Work Text:
Andy is elbow deep in work, proofreading an article about pumpkin seeds in skincare when her phone rings. She doesn't register it at first, but after the fourth ring she finally frowns and picks it up.
“Hello?” She barely gets through a greeting when the voice on the other end of the line cuts in.
“Oh, Andrea, thank god, no one is picking up their bloody phones at this hour,” Emily practically snaps. Andy bites back a smile.
“Hi, Em,” she says, abandoning her work. “What’s up?”
“They had an emergency at work and I have to go in pretty much right now–” Andy glances at the time on her computer and almost cuts in to ask who dares call in the great Emily Charlton at 7:30 on a Friday, but she figures it will go unappreciated. “ –and the nanny is on break and no one if picking up their phones so could you come over and watch my kids for a little?” Andy swears her brain lags for five seconds.
“Yeah, sure, I mean– yeah,” she manages to get out because what isn’t completely normal about babysitting your kind-of-friend-but-maybe-hopefully-more’s kids? She knows Bronwyn and Roark, met them once when she ran into Emily taking them out for dinner.
“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver,” Emily says, snapping Andy back to the present. “I’ll text you the address,” she adds, and then she’s gone. Andy stares at her phone for a second, genuinely wondering if she hallucinated the entire conversation. Then her phone buzzes with the address, and she quickly stuffs her computer and anything else she figures she’ll need into her bag before hastily turning off the lights and ordering herself a car.
She arrives at Emily’s apartment fifteen minutes later, still not completely comprehending what she’s about to do. She rings the bell and is greeted by a nine year old girl who looks like the spitting image of Emily.
“Hi,” Andy says, trying her best to look friendly. “I’m Andy.”
“Andrea, is that you?” Emily’s voice drifts through the door, and Andy hears the sound of heels getting closer. The door opens wider to reveal Emily in a tailored vest and wide leg pants, sunglasses in hand and a designer bag hanging off her arm. “Oh, thank god,” she says when she sees Andy, eyes widening in relief. Andy can’t hold back her smile at the odd endearingness of flustered Emily.
“Hi, Em,” she says, trying desperately not to think about how good Emily looks in vests.
“You’ve met Bronwyn and Roark, haven’t you? On the way to The Smith, I think it was– anyways, Bronwyn, sweetheart, this is Andrea, she’s going to stay with you and Roark for a few hours. Mummy will be back soon, I promise,” she adds, addressing Bronwyn, and Andy watches as she leans down to give Bronwyn a kiss on the cheek.
She gives Andy a quick squeeze on her way out, accompanied by an “I’ll be back before eleven, probably,” and then the door shuts behind them and Andy is left with a wide-eyed nine year old and an odd warmth spreading where Emily touched her.
“Hi, Bronwyn,” Andy says, and Bronwyn just stares at her for a moment.
“Do you work with mum?” She finally asks after a moment, and Andy smiles slightly.
“I used to,” she says wistfully. “Twenty years ago we both worked at Runway together. We were both assistants for Miranda– she’s the boss of Runway.” Bronwyn seems more at ease as Andy talks, and Andy takes that as a win.
“What was she like?” Bronwyn asks, slowly leading Andy away from the door, and Andy grins.
“Well, she was very bossy…”
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Three bedtime stories for Roark and one very lengthy explanation of Emily’s hijinks twenty years ago to Bronwyn, Andy finally relaxes. Roark is tucked into bed upstairs with the promise that Andy will come back next time his mom has a work emergency, and Bronwyn is getting ready for bed upstairs.
Andy settles herself into the couch, scrolling through her emails when the door clicks open and Emily steps into the apartment. Andy watches her deposit her bag and sunglasses on a table near the entrance before making a beeline for the kitchen, when she finally notices Andy.
“Andrea,” she says, stopping in her tracks briefly. Andy smiles.
“Hey,” she says, watching as Emily resumes her trip to the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of wine from the fridge and pouring herself a glass. “How was it?” She asks after a moment, and Emily takes a hearty sip of her wine.
“I don’t understand how so many people can be so collectively stupid,” Emily groans, the bridge of her nose pinched between her thumb and forefinger. She looks ready to go on a full length rant when Bronwyn appears at the bottom of the stairs, washed up and in her pajamas.
“Mum?” She says, her face lighting up when she sees Emily at the kitchen counter, and Emily’s face breaks out into a smile as her daughter runs to wrap her into a hug.
“Hi, darling,” she coos as she returns Bronwyn’s hug. Andy can’t help the smile that crosses her face as she watches Emily soften for her daughter. “Are you going to bed now?” Emily asks, and Bronwyn nods. Emily places one last kiss on her head. “Off you go, then,” she says with a small smile. “Good night.” Bronwyn grins, then turns to Andy and her face lights up as she turns back to her mother.
“Mum, can Andy come back soon? She was really fun,” she adds shyly, and Emily shoots a vaguely surprised glance at Andy.
“Sure, sweetheart,” she says, and Bronwyn beams.
“Bye, Andy,” she says as she turns to go upstairs to her room, and Andy offers her a little wave goodbye.
Andy watches her go before turning back to Emily, who is surprisingly looking at her with a look that Andy can’t quite decipher.
“Thank you for watching them tonight,” Emily finally says, a strange softness bleeding into her usual air of indifference.
“Anytime,” Andy says, and she truly means it. Another silence hangs between them and Andy is suddenly very conscious of her own heartbeat. “They were lovely, you know,” she says, trying to fill the silence. “Bronwyn knows all about your Runway escapades now.”
“No,” Emily says, looking half mortified. “You did not tell her about–”
“Just the good things, I promise,” Andy says, smiling slightly. Emily doesn’t look very placated, taking another sip of her wine.
“I don’t trust you,” she frowns slightly, and Andy fights the urge to call it cute.
“She idolizes you more now, if anything,” Andy smiles. “And, for the record, I can’t remember you being anything other than brutally brilliant at Runway, so…” she trails off, biting back another grin.
“Thank you,” Emily says, sounding torn between slightly uncomfortable but also genuinely touched. Another silence takes hold between them, and Andy takes it as her cue.
“Well, I should probably get going,” she says, hoisting herself off the couch, and Emily looks mildly alarmed.
“Please tell me you’re not taking the train to get home,” she says, physically recoiling a bit as the word train leaves her mouth. Andy rolls her eyes.
“It’s not nearly as bad as you think,” she says, a small grin working its way onto her face as she grabs her bag.
“You could get mugged, or your bag could get stolen, or god knows what,” Emily argues, trailing Andy as she moves to the closet to get her coat.
“Em, is this your way of saying you care about me?” Andy asks teasingly, turning around, and Emily goes pink.
“I’m just worried about your bag,” she says, floundering for a moment, and Andy grins nonetheless.
“I’ll take an Uber just for you, Em,” she says cheerfully as she grabs her coat, and Emily just nods in satisfaction.
“Good,” she says, and after a moment, she adds: “And text me when you get home.”
“Of course,” Andy says, softening a bit.
“Good,” Emily says again, and Andy shifts from one foot to another as another silence ensues.
“Well, I’ll get going then,” she says finally, and Emily nods.
“Yes, goodnight,” she says somewhat stiffly, like she’s holding herself back from saying something else. Andy reaches out to wrap her in a one-armed hug, and after a moment of complete stillness, Emily’s arm comes to wrap around Andy’s back awkwardly.
“Good night,” Andy says, shooting Emily one last smile as she closes the door behind her.
______________
At 11:37, when Andy steps through the door to her apartment–
i’m home
alive
And no one stole my bag
Emily texts back almost immediately.
Good night Andrea.