A/N:

You never fail to overwhelm me with your responses to these fic. I think the number of reviews I got last chapter was the most I've gotten on a chapter since I started posting here on ff, so thank you so much, I'm really so grateful =')

Also, I've gotten a lot of requests to make this fic longer but I really don't have much time to write nowadays, so my apologies. =( Anyway, here's another chapter. Again, I hope it doesn't disappoint.

DISCLAIMER: Characters not mine. =)

-o-o-o-

3

Piper woke up as the stream of sunlight hit her face, feeling an unfamiliar weight against her stomach. Rubbing her eyes with her hands harder than necessary, she let her mind adjust to the fact that she was already taken out of sleep. Surprisingly though, she felt lighter than usual, and it was only when she noticed the figure still sleeping peacefully beside her that she was reminded why.

"Pipes?"

"Yeah," Piper tried to speak in between moans, still feeling Alex's lips mark every inch of her skin. She had already come twice but Alex looked as if she had no plans of stopping unless Piper was dead. But if this was the way Piper would go, she would welcome it with open arms (and definitely open legs) because of how good Alex was making her feel.

Instead of answering, Alex's lips trailed downward from her jaw to the middle of her chest to her stomach causing Piper to close her eyes as she shivered under Alex's touch. Alex continued mapping Piper's body with her own mouth and as her tongue reached Piper's clit, making a swipe up motion, her fingers dug gently on the blonde's thighs, keeping them in place.

Then she stopped, causing Piper to whimper at the loss, disappointment engulfing her.

"Look at me," and so Piper did and she swore she could come just by looking at Alex's face. "This time, I want you to come in my mouth."

And so her lips once again met Piper's center, making Piper feel a thousand emotions explode within her, until she was screaming Alex's name over and over again and until she was toppling over the edge once more, feeling more alive than she's ever felt.

As the memory hit Piper, she once again felt the familiar ache down her core causing her to squirm under Alex's arm. This was what woke Alex up, and Piper finally felt her nerves go crazy as she waited for Alex to register what was currently happening, waiting for her to freak out.

But that didn't happen, because when Alex's green eyes met with her own blue ones, there wasn't any hint of regret in them, no trace that she didn't want to be where she was at the moment. Piper felt her chest tighten at that look, and whether it was a good thing or bad, she didn't have time to ponder over it because Alex was speaking and there was nothing else Piper wanted to do at the time but listen to her.

"Good morning, sunshine," she whispered with a beautiful smile on her face, disentangling herself from Piper.

"Good morning," Piper answered sheepishly, not knowing how she was supposed to act or where this left her and Alex.

For a second, none spoke until Alex chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully at her. "Geez, relax. You don't have to look like you wanna be swallowed whole by the ground right now."

"That's not—"

"Piper, last night was amazing but I'm not gonna force you to do something that you don't wanna do, okay? If you want that to be just a one-time thing, it's fine. If not, I would love to do it again. But right now, I just want you to focus on your brother's wedding and just have fun. Deal?"

With this, Piper found herself relaxing as her lips finally curved into a smile. "Deal."

-o-o-o-

"So, ready for the first day of the rest of your lives?" Piper asked her brother, Danny, as they were waiting for the ceremony to start. The oldest Chapman sibling had chosen to have a garden wedding in their own home which was big enough for a few guests. It was a hard-fought fight between him and Carol but in the end, the fact that he was the favourite caused her to agree to it eventually.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready, but to hell with it, we're all here now aren't we?"

"You're unbelievable," Piper said as she shook her head, but not without a grin plastered on her face. She and Danny hadn't really been close growing up but she still felt a deep affection for her brother. "I'm really happy for you, Danny," they hugged briefly before pulling apart.

"Thanks, Pipe... You know, I haven't told you this, but I'm really happy for you, too."

"What, what do you mean?"

"Your girlfriend? I mean, just to have the balls to introduce her to Mom and Dad, I'm already happy for you about that. But to actually be with someone who's obviously really in-love with you, that's just amazing. Don't fuck it up."

To say Piper was shocked to hear this from her brother, someone whom she's never had this kind of conversation with yet up until now, was already an understatement itself. But to hear him say something like that, was on another level.

She knew Alex had been acting her part really well since they had arrived but she wasn't aware that she's been that good to be able to make Danny, the smartest person she knew, believe that she was in-love with her.

