New fic: Busted, DWP, 1/2
Title: Busted
Pairing: Andy/Miranda
Author: chilly_flame
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything related to the Devil Wears Prada. Alas.
Notes: This is a follow up to my Sick Day series, following The Cut. Thanks to Xander for the help, as usual! Took a little longer than expected, but here it is.
For previous episodes, read:
Sick Day
The Righteous Dead
Hooked
The Upper Hand
The Cut
“Don’t mess anything up,” Andy tells Caroline, who has taken a seat behind Miranda’s desk. She immediately spins the chair in circles, once, twice, three times. “And don’t make yourself sick,” she adds. Caroline giggles. “I’ll be back in five minutes. You haven’t heard from your mom, have you?”
Caroline pulls her phone out of her pocket as the chair continues to revolve. Andy feels dizzy just looking at her. “No text yet.”
“Cool. Just let me know if she calls.” Andy’s work Blackberry died an unexpected death on Saturday, so she’s phoneless until IT can replace it Monday. Cassidy is at the park skating with some friends, while Andy took Caroline to the Guggenheim for the afternoon. They’re heading back to the townhouse for dinner, but Andy’s not sure when they’re due. Miranda has been focused on the book all afternoon; the next issue is coming together too slowly, and Andy decided to help out by picking up some work from the office. She has two articles in process, and they don’t need to be completed until Wednesday, but she’ll have time tonight since Miranda is distracted.
She just needs to load the two articles onto her flash drive and she’ll be on her way. She boots up her computer and hears the whirr of the hard drive, only to go into supreme panic mode when Jocelyn pokes her head out of her office. “Hey, Andy! What are you doing here?”
Andy swallows thickly. It’s not a big deal, she thinks. I’ll just get the articles and go. “Oh, just have a few things to get done before tomorrow. What are you up to?”
Jocelyn rolls her eyes. “Miranda wasn’t happy with the last shoot that Jeffrey handled, so I’m stepping in on the Saratoga feature.”
Andy feels her eyebrows climb up her forehead. “Does Miranda know that?”
Jocelyn shrugs. “It’s not a problem. Jeffrey’s a lovely gent, but sometimes I wonder exactly how he ended up in fashion. He just needs someone to hold his hand for this one.”
Andy hears the frustration in her voice. Andy doesn’t think that Jeffrey’s much of an asset to Runway, but it’s not up to her who Nigel hires. He’ll have to deal with the aftermath if Saratoga doesn’t go well, but it might be important for Miranda to know that Jocelyn is taking on more than her fair share of responsibility. Dear, thankless Jocelyn, who Miranda steps all over because the woman doesn’t have a spine. Fortunately she does have a kick-ass sense of style and design, which is why she still has a job at Runway. Andy likes her, but she needs to cut this short before
“Andy, Mom just texted!” Andy hears Caroline shout from afar, as is her habit. She isn’t visible, but she’s running toward Andy’s desk, which is bad, so very bad-- “She wants to know if you want fish or duck for dinner, because James is going to the market, but I think we should have fish because Cassidy-” Caroline almost skids to a stop in front of Andy, not unlike an old-fashioned cartoon character. She has spotted Jocelyn, and her mouth is open, eyes bright with fear. “Uh.”
“Caroline?” Jocelyn says, confusion in her voice. She knows both girls, from photos and occasional visits to the office “What are you--”
“Nothing,” Caroline barks. “I just--” she looks at Andy, searching for help.
Everyone is silent, until Andy finally says, “Caroline and I went to a museum today.” What lie could she come up with inside 30 seconds that would sound remotely plausible?
Jocelyn glances back and forth between them. She’s thinking, but the numbers have yet to add up. “And you’re having dinner with--”
“Miranda,” Andy sighs. “Sometimes I have dinner with Miranda.”
Caroline reaches out and takes Andy’s hand. She knows what’s at stake, even though Andy and Miranda don’t talk much with the girls about how hard it is to hide their relationship at work. But they understand that they can’t discuss Andy with anyone yet, and they don’t complain.
