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_Orange Is the New Black_: Piper and Alex Take a Major Step Forward!

Warning: Obvious spoilers ahead

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Sadie Gennis

Piper (Taylor Schilling) and Alex (Laura Prepon) have had quite the journey on Orange Is the New Black.

Who could forget when Alex convinced Piper to smuggle cash through customs? Or when Piper abandoned Alex right after Alex's mother died? And of course, there was when Alex flipped on Piper, getting her sent to jail.

They've been on, they've been off and they've been in quite a few weird, in between spaces over the course of Orange's run. But by the end of Season 5, it's safe to say that Piper and Alex's relationship might be in the best place it's ever been!

[Warning: Spoilers for Orange Is the New Black's twelfth episode follows. Read at your own risk!]

In the twelfth episode of the season, Alex sends Piper away, angry that Piper is seemingly more focused on getting involved with the riot drama instead of spending time with Alex. But after some words with Yoga Jones (Constance Shulman), Alex realizes that she can't get mad at Piper for leaving when she told her to leave. And in a heart-to-heart with her mother, Piper admits that, for the first time in her life, she's afraid of dying because she's finally found a reason to live: Alex.

"It made me realize that I don't want to miss out on being with her. I want to stick around because of her," Piper says.

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After a few flashbacks to Piper and Alex's rocky relationship (including the origins of their "love is pain" and fish tattoos), present-day Piper returns to the Litchfield bunker with Alex's glasses and a renewed confidence in their relationship. After handing Alex a can of beans and instructing her to pretend it's corn (who knows?), Piper begins as romantic as a gesture can be in a dirty, drained pool inside a women's prison that is currently experiencing a riot.

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"You have taught me that love hurts. You've taught me that life, it hurts. And I want to be there for you. I want us to be there for each other so that maybe it hurts a little less," Piper says, before getting down on one knee. "Alex Pearl Vause, will you be my partner through love and through pain and through beauty fish forever?"

And you know what? She said YES!

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Mazels all around for the happy couple!

Orange Is the New Black's fifth season is available on Netflix now.