"Vause, get your fucking ass here." Nickys slurred words screech through the phone.
"Jesus, what time is it?"
"Time to get your ass down to the diner. There are some smokin' hot babes here, and boo has her guitar singing tunes. What the fucks better than that?"
Five in the morning. "Hmmm, I don't know. Oh yea, maybe sleep."
"Don't be lame, get your ass down here." She didn't wait for a response before hanging up.
Alex fell back in the bed with a sigh. Leave it to Nicky to pick up girls at a diner in the middle of the night. Fifteen minutes later a glance at the clock and no sleep in sight she groaned rolling out of bed. The diner was a quick walk down the street. After a heavy night of drinking Nicky and her would straggle into Reds Diner for a quick bite before escorting the stranger on their arm back to their separate apartments. Those were the days. The memories make Alex smile as she wraps her jacket tightly around her. It had been a long time since she joined Nicky for a night out or a bite at Reds, too long. They were drifting apart, their friendship was at a crossroads that neither of them were willing to make the jump. Nicky still drowned her sorrows away at the bottom of a bottle, while Alex was getting too fucking old for the same mind numbing routine. An exaggerated sigh, she stood outside Reds. They could make this work, they had been through worse in their friendship.
Nicky let out a big whop when she spotted her across the room. "I knew you wouldn't let me down." They hugged. Ignored the awkwardness that had grown after months of not keeping in touch. Nicky beamed introducing her oldest friend to the two obviously intoxicated women at the table. "Take a seat, I'll get the waitress."
"Hey sexy, I like your glasses. You've got the hot librarian thing going on." The blonde at the table cooed in her ear. She smelled of vodka and bubble gum. This was a bad idea. Alex buries her face in the menu she knows all too well.
"Hello, can I get you something?" The waitress asked the same question every night for the past four months. It was sickening how second natured it had become. Notepad and pen ready to scribble down another remedy for another drunken idiot. Fantastic.
The menu subsided, eyes locked for the first time in eight years. Eight fucking years. The pen fell to the floor. The restaurant full of insignificant people and useless conversations fell silent. There was no sloppy blonde beside her, Nicky was not grinning across from her, the music was not strumming away, the loud chatter faded away.
Background.
In that moment when their eyes met the only sound was their soft breaths, hearts beating simultaneously yearning for each other.
"Piper."
"Alex."
All at once the room came back to life, oblivious to the electricity surging between the two. The blonde ran. Alex didn't think, she was up and after her ignoring the looks of confusion and the Russians curse words. The back door slammed with the anger behind them. The alley was cold, vacant, silent.
Piper, planted against the building, bracing herself at her knees. Her breaths were heavy and forced.
Alex, frozen in place, taking in the sight before her as if in a moments notice this illusion would wash away with the fresh rain drops forming around them.
"Alex." She willed herself to be strong, find the same strength she had all those years ago in Paris. "Alex, are you really here?"
Deafening silence.
Piper moves forward, hand extended. She takes the first step, she has always held the power.
Alex, a step back. She always gave her too much control. Not tonight.
"Don't fucking touch me."
A tear bounces off the ground shattering the reality of the situation. The is real. Here they are. A sick twist of faith.
"Alex, please."
"Fuck you, Piper."
This time it's Alex who gathers the strength to walk away, leave her heart behind.
A surprise trip to Tokyo has earned Alex a new client. The boss is pleased with her, the extra zeros on the bank statement show his appreciation. The flat is dark and far too quiet when she returns in the middle of the night. She had become use to the emptiness of it all. After witnessing the blonde a week earlier she now realizes how fucking lonely it truly is. Keys dropped to the floor. Luggage disregarded she slumps down in the over priced sofa. Head back, frames removed she pinches the bridge of her nose. A week of alcohol and other women did nothing to erase the memory. She closes her eyes haunted by piercing blue orbs, scrutinizing her for every wrong move in the past eight years.
