The Reign Of Vause

Turn bad memories to good ones

(Piper's POV)

We had taken a cab from the airport and Alex had given the address to her Parisian apartment. I couldn't believe she still had it after all these years. When we arrived and got out of the cab, the one thing that caught my eye was her black and silver Harley Davidson. Like the apartment, she'd kept that all this time too. When we were together those years ago, Alex used to take me for rides in her free time, I clung to her as we sped through the city. These were great memories.
"Al?! You kept the apartment AND your kept your Harley?!" I asked her incredulously.
She chuckled,
"Yep, I never got round to selling the apartment and there was no way I was parting with my Harley V Rod here." She says patting the motorcycle and continues,
"Do you remember I used to take you out on rides on this thing?" She asks, smiling at the memory.
I grinned at her,
"Yes. I do. They were great times."
She tilted her head as she smiled back at me,
"They were. Maybe we could go on a ride later if you want? I still have your old helmet in the apartment, although it may not fit, I mean, your feet got bigger when you briefly went back to boys, who knows, maybe your head did too." She said. I blinked and opened my mouth in protest, looking like a goldfish. That went from romantic to mockery real quick, love you too Alex.
She laughed at me and came closer to wrap her arms around my mid section, kissing me.
"I would like that." I break the kiss and smile at her.
"Me too." She smiled back and continues,
"Now come on." She said, taking my hand and walking me up to her expensive Parisian apartment.

When we got to the apartment, it was like deja vu. It was like when Alex and I got out of prison and our New York home looked nothing like how I'd left it when I'd left Alex. This was exactly the same. Except it wasn't. Alex had completely torn the place apart. There was new furniture still wrapped in the packing cellophane and the walls were stripped bare, the only thing that remained the same from my memory were the black and white zig-zagging floor tiles. This was where I'd left Alex all those years ago, but it wasn't.
Alex saw me gawp at the sight of the place.
"I wanted to redecorate the apartment when you left. If I'm being honest Pipes, I was cursed by the sight of it. It was where you left me and where I'd found out my mom had died. I wanted, no, needed to completely redecorate it, I guess I just never got round to it since Kubra kept me busy after I sobered up. When you left, I went into depression and used heroin mixed with alcohol every night to try and forget you and the fact that my mom had just died. So, I guess we have some work to do." She explains. I went from feeling guilty and sad to stunned in one explanation from my wife. She had literally clapped her hands together and moved to get started after she told me we had work to do as if everything she'd just said before that was nothing. She'd used heroin AND alcohol?!
"Oh Alex, I'm so sorry." I tell her, feeling myself about to cry.
She turned around to see me and immediately came back to me to reassure me.
"Aw Pipes, no, don't cry. Oh that's not what I wanted to happen when I told you that, I just thought I'd tell you why it looks completely different than what you'd remember. There's no need for apologies now, you marrying me was the only apology I needed. Okay?" She says, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear reassuringly and kissing me on the forehead.
I didn't want to cry so just hugged her tightly and held on for a while. She stood there and embraced me for as long as I needed. This was so nice but the torn up look of this apartment was not.
"Have you got paint samples or do you want wallpaper?" I asked her.
She chuckled.
"Well that was a fast transition." She smiled at me and continued,
"I have paint samples but obviously we need to agree on a colour since we're married now. Ugh, I guess there can be a down side to being married, I knew it." She told me then teased me so I playfully hit her on the arm.

