A/N: This is for brennan8319, RJVause, JayJamie, omggirls, Gmorrow, vausemania, Chelle23482 and everyone else who got it.
Thanks for the positivity and for remaining Team Suave. x

Epilogue: 2 Weeks

"So tonight then?"

"Yeah."

"What time?"

"Eight-thirty."

"At Suave?"

"Yep."

"And she'll be there?"

"I hope so Pol, she owns the place."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that it was that bar."

"You didn't ask."

"I guess Blondie's coming in tonight, then."

"What? Why?"

"Look at you. Is that a new shirt? No wait, wait, it's a blouse."

"Fuck you."

"And the hair. You've got that messy-styled thing going on."

"..."

"Come here, let me smell you..."

"Get away from me!"

Nicky laughed and Alex turned away from her, busying herself in a ledger.

"You're cute, Vause."

"You're asking for trouble, Nichols."

Polly arrived at Suave at eight fifteen, looked around for her friend, then moved to the bar. She ordered a glass of wine from the loud, friendly woman behind the counter and sat on a bar stool waiting for Piper to arrive.

Five minutes later, Piper walked confidently through the doors. She smiled as she approached Polly at the bar and greeted her with a hug.

"You're early for once!"

"Damn straight I'm early. You've made me wait long enough for this."

Piper rolled her eyes. "It's no big deal, really."

"It's a huge deal, Piper. I'm practically pissing my pants here."

"Behave. It isn't like you've never met someone I'm seeing before."

"True, but it's the first time I've met someone who's totally swept you off your feet to the point that you talk about nothing else anymore before."

Piper shook her head, smiling as she turned away from Polly to catch Nicky's attention and order a drink. Nicky spotted her a few seconds later and moved towards her, flipping up the hinged end of the counter automatically.

"Hey Blondie. Coming through? She's in back."

"No no, I'm good thanks. She'll be out soon, I'm pretty sure. I'll take a beer, please."

"Chaser?"

"Not tonight," Piper grinned, "that doesn't usually end well."

Nicky smiled as she flipped the top off a bottle of Piper's usual beer and passed it to her. "That's not what I heard!" She winked, then grinned and added "Want me to tell her you're here?"

"No it's okay." She glanced up at one of the cameras high in the corner above the bar and smiled. "She knows."

She thanked Nicky and then gestured to an empty booth with her bottle, directing Polly to it. They moved over and Piper slipped off her coat before sitting down facing her friend.

Meanwhile, in her office behind the bar, Alex sat at her desk watching the CCTV displays on the monitor on her desk. She leaned back in her chair, drumming her fingertips on the surface of the desk. She'd seen Polly arrive, but wasn't certain this was Piper's friend until Piper herself walked in a few minutes later, made a beeline for the woman and hugged her roughly. Although she'd seen the two women together in the bar three weeks ago, her attention had been solely on Piper on that occasion and if called upon to pick Polly out of a line-up, she'd have failed miserably.

Alex couldn't help smiling automatically when she watched Piper and saw her smile, saw the way she tilted her head and shook her hair out of her eyes as she talked to Nicky, saw the way she chatted so easily to her as she waited for her drink. She saw the quick glance Piper gave to the CCTV camera and realised Piper knew she'd be watching.

She checked her watch, then turned her attention back to the screen. She watched as Piper and Polly moved to a booth and settled in, observing the way the two women leaned towards each other over the table as they talked. Polly appeared to be leading the conversation, talking animatedly with her hands, telling a tale that had Piper laughing so much that she was wiping tears from her eyes.

Alex reached to the shelf beside her desk and pulled down the bottle of tequila, poured herself a generous measure, then downed it in one. She grimaced as the liquor burned her throat, then followed it with a second.

"You can do this," she murmured to herself as she placed the top back on the bottle. "Get a grip, Vause. You got this."

At eight forty-five, Alex stood from her desk, checked her appearance in the mirror, then stepped through the door from her office into the bar.

She looked around the room checking all was settled, then made her way from behind the counter, giving Nicky a nod of acknowledgement as she passed.

"Boss?" Nicky stopped her.

"Hm?"

Nicky slid a tray towards her. Two bottles of beer, one glass of wine and one shot of tequila sat on the tray. Alex met Nicky's eye, gave her a small smile, then knocked back the tequila before passing the shot glass back.

