A/N: Hey all. Once again, I'm so sorry that it's taken an eternity to update, but life is just... I don't know, mental, I guess. I'm trying my best. I thought this chapter was kinda sweet, and then after this it is about to get intense. Again, sorry it's been so slow. It's a joke, I know, please don't hate me. But all the follows/likes/reviews/even just people reading it makes it worthwhile and makes me happy. So thank you so much. X
Generally speaking, Alex Vause did not play the dating game, but it was quickly becoming apparent that Piper Chapman did not fall into the 'general' category. She was far from it, in Alex's opinion. Piper was funny and sweet and interesting, and this was the very thing that had fiercely grasped Alex's usually waning attention, instrumentally deconstructing her entire 'fuck-and-forget' philosophy. The brunette had brought Piper to a tiny little Italian, not far from where she lived, where the food was divine, the wine was dry and the prices were dear. Not that Alex minded the expensiveness though, as the homely restaurant was one of her absolute favourites; Alex had been a long-serving customer, and had grown to know the staff fairly well, and so, admittedly she had surprised herself at her own decision to bring Piper here. Had this been another girl, (not that she would have even fucking bothered taking another girl out on a date), Alex would've opted to dine at a completely random fine food establishment which would have likely carried a fancy French name, had a marble floor and walls, and housed a menu displaying prices that would have curled the toes of even the wealthiest of businessmen in very mild disdain. But no, she was sharing one of her, what she liked to consider 'secret', hangouts with a girl whom she had met not even a fucking week ago, but strangely enough, Alex felt fine about it. Hell, Alex felt happy about it.
It was as the pair leisurely indulged in their food, (a pizza for Alex and pasta for Piper), that Alex realised how much she relished in simply listening to Piper talking; talking in this bright, animated fashion, in a tone that radiated charisma. Piper told Alex about many things in an effort to avoid talk of her job, so instead, Piper focussed on her relatively privileged upbringing, her younger brother, Cal, who was slightly estranged and seriously hippie, and finally, the current topic of conversation was the blonde's mother. Alex had only been faintly listening for the past few minutes, as she had found herself entranced by the adorable vision of a little frown creeping its way onto Piper's face as her description of her mother's character had deepened somewhat. Pull it together. Something in her brain piped up.
"It's called 'helicopter parenting', you know," Piper snorted matter-of-factly, and Alex nodded, now listening as Piper continued keenly, "it's like, where your parents watch your every move, and they don't want you to do anything, or go anywhere, or see anyone, unless they've, I don't know, approved it, or something. They circulate...like a helicopter." She rolled her eyes, "how annoying, right?" Piper questioned Alex, "I bet your mother isn't like that at all, I bet she's really cool, your mum." Piper mused, chewing a forkful of pasta thoughtfully whilst failing to notice the sudden rigidity in Alex's shoulders, and the downcast direction of the brunette's eyes.
"She was cool," Alex simply said, "she was really fucking cool."
At this, Piper's eyes widened slightly and she gently placed her fork down, her mouth slightly droopy. Alex couldn't quite fucking believe that she had revealed to Piper the most painful information that her heart had ever had to grapple with, and occasionally still struggled with, but over the course of the evening, Alex had come to trust Piper more and more. Piper could know whatever she wanted about Alex, if she wished. When Piper quietly apologised, a look of burning heartache and sincerity blazing in her blue eyes, Alex simply shrugged and told her that "shit happens." Because, for now, the brunette wasn't in the mood to dwell on the death of her mother; there were brighter prospects sat opposite her.
When the bill finally arrived, Alex initially didn't even let Piper look, despite the fact that she insisted on paying half, and then proceeded to whine incessantly that it was unfair of Alex to not let her even glimpse the figure. Alex rolled her eyes at the childish display that was unfurling before her, and so reluctantly slid the paper across the table, where the shorter woman grabbed it, scanned it, and then stared, gob-smacked at Alex, who simply smirked.
"I told you," she said, "I'm paying. Calm the fuck down." She smiled that crooked smile, and Piper's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"But Alex, I-" Piper was about to insist to pay again, Alex could tell, so she shook her head firmly and stood up, handing the waiter a clearly sufficient amount of money. "La mancia è in là, Franco. Grazie." Alex said casually in perfect Italian, as the waiter, Franco, Piper guessed, nodded gratefully and raised his eyebrow a little.
