VOCALISE - CHAPTER 13
Title: Vocalise
Rating: NC-17 (NSFW!) (I seem to not be able to write PG-13 chapters anymore... Ah well... I’m sure that makes all of you really sad! xD)
Warning: Established character death. T__T
Pairing: Andy/Miranda
Length: 7000 (this chapter)
Prompt: based on a prompt by amles80
Summary: A/U - Miranda is a choral director and Andy is a journalist who enjoys singing. Miranda has a painful past and Andy has to learn to believe in herself. Miranda is 47, Andy is 26 in this story.
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Devil Wears Prada.
Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
A/N: Those of you who have never heard Bulgarian choirs, think Brother Bear soundtrack, or Kate Bush’s “Sensual World” or the music of “Arizona Dream”.
A/N 2: Warning: Some angst stuff on the horizon... AHHHHHHH! *hides*
Chapter 13
Andy melted into the seat as she allowed the music to wash over her. She had never experienced a concert this intense. She closed her eyes, picturing how the depicted emotions floated across the audience and right at her from the singer’s lips, directly from their very hearts. She felt their pain, their love, their melancholy. The beauty of life, of the earth and of that which binds all humans together.
Miranda had promised it would be wonderful, but this performance completely rewrote the way Andy felt about music. The conductor had invited the singers from the community centre to experience the overwhelming beauty of Bulgarian choral music. She had said it would inspire them and enable a better understanding for when they attempted to fuse their own voices together.
Opening her eyes to mere slits, the journalist stole a look to her left, where Miranda sat stoically perched on the red velvet cushion of her seat in a state of tense appreciation. The older woman wasn’t really the type who stared open-mouthed and with reddened cheeks like a five-year old, but the way Miranda seemed to lose herself in the weaving voices of the Bulgarian women was the perfect image of controlled awe. Her lips were relaxed, albeit closed, and she took even, slow breaths that had a certain shallowness.
Andy wanted nothing more than to reach out and take Miranda’s hand, to seek physical contact as they shared this moment of bliss. Sadly, the presence of a few of their choir’s members seated around them restrained Andy, and she had to content herself with the knowledge that she’d have the older woman all to herself soon.
Her attention was pulled back to the stage when the song ended and the colourfully dressed singers bowed to the audience. The crowd was ecstatic, honoring the brilliant performance with a standing ovation that reached all the way to the upper ranks where Andy was seated. As they rose from their seats as well, Andy nearly couldn’t hear Miranda’s small, happy sigh over the raging applause. But she did, and not only did the sound of it travel pleasantly down her spine, it also filled her belly with a warm glow.
As they made their way through the crowded lobby of the concert hall a few minutes later Andy stayed close behind the conductor, sensing that both of them wanted to desperately be alone and talk about the amazing concert without having to hold back in front of the other choir members. Especially since Emily had been eyeing them venomously the entire evening. Andy really wasn’t in the mood for another confrontation.
“Well, well, well.”
Miranda stopped so abruptly that the brunette nearly bumped into her.
“Miranda. What a pleasant surprise!”
Andy knew her love well, and right now everything about her posture screamed panic. The journalist reached for Miranda’s hand but the conductor turned away to slowly face the owner of the heavily accented, female voice.
“Look at you! You’re even more gorgeous than I remember!”
A brooding darkness washed over Andy’s mind and she spun around to look at the woman who now walked up to their little entourage focusing solely on Miranda. She was smaller than Andy, had dark, short hair that sported a single silver strand, and the crisp, white collar of her shirt stood up almost like saber teeth, giving her a predatory aura. The menacing smile she wore had all of Andy’s alarm bells ringing.
“Jacqueline.”
Miranda’s voice was unsteady, although it might have sounded sarcastic to anyone but Andy. The Frenchwoman came to a stop less than two feet in front of the conductor, and for a second Andy feared she might lean in to kiss Miranda’s cheeks. Instead, Jacqueline extended her arm, and the journalist watched with relief as the older woman completely ignored the offered hand.
“Ah, I see. You’re still upset,” she lulled with a smirk and pulled back her arm.
“Being upset would require emotional attachment to you, which I assure you, is not the case.” Miranda countered evenly, having found most of her bearings again.
“Ouch!” Jacqueline clutched at her chest mockingly and only then allowed her eyes to travel over Andy and the rest of the choir members that had stood next to Miranda in stunned silence.
“Ah, this must be your little community project,” she said, flicking a lazy index finger in their direction.
The white hot anger inside Andy was hard to contain, but the brunette’s strong wish to not embarrass Miranda won and allowed her to outwardly remain cool. Although she instantly fantasised about showing this French lady her most perfect left hook, Andy took a deep breath and focused on Miranda instead.
Resting her eyes back on the conductor, Jacqueline continued to taunt.
“I find it amusing that you entered a competition for mostly professional choirs... with such amateurs.”
Her gaze wandered lower, locked on Miranda’s heaving chest and caused all of Andy’s muscles to tighten like a spring ready to explode. It had been obvious from her silver-haired lover’s reaction who precisely this woman was. However Andy wasn’t jealous as much as she was furious for the pain Jacqueline had caused by abandoning Miranda in her time of need.
She thought back at the moment Miranda had opened up for the first time, in the church confessional, and the nightly conversation she had shared with the adorable Miranda-spook in the Priestly’s Hamptons home. The bond that tied her to the older woman reassured Andy and she turned to Doug and the rest of the choir.
“Come on, guys. Let’s wait outside.”
The singers nodded and moved away, but before Andy could follow, Miranda reached for her arm.
“I’m coming, too, Andrea.” Her voice was steady but soft. “I have nothing to say to this person.”
As they turned to leave, the conductor’s hand still on the brunette’s arm, Andy caught a glimpse of the dissatisfied expression on Jacqueline’s face and secretly felt victorious.
“Who the hell was that?” Doug enquired once they had caught up with the choir on the front steps of the large building.
“Your competition.” Miranda said as she brushed by and pulled Andy in the direction of the parking garage without another word.
The brunette shrugged her shoulders at her friend and mouthed ‘sorry’ before facing forward and reaching down to firmly grasp Miranda’s hand. The older woman had been the one to initiate physical contact between them in public and who was Andy to let such an opportunity slip?
Once they had settled inside the Porsche, the conductor allowed her shoulder’s to slump, and she uttered a heavy sigh.
Andy shifted so that she was leaning sideways against the seat, and she regarded the conductor for a while before raising her arm and gently stroking the soft hairs on Miranda’s temple.
“You handled that well, Miranda.”
The older woman sniffed.
“You think so?” She studied her nails intently. “Then why do I feel like the ground was pulled from under my feet?”
There was sadness in Miranda’s gaze and Andy wondered if it meant that the older woman still had feelings for her former lover. She didn’t dare ask, and she tried to quell the bitterness that threatened to rise up her throat.
“To think that I chose someone like that over my babies...”
Miranda faltered and out of reflex Andy reached for her hand, pulling the cold, shaky fingers to her own lips. As she tenderly pressed her mouth to the older woman’s knuckles Miranda looked at her and the brunette watched the calming effect that she seemed to have on the conductor replace sorrow with resolve.
“I think... I will never fully be able to let go of the guilt I feel, and the mistakes I made,” the older woman whispered, regret lacing her voice.
“That’s okay, Miranda. I will always be here to remind you of a bright future,” Andy breathed against Miranda’s hand.
They continued to gaze at each other, the parking spaces around them slowly emptying, until Miranda gently stroked her index finger over the younger woman’s lips and smiled.
“Let’s go home.”
----
“Moooom! Can I stay over at Jen’s?”
Miranda closed the door of her apartment and dropped the key in the wooden bowl on the dresser.
“Again? And it’s past ten, you should be in bed soon, Caroline.”
The teenager rolled her eyes and threw a desperate look at Andrea.
“Don’t look at me, kiddo. I can’t help you with that,” the brunette said and held her hands up in apology.
The conductor slipped out of her high heels and hung up her coat, before walking into the living room where Caroline sat on the couch, phone in hand.
“Why do you want to stay over at Jen’s?” She asked, knowing her daughter wasn’t really a child anymore and if she presented a good enough reason, she would allow her to stay over at her friend’s apartment. After all it was on the same block.
“We need to set up our chemistry presentation and Mrs. Lark asked us to come in half an hour early. Jen’s mom offered to drive us both to school in the morning and said I could stay over to make things easier for you.”
Miranda pursed her lips and pondered her options. She could say no and make her daughter unhappy and cause unnecessary troubles in the morning, or she could allow it, enabling a lazy morning with Andrea and most importantly an entire night alone with her love.
