A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the new follows / favourites! I am worried about how long this fic has become now - is it too long? Should I split it into two parts or keep going in one long story? I lost a couple of chapters on a USB that got corrupted - very annoying as I need to re-write and remember where I was headed with them now - argh! Ready for more Vauseman drama? Then follow the words dear reader...
Alex pulled her body close to ensure maximum body contact and rubbed her hand up and down Piper's arm to warm her up. They fit together so perfectly, they always did. Blonde hair was splayed out on the pillow and Alex brushed it aside to put her face closer. She could smell the unique scent that was Piper and closed her eyes to inhale it. She could still feel her shivering every once in a while and squeezed tighter. Neither of them spoke for a while, each content in enjoying the feel of their skin touching in so many places. They had laid together like this for hours when they were together and they both hadn't realised how much they had needed this closeness. When Alex felt Piper's limbs start to relax a little, she reminded her about the mug of milk and Piper tied to drink it without moving her body away from Alex at all, not wanting to break the contact.
Alex chuckled. "It's OK, I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to."
"I don't want you to." Piper turned to her and smiled shyly before leaning further away to pick up her drink. She sat up a little further in the bed now so she could swallow but held onto Alex's arm below her gently to retain some contact with the brunette.
Polly stood at the doorway and smiled at the pair of them lying together in bed before walking in to sit on the edge of the bed nearest to Piper.
"Are you guys OK in here? I'm guessing Alex is staying?"
"Yes, Alex can stay with me – if that's OK with you Pol?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking three's a crowd in this bed tonight anyway. I'm pretty well acquainted with your sofa already though. I've brought you some more water in case you're dehydrated."
"Thanks Pol. Both of you. I….I'm sorry about tonight. I wasn't thinking and didn't know I drank that much. I'm sure I would have been fine, but I didn't mean to scare you."
"Well, you did…..From now on, you're under strict instructions for not drinking hard liquor without company." Polly said sternly.
"I don't feel like I'm in a strong position to counter argue right now, so I'll agree to a probation period at least."
"Why did you drink that vodka Pipes?" Alex asked, feeling it was a reasonable question at this point.
She sighed, feeling like she owed them both an explanation of some sort beyond a shoulder shrug.
"I guess I felt like everyone was treating me like a child, making decisions for me, telling me I had to have someone with me. I felt like my life wasn't my own…and I guess I wanted to block it out and feel freer…..I don't really know that I thought about it that much. I just wanted to forget I guess."
"Well if you didn't behave like-"
"It's OK Pipes, we get it. I'm sorry if we made you feel like that." Alex cut Polly off before this became a lecture and Piper was made to feel any smaller than she already did after tonight's events. Polly seemed to understand this could wait for another time when they'd all had some rest.
"Yeah, you're OK and that's all that matters to me. Let's talk about it later. For now, you two need some beauty sleep and I have a squeaky sofa waiting for me out there." She leaned forward to kiss Piper on the forehead and nodded at Alex before leaving and closing the door behind her. Piper finished the last of her milk before switching the light out and snuggling back down into the bed.
"Am I allowed to close my eyes now, or do you still have a cab waiting outside to take me away?" Piper laid on her back but turned to look at Alex in the darkness as she spoke.
"Do you want to close your eyes?"
"I don't know now….I want to lie with you, but I don't know whether I want to sleep just yet. I feel like you might not be here when I wake up."
"How about if I promise I will still be here when you wake up?" Alex reached to take hold of Piper's hand and intertwined their fingers on the pillow between them. Piper smiled and brought her face closer to kiss the back of Alex's hand.
"That would be nice."
The blonde moved so close to Alex that she had to lift her arm out of the way to figure out where Piper was heading. She snuggled into the crook of Alex's neck, resting against her chest and shoulder and hooking her leg over Alex's body so she had maximum contact with her. Alex kissed the top of her head and smiled to herself as she rested her arm around the blonde.
"Do you want to go to sleep now?" Piper asked.
