This Isn't About Love
I've been inspired by some great conversations with londongirl27, recent episodes, and some interesting fics I've read other places.
Title: Not About Love (title borrowed from a Fiona Apple song)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Daniel/Sofia, Daniel/Betty
Five years. Five long years of marriage. He hadn't thought he would ever want to be married or tied down to one person. But Sofia had somehow made it feel right. Or rather, he had thought it had felt right. Until last year he was deliriously happy. You couldn't meet a happier guy, honestly. He gave money to panhandlers, told his servers to keep the change, and in general wanted everyone to feel as happy and lucky as he felt.
That was then and this is now.
It started with whispered conversations on her cell phone at odd hours. Sofia said Betty was calling her about the magazine, that Betty worked long hours and needed Sofia's approval on certain ideas. Daniel should have known better. Once he'd asked to speak to Betty, he had just wanted to say hello and tell her how much everyone missed her at Mode. Sofia had quickly snapped her cell phone shut and ignored his request. Then the phone calls started at home and the business trips increased in frequency and length of time. He had sat alone one night nursing a large bottle of champagne he had bought home to celebrate their anniversary Sofia. Only he'd come home to an empty apartment and a note from Sofia telling him she'd needed to go to Los Angeles for a last minute photo shoot. He'd gotten so drunk he'd called Betty to ask her where Sofia was and found out that reliable Betty, the Betty who'd always been there for him, had changed her cell phone number. In a moment of clarity, Daniel thought about a time when he could have rattled off Betty's home number without even thinking about it and now he couldn't even remember his own. He felt pathetic. He felt lonely. Most of all, he felt stupid. Sofia was cheating on him. How could she not be? He'd started dating her when she was about to be married to another man, what made him think she'd changed? Because she loved him? Daniel laughed so hard he nearly fell off his couch. Then he sat up and set about sobering up.
Confronted with the facts, Sofia admitted that she was seeing someone else. She claimed the passion had died out of their relationship. She claimed that he had never given himself truly to her and that she always felt there was a wall between them. Daniel had hoped that when he confronted her, she'd cry, beg him to take her back and admit that she never loved another man like she loved him. Instead he got excuses and a catalog of his crimes against her. So he sat for a few minutes listening to Sofia list all his faults, but there was only so much he could take before he felt like he was going to explode. The one thing they never brought up in any argument, the one problem they ignored for years suddenly came to the forefront of his mind. Suddenly, he could not longer shove the bitter feelings that he had been shoving down inside for years.
"I gave you Betty! I let you take away the one person who I could really trust. I let you take her for your magazine because I loved you and wanted you to be happy. And now you're claiming I never loved you? I never trusted you?" Daniel swept aside the papers that had been cluttering Sofia's desk in her at home office. "Do you understand how much shit I had to eat when my dad decided to make Wilhelmina the Editor-in-Chief three years ago? 'Thanks Daniel, you were doing a great job when you first started, but you just seemed to lose that edge.' " Daniel mimicked his father's sonorous voice. "They kept me on as a fashion editor though, Sofia. Wasn't that nice? Do you know how humiliating it is to go from being the boss to Wilhelmina's lackey?"
"Daniel, I never knew you were so bitter about that . . ." Sofia began.
"Yeah, well I am. You know what? Save your explanations for someone who cares. I'm done here." Then he'd grabbed the suitcase that he'd stuffed with as much of his clothing as he could possibly fit inside and left the apartment. He had no idea where he was going to go. There was no way he was going to go to his parents' house and face his father. Or his drunken mother. He had no close friends that weren't also friends with Sofia and he didn't feel like admitting what had happened. Sitting down in his car, he decided to go back to work. He needed something to distract him from his sham of a marriage.
Walking into the Meade Publications building that evening, he hadn't expected to see anyone else there. But he should have known she'd be there, in the end she was the one person he could count on. Even if they rarely spoke anymore.
She was fiddling with the key that unlocked the main entrance and standing next to the elevator impatiently. Her back was to him and he could hear that she was just finishing up a call on her cell phone. Hair that had once been long and unstyled was now cut shorter and fashionably so. Gone were the frumpy dresses that made her look like a pilgrim. Instead she was dressed tastefully and in a manner that made the most of her assets. He noticed she was holding a large box. Daniel walked up beside her and greeted her. "Betty," he smiled at her.