“Alright. You may go.”
The teenager shrieked in delight and began enthusiastically ranting into the phone.
“But don’t forget that we have plans tomorrow afternoon.”
“Yes, Mom,” Caroline moaned in annoyance.
Miranda couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. Although secretly she utterly loved having her daughter around. It had been three weeks since the move and Miranda felt that things were going rather well. Caroline had quickly reconnected with some of her old childhood friends and had adapted to life back in the big city rather well. It had been quite a change to suddenly have a teenager living with her, and although she hadn’t been alone that much ever since Andrea had entered her life, sharing a household with a sixteen-year-old posed some challenges.
Luckily Andrea had been around almost every night and her younger age enabled a fast connection with Caroline that had astounded Miranda. But she welcomed it, and now that things were going so well, the conductor knew it was time to ask the brunette to fully move in. She wanted to ask her the following day, which was St. Valentine’s, and the three of them had plans to drive out to New Jersey to a park where Miranda had learned how to ice skate as a child.
She smiled as she watched her daughter almost fly back to her room, despite the crutch, to gather her school bag. Her smile widened when lanky arms slid around her middle from behind and Andrea’s warm breath caressed the back of her neck.
“I can walk her over, if you want.”
“Yes, thank you. That would be very kind.”
Andrea seemed to understand how wary she still was about letting Caroline be more independent, and having your mother’s younger girlfriend escort you to a friend’s house would be marginally less embarrassing than being walked over by your mom. The conductor leaned back into the embrace and sighed. She could rely on Andrea with everything, it seemed.
“Okay, I’m all set, Mom.”
“Andrea will walk you, Darling.”
She was prepared for Caroline’s whining, and had a suitable speech about dark and slippery sidewalks waiting, but the teenager just nodded and smiled.
“Let’s go, kiddo.”
The brunette gently disentangled herself from Miranda and placed a kiss on the conductor’s left shoulder blade though the silk fabric of her blouse.
“I won’t be long.”
The two put on their shoes and coats, and then slipped through the door, leaving Miranda alone with her thoughts about the day.
Seeing Jacqueline again had been a great shock. Being confronted with her past like that had shaken Miranda. Strangely enough she had also been surprised by the lack of emotion the Frenchwoman herself had stirred in her. Especially now that the conductor knew what real love and affection felt like.
Five years ago she had clung to the feeling of being wanted and physically worshipped as if it were the best she could ever possibly deserve. It had been the first time in her life somebody had treated her like a queen, even if in the end it had turned out to be nothing sincere, nor lasting.
Miranda massaged the back of her neck and patted into her bedroom to get undressed.
The more she thought about the evening, the more elated she began to feel. Compared to the young brunette Jacqueline was just a grey, washed-out old photograph without significance. Andrea was vibrant and alive, she was all colours of the universe, and beyond all the love and physical attraction between them, there was still so much more. A sense of eternal security, a deep friendship, and their twin spirits, swirling around each other in an unbreakable embrace.
As she rolled the stockings down her legs the conductor had to smile. It was quite unbelievable that at nearly fifty she could still find herself a true romantic that harboured ridiculously poetic thoughts for her young love.
Once she had divested herself of all her clothing she moved into the bathroom. As she removed her makeup in front of the mirror she kept gazing into her own eyes, which was something she hadn’t been able to do for five long years.
Today, she thought, I have faced off with my demons. And I have come out stronger.
Her smoky blues sparkled back at her, and with a happy smirk Miranda pushed off the sink and stepped into the shower. She turned on the water and welcomed the slightly scorching spray as it heavily cascaded down on her scalp and skin. With Caroline gone for the night she had hope that her and Andrea would spend all hours until morning with and on each other.
With the teenager sleeping so close-by it had been difficult to fully let go, and for the past three weeks they had opted for quick stop-overs at Andrea’s apartment, or hushed moments in the conductor’s bed. Tonight they’d be able to take complete leisure in each other and the hot water served as a fine way to warm up her muscles.
The sound of the glass door forced her around and she blinked against the stream of water to watch a gloriously nude Andrea glide into the shower with a sheepish grin on her full lips.
“Honey, I’m home.”
The brunette’s sweet whisper flowed from Miranda’s ears straight to her heart like thick, warm honey, and she reached out to pull the younger woman into a fiery kiss. The conductor swallowed up Andrea’s hiss at the contact with the hot water and pressed the journalist’s body tightly against her own.
-----
Beautiful warmth, was all coherent thought left in Andy’s head as Miranda’s hot, slippery body undulated against her. They stood under the stream of water as one. Two bodies twined together in passion as their tongues rolled together through the steady chorus of their moans. Greedy hands roamed across Andy’s back; trimmed nails scratching teasingly without leaving marks. Her own fingers deftly massaged the conductor’s butt cheeks, effectively pulling the two of them even closer together in sweet rhythm.
The brunette couldn’t help but feel slightly possessive. So far in their relationship it had only been Andy with the potential admirers, but now that she had met Miranda’s ex, the journalist wanted to become territorial. She wanted to blow any remaining thoughts of past lovers out of Miranda’s memory by giving her the most intense pleasure she had ever experienced. Tonight she would devote solely to the older woman and to bringing her ultimate ecstasy.
“Turn around,” she commanded huskily when they had to break their kiss for air.
Miranda raised an eyebrow, but complied, and as soon as her back was turned Andy reached for her hips and pulled the older woman firmly against herself. The soft swells of the conductor’s behind collided with Andy’s groin in a delightful smack and Miranda chuckled, even as she pushed back and into the contact, briefly wiggling her hips for good measure.
“Hmmm, Mira. You feel heavenly...” Andy groaned into the older woman’s shoulder as they swayed together. Her hands sneaked upward and began gently stroking Miranda’s breasts. The conductor propped one of her hands flat against the tiled wall to brace herself and then slipped the other one back to grab at Andy’s waist, keeping her close. Her head fell back when the brunette began to roll the hardened nipples between her thumb and index fingers, while keeping a slow, but even rhythm with their connected hips.
It was sensual dance under the hot spray, and Andy couldn’t refrain from gently suckling at the side of Miranda’s throat. As her tongue traced the tension in the older woman’s neck muscles she felt the conductor slowly melt in her arms.
“Andrea...”
She could not imagine ever cherishing anyone or anything as she cherished Miranda. The older woman moved against her as if their bodies were created as two separate puzzle pieced that could be joined together in a single image of utter perfection. Andy allowed her hands to leave Miranda’s delicate chest and slowly teased her fingers down along the soft stomach.
Curling her right hand around the conductor’s hip to hold her steady, Andy then slipped her left fingers lower and over the smoothness of Miranda’s upper legs until she brushed against the trimmed, wet curls in between. She used her knee and foot to encourage the older woman to open her legs a bit wider and then, at a leisurely pace she knew would frustrate Miranda, she slipped her left hand down between the conductor’s thighs.
Miranda shivered against her and moaned as she rested her head against Andy’s shoulder. The brunette revelled in the feeling of the back of the older woman’s soft butt pressing rhythmically against her while Miranda’s hips tried to surge away from her body and into the tickling fingers between her legs.
Andy used her left shoulder to slowly push the conductor forward until Miranda had to use her second hand to hold her weight against the wall, hanging her head forward and flexing her shoulder blades. As her left index finger tenderly stroked through the already slick folds Andy released her right hand’s grip and slowly slid her palm back and over the supple mounds of Miranda’s ass, where she cupped the right cheek as gently, yet firmly as she could manage. She tugged it aside, rousing a guttural moan from the conductor, who appeared torn between gyrating her hips forward, to intensify the pressure between the legs, or backward to encourage further stimulation of her perfect butt.
Despite the ever-flowing water Andy felt her mouth go dry as she finally slipped her right hand down and between Miranda’s thighs from behind. While her left index finger began to focus on the sensitive bud of nerves at the apex of the conductor’s thighs, her right hand slid through Miranda’s slick treasure with languid strokes, humming contently with every blissful push of the older woman’s hips.
It was surprising that the scorching water had heated her own skin so much that the older woman’s hidden places felt cooler to her touch. Andy thought about how it must feel for Miranda to have two sets of hot fingers touch her so intimately, and as the conductor undulated back and into her hands with shaky legs, the brunette knew it was time.
She leaned forward, so that her breasts pressed into the older woman’s back and tightened her stretched out arms around Miranda while placing two fingers of her right hand at her opening. The conductor gasped in anticipation and pushed against Andy’s palm to urge her on. The brunette entered her with a slow, but determined push that shook Miranda to the core and roused a guttural groan that echoed harshly in the confined space.
