Hypotheses of the Unverifiable Kind
Disclaimer: Ugly Betty does not belong to me. I'm just borrowing the characters for my own personal, obsessive needs . . .
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Daniel/Betty
Summary: 'Exactly what were you supposed to do when you found out your boss may just be head over heels for you? Prove it, of course.' Hopelessly Daniel and Betty . . .
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You guys are why I'm battling on with this little fic, and so quite simply put: you rock! Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Eleven
She stared at the newspaper.
There it lay on the table, open on page six.
A black and white, pixellated and out of focus picture of herself and Daniel leaving a restaurant together stared back at her.
The black bold letters read,
Just How Much Longer Will The Farce Last?
The press seemed to revel in making a mockery of their relationship. It had been at its worst when the juicy piece of gossip had first leaked into the media. Daniel had his suspicions, and Betty had hers as to who had squealed; but then they hadn't done much themselves to hide their burgeoning romantic relationship.
It was hurtful.
For someone so notoriously private, entirely unused to attention of any sort let alone being shoved under the public spotlight, to suddenly having her face spread across the tabloids, ridiculing her and calling her every despicable name under the sun, could only be described as a colossal shock. She'd been left so winded; she had very nearly broken off their relationship.
But Daniel wouldn't let her.
They were going to do this. Together, he had said.
And three months on - they were still here. Still surviving.
She folded up the newspaper and threw it into the recycling heap.
It seemed Amanda had missed one.
It was bizarre, and to almost everyone else but her, it made utterly no sense.
Just exactly why would Amanda go out of her way to hide every single nasty article about her and Daniel, do her subtle utmost to make sure Betty no longer had to see any of it? One could easily assume that Daniel had threatened her with her job and hence forgoing any rights she may have had to any of the no longer needed or wanted Prada goodies in the Closet. After all, Prada was still Prada.
But Betty knew better than that.
Amanda, underneath the make up and attitude, was a good person. One who loved Daniel, and probably always would. She was happy, if he was happy; not that she had ever admitted to such a thing, and not that she ever would.
But Betty knew. It was something that didn't have to be said, and as she looked up from the pile of old newspapers, she caught Amanda's gaze and gave her a small smile.
Amanda sneered back at her.
Betty grinned.
Things hadn't really changed at all.
"What are you grinning at?"
Apart from that, of course.
"You've got your shirt on inside out," she said, schooling her face into a mask of complete seriousness as she watched him leave his office, jacket in hand.
"What?" Daniel asked, panicking and frantically looking down at what he was wearing.
Her lips broke into another smile.
He looked up at her, tilting his head slightly, "Very funny."
"So where are you going?" she asked, rounding her desk and stopping in front of him; her hands reaching up and straightening his sloppy tie.
"I have a meeting with Alexis, something about budgeting," he answered her while pulling his jacket on and feigning an expression of boredom, "then I have to go meet mom. I haven't got a clue what about, but anyway . . ." he drifted off, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Are we still on for tonight?"
Betty gave him a wide toothy grin, "Yep."
"That's good to hear. Though please, for the sake of my sanity and seriously under question manhood, can you pick something other than Dirty Dancing or Sleepless in Seattle? I don't think my reputation can take anymore chick flicks."
"You know, if you need me to, I can vouch for your manhood . . ." Betty smiled up at him, all calculated double entendre and mischief.
Daniel raised his brows, an 'oh really?' expression mastered to perfection.
"Well, what about Pretty Woman?" Betty asked, her eyes wide, shining now with forged innocence, the chocolate flecks laughing with undisguised glee.
He rolled his eyes, before leaning down and capturing her lips for a short few seconds, "You are gonna be the death of me."
She gave him a small laugh, before reaching up on tiptoes to return the gesture. After pulling away from the quick kiss, she quite literally pushed him out the door, "Go on. Get."
He chuckled but followed through on the orders.
She shook her head at his retreating back.
The papers could say what they wanted. Believe what they wanted.
But more fool them for doing so.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
It was a quarter past eleven.
It was pitch black, all excepting the bright lights that shone out from the television screen, casting odd shadows around the room and lighting everything in its vicinity with an eerie bluish tinge.
"Next time, I'm bringing Pretty Woman. I don't care what you say, but I'm never watching anything like that ever again."
She felt the rumble of his laugh in her hair, against her cheek, as she sat there; practically sitting on top of him, cutting off circulation in his arm as she gripped it tight and quivered against him in sheer terror.