We sat on the cellophane wrapped couch and spent a full 2 hours deciding and fighting over paint colours.
"I like 'Cabbage White'" Alex said.
"But it's green!" I exclaimed.
"No 'Vardo' and 'Arsenic' are green, 'Cabbage White' is more white with a hint of green, it's like a very subtle mint colour. Babe, the word 'white' is literally in the name!" Alex retorted.
"The word 'cabbage' is also in it and what colour is a cabbage? Green. Ha!" I challenged.
"Not always babe, when you go further to the bottom of a cabbage, it's white. Ha!" She challenged my challenge.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Who are you? Martha Stewart? Anyway, I like 'Tallow'." I ask then tell her.
"What?! Babe, that's like the same colour as the walls in prison! Why the fuck do you like 'Tallow'?!" She asked incredulously.
"It is not! 'Pavilion Blue' is more like the walls in prison! I mean, it's like a really dull shade of lemon mixed with your 'Cabbage White', in fact it looks like 'Cabbage White' with dirt mixed into it, definitely that dull, yellowy, lemony, greeny, drab colour that was on the walls in prison. Why is 'blue' even in the title?!" I ask incredulously.
"True but I still don't like 'Tallow'." Alex concedes.
"Why not?! It's a warm colour, it's like a warmer cream colour!" I defend.
"Looking at it would give me a headache." Alex says and we both sigh.
"What about 'Dorchester Pink Pale'?" She asked, sampling the colour. I stood back and looked at it.
"Yeah, I like that." I confess.
"Oh thank fuck for that, I thought we were never going to get these walls painted." Alex sighs in relief.

An hour later, we returned with a couple of tubs of our chosen colour and got changed into old clothes we wouldn't care got covered in paint. Alex was in sweat pants and a tank top with her hair in a ponytail, not wearing her glasses in case they got paint on them and I was in jeans I've had since the 90s and an old T-shirt with my hair in a messy bun.
After a while, we'd gotten most of the walls covered and it was looking pretty good.
"Hey, Pipes." Alex said, trying to get my attention. I figured she wanted to show me her handiwork but I was wrong, she'd snuck right up behind me then as soon as I turned around, she pinned me flat against the wall I'd just painted, covering the whole back of my body in wet paint.
"AAAAH ALEX!" I laughed loudly as she smirked at me,
"Did I tell you your butt looks so good in those jeans?" She chuckled, quirking an eyebrow and not caring that I was covered in paint, so, I returned the favour.
I playfully frowned at her and brushed her face with the wet paint from the paintbrush in my hand. She waited for me to finish then kissed me, covering my face in paint in return.

Hours later, we were lying next to each other in bed looking at our handiwork. The furniture was back to the way it was and it looked like Alex's old Parisian apartment except with new furniture and wall colour. She'd transported the four poster bed that used to be in our New York apartment to this apartment.
Alex had me in her arms, her arm around my shoulder with me snuggled into her side and she hummed contentedly,
"Hmmm I never thought I'd get you back in this bed Pipes." She says, bringing me tighter to her side and kissing me on the head.
"I never thought you would either. Al, I'm sorry, I should never have left, especially when your mom had just died. I regretted it the minute I set foot outside that door but I figured you would never have taken me back when I had literally turned my back on you when you needed me so I carried on and went back home to the States." I confess.
She took my hand and squeezed it, changing positions so that we were facing each other.
"Pipes, look at everything we've been through. I've taken you back when you've done horrible shit like letting me think we had a future then choosing Larry and cheating on me with Stella and you took me back after I sent you to prison. Back then, granted I would've been mad but I would've taken you back in a heartbeat. I loved you and I needed you, nothing has changed, I still love you and I still need you, I always will." She confessed then chuckled.
"What's so funny?" I asked her.
"Well, not funny more desperate." She starts and continues,
"I went after you when you left. I ran after you and jumped on my Harley and sped through the streets of Paris trying to find you but you'd already gone." She said sadly so I kissed her then hit her with my pillow.
She chuckled,
"The fuck was that for?"
I pointed at my paint covered back and lips, which had dried by now, in explanation.
Alex hit me back with her pillow.
"Yeah? Well what do you call this?!" She laughed pointing at her own face which I'd covered in paint which was also dry now.
"Revenge." I giggled and hit her again.
"Oh you want a war babe? I'll give you a war." She smirked and I leapt out of bed knowing what was coming.
She chased me as we both giggled. A pillow fight had ensued as we chased each other around the apartment, laughing.