Betty looked up at him, startled. "Daniel! I didn't expect to see you here." She shifted the box from one arm to the other and smiled back at him. He noticed her braces were gone, but her smile was still the same. It always seemed genuine and you knew she was happy to see you. "Why are you here?"
Daniel's smile faded. "I had some work I needed to finish up. I left some stuff here, in my office, so I figured I might as well finish it there as well."
Betty could tell Daniel was lying, but she also knew she couldn't push it. So she didn't. "Well, it was nice to see you again. Maybe I'll see you in another three years," she joked. As she turned around to leave, she lost her grip on the box and its contents spilled across the marble floor. Betty muttered a curse word that Daniel didn't even think she knew and started scrambling across the floor picking up her possessions. Daniel squatted down and started to help her. He started throwing pencils, pictures in frames and other small items into the box.
"What is all this Betty? It looks like the contents of your desk."
Betty twisted her hands nervously. "Yeah. I'm quitting. I handed in my resignation on Friday afternoon, but I forgot to clean out my desk."
Daniel was intrigued. "Quitting? Really? Why? Did you get a better job offer?"
"No," was all Betty said as she busied herself arranging the items in her box.
Daniel grabbed the box away from her. "So why are you quitting?"
Betty looked at the box longingly and then at Daniel. "Sofia and I had a small argument." She held her thumb and forefinger a few inches apart.
"About what?" It was like pulling teeth to get an answer from Betty.
"You." Betty pushed her glasses up on her nose (Daniel was happy to see she had kept the glasses. He liked them, they made her look like a sexy librarian. What the hell? Where had that come from? Daniel chalked it up to momentary insanity cause by an adulterous spouse). "I found out some things I thought you should know about and Sofia disagreed. So I told her that I couldn't work for someone that I didn't respect and I quit."
"Like what? That she's cheating on me?" Now Daniel started fiddling with the items in Betty's box of treasures. "What a coincidence. She and I just discussed that today." He handed the box back to Betty. "I'm divorcing her."
Betty's faced seemed pained as she took the box from his hands. "I'm really sorry Daniel."
"Yeah, well, what are you going to do, right?" Daniel took the box back from Betty and started folding the flaps on themselves so the box would stay closed. "I appreciate you looking out for me. I had forgotten what it felt like to have a friend. I'm just sorry you lost your job over it." He handed the box to Betty again.
"We're a team, remember?" Betty stood up and picked up the box. "I'm sure I can find another job. It's just that there are so many people here that I'll miss. So many good memories . . ." Betty's voice trailed off as her cell phone began to ring. "Hilda?" A few seconds later she closed the phone. "Great. The car won't start and she can't pick me up. I'm going to have to take the subway home. Imagine riding the subway with this huge box." She sighed, "It never ends."
"Walking to the nearest subway station in those shoes?" Daniel gestured at the sneakers Betty was wearing. "You'll get blisters."
Betty looked down at her feet and laughed. It was a happy laugh, one that he hadn't heard in a long time and he hadn't realized how much he missed it. "I dunno. These shoes are pretty comfortable."
"Believe me, you're in for some blisters. I own some shoes like that. Every time I carry boxes and ride the subway in those shoes, I get blisters. Let me take you home." He really wanted to go home. To the Suarez house. It was nearly Christmas and he hoped that he could help with the tree again. That had been one of the best days of his life, if he ignored the Sofia part. "We'll get some take out and have dinner with your family."
"Daniel, I don't want to ruin your evening."
"Believe me, this will make my evening." He took the box from her again and started walking with her to his car. "Don't start looking for a new job. Let me talk to my dad. I really want to work with you again and I think this time we'll be equals."
Betty laughed her happy laugh again. "Really? No more fetching you bagels? Finding your watch at angry women's houses?"
Daniel frowned. "As low as I've been demoted, I don't think my job even has an assistant. As fun as that sounds for me, I'm afraid not."
"Don't worry, Daniel. I'm sure you're be Editor-In Chief again." Daniel could tell she honestly meant it. He was touched and he wondered how this woman could have so much hope for him, when he'd lost all faith in himself. "Do you think you can really get me a job?" Betty bit her lip hopefully.
"We're a team, right? I won't rest until my father agrees to it."
"I've missed that," Betty said quiety as Daniel put her box in the trunk of his car.
As he sat next to her, he looked at her and said, "Yeah, me too." This isn't about love, Daniel thought. I'm not in love, am I?
