A/N: Once again, thank you all for your lovely reviews – and a special mention to the Guest who picked up on the reference to violets in the previous chapter. That made me smile. :)
I think we're done here. Thank you all for your words of encouragement. x
It was Wednesday evening. She hadn't seen Alex since they both left the apartment on Monday morning, Alex heading home as she set off to school.
"I'll call you," Alex had said and Piper had smiled before kissing her softly on the lips and walking towards the subway.
She'd received an apologetic text message late on Monday night, explaining she was caught up at work but would talk to her the following day. Piper was already asleep in bed when the message arrived, so didn't reply until the next morning as she was hurrying to get ready for school. Two words. "No problem." No kiss, though she only realised this on Wednesday afternoon.
Both Piper and Alex spent Tuesday missing each other's calls. This wasn't helped by the fact that Piper managed to leave her phone on the kitchen counter when she headed off to work in the morning. She arrived home late, called Alex back, but she was already working. Piper cursed her forgetfulness and spent the evening catching up on bills and laundry. Living the high life, she mused.
Wednesday didn't go well for Piper. After oversleeping and having to hurry to make sure she got to school on time, she arrived flustered and wet, having been caught in a rain shower from the subway station to school and realising too late that she'd left her umbrella at home in her haste that morning. She had a conference with a particularly difficult parent mid-morning and then found she'd drawn the short straw for playground duty over lunchtime. By the time she made it to the staff room just before finishing work, she found she'd missed three calls from Alex over the lunch period. She called her back as she headed back to the subway after school, but it went straight to voicemail.
The heavens opened again as Piper made her way back to her apartment from the station and she arrived home soaked to the skin, her hair plastered to her head, tired and frustrated and shivering with the cold.
She peeled her clothes off and stepped into the shower, turning the water up as high as she could stand it. She stood still and allowed it to course over her for a full ten minutes, warming her through, before washing her hair and eventually stepping out. She reached for a large towel and wrapped it around her pink skin.
She sat on the edge of her bed, rubbed her hair dry with a second towel, then dressed in her pyjamas. She gathered together her wet clothes, a few more from the laundry basket, then moved through into the kitchen and bundled them all into the washing machine. She flicked the kettle on to boil, then moved back into the loungeroom and pulled her phone from her bag with the intention of calling Alex.
She saw she had two missed calls, both made when she was in the shower, both from Alex, and one voicemail message.
Not having much luck catching up with you, kid. Hope you're okay. I'm just headed into work so will try and catch you tomorrow.
There was a pause of a second or so while Alex considered how to end the message, then it continued.
So, um, yeah. I'll… I'll speak with you then. Uh. Yeah. See ya.
Piper smiled to herself as she listened to the uncertainty creep into Alex's voice at the end of the message and immediately called her back. It rang for a full minute before diverting to voicemail. She chose not to leave a message.
She made herself a cup of chamomile tea and an omelette for dinner, then sat at her desk to eat it. She spent the next two hours marking school work and preparing the lessons for the following day. A little after eight thirty she sat back in her chair and rubbed her hands over her face, before stretching her arms up over her head, easing out the stiffness that had built up in her shoulders. Her eyes fell upon the photograph of her brothers and she studied it for a few seconds before checking the time, doing a quick mental calculation and reaching for her phone.
Two and a half thousand miles away, a phone started to ring in an apartment on the shores of Lake Washington. It rang three times before it was answered, a cheerful, sing-song voice greeting her.
"Chapman-Johnson residence, this is Garett."
"Hey Garett, how's my favourite fake brother-in-law today?"
"Piper? Piper! Is that you?"
Piper laughed softly at the surprise in Garett's voice. "Yep, it's me. How are you, Gare?"
"So much better for hearing your lovely voice, at last." He placed heavy emphasis on the last two words, making Piper smile.
"It works both ways, you know."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry sweetie. You know what he's like. This is the first time he's let me out of the bedroom in two weeks!"
