Piper was scared. Less than one month into their relationship, and Alex was already professing love for her. It wasn't that the gesture was unrequited, but more that Piper preferred to err on the edge of caution when it came to love.
Growing up, her father had been supposed to love her mother, but she'd seen no proof of that, only evidence of his infidelity. Their marriage had been nothing like the films she'd watched or the books she'd studied.
Her brother Danny had loved her like only a sibling could, but he had abandoned them at the first possible opportunity, leaving she and Cal alone in his shadow, the dust of his disappearance forever clouding the way her parents would perceive them.
Her suburban sadness had no place here, in this four-poster bed with her beautiful girlfriend, but it was difficult to shake the tension she felt when love was on the tip of her tongue.
It was not a matter of comparing one thing to another; one girl to her brother, a father to mother, and though life was not like the movies, she knew it would be pointless to hold a candle to Alex now. Even after only four weeks, she was already proving to be incomparable - in the best possible way - to Piper's every other experience of this elusive, exclusive emotion.
"Earth to Piper." Alex brushed hair from Piper's face. Piper blinked slowly, slipping from her reverie and back into the embrace of the woman she loved.
"Tell me again." Her tone was low, almost lost in the shuffling of the pillows as she murmured against Alex's ear.
"Again?"
"Just, one more time."
Alex humored her, self-consciously nudging her glasses with her index finger as she took Piper's hand in hers. "I. Love. You." She punctuated each word with a kiss, placed precariously on the blonde's finger-tips. "I mean it."
Piper softened. "I love you too."
Her fears had abated, at least a little. She worried less about the likelihood of drifting off into an endless ocean alone, now moored to Alex's jetty by the smallest of gestures and three simple words. With a fond smile, she trailed her hands over Alex's tattooed arms. "It feels so strange, being here with you."
Alex laughed. "This isn't some internal bisexual breakdown is it? 'Cause it's too early for that."
Piper didn't need to observe the daylight streaming in through the partially closed curtains to know that Alex was wrong.
"It's at least 11am, Alex."
"Yeah, and somebody kept me up all night." Alex pushed herself up onto her elbows and rolled on top, her thighs pinning Piper to the mattress as she straddled her waist.
Piper squirmed beneath her, giggling, before leaning up to kiss Alex, running her hands over her the brunette's body appreciatively. Alex's black shirt was a stark contrast against her alabaster skin, and even in the pale morning light, Piper knew she'd never want to be anywhere other than this. Recalling the conversation, she chewed her lip.
"No, it's not that. I just..." She averted her eyes for a moment, preparing to be embarrassed by her forthcoming confession. "When I was younger, I always assumed I'd end up with the school quarterback, or something."
"Fuck," Alex laughed. "You were one of those girls." She raised an eyebrow, a smirk curving the corners of her lips. It was the way of the world that she should end up with one of the women who had made her childhood hell. "I get it, it must be hard growing up in Privilege Park." She teased gently.
"Fuck you Alex." Piper countered fondly. "I mean, yes, I did the debutante thing, but I wasn't perfect. I've skipped classes and given blow-jobs under the bleachers and... I just never - "
"Never what?" Alex peppered kisses along Piper's jaw, her thumb tracing the pulse point in Piper's neck, which increased in pace with each press of her lips.
"You've got your tattoos and your drug smuggling something, and I just, I always assumed…" Piper's words were broken by a quiet moan as Alex's tongue traced the shell of her ear. "I thought I'd be the bad one."
Alex's laugh was instantaneous, sending tremors through the bed as she suddenly sat back on her heels, eyes twinkling as she grinned down at her prone girlfriend.
"What? I can be bad!" Piper had the good grace to seem at least a little shocked, and protestations fell fast from her lips. "I can!"
"Pipes, you're like the least bad person I know. I doubt you've ever even smoked a cigarette." Alex's tone was taunting, but her face was kind, loving. Piper felt like a kid in the playground, having her pigtails pulled by the person she liked most.
"I'm happier without lung cancer, thank you very much." Piper admonished, taking Alex's hands and tugging her back down to within kissing distance.
"So, you haven't?" Alex's words were muted against her skin, the purple cotton of Piper's t-shirt gathering around her ribs as Alex lay her lips against the soft flesh of Piper's now bare abdomen. The blonde blushed, failing to form words while Alex kissed further down her body.
