Chapter Text
Emily has never been someone who likes to open up to others, and she made sure to let everybody know. She was cold and mean, because her career always went before anyone or anything else – or so she thought.
When Andrea Sachs came into her life, she made the world feel a little bit warmer, and a little bit better. Emily may have been livid after not being chosen to go to Paris, because she worked extremely hard to be chosen and she was the one who deserved it; but she could not be mad at Andrea when she called her. The call which changed everything, it made Emily see the world through a whole different lens: a much brighter lens.
Throughout that year, Emily could not believe that the one and only Miranda Priestly chose Andrea as her second assistant, so she made sure to show it by insulting her sense of style, pointing out how slow she was every chance she got, being annoyed at her chattiness… But then the new girl changed and she started to keep up. Emily was impressed, not that she would let anyone know.
Andrea, on the other hand, was a very open and warm person. When she first arrived at Runway, she found it incredibly hard to fit in, but what she found even harder was staying away from Emily. The redhead had shown – repeatedly – complete and utter uninterest towards her. She would only have mean comments for Andy, which is why she didn’t understand why she couldn’t stop talking to her or, even worse, thinking about her.
Andy had tried to befriend Emily many times and on many different occasions. She even came close once when she helped Emily remember the name of two people who Miranda wanted to look good in front of. She remembers everything about that moment, especially Emily’s face of relief, and her small smile and “Thank you” after giving her a hand. Not only that, but she remembers Emily looking so beautiful, even though she was sick she looked amazing. Andy could never tell if she was jealous of Emily or if she was genuinely appreciating the sight, but she did not want to spend too much time thinking about it.
The two women exchanged some looks here and there, slight touches, very short conversations which mainly consisted of Emily calling Andrea out because she had done something wrong. Therefore, they never did get too close, as they both were too focused on keeping their jobs and their sanity at the same time, which was impossible.
After Paris, Emily debated on whether she wanted to call the girl who showed the most generous and beautiful gesture anyone had ever shown her. She could not decide, because the redhead had never wanted to be close to anyone before, and she wanted to keep Andy in her life. As a matter of fact, she needed to keep her as a reminder that good truly does exist. Fuck it – she thought. And she dialed her number, which she had memorized because of the many times she had to call her when Miranda needed something, not for any other reason.
Her finger lingered above the “call” button: what if Andy didn’t want anything to do with her? What if it was too late? But before she knew it, she pressed the button and put it on speaker.
Andy picked up: “Em?” She would never admit it to anyone, and even less to Andy, but she loved it when she called her Em. It made her feel special, loved.
Emily couldn’t get any words out. “Em, are you there? Hello?” Andy said. That was the last time she heard her voice.
Twenty years went by, and the Emilies never thought about each other again. At least that’s what they told themselves, because why would Emily be thinking of the girl who she was mean to every chance she got and never apologized for it? And why would Andy be thinking of the girl she betrayed in order to keep her job instead of her principles? Why would they? They had more important matters at hand.
However, Emily may have read some of Andrea’s articles, and she may have thought that they were quite good: unbiased, ethical, well-written, with good arguments and good points. But Emily did not spend too much time thinking about it, she had bigger fish to fry at Dior, and one of those fish was Miranda.
Andy was struggling, she was worried that she would not get another chance to work as a journalist again, but then she got the call to work as the features editor at Runway. She, of course, thought it was Miranda’s idea so she accepted it without giving it a second thought. Once she got there, after realizing that it was most definitely not Miranda’s idea, she wanted to crawl into a hole and never ever come out again.
She was feeling quite out of place until she went to Dior, and saw a familiar face. Neither of them could believe it. “Am I having a hallucination?” Emily said, because she truly thought it was the most unlikely of cases that she would see Miranda, Nigel, and Andrea in the same room again. Her former boss, of course, had forgotten about Andrea’s existence, though she suspected it was all for show: Andrea must have done something to make her mad and that’s why she is acting forgetful.
That meeting which, frankly, Emily was so proud of because she finally stood up to Miranda (in a way), was a meeting that Emily couldn’t get out of her head. Not because she won, but because of Andrea. Emily could not stop looking at her, and neither did Andy. They exchanged some looks and suddenly they were back in 2006, innocent and young. They remember it mostly with nostalgia, but Emily also remembers it with bitterness and some sadness. And what Emily doesn’t know is that Andy remembers it with sadness too.
Vendor.
You don’t have what it takes.
Emily was beside herself with anger. Why? – she kept asking herself. She could not understand why Miranda never understood her, why she didn’t even try to truly see her. There is one thing that she can understand, and that is betrayal. She sees how that makes her a persona non-grata at Runway, but what she does absolutely not understand is… why?
Benji broke up with her, obviously – she thought, and thank goodness I don’t have to keep feeling his beard. He could not stand losing to his ex-wife, so he blamed it all on Emily, and it went boom. Truly, she was relieved, but also annoyed because now that her reputation is ruined, how will she find someone with that kind of money? Nevermind that. Now that she has messed up with Miranda, how is she going to win Andy’s trust back?
One of the things that she loved the most during Milan was not almost being head editor of Runway, but running around with Andy, and being able to have some sort of conversation with her. But now that she knows her secret, how is she going to get her back? Again? Andrea Sachs is known for her undying loyalty to Miranda.
Emily has decided that she has got nothing else to lose: her reputation is all over the place, her connections have disappeared, and frankly, her dignity has never been so close to the ground. She is going to call Andrea and she will ask her to hang out, grab a coffee, lunch, anything. So, she dialed her number again, she lingered above the “call” button again. Fuck it, and called her again. One last time.
“Emily?”
“Hello Andy.”
