Hey peeps! So - yeah - 2nd chapter of this little Christmassy fic, and it's not done yet - there is still more to follow once you have reached the end. So read on, happy in the knowledge that there is still more to be posted! :D
"Quit it, Vause – otherwise I'm gonna take that phone off you and launch it right off this balcony." Nicky glared at Alex who's face was currently lit from the bright light of her phone screen. The two of them were sat on deckchairs on Alex's balcony, watching the lights of the city below as they drank their beers. It had been Nicky's idea to sit outside, using the rusting barbecue as an impromptu fire pit, so they were surprisingly warm, despite the cool December air swirling around them.
Alex looked at the phone in her hands one last time, noticing that only another minute has drifted by since she last checked it for the current time. She heard Nicky shifting in her chair, leaning across to grab at the phone, deftly switching it to her right hand, holding it away from her friend, she chuckled loudly into the crisp night air.
"OK, fine – sorry! You have my full, undivided attention." Nicky was still glaring at the phone in Alex's outstretched hand. "Right – look...its going away..." Alex said as she slid the phone into the pocket of her jeans, holding her palms towards Nicky as if proving she wasn't conducting some sort of trickery.
Nicky leaned back into her chair, taking a long drag on the cigarette between her fingers, holding it out to Alex as the smoke twisted away from her. "So. Blondie then."
Alex inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in her mouth before exhaling; slowly, controlled, watching the vapour disappear into the air around them. She held Nicky's gaze as she responded. "What about Piper?"
"You've got the hots for her, I can tell."
"I have not"
"So you've not been checking your phone every other minute to see if its nearly time for the end of her shift then?"
"I'm expecting a call..."
"Like fuck you are Vause. I know you. I know that look you get when you spot something you want. I saw it in your eyes when you were with Blondie in the store earlier... Fuck, I thought you were just going to jump her at one point..."
"What can I say, she...intrigues me..." Alex was careful to not look directly at Nicky, she knew she'd been caught – but there was something more to Piper, it had felt different, their brief conversation, how Pipers personality had begun to show through the walls she seemed to keep up, the electricity that seemed to run through her as their hands had touched, how she had been thinking about Piper ever since she had got back to her apartment. Alex was more than intrigued, she was captivated.
"Then you go all fuckin' cheesy on me and drop possibly the worst pick up line I've ever heard you use..."
"I wanted to make her smile. I only used that line as she said only creepy old men use it on her..."
"That's just it Vause – you wanted to make her smile...Not 'I wanted to get her number', or 'I wanted her naked on my bed' – you wanted to make her smile..."
"What's wrong with that? She had looked so sad when we walked into that store, and looked fucking worse when we actually got to the checkout...No one should be that sad at Christmas... "
"Do I need to start calling you Santa Vause now? What's with this whole "spread some festive cheer" all of a sudden? Maybe she's not a fan of the whole season...she told me herself she doesn't feel particularly festive...Oh! I know! Maybe she's allergic to tinsel? No – wait – fear of elves? She was once in a candy cane coma… No, I have it… She's got some serious Santa issues...!" The grin on Nicky's face got wider, the more crazy her suggestions got.
Alex smiled at first, the look fading as she remembered meeting Piper those few hours earlier. "I don't know Nic, there was just something about her, she looked so miserable – but when we got her laughing..." Alex sighed, looking away from Nicky, staring up into the cold night sky, "Everyone deserves to be happy Nic..."
"You're fucking weird, you know that Vause?"
Alex took a swig from her beer, before looking back to Nicky, an eyebrow raised and a wicked grin beginning to edge onto her lips, "Plus, I never said I wasn't aiming for getting her naked on my bed..."
"Now that's the Vause I'm used to!"
The two remained outside, working their way through a couple more bottles of beer as they made plans for Christmas day, or more accurately, Nicky regaled Alex with just how excited her girlfriend Lorna was to be having Christmas meal at their apartment this year and the great lengths she was going to in order to make it 'the best Christmas ever'.
"Lorna is such a kid when it comes to this time of year – I swear she has spent a small fortune on Christmas lights alone this year. I honestly fear for my retinas every time she turns them on – I'm sure the constant blinking is making me go blind..." Nicky laughed at her own joke, surprised to not hear at least a chuckle from Alex. Looking over, she saw her friend deep in thought, eyebrows drawn together, the top of the beer bottle resting lightly on her lips as she pondered something.
