Will Piper & Alex Get Back Together On 'OITNB'?

The obnoxiously long wait until Orange is the New Black Season 3 is actually killing me. Naturally, while I wait, I have about a thousand and one questions about the new season that have nothing to do with how many parties is too many parties to throw over the fact that Larry Bloom won't be in OITNB Season 3. (The answer is there is no such thing as too many.) However, the question that burns the most at the forefront of my mind is one that fans of the Netflix series have had since, uh, back when we all saw the pilot. And that question is when will Piper Chapman and Alex Vause get together on Orange Is The New Black? More specifically, will they ever get back together after the events of Season 2?

For those of you who have forgotten, Season 2 began with Alex asking Piper to lie on the stand and then, when she actually did, Alex told the truth and got released from prison — leaving Piper behind to rot. The season ended with Piper getting Alex locked back up in prison for violating parole by buying a gun (for protection against the criminals she thought were after her for her testimony). Whose betrayal was the worst betrayal is no longer the issue at this point. The issue is whether or not we'll ever see Piper and Alex together and as happy as they were for a couple of episodes in Season 1. At this point, they've spent more time apart than they have as a couple.

Before their love story can truly take off, there are a few things that need to happen beforehand.

1. They Need to Own Up To Their Mistakes

Season 2 was a pretty hefty collection of mistakes on both sides, but neither Alex nor Piper seem to really know when to just flat-out admit that something was their fault and their side of the story doesn't matter. They're both sympathetic characters, but they're also both ridiculously stubborn with a tendency to lie to make themselves look a little bit better than to actually own up to their mistakes right away. If they can, you know, stop that, their relationship has a better chance of working out the third time.

2. They Also Need To Own Up To Their Flaws

Piper is incredibly self-centered and Alex is incredibly insecure, and neither woman is very good at admitting that about themselves. They've both been called on it — by each other, by themselves — but the lesson never seems to sink in and they just keep going around the same sick sad carousel, so to speak. If they could have an open and honest conversation about their flaws, and how they don't sync up and how they will result in miscommunications and horrific fights, they'd be in a better place to get back together.

3. They Need To Stop Resorting To Betrayal

I don't think trust is ever going to come easily for these two, considering how many times they've gone behind each other's backs, or used each other, or just plain not been there for each other. So, yeah, let's stop that.

4. They Need To Love Themselves First

This ties directly in to the first and second items, but Alex and Piper have both made a lot of mistakes and are both incredibly flawed people whose self-esteem is not at its peak — especially not after spending so much time in prison and messing up their personal lives so epically. You can't expect someone else to love you before you love yourself, so they need to find a way to live with all the things that they've done, and have become, before they're ready to date again.

5. They Need To Discuss The Future

The one thing that Larry provided to Piper that Alex could not was stability and the promise of a good life outside of prison. With Alex in prison with her, it will become harder and harder for Piper to disconnect and remember there's a whole life waiting for them out there. They need to talk about their future and what they both want after they finally get out of prison, to ensure that they're on the same page about building a life together.

6. They Need To Actually Date First

Alex and Piper might have worked their way back to being close friends, but they jumped into the sex too quickly considering how much painful history is between them. I'd like to see them make the effort to try and go on more dates while in prison. Sitting alone at a table with their knees touching here, taking a walk around the grounds holding hands there — you know, some actual romance to make themselves feel like an actual couple. Once they've found some stability, I think these two will be amazing together. After all, they always have been.

Image: Netflix; theinevitablepipex/Tumblr (7)