1

It all started with a loud crash.

With the broken pieces of a white plate and food scattered all over the floor, Piper Chapman did not notice the green eyes piercing through her as she hurriedly cleaned up the mess she had created, picking up the pieces with trembling hands and watery eyes. She softly laughed humourlessly at the sight. Because it suddenly dawned on her how it was as if her entire life was in front of her.

Useless.

Scattered.

Broken.

And all that was left for her to do was pick up those that she could, knowing it would never be fixed nor go back to the way it was anyway. Her tears started to fall one by one, because every damn thing in front of her right now seemed like it was mocking her for every stupid life choice she'd made, for every wrong turn she took, for every good thing she turned her back on.

Piper kept her head bowed, her body crouched down, as she continued cleaning up, still unaware of the eyes watching her until she felt movement above her. She ignored whatever or whoever it was, knowing it was just another customer without a care in the world with what was happening to her. To them, she was just another human being, expected to do her job properly, something she couldn't even do, and she was fine with that to be honest. Every day of her life for the past four months, she waited tables, she served food and drinks, occasionally serving them to wrong people, sometimes spilling them over someone. It was a constant happening in her life and not one person had cared enough to even ask a single thing about her (not that it really mattered).

Until now.

"Hey, are you okay?"

It was asked with a deep, raspy voice so good it was like pure sex. Piper was certain that the voice came from a woman, and before she could even look up to the person who decided to take a little time of her day to bother asking her if she was okay, the woman's emerald green eyes, hidden beneath black-framed glasses, were already levelled with hers. And God was she taken aback by all the emotions that rushed through her as she stared back at the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen her entire life, despite the barrier that were her glasses. Her eyes went down to the other woman's nose then to her full lips causing her to absentmindedly slightly trace her tongue on her bottom lip. She had white porcelain skin, a very beautiful contrast to her long, black hair cascading down her shoulders accentuated by its striking blue tips. She was beautiful, achingly so, and she felt strange because she had never reacted this way towards another woman before.

There was a reason why it didn't matter much that no one paid any attention to her. It was because she never liked to bother herself to pay attention to anyone, too. She was fine being on her own, she loved the solitude. She found solace at the fact that she didn't need to look out after anyone but herself. It wasn't really much about her being selfish. It was simply because she already found it hard to straighten her own life, so why still bother pulling anyone towards the shitty excuse for a life that she had?

But right now, hearing those words from a complete stranger, excruciatingly gorgeous one at that, she started wondering how her life might have changed if she had someone who took care of her, someone who paid attention, someone who could have made her life a little bit more worth living... just someone.

The strangeness of her thought, mainly because it stemmed from a not-even-in-the-slightest-bit-complex question of "Are you okay?" was slapped in her face when she realized that she had actually been asked a question. But given the fact that it was the first person ever who had actually cared to ask how she was doing, she didn't know how to react to it, the proper way. So she quickly stood back up, and stepped back a little, gaining her a safe distance from the woman who had by now stood back up as well, looking at her confused by her reaction to a simple fucking question.

"Oh hey," the black-haired woman raised both her hands skyward, her palms facing her as if surrendering to someone, "I'm not gonna do anything to you, kid."

Kid.

It was slightly unnerving to be called that especially since Piper hadn't felt that way ever since she could remember. It was like she got out of her mother's womb and went straight to adulthood since she had become so adamant to forget all that there was in her childhood, the constant fights between her parents, every damn thing thrown into walls, sometimes directly at each other, all the nights her father went home drunk, and all the days she woke up with her mother out before she could even blink. It was a life that would give all the fucking dramatic films a run for their money, and she had tried so painfully hard to rid herself of those memories, going straight to that time of her life when her parents did not exist anymore. Not that anything after that fared much better, though. But it was the lesser of two evils and it's all she could ever ask for, really.

But having this woman call her "kid," in the least literal way possible, she suddenly felt like one, backing away like a scared little girl who had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do. She felt so little compared to her. She was tall (a few inches taller than her, which was saying a lot since she was already tall herself), gorgeous (the kind which made you want to waste your day staring at her without making you feel like you'd wasted your day at all), and sexy (her white v-neck shirt was hugging her curves in all the right places, tucked inside her ripped jeans that fit her so perfectly). But what made her stand out even more was the way she carried herself which only screamed utter confidence, something she'd rarely seen in her entire 24 years of existence.