"Earth to Vause! Come in Vause...!"
"Hey Nic, I've got an idea – come on..." Alex jumped up like a shot from her chair, almost as if she had not heard a word Nicky had said; moving quickly towards the sliding doors to head back into her loft apartment, Alex paused for a moment, standing on the threshold as she waited for Nicky to move. But Nicky didn't move, she just spoke into the cool night air, without even turning her head to look at Alex.
"Oh no. I've heard that tone of voice before...If this idea involves me dressing up like an elf like last year I will tell you exactly where you can shove those pointy little shoes and-"
Alex chuckled at the memory her friend referred to, "No dressing up at all – just a little Christmas cheer if you can manage it. Come on Nic – it will be fun!"
Nicky groaned, she knew she would be roped into whatever Alex had planned, she always was, but it didn't mean she had to go willingly. "Fun is staying out here smoking and drinking til I cant feel feelings anymore. Fun, is most definitely not what is rolling around in that head of yours...are you deprived of oxygen at that height? 'Cos sometimes I question how you function properly..."
"Please Nicky. It's not for me – its for Piper..."
Nicky turned to face Alex, seeing that look on her face, like an excited kid who was standing in line to see Santa at Macys. Rolling her eyes dramatically and groaning loudly, Nicky extracted herself from the deckchair and headed towards Alex, wagging the beer bottle in her hand at the tall woman who was practically beside herself with whatever idiotic idea she had.
"Its times like this Vause I consider why I'm your friend, but then I remember...no one else puts up with half the shit I do, and someone needs to make sure you don't injure yourself... Come on then. Tell me this plan of yours..."
After Alex and Nicky had left the store, Piper replayed what just happened over and over again in her mind. How she found herself with her arms wrapped around Alex's waist, how those green eyes had somehow managed to look into the depths of her see Piper for who she really was, not what she was trying to be, how her stomach seemed to flip each time Piper remembered how her name sounded every time Alex had said it.
As her shift stretched out in front of her, Piper did what she did best and started to overthink everything, eventually starting to wonder whether Alex would indeed come back for the end of her shift, whether the flirting had been for show in front of the wild-haired Nicky, or whether Alex was actually interested in her. For once, Piper tried to push all her insecurities aside, and hoped that she had been right to take a chance on Alex, been right to lower her guard and start to let someone see the real Piper for a change. It didn't bother her that she had flirted with a woman, sure, the last person she had dated had been a guy, but she had experimented a little in college, nothing too serious but enough for her to know it didn't phase her by the fact she was currently obsessing over a woman. Piper realised she went for hot people.
And damn, Alex was hot.
The store had been relatively quiet, so Piper had been left to think about the gorgeous dark haired woman for a number of hours, so much so, that when she heard the sliding doors swoosh open at the entrance of the store, she thought her imagination was playing tricks on her as her gaze fell upon the back of a tall woman, dark hair falling below her shoulder blades. Piper glanced away from the woman towards the large clock on the wall opposite her. Quarter past one. She still had forty-five minutes before her shift ended, sighing she looked back to where the woman had stood a moment ago, but there was no sign of her. Piper leaned over her till, straining her neck to look down the aisle, but again nothing, the woman must have walked back out, or she was well and truly seeing things.
But then she heard it, that low, rasping voice that was unmistakably Alex, behind her. Piper span around, nearly losing her balance, strong hands gripping her waist helping her stay upright as her blue eyes met with green, and a wide, welcoming smile on the raven haired woman's face caused Pipers heart to flutter and for her brain to stop over thinking for once, resulting in her temporarily losing the power of speech.
"So I heard this store is one of the best in the area for outstanding customer service…" Alex stared at Piper, wanting nothing more to take her into her arms and kiss her squarely on the lips, but for the moment, she resisted, instead, flashing Piper a smile, raising her eyebrow that Nicky told her was 'that Vause look'.
"Alex…" Piper was still shocked at the appearance of the woman in front of her, managing to squeeze enough air from her lungs to address Alex, continuing to look at her with amazement. She hadn't only come back, she was early, and she was still holding her.
