2005
As busy as Alex always seemed to be, the universe did occasionally lift the burden from her shoulders, freeing her up to entertain her girlfriend.
They were in on a Saturday afternoon, detoxing their internal organs from an overly exciting Friday night, when Alex got the first of a series of panicked emails from a member of the ring. She was stuck in Singapore and her boyfriend had dumped her or some shit, taking off with a significant amount of her money. Alex sent her what she needed and pushed away from the computer. Piper was splayed on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Hardly up there with global warming as far as crisis can be measured," Alex joked, sliding her glasses up and off. She tugged Piper's hand, tilting her head to the side. She seemed to think something over for a long while, spared a glance back toward the computer, and finally shrugged.
"Fuck it, let's just order lesbian porn and Chinese food."
Piper's squeal of delight could be heard from the hallway.
Their apartment was massive. Still, Piper had asked that Alex buy a huge tub to go with it all. It was big enough for both to sit comfortably, but Piper insisted on inhabiting Alex's lap instead of moving away. The tub was filled with scented oils that Alex continually poured atop Piper's shoulders.
"I love this." Piper chattered. "Chinese food and lesbian porn. And a bath at four in the afternoon." Her hands splayed atop Alex's knees.
"Better than reading the Sunday paper and drinking coffee." Alex stated thoughtfully.
"We do that sometimes. Read the paper, drink espresso…" Piper drew the 'o' out with a grin. "What do you mean? Like suburbia. Better than suburbia?"
"Yeah." Alex nodded and scrunched her nose. She ran her palms over Piper's breasts, kneading gently but rhythmically in a way that usually got Piper all arching against her and jutting out. It worked. She smiled and kissed Piper's neck, lowering her palms to her belly.
"We've got our own routines. We've got our own nesting habits. Don't try to deny it." Piper chided jokingly. She shimmied backward again, smirking when Alex gasped.
"Habits, huh?" Alex's voice was all husky and lustful. She held Piper close, thinking something over again. "Hey, let's try something,"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You, out, side of the tub." As she talked, Alex searched for a new razor in the small shelf against the wall. She met Piper's eyes and held her gaze. "Trust me." It was a statement and a question, rolled into one. The first touch of the razor was cold, meticulous, but then the steel warmed. Piper's eyes were wide the whole time.
An hour later, Piper found herself on the bed, fully shaven, clean, and utterly turned on as Alex ate her thoroughly. Almost deliriously, like they were at it for the first time. Which they weren't.
"I like being able to lick all of you. Suck all of you into my mouth." Alex squirmed against the sheets then returned to what was at hand.
"Oh fuck, fuck…uhhhhhnnnnnnn…" Piper could only babble and stare at the ceiling. She nudged Alex's head away after a minute longer, sensitive and overwhelmed. "Hey, babe, come here…" She pulled Alex into her arms, feeling the strip of hair her girlfriend kept on her own pussy, brush slightly against her sex. She shivered and laughed. "God, that's…that's a lot Alex. Wow…"
"Too much? Is that domestic enough for you? Routine enough for you?" Alex rotated her hips slowly, using her thigh to spread Piper's hips apart.
"No, I mean. Yes. I mean. What?" Piper stammered and nuzzled dark hair. "Domestic would be food. Soon."
"Soon…" Alex husked, moving faster. She shook and moaned quietly, letting her own pleasure be a prelude to more of the same for Piper.
After their food arrived, they found a decent pay-per-view porn that they could both get into. Of course that meant making fun of it constantly. Piper wasn't sure she'd laughed so hard in her life.
They switched to The L Word which also evoked laughter, mainly at the theme song. And Jenny. And, actually, at Bette and Tina. They pretty much just psychoanalyzed everyone and made fun of them. It was hilarious, even when Piper wondered aloud about their mutual sense of superiority.
"We've got our issues, I'm sure. We'll deal with them over time, right?" Piper honestly wondered. Things seemed fine. She seemed fine. And Alex was just Alex. Always Alex. Always consistent and caring and maybe a little bit sneaky at times.
But Piper always knew. She always knew when Alex was weaving one of her little spells. She saw through it all, but she did what was asked of her. Because she knew that Alex loved her and only her. She also knew that Alex needed to cover up her anxiety with that kind of behavior. Piper had to play a role. Alex had to play one also. Then, when the work was through, they could be alone. Nothing but the two of them and the love they had for one another. And for a time, that would be more than enough.
Prison Daze
Ok, so they both suck. It's fucking official.
A covert narcissist and a ruthless, manipulative pragmatist.
So why can't Alex decide between cutting all ties to one Piper Chapman, or just fucking giving in and being with her…or whatever.
