"Who are you looking forward to this evening?"
Merida shifted her attention away from the clicks, flashes, and shouts of photographers behind the barricade and focused on the journalist's smiling face. She's seen her before in previous fashion weeks. Never really remembered her name. Although, she remembers that the journalist is a fan of her mother, Elinor. They always get more questions than the other designers and models.
Merida can't really blame her though. Elinor is one of the fashion industry's leading designers. She revolutionized the integration of traditional fabrics into high fashion. Aside from that, she's an established and powerful visionary, heading multiple ethical and earth-friendly businesses ranging from fashion to education.
"Oh, I can't name them all," Elinor laughed, sweeping her long brown hair behind her. "But Edna Mode is at the top, I cannot wait to see her new collection."
The journalist agreed and commented about what she loved about Edna Mode's last collection before finally turning her attention to Merida.
Merida internally groaned, she didn't need more attention than what she was already getting from the cameras.
The journalist smiled at her, "You look absolutely stunning, Merida! Tell me about what you're wearing."
"This old thing?" Merida quipped, earning a look from her mother. "The jumpsuit and shoes are from Cinderella's Midnight Collection. Jewelries' from our very own line." She shifted her weight to her left leg and showed off the outfit. The jumpsuit accentuated her curves, the top's straight neckline and thin straps showed off her fair freckled skin. The flashes from the cameras made the dark blue velvet fabric and jewelries sparkle.
"You make everything you wear a million times better," the journalist complimented the red head. "Well thank you for chatting with us, again you both are lovely. Enjoy the show!" The journalist faced the camera, "And that was Elinor and Merida DunBroch!"
...
Merida walked into her mother's office, hands in the pockets of her hoodie. Elinor and Gothel, the head of marketing and publicity, were in the office. Merida sat down on one of the chairs in front of her mother's chair and made no effort to tune into what the women were talking about. She stared at giant windows that stood behind her mother's table.
"Thank you for coming on such a short notice, wee lamb," Elinor walked over to give her daughter a kiss on the forehead.
"Aye, what's all this about?" Merida asked as her mother went back to sit on her chair. She was disappointed to be summoned to the office during her shift at the archery range. Although, she wasn't really going to face consequences for skipping the rest of her shift. They owned the place after all.
Gothel circled around her, placing her bony hands atop Merida's shoulders. "You know about our collaboration with Berk Industries, right?" Gothel smiled, her voice smooth and sing-songy. "Well, since it's a new venture and outside of Will o' Wisp's usual partnership deals, we were thinking of mixing up our marketing for it a bit! Make it a lil' spicy." She flipped her curly black hair behind her shoulder, her grey eyes with a glint of mischief.
"And why do I need to be here?" Merida raised an eyebrow. "I'm not even needed for this collaboration," she shook her head, turning to her mother. "You said we're going to hire amputee models."
"And we are!" Gothel exclaimed before Elinor could look up from her cup of tea. "We're going to do a publicity stunt. And you're going to be the star!"
Merida furrowed her eyebrows, she jumped from her seat, "I'm not chopping a limb off—"
"You're not going to chop a limb off!" Elinor cut her off, almost laughing.
"Get to the point then!"
"You're going to date the CEO of Berk Industries," Gothel said cooly, leaning against the arm of Merida's chair. "Well, only for publicity. You're going to fake date him, essentially."
Merida stared at Gothel—no, glared at her. Her fists clenched and shoulders stiffened. She could feel her mother watching her. She was finally in a position of agreement with her mother after years and years of arguing about what she did and they decided to pull this shit on her?!
"What makes you think I'd agree to that?" she snapped. "Is this a trick to get me to date someone? I declined even the board of directors' sons, what makes you think I'll do this? " Merida frowned at her mother.
"It's not a trick, Merida," Elinor sternly said before softening her gaze. "Just hear out Lydia's proposal, I think it's an interesting idea." There was a hint of amusement in her voice.
Merida plopped back down to her chair, arguing was no use without concrete reason after all. She had to listen before retorting.
"Thank you," Elinor sighed, urging Gothel to explain.
"WW and Berk Industries have completely different target markets," Gothel started, resigning to her own chair. "The publicity stunt would slowly introduce the idea of the two companies working together, subtly exposing their consumers to our work and exposing our consumers to their work."