"You're good, Al." Nicky said, with an encouraging smile.

"Keep 'em coming, Nichols," was all Alex said in response as she swept the tray from the bar and made her way to Piper's booth.

Piper saw her coming and immediately zoned out of the conversation with Polly, her eyes fixed on Alex. She stood as the tall brunette got closer and moved to the end of the table, a wide smile on her face.

Alex slid the tray onto the table and placed a hand on Piper's forearm, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "Hey beautiful," she murmured into her hair.

Pulling away from Piper she turned towards Polly and extended her hand in greeting. "Hi, you must be Alex. I'm Polly."

Polly stared at her, then blinked a couple of times. "Wow, and I thought I was the nervous one here tonight!"

"Fuck! Fuck. Dammit. I'm Alex, you're Polly."

Polly laughed and took Alex's hand, grinning as she shook it. "Glad we've cleared that up."

Alex rubbed a hand over her forehead and sat down next to Piper. "As first impressions go, I think we can safely say I fucked that up really well."

Piper grinned and placed a hand on Alex's thigh, squeezing it gently.

Polly replied before Piper had the chance. "You brought more drinks with you, Alex. You're still winning."

The evening was far more successful than Piper could ever have hoped for. Polly and Alex hit it off even better than she imagined. It wasn't long before the two of them were siding with each other and poking gentle fun at Piper, the three of them laughing together. Nicky made sure they were never without a drink and they were all a little buzzed by the time eleven thirty rolled around and Polly announced she had to head home.

"I had fun tonight," she said as she gathered her coat and bag.

"Me too," Alex replied. "It's good to have somebody who can tell me all Piper's embarrassing stories. It levels out the playing field, she's got Nicky in her corner spilling my secrets every chance she gets."

Polly grinned. "Any time, any time!"

She hugged Piper tightly, then turned to Alex and after a moment's hesitation, gave her a quick hug too, taking the taller woman by surprise.

"It was so good to meet you, Alex. Piper's last girlfriend was an absolute psycho, her last boyfriend wasn't much better, so it's a relief to see she's finally found a normal one."

Alex didn't really know how to respond to that, but a blushing Piper stepped in and saved her, ushering her friend to the door and the waiting taxi. They hugged tightly again and Piper bundled Polly into the cab before returning to the bar and gathering her belongings.

"I should head off, too. School tomorrow."

"Want me to walk you home?"

Piper glanced around the bar, then looked at Alex. "You don't have to stay and finish up?"

"Nicky'll do it," she shrugged.

"You sure?"

"Of course. Let me grab my stuff."

Alex disappeared into her office behind the bar, reappearing a few moments later shrugging into her leather jacket. She exchanged a few words and a smile with Nicky, then looked over at Piper and raised an eyebrow as she gestured to the door with a tilt of her head.

They met at the door and Alex held it open for Piper to pass through. They turned left and started to walk towards Piper's apartment together in silence. Alex slipped her hand into Piper's before they reached the end of the block, stroking her skin softly with her thumb.

"So," Alex started after walking in silence for a few minutes. "Polly seems to think I'm your girlfriend."

She turned her head to watch Piper's reaction and grinned when the blonde woman cringed and ducked her head to hide her embarrassment. Alex squeezed her hand briefly, then continued "But that's okay, because she also seems to think I'm normal so it's obvious she wasn't thinking clearly tonight."

"You're normal!" Piper replied quickly, jumping to Alex's defence. "Of course you are."

"That's kind of you, Pipes. Thanks." Alex deadpanned. "But the real question, I think, is the girlfriend one."

Piper looked at the pavement and carried on walking, her head tilted down. "I, um… I don't..." her voice trailed off, a frown creasing her brow.

Alex remained quiet, waiting.

"I didn't tell her that," Piper said a few moments later. "I mean, she's just come up with that on her own. I haven't… y'know."

"Er, no. I don't know. Haven't what?"

"Haven't given you... us... this that label."

"Ah, okay." Alex murmured.

They walked in silence for another block, their fingers still interlaced, neither of them speaking as they both considered the conversation so far.

"She seems nice," Alex said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah."

"You have a close relationship with her, don't you."

"Yeah."