Fuck.
She showers ridding herself of the filth from her career. It was never supposed to be this way, but little opportunities present themselves to poor bastard children like Alex. She lays in bed staring at the ceiling. Trying to fit the broken pieces of the puzzle together.
After all this time. Why would fate bring them back together?
Standing outside Reds, watching the blonde stroll around the diner, she convinces herself she is only here out of curiosity. She has a mystery to solve. There are not remaining feelings on the brink of exposing her. No. That is not the reason she walks through the door.
Piper always had a way of sensing her presence without actually seeing her. The hairs stand at the back of her neck as she watches Alex take a window seat in the back, book in hand. She inhales. Exhales. She came back. That counts for something. She must want to talk. Piper waste no time. Ignoring the slew of lousy customers she makes her way to the back.
"You came back." She attempts a wispy tone and a delicate smile.
Alex offers no response just continues reading the novel before her.
"Are you serious?" A pause. "Did you come here to ignore me? What, no one to warm your bed tonight? Need your ego stroked?"
Nothing.
"Fuck you, Alex" She is impatient trying anything for a response, a second glance, anything. "Well can I get you anything while you wallow in your hatred for me?"
"Coffee. Black." No eye contact, just an order.
Piper returns, slams the cup it spills over the edge. Alex moves the novel away but stays silent and proceeds with the pages. Periodically, Piper refills the mug. Hovers but quickly leaves when Alex refuses to acknowledge her. Two hours later; ten minutes before Pipers shift ends she quirks up when Alex finally moves. She places a bill on the table retrieves her novel without so much as a look back she is gone.
"Kind of creepy right?" Piper looks up form the counter where she is waiting for a food order. A fellow waitress gestures back towards Alex. Piper looks at the now familiar sight of her hidden in the novel. "Creepy, right? She has come in for a week straight never says a word. Just reads that damn book."
Piper grabs the plates of hot food. "She is not reading."
"Looks like reading to me." The waitress shrugs and disappears with her order.
Piper knows Alex all too well. The familiar crease of her forehead when she is reading is no where to be found. Every night it's the same book opened a few pages further than the previous night. If the book was being read by Alex it would be finished by now.
"Chapman take your break. Fifteen minutes." The Russian is pleased with the startled look she receives in response. Her tone softens, she smiles. "You want Dimitri to fix you some food?"
She glances over her shoulder. "Can I have a slice of pie?" A nod.
She sets the plate in front of Alex as she slides across from her. Piper is pleased to see her slightly raise her eyebrow in acknowledgement, but that's the only reaction she is going to get.
"How long are you going to do this? If you're going to ignore me why come in here every night?"
Nothing.
She's furious with this silent treatment. Every night the same two words 'Coffee. Black.' Nothing more, nothing less. Piper unwraps the silverware and snatches the pie back. In between bites she tells Alex of her life after her. The couches she crashed on, the failed job searches, the disappointment in her mothers eyes. She tries to fit in as much as she can in the time allotted. She takes the last bite of pie when she notices eyes move from the novel to her left hand, linger on the ring. The blonde searches for words but is interrupted by a crash of broken dishes in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, I have to get back." Piper escapes the silent question.
Tonight Alex doesn't hang around she closes her book and leaves before Piper can reemerge. She welcomes the bite of the cold against her face. Her new routine doesn't make sense. She doesn't understand what returning to the diner night after night is going to prove or solve. Still at the same time every night she gathers her book and heads to the blonde. Afterwards she lays in bed content and not so alone. Maybe it's that she knows Piper is thinking of her just as well before her sleep. Either way the routine continues.
The next night Piper is ready with a well thought out answer. She will tell Alex about Larry and the upcoming nuptials. She will tell her of how they met two years earlier and how safe he is and how good he treats her. Alex was not unreasonable she would understand that eight years ago she was a different person. She had to hear her out.
