I decided to post this a week early, because there's such a lengthy backlog, and so much stuff I want to get to before the new season. I hope the season 3 release date doesn't fall right before your exams like it does for me!
...
The uniforms make it look like a chain restaurant – not the halfway-to-fancy seafood house it claims to be. Perhaps it's the slightly disorienting abundance of yellow, or the blue and white chequered bands that run along the walls, but Alex has her mind made up that the place is disgusting. She can't understand why anyone who had a choice would want to work here. The whole situation makes no sense to her – the appeal of a minimum wage job. The shitty hours and overbearing bosses ready to reprimand you for every coffee stain or not-you-fault order mix-up. The whole thing reeks.
It smells horrible, too. Vaguely reminds her of times when she was little, too little to be left home alone, so she was carted along to her mum's jobs and propped on the counter. She learnt a lot from those places. That you should never piss off a chef, or they'll make your order extra special. That people are shitty tippers. That nobody respects waitresses, not matter how hard they try to please you. No matter what lengths they go to fix things that aren't even their responsibility.
Alex hates these places. Hates it even more that Piper's working here. Alex watches from her rather concealed position at a corner table, how Piper still looks a little lost, and every now and again has to pull another waitress aside to ask a question. Alex plays absently with the sugar packets, sorting them into sweeteners and raw sugar, flipping them around so they're perfectly aligned.
"Can I get you anything?" A waitress asks, flipping over to a new page. Alex looks up, smiling as she shakes her head. "No, but can you get me that one over there? I know her." Alex points Piper out, her finger following Piper's tracks until she disappears into the kitchen area. She looks confused by Alex's request, but nods all the same, and goes to track Piper down. The waitress pulls Piper back into the dining space, and points Alex out. Even in the dingy lighting, Alex can tell Piper blushes a little. "Hey you," Alex says, a smug smirk planted on her face.
"Alex! What are you doing here?" Piper tries to remain as non-reactionary as possible, knowing full well you're not supposed to chat during work hours. But she doesn't care right now, because today's been slow, and there's no better sight right now than having Alex slouch at the corner table.
"Uh, waitress? I came here to inform you that the service is just terrible. You know what? I think I'm gonna have to complain." Alex feigns a shocked expression, knowing full well it will get a rise out of Piper.
Piper cracks a grin. "Fuck you."
Alex swipes up the menu and flicks it open, just so she won't get thrown out for distracting the waitresses. Which incidentally, would not be the first time. "Oh, I wish you would."
"Alex, I'm working!" Piper growls, but it's not enough to conceal the way her eyes glint at the prospect.
"Hate to break it to you, kid, but you kind of suck at this whole 'working' business. You haven't even taken my order yet."
Alex can see Piper mutter asshole under her breath, before she flips open the order booklet. Alex watches her demeanour transform from play-Piper to work-Piper, and she does a damn fine job at convincing Alex she's been turned into one of those food-service robots. "Welcome to Fish Shack, may I take your order?"
Alex frowns. "Ew. Go back to not doing your job properly."
Piper gets impatient, knowing she's spent way too much time at this table already. This is the last straw. She picks up the menu and waves it around in front of Alex's face. "Pick something! Choose! C'mon!"
It's obviously louder than Piper thought, because it attracts the attention of several surrounding tables. Alex bursts out laughing, clapping her hand over her mouth as she drops her head to the table. Piper looks absolutely mortified, dropping the menu back on the table, her mouth agape as she fails to think of any justification for her behaviour.
Alex saves her from the concerned looks of the customers, putting her hands up in mock apology. It seems to satisfy, and people gradually return to their meals as the noise level begins to peak again. "Alright, that was probably my fault. Will you bring me coffee?"
Piper's eyebrows shoot up, and clearly, she's very far removed from being willing to bring Alex coffee. "Is that your idea of an apology?"
"No. My idea of an apology doesn't comply with the health codes." Alex smirks, waiting until Piper manages to nut out the suggestion. It only makes her madder, though, and all Alex can think is that someone with this kind of temper really shouldn't be working here…
"Alex! Seriously!"
"Yeah, seriously!" Alex repeats. "I was serious. About the coffee." Alex pauses, raising an eyebrow. "And the-"
Piper is quick to cut her off before she can finish her sentence. "Okay, I'm going now."
….
Alex swirls the final remnants of her coffee around the cup, listening as the clatter of knives and forks begins to fall away. People shuffle out, discard their tables, leave a few of the more crinkled notes they'd rather not have in their wallets. Alex despises all of them.