Piper laughed again, knowing this was untrue. "Is he there?"
"Yeah, hold on, I'll get him." Garett paused, then added "It's good to hear from you, Piper. I mean it."
Piper heard the phone clunk as it was placed on a heavy surface, then the sound of movement in the background before the phone was picked up again and another voice floated down the line.
"Piper?"
"Hey, Danny."
"Ah, Pipes. It's good to hear your voice. How are you? What's happening? Is everything okay?"
Piper smiled. There were two people in the world who called her Pipes, her big brother and her… hmm. Her whatever-Alex-is. Most people went with Pipe if they bothered changing her name at all, but Pipes had been exclusive to Danny until very recently.
"Everything's good, yeah. I just..." she fell silent for a moment, then finished quieter "miss you."
Piper listened to the static on the line, then the sound of her older brother moving around. She heard his quiet exhalation of breath as he sat heavily in his overstuffed armchair, then his voice, quiet and serious.
"What's going on, kiddo?"
Piper held the phone a little tighter. "Nothing, Dan. I've had a rough day, work has been hell and I got rained on. Twice."
"Don't talk to me about rain, Pipes. You want to try living here."
They both smiled and Piper moved to her window seat, looking out over the dark street and the rain that still fell steadily outside.
"I was soaked to the skin."
"There's no such thing as bad weather, Piper. Just inappropriate clothing."
"Oh my God. Shut up. You sound like Carol!"
She bit her lip as soon as the words were out of her mouth, wishing she could haul them back in. Her brother was silent for a couple of seconds, the dead air hanging heavily between them, before responding.
"Still not found any treatment for that foot-in-mouth disease I see, sis."
"I'm so sorry, Dan."
"It's okay."
"It isn't really."
"Pipes. It's okay." His voice was soft, quiet.
Piper started to laugh softly as the sound of Garett's singing filled the space created by their silence a moment later.
Oh Danny boy, the Pipes, the Pipes she's calling
From east to west, across this country wiiiide...
"Shut up!" Danny shouted and Piper laughed.
"He's funny."
"He's funny in the head, yeah."
"But you love him anyway."
"God knows why."
Piper smiled, then asked in a quiet voice "Are you happy, Dan?"
"Wow. That's a big question."
"Yeah, but are you?"
Danny fell silent and watched as his boyfriend moved around the kitchen of their apartment, preparing dinner. Garett whistled quietly as he worked, his hips swaying to the song playing in his head.
"I am," he murmured into the phone. "Yes."
Piper felt the sting of tears prick her eyes and she took a long deep breath, composing herself before she spoke again.
"I'm glad," she whispered.
"I wish, sometimes, that things were different," Danny continued softly. "But it's the way they are and I've made my peace with that."
"I miss you."
"You should come visit. Seriously. Come for Thanksgiving."
Piper chuckled. "Oh yeah, can you imagine? She's already pissed with me because I let her down and didn't go to dinner with her and the Forsbergs on Saturday, she'd actually disown me if I told her I wasn't going home for Thanksgiving."
"It's not so bad, I survived it," Danny replied with the hint of a smile as well as sadness in his voice.
Piper smiled sadly. "I wish things were different too."
"The Forsbergs," he began, with forced brightness in his voice. "Are they the ones with the annoying but hot kid? What was his name? Matthew, Marky, something like that?"
"Matthias."
"Matthias! That's it. God, he was such an annoying little shit. Cute, incredible abs, but he knew it, which is considerably less attractive."
"Yeah, that's him. Polly tells me he has a tiny dick, too, so I don't think you particularly missed out."
Danny's laugh was deep and genuine. "Polly! How is she? Does she still have a potty mouth?"
"Like a sewer. She's good though, just about managing to keep me sane, you know how it is."
"So why did you bail on dinner?"
"Apart from the fact mom was trying to marry me off to Matthias?"