The taller woman spoke again, and Piper was slightly taken aback by how gentle her voice was. "I just... noticed that you were... crying." She paused then shook her head. "...which, I realize now, is actually a stupid question. Of course, you're not okay."

She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt warmth all over her chest looking at this woman show concern for her when she didn't even know her. "So, that's how it feels like," she thought. This was what it felt to have someone wonder whether she was okay or not. And just like that, she felt a whole lot better. "No, I'm okay. I'm sorry. I'm just a little overdramatic sometimes." She tried to smile but it was so bleak she might as well just didn't try. "I'm fine," she added as she wiped the tears that had now settled on her cheeks. She noticed how the raven-haired tilted her head a little, evidently unconvinced of her answer. "Really."

The other woman just nodded without removing her eyes from her, and Piper suddenly felt shy, as if she was not worth looking at like that so she looked down on the floor and that's when she remembered what she was supposed to be doing at that moment. She shook her head, quite furiously, wanting to break herself out of the trance that the other woman seemed to have pulled her to, and started cleaning up again.

"Let me help you," the other woman offered, as she, too, had started picking those broken pieces in front of them both. And just like that, she suddenly wished someone had helped her pick up the broken pieces of her pathetic excuse for a life, too, when there was still a chance. But how could that be possible when she herself had made it sure that no one could come even remotely close to the life she had made for her own? This stoicism from everyone and everything that there was in this world was something of a life choice she'd made consciously and there was no way in hell she could put that kind of blame on anyone.

"Hey, please don't," she worriedly said, and she looked at the raven-haired woman, pleadingly. "If my boss sees you, she's gonna kill me." But truthfully, it wasn't really that that scared her. She could get fired for all she cared. It was more of her pathetically trying to distance herself yet again from someone who wanted to try and help her. It was an agonizing trait but she couldn't find any way to get herself away from it.

"I'm pretty certain she won't," she smirked. It wasn't an innocent smile, it was far from it. It was something that should serve as a warning, something that screamed "Stay away from me or you're gonna be ruined in the most delightful way possible" and yet she felt so astonishingly assured that she wouldn't get her into any trouble. She continued helping her, despite all the protests and the subtle brushing of fingertips that surprisingly (and scarily) sent shivers down her spine and after about a minute or so, they were again standing right in front of each other, looking into each other's eyes, searching for something they both know was missing.

"Thank you," the blonde whispered, unable to move her feet. She should be moving away from her now. She shouldn't even be standing here in the first place, with a customer who just helped her clean up her shit, and yet she stayed still, still holding the girl's gaze. "I... I should—"

But before she could say another word, the last person she wanted to be here right now came striding inside. "What the hell happened here?" She looked at her boss, her red hair as bright as it could get, speak in her thick Russian accent while she stood at the doorway in her usual ill-tempered manner. Piper opened her mouth to speak, grappling for what to say but no words would come out.

"It's my fault, Red."

She was so surprised her head snapped so quickly towards that voice that sounded so beautiful to her ears. She couldn't believe that the raven-haired woman just took the blame for something that wasn't even close to being her fault. She tried to speak again, wanting to tell Red what really happened but the woman beat her to it again.

"She was just passing by and I dumbly ran into her. You know me, klutzy and all. I'm sorry."

"Jesus Christ, Vause, not even an hour in town and you already made a mess. What should I expect for the next 24 hours then?" The voice that was followed by a booming laugh, came from another person, something she again recognized this time. It was from the bushy-haired (Piper was pretty sure she hadn't seen a hair brush her entire life) 'foster' daughter, or whatever she liked to call it, of Red, Nicky Nichols. She came to the diner every now and then, always with her smug look and not-a-care-in-the-world behaviour, and she's the closest to a friend Piper could call. As if picking that up as her cue, she hurriedly went back inside to where she belonged, but not before she could throw another glance back at her 'saviour', whom she now knew as Vause.

