With a sheepish look on her face, Piper made her way into the laundry room where she could hear Alex moving around and working. She knew that Alex had specifically told her to not come to her when it wasn't her laundry day, but there was nothing else that she could do. Alex didn't seem to notice her presence straight away and Piper stood in the doorway, watching her pick up a wash of uniforms and load them into one of the washing machines, swipe her hair away from her face with the back of her hand and sigh.

"Erm…Alex?" Piper asked, stepping further into the laundry room and resisting the urge to hide the mess on her front. Alex turned clearly not knowing who it was that was saying her name. That is until her eyes landed on Piper and she slumped a little, her hip stuck out to one side and her arms folded across her chest.

"Yeah?" she replied bluntly. Her eyes drifted down to the stain splattered over Pipers front and the blonde was sure that she saw her ex's lip quirk slightly at the state of her but her expression quickly returned to impassive yet mildly irked.

"I really wouldn't ask if I weren't desperate but I was wondering if you'd be able to slip my top in with the washing" Alex looked like she was about to say something but Piper carried straight on. "I only got back today and all they've given me are these" she pulled at her kahki uniform top "and I don't know what's really happened but they said I wouldn't be able to get anything else until tomorrow. I don't even have any white shirts or anything and that bitch Pennsatucky ran into me and spilt her food all down me. I really need your help, Alex. I wouldn't ask otherwise. I know you told me to stay away from you but you're the only person I know on laundry and, I mean, look at me". Piper knew that she was babbling but she didn't know what else to do – Alex was looking so unimpressed in front of her and she really needed her top cleaned. She had absolutely nothing else to wear and she sure as hell couldn't go around in the state she was in now.

"Hand it over" was all Alex said, her hand held out. Piper was taken aback by her words and stood looking at her blankly for a moment. Alex wriggled her fingers and widened her eyes as if to tell her to hurry it up. "If it'll shut you up, then just hand it over." Looking behind her for a second to make sure that no one was coming in, Piper stripped off her top and stood awkwardly in her plain white prison bra. Her arms crossed over her body, she fidgeted and shifted her weight but Alex was paying no attention. Instead, she shoved the top in with the other dirty load and then fussed about putting the machine on. Piper didn't know what to do with herself. She couldn't very well go back up to her bunk in just her bra and she was pretty sure that she wasn't supposed to be down here. Memories of the last time she'd been down here for a long period of time came back to her. The face of Alex Vause stuck behind the glass door looking so lost and helpless was one that she was not going to be forgetting easily or any time soon. They had managed to avoid too much trouble that time, but Piper was pretty sure that being caught in her underwear down here was not going to be an easily explainable situation.

"You can sit over there until it's done if you don't say a fucking word. No one will see you if they come down" Alex, with her back still to Piper, motioned to a machine tucked out of the way as she began to fold shirts. Piper nodded and mumbled a thanks as she made her way over to the machine and sat on top of it in the shadows. As she watched Alex, she noticed how at home she seemed here. Not necessarily a happy home perhaps, but at home none-the-less. She knew exactly what she was doing and the speed at which she folded the shirts made Piper raise an eyebrow. Never did she think she'd sit and watch Alex Vause, who would rather buy new underwear than bother to get it washed, folding shirts so precisely and so quickly.

Time seemed to drag and by the time Alex had folded two lots of washing, the awkward atmosphere had dissolved slightly and Piper swung her legs back and forth on the machine rhythmically. It wasn't long before she was taking a deep breath, pausing, and then deciding that she was indeed going to go ahead and speak.

"So I don't really get what happened earlier. I thought that everyone was going to be talking about the fact I'm back but no one even seemed to care." She watched Alex closely to see what reaction her speaking would get. Alex didn't say anything, she only cocked an eyebrow slightly and carried on folding. "You know, it's weird. Big Boo and Sophia came and said 'hi' and then Red gave me extra food which I really didn't expect but was kinda nice of her. And then Pennsatucky " - she saw Alex roll her eyes and sigh slightly – "walked straight into me and spilt her fucking food down me. That's why I was covered in it. But you know, she didn't go ape shit or anything. It was really weird. She started saying she was sorry and she'd clean my top for me". Piper paused. Alex said nothing. Piper took another breath. "But you know, I wouldn't want her near my shit. You never knew what she's going to do to it, the crazy bitch" Piper shook her head at the memory of Pennsatuckys odd behaviour "God that girl is fucking weird. Meth really fucked her up. I don't think even Mr Christ can save her now" she let out a small laugh at her own words and then allowed the silence to stretch out between the pair for a second. She wished that Alex would even acknowledge her but the other woman seemed fully engrossed in her work and completely unaware that Piper was even talking. She thought it odd how comfortable she felt sat here with Alex even though there was no two-way communication whatsoever. Being sat only in her bra and trousers wasn't awkward anymore either. She sat happily with her hands down by her side – Alex wasn't even glancing her way so there really was no need to cover herself or feel uncomfortable. She didn't like the silence though. She had hoped that Alex would give up eventually and start talking to her but so far, no luck. Maybe if she tried again….