“Dinner,” Jocelyn repeats. “With Miranda. That’s… nice.”
Andy sighs, and turns to Caroline. “If you want fish, that’s fine with me. Let your mom know we’ll be there in half an hour, okay?” Andy is careful not to use the word “home.” Caroline nods, and squeezes her hand before rushing off. Andy blinks at Jocelyn, who hasn’t moved. “So,” she says, out of ideas.
“I didn’t realize that you and Miranda were… friendly. I mean, I suppose it’s only natural, right?”
Andy smiles and shrugs her shoulders. Leave it to Jocelyn not to go directly for the prurient explanation. “Yep.”
“But it’s funny, you spending time with her Caroline. It’s awfully…” Andy waits for it, and she’s not disappointed. Jocelyn inhales, and her understanding is complete. Andy almost laughs when Jocelyn’s pale cheeks blush a deep red. “Oh,” she says.
“Well, Caroline and I, we’re simpatico.” Andy’s not exactly sure what she should say. Beg Jocelyn not to talk? Tell her Miranda will put out a contract on her if she does? Ultimately, she decides she’d better be transparent, because otherwise, she’ll look like a fool, and so will Miranda. She’s not ashamed of what they are to each other. “Cassidy’s more like Miranda--she does her own thing. But I get along with them both, which is pretty lucky. Because I really care about Miranda.” She avoids the word love; there’s no need to completely freak Jocelyn out, thinking that someone loves her terrifying boss. Or vice versa. “I care about her more than anything. I like my job, too, so we just… don’t talk about it. You know what I mean?”
Jocelyn is still blushing, but at least she can bear to look Andy in the eye now. “I--I didn’t realize. I--”
“We weren’t together when I was her assistant,” Andy says, suddenly desperate to make that clear. “It’s not like I, well, I mean, I earned my job because I worked hard. The other stuff just sort of… happened.” Her ability to articulate has flown out the window.
“I didn’t think that,” Jocelyn says, and she seems honest. “Lucien can’t sing your praises enough, and I’ve seen how well you clean up after some of the freelancers.” She takes a breath. “You’re just so young, and so pretty--it never even occurred…” A hand covers her mouth. “Oh my god, and that whole thing about you and Lucien last year--when Gemma was so sure--” Jocelyn starts to laugh.
Andy chuckles, because she figures she ought to join in. “Yeah, that was a little off base.”
“If she only knew--” Jocelyn’s face changes. “Oh, Andy, I won’t say a thing. Miranda--she’s been very good to me, and I’ve always thought you were a lovely girl. It’s no one’s business, least of all my own.”
Andy feels a little relieved not to have to ask for silence, and she supposes she’ll just have to trust this woman who now wields a great deal of power over her. Thank goodness it wasn’t someone else. She shudders to think what Nigel might have said. “Thanks. We’d both appreciate it.”
There’s an awkward silence, and Andy notices her computer’s empty login is waiting on the screen. “Well, I should get my stuff and hit the road--”
“Oh, of course,” Jocelyn says, backing away, both hands waving nervously. “I won’t keep you. Have a good Sunday, and, give my best to, er, Miranda.”
Andy smiles and slides into her chair. “I will,” she replies, and watches Jocelyn disappear into her office. With an enormous sigh, she logs on with her password and sets out to retrieve her files. Files she will undoubtedly not be able to focus on very well tonight, if at all.
A few minutes later, she returns to Miranda’s office to find Caroline whispering on the phone. “Hey, you ready?”
Caroline glances at her and says into the phone, “We’re leaving now. See you.” She hangs up and grabs her bag off the floor. “Andy,” she says, breathless. “I didn’t mean to give you away--what’s Mom going to say--”
“Don’t worry, honey. It’s all going to be fine. Jocelyn isn’t going to say anything, and even if she did, it wouldn’t be so bad.” She strokes Caroline’s hair, and the girl throws herself into Andy’s arms. “Oh, Caroline, it’s really okay. And it’s no one’s fault. It just happened. I promise you, your mom will be fine.” Her voice is so calm and certain that she almost convinces herself that what she’s saying is true.
