You get yours, I'll get mine,
Then we run out of time,
You're the only one that I desire,
'Cause I love to play with fire.

Good girls do bad things sometimes. Alex knew that better than most. It had been the one thing she relied on each time she sought out a new mule. It was common knowledge to most that Alex loved to play with fire, especially when she was out in the city - in her element. In prison, her fire had been extinguished and she had nothing to play with anymore. She knew every aspect of her life at Litchfield, every day it was the same routine. Wake up, eat, work, eat, workout, eat, read, sleep. Of course Piper was there with her, that didn't mean that the familiarity of the prison routine wasn't starting to wear her down. Alex thought of herself as a sturdy rock positioned on the shore, the brave front that took the brunt of the harsh waves. Alex never imagined that one day the waves would start to chip at her exterior, making her vulnerable and small. It was with this thought that Alex looked upon her own life now, she was still the rock and the prison with all it's guards and confining ways was the sea. Alex sat up in her bunk and looked around her, she wanted to shout out her frustrations. She couldn't. So, she went outside to the yard instead. The lack of workout equipment in the prison was a slight annoyance but Alex managed to use the tree by the track as a kind of pull-up bar and so whenever she felt like she couldn't cope, outside she would go and outside she would stay until her limbs felt like they were going to fall off if she did even one more exercise.

As Alex hopped down from the tree branch she took a moment to get her breath back before using her jumper as a towel to wipe the sweat from her face. She looked at the track and watched Piper run, she wasn't jogging today as she normally did but she was flat out sprinting. Alex frowned and walked over to the fence that separated the track from the rest of the yard and watched her. It was a little fascinating to Alex the way Piper seemed to get lost in her own little world when she was running. She couldn't help but wonder if Piper really was transported out of the prison when she ran, she wondered if Piper felt like she was free and running through the park like she used to do. Finally, Piper noticed Alex and jogged over to her, panting heavily.

"Been a while since I heard you pant that hard," Alex said as a form of greeting as Piper got closer.

Piper smirked, too breathless to form a coherent reply. Instead, she just flipped up her middle finger at Alex. This, of course, made Alex grin like a child who'd finally gotten their way after hours of pestering. They stood in a comfortable silence for a while longer until Piper's breathing was almost back to normal. "What are you doing outside?" She asked.

Alex shrugged, "I was working out my troubles."

Piper frowned, disapproving. "I wish you would talk to me about what's going on in that head of yours." She sighed but held up a hand to halt any response that Alex was going to make, "I know. I worry too much. Shut up."

Alex smirked and reached through the holes in the fence to grab Piper's fingers with her own. "I love you though."

Piper wasn't able to hold back from her smile, "Yeah yeah. Love you too you little shit."

Alex chuckled and let go of Piper so that the blonde could join her on the other side of the fence, they hugged each other briefly before heading back inside the prison side by side. When they got back to the suburbs Alex smiled at the sight of Nicky and Morello cosying up to each other on Nicky's bunk. "Hey Nichols," Alex greeted. "Morello, good to see you've come to your senses about Nicky. I swear, she was driving me mad with her constant pining." Alex chuckled at the sight of both Morello's blush and Nicky's glare at her words. She held up her hands in defence as Piper dragged her away from the two. They eventually ended up at Alex's cube, they cuddled up to each other on the bunk, hands linked together as they sat in silence. Alex watched Piper, stuck deep in thought about something. They hadn't talked much about anything serious since Piper had found Alex's letter. They'd been stuck in a kind of honeymoon period again. Alex couldn't quite work out if this was a totally good or bad thing though, they both knew that they still had a shitload of issues to sort through but both appeared to be content to just ignore them for now. Why try to fix something that wasn't broken, right? They were broken though. Alex reminded herself. They were both broken beyond repair in one way or another. Alex's sigh at that thought seemed to snap Piper back to reality.

"Hey," Piper prompted to get Alex's attention. "You remember our apartment in London?"

Alex nodded, it was a big flat located in Sloane Square. It had cost her a hefty sum to get it, $9,677,250 if she remembered correctly, but it was worth it. The apartment was beautiful and she and Piper had been happier than ever when they lived there. It was their go-to-place when things got too hectic. Alex was sure that she would never love any city more than New York but London had proved her wrong. It was so sophisticated without being overpowering and the architecture was something she had never seen, especially in Chelsea. "Of course I remember." Alex replied.