"I know there is no place I'd rather be right now than lying here with you, so it doesn't matter what I'm doing while I'm here." Piper grinned at hearing those words, but Alex couldn't see it in the darkness. She lifted her head slightly and kissed the top of Alex's breast through her borrowed tee while gently stroking her fingers up the other side of the brunette's suddenly tense torso. "But if you're going to rest your naked legs over the top of mine and press your hardened nipples against me, sleep is going to be the last thing on my mind quite frankly."
"Oh? But I thought this was relaxing?" Piper smiled wickedly before pushing Alex's t-shirt a little further up her body to expose more of her skin.
"Ahhh, no. Not relaxing." Alex clenched her jaw, trying to not show a reaction.
"Sorry, I'm struggling to get comfy here. Hang on…" Piper slowly raised the leg that was resting over Alex's legs and glided her foot all the way up the inside of her porcelain long legs until her knee was close to her centre, then she ever so lightly brushed over the top of her mound as she readjusted to press her own sex against Alex's hip. "Yes, that's better."
"Are you done?" Alex lifted Piper's chin with her fingers to look at her with raised eyebrows.
"Mmmm, I think so."
"Good. Because you are an …..(kiss)….exceedingly….(kiss)…..tempting….(kiss)…..proposition…(kiss)….right now. But, I'm going to reign in my raging libido and say we are not going to work out our issues and feelings with sex this time." Alex kissed her on the forehead, as though sealing the deal.
"Less than 12 hours ago you were raging at me, 24 hours ago you disappeared on me and left me in this bed alone. So….I'm saying let's try things differently this time and see if the outcome is better. Do you agree?"
Piper scowled and thought about it for a moment. She was all in for the sex option as she knew exactly how to deal with that, but Alex was throwing a curve ball and keeping her panties on. This was most unexpected.
"Right. Fine." Piper rolled her eyes and started to move away to a safe, none-sexy distance from the droolsome body of Alex Vause before Alex stopped her and pulled her back.
"If you play your cards right, I might be willing to go to first base with you though." Alex winked and pretended to be coy as she pulled Piper in for a kiss. Piper didn't hesitate to press her mouth against the soft pink lips before her and she felt Alex smiling as she tried to deepen the kiss quickly, opening her lips up and tugging at Alex's lower lip to demonstrate her want. Alex slowed the pace to take the heat and urgency away as she knew neither of them would hold at first base if this continued. She moved her hand up to stroke Piper's cheek, brushing her hair away from her face as she did. Her other hand moved over Piper's back as she lay half on top of Alex now and moved up and down, caressing the material of the tee shirt that Piper was aching to remove. Piper moved up some more so she was resting on her elbow and broke the kiss to look down on Alex, who opened her eyes at the sudden loss of lip contact.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"So, first base and cuddling tonight then?"
"Yup."
"Wow. I wasn't expecting a no sex rule to be used so early."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, aren't you supposed to start out fucking like rabbits and then become an old married couple?"
"Well, I guess that depends on if you're a couple to start off with. We aren't even technically dating Piper."
"Ooohhh. Is that why you're playing hard to get?"
"What? No! I'm not playing hard to get."
"You so are…Worse than that you're teasing and then playing hard to get. A clit tease, that's what you are."
"A what?!" Alex started laughing. "My God I don't think anyone has called me that before."
"Well, I'm calling it. I'm a victim. I need to report this crime, there must be a hotline…" Piper manoeuvred herself to straddle Alex's hips and kissed her neck as she slowly moved her dampening pussy over Alex's mound and pushed them together slowly. Alex's eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned at the contact.
"Fuck Piper…you're not playing by the rules."
"That's the whole problem isn't it? Rules aren't any fun." Piper began pushing Alex's t-shirt further up her body, revealing her wonderfully smooth stomach and belly button that was crying out to be licked.
"Piper…."
"Mmmm?" The blonde was placing small kisses across the pale skin of Alex's stomach and moved her hands underneath the bunched t-shirt to stroke the underside of those voluptuous breasts as she pushed the shirt higher with her kisses.
