A/N: I had initially planned another chapter between 24 and this one, but I've squashed them cos I couldn't figure out how to fit one in. I think it's okay. It's a bit of a jump from 24 to 25 but, well... you guys tell me.

Bit of background. The apartment is 200 E 74th St #11E - search for it on Zillow, you'll see my issue with the flooring. We're suspending a little disbelief that Miranda can just afford to drop like $2-$4mil on an apartment - although I can just imagine Sadiq getting her the same mortgage rate as MZuck got which was something stupid like 1% for 30 years. Now even my Miranda isn't worth a billion bucks, but she's got plenty of equity so we're just going to roll with it. As you might be able to tell I have thought about this probably more than was necessary.

Anyway. Continue being physically distant and emotionally present. We're here for all your fiction needs. The world is getting much smaller and people I know now know people who've got this and it's apparently the absolute arse-end of all things holy. Like five solid days of 103+ temps. You don't want that. So. Be careful, but be calm. And be gentle, firstly with yourself and then with everyone around you. Endless love to you all.

Now. Let us be on with it.

As always, if you wish to read the disclaimer, please see Chapter 1.

-0-

"I am not a child," Andréa snapped as soon as the realtor closed the door behind her.

It had all been going so well.

She had known, around the time they walked through the door of the second property that Andréa was catching on. She had tried to be rather careful in her wording, but Andréa was so very intelligent, she was truly surprised she got away with it as long as she did.

"I never implied that you were," she said steadily, sitting daintily on the window seat.

"What the hell are you doing? This is," Andréa looked around, her eyes wide like a frightened deer. "This is ridiculous."

"Nothing I do is ridiculous."

"Miranda -"

She held up her hand because, yes, of course, she knew most things she did were ridiculous. She just didn't need to hear Andréa say that they were.

"I fully expect you to pay me back. But not today. Not soon."

"Miranda."

"Andréa, say thank you and be done with it. You're lucky I'm going to let you pay anything at all. I did warn you."

"You are infuriating!"

"Surely you were aware of this before now?" Miranda smirked.

"I do not need your charity!"

"Well, how about my help," Miranda called as Andréa turned to leave. "Surely you wouldn't begrudge me helping the one person in my life that has changed it for the better? Look around Andréa. I do not have anything else to give you. I have nothing of use to you at this stage of your life, except this."

"Don't be st-"

"I don't," she said honestly. "I have a dog, and I have two children," she smirked. "Now, you're always welcome to take those off my hands, but otherwise," she shrugged. "Knowledge, Andréa. And knowledge is power."

Andréa snorted and walked back to sit on the window seat beside her.

"How do I explain this," she whispered. "To anyone."

"You don't," Miranda said more gently than she felt comfortable with. "It is nobody's business but our own. You are a chronic oversharer, Andréa. You should try to," she considered it. "Do so sparingly. It is who you are, I have gathered that. But some things are definitely better kept quiet, in both your personal and business life."

"Why are you -"

"Because you are my greatest friend," Miranda whispered. "And you are going to be a true icon if only someone like me can help you get there."

"I'm your -"

"I will deny it with my last breath. Something about oversharing. It shan't be repeated."

Andréa looked pensive again.

"I can't ever-"

"How much of your salary have you saved, truly, in these last months?"

"I -"

"Andréa?"

"Not as much as I could," she said sullenly, before continuing quickly. "But only because I have student loans and you were -"

"I know," Miranda said gently. And she did. She'd spied Andréa paying the bill only the other day while they were in the Den together. "I wasn't chastising you, I was trying to help you understand my motives. You don't have your whole life to achieve this goal of global domination. Women, in this city especially, seem to have a shelf-life. At least, they do when they're starting out - however unfair that is. There is only a small window of opportunity before people start labelling you as too old and don't give you a second look. Once you are established, that changes somewhat but I fully expect it to be you that fully breaks us out of that mould. Until then, however, we are stuck with the patriarchy and all the bullshit that comes with it."

"But there's only so much money I can put away. And I could never afford the rent on this place. Not in a million years."