"Alex!" Franco called out after her as the pair was leaving the now practically empty restaurant, causing Alex to turn round. "Non più tavoli per uno, sì?" He laughed heartily and Alex shrugged a little, and smiled what Piper was, from this moment forward, going to regard as the most adorable smile in the world. "Ti piace di lei?" Franco leant casually on the far wall, a coy smile spreading across his features as he noticed Alex's cheeks flush a little. Piper noticed this too, but the language barrier was working against her, albeit in Alex's favour.
"Tabella per due la prossima volta, Franco." Alex said, genuinely. "Well, I hope, anyway." She added, and Franco chuckled before waving her goodbye. Piper had been weak at the knees when she'd first heard Alex speak English, so, as one can imagine, as soon as Piper's ears picked up the sound of Alex's low, raspy tones constructed into wonderful, eloquent Italian, it was safe to say that Piper Chapman may have found her one true weakness, and her mind immediately plummeted to the filthy depths of the gutter, wondering what dirty Italian things Alex could whisper in her ear, or if Alex could seduce her in Italian.
Dear Alex, please seduce me in Italian.
There was then the walk home, for which Piper was very thankful, as it gave her time to regain her composure and collect her thoughts, because it was now that she decided to probe a little. That way, she could definitely say that she'd gotten some work done that evening. Who says that business and pleasure don't mix? She tried to reassure herself as herself and Alex fell into step beside one another, the crisp New York air hitting their faces. Winter was hastening its arrival, and already, night time in the city was becoming far less inviting without a coat and scarf, especially as of late, when light smatterings of frost were dusted across grasses, like icing sugar across a cake. But Piper loved it. Coldness was clean and fresh, and she was currently enjoying it fully as herself and Alex strolled through one end of Central Park in the general direction of the blonde's apartment. Thank god it's not warm, Piper thought, you'd be breaking out in even more of a sweat if that was the case, wouldn't you. Piper enjoyed that her mind phrased that as a statement as opposed to a question. Speaking of questions...
"What's it like?" Piper suddenly turned her head to look at Alex, who looked back down at her questioningly, her pale face illuminated by the moonlight, head slightly cocked, one eyebrow raised, and her hair intermittently being gently tousled by the wind; Alex looked majestic, Piper supposed, she looked high and mighty and powerful, and it was like magnetism: Piper was attracted to her so very, very strongly.
"What's what like?" Alex simply asked, looking straight ahead ahead.
"What's it like to do your job?" Piper's tone was innocent, yet genuine. She was interested in Alex's job, but reasons which were previously work-related were slowly transmogrifying into more personal reasons. Alex chuckled a little.
"There must be more interesting things to talk about like my job, kid." It was true, Alex believed that there were. Just because she was, well, she once, was completely absorbed in her own job; it didn't mean that anyone else gave a shit, apart from Piper, apparently, who shook her head.
"We've been talking about my boring-ass life all night," Piper laughed, "tell me about your job." She shrugged, and added a soft "please." Alex obliged to this, and explained that she was an importer working for the ring, that no, she did not do the drugs, she just moved them around and made sure that money got to where it needed to be, when it needed to be there, that yes, it paid 'okay', as she cautiously put it, and that no, this had not at all been her plan all along. Had Alex wanted to be getting into a deep conversation about her pathetic excuse for a father, and how, if it wasn't for that fateful night in a grimy, drug-infested, damp back room at his concert, all those years ago then she wouldn't be in this position right now? No, Alex did not want to get into that conversation, and especially not with Piper, as Piper would probably be disgusted. "So uh, yeah, that's basically me." Alex smiled awkwardly, a little self-consciously; and whilst Piper's well-trained brain had certainly memorised all of the information Alex had volunteered, for the most part, she didn't give a shit right now.
"Tell me more." She suddenly said. "I want to know more." Alex smiled and began to talk about things that weren't her job, and Piper didn't care, because Piper didn't want to know about Alex's job any more tonight. Piper just wanted to know about Alex. She wanted to know every little fucking thing that hid behind those deep, character-filled eyes that sometimes pierced through you like a sharp, blistering wind, yet sometimes invited you in. Currently, they were warm; they were inviting Piper in, and when Alex's hand shyly clasped around Piper's, fingers tentatively entwining with one another, Piper smiled up at her, noting that the eyes were even warmer, now.