"Betty it wasn't that scary."
She punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"Ow," he moaned, "Ok so it was a little scary."
She smiled, mollified; gently loosening her grip on the arm he had slung over her shoulder, her hand slipping down to entwine and interlock with his hand. She rested her head on his shoulder and let out a slow, deep breath.
It had been a breath of unadulterated contentment. The world outside their window forgotten, the media and Mode a distant thought.
It was just them. And it was perfect.
Daniel smiled into her hair, planting a soft kiss on her head as she snuggled further against him.
He reached out with his free arm to grab hold of the remote and switch off the TV. The red standby light flickered, once, twice before holding steady.
"How was your meeting with Alexis?" Betty asked, her voice slightly muffled by the fabric of his shirt.
Daniel sighed, "Dull."
"Are the advertisers sorted for April's issue?"
"Yep."
"How's your mom?"
"Good."
"Dad wants you to come over to ours for dinner next weekend."
"Ok."
"And Hilda said she wants to try dyeing my hair green, and see if it'll look good on me."
"Cool."
Betty punched him for a second time on the shoulder.
He looked down at her, confused, "Not cool?"
She looked up at him, her eyes reaching just past his chin, "You want to tell me what's going on in that head of yours?"
Daniel tried his best to simulate a dismissive, "Nothing," knowing full well Betty would have none of it.
And true to herself, Betty pushed up from her position, straightening and turning her head so that they were both now face to face. The streetlights were seeping in through the gaps of the drawn curtains, enough light to make each other out in the darkness. She held his gaze; his blue eyes unmistakeably bright.
"Daniel-"
She didn't know what else to say, she knew he knew just what exactly she was trying to say, and so she never really needed to utter another word.
Their unspoken communication was just one of the many features of their undeniable bond.
He sighed again, his fingers reaching up and tangling in her hair.
The gentle movements enough to slowly lull her to sleep.
"I was thinking about something mom had said today."
"And what was that?"
He shook his head, the tiniest smile gracing his lips, "Just something about dad. Their time together. The things she wished she could take back. Her regrets. It was mostly the champagne talking," he added with a wry grin.
She was quiet, as she gently squeezed his hand in comfort.
Again no words were needed.
"It just got me thinking." The smile had now left his lips.
She continued to say nothing, waiting for him to speak only when he was ready.
"I don't want to have the same regrets. I don't want to wake up an old man, alone and knowing I could have done something about those regrets, but had just never been brave enough to face them."
He was quiet again; trying to pull his thoughts together.
"Betty-" he whispered after a moment, a newfound resolve crackling to life as he shifted his whole body so that he could face her properly; his other hand releasing hers and lifting up to join his other in cradling her face.
His hands were warm, his breath the same as it caressed the skin of her face.
His eyes were alive with brilliant, sparking blue – emotion pouring out of every speckle of colour in his irises, out of every word that left his mouth, and radiating off him in tidal waves, enveloping and crushing her to him.
"I realised there's something I still haven't told you."
She knew. It didn't have to be said, but Daniel was determined; his finger dropping to her lips, silencing her.
"It's something I should have told you so long ago. Even months before we happened. So much time wasted, time we can't get back."
"Daniel-" she tried again, her voice a comforting beacon. He was still raw from so many things; his dad perhaps remaining the most vivid of each and every one of those cuts and bruises.
"I love you Betty Suarez."
No more really needed to be said, but he continued on.
Filled with a brazen courage, lighting up every dormant ember of falsely thought to be extinguished fire within him, he continued on;
"I'm in love with you. I can't ever remember not being in love with you. And I don't want to."
And through the tears she smiled, leaping forward and crushing him in a hug so fierce it felt as if they had melded into one. And in many ways they had.
"I love you so much," she whispered back.
And he laughed; a wet, broken laugh of joy.
And she could only smile and whisper an unheard thank you to that one drunken night.
The catapult that had thrown them here.
The notion of love needing no further proof than the arms of this man, here, wrapped around her tight and never letting go.
A/N 2: Again, I'll shamelessly plea for you to leave me a review. I love hearing your thoughts – good, bad – I'm not fussed, it's just good to know you guys are still reading. There is only one more chapter of this left, which I'll put up as soon as I can. Thanks again for reading,
SmilinStar
xxx