"There are a lot of things I haven't done." She said, defensively, tightening her jaw and willing herself not to display any signs of pleasure, stubbornly hoping that Alex would stop smirking at her like that.
"Yeah, like what?" Alex was settled on her hands and knees between Piper's open thighs, her fingers flexing against Piper's hipbones as she looked up at the young woman inquisitively.
There were a million and one things that Piper Chapman had never done; the world was a big place, and she still had so much to explore. How could she narrow down the list?
"I never really considered myself a very sexual person, before I met you. There's a lot of sexy stuff I haven't done."
Alex arched her eyebrow again, smile brimming with skepticism. "Sexy stuff?"
"Yeah, you know, like..." Piper paused, casting about for a more comprehensive response. Her eyes settled on the pink satin scarves adorning each post at the head of the bed. She had seen them on her first night there, but had been interrupted before finding the bravery to broach the subject.
Her contemplative silence spilled over into their conversation, and Alex followed her line of sight until she understood Piper's thought process. Her voice dropped to a growl, dipping her lips to Piper's stomach to get her attention. "You've never been tied up?"
Piper's face was a momentary mask of mortification before she regained her composure, whispering her reply. "My first roommate had fluffy handcuffs, and she said I could borrow them, but..." She trailed off.
Alex loved seeing Piper like this, on these rare occasions when Piper's years of formal top-class education would belie her lack of real-life experience. It was one of her favourite things about her girlfriend, and it always gave Alex the opportunity to share something new, whether it was the best place to buy a good coffee at 3am or a vanilla entry into bondage 101.
"Would you like me to tie you up, Piper?"
Piper glanced up at the silken scarves again, before returning to the mischief she found in Alex's eyes, flickering like a flame.
"Okay."
Alex seemed surprised. "Really?"
She had moved up the bed until their faces were level, millimeters apart.
"Yes."
Wrapping her pale arms around Piper, she eased the the blonde up until she was seated, kissing her until her back was against the headboard, slipping her hands under Piper's shirt and sliding the top over her head in one swift movement.
"I won't tie them tight, alright?" Alex held Piper's gaze as she took the tail end of each scarf, already firmly knotted at each post, and wrapped the soft material around her lover's wrists.
The fabric held Piper in place loosely, arms spread either side of her like a sacrificial offering. Her eyes darkened, and she leaned forward in pursuit of her Alex, who had moved just out of reach as she shed her own clothing.
The blonde's voice was heavy with desire as Alex returned, covering the distance between them slowly. Piper ached to reach out to the beautiful woman before her, but found herself unable to move even the barest fraction.
"If you want me to stop, or to let you out, just say."
"You promise?" Her question was thick with want and need, fires stoked as Alex captured her mouth in a hot kiss, hands stroking Piper's breasts.
"I promise."
Alex littered small, sharp lovebites along Piper's collarbone, firm hands roving from breasts to ribs to hips and back again, tugging and teasing, each time inching closer and closer to the apex of her thighs.
Piper's breathing became laboured, small gasps and moans escaping from her lips, her fingers clutching at the empty air before wrapping around the restraints holding her. She could feel Alex's breath, warm against her weak points and always finding new ways to set her alight. She was so wet, ready to drown in desire, waves crashing around her, the roar of an ocean inside her mind.
"Alex..." She rested her head against the headboard as Alex slowed, their eyes meeting, burning into one another, frustration weighing her down to the bed like an anchor.
"What's up? Want me to stop?"
Piper shook her head fervently. "Please fuck me."
Alex couldn't contain her relief, passion pulling her towards Piper as they kissed, only breaking away after minutes of breathless exhilaration.
"Say it again."
"Fuck me Alex." She was hoarse with the agony anticipation, her inability to move making everything so much worse, and yet better all at once.
Alex made her way down the bed, arms encircling Piper's thighs as she let her tongue trace Piper's centre. She felt the body beneath her tense in response, and watched Piper flex her arms against the satin around her wrists.
Alex pinned Piper in place, fingers finding her hips and holding her still, thumbs digging into the hollows by her hallowed bones. She took Piper's clit between her teeth, biting gently enough to her girlfriend writhe in her grasp, eliciting shudders with every motion.
