Disclaimer: Don't own it.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review. :) Inspired by watching the trailer for Les Misérables!
It was ridiculous. Sunglasses weren't made to be worn indoors, yet a pair of black Prada shades were present in the darkened theater. The absurd item belonged to Miranda Priestly, who was fervently trying to control her tears when she saw her Andrea on the large movie screen, barely a size 0 and passionately singing the infamous song, "I Dreamed a Dream." Andrea's bewitching voice resonated through the theater as her face contorted in an awful sadness. Her expressive brown eyes spoke of so much pain and sorrow, and Miranda felt her own heart ache, which brought forth more tears. Thank god for Prada.
When Fatine's long brown locks fell to the ground, Miranda had to restrain herself considerably from gasping loudly. Andrea's hair was one of her loveliest features, and now it was gone.
Miranda watched the rest of the movie in rapt silence, occasionally bringing her hand up to her mouth to keep from crying out. During Fantine's death, the song Andrea sang was heart-wrenching. When her hallucinations caused her to see her child, Cosette, Miranda could hardly suppress the sobs that overtook her body and the anger that made her clench her hands into fists. Of course she knew it was just acting, but seeing Andrea actually dying made her own heart feel like a thousand knives had pierced through it. She was overtaken with nerves and she could feel her palms sweating. Ridiculous. Miranda Priestly never sweated. Damn that girl.
She took a moment to compose herself, and then stood up and exited swiftly. Nobody in the theater noticed she was there, since she had quietly entered from the back and sat in the very last row. Miranda exited the cinema with her head bowed low and her coat wrapped tightly around herself. She ignored the paparazzi that were calling her name, and slipped elegantly into the Mercedes where Roy was faithfully waiting for her.
After Roy had pulled away from the curb, Miranda allowed the guilt to flood her system. Seeing Andrea die on-screen made her feel ashamed and regretful-not to mention scared. Miranda felt like she had truly lost Andrea once more after seeing her lifeless body in the movie. It was like Paris four years ago all over again. Her affections for Andrea had started to shape into something more serious, but before she could act upon those wishes, Andrea had broken her heart by leaving her. After the best assistant she ever had (and possibly the woman of her dreams) walked out of her life, her anger clouded her judgment, and she blacklisted the girl from every single publishing company in New York. Instead of getting angry and sending hate mail or some such thing like that, Andrea had sent a letter where she apologized, and even thanked Miranda for the opportunity to work for such a prestigious company. She had gone so far as to justifying Miranda's choice to blacklist her, writing that she would have done the same thing if she were in Miranda's position. Miranda felt awful.
Four years had been a long time. Miranda hadn't spoken or contacted her during that duration. Apparently since Andrea couldn't write, she became an actress. And what an actress she was. Les Misérables was her first movie, and Miranda had seen it simply because she was curious after seeing the trailer. She remembered the shock she felt when she gazed into those familiar brown eyes again on her television screen. Cassidy and Caroline noticed her too, as they were the ones who prodded a hesitant Miranda to go and see it. "But Mom! She was your favorite assistant! You should support her!" were Caroline's exact words. After little consideration, Miranda had decided to go.
The reviews for the movie so far had been wonderful. They praised Andrea's performance, calling it 'poignant' and 'a wonderful start for an uprising actress.' Miranda was proud of her secret love, but she wished so badly that she could be there, sharing Andrea's successes and achievements. She wanted to be Andrea's other half-the person that Andrea would-and could confide in.
Miranda let a small smile play on her lips as she thought about her. Beautiful, caring, and extremely sweet were adjectives that popped in her mind when she thought about Andrea Sachs. She thought about the movie that portrayed Andrea as a prostitute. The girl had definitely matured and grown up a lot since her days at Runway.
"Ma'am," Roy cleared his throat, "we're here."
Startled, Miranda looked to her right where she found Roy patiently holding the door open for her. They were already at the townhouse, and Roy was standing in the freezing cold waiting on her. Flustered, she stepped out of the car quickly and nodded to Roy once before turning and walking into her home.
She hung her coat up in the closet and headed up the stairs. Pausing at Caroline's bedroom, she rested her hand on the doorframe and poked her head in.
"Hey Mom," the teenage girl said as she flipped through the latest issue of People. "How was the movie?"
"Hello Caroline," Miranda responded, "it was…acceptable."
"Was Andrea good in it?" Caroline asked.
"Yes," Miranda smiled her real smile. "She was very good in it."
Caroline looked up and noticed her mother's almost…lovesick expression. "How good?" Caroline smirked when she saw her mom tense up.
"Very," Miranda replied haughtily, embarrassed that Caroline had caught her dreamy expression.
"It's cool Mom. Andrea was always pretty awesome," a small smile appeared on Caroline's face as she turned her head back into the celebrity world of gossip.