There is D/B shippiness there and I like to think that once Daniel gets Betty hired again, sparks will fly.
Title: Not About Love (title borrowed from a Fiona Apple song)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Daniel/Sofia, Daniel/Betty
Five years. Five long years of marriage. He hadn't thought he would ever want to be married or tied down to one person. But Sofia had somehow made it feel right. Or rather, he had thought it had felt right. Until last year he was deliriously happy. You couldn't meet a happier guy, honestly. He gave money to panhandlers, told his servers to keep the change, and in general wanted everyone to feel as happy and lucky as he felt.
That was then and this is now.
It started with whispered conversations on her cell phone at odd hours. Sofia said Betty was calling her about the magazine, that Betty worked long hours and needed Sofia's approval on certain ideas. Daniel should have known better. Once he'd asked to speak to Betty, he had just wanted to say hello and tell her how much everyone missed her at Mode. Sofia had quickly snapped her cell phone shut and ignored his request. Then the phone calls started at home and the business trips increased in frequency and length of time. He had sat alone one night nursing a large bottle of champagne he had bought home to celebrate their anniversary Sofia. Only he'd come home to an empty apartment and a note from Sofia telling him she'd needed to go to Los Angeles for a last minute photo shoot. He'd gotten so drunk he'd called Betty to ask her where Sofia was and found out that reliable Betty, the Betty who'd always been there for him, had changed her cell phone number. In a moment of clarity, Daniel thought about a time when he could have rattled off Betty's home number without even thinking about it and now he couldn't even remember his own. He felt pathetic. He felt lonely. Most of all, he felt stupid. Sofia was cheating on him. How could she not be? He'd started dating her when she was about to be married to another man, what made him think she'd changed? Because she loved him? Daniel laughed so hard he nearly fell off his couch. Then he sat up and set about sobering up.
Confronted with the facts, Sofia admitted that she was seeing someone else. She claimed the passion had died out of their relationship. She claimed that he had never given himself truly to her and that she always felt there was a wall between them. Daniel had hoped that when he confronted her, she'd cry, beg him to take her back and admit that she never loved another man like she loved him. Instead he got excuses and a catalog of his crimes against her. So he sat for a few minutes listening to Sofia list all his faults, but there was only so much he could take before he felt like he was going to explode. The one thing they never brought up in any argument, the one problem they ignored for years suddenly came to the forefront of his mind. Suddenly, he could not longer shove the bitter feelings that he had been shoving down inside for years.
"I gave you Betty! I let you take away the one person who I could really trust. I let you take her for your magazine because I loved you and wanted you to be happy. And now you're claiming I never loved you? I never trusted you?" Daniel swept aside the papers that had been cluttering Sofia's desk in her at home office. "Do you understand how much shit I had to eat when my dad decided to make Wilhelmina the Editor-in-Chief three years ago? 'Thanks Daniel, you were doing a great job when you first started, but you just seemed to lose that edge.' " Daniel mimicked his father's sonorous voice. "They kept me on as a fashion editor though, Sofia. Wasn't that nice? Do you know how humiliating it is to go from being the boss to Wilhelmina's lackey?"
"Daniel, I never knew you were so bitter about that . . ." Sofia began.
"Yeah, well I am. You know what? Save your explanations for someone who cares. I'm done here." Then he'd grabbed the suitcase that he'd stuffed with as much of his clothing as he could possibly fit inside and left the apartment. He had no idea where he was going to go. There was no way he was going to go to his parents' house and face his father. Or his drunken mother. He had no close friends that weren't also friends with Sofia and he didn't feel like admitting what had happened. Sitting down in his car, he decided to go back to work. He needed something to distract him from his sham of a marriage.
Walking into the Meade Publications building that evening, he hadn't expected to see anyone else there. But he should have known she'd be there, in the end she was the one person he could count on. Even if they rarely spoke anymore.
She was fiddling with the key that unlocked the main entrance and standing next to the elevator impatiently. Her back was to him and he could hear that she was just finishing up a call on her cell phone. Hair that had once been long and unstyled was now cut shorter and fashionably so. Gone were the frumpy dresses that made her look like a pilgrim. Instead she was dressed tastefully and in a manner that made the most of her assets. He noticed she was holding a large box. Daniel walked up beside her and greeted her. "Betty," he smiled at her.
Betty looked up at him, startled. "Daniel! I didn't expect to see you here." She shifted the box from one arm to the other and smiled back at him. He noticed her braces were gone, but her smile was still the same. It always seemed genuine and you knew she was happy to see you. "Why are you here?"
