ALEX POV
You freeze as you stare into those beautifully familiar cerulean eyes.
Your hand lingers on hers for a little longer than it should. You finally drop your hand and pull yourself into a standing position.
"Oh shit."
You both turn and look at a smirking Nichols. Way to ruin the moment Nicky, you think.
"Chapman is that you?"
"Hey…" she cracks out, obviously stunned by your presence.
Nicky stands up and gives Piper a pointed look. "Twice in one week huh blondie? Must be a lucky one for you," she shoots the clearly overwhelmed blonde a wink.
"I-I have to go," she mutters embarrassedly, her eyes full of an emotion that you can't quite decipher. She turns quickly and stumbles back into the kitchen.
"That was weird," Nichols gives you a crooked grin as she saunters back to the table.
You find yourself frozen in your spot, staring back at the kitchen door expectantly. What the fuck?
For a minute, you wonder if you are hallucinating. You close your eyes for a second and then snap them open.
Nichols is sitting at the table smirking at you. Someone emerges from the kitchen with a broom to clean up the broken glass. It was very much real.
You let out a heavy sigh before returning to the table and slipping across from Nichols.
Nichols is just staring at you with that stupid grin on her face.
"Don't even say it," you mumble.
A waitress saunters over to your table to take your order, when you notice Piper make her way out of the kitchen. Her eyes connect with yours for a moment before she turns away.
"No," Nichols informs the waitress with a slight smirk. "I want her," she points towards Piper. "To take my order, I mean."
"Huh?" the waitress gives her a pointed look before shrugging and making her ways towards Piper. She points towards you and Nichols.
Piper looks like she's about to faint as she slowly makes her way towards the table. You kick Nicky underneath the table hard with your foot.
"What was that for?"
"You know what that was for," you inform her with a pained groan, your eyes still trained on Piper, who is becoming dangerously close to your table.
She stops and pulls her pad out. "What can I get you to drink?" she asks slowly, her eyes shifting uncomfortably from yours to Nichols.
Nichols orders water. You order a gin and tonic; double. Piper eyes you skeptically before nodding and turning towards the bar.
"Well this is awkward," Nichols whispers lowly, giving you another smirk. "I mean you were practically undressing our waitress with your eyes."
"Shut the fuck up Nicky."
Piper returns to your table.
She places Nicky's water in front of her and slides your drink to you. "Ready to order?"
You are suddenly aware of her eyes staring at you.
You cast her a side-long glance as if to appreciate the way that she looks tonight as she scribbles down Nichol's order.
"What will you be having Alex?" She turns to you and offers a small smile. A peace offering of sorts, you decide.
"Can I have the chicken parmesan with a side house salad?" you smirk, lifting a dark eyebrow. "And I'll take your number on the side too."
Nichols chokes on her water. Piper looks slightly taken aback but smiles lightly.
"I see you still have your sense of humor."
Piper drops her pen to the table beside your drink. She slowly reaches down to pick it up. Instinctively, your hand covers hers. "Allow me to help you," you smirk at her, fully aware of how sweet and seductive your voice sounds right now.
"Thank you," Piper mutters dryly as you hand her the pen.
You hand her your menu. "Thanks babe," you shoot her a wink and give her a once-over, letting your eyes travel up and down her body, then up again, stopping at her face. She looks uncomfortable to say the least. "You know you look much better without those prison scrubs on."
Piper just gives you a blank look. "I'll be back with your food shortly," she mutters curtly, quickly scurrying away from your table.
Nichols just looks at you with wide eyes. She finally bursts into a fit of laughter. "That was epic!"
"God, it feels good to have the power back," you chuckle as you take a sip of your drink. "I mean did you see how uncomfortable she looked?"
"Well yeah," Nichols chuckles back at you. "Could you imagine running into your ex who breaks up with you in prison after you cheat on her? And then she flirts with you intensely!"
You find your eyes cutting over to Piper as she moves around the café. Nichols starts spouting on about some girl she fucked the other night but you don't really hear much of what she says. You are too busy stealing glances at the blonde.
Piper brings your food to the table. "Careful, it's hot," she mumbles as she sets your food in front of you.
"No babe that would be you." You look at her with a seductive grin, kinking your eyebrow high and licking your lips lightly.
"Alex, what is with you?" she finally hisses as she pulls her hand away from the plate. "Are you trying to make me uncomfortable?"
"Maybe I'm trying to seduce you," you whisper bluntly, fully aware of how sultry your raspy voice sounds right now. "Is it working?"
