I'm thinking of bringing this to a close soon. I don't really want to overdo the concept or have it turn into something that's too predictable which can take a lot of thought and time - something which I currently don't possess a lot of.
I hope this was at least worth the wait.
The dark room is filled with silence. From where she's lying on the right hand side of the bed, Piper twists so that her body faces the being next to her. Bringing Alex home set off an overwhelming stem of emotions, and although the brunette's release had been something both women had been counting down, now that it's really happened, it seems as though neither knows exactly what to do next.
From her own experiences, Piper knows being released is hard; the schedules of waking up at 5am to the prison lighting is something that hindered her sleeping pattern for a number of months, and the shock of hearing loud noises triggered a sense of panic. Observing her wife being welcomed into the new surroundings of their home was a process for the the blonde. She watched her wife slowly moving from room to room, commenting on particular pieces of decor and pictures framing the walls, but what she didn't expect was her fluctuating mood. Yes, they'd been separated for 4 years, but what Piper hadn't considered was that her wife may need some time alone - as ironic as that sounds - to adjust to her new surroundings, her new sense of freedom.
Despite the darkness, Piper can just about see Alex sleeping, and although the rest of the day was emotionally charged, both women felt too tired for anything other than conversing over a meal before going to sleep. Intimacy was something they'd both spoken about during phone calls and visits, but once the time eventually came around, neither woman thought about the possibility of other emotional tolls getting in the way.
By the time she lets herself fall asleep, in what feels like no time, Piper is woken up by sharp feeling of something moving in the bed next to her. Forcing her eyes open, the blonde sees her wife sitting upright in the bed with her head tilted down - the rapid movements of her chest suggesting she's trying to control her breathing. It's something she should have thought about - the dreams and unfamiliarity of being outside of prison did the same thing to her after her release, but as she slowly shuffles to move closer to the brunette, the sight of her struggle brings her back to her own negative experiences.
"Al," the blonde whispers, lightly brushing the edge of the white short-sleeved t-shirt her wife is wearing.
Flinching slightly at the contact, Alex's head turns to the side, but the panic soon fades away once she realises who it is touching her arm.
"Sorry," she whispers, not having expected to react to physical contact in such a way. "Go back to bed."
"Alex," Piper begins, sitting upright and placing a hand on the top of her wife's thigh that's covered by the duvet. "It's okay. I get it," she says, letting the brunette know it's an experience she's also been through. "It's just the sound of things happening outside."
"Sorry," the brunette repeats, looking back down while trying to relax her shoulders.
"Don't be sorry," the blonde whispers back. "Come here," she adds, lying back with her left arm stretched out as a form of invitation.
Seeming convinced, Alex complies, slowly moving back so that she can be pulled closer into Piper's warm body.
"It takes time to get used to it," the blonde continues, "I found it hard to begin with too."
The brunette doesn't respond verbally, instead turning onto her side to rest her head in the crook of the blonde's neck.
Piper lies awake, slowly rubbing her arm along her wife's back until she feels her drift back to sleep in her arms, and when she again eventually wakes up hours later, she finds that she's the first to arise, and in a role reversal situation, her body is fused behind the brunette's, right arm wrapped around her torso. She revels in the feeling of having Alex with her in person - able to touch her freely without the fear of a guard taking her away. The sight of the sleeping woman prevents Piper from wanting to disturb her, so in an attempt to let the brunette sleep peacefully, the blonde moves her arm back towards her own body and shuffles slightly so that she can be a witness to Alex waking up - hoping that she won't panic at the sight of the foreign surroundings around her.
Piper is brought out of her daydream as she feels a hand reach back to grab her own. Letting Alex pull her limb, Piper smiles as she feels herself being pulled back closer to her wife's body so that her arm can wrap back around her abdomen.
"You're warm," Alex's husky voice breaks the room's silence, causing Piper to bite down on her lower lip at just being able to hear her wife's voice in her just-woken state.
"Being next to you does that," the blonde responds, craning her head forward to deliver a kiss onto the skin of the side of Alex's neck.
Feeling the taller woman begin to move, Piper adjusts to accommodate her body turning over, and has to compose herself to not get too over emotional at the sight of Alex delivering a genuine smile.
"What time is it?" Alex asks, having not yet put on her glasses or really knowing where in the room she would be able to time.
"Just gone 9:30."
"We really were that tired then," Alex chuckles, alluding to the fact that neither woman could barely keep their eyes open the prior evening.
"How're you feeling?" Piper asks, wanting to know if there's anything her wife needs.
"I'm good," the brunette responds. "I think I'm the one that should be asking that though," she continues, smiling as she runs her left hand under the fabric of the blonde's t-shirt, stroking her toned abdomen and smiling at the goosebumps that erupt all over the surface of her skin at the connection.
"Al-" Piper whispers, clenching down on her jaw at the long-awaited sensation - something she'd craved since Alex had walked into their living space, but she didn't want to rush the older woman's adjustment process.
"It's been 4 years, Pipes, I can't imagine you weren't thinking about it last night," the brunette voices, letting her wife know she's fully aware as to what her intentions had been - in her own mind, she had the same initial thoughts before other factors got the better of her.
