Their Forever

Reminder of Beauty

The Subaru pulled up in front of a large brick building. There was seemingly nothing special about it; the entire block was lined with ones almost identical. Piper squeezed her way into the small parallel spot she'd been left and took a long deep breath. They were home.

Her hands trembled as she dug through her purse in search of their apartment keys. Cars raced past the pair on their busy New York City street; people were honking and yelling out their windows. The chaos of the city was only adding to Piper's stress. "Sorry, I'm sorry." she stammered, taking seemingly forever to find them in her jumbled up bag. Alex cupped her hands around Piper's wrist and chuckled. She pressed her lips into her wife's and smiled, before pulling away. It was the only way to get her to slow down for a second. "It's okay, pipes. Breathe." Alex insisted.

They had been thinking about this moment for years now, ever since they'd built their dirt home in the yard at camp. They'd scrolled through listings then too, but Piper had taken most of the liberties to herself when it came to the real thing. After all, Alex certainly couldn't browse apartments at Litchfield. Certainly not without risking adding time to her sentence. Their discussion of the apartment had been limited to listings Piper had printed out, and held up for Alex to read during visitation. They had discussed appliances, neighborhoods,  all over a  little phone while separated by 2 inches of glass. Still, they were here, and it was theirs.

"I know it'll be perfect, babe." Alex nodded, reassuring her. She kissed Piper's temple and grabbed the keys from the blonde's shaking hands. "Shall I do the honors?" she smirked, dangling the keys in front of her.

Their apartment was situated in a cute little neighborhood near Gremacy Park, the same place Alex had suggested as the pair curled up together in a bulldozer in the Litchfield yard. Back then, during the riot, they couldn't have even dreamed that it would be a reality. Imagining what life would be like together was always incredible, but when the riot ended, Piper was almost certain they weren't going to get that. Most nights she woke up sweating and shaking, seeing Alex being pulled from the pool by her feet. Although she knew Alex was safe, she was always reminded of that fear that her wife wasn't coming back to her. She feared that often still, given that she and Alex were separated by miles and miles, a barbed wire fence, and many big heavy doors. Piper hadn't had any way of knowing what was going on other than their phone calls at 12:00pm every day. Any time Alex missed a call, Piper was in a full blown panic until the next day. Most of the time, she could tell her wife had had a difficult day by small changes in her voice, but Alex never really let her know that she wasn't okay. Alex Vause was a tough woman; she could figure it out. Piper on the other hand spent many of their calls crying, and asking a million questions. How's Nicky? Lorna? Red? Are you eating okay? Getting enough rest? Are the guards treating you okay? Alex knew that it was all out of love and concern, and Piper's overwhelming need to control situations, which was killing her while she was out of prison and her wife wasn't. But as hard as it was to believe, Alex was here. They were home.

Alex slid the keys into the doorknob and shut her eyes before opening the door. She had to savor the moment for as long as she could. Before her was the sweetest little apartment. New York real estate was known for two things; being tiny and being expensive, but Piper had managed to find the perfect place for them. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms. For like an office guest room situation. The floors were covered wall to wall with hardwood. Piper had worked herself to death making sure the apartment was going to make Alex happy. Her new job with Cal meant they could afford a pretty stable life. Stability was good; but it also meant that they could build a beautiful home together as well. Alex's jaw actually dropped when she finally opened her eyes. For some reason, even though she knew it was happening, it hadn't actually felt real until that moment. She traced her fingers across the wall as she walked, admiring how Piper had decorated. It wasn't the Hamptons, but it was their own. It had windows, doors, and a shower that actually stayed warm. The two of them stood in silence from a few minutes, piper smiling as Alex checked out what she had worked so hard to make for them.

"Pipes," Alex chuckled, holding up a ceramic fish, "I thought we were only allowed items that spark joy" She hid an eye roll and raised a brow. "Hm?"

Piper quickly snatched it from her hand and shot her a playful glare. "Jesus, Al. Really? That's the first thing you've got to say?" she spit out. "I thought you needed another reminder of beauty."

Alex cupped her hands around Piper's ass and pulled her wife up against her own body. "My reminder of beauty is right here." she said deeply, her voice alone enough to send chills down Piper's spine. "But, thank you." she said sincerely, kissing her lips. "It's wonderful."