"Which is why you'll be responsible for the utilities only, for the first year or so."

She didn't mention that water and the other utilities, which would be in her name. And she definitely didn't mention the HOA fees, which weren't exorbitant but certainly above Andréa's price range. But, Miranda considered it a trade-off, knowing there was a full-time doorman and a slew of other great amenities for the young woman to enjoy. In reality, Andréa would pay an electric bill and the cable/Wi-Fi, though she wasn't sure she would need it, given that the phone and iPad were on the company plan.

"A year!" she jumped, having got lost in her thoughts. "Miranda be serious."

"Quiet," she said a little sharper than necessary to get Andréa to listen. "A year. Or, until you finish paying off your loans. The utilities will not be unsubstantial as it is a big space, but I will help you find the best plan for the space and I think you should be able to afford it." Andréa was staring at her and Miranda rolled her eyes. "I assume you won't let me help you with your loans?"

"What? Are you insane? No!"

"Didn't think so," Miranda smirked. "After the year is up I will have negotiated a higher salary, God willing Irving will be gone and then, you will start paying the insurance and a percentage of the HOA fees. If the insurance quotes on this apartment are unsatisfactory under your own name, you can simply pay me the portion of my bill that will cover this place."

"This is ridiculous."

"No," she said with a gentle smile. "This is New York."

"How the fuck am I suppose to achieve anything on my own."

"You think I did?" Miranda said, watching Andréa pace fitfully. "You think I just suddenly started making money?"

"Yes!"

"Oh my dear," she chuckled morosely. "How blind you are."

"Don't patronise me."

"I got my money laying on my back," she snorted. "Just like everyone said I did."

"Don't be crass."

"I'm not. I married my start-up money, Andrea. I was, admittedly, in love with him at the beginning," she sneered. "Not so much at the end. He gave me the Townhouse so I couldn't touch the rest of his Daddy's oil money."

"But -"

"I got it for free," Miranda shrugged. "The townhouse. Well. It was payment for the emotional turmoil he put me through. Do you know how much it is worth? Even then, it was substantial. And, aside from considering the girls, it was no skin off my nose that he left in the end. He left, I stayed and I was happier for it. By then I was well on my way to being who I am today and with that came status. And with status, came more money. And do you know what makes money, Andréa?"

"Hard work?"

"Naivety," Miranda said gently, chastising her. "You are better than that." The younger woman shrugged, standing again and pacing, slower this time. "Money, Andréa. Money is the only thing that makes money. Status helps but that only gets you the door. You need money to make money. Oh, it is wrong," she said, chasing away the interruption she saw coming. "But it is the truth. And to do well, properly, in this city, you need some capital backing you."

She watched as Andréa continued pacing and finally stopped, dropping to the floor and hugging her knees.

"Why am I your project?"

"I take offence at that," Miranda said gently but with a modicum of genuine hurt. "You are not a project. I am not improving you. I am trying to teach you how to succeed in a very small pool of very large sharks."

"Why? You're not doing this for Emily!"

"Emily has time to learn. Her path is set, should she wish to walk it. I am doing this because yours is less of a straight line and more of a meandering goat track." Andréa snorted. "And because there is something about you that makes me want to build you up and send you out into the world to thrive. You are going to achieve greatness, because I was right, in Paris."

She saw Andréa swallow and she, herself, felt a little light-headed at how easily she had said the word. They had never really discussed it beyond their quiet conversation that night when so many things had changed.

"So much of my drive and passion, I see in you. And I am glad of it. But I am not naive. You will move on to bigger and better things and I will be glad of that too." Andréa looked up at her with big brown eyes, tears causing them to shimmer. "Not yet though," she said with a barely concealed smirk. "I don't know how you expect me to function without you now that you've made yourself indispensable."

Andy snorted and then buried her head in her hands, wiping away tears.

"You promise that," she swallowed. "This isn't as big a deal to you as it is to me. Like -"

"I'm not going hungry to buy this," Miranda said gently. "We upper-echelon get rather a great deal on mortgages." Andréa laughed again and Miranda remembered that she liked making Andréa laugh. "No, it is not a," she made air quotes. "Big deal. If you'd meet Sadiq, you would understand. He's very good at what he does."