But tonight Alex doesn't show. A loud group invades the booth. Piper almost tells them someone is sitting there but knows better. Still she waits all night. She waits two weeks growing more anxious every night she doesn't arrive.
Alex was not happy when she received an early morning request to catch a plane to Barbados but she did as she was told. This job had many perks; one of them was not the hours she kept. She didn't want to leave, this routine she fell into was just getting interesting. Still she took pleasure in the thoughts of Piper wondering where she was and if she would come back.
The blonde was busy with a table full of youngsters when Alex walked thru the door. She was irritated with the customers it was written all over her face. Piper was flashing a tight smile that really said 'fuck off' when she looked up to see Alex at the door frame. She caught those emerald eyes with hers, taken back when the eyes didn't dart away. From across the room they held each others gaze before Piper registered the gravity of the situation. Alex had not disappeared, she was called away. Alex still worked for the cartel.
On break Piper settles across from Alex. How dare Alex judge Piper for being engaged when she still works for the fucking cartel.
"Do you still work for Kubra?" She wasn't expecting a response. "Of course you do. Alex, don't you see how much that job the drugs have stolen from you?"
Piper has had enough and she's tired so fucking tired. She slams the novel shut and sets it next to her out of reach. Alex is not angry when she looks up, she sips her coffee in mild amusement eyes trained on Piper.
"Yes, I am engaged. His name is Larry he is a wonderful man, a writer. We are set to be married a week from tomorrow."
The words cut deeper than possibly any other words Alex has ever heard but she is stoic in her stance. She slides her empty mug across the table.
Piper looks down considers refilling it, doing her job but refuses. She pushes it to the side.
"I had to leave. You and I both know it was only a matter of time. I'm not like you, Alex. I can't free fall through life. I was lost for a long time until I found Larry. He is good to me. He loves me."
I was good to you, I loved you.
Alex scoffs not saying the words on the tip of her tongue, but Piper is not stupid. She hears the words loud in clear.
"I loved you too Alex, but you put me in danger. If I had stayed you would still be putting me in danger." Piper waits. She needs a response. She needs Alex to forgive her, understand her decision all those years ago.
Alex offers no such sympathy. She stands walks to the bathroom in the back. Piper watches over her shoulder briefly before all instinct goes out the window.
Piper scans the stalls while Alex washes her hands eyes on the blonde. When she locks the door Alex is ready for her. Their lips collide, tongues melting together not missing a beat. Piper slides her fingers through the dark locks moaning into her mouth. Eight years was not long enough to rid her of the sensations the brunette causes with the slightest touch. There is no time for pleasantries or finesse.
Alex presses her against the door their bodies mold together. She hikes her skirt, lips locked in a passionate kiss. Piper raises her leg wrapping it around Alex pulling her deeper. She is inside of her quick and angry. The raspy breaths against her neck are enough to drive her over the edge. She bites down suppressing the name forming on her lips. Their foreheads meet searching each other for something that's not there.
Alex is the first to break away. She watches as Pipers chest raises and deflates rapidly, out of breath, coming down from her high.
"I hope he makes you happy."
Blue eyes dart towards her, not at the words that were spoken but the fact that they were spoken at all. Piper reaches out, Alex retreats twisting around and escaping through the door before the blonde can comprehend what just happen.
The only thing left of Alex is the stolen novel and a crisp bill that could have paid for a group of five. Piper is lost, abandoned. For the first times she understands the magnitude of what she put Alex through. The way she left her after that phone call. Piper is on the brink of tears when the Russians words barge through her thoughts.
"I don't pay ya to stand around. Breaks over get back to work!"
The absence of Alex ruins Piper. Every night she doesn't walk through the door Piper is losing ground. She can't leave things like this she has to see her.
The wedding is only a day away when fate shows its ugly head. Piper is surprised to find the short woman with two more girls on her arms when she appears just after four in the morning. She looks for Alex but she isn't there. She charges the table. Nicky is in full swing charm mode when Piper arrives.