"Oh nice! She's still trying to plan your life for you, then?"
"Plan it? She's trying to run it, Dan."
"Hey at least she's still involved in it, kiddo."
"Mmm. Forgive me if sometimes I think you got the better deal." Piper replied with a wry smile.
Dan chuckled his agreement, but they both knew that the truth held no humour whatsoever. He'd had to move to the other side of the country to forge the kind of life for himself that he wanted and he'd had to do it on his own. His parents had ostracised him six years earlier, right about the time he finally plucked up the courage to tell them about Garett. He'd been with Garett since he was seventeen years old. He was twenty-four when he came out to his parents. He was now thirty, still with Garett, and still as in love with him as he had been on that day when he decided it was finally time to stop hiding.
"So why did you let her down? I thought I had the monopoly on that."
"I had a date," Piper grinned. "So Polly called her and told her I was sick and couldn't make it."
Dan laughed. "She's still covering for you, huh?"
"It's what best friends do!"
"Was it worth it?"
"Oh hell yes it was."
He laughed louder. "Okay, okay. Enough with the enthusiasm, I think I get the picture."
Piper grinned. "Sorry."
"Have you seen him again?"
"Who?"
"Your date!"
"Oh." Uncomfortable. "Oh yeah, we uh, had dinner on Sunday."
"Cute. Are you seeing him again?"
Piper swallowed. It was meant to be easier than this. Of all people, surely Dan would get this. He'd understand. Why was it so difficult to just say it?
"Um, I hope so. We keep missing each other though, we haven't actually spoken since Monday morning. Voicemails and texts are where it's at."
"Monday morning huh?"
"Yeah."
"After dinner on Sunday night..."
"Ah."
Piper could hear the smile in her brother's voice as she realised what she'd just unwittingly admitted to.
"Garett!" he yelled, calling out to his boyfriend. "Gare! Piper got laid!"
"Oh my God, Daniel!" she exclaimed in horror.
Danny laughed and she closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the cold window pane, listening as she was put on speaker and her big brother and his partner laughed together and poked fun at her. Jokes about nuns and celibacy and forgetting how to do it with another person present filtered down the line and for a moment, just a moment, Piper didn't feel every single one of the two and a half thousand miles that separated her from her brother.
When finally the laughter and gentle ribbing subsided, Piper spoke again.
"Danny," she said, her voice quiet. "I miss you so much, you know. Both of you."
"Oh we miss you too, honey," Garett replied.
"Sometimes I feel like everything would be easier if you were here."
Garett was about to reply, but Danny silenced him with a finger to his lips. There was something off here. Something in Piper's tone.
"Like what, kid?" his voice was soft and Piper recognised the change straight away.
She hesitated and pulled her lower lip between her teeth.
"Pipes?"
"My date."
"What about him?"
She took a deep breath, then screwed her eyes closed and let her next sentence out all on the one exhalation.
"It isn't a him it's a her and her name is Alex and she's so fucking awesome guys and she makes me feel so good and I think about her all the time and she's so smart and independent and funny and ohmygod she's so fucking hot I can't even tell you."
There was a delay before Danny spoke again. He was busy exchanging a high five and a knowing smile with Garett who looked like he was about to burst with excitement.
"And you're talking to me right now instead of her because…?"
"She's working."
Garett interrupted. "How hot exactly?"
Piper smiled. "Amazingly, Gare. Takes my breath away hot."
"You've had, what? Two dates?" Danny, pushing for specifics.
"Uh no. Technically four. No wait! Five."
"Since when?"
"Um, last Tuesday."
"A week."
"Uh huh." Piper chewed her lip anxiously.
"You've had five dates in a single week?"
"Mmm, yeah."
"Hold on, let me get this right..." Garett spoke again. "You've known her for a week, you've had five dates, you've become intimately acquainted with each other..."
"Nicely put, Gare," Danny interjected.