The conductor’s hips pushed back, driving Andy’s fingers as far as they would go, spreading her wide. They moaned in unison, allowing no more then a few millimetres between their skin as Andy set the pace and Miranda followed blindly. The brunette moved her fingers slowly, ignoring the wordless pleading of the older woman to quicken the pace. No, Andy wanted to fill Miranda thoroughly, push against all the right places instead of rushing over half of them. The conductor exhaled heavily with another moan.
“An... drea...”
Andy pressed her upper leg firmly against the back of her right hand, increasing the strength of her thrusts. Miranda used the leverage of her two arms against the wall to push harder onto the brunette and the sweet stretch of her inner walls had both of them trembling.
“More... please...” the older woman hissed, and Andy compliantly added a third finger, revelling in the feel of Miranda’s muscles clutching at her. Her left index and middle fingers increased their stroking of the conductor’s sensitive bud, circling the little peak as it stiffened.
Miranda was slick, hot and wonderful, and Andy never wanted their intimate dance to end. However when the conductor pushed off the wall, arched her spine and threw back her head in a scream, her muscles going rigid and clasping deliciously around the brunette, Andy knew that this was the most perfect bliss in the universe, and she wanted to hold Miranda in her arms like this forever.
She increased the pressure of her fingers as the older woman shook against her until the spasms slowly subsided and Miranda languidly rolled her hips a few more times with a happy purr. The brunette then removed her left hand and slid it up and around the conductor’s stomach to pull her closer and hold her upright as Miranda attempted to catch her breath.
They stood in the embrace for a while, Andy’s fingers still tightly burrowed inside the older woman where she felt the rapid pulse pounding against her skin. She pressed fluttery kisses to Miranda’s cheek and then gently extracted her digits, bringing her right hand to the conductor’s front to lock her within her arms. Not that Miranda would go anywhere. Her entire body seemed to buzz with contentment and she uttered a long, shaky sigh as she held on to the brunette’s arms, pulling them more firmly against herself.
“Darling....” Miranda’s voice was thick with love.
“Hm-hmm?” Andy tenderly nuzzled the nape of the older woman’s neck.
“Move in with me.”
Andy’s heart felt weak. She had cautiously hoped that Miranda would ask her at some point, but she had also been aware of the necessity to have Caroline settle into her new life first, before imposing yet another change on the teenager. Now that the question hung in the steam filled air, the brunette felt speechless.
Miranda turned in her embrace and leaned her forehead against Andy’s, wrapping her arms tightly around the younger woman’s shoulders.
“Come live with us, Darling.”
With happy tears hidden by the hot water Andy nodded and pulled Miranda into a sweet kiss.
“Yes,” she whispered against the conductor’s lips. “I would love to.”
-----
Miranda had to grin as she lazily walked down the gravel path with Andrea, arms linked and shoulders pressed tightly together. Despite the many weeks of practice she still occasionally felt sore after a night of extensive lovemaking. But she enjoyed the sensation and fondly remembered the loving attention the brunette had paid to her body the previous night.
They had rolled and writhed together for many delicious hours, right into the early morning of Valentine’s Day. It seemed ridiculous that for the first time in her life Miranda actually cared about this overrated Holiday, but then again it was also the first time she was completely in love.
The sun warmed their faces as they strolled down to the lake, Caroline in front of them, skillfully working the crutch over the barren grass. The weight of the ice skates slung over her shoulders gently bumped into Miranda’s back with each step and she felt a youthful sense of excitement at the sight of the already bustling, icy surface.
“Caroline, don’t slip and fall before we even get there,” she called out to her daughter and earned herself a slightly irritated ‘Yes, Mooom!’. Andrea, who had a plastic and aluminum folding chair tucked under her elbow, chuckled at the exchange and sweetly squeezed the older woman’s arm.
Miranda felt thoroughly happy that the brunette had requested for them to spend Valentine’s Day together with Caroline, and now that Andrea had agreed to officially move in with them, it would count as the first outing of their little family.
They arrived at the shore and used a fallen tree as a makeshift bench to slip into their skates. Caroline watched them quietly.
“Mom, do you think next year I’ll be able to have my own skates and use them as well?”
Her daughter had made tremendous progress, but the fast jump from wheel chair to free movement with only one crutch, compared to the slow pace of re-training all the subtle muscles and ligaments in her ankles, likely posed a source of frustration for the teenager.
“Yes, Caroline. I actually believe that given enough time, you’ll be able to do anything you set your mind to.”
She returned the girl’s bright smile and then allowed Andrea to pull her up and onto the ice. It had been a long time since she had stood on these iron blades, and for a few seconds she slipped and wobbled in the brunette’s steady embrace. Andrea giggled but held her tight until Miranda managed to find her bearings.
“Okay, will you be alright on your own?” The younger woman asked quietly.
The conductor nodded and allowed Andrea to release her hands to grab and unfold the chair and extend her arm to Caroline.
“Alright kiddo, ready for the ride of your life?”
The teenager giggled, dropped her crutch next to their shoes and then grasped the offered hands. Andrea helped her onto the ice and into the chair and the girl clapped her hands together.
“Go, Andy! Go!”
As she watched Andrea push the chair with Caroline skillfully across the ice, the teenager’s elated screams opening a path through the other skaters, Miranda’s thoughts wandered off to future possibilities. The conductor pictured Andrea with younger kids. Not the twins, but two different siblings, one with chestnut hair and brown eyes, and another with a piercing blue gaze and strawberry blond hair. The cold air she sharply inhaled burned in her lungs, but the thought of having more children with the brunette warmed Miranda from the inside out.
Of course it was too early to be planning anything, let alone mention these things to the brunette. However the idea was there, comfortably waiting at the back of her mind and it didn’t scare her, or worry her. The conductor knew that if anyone could ever rouse this kind of longing in her, it would be Andrea. She held on to the happiness that made her chest swell and slowly set across the ice in tentative strides.
Half a circle later, the ‘chair express’ had caught back up with her, and Andrea now evenly pushed Caroline forward as she adjusted her speed to stay by Miranda’s side.
“You’re pretty good at this,” she told the older woman with a grin and Miranda sniffed and simply answered, “Of course I am.”
Her daughter and the brunette laughed and despite her efforts the conductor had to join in.
“Hey there!” A tall boy with raven hair and glasses circled them, before settling into a slow backward slide in front of the trio.
“Kenny! Hi!” Caroline said almost dreamily.
The sudden blush on her daughter’s cheeks amused Miranda and she eyed Andrea, who wiggled her eyebrows and pressed her lips together to hide her grin.
Briefly tearing herself from the shy, mutual staring, Caroline turned to the conductor, “Mom, this is Ken, he’s in my AP English class.”
Then she looked back at the boy and waved a hand in Miranda’s direction. “This is my mom and...” pointing behind her, “this is Andy.”
“How do you do?” He greeted them with a court bow of his head and a friendly smile.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you live in Manhattan?” Caroline asked as they lazily moved across the frozen surface.
“I could ask you the same thing.” He grinned. “I’m here with my older brother. We wanted to catch the last ice of the year. They’re saying that it will be too warm soon. The lakes in the city are already ice-free and man-made ice rinks just aren’t as nice.”
“Ah, a man after my heart,” Andrea said lightly and grinned as the boy blushed and Caroline sent her an icy glare that made Miranda proud.
“Hey, Caro, would you let me push you around for a bit?”
The conductor rolled her eyes at the word play, but her daughter giggled and motioned for Andrea to step away from the chair.
“Be careful,” Miranda called after them as Ken stormed off, pushing a cheering Caroline criss-cross over the lake.
“What a nice young man,” the brunette said in an uncharacteristically formal accent, before she succumbed to giggles herself.
Miranda stood still for a moment and watched her daughter have fun with her friend. The image pulled at her heart and she dreaded the day Caroline would be old enough to begin her own life, away from her mother. Until then, she silently promised herself, she would cherish every single day with the girl.
“Hey, Beautiful. Up for spin?” Andrea gazed at her, eyes sparkling full of love and those gorgeous brown locks framing her adorable face, under, what Miranda had recently admitted, was her favourite hideous piece of clothing, the over-sized, floppy hat. She gently brushed away some of the brunette’s hair and allowed her fingers to linger at the edge of the green wool.
“I’d be delighted.”
She reached for Andrea’s hand, threading their fingers tightly together, and they set off with long, serene strides. The sun shone down on them, warming the air and Miranda’s heart. She closed her eyes and stopped moving her feet, trusting the younger woman to pull her across the lake. She heard the soft scratching of their blades on the ice, the distant chatter of the other skaters and the occasional happy shriek coming from Caroline a few yards away.