Alex falls into a nocturnal state. She imagines herself as she was in noisy all-night diners. Reading all night. Except she can't have espresso or the occasional smoke or conversation with anybody but herself. And there's no Piper waiting for her in bed. No sleepy smile and soft limbs. No willing body and moaning consent when Alex rolled atop her.
She could remember their second ever date. The first date was just sex, so the second was something altogether different. Alex hadn't been sure about her own intentions. Was she courting this woman? Or trying to get her into the business only?
Piper had asked questions about her mom and she'd been sympathetic about the topic of daddy dearest. They'd shared a plate of fries and had chocolate milkshakes. Afterward, they'd walked to Alex's place. Piper had been going through a Cuban music phase and set up a play list on the computer, piping it into the apartment. They'd danced and laughed and shared a bottle of red wine before kissing on the balcony.
And there had been signs, all through it. Piper listened so intently. She'd obviously trained herself to do so. But she related everything back to her own worries, her own concerns. When Alex discussed her work, she'd read a willingness on Piper's part to do just about anything so long as it eventually worked out in her own favor. No problem. She could get her to run money. Then she'd bribe her with trips and food and this. This intimacy, this deliberate fast paced dance.
Except it would blow up in both their faces. Falling in love. With one of those rich girls. A fucking debutante no less.
And Alex did love her. Because Piper wasn't just another silly girl. She had depth. There was a darkness beneath those smooth lines and easy smiles. It was her darkness that pulled Alex in. Winding around her, tugging on her heart.
2017
It's two days before the first official day of Winter when Piper decides that it would be a fun idea to go camping at her brother's land. She calls Polly and convinces her to come.
"I'll come but on one condition. I'm allowed to drink too much whiskey and I don't have to bring my family." Polly speaks fast.
"That's…weird, but ok. Yes. A girl's weekend with my brother." Polly replies. She's opening a bag of her favourite chocolate almonds when Polly adds,
"And Alex, of course…"
"You two are getting along, right?" Piper drags the last word out, waiting for a sign. She gets a "Yeah, sure," in return and smiles, having gotten her way.
She and Alex take the beat up Ford Mustang Alex insists on keeping in the city. She'd gotten the car from another old friend, and Piper doesn't ask questions. Piper also doesn't ask why Alex cut her hair an inch and dyed it blonde the month previous. Now the favored dark dye has made its comeback, but Alex covers it all with a green military cap with a small red star on the front, which she wears to piss people off mainly.
It's a nice drive, once they get out of the city. Alex leans one arm on the door and rests her other hand on Piper's knee. More than once, Piper catches herself studying Alex's profile. It's always like she's seeing her for the first time and just can't get over it somehow.
Cal's wooded paradise, as he calls it, already has a roaring fire going. The ground isn't snow covered yet. His partner is back at her parents' for the week, but he's happy to play host by himself.
He immediately waves Piper inside his trailer and shoos Alex out to the fire where Polly waits. She'd taken a rental at Pete's insistence. An SUV which just cannot be good for the environment.
"He worries even more than I do sometimes." Polly rolls her eyes and sits daintily in a camping chair next to Alex. They are on good terms, but there are still things to talk through, and it's obvious that Piper wants them to do just that.
Alex shifts their chairs closer to the fire and quietly adds a few logs. She pours the tea that Cal left for them and hands the mug over. They sit in amicable silence for a long time, watching the fire and generally trying to stay warm.
Then Alex blurts out, "I'm sorry I didn't get your name right when I first met you." Her eyes flit upward to meet Polly's briefly. She bites her cheek and then adds, "I've had a lot of time to think about the things I'm sorry about." They hear Piper and Cal running out of the trailer. Piper is insistent that the woodpile Cal has is drawing vermin or something.
"Are you sorry you got my best friend thrown in prison to save your own ass?"
Alex glances over her shoulder to where Piper and her brother are still arguing about the woodpile outside of the trailer before slamming back inside. They're laughing though. Alex smirks and shakes her head, returning to the conversation at hand. "Ummmm…yeah. I am, actually."
Polly takes a deep, impatiently breath. "But…"
"But." Alex sighs. "I wouldn't have seen her again. Ever. So in a way, I don't regret it. I love her. I know that loving someone means letting them go, but…" She meets Polly's eyes. "Yeah. Never been my strong suit."
It's an hour later, when Piper and Cal finally join them.
"What the fuck you two." Alex pretends to fume but she's happy to take the tray of food they bring while Cal rushes around throwing heaters behind them all in a big circle. When he plugs the heat lamps on at once, a big spark shows by the end of the extension chord and he giggles at it.
"You two ok?" Polly asks suspiciously.
"Oh, shit, I should share." Cal smacks his thigh and then rushes back to his trailer. Then he comes out with a pot of tea he calls his 'special mushy brew'.
