Their Forever

I Do ...... Again.

"Piper Elizabeth Chapman," Alex began, nodding towards her wife. She took a deep breath, and scanned the paper with trembling hands. She had these words memorized, knew them like the back of her hand, but the moment they were in, the people all around her, were making her nervous.

"Hey, just look at me. You're just talking to me." Piper whispered softly, taking one of her hands back into her own. She intertwined fingers, and smoothed her other hand over top of her wife's skin, trying to calm her.

Alex nodded once again, locking her eyes on Piper.

"The road to where we are now hasn't been easy.
In fact, our story has honestly been anything but.
Standing here today, beside you, has taken more than it takes for most.
But I know now that if any two people could be perfect for each other, destined to be together, it would be us.
Despite the countless obstacles thrown our way,
the years apart,
the heartbreak,
we've always found our way back to each other.
Although I don't think we'd be where we are today without all that we've been through, I want to apologize." She made out, her voice shaky.

"I hurt you, I caused you pain, and i'm sorry.
But, since sorry isn't enough, I vow to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.
so my promises to you are simple;

I promise to never stop chasing after you.
I promise to never let you go again.
I promise to spend every day making up for the pain and the heartbreak that i've caused, even unintentionally.
I promise that the only tears you'll cry over me will be tears of joy, rather than sorrow.
I promise that I will make our journey worth it; so that there's never a doubt in your mind that you'd redo it over again."

" and what are vows without adding in a little bit of tacky shit?" Alex said, before letting out a chuckle. "oh fuck maybe shit isn't appropriate for wedding vows;"

She rolled her eyes at her second uttered profanity, and took a deep breath. While she'd wanted to keep prison references to a minimum, especially for Piper's horrified family, it was a large part of their story together. "I promise to be your partner in crime, which at times has meant quite literally, for the rest of our lives together."

Piper freed her hands and wiped away tears with both hands, before grabbing a tissue from Nicky. "How can I compete with that?" She chuckled. "At least I can try."

Piper stood up confidently, before reciting her vows from memory.
"To keep myself from rambling, as I do, I wanted to keep things short and sweet. First, there's a little backstory that's needed.

At Litchfield, at our spur of the moment wedding that you so graciously threw together, vows weren't exactly my strong suit either. While you had time to prepare, I was unaware of it, but there are so many things you deserve to hear, and that I wanted to say.

Surprisingly, Litchfield is one of the greatest things that ever happened to me." Piper said, causing Alex's mouth to drop. Her family didn't speak of her prison life, of the crime she'd committed, or even of Alex for a long time. Alex had kept prison out of her vows as much as possible, hoping to keep the peace.

Piper, on the other hand, couldn't have cared less. She was all in. This was their day, and these words were for Alex only.

"Because it brought us together, and you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me." She said confidently. "A wise woman once told me "I think when you have a connection with someone, it never really goes away.", and i'm certain she was right. As much as I tried to push you away, as much as I tried to hate you, I felt a pull towards you. You had been on my mind since I was 23, and you honestly hadn't ever left it.

I want to thank you; for chasing me down, for continuing to care for me even when I shut you out, for putting up with my stubbornness, my random over the top schemes, and for holding on through all of the hurt that I caused as well. Nobody has ever made me feel as loved, accepted, or wanted as you have, and I hope that I can show you just how important and needed you are as well.

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote "This is a good sign; having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.", and I think that applies to us so very much.

There's been plenty of hurt, yes, but we've never stopped trying; never stopped yearning for each other. I promise I never will.

Like my vows in the rec room, my vow is simple.

My vow is to never stop trying, to never stop fighting for us.

and again, my vow is to wait for you.

Our love has stood the test of time, been stretched through the years. There is nothing that we cannot withstand.

I will wait for you when you're having a hard day.
I will wait for you when you don't want to talk.
I will wait for you when you're being stubborn.
I will wait for you for forever.

Because, honestly, I couldn't imagine ever spending the rest of my life with anyone else." Piper finished finally, nearly out of breath from how long she had gone on for.

"And, for the record, you were so worth the wait."

Alex was openly crying again, and so was Piper. The two remained a mess throughout the remainder of the ceremony; wiping each other's tears and exchanging quick kisses despite being supposed to wait.

"Alright alright," Nicky chuckled, "Hold your horses. You kids have been practicing for this for a while. By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you wives! You kiss the bride, and you kiss the bride, everyone can kiss the bride!"

Alex nearly swept Piper off her feet, pulling her in close, surprised as all their guests cheered as they kissed.

She hadn't ever seen herself getting married, but this was far better than anything she could've ever imagined.