Daniel's smile faded. "I had some work I needed to finish up. I left some stuff here, in my office, so I figured I might as well finish it there as well."
Betty could tell Daniel was lying, but she also knew she couldn't push it. So she didn't. "Well, it was nice to see you again. Maybe I'll see you in another three years," she joked. As she turned around to leave, she lost her grip on the box and its contents spilled across the marble floor. Betty muttered a curse word that Daniel didn't even think she knew and started scrambling across the floor picking up her possessions. Daniel squatted down and started to help her. He started throwing pencils, pictures in frames and other small items into the box.
"What is all this Betty? It looks like the contents of your desk."
Betty twisted her hands nervously. "Yeah. I'm quitting. I handed in my resignation on Friday afternoon, but I forgot to clean out my desk."
Daniel was intrigued. "Quitting? Really? Why? Did you get a better job offer?"
"No," was all Betty said as she busied herself arranging the items in her box.
Daniel grabbed the box away from her. "So why are you quitting?"
Betty looked at the box longingly and then at Daniel. "Sofia and I had a small argument." She held her thumb and forefinger a few inches apart.
"About what?" It was like pulling teeth to get an answer from Betty.
"You." Betty pushed her glasses up on her nose (Daniel was happy to see she had kept the glasses. He liked them, they made her look like a sexy librarian. What the hell? Where had that come from? Daniel chalked it up to momentary insanity cause by an adulterous spouse). "I found out some things I thought you should know about and Sofia disagreed. So I told her that I couldn't work for someone that I didn't respect and I quit."
"Like what? That she's cheating on me?" Now Daniel started fiddling with the items in Betty's box of treasures. "What a coincidence. She and I just discussed that today." He handed the box back to Betty. "I'm divorcing her."
Betty's faced seemed pained as she took the box from his hands. "I'm really sorry Daniel."
"Yeah, well, what are you going to do, right?" Daniel took the box back from Betty and started folding the flaps on themselves so the box would stay closed. "I appreciate you looking out for me. I had forgotten what it felt like to have a friend. I'm just sorry you lost your job over it." He handed the box to Betty again.
"We're a team, remember?" Betty stood up and picked up the box. "I'm sure I can find another job. It's just that there are so many people here that I'll miss. So many good memories . . ." Betty's voice trailed off as her cell phone began to ring. "Hilda?" A few seconds later she closed the phone. "Great. The car won't start and she can't pick me up. I'm going to have to take the subway home. Imagine riding the subway with this huge box." She sighed, "It never ends."
"Walking to the nearest subway station in those shoes?" Daniel gestured at the sneakers Betty was wearing. "You'll get blisters."
Betty looked down at her feet and laughed. It was a happy laugh, one that he hadn't heard in a long time and he hadn't realized how much he missed it. "I dunno. These shoes are pretty comfortable."
"Believe me, you're in for some blisters. I own some shoes like that. Every time I carry boxes and ride the subway in those shoes, I get blisters. Let me take you home." He really wanted to go home. To the Suarez house. It was nearly Christmas and he hoped that he could help with the tree again. That had been one of the best days of his life, if he ignored the Sofia part. "We'll get some take out and have dinner with your family."
"Daniel, I don't want to ruin your evening."
"Believe me, this will make my evening." He took the box from her again and started walking with her to his car. "Don't start looking for a new job. Let me talk to my dad. I really want to work with you again and I think this time we'll be equals."
Betty laughed her happy laugh again. "Really? No more fetching you bagels? Finding your watch at angry women's houses?"
Daniel frowned. "As low as I've been demoted, I don't think my job even has an assistant. As fun as that sounds for me, I'm afraid not."
"Don't worry, Daniel. I'm sure you're be Editor-In Chief again." Daniel could tell she honestly meant it. He was touched and he wondered how this woman could have so much hope for him, when he'd lost all faith in himself. "Do you think you can really get me a job?" Betty bit her lip hopefully.
"We're a team, right? I won't rest until my father agrees to it."
"I've missed that," Betty said quiety as Daniel put her box in the trunk of his car.
As he sat next to her, he looked at her and said, "Yeah, me too." This isn't about love, Daniel thought. I'm not in love, am I?
There is D/B shippiness there and I like to think that once Daniel gets Betty hired again, sparks will fly.