"Fuck, this is not fair." Alex clenched her eyes shut, trying to find the will to do what she knew was right and stop Piper's tantalising before they reached the point of no return. It was extremely difficult to even think while she could feel her lips brushing over her nearly naked torso and she found herself reaching out to run her hands over Piper's hips to pull their centres back together again. Alex was dizzy with the feelings and couldn't prevent the soft moans from escaping her mouth as she felt Piper gyrating her hips in small circles causing Alex's pussy to pulse with lust for the blonde.
"Piper…." Alex twisted her hips and managed to switch their positions so she was lying on top of Piper now.
"I really, REALLY, want this right now. Like you wouldn't believe how much. But, I meant what I said. We're going to wait for this and work our shit out with words or something other than this." She leaned down and gave Piper a chaste kiss on the side of her mouth before brushing her fingertips through her hair to smooth it a little.
"Are you serious?!"
"Yes. Check out my self-control." Alex rolled off the top of her and motioned for Piper to snuggle back into her again.
"Well, this is a first I never thought I'd see."
"I'm glad I can still surprise you Pipes. Now…come snuggle in with me and let's have some dirty dreams together and get some ideas for another time."
XXXXX
A little after 9am, Polly knocked on the door and came in when she got no answer. The pair were curled up asleep with Piper's head still resting on Alex's chest and the brunette's arm draped lazily over her back. Polly smiled and watched them for a second before she realised how creepy this might look if one of them woke up to see her observing them like this. She padded over to the side closest to Piper's back and leaned over to gently shake her best friend.
"Piper, wake up. Come on, you've got things to do."
Piper stirred slowly and scrunched her face at the unwelcome wake up call. Suddenly aware that her neck was very stiff, she lifted her head up and noticed she was lying on a still sleeping Alex. She smiled up at the peaceful brunette lying next to her before Polly tapped her arm again.
"P, don't forget Cal and Neri are coming up to visit today. You might want to tidy this pigsty up a bit before they get here. Oh, and how are you feeling by the way? I assume you slept OK judging by your googly eyes this morning."
"Mmmm. Time is it?"
"9. What time is Cal supposed to get here?"
"10…" Piper closed her eyes again briefly before shooting upright in the bed. "10! Shit, I have so much to do!"
"Aaaand now I'll go put on a pot of coffee to fuel the next hour of panic…..make that 52 minutes of panic." Polly stood from the bed and started to walk back towards the door as Alex mumbled something and turned over to put her face into the pillow.
"Alex, you have to get up!"
"Mmmmmno."
"Come on, you have to get dressed. My brother is on his way here and he'll murder you if he sees you."
Alex rolled onto her back again with her arms above her head. Her eyes were still closed as though that was a barrier from the reality of having to move. Piper was out of bed and on her way to the bathroom when she saw Alex looking like this and rushed back to the brunette to kiss her.
"God you are such a hottie in the morning! But I don't have time to enjoy your hotness right now. We have to move." Piper was about to stand up again when Alex pulled her back down on top of her.
"Are you sure? I think I'm up for second base right now."
"NOW you're up for second base?!" Piper swatted her arm before detangling herself from Alex's embrace.
"I have to get a shower and tidy up before they get here. Your ass needs to be out of that bed by the time I get back. If you want a shower, you'd better be quick."
"Are you saying we should shower together to save time?"
"We both know that would not save any time at all and I need to clean the shower and tub while I'm in there, so you are barred from entering my workspace." Piper grabbed a towel and left Alex grumbling into a pillow.
Piper came back wrapped in a towel 15 minutes later and found Alex was also wrapped in a towel by the bed waiting for her.
"Do NOT show me what is under there. Just leave the room immediately and go directly to the bathroom." Piper raised an eyebrow as she stopped in the doorway. "I'm serious. I know that look and that scene that is in your mind right now is not taking place. Bathroom!" She pointed behind her as Alex started to open the towel up suggestively before laughing and kissing her on the cheek on her way past.
"OK, I'm going. But I'm banking that scene for later."
Piper quickly got dressed and tied her hair up still wet as she went into the kitchen to see Polly.
"Hey. Thanks for the coffee. You sleep OK out here?"
"I slept, I won't say it was pleasant. Did you and SuperCunt kiss and make up then?" Polly grinned.
"I wish you wouldn't call her that. It's so vulgar."