Choosing to give a more physical response, Piper reaches her hands up and pulls Alex into a searing kiss, deciding to let her actions do the talking.
The following weeks prove to pass by in a similar fashion. Piper takes the first initial week off work, but having to go back leaves her in a state of worry; Alex had found it hard to adjust to her surroundings. The blonde herself understands the feeling, but can't help but feel like she's always in the way; her process in the company of her brother's family wasn't easy, but she often finds herself wondering how Alex feels being alone with her.
Their levels of intimacy aren't as high as they used to be. It's something she expected after the first few days, but despite both living a life of freedom, Piper strangely misses the brunette. Alex managed to get herself a job at a local restaurant, and although both women are making a form of income, it leaves them with very little time for themselves. The brunette often works night shifts due to the better pay and the lack of alcohol they sell as an establishment.
Things have gotten better - it was inevitable that the change would be difficult for both parties, but things are far from what they had expected.
"Hello?" Alex's voice rings out as she enters their apartment in the early evening, closing the front door over behind her. "Pipes? I bought dinner form work," she continues, putting away her shoes and jacket before walking along the hallway and into the kitchen area.
"Piper?" she asks, quickly realising the blonde isn't in either of the rooms she had passed by to get where she's currently standing.
Placing the bag filled with dinner onto the kitchen counter, the brunette adjusts her glasses as she walks further through the living space to look for her wife. She immediately sees their bedroom door closed over - a sign that someone had recently been in there, and from the faint sound of running water, Alex identifies that the blonde is in the shower.
For the first time in what feels like forever, Alex doesn't feel tired. Work wasn't stressful, and her meeting with her probation officer ended sooner than expected. She feels guilty for the lack of time she's had alone with Piper other than when they wake up and go to bed, and in an effort to prove it's something she desperately craves, Alex decides to join the younger woman in the bathroom.
With the door unlocked, the brunette peaks her head through the now opened pathway, feeling the heat from the steam surrounding the room hitting her face immediately.
"Pipes," she states, letting the other woman know of her presence as she opens the door slightly wider.
The steamed-up shower door prevents the brunette from seeing whether the blonde knows if she's in the room or if she had even heard her arrive home to begin with, but that question is somewhat soon answered.
"Alex," the brunette hears in response - something she reads as the other woman trying to be a smartass and respond to the initial call of her own name.
"I brought dinner from work. You know, that chicken dish that you like," the brunette continues, assuming Piper was listening.
She suddenly flinches at the loud sound that comes off the steamed glass shower screen as Piper's left arm smacks its surface, leaving a palm print in the build-up of heat.
"Al," the blonde voices, causing Alex to momentarily worry as she takes another step further into the room before immediately stopping in her tracks.
"Fuck-" Piper groans out, and in hearing the blonde's low tone of voice, all worry-filled thoughts go flying out of her head, instead being replaced by more arousing ones.
While moving to take off her own clothing, Alex observes Piper's head flying backwards - again hitting the shower screen, and as she has her back to the door, the brunette doesn't want to give her the fright of her life.
Moving from where she's now in the middle of the room, Alex closes back over the bathroom door - something she knows Piper hears.
"Alex?" she can make out through the running water - Piper's now question-filled intonation indicating that the movement of her hand had taken a pause.
"Yeah," the brunette replies, secretly looking forward to hearing what excuse the blonde is going to try and use to be in the room alone.
"I didn't realise you were home I-" she pauses, the last-minute mental scramble evident from a mile away. "I'll only be another minute."
"Oh, I know you'll only be another minute," Alex says back as she walks over to the shower, lifting her foot into the bath so that she can round the other side of the screen. "Hey," she greets quietly as she delivers a smile and wave at the flustered blonde.
"I didn't realise you were home already," Piper offers in response, moving her right hand up so that it's now in line with the centre of her abdomen as she turns her body to face the brunette.
"You don't need to stop because of me," Alex begins, moving closer so that she now feels some of the wet sprinkles shooting off Piper's skin onto her own. "I'll happily watch," she adds, smirking flirtatiously.
"No, it's okay, I-" the blonde begins, but is cut off by Alex's index finger running down her side.
"What's this?" she asks, looking at the right side of the blonde's rib cage. "Is this a new tattoo?" she adds, knowing this must be an addition Piper got after she had herself been released, and considering the few times they'd been intimate throughout the last few weeks were either in the dark or with pieces of clothing still on, this is the first time Alex notices.
"This?" Piper questions, lifting her arm. "Yeah: it's an A."
"I can see that," the brunette chuckles - Piper's flustered nervousness proving as a source of entertainment.
"A for Alex."
"You didn't have to do that," Alex says, looking into her wife's blue eyes.
"I wanted to. It weirdly didn't make the separation feel so bad."
"I love it," the brunette smiles, stepping closer to run her fingers over the ink before resting her hand on the blonde's waist. "And I love you."
"I love you too… so much, Al," Piper smiles, placing her wet hands onto her wife's shoulders.
They both smile as their lips fuse into a kiss - Piper's mouth opening to let out a gasp at the feeling of Alex's cold hand touching her centre.