Merida rolled her eyes. "And you got—Idon'tevenknowhisname—to agree to this?"
"Not yet. I talked to his publicist and she said we'll get an answer this evening." Gothel answered, leaning against an armrest. "It's going to reel in attention from the press towards the collaboration. Attention means awareness."
If there was any way to roll her eyes back further back in her head, she would. Merida groaned. The whole ordeal seemed fishy. She's sure that there are other ways to market.
Elinor clasped her hands together and earnestly looked at her daughter. "At least consider reading about the lad. It's just for a couple of months, just photos and a few parties. Just until the line is launched." Merida grumbled as Elinor continued. "And if you opt not to, I'm sure Lydia and her team can think of a different strategy to lead with."
"But this plan is already foolproof," Gothel added as she handed Merida her phone with an article about the CEO—Hiccup Haddock III.
Merida reluctantly took the phone and scrolled through.
A photo of a brunette man smiled at her. He wasn't remarkably handsome but he looked good. His hair unkept and his smile genuine. The photo didn't look staged unlike a lot of CEO photos where they try their best to make them look polished yet macho. She didn't bother with reading the article.
Merida sighed, what's the worst that could happen? It was just a job. She's done advertisement work before. And she's accustomed to modeling with male models—who she had to be intimate with for shoots. This shouldn't be any different. She didn't have anything to lose.
"Fine. I'll think about it."
Merida sunk into her tub, inhaling the aroma of mint and vanilla. The water rose around her as she sat deeper, the marble tub cold against her skin. She closed her eyes as she took in the comforting silence of the bathroom. It was nothing like her freedom in the forest but it was enough to keep her sane.
She glanced at her phone and groaned as her mind opened a thought she tried to bury. She can't believe she agreed to Gothel's proposal. She didn't even trust her in the first place! Gothel was sly, cunning, and always in people's personal space. Merida swore she always had ulterior motives to every move she made. Why her mother kept that woman in the office was a mystery to her. Merida huffed and wrote a mental note: Lydia Gothel is an evil witch.
Her phone lit up to reveal an email from the witch herself. She rolled her eyes and disappeared into the tub.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Hiccup looked up from his new prototype and paid attention to the woman in his computer screen.
"Come on, Hiccup. You heard me." Thia scrunched up her nose.
"And I just gave you the chance to change what you said," he smirked, crossing his arms. "I didn't agree to that. To any of that."
"Uh yeah, you did. If you listened carefully to what I said, you could've answered differently."
"I can't believe you!"
"Hiccup!" Thia scolded. "It's a good plan. Your project will reach people who don't even know it exists."
Hiccup grumbled, knowing she was right. Berk Industries is more famous for their tech than what they do for amputees. Even if Hiccup worked and cared more for the latter. Most able-bodied people don't care about the disabled until someone in their family was one. Or someone famous became one.
He suddenly became conscious of his own artificial leg, shifting his weight to the other. His phone vibrated and it pulled him from his thoughts.
"It's the details of the agreement. Time period, backstory, when you'll be meeting, yada yada." Thia pressed her fingers against her temple, brushing away her multicolored hair, "Please try to be cool, get Merida to at least tolerate you."
Hiccup laughed, "What are you talking about? I'm the coolest person in the world!" He winked awkwardly and finger gunned at the camera. "The supermodel won't even have to pretend that she likes me!"
It was received poorly with an eye roll. "Have a good night, Hiccup." Thia smiled one last time before dropping the call.
A bark caught his attention and he turned to see his big black three legged dog, Toothless. He cocked his head to the side as if asking Hiccup a question.
"I'm just nervous, bud." Hiccup walked over to Toothless and scratched behind the canine's ear. "I think the collaboration's getting to me." He glanced at the prototype on his table.
It wasn't good enough. Not yet.
He took his phone from the table and read through what Thia had sent.
The plan seemed simple and lasted 5 months before and 1 month after the official launch. In the first 2 months, they had to subtly appear on each other's social media posts: in the background or commenting on each other's photos. They also had to be seen by the paparazzi together in public. Once the press and their audience begin speculating, they come out clean and announce their relationship. 3 months from now, Guardians of Childhood, a charity organization that both of the companies support, will be hosting their annual charity party wherein Merida and Hiccup will go together. Things should sail smoothly from there.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the lack of details about what will happen in the last months but he didn't ruminate on it. Thia and WW's marketing team would probably talk to them about it once it's near.