Plates are stacked, half-finished drinks poured into the drain. The kitchen staff call for final clearance, and the final load of the dishwasher begins to whir.
Nobody asks Alex to leave – they've all assumed she's waiting for Piper.
It's 9:30 by the time Piper finally emerges, stuffing notes into her pocket. She looks tired, worn out. Her steps are slow, and it seems like she takes forever to cross the distance between them. Alex gathers her up in her arms, letting Piper almost fall into her. She brushes Piper's hair behind her ear and kisses her forehead, muttering, "I told you these kinds of jobs suck."
Piper gives a groan into Alex's chest, signalling that all energy has left her. Alex lifts up her arm and lets Piper take up her place, head against Alex's shoulder. "Let's get you home, kid."
Alex has to practically carry Piper to the car, having a hard time when Piper momentarily forgets how to coordinate the seemingly challenging task of climbing in. By the time Alex gets the engine running, Piper's already half-asleep, wearing a glazed-over expression as she curls up against the passenger seat. Her hand wanders into the space between the seats, sluggish movements silently searching for Alex's hand.
Alex looks over at her, watching the way Piper fixes her gaze on her hand, just waiting to see if Alex will interlock it with her own. Like it's the only thing that matters to her in this moment.
Alex drops her hand from the steering wheel and brings it to hover over Piper's before she spreads her fingers apart, and cascades them together until they interlock. Her thumb runs up and down the edge of Piper's index finger, gently. She catches Piper smile at the sight, before her eyes begin to close over before opening again, and then gives in to the temptation to keep them closed. Piper doesn't want to lose the sight of their hands so wonderfully anchored together. She wants to savour every minute it lasts. But as long as Alex keeps moving her thumb every so often, the feeling floats through various levels of consciousness, until she drifts off.
….
"Okay, come on, kid."
This has got to be attempt number four, and no amount of pleading seems to break through to Piper's dazed state. Alex eventually has to practically drag her out of the car, supporting her until she can lean against the car while Alex shuts the door. She's about as useless as a dead battery right now, and it causes Alex to wonder what she's like when Piper's blind drunk. Probably worse.
Piper mutters something against Alex's sleeve, but it's indiscernible, and Alex knows Piper doesn't have the energy to repeat it. They reach the porch, after several one-step-at-a-time attempts at getting Piper up the stairs. Alex stills, holding Piper steady. Piper looks confused, wondering what the delay is. "What are we waiting for?"
"The key, Piper. This is your house, not mine."
"Oh!" Realisation dawns, and Piper's train of thought finally manages to catch up. "Pockets…" It's not even a sentence; it's the murmuring of a single word that is apparently going to solve the whole problem. Alex sighs, making Piper lean against the wall while she checks her pockets. "You know what I'd like to see, kid?"
"What?"
The lock twists, the deadbolt loosening until Alex can turn the knob. "You to keep this job up for a whole month. That'll really be something."
Alex has a point. This is worse than a teenager on the first day of some job consisting of strenuous work. But waitressing didn't exactly qualify, although Piper sure made it look like it did.
They reach Piper's bedroom, and Alex sits her down on the mattress. She drops her bag of files and t-shirts and whatever else she had managed to grab, kicking it into the corner of the room.
"Take off that stuff, Pipes."
But Piper doesn't obey. She's way past the point of independent actions, and Alex's words just float over her. "And to think, that job made you more hopeless." Alex grins, hands slipping under Piper's top as she eases it up. But Piper doesn't co-operate in the slightest, and Alex can't pull it off. "You can make this a hell of a lot easier if you put your arms up." Finally, Alex successfully gets it off, and finds a clean shirt to replace it.
It's perhaps more of a task than removing a shirt proves to be – adding the testing element of co-ordination to the mix. Alex pushes Piper back against the mattress, and watches as Piper just stares at her as she pulls off her shoes. Her pants follow, with several tugs and even more requests for Piper to just lift off for a sec. She's not even going to try replacing those.
Alex undoes her own jeans and slips them off, and through half-lidded eyes, Piper watches, but her eyes are bleary, so she doesn't really process anything. Alex crawls onto the mattress, and Piper wastes no time in shuffling over to her. Alex opens her arms, and Piper buries her head into Alex's chest. There's something so simple about it, something so wonderful about it; that it anchors Alex's attention. Piper just comes to her, completely naturally, like the moment she hits Alex's skin and warmth, she's home.
"How much money did you make today, kid?"
"Back pocket." Piper mumbles.