Had she been missing something? Had she failed to notice anything that might suggest Alex wasn't just acting anymore?

But even then, even if Alex really had started to feel something for her, it was kind of hard to think that it was something close to love. They had spent the entirety of their lives knowing each other hating each other and the only exception had been the last couple of days.

And then she remembered last night, the way Alex treated her, the way she touched her, the way she looked at her... up to when she woke up, when she looked like there was nothing else she would rather be doing than the exact same thing.

Had something really shifted between her and Alex within the last couple of days that Piper was choosing to ignore?

"Piper? Are you okay?"

"What? I mean, yes. Yeah, and thank you. I'm..." Piper paused, unsure of what to say. And then she realized she didn't have to think about it at all. She only had to tell the truth. Smiling, she looked at her brother and told him sincerely, "She makes me happy."

"She better. Speaking of, where is she?"

"Oh yeah, I left her in our room to get ready and I think it's time to get her now. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Sis."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."

Leaving Danny, Piper proceeded to her room. She knocked swiftly, not wanting to risk walking into Alex when she wasn't ready yet... which was a little weird since they'd already seen each other naked anyway.

"Come in."

Walking in, Piper didn't realize she would turn out to be the one unprepared for what she was gonna see. Because standing right in front of her was an Alex she never thought she'd ever witness.

She was wearing a long flowy emerald green dress that accentuated her curves in all the right places, giving Piper just the right amount of cleavage. It perfectly matched her eyes and Piper didn't think she'd ever seen her officemate this beautiful. She looked magnificent and Piper found herself speechless at the sight.

"Do I look okay?" Alex asked with a bit of hesitance. "Is this something a Chapman's girlfriend would wear to a fancy wedding?"

"Alex, you look..."

"Please let the next word be a good adjective."

"Perfect," Piper thought to herself but instead spoke a different word instead, something still suitable of Alex, without having to worry that it would be too much, "... beautiful."

And then Alex smiled, and she looked even more mesmerizing that Piper couldn't tear her eyes off of her. "Thanks, Pipes. Although, if we're talking beautiful, you should look at yourself in the mirror, because really..." Alex paused and looked as if she was taking Piper's whole appearance in, "you look amazing."

"Thank you."

For a while, the two of them just stood there, obviously aware of the sudden shift in their relationship, knowing that they had gone past their apparent dislike for each other and moved on to something yet to be explained.

"You ready to go out there and have everyone drool over you?"

"Are you?" Alex's expression showed confusion at Piper's question. "Ready for them to drool over me?"

Chuckling, Alex shook her head as she stretched her arm to offer her hand to Piper. "I'm ready to be envied for having the most beautiful woman in the room in my arm. Let's go?"

Heart racing at Alex's words, Piper took Alex's hand as she smiled widely. "Yeah."

-o-o-o-

The wedding passed by without a single glitch, well, except when Danny uncharacteristically messed up his vows (not that this wasn't the first time he was making a vow, he really just rarely messed up.) But other than that, Piper could say that it was a success.

Also unsurprisingly, Alex Vause was a good date. Despite the fact that she chose not to sit with Piper's family during the ceremony, whenever Piper would look at her, Alex was always, always, looking back at her... ready with either a smile or a smirk. And this made Piper giddy, immensely.

It was only during the reception that Piper got to talk to Alex again and although this was against what her mom wanted, she didn't sit with the family and chose to be with Alex on another table instead.

"Pipes," Alex nudged Piper who was busy watching her brother and his wife, together with a few other couples, slow dancing to some jazz music.

"Yeah?"

"Come dance with me."

Alex was wearing that smile again, so soft and gentle that made Piper wanna kiss her, that smile that she could never say no to, so she smiled back, and took the hand Alex had extended towards her.

Together, they walked to the dance floor and as Danny saw them approach, he nodded at Piper and gave a wink to Alex which Alex answered with an adorable shrug. It warmed Piper's heart to see them like this, and not for the first time this weekend, she thought of how great it would be if this was all real.

As Alex took one of her hands and put one of hers on Piper's hip, the blonde put her free hand on her partner/officemate/friend/fake girlfriend's shoulder. Right exactly behind Alex was her parents' table and she could see her mother shooting glares and daggers at her but Piper was surprised to realize that at that moment, she really, truly didn't give a fuck.