The brunette slowed down and spun Miranda to a stop, forcing the older woman’s eyes open.
“Andrea, what are you doing?”
“Holding you,” the younger woman said as she pulled Miranda close and allowed them to drift over the ice in subtle circles. Andrea’s arms rested gently around the conductor’s waist and Miranda pulled her fingers free off the black leather gloves and cupped the brunette’s cheeks.
“I love you.”
The sun was setting and its warm glow bathed Andrea’s hair in fiery highlights. She looked so utterly radiant and beautiful that Miranda nearly forgot to breathe.
“I love you too, Mira.” She offered the warmest smile. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
The younger woman spoke so softly that Miranda had to intently stare at her mouth to follow, but it only served to make her want to taste those luscious lips, and she suspected intent on the younger woman’s part. Andrea’s hands were in her hair and the soft pressure against her scalp urged her forward until she met the journalist in a tender kiss. It was a gentle meeting of pliant flesh, unhurried and a mere flutter, and the older woman sighed at how delicate Andrea was.
Panic suddenly spiked through her veins as in the distance the happy, familiar laughter of her daughter transformed into terrified screams. There was a loud crack and the sound of a plunge and Miranda spun around in horror.
------
Andy had often wondered what it would feel like to be so filled with adrenaline in a moment of need, that one’s entire body could move as if on its own. To see oneself, and the unbelievable actions that rose from pure instinct, from above, as if the mind and soul had detached from the earthly vessel, to take a step back, because in situations of life and death, the mind, with its knack for rational thinking, might just get in the way. Just like one’s soul, the heart, that threatened to vanquish from panic.
Now, as she watched herself speed over the imperfect surface toward the spot where Caroline had fallen in the water, she felt like she was in a movie. Only that now she was the hero who foolishly threw herself in harm’s way.
Within seconds, and thanks to her practised fingers, she had pulled off her skates, and pushing the frantic boy out of the way, she jumped right behind the still shrieking girl into the hole in the ice. The water cut her like a thousand knives, shocking her muscles and pulling her mind back into her body. She fought to get her hands under the struggling teenager to help her get a grip on the thin ice sheet around the edge. To her dismay it kept breaking off whenever Caroline grabbed at it, and Andy quickly felt her strength drain away.
Ken, the raven-haired boy, was on all fours, yelling for the girl to reach for his hand. He was too far away, though, and couldn’t risk creeping closer or else he would have broken through the briddle ice sheet as well.
By now a small crowd had formed around them and an elderly man said that 911 had been notified. Andy’s eyes fell on Miranda who knelt in the middle, and her heart broke at the silent terror in the older woman’s pale face. Miranda was in a state of shock and Andy knew she had to get Caroline out of the ice water. The conductor could not lose another daughter to hypothermia.
Her entire body burned from the cold and the journalist realised that the rescue workers might not arrive on time. So with a renewed rush of adrenaline, Andy dove down and focused all her energy on pushing Caroline upward. The girl had stopped moving her legs, the limbs no doubt exhausted from her struggle, which luckily made the quest a lot easier.
Her muscles screamed in agony and Andy accidentally swallowed some of the water. Suddenly the weight in her arms shifted, and as she broke the surface again in a coughing fit, she watched through her spasms as Ken and two other men carefully pulled Caroline to safety and proceeded to carry her ashore.
Relief washed through her and soothed her limbs as she tried to calm her breathing. Suddenly she didn’t feel so cold anymore, and she remembered the wonderful sensation of holding Miranda in her arms under the hot shower. Her eyes searched for the older woman, but strands of wet hair obscured her vision and she realised she had lost her hat. While her feet and legs battled to keep her head above the water she listened to the distant sirens and knew that everything would be alright.
The world seemed to slow down around her and the last thing she heard was the wonderful sound of Miranda’s voice.
“Andrea...!”
-----
The steady beep of a heart monitor filled the hospital room, but it, and the sound of Andrea’s shallow breathing, weren’t enough to assure Miranda, and she had spent the previous two hours staring at the brunette’s heaving chest and repeatedly feeling for her pulse.
The younger woman looked so very peaceful in her sleep and the conductor brushed her fingers over Andrea’s smooth cheeks.
She had come so close to losing her.
Too close.
Her hands resumed their previous position around the brunette’s limp fingers and she closed her eyes to repeatedly reassure herself that everything was alright.
Caroline had suffered a slight shock, but had escaped the icy water - thanks to Andrea - before hypothermia could set in. The girl was now fast asleep in an armchair on the other side of the journalist’s bed, curled up in a thick hospital blanket and wearing a gift shop sweat shirt and pants. She had absolutely refused to leave Andrea’s side - something Miranda hadn’t been able to argue with.
The brunette, on the other hand, had suffered mild hypothermia and complete exhaustion. She was wrapped in foil and a drip of warm fluids hung above the bed. Miranda had initially offered to crawl into the bed with the younger woman, but the doctor had refused, reminding her that it was on his good will alone that her and Caroline were even allowed in the room outside of visiting hours.
Miranda opened her eyes and looked back down on Andrea’s angelic features.
She had saved Caroline.
She had put the girl’s life over hers, without even pausing to think.
The conductor didn’t know whether she should be furious and ecstatic. She tenderly rubbed her thumbs over the younger woman’s palm and settled on simply loving her even more than she already did. If that was possible.
She pulled the hand to her lips and kissed each of Andrea’s knuckles before bringing her mouth to the delicate wrist and brushing over the soft skin on the brunette’s pulse point. She could feel the life humming through the younger woman’s strong veins and finally allowed herself to cry.
-----
Andy felt hot wetness and a soft pressure against her hand, and she slowly opened her eyes to an unfamiliar and dimply lit room. Her throat ached terribly and she felt more tired than she had ever been in her life. She blinked a few times until she could focus on the form of Miranda sitting by her side, quietly weeping into her palm.
The brunette didn’t understand why the older woman was crying and she wanted to ask her, but when she tried to speak all that would come out was a croak. Nonetheless it caused Miranda’s head to jerk up and blue eyes, swollen from tears, focused fiercely on Andy.
“Darling, you’re awake!”
She tried to reply, but again all she could do was rasp a whisper, so she nodded instead.
Miranda got up from the chair she had been sitting in and she bent over Andy to kiss her hard, as if their lives depended on it.
When she pulled away far enough to look into the brunette’s eyes, Miranda’s voice was laden with emotion.
“Thank you so much... for saving my girl.”
A warm palm was placed on Andy’s cheek, but then the conductor’s eyes became fiery.
“But don’t you ever... ever scare me like that again!”
Andy was taken slightly aback by the force of Miranda’s glare but after a few seconds the older woman relented and lowered herself over the journalist, hugging her tightly. Her soft, silver hair felt heavenly against Andy’s cheek and the younger woman moved her tired arms up to hold the conductor as tight as she could manage.
”Miranda,” she whispered raspily against the older woman’s temple and inhaled her sweet scent. They remained in the embrace for several minutes, listening and feeling each other’s breaths and heartbeats, until there was some movement to Andy’s other side and a sleepy half shriek forced them apart.
“Andy! You woke up!” The girl flung herself at the brunette
Trying to speak the teenager’s name only caused her to cough, which burned heavily in her throat.
“Caroline, let her breath!” Miranda chastised her daughter, but as the teenager pulled back, Andy saw the relieved glow in both their faces. She motioned at her throat and the conductor explained.
“Darling, you swallowed some water and the doctors think you may have a bacterial throat infection.”
Andy grimaced. That would certainly account for the pain and the loss of her voice. She looked down at the drip in the back of her hand and at the machines around the bed.
”When...” she tried to whisper but then settled on mouthing the rest of the question, hoping that Miranda could read her lips.
“When can you go home?” The conductor asked, and Andy nodded.
“The doctor said today still, but they need to check your temperature first.”
Today. When was today? The brunette looked around the room for a clock, but Miranda seemed to understand.
“It’s nearly nine p.m. on February 14th. You were only asleep for two and a half hours.” The conductor elaborated slowly, her face clearly showing that “only” was in no way indicative of her lack of worry.
“Thank you.” Caroline said rather sheepishly and Andy focused on the girl and mouthed “You okay?”
The teenager nodded and grabbed the journalist’s hand.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
Andy couldn’t stop tears from falling as she pulled the teenager close for another hug. With a tug at Miranda’s hand she pulled the older woman down as well and revelled in the feel of being safe in the embrace of the two most important girls in her life.
With what little strength she could muster she held them tight and despite the pain in her throat she whispered, “I want to go home. Let’s go home.”