Surely, that was a last name, right?

But much to her surprise, she was looking at her, too. And somehow, that look that she just gave her totally made her feel that this was not going to be the last time they'd ever see each other. And without ever admitting it to herself, she looked forward for that day to come.

-o-o-o-

One hour.

One fucking hour since she'd been back and Alex Vause had already found herself in yet another mess. Even though taking the blame for something she didn't do paled massively to every fucked up thing she'd gotten herself into ever since she could remember, it was still trouble. And trouble was the first thing she had promised herself to stay away from when she decided to turn her life around and go back to the place she vowed she'd never go back to again.

When she saw that blue-eyed blonde almost fall down on the floor in a hurry to clean up the mess she didn't even mean to create, she honestly wanted to ignore her. She had made a pact with herself to stay away from anyone, with the exception of Nicky and Red, the only people left for her to call family, and she wasn't planning to break that pact, as pathetic as it was since she made it with herself. But one look at her and she knew she had to help. She didn't know why, and she didn't even bother knowing. She just knew. She felt.

Which was perplexing to say the least because she no longer felt. Ever since that night when her whole life crumbled right in front of her, in just a blink of an eye, she'd lost everything, and came with it were all her emotions and her ability to feel. Ever since that night, she's never felt so empty. She knew that night ruined her beyond repair and there was nothing she could do to stop the swirling darkness that engulfed her. And even if she could, she wouldn't do anything to stop it. Because she deserved it. And so ever since that night, she had never allowed herself to feel again.

Until now.

The moment she set her feet in Red's diner, she already noticed her. The way she tried to hide her face, the way she avoided eye contact, the way she distanced herself from everyone. She knew by then that it was what drew Alex to her. Because she could see how broken the girl was, exactly like the way she was broken, too.

But what really caught Alex's attention the most was her eyes so blue you'd think you were looking into the massiveness of an ocean. She was expecting to see nothing the moment she looked into them. She expected to see emptiness, because it's all she ever saw when she looked into her own. But nothing would have prepared her for what she'd see because those eyes, those bright blue eyes did not only look so beautifully, they also screamed hope and longing, as if waiting for someone to pull them from nothingness, to pull them into a world with something, anything. And for the first time in a really long time, Alex wanted that for herself, too.

She never felt. She shouldn't. Not again.

"Yo? Earth to Vause! What, am I talking to air here?!"

Alex almost dropped the mug she was holding when Nicky snapped her fingers right in front of her face. She didn't realize she had once again dropped on the phase of the earth until her best friend got her attention back. To say Nicky looked annoyed was an understatement. "What? I'm sorry. You were saying?"

Nicky shook her head. Alex knew she had a lot of questions. And she could see how much she's dying to ask them but Alex wasn't ready to answer any of those yet. "What the hell happened to you, Vause? You've been gone for more than a year. No phone calls, not even a damn text, nothing. Jesus, I thought you were fucking dead."

"I was," Alex thought to herself knowing that was the only word that could describe her during those times, dead. "I'm sorry I didn't call." And she was, more than she could ever say. She owed Nicky so much. She was always there for her, and she meant always. Even if it's three in the morning, one call and Nicky'd be on her doorway if she needed her to. But there were just some things that weren't as easy to voice out as one might think. "There was just too much going on."

She knew Nicky didn't believe her. If there was one person who knew her more than she knew herself, it was her best friend. A year, a decade could pass without them seeing each other and they'd still know each other like the back of their hands. But she was in no mood to tell everything to her. She would, eventually. But not now. Not just yet.

"When are you going back?"

It was the question she'd been waiting to hear from her ever since they sat here. Nicky knew how much she hated this place. Ever since her mother died almost two years ago, she tried avoiding going back here at all costs, which made her love the perks that came with her job, former job, even more. The travels all over the world only came second to the rush that her job gave her, the sense of control. But that was until the only person she'd ever been with ever since she was born passed away. When Diane Vause died, a part of Alex died, too, and from then on, the fact that her job allowed her to go to any part of the world and keep her from coming back here had become the most important aspect of it. It allowed her to run away from the truth that her mother had left her, and that she wasn't ever coming back.

