The Devil You Know - Part 1
The Devil You Know - Part 1
By: mercurial_muse
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada (film)
Pairing: Miranda/Andy
Archive: Oh, I'd be flattered, but please ask first.
Rating: PG for now, but M/NC-17 in the future
Disclaimer: These characters are owned by Lauren Weisberger and 20th-century Fox, not me. Please don't sue me. Seriously... I'm too poor for it to be worth your while.
Summary: Miranda Priestly has become the most successful woman in the fashion industry, but at what cost?
Author’s Note: To avoid any confusion regarding the timeline, I should mention that the majority of the story takes place sometime after Paris, but this first part kind of sums up the last couple of decades of Miranda's life. The current-day stuff will begin in Part 2. Endless thanks go to kitnkabootle for believing that I could do this, especially when I didn't believe it myself... oh yes, her friendly nagging helped too. ;) I also want to say thank you to all of the talented writers in the DWP community for your wonderful stories and the inspiration you've given me.
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Bitch, Ice Queen, Dragon Lady, the Devil... She had heard herself called all of those things and more. Some that used those absurdly unimaginative nicknames thought they were being witty, while others took small comfort in the idea that they were being hurtful. Name-calling, ah yes, the very thing that would bring her to her knees, embarrassed and defeated. Right. What none of these naysayers realized was that, when they used one of those epithets in particular, they were coming dangerously close to speaking the truth. Miranda Priestly was not the devil, but she had met her.
In the early years of her career, a distaste for mediocrity and tireless dedication to her job saw Miranda climb quickly through the ranks at Runway Magazine. To the amazement and sometimes ire of her peers, she navigated around the usual obstacles with ease, seemingly impervious to skilled competition, office politics and even the bad luck of simply not being in the right place at the right time. Yes, the 'charmed one' rose quickly- until she hit the glass ceiling, that is. She had found it endlessly frustrating that her ultimate goal, becoming the youngest editor in the history of the magazine, was visible but out of reach. Miranda hadn't let this discourage her at first, though. If anything, the challenge made her more persistent. She was determined to pound at that barrier until she cracked it and, if she worked long enough and hard enough, she would eventually break through.
Miranda had grown so focused on furthering her career that she hadn't paid enough attention to nurturing and sustaining her marriage to her first husband. In fact, she hadn't even realized that relationship was crumbling until its foundations had already grown too damaged to repair. There was no fighting on her part when the divorce papers were served, no protests when the settlements were made. The terms had been simple enough. Her ex could keep their home, could even take a great deal of her hard-earned money, but he could not have the girls. Without the townhouse, she would have to relocate, re-settle. With a huge chunk of her personal savings gone, she'd have to work hard, earn more. None of that was anything she hadn't done before. The losses she took were nothing, because her children were her everything.
With her ego bruised and her heart still broken from her failed marriage, it hadn't taken much for Miranda to convince herself to swear off romantic relationships for awhile. Closing herself off from others would allow her more time and attention to focus on her career. She would finally reach her goal and, from that success, she would build a life for the twins that would have no place for want or worry. With that choice made, it had been so easy for the devil to convince her to take it just a little further. Trade love for success. As offers went, it had been very straightforward and simple. The negotiations, however, had been anything but.
Miranda had been a shrewd business woman, even at the beginning of her career. She didn't settle, she bargained. She refused to give up love completely as she couldn't bear the idea of not being loved by her own children, and wanted the ability to love them back as well. But romance... well, she had already given up on that, hadn't she? So the deal was struck and, from that day forward, she forfeited any hopes of having a true and lasting romantic relationship. The devil, in turn, would ensure that her efforts to snare the editor job at Runway would finally pay off.
Despite the pact she'd made, Miranda had fallen in love- and married -twice more. With her second husband, she had gone into the relationship knowing it was doomed to fail, but hoping it wouldn't somehow. It had, of course. When husband number three came around, she'd entered that relationship with the mindset that she would love and be loved as much as possible in the time between the birth and inevitable death of Stephen's affections for her. After their nasty divorce, she had gone back to the very decision that had gotten her into trouble in the first place. She would close off her heart to romance, avoid wasting her time and attention on anymore relationships that were doomed to fail before they even began. She told herself over and over again that she didn't need that kind of love, until the day Andrea Sachs came back into her life and made her believe that she did.