"I was thinking, when we're both out of here we should go back to London. I miss it there so much. There was so much to do!" Piper lay back against the wall as she talked, letting herself get lost in her memory. "I remember the first month we lived there and how we went to the same coffee shop every morning for breakfast. And when it rained we sat out on the patio under that big umbrella. It was fucking freezing cold but it was amazing." Piper sighed and closed her eyes.

Alex smiled, she would have to call her lawyer later and get him to check that her "renters" had kept her London apartment in good condition. Alex hadn't had the heart to sell it after she and Piper had broken it up and made sure to take every precaution to make sure the feds wouldn't be able to get their hands on it should she ever get arrested. She was glad that she did that now, she would always have her and Piper's special place. "We can go back to our apartment, I was thinking of asking Nicky if she wanted to come over there with me when we both got out because we have that extra bedroom. I think she would appreciate the new scenery and maybe if she and Lorna actually stick it out this time they could both come with us. Shit, we could all be lesbian roomies together." Alex chuckled at the thought. It wasn't a particularly bad one.

Piper looked at Alex somewhat in shock and disbelief, "You still have that place?" She asked quietly, as if talking louder would make it any less true. At the sight of Alex's smirk in response she squealed with delight. "Oh, Alex. They would love it I know they would. Does that mean we really can go and live there again?" Piper sounded like a child who had just found out she was going to Disneyland for the first time. It did strange things to Alex's heart.

These hearts adore
Everyone the other beats hardest for
Inside this place is warm
Outside it starts to pour

Alex was outside again, she was going sit-ups this time and had almost reached 100 when she was interrupted by a large object landing on her stomach, winding her. Alex's immediate reaction was to push the object off of her and roll away from harm and it was only when she did that, that she realised the large object was actually Nicky. "Christ, Nichols. Are you trying to kill me?" She snapped, annoyance clear on her face.

Nicky smiled smugly at Alex. "Of course not, Vause. Just needed to get your attention."

Alex rolled her eyes, "And you couldn't just do that the same way any normal person would because...?"

"Because fuck being normal, Vause." Nicky retorted, holding out a hand to help Alex up.

Alex took Nicky's hand and let herself be pulled up as she rubbed her sore stomach. "What's so important that you needed to crush all of my inner organs for?"

Nicky shrugged and then looked at Alex curiously. "I heard from a little goldfish that you had an offer for me." Nicky looked at Alex expectantly.

Alex sighed, "Piper just cannot keep her mouth shut, huh?" Alex shrugged and pushed her glasses up her nose a little nervously. In truth, she had no idea how Nicky would react to her proposition, they hadn't know each other that long after all and there was nothing to say that Nicky liked either Alex or Piper enough to consider living in a foreign country with them. Alex took a deep breath and looked Nicky straight in the eye. "I have this apartment in London. Cost me a shitload to get but it's fucking amazing. Anyway, me and Piper are planning to head back there once we're out and... I was wondering if you and, if she wanted, Lorna would tag along with us. There's plenty of room for you two but I totally understand if you don't want to come with us. I know it's a massive deal, but I thought I would just let you know the offers there if you wanted it." Alex studied Nicky's face but whatever Nicky was feeling, she didn't let it show.

"Hell to the fuck yeah I would come live in London with you guys! I've never been to England before and living in a flashy apartment that neither my mom or I paid for sounds grand. I can't see Lorna objecting to it either, she hasn't really got much going for her to stay here now. Hell, neither of us do." Nicky sounded genuine and for once the smile on her face was neither smug nor sarcastic. It was warm. Alex smiled and punched her friend lightly on the arm.

"This doesn't mean that I've forgiven you for the damage you've caused my stomach though." Alex warned, her smile showing her playfulness.

It didn't take long for Alex to find Piper, when she did find her she kissed her and held her close. Suddenly the thoughts she had been having a few days ago didn't seem so bad and her life wasn't quite as dark and grim as she had previously thought. Just think of all the stories you'll have, she reminded herself. As she stood there with Piper in her arms she couldn't help but let her mind wander forwards to the future. Hope was a dangerous thing in prison but how could she not have any after everything that had happened. She could see herself in her apartment in London. Piper under her arm and Nicky and Lorna sitting across the dinner table from them as they talked about old times and remembered all the crazy stories that they had gathered in Litchfield. Things were going well and Alex would make every effort to see that they continued to go that way. Nothing was going to bring her down or threaten her new future. Away from all the bad, all that awaited her now was good. She was sure of it. A sharp shout from Mendez caused Alex to separate herself from Piper and walk alone to her bunk but even that couldn't put her spirits down. The rest of the day seemed to fly by and Alex couldn't help but wish the rest of her time fled by the same way too.