"Thanks babe," Garett smiled then continued "...and you've not yet hired a U-Haul and moved in with her? What kind of piss poor excuse for a lesbian are you?"
Piper started to laugh and felt all of her anxieties begin to dissolve.
They chatted for another ten minutes. Danny and Garett asking a multitude of questions, mining Piper for information about Alex, about herself, about how they met, about how their relationship was developing.
"So tell me again why you're talking to us and not to her?"
"She's working."
"In the bar she owns."
"Yeah."
"Which is about fifteen minutes away."
"Mmhmm."
"And you've been trying to speak to her since Monday, but keep missing each other."
"Yeah."
"So, you're just sitting there alone in your apartment."
"..."
"With the woman you can't stop thinking about fifteen minutes away."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh."
"I think I'm gonna go, guys."
"Attagirl," Garett piped up.
"Go get her, Pipes."
At nine forty-five Piper stepped out of the rain and in through the doors of Suave. She'd dressed hurriedly after ending the call to Danny and Garett, changing from her pyjamas into a pair of faded jeans and a chunky sweater. She'd pulled on her coat and a dark blue beanie and hurried through the rain to the bar with her collar turned up against the wind.
She stood just inside the door and cast her eyes around the bar, searching for Alex. She spotted Nicky, but couldn't see Alex anywhere. With a frown she moved over to the bar and waited impatiently to catch Nicky's attention.
Nicky did a double-take before she recognised Piper, then gave her a wide smile when she realised who it was.
"Piper, hi! Well now, don't you just look the cutest in your little beanie," she started, smiling broadly.
"Is Alex here?" Piper cut to the chase, her eyes still darting around the bar, looking for the other woman.
"Yeah," Nicky began, glancing over her shoulder. "Yeah, she's here. She's..."
"Can I see her?"
Nicky's brow furrowed and she studied Piper carefully. "Is something going on?"
"No?"
"You sure? She's been short tempered and snarky all night. All day too, now that I think about it."
"There's nothing going on. Or at least, nothing to do with me."
"Maybe it's me. Wouldn't be the first time."
Piper didn't respond, she just looked around the bar again, her eyes searching desperately for Alex. Nicky watched her, then flipped up the hinged end of the counter. "Come on," she said and invited Piper behind the bar.
Piper followed and Nicky led her to the far end of the counter and before knocking twice on the door that was set into the wall.
She waited, her ear pressed against the wood, then knocked again.
Hearing no answer, she slowly pushed the door open a few inches and peered inside.
"Vause?" she said, tentatively.
"What?" Alex's voice was terse, abrupt. Piper chewed on her thumbnail as she waited behind Nicky, she'd never heard Alex's voice carry such a tone before.
"Delivery for you, Boss." Nicky pushed the door open further, then took a step to the side, allowing Piper to step forward.
Alex was seated behind a large double pedestal desk. Her head was resting on her closed fist and she seemed to be focused on a stack of papers in front of her. She pulled her glasses off angrily and tossed them onto the desk.
"The fuck, Nichols? You can't deal with a delivery?"
She whipped her head up to challenge Nicky but stopped short when she saw Piper standing in the open doorway.
"Not this one, Boss. No." Nicky replied, her voice softening as she took a step back and pulled the door closed behind her.
Alex pushed her chair back and stood, reaching for and replacing her glasses as she did so. She looked over at the woman standing in the doorway, still bundled up against the cold and rain outside.
"Piper?"
"Um, hi."
Alex frowned at the hesitancy in Piper's voice and slowly started to move toward her.
"Is this a bad time? If it's a bad time I can just..." she gestured over her shoulder with her thumb, half turning back to the door.
"No no no." Alex replied quickly. "No. No, come in. Please."
Piper glanced around the office, then looked up at Alex as she moved closer.
"Are you okay?" Alex asked, her voice soft.
"Yeah, I'm… mmhmm. Yep." Her gaze fell to the floor, unable to maintain eye contact with Alex.