"I wish I had a book to read" she mused. "It's weird in here. I have the books that I've been sent but they don't seem to interest me any more. I think it's probably something to do with the fact that I have them. I mean, I have them there and they're my only options so I want something different. I don't know. I burrowed a Patterson from the library but I couldn't get into it. I need to pick something else u – Ah!" Piper was abruptly cut off by a book being tossed directly at her, hitting her shoulder and falling to the floor. She'd barely even noticed Alex cross to the other side of the room and pick the book up, let alone see her chuck it over to her with a little too much force.

"If it'll shut you the fuck up, you can read that" Alex told her, looking at her briefly before going back to her work quietly. Piper sat there stunned for a second before getting off the machine and bending down to pick the book up. Turning it over, she saw it was a tattered Oscar Wilde collection. She couldn't even count the times she had told Alex about Wildes' plays and stories. He had been a favourite of hers since she'd seen The Importance of Being Ernest on stage and she had always been convinced that Alex would love him but Alex, stubborn as she always was, had refused to read him. Piper had always been convinced that she'd refused simply to piss her off and was cutting off her nose to spite her face. But here she was with her own dog-eared copy. Her eyes widening a little, Piper looked back up at Alex and contemplated speaking or not. As usual, she decided on yes.

"I was always trying to get you to read Wilde. I recommended him to you thousands of times" she said, her voice a little awed and a slight smile playing at the corner of her mouth. Alex picked up another shirt and folded it neatly. Piper assumed she was going to ignore her words as she had done the entire time she'd been in the laundry room, but Alex hesitated before picking up the next shirt and instead glanced down at her hands.

"I know" Alex said quietly. Piper was sure that she saw a slightly smile at the corner of her mouth but it was gone before it could ever really been seen. Looking down at the book in her hand, Piper stared at the front cover, not opening its pages.

"Did you know Wilde was sent to prison after being accused of sodomy? He died three years after being let out". Alex looked over at Piper.

"I know. Pipes. Read the fucking book and be quiet". Her words were harsh, but her tone wasn't. Piper stared at her for a second, suddenly not able to look away. Eventually, she nodded and began to read and was soon drawn into the world of Dorian Gray once more. Alex, occasionally glancing over to watch Piper, moved around her and finished her work.

Piper wasn't sure how long she'd been reading but it wasn't until the machine beeped finished that she looked up from the book and rubbed the crick out of her neck. All of the laundry that had been thrown into baskets was now neatly piled against one wall and the floors appeared to have been cleaned. Alex was clearly nearly finished for the day. Closing the book, she placed it down on the top of the machine and stood up, leaning back against the washer and watching Alex as she emptied the contents of the dryer into a basket.

"I'll just get yours for you..." she said absentmindedly, searching through for Pipers top. Finding it easily, she pulled it out, shook it hard to brush out the creases and then turned to Piper.

"Thanks so much for this, Alex. I honestly really appreciate it. I don't know what I wou-"

"Piper. It's fine" Piper took the top from her and held it in her hand, feeling the warmth of the dryer quickly cooling off of the thin material. Silence wrapped around them. The two women stood face to face for what seemed like forever to Piper before Alex broke eye contact and motioned to the top in her hand.

"You might want to put that on. I know you're an exhibitionist and all, but that bra is just…" she glanced down at Piper "not sexy" she finished, shaking her head and crinkling her forehead. Piper let out a small laugh and pulled the khaki top over her head. Alex was watching her intently and there was a smile on her face. Not the barely-there smiles that Piper had seen lately, but a really smile that made Pipers heart jump.

"Thanks again, Alex. Really." there was an awkward pause before Piper stepped past her ex.

"You're welcome"

"Enjoy your book" she told her and began to make her way out of the laundry room. As she reached the door, the sound of her name being called made her turn around.

"Chapman. We're not fucking cool, you know. Don't think this changes anything" Alex told her, arms crossed and an eyebrows raised. Piper felt her heart ache and then sink a little lower in her chest. Instead of saying anything, she just nodded and then turned, leaving the laundry room with the slight hope that despite what she said, the cold Alex Vause may be thawing, if only just a little.

-x-x-x-x-

So they may not be friends but then again, where would be the fun if everything was plain sailing, hey? Thank you for all the support! I really appreciate your thoughts and feedback! Next chapter soon…