All she cared about at that point was how good it felt that Alex was holding her, swaying to the music with her. The music then changed to Norah Jones' own version of Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender and Piper didn't know why but suddenly all her feelings were magnified, flashing right in front of her.

Love me tender, love me sweet, never let me go
You have made my life complete, and I love you so...

Unaware of their surroundings, Piper then heard Alex whisper to her ear, "You look really beautiful today, Pipes."

"You do know my mom can't hear you right now, right?"

"I know. But that doesn't change the fact that you're the most beautiful girl in the room."

Feeling her heart swell at the compliment, Piper closed her eyes and breathed Alex in as she drew herself closer to her. "Thank you, Alex."

"Anytime, kid."

Love me tender, love me true, all my dreams fulfilled
For my darlin', I love you, and I always will...

It was then that Piper pulled away from Alex so she could look at her, and once again, Alex was staring right back at her, into her sole to her very core. It was also at that time that she realized (and accepted) she may already have feelings for the other woman.

This entire weekend changed her entire view of Alex.

She now knew that the reason she may have despised Alex at the beginning was because she was the exact opposite of her regarding one thing. Piper had the tendency to pretend when things got rough sometimes and it was a coping mechanism that she knew she had to change but didn't know how.

But Alex. Alex was always being herself with as much ease as possible, not giving a care in the world about what other people would think. And if Piper found that annoying before, she certainly saw it another way now. She was just being real, and that, for Piper, was one of the bravest things one person could do in her life.

And now that Piper had seen it, there was no way she could still deny the attraction, the feelings she had towards this person she once disliked so much.

Love me tender, love me dear, tell me you are mine
I'll be yours through all the years, 'til the end of time

In concept, this was good. Being with someone she liked, someone smart and sassy and gorgeous and way out of her league... and someone who effortlessly made her happy. But in reality, Piper Chapman was still Piper Chapman and although the idea of Alex Vause was great, she was always gonna be the last person people expected her to go out with. And Piper was still not brave enough to go against this.

She could barely handle a weekend of pretending Alex was her girlfriend, how would she handle an infinite amount of days being with Alex for real?

So as much as it hurt her to walk away from whatever this was that she had with Alex, walk away before it even started, that was what she was gonna do.

Love me tender, love me true, all my dreams fulfill
For my darling, I love you, and I always will...

And as she felt the pain of what needed to be done, she pulled Alex close once again, finally hugging her properly, knowing full well that this may be the last time she would do so.

-o-o-o-

"Are you okay?" Alex asked Piper as the blonde sat opposite her on the semi-secluded table that she was sure Alex deliberately chose. It was almost midnight and there were fewer and fewer guests as time passed by but she knew that her pretend-girlfriend was already tired mingling with people as Piper dealt with the other guests.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm just... feeling a little tired. You? I'm sorry for leaving you a while ago, sister duties. You must be tired, too."

"It's fine, Pipes. I feel great actually."

"Yeah? Why's that? Does Alex Vause secretly love weddings and is actually a romantic at heart?"

"Fuck off, no." Piper chuckled at the obvious look of offense on Alex's face. "I mean, no offense, but I don't really give a crap about the wedding."

"None taken. I actually can't wait for this to be over, too."

Alex then gently pushed her wine glass towards Piper and Piper was only glad to drink the whole thing in one gulp, feeling the exhaustion of the entire weekend on every bone in her body.

Both fell silent as they looked around, observing the guests talking and doing their own thing, unaware that at that exact moment, they were both feeling out of place, like they needed to be somewhere else, away from all these pretense.

"Pipes..." Alex spoke, and the way she did gave Piper the idea that they were about to have a serious talk and she immediately found herself getting nervous. She wasn't ready for this. She was feeling too many things and she suddenly wanted to just run away from this.

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna get out of here? Go somewhere... quiet?"

Piper knew she should say no if she wanted to avoid the inevitable conversation, but she looked at Alex's face and she had this look on her face that Piper just didn't wanna disappoint her by saying no. So in spite of her fear of what staying away from everyone, just the two of them, would bring, she silently nodded, standing as Alex offered her hand to her.

The blonde then took it and the warmth of Alex's hand immediately alleviated whatever fear was she was feeling, sighing in contentment.

But before they could leave, a familiar figure was suddenly standing right in front of them, the person she had managed to avoid the entire day. "Larry." Alex disentangled their hands and Piper felt a sense of disappointment at the loss.