"It's mushrooms." An already narrow-eyed and oddly smiling Piper says. Twice. Then she says it again. Then she giggles in a kind of out of control way.
"I thought I left my toddler at home?" Polly says with a roll of her eyes. Alex also waves the offer of tea away and watches warily as Piper and her brother pour two more cups for themselves.
Her brother just keeps elbowing her and saying, "You're a debutant!"
Piper just nods and mouths "My eggs are old. I'm a debutant with…old eggs…and a criminal record…" This last part makes her giggle again for a long time. Then she stops and stares at the lights for a long, long time in silence. "It's like the sun came down to visit us." She whispers. "The sun is no longer a yellow grape, now it's a heat lamp and jagged orange fire…"
"Oh dear," Polly says mildly. But she and Alex exchange a look that isn't lost on Piper.
"You two have something in common now!" She squeals at them and squishes their faces in her hands.
"Yeah, we're both sober. Have fun with your brother babe, we'll be here when you get back." Alex kisses her palm quickly before gently extracting her hands.
Fun for Cal and Piper basically means waving around a few sparklers he brings out for the occasion of her 'prison break', and a whole lot of giggling. Polly and Alex just enjoy the fire and the cool, outdoor air.
"It must be nice for you to be out here…" Polly starts, then grimaces at her own rhetorical question.
"Yeah, it's amazing." Alex thinks about it. "You know, it always struck me as odd, that the payment for the ultimate freedom would be the ultimate lack of freedom. You know?" Her eyes are cool, appraising, but not unkind when they meet Polly's. "And yet this feels like the best kind of freedom. Out here. With her."
It's late and it's dark—especially in the woods around Cal's trailer, given focal point of the fire—when Alex catches Piper yawning and stretching, finally tired out. She tilts her head and Piper follows easily, a lazy smile on her lips. Piper kisses her best friend on the top of her head and waves at her brother with a quiet "G'night."
Their sleeping bags are intended for extremely cold weather but they snuggle close in addition, both wrapped up like mummies with hats still on.
"Hey Alex?" Something suddenly nags at the back of Piper's mind.
"Yeah Pipes."
"Have you ever thought about kids?"
Alex mutters, "Not really. But do you wanna talk about it when you're not high?"
Squashing down some weird surge of anxiety, Piper grows quiet. Behind her, Alex settles in closer, kisses the back of her neck, and extracts one of her arms from the sleeping bag to wrap around Piper's waist. Piper grabs the hand that cups her torso and lifts it to her lips, kissing it again and again.
That night, Piper has an intense dream about sex with Alex. She's not entirely sure that it wasn't real, for a good five minutes after waking.
But Alex is breathing softly next to her, fully clothed and all.
"It's fucking cold." Piper mutters. She shivers and decides she's really gotta pee so she clambers out of her sleeping bag halfway and falls out of the tent after unzipping it just enough to do so.
"You're an idiot." Polly quips from the fire where she's already sipping coffee and keeping an eye on veggie sausages and potato hash that browns slowly in a cast iron hanging over the flames. She looks content as Cal tops up her mug and hands her a bowl of fruit salad.
After Piper returns from a trip to the woods, to freshen up and brush her teeth, she shoves a chair next to Polly and huddles close. Then she hisses,
"I had a dream that I was trying really hard to convince Alex to let me fuck her in the ass."
Polly puts her spoon down and starts laughing really, really loudly. She keeps laughing as Alex comes stumbling from the tent.
"What are we ummm…talking about?" Minutes of silence pass, Piper still looking flabbergasted, Polly looking amused, and Cal looking oblivious because he'd thankfully been in the trailer when Piper had revealed her dream. Alex pulls a chair close as well, on Piper's other side.
"Nothing." Piper says.
"I have to tell her." Polly laughs. "I have to. You have to. One of us does."
"Later." Piper scowls. Cal just nods knowingly at her. He's familiar with his sister's quirks and doesn't want to know a damn thing about anything.
"I think I just had a dream about controlling you. Or something along those lines." Piper waves a hand dismissively in Alex's direction.
Alex's eyes are intent on hers. The thought of it—she'll admit much later—is almost a relief. Piper in control of the situation. "Yeah?" Alex says. "I suppose that could work."
"Good. You've just consented to something I refuse to let my husband near." Polly laughed again, her eyes flitting between Piper and Alex. She and Cal exchange some enigmatic look.
"Shit!" He just kind of shouts the expletive. The women look at him, startled. "Nothing." He's quick to add. "Nothing. I'll tell you all in exactly three months. Ok? Ok." He wanders away, grinning and muttering, while Alex plunks herself at Piper's feet and leans against her awhile.