"Maybe," she returns back in a voice that is seductive as hell, yet sweet as honey. She intentionally drops her pen. But this time, she's quick to reach down and pick it up. Her hot breath is dangerously close to your face right now and you can smell the familiar scent of vanilla engrained in the crook of her neck. You swallow the lump that forms in your throat. You do not like this close proximity of your blonde ex-lover.
Fuck.
She gives you a wink as she turns and heads back in the direction of the kitchen.
"Damn," Nichols smirks as she takes a bite of her pasta. "I don't understand you two."
You continue to sneak glances at Piper as you eat. Nichols can tell that you are not fully focused on her conversation about plans for the weekend.
"Dammit Alex, would it kill you to actually listen to me for a change? I mean I understand that you are more interested in undressing blondie with your eyes but…"
"Shut up."
Piper shoots a look in your direction and you find yourself becoming immersed in the beauty of her striking eyes.
"I-I c-can't b-breathe…" Nicky starts to make gagging noises. You tear your eyes away from Piper. "With all the sexual tension in this room."
"Fuck off."
Nichols laughs uncontrollably as Piper walks over to the table and clears your dishes out of the way. "Can I get you any dessert?"
You give her a look as if to say you walked right into this one. "Yes. You would make a fine dessert Piper."
"Maybe you can have me for dinner instead?" she winks at you, before removing the plate. "Cash or credit?"
"Cash," you reply dryly, fishing into your wallet. You leave her a generous tip.
"So Alex, Nicky, what have you ladies been up to?" Piper asks as Nichols fishes into her wallet.
"Working as a secretary. It's boring as fuck," Nichols responds with a shrug as she hands Piper some money.
"What about you Alex?" She turns to you with a smile. "Any luck finding a legal job?"
That's a low fucking blow.
"I work at Jamieson's, the bar down the street." You grit your teeth as your eyes bore into Piper's. "Have a nice night." You practically grab Nichols by the arm in an attempt to drag her out of that place.
"Bye blondie!" Nichols waves like an idiot as you pull her outside into the streets of Brooklyn. You turn for a moment and lock eyes with Piper. She gives you a small smile and you find yourself shooting her a nostalgic smile back.
"Damn Chapman's got game," Nichols smirks as she hails a cab.
You don't even bother with a reply. You simply shake your head.
PIPER POV
You stand under the hot spray and allow the water to cascade over your muscles, relieving the obvious tension that has built up inside of them.
You can't fucking believe you just saw Alex Vause. It all just seems so surreal to you right now.
You can't help but smile at the way you caught her stealing glances at you, the way she flirted shamelessly with you, the way that it seemed like no time has really passed since you were last together.
Natural. That's how it's always been with Alex.
You cannot see or speak to one another in a long time and seemingly pick up right where you left off. That's how comfortable you are with her.
You wipe the excess water from your body with a white cotton towel, wrapping it tightly over your body.
You stare in the mirror at yourself.
Your eyes don't shine quite the way they used to.
Your smile doesn't reach quite as far as it used to.
You notice the infinity symbol inked below your right breast.
A reminder of how much power you'd had in prison. How much shit you had been through.
You notice the tattoo on your arm.
Nobody fucks with you. Nobody trusts you.
You notice the carved word "pain" on your opposite arm.
That's what you feel right now. That's what you are always inflicting on everyone else.
The person staring back at you in the mirror is not the person that used to stare back at you.
Not before you went to prison.
After you are dressed in an oversized shirt that ironically used to belong to Alex and a pair of shorts, you find yourself wandering into the kitchen, rifling through your cupboards.
You finally settle on blending yourself a margarita.
You take a sip, relishing in the goodness that the cold beverage has to offer. It reminds you of her.
Your mind instantly wanders back to your fondest memory of margaritas. The night that everything in your life changed. The night that your life collided with that of Alex Vause; so hard and so fast that even you didn't know something so cosmic and so electric was even possible.
You find yourself standing inside a modest bar in a quiet neighborhood. You're not sure what has brought you here other than the fact that you really fucking need a job.
Being a waitress was not exactly your first choice in jobs after graduating from college but your degree seems almost useless right now with the way that the economy is. And you need some form of income if you want to pay your rent.
You wait patiently for the bartender to acknowledge you.
"Hey you, Laura Ingalls Wilder, we're escaping America before the apocalypse. Wanna come?" A husky voice suddenly calls from behind you. You turn and see a beautiful dark-haired woman smiling at you. "Sorry?" You turn to her confused.
The bartender interrupts you and you draw your attention to him. He admits that your resume will just end up in a drawer somewhere. You feel defeated as you let out a heavy sigh.
You probably shouldn't stay. But that woman is staring at you. And you find her so incredibly alluring.