----
To be continued...
Rating: NC-17 (NSFW!) (I seem to not be able to write PG-13 chapters anymore... Ah well... I’m sure that makes all of you really sad! xD)
Warning: Established character death. T__T
Pairing: Andy/Miranda
Length: 7000 (this chapter)
Prompt: based on a prompt by amles80
Summary: A/U - Miranda is a choral director and Andy is a journalist who enjoys singing. Miranda has a painful past and Andy has to learn to believe in herself. Miranda is 47, Andy is 26 in this story.
Disclaimer: I don’t own The Devil Wears Prada.
Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
A/N: Those of you who have never heard Bulgarian choirs, think Brother Bear soundtrack, or Kate Bush’s “Sensual World” or the music of “Arizona Dream”.
A/N 2: Warning: Some angst stuff on the horizon... AHHHHHHH! *hides*
Chapter 13
Andy melted into the seat as she allowed the music to wash over her. She had never experienced a concert this intense. She closed her eyes, picturing how the depicted emotions floated across the audience and right at her from the singer’s lips, directly from their very hearts. She felt their pain, their love, their melancholy. The beauty of life, of the earth and of that which binds all humans together.
Miranda had promised it would be wonderful, but this performance completely rewrote the way Andy felt about music. The conductor had invited the singers from the community centre to experience the overwhelming beauty of Bulgarian choral music. She had said it would inspire them and enable a better understanding for when they attempted to fuse their own voices together.
Opening her eyes to mere slits, the journalist stole a look to her left, where Miranda sat stoically perched on the red velvet cushion of her seat in a state of tense appreciation. The older woman wasn’t really the type who stared open-mouthed and with reddened cheeks like a five-year old, but the way Miranda seemed to lose herself in the weaving voices of the Bulgarian women was the perfect image of controlled awe. Her lips were relaxed, albeit closed, and she took even, slow breaths that had a certain shallowness.
Andy wanted nothing more than to reach out and take Miranda’s hand, to seek physical contact as they shared this moment of bliss. Sadly, the presence of a few of their choir’s members seated around them restrained Andy, and she had to content herself with the knowledge that she’d have the older woman all to herself soon.
Her attention was pulled back to the stage when the song ended and the colourfully dressed singers bowed to the audience. The crowd was ecstatic, honoring the brilliant performance with a standing ovation that reached all the way to the upper ranks where Andy was seated. As they rose from their seats as well, Andy nearly couldn’t hear Miranda’s small, happy sigh over the raging applause. But she did, and not only did the sound of it travel pleasantly down her spine, it also filled her belly with a warm glow.
As they made their way through the crowded lobby of the concert hall a few minutes later Andy stayed close behind the conductor, sensing that both of them wanted to desperately be alone and talk about the amazing concert without having to hold back in front of the other choir members. Especially since Emily had been eyeing them venomously the entire evening. Andy really wasn’t in the mood for another confrontation.
“Well, well, well.”
Miranda stopped so abruptly that the brunette nearly bumped into her.
“Miranda. What a pleasant surprise!”
Andy knew her love well, and right now everything about her posture screamed panic. The journalist reached for Miranda’s hand but the conductor turned away to slowly face the owner of the heavily accented, female voice.
“Look at you! You’re even more gorgeous than I remember!”
A brooding darkness washed over Andy’s mind and she spun around to look at the woman who now walked up to their little entourage focusing solely on Miranda. She was smaller than Andy, had dark, short hair that sported a single silver strand, and the crisp, white collar of her shirt stood up almost like saber teeth, giving her a predatory aura. The menacing smile she wore had all of Andy’s alarm bells ringing.
“Jacqueline.”
Miranda’s voice was unsteady, although it might have sounded sarcastic to anyone but Andy. The Frenchwoman came to a stop less than two feet in front of the conductor, and for a second Andy feared she might lean in to kiss Miranda’s cheeks. Instead, Jacqueline extended her arm, and the journalist watched with relief as the older woman completely ignored the offered hand.
“Ah, I see. You’re still upset,” she lulled with a smirk and pulled back her arm.
“Being upset would require emotional attachment to you, which I assure you, is not the case.” Miranda countered evenly, having found most of her bearings again.
“Ouch!” Jacqueline clutched at her chest mockingly and only then allowed her eyes to travel over Andy and the rest of the choir members that had stood next to Miranda in stunned silence.
“Ah, this must be your little community project,” she said, flicking a lazy index finger in their direction.
The white hot anger inside Andy was hard to contain, but the brunette’s strong wish to not embarrass Miranda won and allowed her to outwardly remain cool. Although she instantly fantasised about showing this French lady her most perfect left hook, Andy took a deep breath and focused on Miranda instead.
Resting her eyes back on the conductor, Jacqueline continued to taunt.
“I find it amusing that you entered a competition for mostly professional choirs... with such amateurs.”
Her gaze wandered lower, locked on Miranda’s heaving chest and caused all of Andy’s muscles to tighten like a spring ready to explode. It had been obvious from her silver-haired lover’s reaction who precisely this woman was. However Andy wasn’t jealous as much as she was furious for the pain Jacqueline had caused by abandoning Miranda in her time of need.
She thought back at the moment Miranda had opened up for the first time, in the church confessional, and the nightly conversation she had shared with the adorable Miranda-spook in the Priestly’s Hamptons home. The bond that tied her to the older woman reassured Andy and she turned to Doug and the rest of the choir.
“Come on, guys. Let’s wait outside.”
The singers nodded and moved away, but before Andy could follow, Miranda reached for her arm.
“I’m coming, too, Andrea.” Her voice was steady but soft. “I have nothing to say to this person.”
As they turned to leave, the conductor’s hand still on the brunette’s arm, Andy caught a glimpse of the dissatisfied expression on Jacqueline’s face and secretly felt victorious.
“Who the hell was that?” Doug enquired once they had caught up with the choir on the front steps of the large building.
“Your competition.” Miranda said as she brushed by and pulled Andy in the direction of the parking garage without another word.
The brunette shrugged her shoulders at her friend and mouthed ‘sorry’ before facing forward and reaching down to firmly grasp Miranda’s hand. The older woman had been the one to initiate physical contact between them in public and who was Andy to let such an opportunity slip?
Once they had settled inside the Porsche, the conductor allowed her shoulder’s to slump, and she uttered a heavy sigh.
Andy shifted so that she was leaning sideways against the seat, and she regarded the conductor for a while before raising her arm and gently stroking the soft hairs on Miranda’s temple.
“You handled that well, Miranda.”
The older woman sniffed.
“You think so?” She studied her nails intently. “Then why do I feel like the ground was pulled from under my feet?”
There was sadness in Miranda’s gaze and Andy wondered if it meant that the older woman still had feelings for her former lover. She didn’t dare ask, and she tried to quell the bitterness that threatened to rise up her throat.
“To think that I chose someone like that over my babies...”
Miranda faltered and out of reflex Andy reached for her hand, pulling the cold, shaky fingers to her own lips. As she tenderly pressed her mouth to the older woman’s knuckles Miranda looked at her and the brunette watched the calming effect that she seemed to have on the conductor replace sorrow with resolve.
“I think... I will never fully be able to let go of the guilt I feel, and the mistakes I made,” the older woman whispered, regret lacing her voice.
“That’s okay, Miranda. I will always be here to remind you of a bright future,” Andy breathed against Miranda’s hand.
They continued to gaze at each other, the parking spaces around them slowly emptying, until Miranda gently stroked her index finger over the younger woman’s lips and smiled.
“Let’s go home.”
----
“Moooom! Can I stay over at Jen’s?”
Miranda closed the door of her apartment and dropped the key in the wooden bowl on the dresser.
“Again? And it’s past ten, you should be in bed soon, Caroline.”
The teenager rolled her eyes and threw a desperate look at Andrea.
“Don’t look at me, kiddo. I can’t help you with that,” the brunette said and held her hands up in apology.
The conductor slipped out of her high heels and hung up her coat, before walking into the living room where Caroline sat on the couch, phone in hand.
“Why do you want to stay over at Jen’s?” She asked, knowing her daughter wasn’t really a child anymore and if she presented a good enough reason, she would allow her to stay over at her friend’s apartment. After all it was on the same block.
“We need to set up our chemistry presentation and Mrs. Lark asked us to come in half an hour early. Jen’s mom offered to drive us both to school in the morning and said I could stay over to make things easier for you.”
Miranda pursed her lips and pondered her options. She could say no and make her daughter unhappy and cause unnecessary troubles in the morning, or she could allow it, enabling a lazy morning with Andrea and most importantly an entire night alone with her love.