Alex reaches down to the floor, feeling around for her pants and pulling the stuffed bills out of the pocket. She sorts through the bills, flipping them up the right way so they sit shuffled perfectly parallel. Alex turns the corners, silently counting as she flicks past each one. "Forty-one. And that's just the tips. Not so bad, Pipes."
Piper doesn't comment, instead making a small sound in affirmative as she nuzzles a little further into Alex. She doesn't make another sound past that – Alex knows she's completely knocked out, and so she tries to stay as still as possible, just to make sure Piper isn't disturbed. Alex listens to her breathing as it begins to even out. It gives Alex that giddy sensation all over again.
She's still holding that money, that slim lump of tips. Alex smiles into the darkness. She's so fucking proud of Piper for earning that. Alex knows what makes a good waitress. Hell, she has a mother that's fucking perfect at it. It's being extra patient with difficult customers. It's bending to their every request, even when you know it's them in the wrong. It's being able to co-ordinate. Piper's none of that. But she goddamned tries, more than anyone else stuck in a shitty job, earning shitty money for even shittier bosses, that always want you to work the shittiest hours. And that makes all the difference. Piper didn't just work for it. She fucking slaved for it. It reminds her of her mother, because it's no different, really.
It's something Alex hadn't given that much thought to, but the more she lets that thought grow, the more it dawns on Alex that her mother and Piper are very much alike. They've got that same spirit that can't be crushed. The same perseverance. The same dedication. It makes Alex want to see how they'd act together. Makes her want to put them in the same room, make her two worlds collide. Her chest tightens for a split second, like a warning. It was a subconscious, innocent exploration of a theoretical, never-going-to-happen scenario; but Alex has never even thought about the possibility of Diane coming into contact with any of the girls she's associated with.
And just to have that thought scares her.
Alex puts it to the side. Locks it away. Pretends it never happened. Pretends it's been wiped and deleted, and irreparably destroyed.
"Hey, you wanna know something?"
"Mmhm?"
"I'm really fucking proud of you, Pipes."
For a moment, Piper looks blank. It's as if being told something like that, receiving pure, genuine praise, is unusual. Uncommon. Halfway to bizarre. She smiles, and Piper's eyes go bright as she darts them around, searching for some kind of marker that Alex is being truth. It's almost disbelief. It makes something inside Alex just deflate. She thinks. Maybe that explains the whole eager-to-please thing.
Piper doesn't say anything. She just smiles, returning to bury her head on Alex's chest. Unruly strands of blond hair tickle against Alex's neck, and so she threads them through her fingers, combing out the odd knot or so. There's no way Alex can sleep – not when this feels to blissfully perfect, she can't pass up a moment of it. She loves the weight of Piper sprawled out across her chest, how she can feel every breath she takes, feel it on her skin. She likes how vulnerable Piper is right now – trustful enough of Alex to just drop her guard, completely.
Alex tucks the shorter strands behind Piper's ear, and runs her hands down her sides, just to feel the warmth of her skin under her fingertips. And something changes. Like some part of her is just transferred to Piper, something that feels like it might be her heart. She tries to focus on it, tries to feel that knot in her chest, gage how different it feels from yesterday or the day before. Because Alex knows it's been getting a little tighter every day.
She doesn't ever want someone other than Piper to curl up with her, doesn't ever want another person's warmth to feel, to hold, to touch. It's as if something has shut off, a break in a circuit or a malfunction in a production line. Someone flicked a switch. It feels like so many things. Like the beginning. Like the inescapable. Like home.
Alex dismisses the thought, because it feels like it can't be dwelled on, not today, not now, when her heart feels so tight and bursting with so much, and she has absolutely no way of dealing with it.
….
It's just a few scant hours later when Piper finally stirs, groaning a little as she raises her head. "Welcome back." Alex muses.
"Oh. How long was I asleep?" Piper asks, looking around the darkness to get her bearings.
"Good couple of hours. You were out."
Alex watches as Piper gets herself up to speed, escaping that lagged territory that throws her mind notoriously off-balance. Piper sits up, eyes darting to the dimly illuminated clock on chest of drawers. It reads 03:21. Piper gives an exaggerated huff before collapsing back against the mattress. "Shit. There goes my sleeping schedule."
Piper closes her eyes, trying to gage whether it's worth trying to sleep for a few more hours. But she's already wide-awake. She turns on her side, and looks back to Alex. "Am I keeping you from anything?" It sounds timid, and a little Piper's bracing herself for disappointment.
Alex gives her a look. "At three in the morning? Just what do you think I do?"