Almost.
---
Before Andy can even get the townhouse door closed, Caroline shouts into the empty hallway. “Moooom!”
“Caroline, relax,” Andy hisses. “Don’t get hysterical.”
Caroline’s temperament is a mystery to Andy, even now. She is calm and graceful 95% of the time; butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. She rarely argues with anyone, is agreeable to a fault, and every once in a while Andy wishes she would be a little more emotional. She’s nice, and sweet, and other than the first month or so when Andy started spending time at the townhouse, she’s never spoken a bad word in Andy’s presence. In this way she is the polar opposite of Cassidy, who curses up a storm when Miranda’s not around, tells anyone and everyone exactly what she thinks, and will bicker with Andy over anything just for the sake of argument.
But at this very moment, Caroline is about to come out of her skin. Anxiety pours off her. Andy was even concerned she might make herself sick in the car. The girl wrings her hands as Andy follows her into the kitchen.
“What on earth are you screaming about, child?” Miranda says from her seat at the kitchen table. The book is in front of her, and James is stirring something over the stove. “It can’t be the end of the world.”
Caroline actually looks as if she might start hopping on the tips of her toes. Andy rolls her eyes, and goes for it. “Jocelyn was at the office today,” she says, very quickly. Better to get it over with in one stroke of the ax. “We--I, well, when she saw Caroline and I together, she figured it out.”
Miranda’s milk-white complexion goes chalky, and from the corner of Andy’s eye, she sees James turn the heat down on the stove. He interrupts Andy’s train of thought, muttering, “I’ve got to uh, take care of something--just stir this every few minutes, okay?” He leaves without waiting for a reply.
Long seconds pass. “You’re joking,” Miranda says.
Caroline vibrates next to her, so Andy puts a hand on her head. “It was no big deal. She was totally nice about it. I’m 100% sure she’ll keep it to herself.” She is convincing, and is impressed with her own skill at lying smoothly.
Andy senses the war going on within Miranda; she can see the storm of expressions skirting across her face. She wants to yell at someone, very quietly; fire someone; make someone pay. Andy has to diffuse that before someone gets hurt. The two people she is worried about most are Caroline and Jocelyn. She doesn’t count herself as a part of the equation, because she believes she can handle Miranda at her most insane. She’s probably wrong, but it’s a lie worth believing.
“Are--” Miranda glances at Caroline. She takes a deep breath before she speaks again. “What exactly happened?”
Andy ushers Caroline into a seat at the table, and Andy sits down next to her. The girl is silent while Andy recounts the entire story, complete with as much detail as possible, including a word for word regurgitation of everything they both said. Miranda listens intently, and doesn’t interject except to jerk her head in Caroline’s direction when Andy mentions that everyone thought Andy was sleeping with Lucien last year. Andy just sighs and continues, and when she’s through, the room is hushed.
She gets up to stir the pot on the stove. Leaning over it for a whiff, she identifies it as tortilla soup. It smells delicious. “Can we eat soon?” She’ll need some sustenance if she wants to get through the evening, and no one comments on the non sequitur.
Caroline is still wringing her hands. “Mom, don’t be upset. I’m really, really sorry.”
Miranda seems to realize that her daughter is utterly tormented, and finally, her face relaxes. “Oh, Bobbsey, don’t worry. I’m sure Andrea is right,” she says, holding out her hands and urging Caroline in for a hug. “Honestly. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Andy considers the question. Could it be either of them losing their jobs, along with having to deal with the public vilification? Andy doesn’t mind the idea of being outed, but she hates the idea of everyone believing she doesn’t deserve her job. And that’s just what might happen.
What will happen, eventually. Because she and Miranda are going to go public at some point, and the majority of people will think that Andy is a no-talent hack who screwed her way into a promotion. Two promotions, inside a year.
Just because it’s not true doesn’t make it any easier.