“Alright. You may go.”
The teenager shrieked in delight and began enthusiastically ranting into the phone.
“But don’t forget that we have plans tomorrow afternoon.”
“Yes, Mom,” Caroline moaned in annoyance.
Miranda couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. Although secretly she utterly loved having her daughter around. It had been three weeks since the move and Miranda felt that things were going rather well. Caroline had quickly reconnected with some of her old childhood friends and had adapted to life back in the big city rather well. It had been quite a change to suddenly have a teenager living with her, and although she hadn’t been alone that much ever since Andrea had entered her life, sharing a household with a sixteen-year-old posed some challenges.
Luckily Andrea had been around almost every night and her younger age enabled a fast connection with Caroline that had astounded Miranda. But she welcomed it, and now that things were going so well, the conductor knew it was time to ask the brunette to fully move in. She wanted to ask her the following day, which was St. Valentine’s, and the three of them had plans to drive out to New Jersey to a park where Miranda had learned how to ice skate as a child.
She smiled as she watched her daughter almost fly back to her room, despite the crutch, to gather her school bag. Her smile widened when lanky arms slid around her middle from behind and Andrea’s warm breath caressed the back of her neck.
“I can walk her over, if you want.”
“Yes, thank you. That would be very kind.”
Andrea seemed to understand how wary she still was about letting Caroline be more independent, and having your mother’s younger girlfriend escort you to a friend’s house would be marginally less embarrassing than being walked over by your mom. The conductor leaned back into the embrace and sighed. She could rely on Andrea with everything, it seemed.
“Okay, I’m all set, Mom.”
“Andrea will walk you, Darling.”
She was prepared for Caroline’s whining, and had a suitable speech about dark and slippery sidewalks waiting, but the teenager just nodded and smiled.
“Let’s go, kiddo.”
The brunette gently disentangled herself from Miranda and placed a kiss on the conductor’s left shoulder blade though the silk fabric of her blouse.
“I won’t be long.”
The two put on their shoes and coats, and then slipped through the door, leaving Miranda alone with her thoughts about the day.
Seeing Jacqueline again had been a great shock. Being confronted with her past like that had shaken Miranda. Strangely enough she had also been surprised by the lack of emotion the Frenchwoman herself had stirred in her. Especially now that the conductor knew what real love and affection felt like.
Five years ago she had clung to the feeling of being wanted and physically worshipped as if it were the best she could ever possibly deserve. It had been the first time in her life somebody had treated her like a queen, even if in the end it had turned out to be nothing sincere, nor lasting.
Miranda massaged the back of her neck and patted into her bedroom to get undressed.
The more she thought about the evening, the more elated she began to feel. Compared to the young brunette Jacqueline was just a grey, washed-out old photograph without significance. Andrea was vibrant and alive, she was all colours of the universe, and beyond all the love and physical attraction between them, there was still so much more. A sense of eternal security, a deep friendship, and their twin spirits, swirling around each other in an unbreakable embrace.
As she rolled the stockings down her legs the conductor had to smile. It was quite unbelievable that at nearly fifty she could still find herself a true romantic that harboured ridiculously poetic thoughts for her young love.
Once she had divested herself of all her clothing she moved into the bathroom. As she removed her makeup in front of the mirror she kept gazing into her own eyes, which was something she hadn’t been able to do for five long years.
Today, she thought, I have faced off with my demons. And I have come out stronger.
Her smoky blues sparkled back at her, and with a happy smirk Miranda pushed off the sink and stepped into the shower. She turned on the water and welcomed the slightly scorching spray as it heavily cascaded down on her scalp and skin. With Caroline gone for the night she had hope that her and Andrea would spend all hours until morning with and on each other.
With the teenager sleeping so close-by it had been difficult to fully let go, and for the past three weeks they had opted for quick stop-overs at Andrea’s apartment, or hushed moments in the conductor’s bed. Tonight they’d be able to take complete leisure in each other and the hot water served as a fine way to warm up her muscles.
The sound of the glass door forced her around and she blinked against the stream of water to watch a gloriously nude Andrea glide into the shower with a sheepish grin on her full lips.
“Honey, I’m home.”
The brunette’s sweet whisper flowed from Miranda’s ears straight to her heart like thick, warm honey, and she reached out to pull the younger woman into a fiery kiss. The conductor swallowed up Andrea’s hiss at the contact with the hot water and pressed the journalist’s body tightly against her own.
-----
Beautiful warmth, was all coherent thought left in Andy’s head as Miranda’s hot, slippery body undulated against her. They stood under the stream of water as one. Two bodies twined together in passion as their tongues rolled together through the steady chorus of their moans. Greedy hands roamed across Andy’s back; trimmed nails scratching teasingly without leaving marks. Her own fingers deftly massaged the conductor’s butt cheeks, effectively pulling the two of them even closer together in sweet rhythm.
The brunette couldn’t help but feel slightly possessive. So far in their relationship it had only been Andy with the potential admirers, but now that she had met Miranda’s ex, the journalist wanted to become territorial. She wanted to blow any remaining thoughts of past lovers out of Miranda’s memory by giving her the most intense pleasure she had ever experienced. Tonight she would devote solely to the older woman and to bringing her ultimate ecstasy.
“Turn around,” she commanded huskily when they had to break their kiss for air.
Miranda raised an eyebrow, but complied, and as soon as her back was turned Andy reached for her hips and pulled the older woman firmly against herself. The soft swells of the conductor’s behind collided with Andy’s groin in a delightful smack and Miranda chuckled, even as she pushed back and into the contact, briefly wiggling her hips for good measure.
“Hmmm, Mira. You feel heavenly...” Andy groaned into the older woman’s shoulder as they swayed together. Her hands sneaked upward and began gently stroking Miranda’s breasts. The conductor propped one of her hands flat against the tiled wall to brace herself and then slipped the other one back to grab at Andy’s waist, keeping her close. Her head fell back when the brunette began to roll the hardened nipples between her thumb and index fingers, while keeping a slow, but even rhythm with their connected hips.
It was sensual dance under the hot spray, and Andy couldn’t refrain from gently suckling at the side of Miranda’s throat. As her tongue traced the tension in the older woman’s neck muscles she felt the conductor slowly melt in her arms.
“Andrea...”
She could not imagine ever cherishing anyone or anything as she cherished Miranda. The older woman moved against her as if their bodies were created as two separate puzzle pieced that could be joined together in a single image of utter perfection. Andy allowed her hands to leave Miranda’s delicate chest and slowly teased her fingers down along the soft stomach.
Curling her right hand around the conductor’s hip to hold her steady, Andy then slipped her left fingers lower and over the smoothness of Miranda’s upper legs until she brushed against the trimmed, wet curls in between. She used her knee and foot to encourage the older woman to open her legs a bit wider and then, at a leisurely pace she knew would frustrate Miranda, she slipped her left hand down between the conductor’s thighs.
Miranda shivered against her and moaned as she rested her head against Andy’s shoulder. The brunette revelled in the feeling of the back of the older woman’s soft butt pressing rhythmically against her while Miranda’s hips tried to surge away from her body and into the tickling fingers between her legs.
Andy used her left shoulder to slowly push the conductor forward until Miranda had to use her second hand to hold her weight against the wall, hanging her head forward and flexing her shoulder blades. As her left index finger tenderly stroked through the already slick folds Andy released her right hand’s grip and slowly slid her palm back and over the supple mounds of Miranda’s ass, where she cupped the right cheek as gently, yet firmly as she could manage. She tugged it aside, rousing a guttural moan from the conductor, who appeared torn between gyrating her hips forward, to intensify the pressure between the legs, or backward to encourage further stimulation of her perfect butt.
Despite the ever-flowing water Andy felt her mouth go dry as she finally slipped her right hand down and between Miranda’s thighs from behind. While her left index finger began to focus on the sensitive bud of nerves at the apex of the conductor’s thighs, her right hand slid through Miranda’s slick treasure with languid strokes, humming contently with every blissful push of the older woman’s hips.
It was surprising that the scorching water had heated her own skin so much that the older woman’s hidden places felt cooler to her touch. Andy thought about how it must feel for Miranda to have two sets of hot fingers touch her so intimately, and as the conductor undulated back and into her hands with shaky legs, the brunette knew it was time.
She leaned forward, so that her breasts pressed into the older woman’s back and tightened her stretched out arms around Miranda while placing two fingers of her right hand at her opening. The conductor gasped in anticipation and pushed against Andy’s palm to urge her on. The brunette entered her with a slow, but determined push that shook Miranda to the core and roused a guttural groan that echoed harshly in the confined space.
