The Reign Of Vause

Midnight snack and chat

(Piper's POV)

I woke up feeling pretty thirsty and a little hungry. Alex and I had continued what we started when Vanessa interrupted us. GOD I hated her.
Alex was sound asleep and draped over me, arms around me and one leg between mine. I quietly turned to stretch across to my nightstand to check the time on my digital 24 hour clock.
It was 12:47AM. Christmas Day.
I unwrapped Alex from me, gently got out of bed, pulled on one of her grey oversized T-shirts and crept downstairs. Waking Alex was a death wish in itself, but waking a whole household of people was something I really didn't want to try out.
I snuck to the fridge and grabbed a beer, opening it with the bottle opener from the third drawer down in the kitchen and nibbled at the dinner leftovers.
Taking a swig of beer, I noticed a dim light coming from the living room. I followed it to either switch it off in case someone had forgotten to turn it off after themselves, or see who was still up.
I found Larry sitting on the couch looking worried and thoughtful so grabbed another beer for him.
"Want some? You look like you need it." I chuckled, offering him a beer and startling him, taking another swig and leaning on the doorframe to the living room as he took the bottle.
"Oh! Jesus Piper, you scared me." Larry jumped then sighed, glancing at me sideways. I moved to sit on the couch with him, at the other end of it. I watched as he nervously held the bottle between his fingers. As he looked up, his eyes narrowed and focused on my neck. I followed his eyes to the hickey Alex had left this morning.
"Oh. Yeah. Part of the reason I wore a turtle neck today, Alex left me a little present this morning." I tell him knowing that after Vanessa left, there were more than likely a lot more.
"I personally wouldn't use the word little." He chuckled.
"Can't sleep huh?" I asked him.
"No, you?" He asked in return.
"Well I was, but I got thirsty so came down here and now here I am. Trying not to wake Alex is like a minefield, wake her and there's hell to pay." I laughed which made him smile back.
"Speaking of Alex, shouldn't you get back up to her? If she wakes up, finds you missing and with me won't she get upset?" Larry asks.
"I'm fine, Alex is an early riser yes but she sleeps like a log unless something's on her mind and I left her feeling pretty happy and tired so my money is on the log option." I reassure him and smiled, biting my lip at the thought of earlier.
"A little too much information there Piper." He chuckled.
"Sorry, but I can tell something is bothering you, do you want to talk about it?" I ask.
"Yeah, that'd be great. Hey Piper, can I ask you something?" He smiles then asks.
"Sure." I say, drinking more beer.
"When you and Alex got married, before the wedding, did you, did you ever think at any point that you were making the right decision?" He slowly asks.
I stopped drinking and hovered the bottle at my mouth, nervous myself now in case I really did have to go and wake Alex up.
"Are you asking if I was thinking of going back to you?" I ask nervously.
His eyes widened,
"Oh, no! I meant, how were you sure that you were making the right decision in marrying her?"
I nodded in relief and realisation,
"Oooh you mean cold feet?"
"Yeah. Exactly." He confirms and takes a swig of his own beer that I'd offered him.
"Well, I gotta tell you Larry, when I married Alex my feet were toasty warm. Alex and I had already been through the wringer more than enough times before our wedding to know that we love each other and were ready to do it. I'm guessing you don't feel that way about Vanessa?" I tell him and ask.
"I love Vanessa Piper, I really do but I also know that it's only been 5 months. I'm just worried we're rushing into this too fast and I know what she is to you." He admits.
It was my turn to widen my eyes,
"How did you know that?!"
"That night we went to your club in New York when she didn't show up inside. I asked her at home where she went and she told me that Alex had banned her from all of her clubs because she used to bully you, badly. Piper I'm so sorry, when I met her, I didn't know-" He says and begins to apologise but I stopped him.
"Larry look, it's fine. You and me are in the past, plus, you can't control where your heart goes, Alex and I are the testimony to that. We've actually just discovered tonight how even more meant to be we are for each other." I tell him.
"Really? How so?" He asks.
"I was at the NSYNC concert in 97 with Polly when I'd just met her in college. Alex's Dad was in a band, his band opened for NSYNC that night, 6 years before I met Alex." I start.
"Wow." He nods and raises his eyebrows.
"Oh that's not all, I met him before Alex met him. I met my future father in law before I'd even met my future wife how crazy is that? He never knew Alex existed until she tracked him down in 1999, 2 years later, when he was a washed up deadbeat." I tell him.
"Man, that's rough." He sighed and took another sip of beer.
I sadly smiled,
"I know you two don't like each other and I know this may be a big ask but could you maybe go easier on her now that you know this? I know she's not exactly easy on you but the reason why is-"
He stopped me,
"I know. You." He abruptly said with raised eyebrows.
"Well yeah, me, but her Dad is partially to do with it too. He left her mom and as I said, never even knew she existed. She hasn't had much stability in her life or a proper family and she was bullied really badly as a kid. With me, she finally has it and she saw you, and after 4 months ago, sees you as a threat to that. I hurt her badly 7 years ago Larry, the people she loved kept leaving her, first her mom dying then me breaking up with her, she's scared of it happening again, I know she is, even if I have already told her a lot already that I'm never leaving her again." I finish.
He simply stared at me then spoke,
"Wow, well, after hearing that, yeah, you got it Piper, I'll stop trying so hard to pick a fight with her."
I smiled gratefully,
"Thanks Larry, that means a lot. Although I can't promise the same for Alex, if she knew I told you of all people this, she'd kill me."
He laughed,
"That's fair. So come on, any tips about pre wedding jitters?"
I smiled back and said,
"Just don't get too excited the night before and make sure your phone is off, otherwise you'll never get sleep."
"Why the phone?" He asked.
"Alex kept texting me through the night before we got married." I admit, get up and continue,
"Right, well I guess I should go back to bed. Alex has a sixth sense for knowing when I'm not around when I should be, especially if I let our bed get cold with her in it. Night Larry." I chuckle and put my empty bottle in the bin and begin to go back upstairs.
"Night Piper and thanks again, I'm glad we can still be friends even after the whole me, you, Alex and Polly triangle...square... thing." He smiles and I go back to my old room, smiling back at him.
Alex was exactly as I'd left her so I pulled off her T-shirt I'd thrown on myself to go downstairs, slowly crawled back into bed and gently lifted her arms to be around me again as they were when I got out of bed 10 minutes ago.
"Where did you go?" She asks me, her eyes fluttering open. I jumped.
"Jesus! Al! That scared the shit out of me! I thought you were asleep! How'd you know I was gone?!" I hissed.
"Well I WAS asleep until you moved my arms and breathed on me, you stink of alcohol babe."
"I'm sorry. I got thirsty and beer was the first thing I saw in the fridge." I apologise and she laughs,
"Could you not just have gotten a glass of water from the tap?"
"Well yeah I guess I could have but I was also hungry so that's why I was in the fridge." I admit.
She chuckles and kisses me,
"That beer tastes pretty good actually."
I laugh,
"Ha, night Alex, oh and Merry Christmas."
She smiled,
Merry Christmas Pipes."