Hi, y'all! I am truly sorry for the waiting.. not really sure I even have an apt excuse to give you! I hope this update will soothe you enough.. I'd love to get some feedback :)
On that note, could someone please let me know where you find this story's updates? 'Coz I never seem to find it on the latest DWP fanfiction page and its driving me nuts!
Thank you and enjoy the read :)
Emily Charlton had been working for 'La Priestly' for almost six years now, and in all of her tenure she had witnessed the editor being completely out of kilter only a few times. The fashion maven was an expert in masking her feelings, but as her first assistant the Brit knew something was up. After all it was by learning to interpret Miranda's moods that she had managed to keep her job: and at the moment her instinct told her to lay low as much as her line of work allowed. I don't know what crawled up her rear and bit her, but I'm sure it has to do with Andy.
The red-head and the young reporter had settled their differences after the Paris debacle (aided by the fact that Andrea had given her all of the couture she had taken to France), and it was to Emily that Andrea had first confessed her feelings for the editor. The first assistant had witnessed all of their courting, the growth of their relationship leading up to the marriage, so she knew that when the editor in chief behaved in a certain way, it always had to do with Andy.
At the moment it was as if Miranda had gone back by four years, as her mood swings and mannerisms seemed to indicate, to a time where Andrea was nothing more than a former assistant. The editor had been on a whirlwind for the past weeks, becoming increasingly snarky and lashing out at her staff. Although she had always given ample proof as to why she had gained unflattering nicknames such as "Ice Queen" or "Dragon Lady", since her marriage to Andy the fashion editor had given her staff more leeway and it had been a few months from the last time Miranda had fired someone. It came as an unpleasant surprise then that the editor had fired three people in the last four days, for "general incompetence" as she sniped at the British red-head.
Andrea I swear to God, if you don't have a decent explanation for what's happening you're a dead woman! I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands, actually no I'll go find one of those acrylic sweaters you love so much and strangle you with it.. Emily was now getting extremely frantic and was just waiting for Miranda to leave the office so she could call Andy up and find out what had the editor fuming.
# # # # #
Miranda Priestly was not known for being fearful nor for worrying about hypothetical situations. So she had become increasingly anxious when she noticed that in the past few weeks her wife had been extremely evasive, jumping every time she entered a room and maintaining a certain distance from the silver-haired woman. Miranda didn't know what had brought this on and she'd refused to let loose the thousand nefarious thoughts that plagued her mind. What really troubled her was the fact that they had not been intimate for the same amount of time, with Andrea skirting away whenever opportunity presented itself.
Whilst they had encountered some dry spells a key stone of their relationship was their undeniable thirst for each other, with both women refusing to go more than a few days without being with each other.
What is happening Andréa, why are you avoiding me? The editor thought, trying to find a logical explanation to her wife's behavior. Miranda could describe every moment that brunette had evaded her touch: from the usual snuggling in bed to explicit attempts at seduction, including one time when Andrea had even locked the bathroom door while she showered.
The silver haired woman was uncertain on how she should behave, something that rarely happened. She could either acknowledge that something was going on with Andy and ask her directly or pretend to ignore the journalist's doing and hope for the best. And whilst she lived on hope – I did once tell her I lived on it – Miranda decided that she was not going to wait for the situation to develop: she had done so with Stephen, and the editor knew that he and Andrea were not even comparable. If finding out that Stephen had been cheating on her had been mortifying because she'd had to explain it to the twins, discovering that someone had captured Andrea's attention would destroy the editor. She had known from the beginning that Stephen was needed to fill the role of a father but not the one of a lover; however the doe-eyed brunette had become the center of Miranda's life and her absence was something that the editor couldn't even bare to imagine.
She didn't think that Andrea had it in her to be unfaithful but she knew that her wife was young, brilliant and beautiful, a deadly combination. She wasn't helped by the fact that all of the doubts that she'd ever had came to life again. How could someone like her spend her life with me? She is so young, so talented that it was just a matter of time before someone more suited for her would take her from me. I've been blessed enough to have Andréa in my life for four years, I should be thankful she's stayed that long.
The editor then looked towards her desk, to the pictures that summed up her life: one of Caroline and Cassidy on the beach, another of the twins being hugged by Andrea and Miranda and the last of the two women looking at each other before the priest told them to kiss at their wedding. Their eyes were riveted on each other, conveying such adoration that it almost physically ached for the fashion maven to observe it. It was one of her favorite pictures from the wedding, taken while neither had been paying attention and summed up everything the couple felt at that moment: love.
Miranda took their picture in her hand and looked closely at it: it had been her saving grace more than once, during run-throughs or after board meeting with Irv, knowing that her brunette would be waiting for her at home no matter what.