"Avoiding my question. I already saw the answer when you guys were all cuddly this morning. Good job I hadn't eaten."
Piper rolled her eyes and busied herself pouring a bowl of cereal.
"So, can you be left alone with her without going crazy if I leave you?"
"Pol, I don't know what you're on about. We've just had a couple of pretty difficult conversations is all. Alex feels guilty for being a complete bitch 4 years ago and I….have some anger issues. I'm over it."
"Yeah, right. Piper Chapman not holding a grudge? You're like a baby with a pacifier."
"Erm, aren't you supposed to be on my side no matter what? I think you need a refresher course on the BFF code of conduct."
"I'm not taking any sides, just stating facts. Now, I need to get home and see what state Pete is in. The front door could be wide open and a wild party spilling onto my neighbours' gardens if I don't exert some control over there. Can I leave you with SuperCunt until Cal arrives? You know she needs to be gone before they get here don't you?"
"Yes, I know. She's getting showered and I'll hide her in a closet if I have to. I'll call and check he won't be here early. You can go. Thanks for coming over last night Pol and sorry I ruined your New Year." Piper hugged her friend tightly for a moment.
"You're welcome. But if I ever see you like that again, I will come down on you so hard you won't know what hit you. I'll call your Mother and everything. Seriously P, think about going to a meeting if you are worried about drinking again." She kissed her on the cheek before picking up her coat and bag to head out.
Piper was halfway through her bowl of cereal when Alex came in wearing her all black outfit from last night.
"Wow, I didn't get to appreciate that last night. Shame."
Alex laughed and poured herself some coffee.
"How long do I have before you press the red button to eject me? Long enough to finish this?"
"Um, yeah. They'll be here in maybe 20 minutes."
"They?"
"Yeah, he's coming with his girlfriend Neri. She's really nice. Straight talking and organised. You'd like her."
"Good. I'll make sure I sit next to her at the next family gathering."
Piper looked at her quickly.
"Sorry. I didn't mean it to sound like that."
"S'OK." Piper shrugged.
Alex sat down next to her with a mug of coffee and pulled her phone out to call a cab. Having secured a ride that would see her clear of imminent Chapman danger, Alex put her phone back into her back pocket and took a big gulp of black coffee. Piper had finished her cereal and was clearly thinking about what needed to be tidied away before her brother landed.
"So, what are your plans for today then? Are you going to do some sight-seeing?"
"I hadn't really thought about it too much. There's an exhibition on at an arthouse in Brooklyn that is themed around re-using and recycling waste into household furniture that I thought they might like. Apparently there's a whole section that is made from retired aeroplanes – coffee tables made from the wheel sections and storage solutions from the overhead lockers and things like that."
"Sounds pretty cool. Is it there a while?"
"A month I think, it only opened this week and you can buy some of them I think."
"I think he'd like that. Good idea."
"Thanks." Piper stood to wash her bowl and Alex checked her watch. Her cab would be here in 5 minutes. She finished her coffee and stood to hand her mug to Piper who was still standing at the sink.
"Well, thanks for the coffee. I guess I'd better make my escape now. I'll….see you next week?"
Piper drained the water and dried her hands off. "Yeah, that would be nice."
"OK. Do you want me to be there for you VCU appointment tomorrow?"
"Er, no. I'll be fine. Just need to tick the box really."
Alex knew this was a prickly subject from the last time they brought it up, so just smiled.
"OK, you have my number if you change your mind." Alex could see Piper was avoiding her eyes, maybe because she was worrying about her brother getting here early. She stepped forward and put her hands on Piper's shoulders.
"I'm glad you're OK Pipes. I know you don't want to be bossed around, so I'll just say I'm here if you need to talk OK?" She leaned in and kissed her on the lips quickly and turned to leave before Piper caught her wrist and pulled her back.
"Thank you. I know I can be a pain in the ass and I'm sorry about that. I'm trying Alex, it's just….hard for me, OK." Alex reached out and stroked her cheek.
"It's alright. I don't really understand right now, but I'll try to if you'll let me." She smiled and squeezed her hand quickly before letting go and heading for the door.