"I'm not." She could see the surprise on Nicky's face the moment those words left her mouth. She couldn't really blame her. She was surprised by this decision, too.

"You're not?"

"Yeah. I'm staying, Nicky. There's nothing to go back to anymore."

"But... what about your work?" Nicky knew how much she loved her job, no matter how dangerous it was. It was what gave her everything she had right now. But what her best friend didn't know was that it was also what took everything from her.

"I'm out." She shrugged her shoulders, acting as if Nicky should've expected her answer.

"What? Jesus fucking Christ, Alex! What really happened? Are you planning on telling me anything at all? Since when? And how? You told me before you could never get out. What changed?"

"Everything." But then again, how could she possibly voice this out loud when she wasn't prepared to say the explanation that came with it yet? "I'm 28 Nichols, don't you think it's time to change my profession?" Even she cringed at the conspicuousness of her answer.

"Bullshit, Vause! Did you really think I'd buy that?"

She sighed, unsure how to dodge this question for now. "It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that I'm staying. Aren't you happy? I know how much you missed me." She tried to smile, genuinely. She wouldn't say it out loud but she missed Nicky. Whenever she was with her, it always felt like nothing could ever go wrong. Just like now.

Nicky looked at her and she wasn't stranger to that kind of look. It was her best friend telling her that she knew Alex was hiding something from her but she understood if she wasn't ready to tell her yet but she would have to, eventually. She nodded her head, in a silent agreement to stop asking questions for now. "Oh, fuck off." She tried to fight the grin that was slowly forming on her lips, to no avail.

"Come on, Nicks. Admit it. I can see it in your eyes." Alex started chuckling, something she hasn't done in a really long time. But her chuckle felt hollow. Nicky did not need to know that, though.

"Well, as much as I abhor admitting this—"

"Abhor? Fuck Nicky, did you finally decide to buy a dictionary?" Again, Alex chuckled only to be answered by Nicky's middle finger. "Fine, I'm sorry. You were saying?" she asked, unable to stifle the laugh that came out.

Nicky again shook her head, but this time with a small smile on her lips, somehow telling Alex what she was meant to say even before she said it. "Yeah, Vause. I missed you, you little piece of shit."

-o-o-o-

Piper's shift came to its end at 12 midnight. She was supposed to be closing up by now but she just felt so exhausted that she had to sit for a while to stop the constant throbbing of her head. She looked back at her day and couldn't help but shake her head because nothing today should make any difference as compared to every other day she's had. Except there was.

Vause.

It's the name that had been nagging her for hours now. It's that name and those emerald green eyes that spoke so much and yet didn't say enough. She kept thinking about her, that woman who had made her day different from all the days she's had in a really long time... that woman who asked her if she was okay... that woman who helped her when she wasn't supposed to, when she didn't have to.

Piper wondered who she was, and how she knew Red and Nicky. She's been working here for months now but it's the first time she'd seen her. Piper wondered why she was here, in this shitty place with all those shitty people, herself included. She didn't belong here. That woman had something in her that said she deserved to be in a much better place. And yet somehow, deep within Piper, she wished that woman stayed, no matter what that meant for her.

She was still deep in her thought when she heard someone open the door. She was back in the storage room and she knew that she had already put up the "Closed" sign so there was no way whoever was entering was a customer. Fear crept within her and she slowly stood up and absentmindedly gripped a knife that was always hidden somewhere inside the room. She could hear footsteps and then clinking of utensils and chinas outside and her heart beat inside her chest so loudly. She walked towards the door that connected the storage room from the main diner carefully, afraid to announce her presence to the intruder when she heard loud crash and the last voice she was expecting to hear.

"Shit!"

Piper stood frozen on the spot upon hearing the woman's voice. She couldn't be mistaken. It was that same voice that's been bugging her the whole day. It's her. She felt her heart beat even faster, but this time, it was because of a different kind of nervousness. And then without a doubt, she dropped the knife carefully at one of the tables and walked out.