The cold air of the room began to prickle at Piper's sensitive skin, raising goosebumps across her body in a defiant gesture against the heat spreading from where Alex lay. Her arousal was evident in every sinew of her body, from the teeth buried in her bottom lip down to the tingling in her toes, her composure fragmented by lust.
Alex could read the woman like a book and knew when to withdraw, switching to her tongue in a lazier, less direct route to Piper's impending orgasm. She lay slick lines across Piper's core, sliding her tongue inside or circling her clit each time she heard Piper's breathing slow to a steadier rhythm.
Piper could feel an ache course through her, a tension building in her muscles as Alex expertly brought her closer to the edge before dragging her back with each swift motion. She was desperate to run her hands through Alex's hair, drawing fistfuls of dark locks between her fingers so that she could fuck herself on Alex's eager tongue.
Alex hummed in contentment against her as Piper did her best to gain a closer connection, pressing her body forward against Alex's mouth.
"Patience, kid."
Piper's fingernails dug into her palms as she gasped. "Please Alex, please." Need was threading through every fibre of her being, and she could hear it in her voice when she pleaded.
Alex chuckled and withdrew, disappointment etched on Piper's face.
"I said patience, Pipes."
She placed a soft kiss against Piper's lips, and Piper could taste herself there, hot and intimate in a way she'd seldom experienced before. Alex was better in so many ways that any of the men she'd ever been with, although her teasing had Piper ready to beg.
Pulling back a little, although still easily within touching distance, Alex maintained eye contact, lowering her left hand between her own thighs and sliding two fingers inside, building a torturous pace. Piper's mouth fell open.
Alex's legs were spread, knees pressed into the bed as she fucked herself in front of Piper. Piper's voice was barely a whisper when she spoke, uttering Alex's name with a hushed reverence. "Alex..."
Smirking, Alex reached forward, Piper's thighs spread around her still from their previous position, and slipped the fingers of her free hand inside her girlfriend's heated entrance. The blonde gasped and surged forward, her mouth meeting Alex's in a tangle of temptation.
She wanted - no, needed - to fuck Alex, to see how wet she was, to feel her tighten around her digits, to bring her to the edge over and over. Watching Alex like this, so close and yet so far, was the best kind of torment she had ever experienced.
Alex's mouth opened as she moaned, she feeling of her own fingers inside herself not quite as good as though they were Piper's, but enough. She saw Piper's pupils dilate, and heard curses falling from her own lips as she fucked them both, matching pace. "Fuck, Piper. You're so wet."
She began to circle her clit and mirrored the action for Piper, knowing that this was what they both needed. The air in the room was buzzing, and Alex could feel Piper's thighs trembling against hers, her head tilted back in the perfect image of ecstasy.
Pressing her forehead against Piper's, she felt the woman's body arch towards her, approaching the crest of her orgasm. Their mouths met, carnal lust driving them towards the edge as Alex slid her fingers inside Piper for a final time, fucking her hard and fast.
Piper's orgasm became the catalyst for Alex's, the fuel for her fire, and she came as Piper did, legs weak and lungs almost empty.
Piper exhaled. The storm at sea had eased to a still lake, and she floated on the surface, barely aware of Alex untying the scarves and laying her down.
Alex smoothed Piper's hair and kissed her forehead, tired but content. "Okay?"
Piper's hazy smile met hers. "Really fucking good, Al."
Although Alex hadn't realised herself capable of holding any tension after orgasm, she found herself relaxing further. "I guess that's one more thing to cross off the Fuck It list."
Piper frowned, her features organising themselves slowly as though they'd forgotten how to. "Fuck It list?"
"Yeah," Alex shrugged against her. "It's like a bucket list, but for fucking."
Piper laughed quietly. "That sounds like something you would have."
Alex sounded almost proud as she ran her fingers through Piper's hair. "I'm taking that as a compliment. Although I'm guessing your list is a little longer than mine."
They were still for several minutes before Piper pulled back, holding Alex in her gaze. "Alex?" The brunette watched her, waiting patiently. Piper sounded almost shy when she spoke. "Tell me again."
Alex wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and tugged her close as close as she possibly could, her breath ghosting the younger woman's face as she smiled. "I love you, Piper Chapman. You and your Fuck It list."