Miranda suddenly stiffened up and focused her blue eyes on her children's picture: she would do anything to make sure her girls didn't suffer. Caroline and Cassidy had, unfortunately, already witnessed what came after a separation and she was determined that they didn't go through such an event again, especially with someone who they cared so much about.
The editor knew there and then that she would face Andrea tonight, and that if the result of their discussion would be what she feared and desperately hoped against, she would have to take immediate action in order to minimize the damage. Too bad if her heart got shattered in the process: she refused to let another person, another companion she had chosen, disappoint her children. She was glad her girls were at their father's for the week, so that whatever would go down that evening would have no other witnesses that the couple.
# # # # #
Miranda decided to wait for Andrea in the den, a glass of Talisker scotch in her hand, and sat in the darkness. She valiantly tried not to think of what would happen the moment her wife set foot in the house, and was brought out of her musing my the sound of the front door opening and admitting the cause of her distress.
Andrea was beautiful, as always, and the warm colors of the June sunset reflected gently on her skin and dark hair. She was wearing beige Sergio Rossi shoes, gilded at the clasp and on the heel, which complemented the Dior coral shirt which hugged her torso and a pair of light brown trousers. The ensemble was perfectly styled and Miranda couldn't not help herself from greedily raking her eyes from top to bottom before approving it. Stop it, you're about to ask her if she's been carrying on an affair behind your back. You should not be ogling her!
She straightened her spine and lowered the still full glass on the table, before fixing on Andrea a glare the younger woman had often seen on her face during her tenure at Runway but seldom since things had become personal. The young woman started a bit when she saw the fashion maven waiting for her in the dark and immediately thought that something was wrong.
"Hey Mira," she began, "What are you doing there in the shadows? Is everything alright?"
"I don't know Andrea," the editor said, her quiet voice resounding loudly in the empty hallway, " Were you hoping to be alone tonight, maybe so you could call your lover?"
Andrea felt her eyebrows shoot up and her jaw drop to the floor, incapable of emitting any words. The editor continued, taking her silence as an admission.
"Do you really think I would not realize what is going on? That I would not notice your behavior or pretend to ignore it? Or were you hoping to succeed where Stephen had failed?"
Andrea had a stupefied expression on her face, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging slightly open as if she couldn't believe what Miranda was telling her. Oh god, she got this all wrong! Dammit this is not how it was supposed to go!
The journalist took a small step towards the white haired woman whilst she untucked her shirt with her left hand, the right tending to Miranda with her palm towards the ceiling as if to placate her.
"Miranda, baby," she pleaded, "Wait please, you've got this all wrong. Nothing is as it seems!"
The editor narrowed her gaze, her blue eyes flashing. "Don't you dare lie to me, Andréa! In case you've forgotten I've already been there. I know when my spouse is fooling behind my back," she hissed, " You've been avoiding me for the better part of the month, jumping every time I enter a room and barely looking at me straight in the eye. I don't know what you think you're doing but I'll be damned if I let you string me along!"
Andrea tried to take a step towards her wife, who took one back reflexively, and then began to speak. "Mira please, let me explain. There's been a misunderstanding, you know I would never cheat on you!" she cried brokenly, her eyes beginning to well up, "I only behaved that way because I was preparing your surprise for our two-year anniversary! I've been planning this for a month now, and I didn't want to spoil it. Please listen to me!"
Miranda looked at her, her face expressionless but Andy knew her well enough to read her thoughts through her eyes. The editor desperately wanted to trust her, but was reluctant to do so, afraid that she would lose her last shred of hope. The brunette knew there was only one way to prove her truthfulness.
"Please, Miranda, let me show you." she said softly, keeping her gaze fixed on the fashion maven's.
Andy then lifted up her shirt, displaying her now permanently marked left hip. The editor's eyes widened whilst her carefully plucked eyebrows rocked up. There, on her wife's pale skin, stood out proudly a tattoo, a symbol she vaguely recognized but couldn't place anywhere.
"I wanted to give you something for our anniversary, and this seemed appropriate. You know, with you doing that spread on tattoos a few months back," Andrea murmured, glad that Miranda had calmed down enough to listen to her, "I want you to know that nothing, nothing will ever keep me from you and the girls. You are my whole life Mira."
Miranda instantly relaxed, her eyes filling with tears as a wave of relief crashed over her, along with a feeling of deep shame for accusing her Andrea, her beautiful wife. She didn't want to focus on the mocha colored irises and kept her gaze on the tattoo.
It was composed by three cornered shapes, overlapping each other, and at each extremity a letter had been inked. On the lateral vertices two Cs had been written in cursive, whilst on the corner pointing towards Andy's heart an M stood proudly.
Andy knew that Miranda was not ready yet to talk so she decided to explain the meaning behind her gesture. "It's a Celtic symbol for trinity, called Triquetra. It has different meanings but the most common one is the promise of love, honor and protection. You, Mira, you and the girls are my present and my future: I cannot imagine my life without you in it and I will do anything it takes to keep it this way. I love you so much."