---
Part II
Pairing: Andy/Miranda
Author: chilly_flame
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything related to the Devil Wears Prada. Alas.
Notes: This is a follow up to my Sick Day series, following The Cut. Thanks to Xander for the help, as usual! Took a little longer than expected, but here it is.
For previous episodes, read:
Sick Day
The Righteous Dead
Hooked
The Upper Hand
The Cut
“Don’t mess anything up,” Andy tells Caroline, who has taken a seat behind Miranda’s desk. She immediately spins the chair in circles, once, twice, three times. “And don’t make yourself sick,” she adds. Caroline giggles. “I’ll be back in five minutes. You haven’t heard from your mom, have you?”
Caroline pulls her phone out of her pocket as the chair continues to revolve. Andy feels dizzy just looking at her. “No text yet.”
“Cool. Just let me know if she calls.” Andy’s work Blackberry died an unexpected death on Saturday, so she’s phoneless until IT can replace it Monday. Cassidy is at the park skating with some friends, while Andy took Caroline to the Guggenheim for the afternoon. They’re heading back to the townhouse for dinner, but Andy’s not sure when they’re due. Miranda has been focused on the book all afternoon; the next issue is coming together too slowly, and Andy decided to help out by picking up some work from the office. She has two articles in process, and they don’t need to be completed until Wednesday, but she’ll have time tonight since Miranda is distracted.
She just needs to load the two articles onto her flash drive and she’ll be on her way. She boots up her computer and hears the whirr of the hard drive, only to go into supreme panic mode when Jocelyn pokes her head out of her office. “Hey, Andy! What are you doing here?”
Andy swallows thickly. It’s not a big deal, she thinks. I’ll just get the articles and go. “Oh, just have a few things to get done before tomorrow. What are you up to?”
Jocelyn rolls her eyes. “Miranda wasn’t happy with the last shoot that Jeffrey handled, so I’m stepping in on the Saratoga feature.”
Andy feels her eyebrows climb up her forehead. “Does Miranda know that?”
Jocelyn shrugs. “It’s not a problem. Jeffrey’s a lovely gent, but sometimes I wonder exactly how he ended up in fashion. He just needs someone to hold his hand for this one.”
Andy hears the frustration in her voice. Andy doesn’t think that Jeffrey’s much of an asset to Runway, but it’s not up to her who Nigel hires. He’ll have to deal with the aftermath if Saratoga doesn’t go well, but it might be important for Miranda to know that Jocelyn is taking on more than her fair share of responsibility. Dear, thankless Jocelyn, who Miranda steps all over because the woman doesn’t have a spine. Fortunately she does have a kick-ass sense of style and design, which is why she still has a job at Runway. Andy likes her, but she needs to cut this short before
“Andy, Mom just texted!” Andy hears Caroline shout from afar, as is her habit. She isn’t visible, but she’s running toward Andy’s desk, which is bad, so very bad-- “She wants to know if you want fish or duck for dinner, because James is going to the market, but I think we should have fish because Cassidy-” Caroline almost skids to a stop in front of Andy, not unlike an old-fashioned cartoon character. She has spotted Jocelyn, and her mouth is open, eyes bright with fear. “Uh.”
“Caroline?” Jocelyn says, confusion in her voice. She knows both girls, from photos and occasional visits to the office “What are you--”
“Nothing,” Caroline barks. “I just--” she looks at Andy, searching for help.
Everyone is silent, until Andy finally says, “Caroline and I went to a museum today.” What lie could she come up with inside 30 seconds that would sound remotely plausible?
Jocelyn glances back and forth between them. She’s thinking, but the numbers have yet to add up. “And you’re having dinner with--”
“Miranda,” Andy sighs. “Sometimes I have dinner with Miranda.”
Caroline reaches out and takes Andy’s hand. She knows what’s at stake, even though Andy and Miranda don’t talk much with the girls about how hard it is to hide their relationship at work. But they understand that they can’t discuss Andy with anyone yet, and they don’t complain.