A week later, Alex's mood was still high. The days had become not so ordinary now as they seemed to have more of a purpose. At the end of this she was going to have Piper. It was only after dinner that Alex's world begun to crash down around her. She was reading a letter she had gotten from her cousin. Her aunt had died. Whilst Alex wasn't particularly close to the woman, she had been the only link she had left to her mother. Her father was a waste of time and space and she hadn't bothered with him after her first and last meeting with him. Her aunt however, her aunt had been her rock during the period after her mother had died. Right before Alex had turned to the drugs. She was too shocked to even cry or move or blink. Her cousin hadn't written much about what happened, just that she had been in the car and a drunk driver had veered off the road and hit them. The other driver died instantly whilst her aunt had struggled for a week in the hospital. She was in so much pain. Alex cursed quietly to herself, crunching the letter in her hand. She was furious but she had no idea why. She didn't feel sad at all. She threw the letter down onto her bunk as she stood up, chucking her books off of her cabinet and onto the floor. The mess she had created only made her angrier and she sped outside.

"Fucking goddammit! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" She yelled. A few guards looked over towards her warily but she just ignored them and headed directly for her tree. She looked up at the branch she used for her work outs and grabbed at it, pulling it with all her might just willing it to break. The branch bent but didn't break. Alex couldn't help but think bitterly that it was some kind of representation of her life. "Stupid fucking tree." She muttered, kicking it before turning and leaning against it. In truth, Alex had gotten on better with her cousin than she ever had her aunt. Her aunt had always judged her and her mother and Alex resented her for it. Her aunt never understood the sacrifices Alex's mother had to take to make sure she had food on her plate every day and clothes on her back. Alex didn't understand why she should care about her aunt dying when her aunt had only cared about her mom dying because it was a formality. Because they were sisters. Because it was expected of her to care. Alex didn't see how that could warrant that she could then care about her aunt. Fuck formalities and fuck family. What good were they anyway? It was only then that Alex let herself cry. Her cousin had lost her mother. Alex knew what her cousin must be going through and although she couldn't be there in person she could certainly call and write to her. Alex nodded to herself, wiping away her brief tears and composed herself. She would do that. She would do it for her mom and for her cousin. After a while, Alex was calm and cold enough to go back inside. She found Piper sitting on her bunk. All of Alex's stuff was still thrown all over the floor and the letter was still crumpled on the the far side of the bed. Alex sat down next to Piper silently and reached for it. She didn't open it again, instead she just stared at it in her hands.

"What happened in here?" Piper asked timidly.

"I uh, redecorated." Alex's attempt at humour was almost cringe worthy.

"Uh huh." Piper nodded. "Wanna talk about it?"

Alex shook her head and reached over to put the letter on her cabinet. "Not yet kid. Not yet."

Piper nodded and took Alex's hand into her own. "Whenever you're ready."

Alex nodded and smiled gently at Piper. Alex was the strong one, not the weak one. She had cried over her aunt and that would be it. She would shed no more tears. She had her future with Piper to look forward to. Alex had been weak, but now she was going back to being strong. She would rebuild her walls but she would make sure that Piper was on the right side of them this time. She wouldn't shut her out again.

Authors Note:

Hey guys! Just a bit of fluff this chapter. I was feeling a little uninspired as to plot direction but I wanted to write. Hopefully this isn't too bad, I'm not entirely happy with it but oh well. I will learn from this, right? I thought I would also try to include more Nicky and Lorna in this too, so I'm going to try and fit more scenes with the two of them in. Pricing of the flat that was mentioned is based off of a real 2 bedroom apartment in Chelsea, London. The flats in London are crazy expensive but are absolutely beautiful. I chose Chelsea because it was flashy but beautiful and knowing Alex's love for good architecture, based on the few sightings of her property that we get in the show, I thought that she would have picked an area like that. In case you're curious about the house I used for reference in this story I'll leave a link to the online page for it here. ( . /buy/property/2-bedroom-flat-in-london,sw1x-for-asking-price-gbp-5,750,000-ref-2644133/ )

As always, leave a review and let me know how you think the story is so far and thanks for reading! :D