He drummed his thumb on the steering wheel and glanced at the building's double door. Music accompanied him in his car. Was he at the right building? Hiccup checked the building's name but caught sight of his reflection in the rear view mirror along with it. He scowled. His hair was sticking out in places they shouldn't be and it was getting too long for his own good. His attempts at taming it only led to defeat.
"'Be early,' they said. 'You look fine,' they said," he jeered at his reflection. At the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of fiery red hair. He flinched and sat up straight when a fair face peeked into the window. His fingers fumbled with the lock, letting the stranger in.
As she slid into his car, she grumbled something about the paparazzi being major creeps so early in the morning. Before he could even greet her, she quietly ordered, "Come 'ere."
Her hand swiftly cupped his face. His eyes widened. Her skin, warm and soft against his stubbled jaw. Her thumb brushed across his lips and he sucked in a breath. He froze when she leaned forward, placing a kiss on her thumb, their noses brushing against each other. He could see the splatter of freckles on her fair face. Her rose gold lashes. He could feel her breath against his cheek. Warmth rose from his neck, to his ears, and to his cheeks. If only he could digest the butterflies in his stomach.
She smelled like mint and vanilla. Her blue eyes fluttered open, "Sorry, we're being watched." She pulled away, sinking into the passenger's seat and put on her seatbelt.
He shook his head and cleared his throat as if it'd make his flustered expression disappear. "Erm, don't worry about it. So uh, off to breakfast then?"
She nodded, looking intently at the wing mirror.
The ride was quiet save for the soft humming of the car and the music playing. Hiccup stole a few glances at his passenger. She looked out the window, watching the buildings they pass by. The soft morning sunshine illuminating her soft features, making her red curls look like flames. She shifted in her seat to face him, "How'd they get you to agree to this?"
He smirked, "My publicist was very convincing. I actually wasn't expecting you to agree to this arrangement."
"I chose to cooperate with me Mum."
They finally arrive to their destination. Hiccup quickly leapt out of the car to open the door for his supposed girlfriend but she beat him to it, smiling slyly at him as she shut the door. She stretched her hand out and beckoned him to come along. Once he was at arm's reach, she took his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers together. "D'you have sunglasses?" Merida asked, sliding her free hand into her jacket.
"Why would I need-"
She clicked her tongue and shoved a pair of big sunglasses unto his face. "Perfect," she adjusted the sunglasses and patted his cheek before dragging him into the quaint cafe. Merida waved at the staff who greeted them as they made their way towards the counter. Hiccup took in the place Merida made small talk with the cashier and the barista. At the center of the room was a tree growing out of the building, its roots making the wooden floors curved and uneven. The interior design emulated a cabin, a stark contrast from the building it presented itself to be, with walls made of wood and stone.
Once their orders were done, Merida lead him to her usual table by the wide window.
Hiccup raised his hand to the sunglasses when she reached for his other hand on the table. "Keep it on."
"We're indoors though."
"You haven't been followed by the paparazzi before, have you?" She took her phone out and snapped a quick picture of her meal before shoveling a forkful of pancakes into her mouth. He shook his head. "Mm, welcome to showbiz then. Keep them on."
Not entirely understanding what she meant, he kept the glasses on.
A/N: i'm sure we have the mutual understanding with the fact that these characters belong to Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks.
Anyways, i hope you like the pilot of this idea i had at 3 am! i had a lot of fun thinking about it but writing it wasn't as fun as imagining it HAHA but yea, in this AU, merida is an editorial model who mostly works for her mum's fashion empire, Will o' Wisp (or WW for short). She's pretty famous even outside the modeling world, think Cara Delevigne or maybe Karlie Kloss (?) I'll base a lot of Mer's shoots or photos on Lily Cole's photos bc merida's character design is inspired by her! it makes sense to intermingle those concepts so if i happen to mention shoots/photos, feel free to look lily's modeling on pinterest!
Leave a review and maybe follow? (updates go up faster with audience enthusiasm)
anywhoooo, see u next chapter!