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Piper walked a little behind Alex as she followed her to the bar. They hadn't said a word and she just stared at her with her mouth slightly open, eyes wide and nostrils mildly flaring as she tried to absorb the shock that was seeing Alex Vause. She looked good. She wore a black loose fitting cotton tee that fluttered in the wind around her ass wrapped in dark blue skinny jeans. She looked at her own tee and clutched it to calm her shaking fingers. What does one say when you meet the love of your life and you're not in love? Are you friends, are you hostile exes or are you someone that they used to know like in that song? Piper took in Alex's black hair bouncing as she walked briskly, she saw her calves clench and unclench as she walked and most of all, she noticed Alex's hands. They were loose, relaxed and beautiful. They were not clenched, white knuckled and distressed like Piper's. Piper put her hands down to her sides, willing herself to stop trembling and for the nausea to back down. Alex slowed to a stop at a door and turned to face Piper. "Welcome to The Loft" Alex said and swung the door open.

Piper looked down, trying to hide her red face, which was triggered by Alex just looking at her. She watched the brunette nod at the bouncer and grab a booth at the back. She slid in comfortably in a practiced move and smiled at Piper. "You can sit you know?" Alex said, arching an eyebrow. She hated it. Piper offered a tight smile and sat in the booth, making a show of getting comfortable.

"So. How have you been?" Alex asked, looking at Piper. She noticed the hair that was longer, the lines on her face, the smile and the questioning look in her eyes. It looked like Bambi still hadn't lost it. Alex sat back and smiled at the waitress who brought the beers. "I hope you don't mind?" Alex asked, gesturing to the beers.

"No. Not at all. Um, cheers." Piper said, clinking their bottles. "Here's to a blast from the past" she said, with a wide grin. Two could play at that game she thought. It wasn't going to be only her that was rattled that evening.

"Cheers" Alex said, inclining her head.

"I've been good. I'm going to be teaching at the center." Piper said, taking a long pull from her drink after watching Alex almost down hers. "What about you?" She asked the brunette.

"Oh. I've been doing this." She said, with a grin meant to torment. Piper smiled at someone she once considered her nemesis and as much as she hated it, she felt a familiar warmth as she heard her voice and felt the woman's scent wash over her. She always smelled a little woodsy, like mud after it had just rained, tinged with citrus. She could never pin-point the origin of that scent.

"This?" Piper asked, looking around and then at Alex's bottle as she brought it up to her lips. Big mistake. Seeing her lips pucker, Piper looked down, but not too fast, so as to give Alex any clue. Who was she kidding, as she looked up into Alex's eyes and saw them crinkle with a knowing smile.

"This. This bar, this table and sometimes, these people. You like?" Alex said, trying to antagonize Piper. She could see it was working, see that spark in Piper's eyes as she waited for a comeback.

"Sure. It suits you." Is all Piper said, nodding. She wasn't going to give Alex the satisfaction of being uncomfortable. She finished her beer and raised her hand for another one. She had to watch her count as she had only $15 that she could drink. The other $10 was her dinner later. Alex cocked her head to a side as she contemplated this new and improved Piper. She didn't think she would have to work at making Piper feel uncomfortable. She remembered her shock at seeing the blonde talking to Joey, at looking at her for a whole two minutes in stunned silence as she picked up on their conversation. She couldn't believe that of all the times that she had to meet the one girl she felt like she was pining after her whole life, she would meet her while she was flirting with one of her friends. Of course.

"I own the place Piper. " She said quietly, as she raised her hand for a second beer.

"What? Oh my God, Alex! That's great! Congratulations! I can see it now. This place is perfect for you!" Piper said, with genuine happiness. Alex didn't like it, she preferred to go back to sniping at each other than face genuine emotions. She smiled wryly at Piper, unsure of what to say next. "Thanks." She said and took a sip of the beer that the waitress had brought.

"When did you do all this?" Piper asked, warming up to Alex. It wasn't going as badly as she thought. She was getting ahead of herself, getting excited at the possibility of the fact that they were talking and that they actually might be in each others' lives!

"At some point. What did you do after getting out?" Alex asked, not wanting to be nice. She had kept tabs on Piper after she got out and knew she had been a waitress. She hated being in Litchfield for those two years. Piper had 7 months tacked onto her time for beating Pennsatucky and had gotten 4 weeks in the SHU. She had come out and Alex had acted like Piper hadn't existed. She had perfected a routine that ignored her and had gone on to doing so. She hadn't even attended Piper's going away party.

"I.. um.. I waited tables." Piper said, in that conflicting voice where she was ashamed of what she had done, but didn't want to say so. She looked around the bar, taking it in. She noticed the touches that screamed Alex and wondered why she hadn't noticed that before.

"Oh, so you went back to square one?" Alex asked, being condescending.

"You don't have to be a bitch Alex." Piper said, looking her squarely in the eye. "Well darling, did you think I would welcome you with open arms, cry over all the time we've lost, embrace the role of star crossed lovers and tell our story on 60 Minutes?" Alex asked, laughing mockingly.

"Some things never change do they?" Piper asked, looking at Alex sadly. "Apparently some things do. You've lost your fire. The Piper I know would have told me to fuck off, and she wasn't this all accepting, Buddha Zen doormat that you've clearly become." Alex said, pushing her glasses over her head to peer at Piper, and also to let Piper see the vast abyss of hate that resided in her.

"Well fuck you Alex. At least I fucking tried. You are such a chicken shit, you can't even face me without trying to feel superior. You believe what you want to. Whatever helps you sleep at night darling" Piper said getting up. She started to walk away from the table when she heard her name being called.

"It's ten bucks. For the beer. You're not my freeloading bitch anymore Pipes." Alex said, standing with her hands crossed. She looked at Piper's face, saw the conflicting emotions, the desperate urge to slap her and then the calm take over. Piper dug $10 out of her pocket, slammed it on the table and walked away.

Alex picked up the note, uncreased it, folded it and put it in her wallet in a pocket that had a picture of the two of them. She looked up, glassy eyed and blinked it away as she smiled when she saw Joe walking towards her. "Hey Joe" She said, leaning in for a hug. Joe always gave the nicest hugs.

That night, Alex lay in her bed, working herself to some porn on the television and came with the sight of Piper's smiling face.

"Fuck. Fuck her. Fuck this" She whispered as she yanked her panties up and then the comforter and closed her eyes.

A/N: Yes, it's been a while. Thank you for the follows and reviews