"H-hello?" she spoke, whispered, in the dark. She could see the silhouette of the raven-haired woman and she was amazed by how she looked, despite the darkness. She couldn't make out anything else, really, except the woman's shadowed contour and yet she couldn't help but be filled with astonishment with the way that woman made her feel. She then switched on the light and inhaled deeply, gathering energy to face the woman that occupied her mind the whole day.

And there she was, in all her glory, standing like a picture-perfect model you only saw in movies and magazines. But this time, she wasn't looking back at her. She was staring at the broken mug that lay on the floor. Then ever so slowly, she finally put her gaze on her.

Then she smiled. But Piper noticed that the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Seems like every time we see each other, something has to be broken, huh?"

Piper nodded her head in agreement, unbeknownst to her that the other woman wasn't really talking about the broken mug underneath her. "Let me get that," she hurriedly gathered a sweeper and a dustpan before proceeding to where the broken pieces of mug were scattered.

"Hey, no. I did this. Come on, I should be the one cleaning it up."

"You helped me earlier. It's only right that I return the favour."

So she swept until the floor was clean again, going back to the storage room only to leave it there, knowing she'd be the one to clean it up later today anyway. When she came back, her companion was still standing the way she left her.

"Thanks," she said, almost in a whisper.

"Don't worry about it."

The raven-haired started walking towards one of the stools but almost bumped into a table causing her to lose balance, but thankfully, Piper had rushed towards her keeping her from falling. She gripped both her arms to steady her from behind but immediately let go when she felt as if electricity ran through her from feeling the other woman's skin against her palms. Fortunately, the taller girl managed to keep standing as she held onto the table in front of her.

"You're drunk," Piper said as if it wasn't so obvious already. She caught the faint smell of alcohol from the woman but she still smelled so good with the combined scent of strawberries and something she still couldn't put her finger on. Bottom line: she smelled so good Piper didn't even realize she was already closer to her than she was supposed to.

Then without a warning the other woman turned around and Piper was taken aback by her sudden nearness. "You think?" she asked with that smirk again, obviously not bothered by the way they were standing, their faces only a few inches from each other. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was just her plain confidence but she didn't seem like she wanted to widen the gap at all.

So it was Piper who had to back away as quickly as she could, not trusting herself to be in this close proximity with anyone, especially with someone who was making her heart race in ways she hadn't ever felt before. "Yeah, well..." she looked everywhere else, anywhere, just not at her. She was looking at her like she wanted to bore a hole in her head and Piper couldn't bring herself to hold that kind of gaze.

"I'm Alex."

Alex. Finally.

"Piper." Alex was still looking at her the same way and all of a sudden, Piper felt like she had to grapple for some air. "Uhm, look why don't you sit for a while, while I go make you some coffee? That's why you're here, right? That explains the, uh, broken mug?"

"No. Yeah, I mean, no. You don't need to do that. I'm fine," she said waving her hand into the air, her words slurred.

Piper could see that she wasn't fine, though. She could hardly stand straight and her eyes were drooping and she could see her struggle to keep them open. But there was something in her that said Piper shouldn't insist, like she didn't want any help, so she didn't. "Uhm, all right then. I gotta close up. Do you still need to stay?"

"No. Come on, I'll help you close this shit up."

There's that word again. Help. How many times was this woman planning to do this for her? Sure, they may be just little things for her, for Alex, but they weren't for Piper. It was a big fucking deal. And what was it with her wanting to help Piper all the time, but didn't want to take help for herself? "I can do it. I can see that you're not in the right state to be doing anything right now."

"All right."

Piper was thankful that she didn't insist anymore, probably because she knew that she really couldn't be of much help anyway, and so she went back to the storage room, gathered her things then went back out to check if everything was in place. She was expecting Alex to be gone by then but she was still where she left her. Surprisingly, Piper was glad she still was.

Then, after being sure that everything was all set, she walked towards the door, followed by the raven-haired woman who thankfully now looked a little bit more sober, but obviously was not yet sober enough. When they were outside, she locked the door, aware that Alex still hadn't left.