The conductor’s hips pushed back, driving Andy’s fingers as far as they would go, spreading her wide. They moaned in unison, allowing no more then a few millimetres between their skin as Andy set the pace and Miranda followed blindly. The brunette moved her fingers slowly, ignoring the wordless pleading of the older woman to quicken the pace. No, Andy wanted to fill Miranda thoroughly, push against all the right places instead of rushing over half of them. The conductor exhaled heavily with another moan.
“An... drea...”
Andy pressed her upper leg firmly against the back of her right hand, increasing the strength of her thrusts. Miranda used the leverage of her two arms against the wall to push harder onto the brunette and the sweet stretch of her inner walls had both of them trembling.
“More... please...” the older woman hissed, and Andy compliantly added a third finger, revelling in the feel of Miranda’s muscles clutching at her. Her left index and middle fingers increased their stroking of the conductor’s sensitive bud, circling the little peak as it stiffened.
Miranda was slick, hot and wonderful, and Andy never wanted their intimate dance to end. However when the conductor pushed off the wall, arched her spine and threw back her head in a scream, her muscles going rigid and clasping deliciously around the brunette, Andy knew that this was the most perfect bliss in the universe, and she wanted to hold Miranda in her arms like this forever.
She increased the pressure of her fingers as the older woman shook against her until the spasms slowly subsided and Miranda languidly rolled her hips a few more times with a happy purr. The brunette then removed her left hand and slid it up and around the conductor’s stomach to pull her closer and hold her upright as Miranda attempted to catch her breath.
They stood in the embrace for a while, Andy’s fingers still tightly burrowed inside the older woman where she felt the rapid pulse pounding against her skin. She pressed fluttery kisses to Miranda’s cheek and then gently extracted her digits, bringing her right hand to the conductor’s front to lock her within her arms. Not that Miranda would go anywhere. Her entire body seemed to buzz with contentment and she uttered a long, shaky sigh as she held on to the brunette’s arms, pulling them more firmly against herself.
“Darling....” Miranda’s voice was thick with love.
“Hm-hmm?” Andy tenderly nuzzled the nape of the older woman’s neck.
“Move in with me.”
Andy’s heart felt weak. She had cautiously hoped that Miranda would ask her at some point, but she had also been aware of the necessity to have Caroline settle into her new life first, before imposing yet another change on the teenager. Now that the question hung in the steam filled air, the brunette felt speechless.
Miranda turned in her embrace and leaned her forehead against Andy’s, wrapping her arms tightly around the younger woman’s shoulders.
“Come live with us, Darling.”
With happy tears hidden by the hot water Andy nodded and pulled Miranda into a sweet kiss.
“Yes,” she whispered against the conductor’s lips. “I would love to.”
-----
Miranda had to grin as she lazily walked down the gravel path with Andrea, arms linked and shoulders pressed tightly together. Despite the many weeks of practice she still occasionally felt sore after a night of extensive lovemaking. But she enjoyed the sensation and fondly remembered the loving attention the brunette had paid to her body the previous night.
They had rolled and writhed together for many delicious hours, right into the early morning of Valentine’s Day. It seemed ridiculous that for the first time in her life Miranda actually cared about this overrated Holiday, but then again it was also the first time she was completely in love.
The sun warmed their faces as they strolled down to the lake, Caroline in front of them, skillfully working the crutch over the barren grass. The weight of the ice skates slung over her shoulders gently bumped into Miranda’s back with each step and she felt a youthful sense of excitement at the sight of the already bustling, icy surface.
“Caroline, don’t slip and fall before we even get there,” she called out to her daughter and earned herself a slightly irritated ‘Yes, Mooom!’. Andrea, who had a plastic and aluminum folding chair tucked under her elbow, chuckled at the exchange and sweetly squeezed the older woman’s arm.
Miranda felt thoroughly happy that the brunette had requested for them to spend Valentine’s Day together with Caroline, and now that Andrea had agreed to officially move in with them, it would count as the first outing of their little family.
They arrived at the shore and used a fallen tree as a makeshift bench to slip into their skates. Caroline watched them quietly.
“Mom, do you think next year I’ll be able to have my own skates and use them as well?”
Her daughter had made tremendous progress, but the fast jump from wheel chair to free movement with only one crutch, compared to the slow pace of re-training all the subtle muscles and ligaments in her ankles, likely posed a source of frustration for the teenager.
“Yes, Caroline. I actually believe that given enough time, you’ll be able to do anything you set your mind to.”
She returned the girl’s bright smile and then allowed Andrea to pull her up and onto the ice. It had been a long time since she had stood on these iron blades, and for a few seconds she slipped and wobbled in the brunette’s steady embrace. Andrea giggled but held her tight until Miranda managed to find her bearings.
“Okay, will you be alright on your own?” The younger woman asked quietly.
The conductor nodded and allowed Andrea to release her hands to grab and unfold the chair and extend her arm to Caroline.
“Alright kiddo, ready for the ride of your life?”
The teenager giggled, dropped her crutch next to their shoes and then grasped the offered hands. Andrea helped her onto the ice and into the chair and the girl clapped her hands together.
“Go, Andy! Go!”
As she watched Andrea push the chair with Caroline skillfully across the ice, the teenager’s elated screams opening a path through the other skaters, Miranda’s thoughts wandered off to future possibilities. The conductor pictured Andrea with younger kids. Not the twins, but two different siblings, one with chestnut hair and brown eyes, and another with a piercing blue gaze and strawberry blond hair. The cold air she sharply inhaled burned in her lungs, but the thought of having more children with the brunette warmed Miranda from the inside out.
Of course it was too early to be planning anything, let alone mention these things to the brunette. However the idea was there, comfortably waiting at the back of her mind and it didn’t scare her, or worry her. The conductor knew that if anyone could ever rouse this kind of longing in her, it would be Andrea. She held on to the happiness that made her chest swell and slowly set across the ice in tentative strides.
Half a circle later, the ‘chair express’ had caught back up with her, and Andrea now evenly pushed Caroline forward as she adjusted her speed to stay by Miranda’s side.
“You’re pretty good at this,” she told the older woman with a grin and Miranda sniffed and simply answered, “Of course I am.”
Her daughter and the brunette laughed and despite her efforts the conductor had to join in.
“Hey there!” A tall boy with raven hair and glasses circled them, before settling into a slow backward slide in front of the trio.
“Kenny! Hi!” Caroline said almost dreamily.
The sudden blush on her daughter’s cheeks amused Miranda and she eyed Andrea, who wiggled her eyebrows and pressed her lips together to hide her grin.
Briefly tearing herself from the shy, mutual staring, Caroline turned to the conductor, “Mom, this is Ken, he’s in my AP English class.”
Then she looked back at the boy and waved a hand in Miranda’s direction. “This is my mom and...” pointing behind her, “this is Andy.”
“How do you do?” He greeted them with a court bow of his head and a friendly smile.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you live in Manhattan?” Caroline asked as they lazily moved across the frozen surface.
“I could ask you the same thing.” He grinned. “I’m here with my older brother. We wanted to catch the last ice of the year. They’re saying that it will be too warm soon. The lakes in the city are already ice-free and man-made ice rinks just aren’t as nice.”
“Ah, a man after my heart,” Andrea said lightly and grinned as the boy blushed and Caroline sent her an icy glare that made Miranda proud.
“Hey, Caro, would you let me push you around for a bit?”
The conductor rolled her eyes at the word play, but her daughter giggled and motioned for Andrea to step away from the chair.
“Be careful,” Miranda called after them as Ken stormed off, pushing a cheering Caroline criss-cross over the lake.
“What a nice young man,” the brunette said in an uncharacteristically formal accent, before she succumbed to giggles herself.
Miranda stood still for a moment and watched her daughter have fun with her friend. The image pulled at her heart and she dreaded the day Caroline would be old enough to begin her own life, away from her mother. Until then, she silently promised herself, she would cherish every single day with the girl.
“Hey, Beautiful. Up for spin?” Andrea gazed at her, eyes sparkling full of love and those gorgeous brown locks framing her adorable face, under, what Miranda had recently admitted, was her favourite hideous piece of clothing, the over-sized, floppy hat. She gently brushed away some of the brunette’s hair and allowed her fingers to linger at the edge of the green wool.
“I’d be delighted.”
She reached for Andrea’s hand, threading their fingers tightly together, and they set off with long, serene strides. The sun shone down on them, warming the air and Miranda’s heart. She closed her eyes and stopped moving her feet, trusting the younger woman to pull her across the lake. She heard the soft scratching of their blades on the ice, the distant chatter of the other skaters and the occasional happy shriek coming from Caroline a few yards away.