"No, I meant…" Piper pauses to shuffle closer and fold her arms across Alex's stomach. There's a seriousness that overtakes Piper, and it's so strange to see Piper like that, Alex feels her chest tighten as she automatically braces herself for a setback. "Like, well, I kind of sucked you in. Getting you over here…and I haven't exactly given you an opening to go."
Alex laughs easily. "Well, you know, I did actually find a door that opens from the inside, would you believe it? It's like this prison is just asking to be escaped from."
Piper nods, muttering, "right" under her breath. Alex doesn't respond, because it feels like Piper's got something more to say. So she just waits until Piper builds up the courage to say it.
"You really don't need to go?" It's more than that. It's much more than Piper is prepared to let on. But it comes across anyway.
Alex shakes her head. "No, I really don't."
There's something hidden in those words that catches Piper's attention. Like she's not actually referring to the present situation. Like somehow, this is some sort or promise. It feels unbreakable. Like there's nothing that could ever change that. As if there is no break that could ever hope to sever. It strikes Piper as strange, and she can't really get her head around it. Because the words fit the question, so why should she think they mean something different? Piper figures she can dwell on it later. After all, she's got the new addition of many slow hours of work to just, think.
Alex is quiet for a while, but she appears to grow uncomfortable from having her previous words still linger in the air, and it seems to prompt her into the need to form a new conversation.
"How was work?" Alex eventually asks.
Piper tightens her brow. "You really wanna know how it went?"
Alex lifts her glasses to the top of her head, just to show that she's listening. "I do. Tell me all about all the orders you stuffed up, all about the crying fucken' toddlers, all the unhappy couples not talking to each other. Tell me all of it."
Piper kind of expected a response like that. It's something that's become inseparable to Alex. She's slowly grown used to those snarky responses that are so characteristically Alex. Polly would ask her about her co-workers, or more specifically, if there were any cute guys. Cal would ask if there were cockroaches running around the kitchen. Her mother would ask her how long that 'low grade' job would last before it led to 'better things'. But Alex would always ask the Alex questions. And those were the kinds of questions Piper wanted to answer most.
"Would I surprise you if I told you I didn't stuff any orders?"
Alex laughs, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "Come on, you seriously didn't? You didn't, I don't know, forget to specify no chilli for someone deathly allergic, and be horrified as the realisation dawns on you the second they take their first bite?"
A concerned look falls over Piper's face. "That's really dark, you know. You're essentially insinuating I killed someone on my first day."
"That would be the meaning of deathly allergic, Pipes."
Piper's eyes go wild, and there's a moment where something flashes and disappears so quickly, it unnerves Alex a little. "I didn't kill anyone!" Piper protests. Alex raises her voice to match Piper's. "It's okay if you did, babe. I'll support you one-hundred percent when the private investigators rock up."
Alex smirks, batting Piper's hands away as she raises them in a failing attempt to shut Alex up. "I'll explain that you're way too innocent to involve yourself in such a disturbing scheme."
Piper sighs, trying to get a word in edgewise as Alex continues to rile her up so deliberately. "I didn't kill anyone!" Piper insists, dropping her head against Alex's stomach in stubborn defeat.
Alex sniggers, running her fingers through Piper's hair, her face angled defensively away. "Yeah. I know you didn't." Piper goes quiet for a while, sighing as she let's Alex's fingertips calm her back down. But Piper can feel that Alex isn't done.
"But come on, Piper. There must be something that you're just dying to share with me."
Piper raises her head to glare daggers at Alex. "Was that deliberate? Because if so, I'm not telling you anything."
Alex smirks - communicating to Piper that is was indeed intentional. But she senses that's Piper's had it with her quips, and decides to stop. "Okay, I take that one back."
"Well, there was this one thing…" Piper begins apprehensively.
Alex raises an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"
Piper bites her lip, as though she's contemplating whether or not it's a smart decision to tell Alex, particularly given all the mockery that's been directed towards her job. But Piper tells her anyway.
"I did mess up. There was this one order for calamari that I accidentally gave to someone who ordered salt and pepper squid, and vice versa."
An amused smile works it's way onto Alex's lips. "Did they notice?"
"No. I stayed as far away from their tables as possible until they left."
That sounds exactly like you, Alex thinks. "Nice job, babe. I'm sure the extensive experience from Steve's Greek Cuisine and that fucken' cheese place really helped."
Piper's cheeks flush, and all the jabs Alex took at her about her resume come rushing back. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"
Alex shakes her head. "Fuck no. It's fucking gold. I'm not letting you live that one down." She pauses, mulling over a clarification. "The others, maybe. But that resume? It's going to fucken' haunt you."