"There," she announced after she'd made sure that the place was locked properly. "So, uh, I should go," Piper said as she shifted her weight on her right foot, not sure why her nerves were going crazy around this woman.

"Okay. I should walk you home," she said with nonchalance that Piper was a little taken aback.

"What?" How could this woman act as if this was all so normal when they practically didn't know anything about each other yet, except their names? But Piper was lying to herself, though, if she didn't admit that she felt like she already knew her, like she's known her all her life.

"I'll walk you home. I don't know where you live but I can walk with you," she added, trying to sound as coherent as she could.

Piper chuckled softly. "Uhm, looking at you, I think I should be the one walking you home."

"Wouldn't say no to that."

It wasn't really a suggestion from Piper. She wasn't trying to tell her that she wanted to take her home. But she found herself walking with the raven-haired in silence, enjoying the calmness that the woman seemed to have suddenly brought with them as they started walking.

"Why are you here?" Piper almost slapped herself by how rude she must have sounded, but thankfully, Alex just laughed at her ludicrous question.

"What?" she asked, with a chuckle, looking at her for the first time since they started walking.

And like a reflex, she looked away, looked at anywhere but her, and shook her head. "I mean, I didn't mean that in a bad way. I just... I've been in this place for quite some time and it's the first time I'm seeing you around. I almost thought you were just passing by, but seeing how close you were to Nicky, I'd say you've known her for quite some time."

"Oh, I see you've been observing me for quite a while there, kid," Alex said almost the same moment her chuckle turned into a teasing smirk. "But, you're right. I've known Nicky for quite some time now. Nope, actually that's an understatement. I've actually known her almost all my life. I don't know how I managed to last this long without throwing her under the bus because she's a big pain in the ass," she chuckled, like really chuckle and it was the best fucking thing Piper had heard today.

Piper waited for her to answer the part about why she was here but few minutes had passed and she kept quiet. She also noticed how her chuckle turned into a gloomy expression almost as soon as it came out of her mouth and she couldn't dismiss the feeling that there was so much more in this person than what she was showing and Piper had this indescribable feeling of wanting to know what it was. But she was letting it go for now. Soon, she'd know.

So they walked, one minute in silence, the next minute with Alex making inappropriate jokes to Piper. It had been a while since Piper felt so at ease with another person. She couldn't even remember the last time she had laughed this much. She didn't know Alex, she could be a really dangerous person for all she knew but Piper hadn't felt this safe and relaxed with any other person she knew. So she let go of all her doubts, and chose to go with what she was feeling at this exact moment, to trust that Alex Vause was going to be that one person she'd always waited to be different from everyone else.

Before she even realized it, they had stopped walking in front of a house that was familiar to her. She always walked past this house and she knew no one lived here. Well, now somebody did.

"This is me," Alex said, again with an unreadable expression on her face. "I'm sorry, I should've been the one to have walked you home," she added, now looking sincerely sorry that she hadn't walked Piper home.

And there it went again, the loud thumping in Piper's chest that she hadn't felt ever before. "Yeah, well. Maybe next time," she said, almost a whisper, a genuine smile etched on her face.

And for the first time ever since they met earlier today, Alex Vause smiled genuinely, not teasing nor mocking. That smile was without any pretenses. She really smiled. And it was the most beautiful smile Piper had ever seen.

"Good night, Piper."

"Good night, Alex."

And that's how Piper Chapman and Alex Vause came to be. Blue eyes meeting green ones, broken pieces of china, unreadable expressions, indescribable feelings, drunken jokes and dark, gloomy sky that somehow managed to bring together two pieces of a puzzle yet to be known to the two, jagged and broken yet unequivocally and undoubtedly perfectly made to fit together.

AUTHOR's NOTE

So there! I've been wanting to do so ever since I finished writing it but I was having second thoughts, haha. But since my other story (How Long Will I Love You) is almost done, I decided to just post this. I don't know how you guys feel about this so please leave a review (good or bad!) if you want me to continue.

I know there are a lot of questions, especially regarding Alex's story here but eventually, they're gonna be revealed... I'd really love to know how you feel about this. Thank you, lovely people =)