You decide to order a margarita and sit yourself down to enjoy the cold beverage.
"It's a little cold out for a margarita don't you think?" That damn husky voice comes drifting from behind you yet again. This time she is so close to you, you can feel her hot breath tickling your neck in the most enticing way humanly possible.
"Let's see this," she smirks, picking the resume up and scanning her eyes over it. "Steve's Greek Cuisine. Le Ground Fromage. Bullshit, bullshit," she smirks as she takes her eyes off the paper and stares at you. "You need a lesson in fudging a resume." Those eyes; they are beautiful and emerald green, hidden behind black secretary style glasses. For some reason, you can't seem to look away.
You turn to the woman again, wondering why she is questioning your resume. "Do you work here?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" She lets out a booming laugh. "Manager, Polly Harper. No one named Polly Harper gets put in charge, who is that really?"
"It's my friend," you let out a small laugh, embarrassed by your clearly fake resume.
"You've never waited a fucking table in your life, have you?"
"No," you admit honestly. You find yourself suddenly amazed at how well this woman you've just met can read you. Are you really that predictable?
"So, Piper Chapman," she looks over at you with that signature smirk. "A smith grad with excellent listening skills, passionate about making diners feel good. That sounds kind of dirty," she kinks an eyebrow at you. "Safe, clean, and careful when handling food and drink. I like that in a woman. What else do I need to know about you?"
You look at this woman, amazed. You find yourself asking the very question you've been wondering since she started talking to you. "Who are you?"
"My name is Alex."
"And what do you do Alex? Besides make fun of strangers in bars?" Are you seriously flirting with this woman right now?
"I work for an international drug cartel," she responds with the most serious of tones. You give her a look that encases shock. She seems to sense this and lets out a booming, infectious laugh.
The next thing you know, this Alex woman is inviting you over to her table.
You probably should go home. Something inside of you tells you that this woman is dangerous; that you shouldn't get too close to her.
But you can't help it. You feel incredibly drawn to her. There is a connection that you've quite possibly never felt before. When her hand accidently brushed up against yours, you felt this weird spark. Something you've never felt before, something sort of electric, sort of cosmic.
Alex seems at ease when she is around her friends. She sits beside you, ordering drinks for everybody, laughing and making jokes with ease. Sometimes her hand brushes against your thigh in the most innocent of ways. And you feel that weird spark again.
Alex's friends slowly start to filter out and it's just the two of you left.
You can feel the alcohol rushing to your head. You should probably go too. But something is making you stay.
"I have to catch a flight to Berlin early in the morning," Alex finally speaks as she sends you her signature smirk. "Would you care to have one more drink with me?"
You nod your head slowly and shoot her a flirtatious smile. "Berlin, hey?"
"It's a nice city," Alex tilts her head and smiles. "You ever been?"
You shake your head. You've done some travelling but you find yourself feeling so sheltered compared to this woman. All night, you've heard her talking about her travels, all over the world. About the lavish parties she attends. It makes you crave a taste of her life. "What brings you to Berlin?"
"Business," she tells you with a shrug as she takes a sip of her alcohol. "So Piper tell me a little about yourself. Where do you come from?"
"Small town Connecticut," you tell her with a smile. "Graduated from Smith College and moved to New York just a few months ago with my friend Polly. How long have you been in New York?"
"I moved here about seven years ago from small town New Jersey," she tells you with a hint of mystery in her eyes. "Just wanted to have a little excitement in my life, you know?"
The more you talk to Alex, the more you find yourself completely drawn into her. She tells you about her love of art and culture. She tells you about her love of music; the classics such as Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, and the Cure. She tells you about her love of literature; a wide variety of classic and contemporary favorites. You tell her about growing up in Connecticut and wanting to break out in the world, away from your parents and the life that they seem to have mapped out for you.
The two of you stay there until the bar closes, sitting dangerously close to one another, a constant fit of smiles and laughs in between a conversation that flows incredibly easily.
You both tumble into the New York streets, laughing at something Alex told you about her latest travel to Bali.
"I should probably go. I have that early flight to catch," Alex groans, as if she doesn't want the night to end. You really don't want the night to end either.
How can you meet a complete stranger in a bar like this and spend the whole night talking, feeling like you've known this person your whole life?
"Yeah," you nod drunkenly as you take a step towards her. "I should probably go too. I have a long day of job hunting ahead of me tomorrow.
"I wouldn't want to interfere with that," Alex gulps as you step even close to her. You can feel her hot breath on your neck. Her lips are so close to yours right now. Dangerously close… Alex is quite possibly the most mysterious, alluring person you have ever met. Yet, she screams danger. And for once in your life you just want to feel special and bad.