Alex feels Piper laugh against her stomach, and it makes Alex appreciate that Piper's told her something she hasn't told anyone else. Let her in something secret. Something that could evoke judgement, or embarrassment, or regret. But telling Alex actually makes her feel better. And for Alex, that's really something.
"How was your day?"
Alex thinks for a moment. As far as Alex is concerned, today was the day she got her life back. Today was the day Sylvie finally fucking gone for good. Today was the day she had fulfilled a sort of contract for the cartel, and that was an immense demonstration of her worth. But all that kind of acted as a backdrop to what Alex considered the biggest win, which is that the apartment is freed up, and now they're not stuck in keeping themselves locked up in Piper's not-so-private and not-so-soundproof bedroom.
"Eventful." Alex replies.
Alex can feel Piper beginning to grow drowsy, and it takes her a long time before she finally replies. "Mmm."
Alex shifts, sliding down against the mattress and turning onto her side. Piper copies, waiting until Alex is pressed up against her back before she reaches behind her to squeeze Alex's hip reassuringly.
"Hey, maybe next time, you could, I don't know, stay at mine?"
Piper chuckles softly against the pillow. "What about your crazy girlfriend?"
Alex pauses, wondering how on earth she is meant to explain this to Piper. Where on earth she is meant to start, and how she can make Piper understand without coming across hazardous cartel territory.
"Yeah. About that. She's more of an ex now."
Piper stills for a moment. She swallows, keeping her eyes closed as her voice grows softer with each syllable. "News to me. As of when?"
"As of about twelve hours ago."
Piper nods mutely, and it's as if that's enough to satisfy. Which is strange for Alex, because she expected an onslaught of questions when it came to Sylvie. After all, Piper certainly threw enough verbal curveballs her way the first time to prove that. But recently, Alex had noticed that Piper kind of shut off when it came to Sylvie, like she had somehow managed to dismiss all the moral guilt that Alex knew she'd quickly become riddled with.
"Are you okay?" Piper asks.
Alex smiles into Piper's hair, nodding against her neck. "I'm more than okay."
She hadn't expected it, but something in Alex propels her to explain further. Like she wants to tell Piper everything, lay all her cards on the table. Maybe it's to rid herself of the guilt, because the guilt only started once Piper was so rudely informed of Sylvie's presence. Alex takes a deep breath.
"Listen, Pipes, there's more to that whole Sylvie thing than I actually told you."
Piper isn't sure whether that's meant to be good or bad. She figures it doesn't matter, because Alex chose her, and everything else is unequivocally irrelevant. So she's soft and careful and open-minded, no matter how negative she wants to be about the situation. "You wanna talk about it?"
"Not right now. But I promise, I'll tell you the whole story another time."
"You don't have to." Piper soothes.
"I know." Alex whispers back. "I want to, though."
….
Congratulations, you're ten chapters down. I don't know if any of you tuned in at the beginning of Frustrations, but if you did, you're pretty much Frustrations royalty, as far as I'm concerned.
Mad thanks to DA15Y (oh dude, thank you so much!), TheSickenerHits (you are too kind, you really, really are. the line is all yours!), salma1996 (thanks so much for taking the time to write that, and gosh, you really tap into what I'm getting at), Taylor (IDK BRO!), NightsLightss (I should clarify that I really just want to give you a big hug right now), Guest (hah, now I'm just imagining every oitnb fan just stuck in this big lifeboat while all the talented writers just churn out fics to keep everyone from going crazy), SG (well aren't you just super), sam84 (my god, the whole thing again? that makes me ridiculously happy), FFChik (thanks man!), toesareoverrated (*quickly gets all the iceblocks out of the freezer and chucks them at you), PipexVauseman (agreed. protective Alex is the best), sweetlikevanillais (the wait is over! [ironically so, though, because by the time you read this, you'll be staring into the abyss of another wait!]), TwoYearPlan (I'm so glad I didn't cut the "how do you want me" bit, because everyone seems to need a quick vacation to the arctic after reading it, so thanks a bunch!), Katerina (god, you're awesome. thanks for being really specific, too! brilliant idea. I'm definitely going to include that), DarkestGayMoon (I feel like we're gonna battle about who is more awesome, so I'm gonna go right ahead and say that no, it's definitely you, and thank you so much for being like that), and Guest (I think you might need some iceblocks thrown at you, too, and that's cool, because there's plenty for everyone who got hot and bothered).
Okay, have a super rest of the weekend, and if you've got any domestic prompts for me, send 'em though! See you soon, yeah?