To be continued...
By: mercurial_muse
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada (film)
Pairing: Miranda/Andy
Archive: Oh, I'd be flattered, but please ask first.
Rating: PG for now, but M/NC-17 in the future
Disclaimer: These characters are owned by Lauren Weisberger and 20th-century Fox, not me. Please don't sue me. Seriously... I'm too poor for it to be worth your while.
Summary: Miranda Priestly has become the most successful woman in the fashion industry, but at what cost?
Author’s Note: To avoid any confusion regarding the timeline, I should mention that the majority of the story takes place sometime after Paris, but this first part kind of sums up the last couple of decades of Miranda's life. The current-day stuff will begin in Part 2. Endless thanks go to kitnkabootle for believing that I could do this, especially when I didn't believe it myself... oh yes, her friendly nagging helped too. ;) I also want to say thank you to all of the talented writers in the DWP community for your wonderful stories and the inspiration you've given me.
----------------------------------------------------------
Bitch, Ice Queen, Dragon Lady, the Devil... She had heard herself called all of those things and more. Some that used those absurdly unimaginative nicknames thought they were being witty, while others took small comfort in the idea that they were being hurtful. Name-calling, ah yes, the very thing that would bring her to her knees, embarrassed and defeated. Right. What none of these naysayers realized was that, when they used one of those epithets in particular, they were coming dangerously close to speaking the truth. Miranda Priestly was not the devil, but she had met her.
In the early years of her career, a distaste for mediocrity and tireless dedication to her job saw Miranda climb quickly through the ranks at Runway Magazine. To the amazement and sometimes ire of her peers, she navigated around the usual obstacles with ease, seemingly impervious to skilled competition, office politics and even the bad luck of simply not being in the right place at the right time. Yes, the 'charmed one' rose quickly- until she hit the glass ceiling, that is. She had found it endlessly frustrating that her ultimate goal, becoming the youngest editor in the history of the magazine, was visible but out of reach. Miranda hadn't let this discourage her at first, though. If anything, the challenge made her more persistent. She was determined to pound at that barrier until she cracked it and, if she worked long enough and hard enough, she would eventually break through.
Miranda had grown so focused on furthering her career that she hadn't paid enough attention to nurturing and sustaining her marriage to her first husband. In fact, she hadn't even realized that relationship was crumbling until its foundations had already grown too damaged to repair. There was no fighting on her part when the divorce papers were served, no protests when the settlements were made. The terms had been simple enough. Her ex could keep their home, could even take a great deal of her hard-earned money, but he could not have the girls. Without the townhouse, she would have to relocate, re-settle. With a huge chunk of her personal savings gone, she'd have to work hard, earn more. None of that was anything she hadn't done before. The losses she took were nothing, because her children were her everything.
With her ego bruised and her heart still broken from her failed marriage, it hadn't taken much for Miranda to convince herself to swear off romantic relationships for awhile. Closing herself off from others would allow her more time and attention to focus on her career. She would finally reach her goal and, from that success, she would build a life for the twins that would have no place for want or worry. With that choice made, it had been so easy for the devil to convince her to take it just a little further. Trade love for success. As offers went, it had been very straightforward and simple. The negotiations, however, had been anything but.
Miranda had been a shrewd business woman, even at the beginning of her career. She didn't settle, she bargained. She refused to give up love completely as she couldn't bear the idea of not being loved by her own children, and wanted the ability to love them back as well. But romance... well, she had already given up on that, hadn't she? So the deal was struck and, from that day forward, she forfeited any hopes of having a true and lasting romantic relationship. The devil, in turn, would ensure that her efforts to snare the editor job at Runway would finally pay off.
Despite the pact she'd made, Miranda had fallen in love- and married -twice more. With her second husband, she had gone into the relationship knowing it was doomed to fail, but hoping it wouldn't somehow. It had, of course. When husband number three came around, she'd entered that relationship with the mindset that she would love and be loved as much as possible in the time between the birth and inevitable death of Stephen's affections for her. After their nasty divorce, she had gone back to the very decision that had gotten her into trouble in the first place. She would close off her heart to romance, avoid wasting her time and attention on anymore relationships that were doomed to fail before they even began. She told herself over and over again that she didn't need that kind of love, until the day Andrea Sachs came back into her life and made her believe that she did.
To be continued...