There is not a single care in the world. The usually conservative Piper Chapman does not seem to exist as you lean in closer to this beautiful woman. Your lips touch hers and you feel that spark again. Only this time it is even more intense. You drag your tongue across her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She gladly offers it you, parting her lips as your tongue slips inside of hers, exploring the depths of her mouth. She tastes dangerously like alcohol and cigarettes.
Finally, Alex breaks the kiss. She tilts head and offers you a smile. "It was nice meeting you Piper."
"Can I see you again?" You ask her, your eyes trained on her dark emerald ones. You have to see her again.
"I'm going to Berlin," she reminds you as she steps towards the Taxi that has pulled up to the curb.
"When will you be back?"
"I don't know," she tells you honestly. "Could be a few weeks, could be few months."
"If you want to see me again, meet me back here whenever you get back," you tell her as you lean in and brush your lips across hers in a small but passionate kiss. "Have a nice night, Alex."
You go to that place every night for two months in hopes of seeing her again. You almost lose faith in her returning until one night two months later when she shows up at the bar. You didn't know it then but that woman was about to become the biggest part of your life.
End Flashback
You let out an angry sigh as you pull yourself back to reality.
Sometimes you wish she'd never showed up that night. Sometimes you wish she would have stayed away. Sometimes you wish you could have saved both of you the heartache. Sometimes you wish you'd never met Alex Vause. But you were obsessed with danger at the time.
ALEX POV
You feel like you're living in a dream right now as you slowly close the door to your apartment and kick your shoes off. You can't believe that you just saw Piper Chapman for the first time in over 6 months. You honestly thought that after prison you would never see her again.
As you make yourself comfortable on the couch, you find your mind drifting back to the time when you last saw her.
"Hey Alex." You look up to see your blonde ex-lover, the one who ripped your heart out and stomped on it nearly one year ago, standing at the foot of your cubicle.
You don't have anything to say to her anymore.
"You don't want to talk to me?" She looks at you with broken eyes. As if she has a right to be broken. She's the one that ruined this relationship. "I get it."
"What do you want?" Bitterness drips from your tongue as she turns around and offers you a weak smile.
"I'm getting out in a week," she tells you quietly. "Crazy right?"
"Yeah."
"Look Alex," she gives you those bambi eyes that you've come to hate so much. "I'm really sorry about everything that happened between us, I really am. I wish that I could take it all back… I don't know why I… I'm such an idiot. God, you hate me don't you?"
You look at her and shake your head. "I don't hate you Piper. But, I can't forgive you for what you did to me. And I'm not going to lie; I don't like the person you've become. The Piper that I loved, I haven't seen her in a long time and I'm scared she's never going to come back."
"I..I," Piper cracks out, a tear falling from the corner of her deep blue eyes. "I can't change what I did but I promise I can make it up to you Alex, okay? I can change if that's what you want me to do. We can go back to the ways things were before."
"No Piper," you shake your head angrily, your eyes trained on the floor because you know that looking into her eyes right now could break you and you are not going to let yourself break. At least not right now. "Things will never go back to the way they used to be. There has been too much damage over the years, okay? It's not just about what happened with Stella or how you've changed. You have to realize that we have hurt each other too many times. And that's not okay. It will never be okay!"
"I'm scared," Piper admits as she looks at her hands. "I'm scared of leaving this place and having to live on my own; without you, without any of these people. I feel like I have nothing left anymore Alex. And you were the one thing that has been constant in my life for the past couple of years."
"You should have thought about that a year ago," you tell her blankly as you dismiss her with your hand. "You and I can never happen again, despite how much history we have. I need to learn how to live on my own and I think you should do the same."
She sends you a look that is filled with pain and regret. "I really am sorry," she whispers as she hands you an envelope. "Please read this."
She gives you one last pleading look before turning and exiting your life. You always imagined that would be the last time you'd ever see Piper Chapman.
End Flashback
Seeing her again on the outside world after everything that has happened gives you a whirlwind of mixed feelings. There are times when you think you need each other. After all, you couldn't deny the spark you felt when you touched her hand. You couldn't deny the stolen glances that held so much emotion, so much promise. You couldn't deny how natural the conversation flowed between both of you even despite everything that has happened. Sometimes, it feels like no time has passed between the two of you.
You might be ready to forgive her for what she's done. At least that way, you can both move on with some peace of mind. But, it still hurts to think that she was capable of doing so much damage to your fragile heart.
PIPER POV
You probably should have gone home after work. You probably shouldn't be here. But a part of you needs to be here. A part of you needs her to be in your life again.
