A/N: Unconscious beauty - beauty that is unrecognized by its owner

Miranda headed for the stairs to the master bedroom, leaving Andréa to finish drying the dishes. Her day at the office had left her drained out and wondering how people this useless even found their way working for the magazine. But as always her ex assistant had managed to pull her out of her work-related thoughts and fix her seemingly hopeless mood. The editor passed a vase with a single green rose on her way and smiled at the gift she had received earlier that evening. Cheerfulness. Even in her foul mood she had appreciated the irony and smiled. Which had probably been the point in the first place.

She always had a sense of deep relaxation after one of their delightful dinners. That might be the reason she felt so calm up until the very moment she stepped into her en suite bathroom and saw her reflexion in the mirror.

Her face looked immaculate with one silver strand hanging freely over her forehead and all that make up she spent a significant amount of her mornings doing. It served as her armor, not letting any flaws appear on the outside. You couldn't ask for perfection from your employees constantly if you didn't provide the same yourself. She was many things but a hypocrite was not one of them.

However, now it was time for her to take it off. She soaked a cotton pad and started working on her face. Miranda wasn't foolish. She was well aware that she was much older than Andréa and her body didn't look as it used to. Not that the younger woman had ever made the slightest remark even after their first night together. On the contrary, she always seemed to be too blind with lust to pay attention to any imperfections. Never failing to compliment every body part her lips had traced. But they had only spent a couple of nights together and were both at first, too busy undressing each other to take the time to do something as unimportant as taking their makeup off, and then after showering, both had always been too tired to keep their eyes open, never mind paying any attention to their appearance.

Now with every stroke Miranda revealed more and more previously hidden freckles, wrinkles and other flaws that would certainly do a great job at reminding Andréa just how big of a difference there was between them. She knew her ex assistant wasn't so shallow to leave her for something as trivial as her looks but it felt so good begin desired once again. She was going to miss it when it faded like it no-doubt would. With Stephen it had lasted for only a month or two and he was older than her.

She hadn't expected to see her waiting outside the Elias-Clark building just a few weeks after she had gotten back from Paris. Certainly not to thank for the recommendation and to apologize for acting like a child for leaving her assistant-less in the middle of the most important week in fashion. And the pink rose. Thank you. If she hadn't been so surprised Miranda would have laughed. She had simply taken the flower and left without saying a word.

Still better than that time she had shown up with a yellow one. A friendship rose, really? It had happened on one of their weekly lunches Miranda had started arranging a few weeks after their last encounter. I need to socialize with someone other than my girls before I turn into Donatella and people have to spend hours trying to find me a suitable table at dinner parties. Andréa had just seemed the rational choice at the time. Or so she had convinced herself.

On their next lunch it had been a yellow one with a red tip. Clearly Andréa hadn't missed the disappointment in the editor's eyes last time. Her hand had been shaking when she gave it to Miranda. Well, well, friendship with a romantic hint. There had been an obvious question mark hanging in the air.

Miranda smiled at the memory. She had felt more happy on that day than she had since the first year of her marriage to Gregory, her first husband. That reminded her of her younger years. She had been beautiful back then. Not the conventional beauty that models had but a sharper, colder one. It made her look like she was meant to be in charge and like someone who didn't take any idiocy. Probably one of the things that earned her the infamous titles like the Ice Queen or the Dragon Lady.

Focusing on her reflexion in the mirror she sighed at the remainder of what she used to have when she saw a pair of eyes locked on her face. Miranda's whole body tensed thinking she had more time to prepare herself mentally. The small smile on Andréa's face faded as she realized she had been caught staring. Immediately lowering her gaze, she took a step back leaving her previous position at the door frame.

"Shoot, I'm sorry. It's just that…" She turned around and quickly walked back inside the bedroom murmuring something that sounded suspiciously like "You're so beautiful.".

Miranda relaxed partly and quickly finished up brushing her teeth and applying her 'miracle' lotions. Soon she was back in the bedroom. There Andréa quickly jumped out of bed and walked into the en suite with a slight coloring in her cheeks. Miranda smiled to herself amused to see her embarrassment and changed into her nightgown.

She sat on the bed, her legs under the covers and her back on the headboard. Her phone buzzed next to the bed and she decided to check what last minute emails about the disasters at the latest shooting she had received.

Less than ten minutes later her attention was caught by the sound of Andréa walking around the bed to get to the empty side.

"Sorry, I was kind of creepy, weren't I?" She smiled awkwardly lightening the mood. Miranda rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle which immediately resulted in a blinding grin on Andréa's face and a sparkle in her eyes that had finally met her gaze.

Well, maybe it would last a bit more than two months. She thought to herself as she left her phone at the bedside table and turned back to the bed just in time to see Andréa slipping her legs under the covers and mirroring her own sitting position. That radiant smile never leaving her lips.

"Oh, come here." She commanded and pulled her closer for a kiss. The moment their lips met Miranda felt herself relax completely and lifted her fingers to caress Andréa's soft cheek. She felt the heat spread from deep inside her to each body part. They pulled apart just enough to allow them to speak.

"Not so tired anymore, huh?" The deep brown eyes were staring at her playfully.

"Well, it appears I've had a sudden burst of energy." She kissed her once again before adding "I wonder whose fault might that be?"

And with that they kissed again to part only when Miranda felt Andréa shift her weight and quickly found her straddling her lap. She let a quiet "hmm" escape her lips and that was the last she spoke before wrapping her arms around her waist and diving in for another searing kiss…

The next morning Miranda woke up to an empty bed, the smell of pancakes and… "Ouch!" She opened her eyes to see a dark red rose laying on the other side of her bed where her hand had searched for Andréa. Unconscious Beauty.

She put on a robe and made her way to the kitchen while sucking on her cut finger. "Honestly, Andréa. I've only just woken up and you've managed to cook more carbs than my diet allows me for a month and cut my finger." The amusement in her voice was clear. She walked to the younger woman and wrapped her arms around her body from the back. Miranda kissed the side of her neck and whispered in her ear "Not a very good way to start the day now, is it?" Her tone suggesting she didn't really mean a word she said.

FIN