The brunette slowed down and spun Miranda to a stop, forcing the older woman’s eyes open.
“Andrea, what are you doing?”
“Holding you,” the younger woman said as she pulled Miranda close and allowed them to drift over the ice in subtle circles. Andrea’s arms rested gently around the conductor’s waist and Miranda pulled her fingers free off the black leather gloves and cupped the brunette’s cheeks.
“I love you.”
The sun was setting and its warm glow bathed Andrea’s hair in fiery highlights. She looked so utterly radiant and beautiful that Miranda nearly forgot to breathe.
“I love you too, Mira.” She offered the warmest smile. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
The younger woman spoke so softly that Miranda had to intently stare at her mouth to follow, but it only served to make her want to taste those luscious lips, and she suspected intent on the younger woman’s part. Andrea’s hands were in her hair and the soft pressure against her scalp urged her forward until she met the journalist in a tender kiss. It was a gentle meeting of pliant flesh, unhurried and a mere flutter, and the older woman sighed at how delicate Andrea was.
Panic suddenly spiked through her veins as in the distance the happy, familiar laughter of her daughter transformed into terrified screams. There was a loud crack and the sound of a plunge and Miranda spun around in horror.
------
Andy had often wondered what it would feel like to be so filled with adrenaline in a moment of need, that one’s entire body could move as if on its own. To see oneself, and the unbelievable actions that rose from pure instinct, from above, as if the mind and soul had detached from the earthly vessel, to take a step back, because in situations of life and death, the mind, with its knack for rational thinking, might just get in the way. Just like one’s soul, the heart, that threatened to vanquish from panic.
Now, as she watched herself speed over the imperfect surface toward the spot where Caroline had fallen in the water, she felt like she was in a movie. Only that now she was the hero who foolishly threw herself in harm’s way.
Within seconds, and thanks to her practised fingers, she had pulled off her skates, and pushing the frantic boy out of the way, she jumped right behind the still shrieking girl into the hole in the ice. The water cut her like a thousand knives, shocking her muscles and pulling her mind back into her body. She fought to get her hands under the struggling teenager to help her get a grip on the thin ice sheet around the edge. To her dismay it kept breaking off whenever Caroline grabbed at it, and Andy quickly felt her strength drain away.
Ken, the raven-haired boy, was on all fours, yelling for the girl to reach for his hand. He was too far away, though, and couldn’t risk creeping closer or else he would have broken through the briddle ice sheet as well.
By now a small crowd had formed around them and an elderly man said that 911 had been notified. Andy’s eyes fell on Miranda who knelt in the middle, and her heart broke at the silent terror in the older woman’s pale face. Miranda was in a state of shock and Andy knew she had to get Caroline out of the ice water. The conductor could not lose another daughter to hypothermia.
Her entire body burned from the cold and the journalist realised that the rescue workers might not arrive on time. So with a renewed rush of adrenaline, Andy dove down and focused all her energy on pushing Caroline upward. The girl had stopped moving her legs, the limbs no doubt exhausted from her struggle, which luckily made the quest a lot easier.
Her muscles screamed in agony and Andy accidentally swallowed some of the water. Suddenly the weight in her arms shifted, and as she broke the surface again in a coughing fit, she watched through her spasms as Ken and two other men carefully pulled Caroline to safety and proceeded to carry her ashore.
Relief washed through her and soothed her limbs as she tried to calm her breathing. Suddenly she didn’t feel so cold anymore, and she remembered the wonderful sensation of holding Miranda in her arms under the hot shower. Her eyes searched for the older woman, but strands of wet hair obscured her vision and she realised she had lost her hat. While her feet and legs battled to keep her head above the water she listened to the distant sirens and knew that everything would be alright.
The world seemed to slow down around her and the last thing she heard was the wonderful sound of Miranda’s voice.
“Andrea...!”
-----
The steady beep of a heart monitor filled the hospital room, but it, and the sound of Andrea’s shallow breathing, weren’t enough to assure Miranda, and she had spent the previous two hours staring at the brunette’s heaving chest and repeatedly feeling for her pulse.
The younger woman looked so very peaceful in her sleep and the conductor brushed her fingers over Andrea’s smooth cheeks.
She had come so close to losing her.
Too close.
Her hands resumed their previous position around the brunette’s limp fingers and she closed her eyes to repeatedly reassure herself that everything was alright.
Caroline had suffered a slight shock, but had escaped the icy water - thanks to Andrea - before hypothermia could set in. The girl was now fast asleep in an armchair on the other side of the journalist’s bed, curled up in a thick hospital blanket and wearing a gift shop sweat shirt and pants. She had absolutely refused to leave Andrea’s side - something Miranda hadn’t been able to argue with.
The brunette, on the other hand, had suffered mild hypothermia and complete exhaustion. She was wrapped in foil and a drip of warm fluids hung above the bed. Miranda had initially offered to crawl into the bed with the younger woman, but the doctor had refused, reminding her that it was on his good will alone that her and Caroline were even allowed in the room outside of visiting hours.
Miranda opened her eyes and looked back down on Andrea’s angelic features.
She had saved Caroline.
She had put the girl’s life over hers, without even pausing to think.
The conductor didn’t know whether she should be furious and ecstatic. She tenderly rubbed her thumbs over the younger woman’s palm and settled on simply loving her even more than she already did. If that was possible.
She pulled the hand to her lips and kissed each of Andrea’s knuckles before bringing her mouth to the delicate wrist and brushing over the soft skin on the brunette’s pulse point. She could feel the life humming through the younger woman’s strong veins and finally allowed herself to cry.
-----
Andy felt hot wetness and a soft pressure against her hand, and she slowly opened her eyes to an unfamiliar and dimply lit room. Her throat ached terribly and she felt more tired than she had ever been in her life. She blinked a few times until she could focus on the form of Miranda sitting by her side, quietly weeping into her palm.
The brunette didn’t understand why the older woman was crying and she wanted to ask her, but when she tried to speak all that would come out was a croak. Nonetheless it caused Miranda’s head to jerk up and blue eyes, swollen from tears, focused fiercely on Andy.
“Darling, you’re awake!”
She tried to reply, but again all she could do was rasp a whisper, so she nodded instead.
Miranda got up from the chair she had been sitting in and she bent over Andy to kiss her hard, as if their lives depended on it.
When she pulled away far enough to look into the brunette’s eyes, Miranda’s voice was laden with emotion.
“Thank you so much... for saving my girl.”
A warm palm was placed on Andy’s cheek, but then the conductor’s eyes became fiery.
“But don’t you ever... ever scare me like that again!”
Andy was taken slightly aback by the force of Miranda’s glare but after a few seconds the older woman relented and lowered herself over the journalist, hugging her tightly. Her soft, silver hair felt heavenly against Andy’s cheek and the younger woman moved her tired arms up to hold the conductor as tight as she could manage.
”Miranda,” she whispered raspily against the older woman’s temple and inhaled her sweet scent. They remained in the embrace for several minutes, listening and feeling each other’s breaths and heartbeats, until there was some movement to Andy’s other side and a sleepy half shriek forced them apart.
“Andy! You woke up!” The girl flung herself at the brunette
Trying to speak the teenager’s name only caused her to cough, which burned heavily in her throat.
“Caroline, let her breath!” Miranda chastised her daughter, but as the teenager pulled back, Andy saw the relieved glow in both their faces. She motioned at her throat and the conductor explained.
“Darling, you swallowed some water and the doctors think you may have a bacterial throat infection.”
Andy grimaced. That would certainly account for the pain and the loss of her voice. She looked down at the drip in the back of her hand and at the machines around the bed.
”When...” she tried to whisper but then settled on mouthing the rest of the question, hoping that Miranda could read her lips.
“When can you go home?” The conductor asked, and Andy nodded.
“The doctor said today still, but they need to check your temperature first.”
Today. When was today? The brunette looked around the room for a clock, but Miranda seemed to understand.
“It’s nearly nine p.m. on February 14th. You were only asleep for two and a half hours.” The conductor elaborated slowly, her face clearly showing that “only” was in no way indicative of her lack of worry.
“Thank you.” Caroline said rather sheepishly and Andy focused on the girl and mouthed “You okay?”
The teenager nodded and grabbed the journalist’s hand.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
Andy couldn’t stop tears from falling as she pulled the teenager close for another hug. With a tug at Miranda’s hand she pulled the older woman down as well and revelled in the feel of being safe in the embrace of the two most important girls in her life.
With what little strength she could muster she held them tight and despite the pain in her throat she whispered, “I want to go home. Let’s go home.”
----
To be continued...