Their Forever

Marry Me, Again?

The Sparrow Tavern looked the same as it had 15 years prior. The walls were covered in tacky wallpaper, the same photos hanging on top. Bright Christmas lights still hung from the ceiling. Alex leaned against the bar and twirled her finger around the rim of her glass. She wondered if they were the same ones as were hanging all them years ago, or if they'd had to be replaced. With Piper, it always felt like no time had passed. They bounced right back to each other. Being on the outside made it clear just how much the world around them had actually changed. The Sparrow Tavern was the only place that reflected how Alex felt. As if nothing had changed.

Alex glanced around the bar and tried to catch her breath. She had no idea why, but she was so incredibly nervous. This was her wife she was meeting, but her mind kept replaying the first time they'd met in her head. It was like she was meeting the same 20-something Piper all over again. What only added to it was the fact that Alex was wearing as close to the same outfit as she possibly could have. Her hair was curled, her bangs pinned back in her pin-up hairstyle she'd worn on many occasions; but most notably on the day Piper carried her drug money and when she'd first met the love of her life in this very same bar. She looked down at her clothes and smoothed out her black dress. Underneath was a white tank top, and her waist was accentuated by a chunky red belt. A little early 2000s for her taste, but it was for a good cause. She'd managed to find an identical black cross necklace and black earrings to the ones she'd been wearing that night. Alex Vause wasn't a dress person, but she would be tonight. This was a special night for them. Piper had no idea what she had in store.

"Hey, you! Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm skipping America before the apocalypse, wanna come?" Alex smiled, as Piper walked through the doors of the bar. The blonde smiled and rubbed her hands together, trying to soak in all of the heat of the bar. "Think it's too cold for a margarita?" She shot back, heading over to plant a kiss on her wife's lips. She paused for a moment just before the barstools and glanced at Alex up and down, her eyes trailing off to her ass that she could practically see through the bottom of that dress. She shook her sexual thoughts out of her head, and pressed her lips into Alex's. "You remembered," she said simply, her cheeks bright red. Every detail had been planned perfectly. From the tavern, to the earrings, to the first words Alex has ever spoken to her. "I want you to tell me, how in the world did I get so lucky?"

"Fuck it." Alex said, unable to wait even a second longer. Her heart felt as though it was going to pound out of her chest. "I'm the lucky one." She nodded, tucking a bit of hair behind Piper's ear. When the blonde opened her mouth to speak, Alex placed a single finger gently against her lips.

"Just listen to me for a second, okay?" She began, pausing to take a deep breath once more. Her hands were shaky and sweaty. Even Alex didn't understand why in the world she was so nervous. This was her wife standing in front of her, not some random girl. Alex wiped a hand on her dress, and took both of Piper's hands in hers. "Pipes, I love you." She started once more, shaking her head when her wife attempted to reply. "For the past 15 years, my mind has always drifted back to this bar; to the night we first met. I wonder what would've happened if you hadn't applied here; even though you were seriously unqualified for the position." She laughed. Her face shifted back to a much more serious one, and Piper tilted her head in confusion. "I wonder how on earth I got so incredibly lucky to meet you; and how a woman unlike anyone I've ever been with could have flipped my world like you did. I go through all the steps we took together after that; through all the fucked up shit that has happened to us, and to all the times we came running right back to each other even when it seemed like the world was against us. Even when it seemed like we were against each other. To how it always worked out in the end. At our prison wedding," Alex said, unable to hide a chuckle at the entire idea of a prison wedding. She swiped her hand in front of her face to regain her composure, and took a big breath once again. "At our prison wedding, I promised that I would spend the rest of my life making up for my downfalls in small, meaningful ways. Sometimes, I'm going to make it up to you by doing more than that; because you deserve more than that. And I want to continue to make it up to you for the rest of our lives together, every single day." She slipped her hand out of Piper's and reached into her bag. In her hand was a small black velvet box. Piper's eyes welled up with tears, which quickly spilled over the edge, and she brought her hands up to her mouth. Alex smiled, and lowered herself to the ground in front of Piper. "And you deserve so much more. You deserve a real wedding, and as much as the key ring from Luschek's Duane Reade savings card is a wonderful memory, you deserve a real ring too. So, Piper Elizabeth Chapman," she smiled, opening up the box. "Will you marry me all over again?"