"Damn! This is excellent service, do you know all your customers names by heart?" Alex teased, savouring the moment of being so close to Piper, the tips of her fingertips aching to delve further under the store uniform shirt Piper wore.
Piper swallowed, taking a deep breath and managing to regain her senses, deciding to throw caution to the wind, "Only the hot ones…How is Nicky by the way? She not with you?"
Alex let go of Pipers waist, leaning against the checkout behind her, raising her hands to her chest, feigning mock hurt, "Damn, scorned for my own best friend…well, I have to hand it to her, Nicky does have a way with the ladies, but I have to say, she may know all the tricks in the book…" Alex paused, taking in Pier in front of her, before she pushed herself forward, closing the gap between the two of them; so when she next spoke, Piper could feel her warm breath on her neck, "…but I wrote the book…"
Piper closed her eyes as Alex spoke, savouring every moment this woman was close to her, the smell of her leather jacket, mixed with the faint tinge of smoke and alcohol on her breath, how her lips just barely grazed her cheek as she had leaned in, leaving Pipers skin tingling at the touch. Opening her eyes, she found Alex's face only millimetres from her own, if she moved forward Piper would have found her lips on Alex's in a second, as she paused, contemplating what Alex would taste like, Alex pulled back, walking round to the other side of Pipers checkout, leaning nonchalantly against the side.
"So, Piper. What's a pretty blonde thing like you, doing in a place like this?"
Trying hard not to show she missed Alex being close to her, Piper sat on her chair, a grin starting to creep across her face. "Is this another of your chat up lines – because I have to say, it's worse than the one you used earlier!"
"Hey – I was quoting your leery old men customers…I have much better lines than that." Alex replied, raising an eyebrow suggestively towards Piper.
"Really?"
"Really." Alex turned to face Piper fully, her green eyes darkening as she focused on the blonde in front of her, clearing her throat, she looked straight at Piper, gesturing the length of her body as she spoke her line, "Well, here I am. What were your other two wishes?"
Piper snorted a laugh as Alex held her face steady, not a trace of a laugh or a smile on her lips as she dead-panned the chat up line. "Alex! That's terrible!"
Without skipping a beat, Alex launched into her next line, keeping her eyes on Piper, moving forward slightly as she spoke, "I'm not a photographer, but I can picture you and me together"
"Oh good lord, I think they are getting worse, not better. These are your best lines?"
"Do you have a map, as I'm getting lost in your eyes"
"Please tell me no self respecting woman has fallen for any of these lines, these are all so-" Piper was interrupted by Alex as she continued to stare at Piper, reeling off the lines, however there was now a full grin on her face as she listened to Piper laugh at each one she tried, leaning forward slightly with each line delivered, cutting the distance between them with each terrible chat up line.
"I seem to have forgotten my phone number, can I have yours?"
"Oh – that one I have heard – that's a classic..."
"Hey Piper, feel this..." Alex held the lapel of her leather jacket forward, nodding with her chin for Piper to touch the material. Piper stretched forward, reaching to the jacket as Alex continued, "Do you know what this is made out of?" As Piper's fingers closed around the jacket, her thumb rubbing the cool leather, there was a chuckle deep within her chest as Alex saw Piper closing her eyes, realisation on her face as it struck her she'd been pulled into yet another line. As she dropped her head, Alex moved so she was closer to Pipers ear, whispering as she delivered the last part, "Girlfriend material…"
Piper bolted upright, Alex thankful to see bright red cheeks as Piper blushed, rather than shock or surprise, she laughed heartily, closing her eyes, so missed seeing Piper take a swing at her, the playful punch landing squarely on her upper arm.
"Hey! Hey! Quit punching me! Isn't your mantra meant to be the customer is always right?" Alex couldn't help but feel her heart swell as she looked to Piper, her eyes bright from the laughter, a chuckle just playing on the edge of her lips. Piper was the most beautiful thing Alex had ever laid eyes on.
"You deserved that – these are terrible Alex! Plus, technically you've not bought anything, you're not shopping, so, guess you're not a customer..." There was a sheepish look on her face, as she joked with Alex. There was no way she wanted Alex to leave the store, her manager was most likely asleep in his office, there were no other customers in the store so it wasn't as if Piper was ignoring them.
