The Bells of Notre Dame
A/N: This is slightly AU. Andy never worked for Miranda and has always been a journalist. They met soon after Miranda's divorce with the girls' father. She never married Stephen or anyone else. Just Andy. Also, their age difference is not as big, with Miranda only being 10 years older than Andy.
Fist fic I have written for this fandom and it's also the first fic I've written without my recent beta.
I recently watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame and I couldn't let go of this.
These last few years have been good to Andy. She had a loving wife, and two wonderful twin stepdaughters. She finally had a family of her own and she wasn't letting them go…ever. So she had spent the last 2 years researching everything there was to know about Paris, outside of what she already knew from attending Paris Fashion Week with Miranda whenever she could, and secretly teaching herself French. She was going to give Miranda an anniversary she would never forget. After all Miranda had given her 5 wonderful years of marriage and she couldn't be happier.
As the day crawled closer and closer Andy got more and more nervous. She wanted the surprise to be perfect. The last time she felt this nervous is when she had asked Miranda's daughters, Cassidy and Caroline for their blessing to ask for their mother's hand in marriage. She sucked in a deep breath and rang the doorbell. The shifted from foot to foot and twiddled with the stem of the white rose in her hands.
Miranda sat up in her study pouring over the proofs she grabbed form the office before heading home for the day at 5pm. That was something that started after she married Andrea. She would be home at a reasonable hour to spend more time with her girls and her wife before The Book arrived at night. She smiled softly at the memory of the first time she came home at 5 and the twins were squealing with delight. She finished looking over the proofs deciding that she could salvage a few pictures before she heard the doorbell ring.
Who could that be at this hour? Surely Andrea didn't lose her key…again. She made her way to the door and opened it.
"Andrea? What are you doing?" She eyed the brunette curiously and raised an expertly sculpted eyebrow.
"I am here to take you on our anniversary date." She gave her a loving smile and offered her wife the rose.
"But our anniversary is not for another two days. Surely you haven't forgotten or did you bump your silly little head on the pavement?" She took the offered rose and kissed her wife on the cheek.
"Hardy har har. I did not forget. I spoke with your first assistant, Jack, and she might have mentioned that you were busy on Friday. So, here I am, all dolled up in your favorite red dress, reenacting our first date. And if I remember correctly, you need to get into my favorite black dress, and get in the car in about 15 minutes. So chop chop. Cassidy and Caroline are already at their father's" She clapped her hands for emphasis.
"Whatever you say, princess." She gave Andy one last kiss and headed upstairs to change. 25 minutes later she came back down the stairs ready to go.
An hour later as they were having dinner on the back deck of Tony's Andy decided it was a now or never moment and pulled out an envelope from her purse.
"Miranda, you have given me the most wonderful gift these past 10 years; your love, and of course, our daughters. I think it's time to pay you back for everything you have done for me and for the girls."
She slid the envelope over to Miranda.
"I started saving every single penny that I could the day the day you told me about the dream you had about kissing me to the sound of bells of Notre Dame herself. I know you have the money to do this yourself but I wanted this to be something I did for you. And finally 2 years later, I can give you what you want; what you have dreamed about."
Miranda couldn't help the gasp that escaped when Andy finished.
"Before you say that we can't just leave; I already talked to Jack and she cleared your schedule for the next 8 days. All of the meetings that Jack had you scheduled for were fake so it wouldn't ruin the surprise. Anyway the girl's father agreed to take them for the next week as well and I already talked to my boss as well. We leave tomorrow afternoon so it gives us time to swing by say goodbye to the girls, and don't worry, I already packed our bags."
Miranda sat speechless and just stared at her wife. The image quickly became blurry as tears full of happiness and love filled her eyes. All Miranda could do was lean over the table and kiss her loving, thoughtful, amazing, magnificent, perfect wife.
"God, I love you Andrea Priestly. Forever."
They walked through their hotel and out into the city of love. They made their way to the beloved cathedral and stood there on the steps of Notre Dame herself. Miranda took a deep breath and squeezed Andy's hand as they made their way into the ornate doors. No mater how many times she came here for fashion week, she had never been inside of the cathedral. The soft sounds of the choir echoed through the stone building and it took their breath away. Andy led her wife to a small plain door and ushered her inside.
"Andrea what are we doing? We cant be here!"
"Don't worry, Miranda. Come on. I want to see the bells bells bells bells bells of Notre daaaame!" she whisper sung.
"Of course you do, Quasi" Miranda chuckled at her wife's antics.
Andy led the way up the spiraling staircase and to the landing where she had everything set up. Miranda took in the room, noticing small table for two covered in a royal purple tablecloth topped with whit roses and small tea lights strewn about the room.
"Oh Andrea. This is…this is." She took her wife's face in her hands and kissed her for all she was worth.
"Come on, Mira. Just look at them. Look at the bells."
They walked around the platform and took in the sight of the magnificent bells suspended in the air. Andy gently ran her fingertips across the lip of the biggest bell. She walked up behind Miranda and wrapped her arms around her waist and laid her head on her wife's shoulder.
"I could stay here, just like this, for the rest of time Mira." Miranda leaned her head back to rest on Andy's shoulder and whispered. "So could I, Andrea. So could I."
Andy led her back to the table and uncovered the dishes she had arranged to be set in time for their arrival. "I had the chef of one of the local restaurants recreate the meal we had when I proposed to you."
She spoke in whispers not wanting to break the spell they were under by the sheer beauty, and significance of their surroundings. They ate in relative silence, only broken by the choir singing downstairs, or the soft chirp of the birds as they flew over the Seine. As they finished up their meal Andy grabbed Miranda's hand and walked until they reached the balcony overlooking the square. They watched the sun reach the end of her working day with a plethora of pinks, reds, yellows and oranges setting the Parisian landscape ablaze with its beauty.
"Miranda Priestly I love you. I will love you until the end of this life and the next one and the one after that. No matter what anyone says, no matter how many people say what we have is unnatural, I will never leave you. Loving you has been the most natural thing I have ever done. Here I am, on the balcony of Notre Dame, God and gargoyles as my witness, telling you that our love with never end. Ever. "
"I love you too, Andrea. I have loved you for these past few years and I will love you for a thousand more."
Finally after years of dreaming and years of planning, Miranda kissed the love of her life, her soul mate to the sound of the bells of Notre Dame.
A/N: You guys should listen to The Bells of Notre Dame now that you've finished. You can feel the chills of the bells when you listen to the song.