Not knowing what to say, Miranda nodded even though Caroline didn't see it, and turned to visit her other daughter. Knocking gently on the door across from Caroline's bedroom, she opened the door when a 'come in' rang out. Caroline was on her laptop, writing a school paper. She looked up at her mom.
"Hey Mom," Cassidy greeted her in the same manner as Caroline did. "Did you like the movie?"
"Yes. It was good," Miranda said, firmly keeping her face void of any attraction that showed her feelings towards Andrea.
"That's good," Cassidy smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. The paparazzi didn't get you too hard, did they?"
"No, but they probably got some good shots of my coat since I hid my face in it," Miranda smiled back.
"Good job Mom!" Cassidy laughed.
"Thank you Cassidy," Miranda chuckled back.
"Well I think I'm going to finish this last paragraph and then go to bed," Cassidy yawned. "I'm beat."
"I'm proud of you," Miranda praised. "Good night."
"Good night Mom. Sweet dreams!"
"You too."
Miranda shut the door behind her after she gave Cassidy a hug.
"Hey Mom," she heard Caroline call.
"Yes Caroline?" she walked back to her room.
"Andrea's in People!" Caroline said excitedly, pointing to a picture where Andrea was walking down the street, her face shyly sporting a small smile. "She like, shaved her head! All of her hair is like, gone!"
"Caroline, how many times have I told you not to use the word 'like' in your vocabulary? It sounds bad," Miranda scolded gently. "And Andrea is not bald, she cut it into a pixie. She had to for Les Misérables. It looks very becoming on her."
At her last statement, Caroline's eyebrow raised. "Yeah, she looks really pretty."
"Mmm," Miranda murmured, her eyes tracing over Andrea's profile.
"Hey Mom," Caroline broke her study.
"What?"
"If you wanted to hang out with Andrea, that would be cool with me," Caroline said carefully, not wanting to insult or imply anything that would aggravate her. "And I'm sure Cassidy would be okay with it too. It would be nice to have a new face around the house."
"Oh, well," Miranda said, looking flustered. "Thank you?" She phrased it as a question because she didn't know what Caroline was implying.
"Yup, well, good night Mom!" Caroline stood up from her bed and threw her arms around the fashion icon, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Here, you can keep the magazine."
She practically shoved People in Miranda's hands and pushed her out the door. Miranda was left standing in the darkened hallway and wondering what the hell just happened. Shaking her head fondly at Caroline's actions, she made her way to her own bedroom and tossed the magazine on her bed. She quickly stripped out of her expensive clothes and dressed in her nightgown. Tying her favorite dark blue robe around her, she picked up the magazine where she had discarded it earlier, and opened it to where Caroline had so thoughtfully folded the corner of the page down.
Sinking onto her bed, her eyes hungrily roamed over the figure she had come to miss terribly. Andrea was wearing plain black jeans, Steve Madden wedges, and a brand-less billowy blouse, something Miranda usually would have deemed a disgrace to the fashion world, but on Andrea, it looked beautiful. Of course, she would look good in anything she wore. Andrea would look gorgeous in a potato sack.
Miranda traced her fingertips over Andrea's face, aching to do the same with the real thing. Sighing, Miranda mulled over Caroline's words. Her 13-year-old daughter was more insightful than she was at that age. She wouldn't have known if her mother was in love with someone just by looking at her. Based on Caroline's statements, her, nor Cassidy, would be opposed to her possibly dating Andrea. Just thinking about the possibility of finally getting to hold Andrea and touch her made Miranda tingle with excitement.
But, a little voice in her mind whispered, what if Andrea doesn't share your feelings? She's only 28. You're 54. She's still so young. She has so many opportunities for lovers in her life. What if she isn't even attracted to you? What if she's not even a lesbian? What if she opposes gay people? What if-
"Shut up," Miranda said out loud. "You're never going to get anywhere with her if you keep being a coward. Stop with all the 'what ifs' and be a Priestly. Andrea is not opposed to gay people. Otherwise she would hate Nigel and practically half of the fashion industry. As a matter of her being a lesbian, well then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now look what you've made me done. I'm talking aloud to myself like I'm a lunatic."
Grumbling, Miranda stood up and untied her robe before dropping it into a chair next to her bed. She pulled back the covers and slipped in between them, sighing contentedly when she felt the familiar coolness envelop her body. After tossing around for a while, Miranda made up her mind that she was going to contact Andrea tomorrow and change both of their lives (hopefully for the better). She prayed that Andrea would be willing to give her a chance. Miranda opened the magazine again and looked at Andrea's form one last time, the moonlight illuminating the page. She reached her index finger out and touched Andrea's smiling face one last time before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
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