"Hey, Piper. I'm glad I finally caught you. I've been looking for you since this morning."

Piper quickly looked at Alex and almost laughed at the raven-haired's face. Knowing her, she was probably judging Larry by now and she couldn't really blame her. She was judging Larry, too.

"Larry, why did you come?"

Larry was obviously taken aback by the question, probably expecting a warmer welcome from his ex-girlfriend. But Piper has had enough acting today and she wasn't about to add another act to it. She hated that Larry was here, hated that he didn't seem to think there was no more point in coming since they've been over years ago.

"Y-you're mother invited me." Piper raised an eyebrow, a trait that she'd mastered because of Alex. "And if I'm being honest, I really wanted to see you."

"What for?"

"I was hoping we could... give us another chance?" Larry sounded unsure, and Piper couldn't help but think, 'Alex is always so, so sure about herself.'

This time, too, Alex made her presence obvious as she snickered softly, but loud enough for both Piper and Larry to hear. Larry looked annoyed at this but thankfully chose to stay silent, maybe waiting for Piper to say something instead.

But before Piper could say anything, she felt Alex behind her as she whispered in her ear. "I think this is a conversation you two should be having. I'll be in our room." Piper smiled weakly at her. "Nice to meet you, Barry."

Piper hid her face as she struggled to stop herself from laughing. And then when there were only the two of them left, she finally faced Larry. "Look Larry, we're over, okay? I'm sorry, I don't know what made you think that I would want to give us another go, but I don't. I have a girlfriend now, and I'm happy and I really think you should just leave."

Piper should have felt guilty at the look of disappointment and hurt on Larry's face, but she wasn't. All she was feeling at that time was how much she just wanted to follow Alex and to just spend the rest of the night with her. She was about to walk past her ex-boyfriend when the latter spoke.

"She's not the right person for you, you know."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you, Piper. You like safe, security, something certain. And her? She's not that person. And know that deep inside, you already know that. Goodbye, Pipes. It was nice seeing you again."

And with that, it was Larry who walked away, leaving Piper feeling whiplashed as his words etched themselves inside her brain. He was right, and she knew it.

Suddenly, she didn't wanna face Alex anymore.

-o-o-o-

Instead of going straight to the room she shared with Alex, Piper went straight to the bar and drank until she was feeling the alcohol in her system. She knew Alex was waiting for her and was probably worried why she still hasn't come up. But she didn't know how to face her sober. She just needed something to make her a little braver than she felt. Because she knew that what she was about to do was something she might never be able to take back.

So when she saw Alex approach her, still wearing her dress, Piper felt so bad she had to take another shot to drown out her guilt.

"Well, someone looks like she's had a lot of fun... did Harry bore you that much that you had to drink yourself to that point of drunkenness?" Alex was smiling and Piper felt that guilt crawl up her chest.

Alex didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve her.

"You could say that," Piper said softly, unable to return Alex's smile.

"Is everything okay?" Alex then asked, sitting next to Piper with worry etched on her features.

And Piper kept thinking, she would never have someone else who would understand her this much, that would know something was wrong with just one look. And yet she was about to throw this away, throw that one good thing this weekend brought.

"Everything's fine," Piper spoke, knowing full well that everything was not fine. She suddenly felt like she wanted to throw up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"So, you're good to talk?"

Piper's heart started to beat faster and she hoped her voice didn't shake when she spoke. "Of course."

"Okay," Alex started as she, too, asked a drink for her own. "How did it go with Larry?"

"I think he now knows that coming here was a bad idea. And that there's a big chance this was the last time we were seeing each other."

"I'm proud of you."

"Yeah? And why's that?"

"Because once again, you've proven yourself that your mother is wrong about you. You're not the woman she thinks isn't capable of making decisions on her own. Huh, see?" Alex bumped their shoulders together and Piper found herself wanting to cry. "And not just that, this entire weekend, you've been nothing but brave. And I'm proud of that, too."

"Thanks Alex, you've been really great."

For a while, none of them spoke but the Alex shifted her body to be able to face Piper and right then, Piper knew it was the beginning of their end. She then took Piper's hand and fused their fingers together, her thumb making light circles on Piper's skin.

Piper looked at their hands that she felt just fit perfectly together as she waited for Alex to speak.