It should not have taken an hour to get back to Piper's apartment, but it did. Maybe it was because you let her push you on the fucking swings in the park, Piper wanted to cringe at her inner child that had somehow escaped in front of Alex, but she didn't. Instead, she smiled dreamily into her steaming cup of herbal tea, inhaling the fruity infusion as she curled up tighter on the sofa, eyes closed. The rest of the walk home had involved giggling, playful shoving, eyebrow raising, (fuck, how Piper loved the eyebrow raising), and just general chat: favourite colours, favourite animals, favourite places in the world, of which Alex had plenty. But then, it was facts like that that now, late at night, when she was alone, reminded Piper of who Alex was. Alex had been everywhere because of who she was, her job was a part of her, and Piper gulped as she realised that the fate of the storm that was Alex Vause was effectively in her hands. Shit. Piper retired to her bed, but she didn't sleep, she sat and thought, long and hard, because the situation had escalated as of this evening.
It had only been as the pair had reached Piper's apartment block that the blonde's realisation of the scale of her feelings for Alex Vause became apparent.
"Well, this is you." Alex had said with a half smile on her face as she slowly slipped her hand out of Piper's, who was saddened at the loss of contact. It felt like a light switch had been flicked off, and as Piper's heart grew a little heavy, Alex's eyes grew a little dimmer. She'd felt it too.
"Thank you, Alex. I had an amazing night," Piper studied the beautiful vision that was Alex's face. "Thank you for everything." Piper said quietly, almost expressionless as she continued her observations of the other woman, practically iridescent in the frosty moonlight, her dark hair strikingly contrasting the pale, creamy skin of her face, neck, and those collarbones. Piper found herself wanting to trace a finger lightly along them, or kiss them. And that thought propelled her pupils towards Alex's full, red lips, which were currently turned upward slightly at the right corner, in a display of something. Impatience, triumph, maybe even nonchalance? Piper didn't know, but she liked that she didn't know. Alex Vause was still shrouded in mystery for the most part, and it was so alluring, so very alluring.
A blast of icy air sent a shiver spiralling down Piper's spine, and she shuddered involuntarily in the cold. Alex rubbed the top of her arm. "Hey, you should get yourself upstairs to bed, kid." She then smiled, a little shyly, "But, I had a great night too. I'll see you round, for sure." Alex wanted to curse herself, believing her own tone to have been far too casual, considering how badly she wanted to see Piper again. She immediately began to worry that she'd given off the wrong vibe as she had adjusted her glasses and turned on her heel to head back to her apartment.
"Alex." Piper had followed her for the few steps she had taken, and Alex was about to start grovelling as not to upset Piper; that was the last thing she had wanted.
But what Alex had been unaware of, is that her cool, casual tone had struck a nerve with Piper, but in a way far from what the brunette had assumed. Piper had been building up to this for the past five minutes, and Alex's simple farewell had been the catalyst for it.
Barely knowing what she was doing, Piper Chapman had pushed her own body flush to Alex's on this deserted New York street corner, and captured the taller woman's lips with her own in a sudden surge of confidence and longing. It had taken Alex all of two seconds to get her bearings before her hands had come to rest comfortably together in the small of Piper's back and she'd gladly returned the kiss. It was slow, and it was innocent, and it made each party very happy.
"I'll see you round, Alex." Piper drawled, using Alex's own words from earlier before strutting back towards her apartment building, into which she disappeared, leaving a stunned Alex gaping on the street corner, before her slightly parted lips melted into a contented smile.
When Piper decided that sleep was finally achievable now, it was because she was at peace. Work tomorrow was going to be interesting to say the very least. The FBI was not going to like this one bit, neither was she, and neither was anyone, really. You don't want to do that, surely. You must be fucking crazy. Some tiny voice at the back of her brain piped up out of nowhere, piercing through the darkness that plagued both the room and Piper's mind, to which she felt the need to physically reply to in order to suppress the unwanted opinion.
"I do want to do that. It's what's best."