Miranda hadn't even realized she had started crying until she was being hugged by Andy, who was murmuring soft reassurances whilst the editor tucked her face into the journalist's neck. She clinged to the younger woman's shoulder and let all of the tension she had felt in the past month go, fighting with the guilty and shame for believing that her companion would ever betray her. She tightened her embrace and hoped that it would convey some of her feelings.
Andrea hugged her back and began to rub circles on Miranda's back, slowing down once she realized that the editor was getting ready to talk again. The older woman leaned back a little, still not able to break the contact she had with her wife, and took in a shaky breath before
"My darling, I am so sorry.." she shakily said, leveling her eyes with Andy's, " Please forgive me, I know what I accused you of is appalling and I shouldn't have even thought about it. I was so worried that you were withdrawing from me that I immediately thought of the worst. I don't think I will ever be able to convey what I'm feeling right now."
"It's alright sweetie, I know you panicked," Andrea answered, deciding to bypass the pang of disappointment she had felt when she realized the editor thought she'd been cheating, "I will always love you Mira, please never forget it. I agreed to spend our lives together two years ago, don't you remember?"
Miranda Priestly never felt more foolish than during that moment, when she put together the date and the brunette's words. They had married on the 9th of June, and she realized that in her state of mind she had not even realized their anniversary date was a few days away. "So this, the secrecy.. was all because you were preparing the tattoo?" she asked, feeling her eyes starting to water again.
"Yeah, I knew that I wanted to surprise you and I decided to do something that would show you that I belong to you and to you only. It takes about two weeks for the tattoo to heal and another two weeks to settle in. I wanted it to be perfect when I showed you." The brunette explained, caressing the white haired woman's cheek.
Miranda's mouth formed a tiny 'o' and looked so lost that Andy decided that the best course of action would be to go straight to bed. She took the editor's hand in hers and tugged her towards the staircase, climbing up the stairs until they reached their room.
There she turned Miranda around, softly kissed her lips and then began to unzip her wife's grey Armani dress, the couture sliding easily from the editor's thin frame. The gesture was not meant to arouse but rather to soothe and calm, reassuring Miranda that she was not, and never would be, on her own.
The blue eyed woman murmured to her partner that she would go and make her night ablutions and padded into the bathroom to remove her make-up and with it the result of the tears she had spilled. Andy looked towards the light peeking from under the door and decided to change into her pajamas, giving Miranda some privacy before they went to bed. She was hungry, but knew that they would have to have one last talk about this misunderstanding before anything else could be taken into consideration.
The editor exited the bathroom and climbed into bed, immediately seeking the warmth of Andrea's embrace. The reporter kissed her head and then began to caress her back again, something that always succeeded in calming Miranda.
"Andréa, I must apologize again, I-" she began, before Andy cut her off.
"Shh Mira, I know, it's all over. We've cleared this up and the only thing that matters now is that you never forget that I'm here for you until my last breath. I am so in love with you."
Miranda sobbed, "I know my darling and I will never fail to recall it again. You must know Andréa, that you are my life, along with the girls. I love you too."
The two women hugged each other tightly, barely leaving space for breathing, and tangled their legs together.
"You know, I came up with the idea of getting a tattoo when I saw how you caressed the images on the page," Andrea whispered, her voice finally allowing Miranda to calm down and release some tension, " I wanted to give you something that would be reserved for your eyes only, something that would show you how much I care about you."
Miranda at this trailed her hand down her wife's torso, reaching for the hem on Andrea's pajama and lifting it up to observe the ink. The skin was still a little pink, but the small design was perfectly done and it hit Miranda in that moment that Andrea had done something so permanent because she was sure that no event would ever make her change her mind. She was exhilarated by the knowledge and at the same time deeply ashamed of her reaction: she should have known that her wife was incapable of causing other people distress, her in the first place.
"I love you Andréa, please never doubt that." The editor murmured, "I will do everything in my power to show you and make you forget how I behaved. You mean so much to me, that the simple idea of losing you made me think of the worse."
Andrea shushed her gently and continued to lay gentle kisses on the silver hair, and caress the skin that was available to her. Eventually Miranda fell asleep, and Andy felt her own eyes slowly droop. Her last conscious thought was this: I think I'll wait for her to have settled a little, maybe I could do it at the actual anniversary dinner, before I bring forward the idea of having a baby together…
If any of you are curious to see what the basic Triquetra tattoo is like, I'm attaching a link to google images: I don't really like the circle that gets drawn around most of these so in my mind Andy does not have it (and I guess Miranda wouldn't approve of a big blob on her wife's skin, so I've kind of kept it to something small and not-so-tacky)
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