"Pipes, about last night... I know what I told you this morning, but I've had enough of fakeness this weekend that I just wanna be honest for once. I know I've been such an asshole the whole time we've known each other but I really like you and I'm sorry if I have such a shitty way of showing that. But I'm done... being an asshole I mean, and I'd really love to take you out... again, if you'd want to."

"Alex—"

"Look, I can feel it. I know you feel something for me, too. I'm not saying I'd be better than Larry, or whoever you once dated before me... but I could try. We could try."

Piper wanted to say yes. Her heart was screaming at her, edging her to just forget about the rest of the world and do what Alex was asking of her, to give thema try. She really, really wanted to.

But Alex was wrong about her. She wasn't brave. And she would never be.

"Al... You're really great, and I'd forever be grateful that you did this for me but I'm not—I just... I don't think I want to— you're wrong, I don't feel anything for you..." the words were like a venom to Piper, poisoning her each time she uttered a word, but she couldn't stop. Not now.

And by the look on Alex's face, a mix of hurt and anger, Piper knew it was too late to take anything back.

Alex then shook her head, her face turning impassive.

"You know what, you're right. I mean... fuck," Alex chuckled but it was so hollow, Piper felt her eyes sting. She didn't know Alex was capable of showing her hurt but right now, it was all Piper could see and she hated herself so much for it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed anything. I mean... the reason you picked me to pretend as your girlfriend was because you think I'm the worst person you can ever be with. That's what you think of me. That's what you feel towards me."

"Alex, that's not—"

"It's fine, Pipes. I knew what I was getting into before I came here. You don't have to worry about me. I get it. I'm sorry I even thought that this was-"

Alex then stopped talking, deciding to just stand instead. Piper felt helpless as she found no words good enough to tell Alex that it wasn't her, that this was all because Piper was too much of a chicken shit to actually do what she wanted, for once.

"I'm sorry. Just forget I asked, okay? I should go get changed."

And as Alex disappeared from the crowd, Piper had finally felt her own hurt... because she might have just pushed away the only person who could see her for who she really was, that one person who had accepted the real her, and the first person who had made her feel something she had never felt her entire life.

-o-o-o-

"Hey," Piper was still at the bar, her earlier talk with Alex sobering her up. It was Cal, who looked surprisingly more sober than Piper.

"Hey," Piper said weakly, not really wanting to talk to anyone.

"Did you and Alex have a fight or something?"

"What, why?"

"Well, either that or you're just a shitty girlfriend for not even walking your girlfriend out the door before she leaves."

"Leaves?" Piper felt her heart pounding against her chest once more, but this time it was more because of pure panic. She knew she had pushed Alex away. But she didn't want her to leave... not just yet. "What do you mean, where is she?"

-o-o-o-

Piper found Alex just when she was about to open her car and she felt so relieved for catching her before she could leave. "So you're just gonna leave without saying goodbye?"

"Well, the wedding is over and I've done my part. Besides, it's not like we're not gonna see each other anymore. We work together. So what's the deal?"

Piper flinched at Alex's tone, she now looked so different from the woman who had been so gentle and playful with her before Piper turned everything between them turn to shit. She badly wanted to apologize, to tell her that everything she told her was a lie.

"Is there anything else?"

But no one could change overnight, so Piper was still stuck to that coward version of her, so instead of saying sorry, she decided to say something else. "I was wrong."

Alex looked surprised by this but she immediately turned her face to neutral again, looking as expressionless as Piper had never seen her before. "About?"

"About everything that I thought about you... I was wrong." Piper knew by then that if she didn't leave yet, she was surely gonna cry in front of Alex and she didn't deserve it, not when she was the one who's caused this pain between them. So slowly, she walked backwards, still looking Alex in her eyes. "Uh, thank you for doing this for me. See you at work."

And as she turned her back on her, Piper finally let her tears stain her cheeks.

-o-o-o-

A/N:

What's Vauseman without the drama, right?

Shoutout to these people:

RJVause, baustahlgewebe, AECrecv8, FFChik, piccolover22, WB79, Sarah, mielsita, cakedinmud, Pc. . , NatAttack16, AV21, ejm137, phantomframe, L, Deboma, dexday, perryplatypus0, fangirl9278, Goddam Dryer, HotforVause, SeriouslyAwesome, Pickypflu, Librarybook, i'llstayawake, snidget20, Flyer, AndyTheOrc, and to the 14 guests who didn't leave nicknames

You guys are the real MVPs, I love you truly!