“Dinner,” Jocelyn repeats. “With Miranda. That’s… nice.”
Andy sighs, and turns to Caroline. “If you want fish, that’s fine with me. Let your mom know we’ll be there in half an hour, okay?” Andy is careful not to use the word “home.” Caroline nods, and squeezes her hand before rushing off. Andy blinks at Jocelyn, who hasn’t moved. “So,” she says, out of ideas.
“I didn’t realize that you and Miranda were… friendly. I mean, I suppose it’s only natural, right?”
Andy smiles and shrugs her shoulders. Leave it to Jocelyn not to go directly for the prurient explanation. “Yep.”
“But it’s funny, you spending time with her Caroline. It’s awfully…” Andy waits for it, and she’s not disappointed. Jocelyn inhales, and her understanding is complete. Andy almost laughs when Jocelyn’s pale cheeks blush a deep red. “Oh,” she says.
“Well, Caroline and I, we’re simpatico.” Andy’s not exactly sure what she should say. Beg Jocelyn not to talk? Tell her Miranda will put out a contract on her if she does? Ultimately, she decides she’d better be transparent, because otherwise, she’ll look like a fool, and so will Miranda. She’s not ashamed of what they are to each other. “Cassidy’s more like Miranda--she does her own thing. But I get along with them both, which is pretty lucky. Because I really care about Miranda.” She avoids the word love; there’s no need to completely freak Jocelyn out, thinking that someone loves her terrifying boss. Or vice versa. “I care about her more than anything. I like my job, too, so we just… don’t talk about it. You know what I mean?”
Jocelyn is still blushing, but at least she can bear to look Andy in the eye now. “I--I didn’t realize. I--”
“We weren’t together when I was her assistant,” Andy says, suddenly desperate to make that clear. “It’s not like I, well, I mean, I earned my job because I worked hard. The other stuff just sort of… happened.” Her ability to articulate has flown out the window.
“I didn’t think that,” Jocelyn says, and she seems honest. “Lucien can’t sing your praises enough, and I’ve seen how well you clean up after some of the freelancers.” She takes a breath. “You’re just so young, and so pretty--it never even occurred…” A hand covers her mouth. “Oh my god, and that whole thing about you and Lucien last year--when Gemma was so sure--” Jocelyn starts to laugh.
Andy chuckles, because she figures she ought to join in. “Yeah, that was a little off base.”
“If she only knew--” Jocelyn’s face changes. “Oh, Andy, I won’t say a thing. Miranda--she’s been very good to me, and I’ve always thought you were a lovely girl. It’s no one’s business, least of all my own.”
Andy feels a little relieved not to have to ask for silence, and she supposes she’ll just have to trust this woman who now wields a great deal of power over her. Thank goodness it wasn’t someone else. She shudders to think what Nigel might have said. “Thanks. We’d both appreciate it.”
There’s an awkward silence, and Andy notices her computer’s empty login is waiting on the screen. “Well, I should get my stuff and hit the road--”
“Oh, of course,” Jocelyn says, backing away, both hands waving nervously. “I won’t keep you. Have a good Sunday, and, give my best to, er, Miranda.”
Andy smiles and slides into her chair. “I will,” she replies, and watches Jocelyn disappear into her office. With an enormous sigh, she logs on with her password and sets out to retrieve her files. Files she will undoubtedly not be able to focus on very well tonight, if at all.
A few minutes later, she returns to Miranda’s office to find Caroline whispering on the phone. “Hey, you ready?”
Caroline glances at her and says into the phone, “We’re leaving now. See you.” She hangs up and grabs her bag off the floor. “Andy,” she says, breathless. “I didn’t mean to give you away--what’s Mom going to say--”
“Don’t worry, honey. It’s all going to be fine. Jocelyn isn’t going to say anything, and even if she did, it wouldn’t be so bad.” She strokes Caroline’s hair, and the girl throws herself into Andy’s arms. “Oh, Caroline, it’s really okay. And it’s no one’s fault. It just happened. I promise you, your mom will be fine.” Her voice is so calm and certain that she almost convinces herself that what she’s saying is true.