"OK, OK, one last one, then I'll get what I came in here for, deal?"
Piper nodded, ready for another cheesy line, stealing herself as she felt her heart rate increase tenfold as Alex leaned across her checkout, their faces merely millimetres apart again.
"So, kiss me if I'm wrong but…" Alex was trying to keep her gaze on Pipers blue eyes, but she couldn't help her eyes flicking down to take in how soft Pipers lips looked. Alex licked her own lips in anticipation, knowing full well this line was stupid and cheesy and no way at all like how she picked up woman normally. But she had known from the first moment she had spoken with her that Piper was different, this, between them, needed to be different and right now, Alex was as far from her normal tactics than she had ever known.
She breathed heavily as the tension built between them, bringing her eyes up to lock with Pipers once more as she delivered her line, trying to hold it together without laughing as she spoke as calmly as possible,
"...dinosaurs still exist – right?"
There was a moment where they were still looking at one another, eyes locked – nothing was said, but each could sense the wide smile creeping across the others face at the ridiculous line. Alex took a sharp pull of breath, expecting to release the air in the laugh that was building up in her chest, closing her eyes for a moment. But instead of the air leaving her lungs, she found Pipers lips meeting with her own, as the blonde leaned towards her, the tips of her fingers holding either side of Alex's face gently as Piper placed a tender kiss onto her lips. Alex didn't dare move, keeping her eyes closed for a second longer as she held onto the feeling of Pipers lips on her own, of Pipers hands touching her skin so lightly as if she held on any tighter she may burn.
The kiss was brief, and as Piper pulled back, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched Alex open her eyelids, those green eyes behind the thick rimmed glasses seeming darker than before, which just set all of Pipers emotions and senses screaming internally. Alex released a low chuckle, which flooded Piper with relief as Alex continued the joke.
"Shit! You mean Jurassic Park isn't real? Nicky told me that was a documentary...the little fucker..."
Piper laughed at Alexs mock acting until there were tears streaming down her face, laughing along with Alex until she realised that Alex wasn't stood in front of her, her smile turning into a frown as she watched Alex sauntering towards the exit behind the checkout, throwing a smile in her direction.
"Al..Alex?" She croaked out, confusion evident in her voice, "Where are you going? You haven't got what you came in for?"
"Kid, I got exactly what I came here for," Alex looked right at Piper, a genuine smile starting to spread across her face as her gaze dipped slightly looking to Pipers own rosy lips.
"So why are you going...I thought, two o'clock? The end of my shift..."
"I know, your shift ends at two. One of the many things my mom taught me was how to tell the time, so if I'm not mistaken," Alex leaned back, looking and pointing up to the large clock on the wall, smiling as Piper looked too, "I still have twenty minutes before you finish...so Chinese? I'm guessing after a long shift you gotta be hungry?"
As Alex had looked back to Piper, the smile still on her lips, she had thrown a thumb over her shoulder towards the Chinese take-out place across the street.
Realising that Alex wasn't actually leaving, that the kiss, no matter how brief had been something Alex wanted too, that not only was Alex still waiting for her shift to finish, but now the offer involved coming back for her and bringing food, Piper really couldn't contain the smile that now broke across her face.
"Chinese would be great."
A/N OK - you got me - I am a completely sappy, daft romantic at heart - and I just couldn't help it *at all* with this chapter, must be the sugar high I am still riding from all the chocolate I have consumed in the past few days. I was going to carry on writing and get to Alex's plans for Piper, but it seemed to come to a nice little break here, and with the season well and truly greeted, Christmas all merried and what ever - I thought you lovely people deserved a little something to ease yourselves back into the post-Christmas slump ;)
Apologies for any spelling mistakes / errors, I have re-read a couple of times, but not as extensively as I normally do - otherwise this Christmas fic would be posted sometime near Easter... ;)
As ever - thank you for all the follows & faves and for those who also took the time to leave a review as well (I love you all - but you guys who review are just the best!) - let me know what you think of pt.2 & what you reckon (Santa) Vause's surprise is for Piper?! & Chelle234 - there is *nothing* wrong with a knitted reindeer jumper - bet you rocked that look on Christmas. Just saying that Larry can't pull that level of cool off ;)