'll prompt one so genuine in Donna. Donna, who gets the ring and the guy, and Amy can't even resent her for it.

Josh is asking her permission, and it's so backwards that Amy can hardly stand it. He's probably already consulted Sam about the ring, about the proposal, since Sam is an expert in both. This is different, something only a former lover can understand, and suddenly the feelings she's been biting back for years are threatening to spill out.

Being a grown-up honestly kind of blows sometimes. So Amy doesn't dump her lukewarm coffee in his lap, doesn't shriek in protest that the lucky girl was supposed to be her. How could Josh know that she's been waiting (and dating) from afar, waiting for the novelty of Donna the girlfriend to wear off?

This is why she sucks at poker, Amy thinks, because she always picks the wrong hand to gamble big on, and the losses are too hard to stomach. None of that is Josh's problem, and beneath the frown lines and receding hairline, there's still the boyish charm she always loved. The face of a boy saying 'please don't take this happiness from me', and if she's honest, Amy loves him in this moment as much as she ever did.

But Amy Gardner is a firm believer in doing the right thing, so she offers the most sincere congratulations she can think of, and doesn't beg him not to in the process. The smile is making her face hurt, and it's probably a little lopsided, but she's doing the best she can. She says, "Josh, I'm so happy for you", and his face lights up like he just got tickets for a Mets game.

He never could tell when she was lying, and maybe that's the reason why she's here, lying, today.

Fic: Diamonds, Amy/Josh (Josh/Donna), PG