"Jeez Pipes, you're soaked." Alex said as she reached the other woman and saw the water dripping from the sleeves of her coat.
"It's, um, raining."
"No really?"
Piper looked up, catching the humour in Alex's tone. She smiled tentatively and was rewarded with a matching smile from the brunette.
"What's up, kid? What're you doing here?"
"Nothing. There's nothing wrong, I just..." she frowned, her words deserting her just when she needed them.
"Here, let's get you out of that coat." Alex started, filling the sudden silence and reaching for the buttons on Piper's wet jacket.
Piper stood still, allowing Alex to unfasten the buttons, studying her face in silence. Alex slipped the coat off and draped it over a chair, turning back just as Piper reached up to remove her hat. Alex's hand darted out and caught her forearm, stopping her.
"Not the beanie," she said, smiling. "You have no idea how cute you look in the beanie."
Piper ducked her head and smiled shyly. "I do. Nicky told me."
"See? I told you I'd have to watch her around you, didn't I. Proof right there."
Piper shook her head quickly, as if to dismiss any concerns Alex may have had.
"Come on, let me get you a drink. Warm you up."
Alex moved to a shelf to the right of her desk, reached up and brought down the good tequila and a couple of shot glasses. As she placed the glasses on her desk and started to open the bottle, Piper cleared her throat quietly behind her.
"Is that the best you've got?" her voice was quiet, uncertain.
Alex frowned in confusion and turned to look at her, raising the bottle slightly. "Three hundred a shot, Pipes."
Piper shook her head. "I didn't mean..."
She frowned and swallowed and then took a steadying breath before raising her eyes to meet Alex's again.
"What I meant," she started, taking a step closer to the other woman, "is, is that the best idea you have about how to warm me up?"
Alex's eyebrow shot up in surprise and her lips curved into a small smile. She placed the bottle back on the shelf and turned to Piper once more.
She looked so cute in her oversized, chunky sweater and her beanie and Alex couldn't help but smile when she looked at her. She reached out and caught one of Piper's hands with her own, the tips of her fingers hooking around Piper's and tugging her gently closer.
"What are you doing here Piper Chapman, other than looking completely adorable?" she murmured as Piper moved up close to her.
"I kept missing your calls," she said, looking down at their hands.
"Yeah," Alex murmured. "Started to think it was deliberate."
Piper's head jerked up quickly, her wide blue eyes meeting Alex's concerned green as she shook her head vigorously.
"No?" Alex murmured.
"God no." Piper replied. "I kept missing your calls and then, then tonight I realised it wasn't just your calls I was missing."
Her voice trailed off towards the end of her sentence and her eyes moved to focus on Alex's collarbone.
Alex wet her lips with her tongue. "No?" she repeated, her voice quiet.
Piper shook her head gently, still unable to meet Alex's eye as a wave of anxious uncertainty threatened to overwhelm her.
"What else?" Alex asked, keeping her voice soft.
She thought back to the conversation with Danny and Garett earlier, how blindingly obvious it had been to them, how they'd had to all but point it out to her. She thought back to Danny's words just before their call ended, how he'd told her to go get her, Pipes and she realised he was right. Realised this was the moment.
"Only everything about you," she murmured, her eyes finally lifting to meet Alex's.
She saw the spark in the other woman's eyes and the upward curve of her lips in the brief moment before Alex closed the gap between them and kissed her. One hand moved to cup Piper's jaw, the other held her hand a little tighter. She felt Alex's thumb stroke across her cheek as they kissed, soft and slow and tender.
When they pulled apart, Piper rested her forehead against Alex's shoulder as the taller woman wound her arms around her and hugged her gently.
"I'm so glad you're here," Alex whispered into Piper's beanie.
Piper smiled, then turned her head and kissed Alex's neck softly, letting her lips linger against her delicate skin.
There was nowhere else she'd rather be.
The End