You push the door to the small bar open and take a moment to look around. The place is kind of a dump and you would never really expect Alex to work in a place like this. The place is almost empty aside from a few creepy old men sitting on the VLT machines.
You make your way through the maze of tables and sit yourself down on one of the barstools, picking up the drink menu and eyeing it carefully.
"Can I get you something?" The familiar husky voice you've grown to love so much asks. You look up from the drink menu and offer her a small smile.
"Oh fuck," Alex rolls her eyes at you. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm not allowed to enjoy a nice drink after a long day of work?" you shoot back, pretending to be offended.
"It must be a coincidence that you ended up at my bar of all places?" she mutters indifferently as she folds her arms over her chest. "What can I get you?" You don't miss the hardness in her tone. A far different approach from the other night when you ran into her at your restaurant.
"I'll have a margarita please," you smile at her as you set the drink menu down. "Double the tequila please."
She rolls her eyes and turns her back to prepare your drink.
You hand her a few bills as she places the margarita in front of you.
A moment of awkward silence passes over the two of you as she prepares a drink for another customer. "Oh come on Alex. I know you're pissed at me but isn't my company more enjoyable that those creepy old men?" You point your eyes towards the VLT machines.
"Those creepy old men pay my rent," she mutters stoically, turning her eyes away from you and trying to make herself busy.
"Alex," you mutter, taking a sip of your drink in hopes of finding some liquid courage. "Do you hate me?"
She turns to look at you and shakes her head slowly. "Piper I could never hate you. Believe me, I tried."
"Then why won't you talk to me?"
"Honestly?" She asks and you nod your head slowly. "Because, I know that talking to you is dangerous."
"Why are you so adamant on not having me in your life at all?" You ask quickly, raising an ash eyebrow at the dark-haired woman leaning against the bar countertop. "I mean can't we try to be friends or something?"
"Friends?" she chuckles at you, shaking her head lightly. "Piper we've never been able to be just friends."
She has a point. "Maybe we can start?" you suggest, pushing your empty glass towards her, indicating you'd like a re-fill.
Alex just shakes her head at you and turns around to fill your glass.
"Why not?"
"Because it's too hard," she informs you as her eyes fill with a certain sadness; a sadness that you often recognize when you look in the mirror. "Look Piper, I am trying to get my shit together. The last thing I need is for you to come in here and try to complicate things."
"I was just trying to be nice."
"Well then stop trying to be nice," she hisses at you, her eyes narrowing. "I thought you weren't a very nice person anymore."
You roll your eyes at her and she rolls hers back in perfect fashion. Alex reaches down to wipe away the stray liquid beside your glass. "Jesus Piper," she touches your arm, and that damn spark courses through your body. "What the fuck is that?"
"I thought you'd seen my tattoo before," you roll your eyes at her yet again. "It says trust no bitch, remember?"
"Not the tattoo," she runs her fingers over the word pain. "I was talking about this. What the fuck did you do?"
"I wanted to know what it felt like to inflict pain on myself because of all the pain I've caused others," you shrug nonchalantly, giving Alex your best stone-cold stare.
"Did it work?"
"No," you whisper as you pull your arm away from her grasp. "I guess I'm not capable of feeling emotions."
"You should probably go," she whispers as she pulls away from you, probably just realizing now that she is dangerously close to you.
"I'll see you around Alex," you respond with the kink of an eyebrow, placing some money on the table, and pulling yourself into a standing position.
You shoot Alex one last look as you step into the warm New York night. You feel a small smile spread across your face. Alex must still care about you or she wouldn't of seemed so concerned that you'd carved the word pain in your arm.
I feel like I'm 23 and no time has passed. Well, I think that when you have a connection with someone, it never really goes away, you know? You snap back to being important to each other because you still are. You find yourself thinking of the conversation you and Alex had what seems like a lifetime ago now.
It amazes you that after all this time, you keep popping up in each other's lives. It must be fate. And the connection, it's never really faded. You find yourself feeling just as intensely about her as you always have.
You decide that you are not going to let her walk out of your life again. You are going to do whatever it takes to keep her in your life this time and you are never going to let her go again. You've already made that mistake once.
AN: Ahh so much Vauseman in this chapter. Hope you guys don't mind! I felt like after making everyone wait so long for them to reunite, I owed you all a strictly Vauseman chapter. And there will be plenty more in the next chapter as well! Thanks for the wonderful reviews yet again, they are giving me so much motivation to just want to write this story all of the time! I'm going on a string of 3 night shifts this weekend and hopefully will have plenty of time to crack more of this story out.