Alex frowned and fell silent again, a little disconcerted by Piper's monosyllabic responses. She released Piper's hand so she could turn up the collar on her jacket, then pushed her hands into her pockets as they continued to walk, rather than taking Piper's hand again.

They'd only walked about ten feet before Piper moved closer and slipped her arm through Alex's, connecting them again. Alex suppressed a smile, but she was relieved. No denying it.

They turned the corner into Piper's street and could see her apartment building ahead.

"She has a big mouth," Piper said, as if there hadn't been a silence of almost five minutes since they'd last spoken. "Not the first time she's said something that's given me a problem, probably won't be the last."

"She's given you a problem?"

"I don't know. It kinda feels that way."

Alex let out a slow breath, then pulled her hand from her pocket and draped her arm around Piper's shoulders instead. Piper's arm automatically moved around Alex's waist, thumb hooking into the waistband of her jeans. "There's no problem, babe," Alex murmured.

Both women fell silent again, but as they slowed on their approached to Piper's building it was Piper who spoke again.

"What're we doing, Al?" Her voice was soft and tinged with concern.

"What do you mean?"

"Polly, she just assumed that she could attach that label, but you and I… we haven't… I mean..."

"We haven't talked about it."

"No."

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know."

"Seems like you kinda do, Pipes."

They came to a stop outside Piper's building and Alex automatically cast a glance up at the darkened windows of her apartment.

"Polly stuck a label on us," she continued. "Is it that she did that, or is it the label itself you have a problem with?"

Piper turned to face Alex, standing close to her, tilting her head up slightly. "I don't think I have a problem," she said, her voice quiet. "But she's put questions in my head, that's all."

Alex slid her hands down Piper's arms from her biceps to her wrists, then took hold of both of the other woman's hands, squeezing them gently before murmuring "So ask them."

Piper took a breath and managed to hold Alex's gaze as she asked her question. "What're we doing, Al? You and me. What is it that we're doing?"

Alex stayed quiet for a moment, biting the tip of her tongue to stop herself from saying the first thing that came into her mind on hearing the question. She didn't think this was the right time to admit just how hard she was falling – to either Piper or herself.

"I thought we were having fun."

"We are."

"And getting to know each other."

"Yeah."

"In more ways than one."

Piper grinned and ducked her head. "Mmmhmm."

"Spending time together."

"I like doing that."

"Me too."

"Yeah."

"Learning about each other."

"Yeah."

"Meeting each other's friends, apparently."

Piper smiled. "Yeah."

"Shall I tell you what I'm not doing?"

Piper looked up again, confusion sweeping across her face momentarily. "Uh, yeah?"

Alex wet her lips with her tongue, her eyes fixed on Piper's mouth as she spoke, keeping her voice quiet. "What I'm not doing is hanging out with anyone else. I'm not taking anyone else to dinner, or the movies, or Sophia's, or the club, or the mall." She let her eyes move up to meet Piper's before continuing. "I'm not dancing with anyone else, drinking with anyone else, dining with anyone else."

She paused, looking at Piper's face. Her wide blue eyes, the concern and anticipation that filled them.

"I'm not calling anyone else when I get off work. I'm not texting anyone else as soon as I wake up. I'm not thinking about anyone else throughout the day."

Piper pulled her lower lip between her teeth, her eyes fixed on Alex's.

"I'm not kissing anyone else," Alex murmured, her voice low and breathy now. "I'm not sleeping with anyone else."

Piper nodded, just once.

"I'm not…" she paused, as if searching for the right words. "I'm not dating anyone else, Piper."

"Is that what we're doing?"

"Isn't it?"

A slow smile started to creep over Piper's face. "I think it sounds that way."

"Yeah."

"I'm not either," Piper replied, answering the unasked question. "I'm not doing any of those things. Except for with you."

"I know."

"So we're dating."

"I think so. Is that okay?"

Piper paused. She looked at Alex's mouth, then back up to meet her eyes again and she smiled. "That's very okay."

Alex smiled and squeezed Piper's hands again. "Good," she murmured.

"You know what that means though, don't you?"

"Hm?"

"I think that if we're dating, exclusively..."

Alex realised where this was heading and felt her smile grow. "Go on..."

"I think that kinda makes you my girlfriend."

"Only if you label it, Pipes."

"I think I want to label it."

"I think I'm happy with that label."