Almost.
---
Before Andy can even get the townhouse door closed, Caroline shouts into the empty hallway. “Moooom!”
“Caroline, relax,” Andy hisses. “Don’t get hysterical.”
Caroline’s temperament is a mystery to Andy, even now. She is calm and graceful 95% of the time; butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. She rarely argues with anyone, is agreeable to a fault, and every once in a while Andy wishes she would be a little more emotional. She’s nice, and sweet, and other than the first month or so when Andy started spending time at the townhouse, she’s never spoken a bad word in Andy’s presence. In this way she is the polar opposite of Cassidy, who curses up a storm when Miranda’s not around, tells anyone and everyone exactly what she thinks, and will bicker with Andy over anything just for the sake of argument.
But at this very moment, Caroline is about to come out of her skin. Anxiety pours off her. Andy was even concerned she might make herself sick in the car. The girl wrings her hands as Andy follows her into the kitchen.
“What on earth are you screaming about, child?” Miranda says from her seat at the kitchen table. The book is in front of her, and James is stirring something over the stove. “It can’t be the end of the world.”
Caroline actually looks as if she might start hopping on the tips of her toes. Andy rolls her eyes, and goes for it. “Jocelyn was at the office today,” she says, very quickly. Better to get it over with in one stroke of the ax. “We--I, well, when she saw Caroline and I together, she figured it out.”
Miranda’s milk-white complexion goes chalky, and from the corner of Andy’s eye, she sees James turn the heat down on the stove. He interrupts Andy’s train of thought, muttering, “I’ve got to uh, take care of something--just stir this every few minutes, okay?” He leaves without waiting for a reply.
Long seconds pass. “You’re joking,” Miranda says.
Caroline vibrates next to her, so Andy puts a hand on her head. “It was no big deal. She was totally nice about it. I’m 100% sure she’ll keep it to herself.” She is convincing, and is impressed with her own skill at lying smoothly.
Andy senses the war going on within Miranda; she can see the storm of expressions skirting across her face. She wants to yell at someone, very quietly; fire someone; make someone pay. Andy has to diffuse that before someone gets hurt. The two people she is worried about most are Caroline and Jocelyn. She doesn’t count herself as a part of the equation, because she believes she can handle Miranda at her most insane. She’s probably wrong, but it’s a lie worth believing.
“Are--” Miranda glances at Caroline. She takes a deep breath before she speaks again. “What exactly happened?”
Andy ushers Caroline into a seat at the table, and Andy sits down next to her. The girl is silent while Andy recounts the entire story, complete with as much detail as possible, including a word for word regurgitation of everything they both said. Miranda listens intently, and doesn’t interject except to jerk her head in Caroline’s direction when Andy mentions that everyone thought Andy was sleeping with Lucien last year. Andy just sighs and continues, and when she’s through, the room is hushed.
She gets up to stir the pot on the stove. Leaning over it for a whiff, she identifies it as tortilla soup. It smells delicious. “Can we eat soon?” She’ll need some sustenance if she wants to get through the evening, and no one comments on the non sequitur.
Caroline is still wringing her hands. “Mom, don’t be upset. I’m really, really sorry.”
Miranda seems to realize that her daughter is utterly tormented, and finally, her face relaxes. “Oh, Bobbsey, don’t worry. I’m sure Andrea is right,” she says, holding out her hands and urging Caroline in for a hug. “Honestly. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Andy considers the question. Could it be either of them losing their jobs, along with having to deal with the public vilification? Andy doesn’t mind the idea of being outed, but she hates the idea of everyone believing she doesn’t deserve her job. And that’s just what might happen.
What will happen, eventually. Because she and Miranda are going to go public at some point, and the majority of people will think that Andy is a no-talent hack who screwed her way into a promotion. Two promotions, inside a year.
Just because it’s not true doesn’t make it any easier.
---
Part II