"I need to see Alex, where is she?" Nicky is confused at first but quickly assumes the blonde to be one of Alex's latest conquest.
"I don't know an Alex." Piper is in no mood.
"Yes you do. The first night she came in here she was meeting you." Nicky forces a moment of sobriety. She squints her eyes to read the crooked name tag hanging off the blondes apron. The recollection makes her smile with pure amusement.
"So you're the Piper who left my best friend in Paris after her mom died?" Piper recoils at the spiteful words. "Classy."
"Listen while I'm not justifying my acts I need to see Alex. Please give me her number or address. It's important."
"Not a chance. She is better off without you." Nicky resumes her business with the girls next to her, ignoring the furious blonde.
A thud so loud it is enough to silence the whole restaurant. Pipers hands sting from the impact of her palms against the tables edge.
"I'm an asshole I get it, but I need to fucking see her. If you were any kind of friend she would have told you she has been coming here for the past month! She would have told you what happen last week. You would understand the urgency of the situation. If you were her best friend you would be with her right now instead of entertaining these fucking whores."
The diner is quiet, observing the scene playing out. The brunette beside Nicky tenses at Pipers insult. Nicky holds her hand out stopping the girl from lashing out. Piper is right, if Nicky were any sort of friend she would know what the blonde was talking about. The realization rattles it's way through Nicky. Without words Nicky scribbles the address on a napkin and slides it towards Piper.
It's not far from the restaurant. Piper is grateful she doesn't have to hail a cab, she doesn't want to think of the look Red gave her as she stripped off her apron and ran out the door. She holds the napkin under a street light. Nickys handwriting is almost illegible but she can make out the important parts. The complex is large and screams high end when she reaches the entrance the door man almost doesn't let her in. She begs and pleads if he rings Alex, she will send her away. When tears well in her eyes he takes pity letting her pass. She skips the elevator instead races to the top floor out of breath she bangs on the door.
Alex has no time to switch on a light. The obnoxious noise radiating through the apartment causes her to mumble curse words under her breath and forget to check before swinging the door open. She nearly topples over when Piper falls into her taking her lips hostage. It takes only seconds for Alex to pull away, Pipers lips still reaching out for her.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm getting married tomorrow." The confession is enough to help Alex remember exactly why Piper should not be here.
"Good for you. Are you here for a celebratory fuck or something? Because I'm not interested." The words are jolting and cruel. Piper steps back, considers leaving before she turns back.
Alex can feel her skin crawling; anger rushes through her veins. When Piper turns to her tears are staining her cheeks falling to the floor one after another. She is grateful the sudden interruption didn't give her enough time to turn on a light. The sliver of light escaping through the curtains isn't enough for Piper to see the damage she has done. Again.
"You shouldn't be here Piper. Turn around, walk away, it's for the best."
For the best.
"No, tell me to stay." She closes the space between them, when Alex retreats she moves closer undeterred. "Tell me to stay, Alex. Give me a reason to not walk down that aisle. Tell me to stay."
The words cut through Alex. They are a sharp and bitter pill to swallow. The history between the two courses with hatred and passion, it's unrelenting and it destroys them at the core.
Sometimes love is not enough.
"Choose him. There is nothing left for you here, Piper." The words are like poison on her tongue, even as they fall out of her mouth she wants to take them back. But she can't take back the truth. The truth that Piper has destroyed all the good in her, that there is just a empty hollow shell of a person left. She can't take any of it back and she hates herself for admitting it.
Piper can feel the intensity of everything in the deepest part of her, tearing away all hope. The thought of a world where Alex doesn't love her, doesn't want her is a dark and tragic place. Her thoughts are derailed when Alex moves around her. She stands at the door. Holding it open, reminding Piper she is not welcome here.
And so Piper leaves. She walks away.
This time there is no going back. Fate has played its evil game and it has won, leaving them beaten and bruised from the callousness of it all.