They stopped and breathed for a few seconds, and before Andrea could hang up, she spoke up again:, “Do not hang up, please.” she said. And against all odds, Andy replied, “I wasn’t going to.” Emily breathed out, relieved. She could almost feel Andy smiling through the phone and her heart melted a bit, though it lasted for less than a second. Emily continued, “So, Andrea, I was wondering if you’d like to grab lunch, or a coffee… Maybe tomorrow?” and that’s all it took. There. Emily’s dignity all over the floor, but it was worth it. “Lunch sounds good, see you tomorrow Em.” Emily smiled, a smile that reached her eyes and that she would not let anyone see. “Perfect. See you tomorrow, Andy.” She hung up, and stared at her turned off TV for a good half an hour.
Tomorrow came, and Emily was absolutely not ready. What she did not know though is that Andy was feeling the exact same way. They were both nervous wrecks, but they would rather die than show it, and even more to each other. During their lunch, Emily quietly decided that dignity was overrated and she might as well… “Do you know that I called you?” She confessed that she wanted them to be pals, that’s the word she decided to use. Not the one she actually wanted to say, but she will not admit it, not even to herself. And Andy, with that pout on her face, was looking too annoying, but frankly, too cute for Emily to handle.
Now Emily knows one thing, and that is Andy’s loyalty to Miranda, but Andy was getting tired of it. Not the job, not Miranda in general. Just the fact that Miranda was not always right, most times yes, but not always. And she had been wrong about Emily. Ever since she got into Runway looking like an unfashionable mess, she saw it. Of course they were both different back then, but there was no one as passionate and as dedicated to the fashion industry, to Runway, and to Miranda than Emily. No one. And Andy saw it, but she did not risk Paris for it, which is the biggest mistake she had ever made. So, she was going to try to make it up to her as best as she could.
You don’t need him. Or a fashion house, or a patron, or anything.
You. Are iconic.
Now she does not understand why or how, after everything, she got to hear those words come out of the one person that she has ever truly cared for.
Andy and Emily went on to have many more lunch dates – which of course weren’t dates – and they got to know each other all over again. Emily usually talked about her children, Bronwyn and Roark, “They’re special your little ones” Andy would say. She also talked about work and how people are so utterly incompetent, like her ex-husband, who she would complain to Andy about when it was his turn to take care of the kids. Incompetent. Andy talked about work too, complaining about the workload, but mostly she talked about Peter. The Australian is what Emily referred to him as. And Andy would complain. A lot.
Peter is a good guy, that much is clear, but he is extremely simple. He sees things one way and one way only. Now, he does have his own opinions, and he is open to debate, but his first take on things is always simple: “It is what it is.” And every time she hears him say it, Andy feels like her brain cells are reduced to atoms, and her cortisol levels rise above the stars, because she is a person who does not accept a no for an answer, she is someone who fights for righting wrongs, and she simply cannot accept unjust things to just… be. Because it is not what it is, it cannot be. And truthfully, she should have noticed that his behavior was a dealbreaker back when she thought Runway would end up soulless, and he dared compare journalism to luxury “apartments”, if they can even be called “apartments” since only the 0.01% of the population can afford to live in them.
So Andy and Emily talked, and every time Andy spoke about Peter, Emily got more and more bothered. How dare he, she thought. Until one day she couldn’t hide her annoyance anymore. “Andrea. There are many things that I do not understand about you, but the reason why you’re still with the Australian is, by far, the biggest mystery to me.” — Emily finally let out — “Do you remember when you came- basically barging into my hotel room in Milan?” Andy was shocked, to say the least, at this sudden moment of sincerity and of reminiscence of a moment that she thought they would never again speak of. She replied nonetheless, curious to see where it was going, “Of course I remember.”
“How many times did I tell you that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with whatever it was you were planning?” she asked. “Too many to count.” Andy said, laughing under her breath and with a smile, until she looked up at Emily’s face and saw that she was dead serious, so her smile disappeared in a matter of seconds. “Exactly, this is no laughing matter Andy.” but as she said that, a subtle smile appeared on her lips, which Andy caught, and she quietly melted in her chair. “You insisted until I said yes. And when I messed up – and I know this is going to be difficult for you to accept – you fixed it. Not Miranda. Not Sasha Barnes. You. With your annoying sense of justice and your unwavering stubbornness. I understand it was “Miranda’s plan”, but you were the one who made it happen.” Andy was looking at her like a teenager looks at their favorite singer, with complete and utter admiration. Emily continued, “All this to say, you cannot ask me to believe that you are going to settle for someone who does not share in the slightest the part that defines Andy Sachs as a person. Because you do not settle, in general. That is something you cannot physically do.”
Andy was speechless. She knows Emily is right, and she knows that she is looking for an excuse to leave, but maybe she should just rip the band-aid off. However, she is not speechless because she is right, but because no one has ever seen her like Emily is seeing her right now. “That was… Wow.” Is all that Andy managed to get out. “What?” Emily asked, blinking way too much and looking almost offended, “It is true. I know it is because I am never wrong, except on extremely rare occasions when I am.” she said, staring directly into Andy’s eyes, and doe-eyed Andy was staring back. She just smiled at Emily and said a small, almost imperceptible “Thank you.” So, of course Emily couldn’t take that much softness all at once, “Oh stop it,” – she said, shaking her head and waving her hand in front of Andy, as if there was a fly bothering her, – “you know what I mean.”
Andy kept looking at her with those same eyes and she said, “I know what you mean. And thank you. I have a lot to think about now.” Andy briefly stared at Emily’s lips and Emily almost lost her mind at that, but she kept her head held high, she put on that cold mask, and she nodded. She couldn’t (or wouldn’t) understand what happened, but she knew she needed to calm down and keep her cool, otherwise Andy would be the death of her.