"I don't have anything to discuss with him yet," Andy whispered. "And I would never discuss your finances with him."

"Andréa, ten dollars can make money, just like ten million can. It takes longer, but it is the same principle. And there is plenty he can advise you on, even before you make any real money. I can lead the horse to water, I cannot force you to meet him." They looked at each other until Andréa laughed. Let's face it. She absolutely could make Andréa meet him. But she wouldn't. "When you're ready. He will be glad to meet with you."

She nodded and sighed, looking around. Miranda saw the moment she realised that this would be her home and she smiled some more. Miranda couldn't help but smile as well. She gave millions to charities and none of that had ever made her feel quite as happy and fulfilled as this did. Not that Andréa was charity. And in a few years, once Andrea got some capital in her portfolio and a job in a reputable publishing house, Miranda would sign the place over to her, in exchange for some cash no doubt, but not much.

She hadn't told Sadiq.

She no doubt wouldn't for a while yet.

If ever.

Perhaps he'd forget.

As so often happened lately, she sat examining why she felt the need to protect this special woman. She still wasn't sure. Something about her light made Miranda want to lock her away and never let her be buffeted by the wind. But she knew that was not how life worked. She had lived through it herself. But Andréa would be just as good, if not better than she was because Andréa was kind and she was harsh. She'd never considered herself to be unkind especially, though she didn't doubt that if she was to ask someone else, they would say she was. Rather, Miranda Priestly demanded things. Andréa had a way of making you want to achieve all of the greatness for her.

It was refreshing.

"I," Andréa shook her head and stalked forward to Miranda, pulling her up and wrapping her arms around her. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome," Miranda whispered, taking solace in the hug. "The twins and I will bear your absence in our lives as best we can."

She had meant it as a joke but Andréa's face reflected the twist in her gut that she felt as she said it.

"Do you," Andréa faltered and their eyes met. "I mean. You're not just going to dump me right?"

"What?"

"This is a huge space and," she held out her hands. "There's just me. After living with you guys, I'll need some, like, noise or something. So, everyone's going to visit. Right?"

"I had thought you would want your own space?"

"I do," Andréa nodded. "Kinda. I've -" There was a tension in the air that Miranda couldn't quite understand. "I've grown to really enjoy being around you three, four of you, including Patty."

Miranda snorted.

"I'm sure we would love to."

"Promise?"

Miranda nodded seriously. She was not lying. She could see them all sequestering themselves on the weekend with Andréa cooking spaghetti while she reclined by the big windows overlooking the city.

"Maybe, on nights and dinners when you don't need me, the girls can come over? Maybe stay?"

Miranda beamed.

"They would love that," she nodded.

"Good, cos I've already decided I want the smaller bedroom, so I'm going to put two beds in the bigger one. That way, if they ever wanna stay -"

"Andréa -"

"I'm just," she shrugged. "I like what we have. I don't want to lose that in the wake of you doing this for me."

"You won't. Besides which, if you think Cassidy is going to let you off going running with her in the mornings, I think you're sorely mistaken. I certainly am not taking up the task."

Andréa laughed and sighed, laughing again. She still held Miranda tightly. Neither of them moved away.

"She's a good kid," Andréa whispered. "She really is like me, you're going to have a hell of a time keeping her from bouncing off the walls."

"That is what you are for darling," Miranda smirked, stepping away. "Come, we need to return."

"Hey," Andréa said, gripping her arm before she left. "Will you help me, like, make it look good?"

"You think I'd let you live here with a second-hand sofa and a milk-crate, Andréa? Come along."

The woman's laughter followed her down the hall as she locked up the place and stood looking at the door. Miranda thought back to that mousy, frumpy looking thing she'd been at the beginning of her tenure and smiled at her reflection in the elevator doors as she waited for Andréa to join her. There was no trace of that woman left, instead, a beautiful flower, still in its infancy with the first curl of the petals starting to open. The full force of that bloom would be magnificent, she was sure of it.