Work Text:
Proposal
“You can’t wear heels to our wedding,” says Waverly as she thumbs through a bridal magazine that came in the mail.
She scoots down the couch to be closer to Nicole and puts her bare feet on her girlfriend’s lap.
Nicole pinches her nose facetiously and grabs the magazine from Waverly’s hands.
“What am I supposed to wear, crocs?”
Waverly snorts and reaches out for Nicole to lift her into her lap.
“What if you just go barefoot? I’ll wear heels and maybe be taller than you for once.”
Nicole nods and presses a kiss to Waverly’s cheek.
“Whatever you want, cutie. As long as I get to marry you, in the end.”
Waverly pinches Nicole’s cheeks and stares into bright, brown eyes.
“I do believe that one of us needs to propose.”
Nicole grins and rocks Waverly back and forth.
“How does next Tuesday at eight o’clock sound?”
Waverly’s eyes narrow, because she can’t tell if Nicole’s joking or not.
Nicole speaks after a pregnant pause.
“I’m kidding, Wave. Don’t you worry, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve.”
She presses a kiss to the crown of Waverly’s head and takes Waverly’s hands in her own.
“I was thinking,” an inquisitive look comes over Waverly’s face. “Maybe we could have a backyard wedding. I don’t need a big white wedding to prove that I love you.”
Nicole nods and smirks as she twirls a strand of Waverly’s hair.
“I wouldn’t mind being a barefoot bride. Wynonna could get ordained online and marry us.”
Waverly giggles and presses her index finger to Nicole’s lips.
“Be careful, she’ll hear you and want to do it.”
It’s Thursday morning, and Nicole’s waiting for the mail at the station. It’s extremely essential that she gets to the said mail before Wynonna or Waverly do. Waverly’s working on paranormal research with Jeremy in the lab, and Wynonna’s been in a crabby mood all day.
Wynonna barely knocks on the door before she barges in, water bottle and said package in hand.
“Haught, you got a package from Etsy. Are you sure this isn’t for my sister?”
Nicole all but grabs the package from Wynonna, which only makes her more suspicious.
“Is it a toy?”
Nicole’s face turns as red as her hair.
“Go away, Wynonna.” She sits down at her desk and clicks her pen a few times while trying to shoo her future sister-in-law away.
Wynonna perches herself on Nicole’s desk and folds her legs. She shoves her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt jacket.
“No such luck, naughty Haughtie!”
Nicole rolls her eyes and points to the door.
“Leave. Go do something or someone.”
Wynonna gasps and feigns shock.
“That’s very rude, Nicole. You know that Doc and I like each other enough not to do other people anymore.”
Nicole’s lips remain pursed as she shrugs and wipes her hair out of her face.
“That was rude of me. I’m sorry, Wynonna. I’m just a little stressed because --”
Wynonna finishes Nicole’s sentence for her with a gleeful expression on her face.
“Because of what’s in that box. I know. Trust me, it’ll take the edge off.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Wynonna.”
Nicole rises from her swirly chair and closes the door and the blinds.
“Woah. We’re going all top secret here, Sheriff.”
Wynonna moves to the spinny chair and whirls around before she reaches for the package and tears it open.
“You are too much,” Nicole says, arms folded across her chest.
Wynonna opens the cardboard box and gasps.
“Oh my god, Haught! You’re going to do it!”
“Wynonna.” Nicole sighs in exasperation and closes the flaps of the box. “Let’s get one thing straight.
“You’re not,” deadpans Wynonna.
Nicole gives Wynonna a shut up, or I’ll kill you look, and she puts her hands up in defense of the cop.
“You do not mention this to Waverly. You do not offer any kind of hint, or sarcasm, or Wynonna-ism. I want this to be a surprise.”
Wynonna nods, and Nicole thinks she genuinely won’t try to screw this up, if not for Nicole’s sake, then for Waverly’s.
“When are you going to ask her?”
“I’m thinking around Tuesday, eight o’clock.”
Nicole chuckles to herself, and Wynonna thinks that she indeed is crazy.
Wynonna smiles up at Nicole, and she can see that it's genuine.
“I’m so happy for you two.”
Nicole smiles back at Wynonna, but it quickly fades as the two women hear the clacking of heels down the hallway.
“Waverly!”
Wynonna jumps up from the Sheriff’s chair, and positions herself by the door, as Nicole scurries behind her desk.
Waverly enters Nicole’s office and slinks her arms around her girlfriend, blissfully unaware of the conversation that has just occurred.
“Nicole, I just wanted to show you what Mrs. Lovejoy posted on Class Dojo. Ariel made a teepee out of popsicle-“
Wynonna opens her phone and giggles.
“I just got a notification too. Apparently, my kid’s more focused on knocking down other people’s popsicle teepees than creating her own.”
Waverly reads from her phone.
“Ariel and Alice collaborated together wonderfully and built a teepee home together.”
Wynonna looks at her sister and reads her own notification pointedly.
“Alice knocked down Oliver’s teepee. I had a chat with her about touching other people’s belongings.”
She shakes her head and screenshots the post before adding that the kid “probably deserved it.”
“Ooooh Etsy!” Waverly’s eyes dart from her phone to the small package on Nicole’s desk.
“What did you order?”
Nicole blushes and moves the package a little bit.
“It’s a surprise, baby.”
Wynonna gives Nicole an all-knowing glance.
“It is, Haught damn. I’ll leave you two to it!” Wynonna leaves the office, offering Nicole and Waverly a wink, and snickers all the way down the hall.
“What was that about?”
Nicole shrugs.
“You know Wynonna.”
Waverly nods and pulls on Nicole’s tie, earning a kiss from her favorite person in the world.
“She’s been in a crappy mood all week.”
Nicole rests her arms around Waverly’s neck.
“She was actually pretty cheerful.”
“So.” Waverly places a finger under Nicole’s chin and tilts it downwards.
“When do I find out my surprise?”
“Tuesday, eight o’clock,” Nicole smirks because this time she’s serious, but Waverly merely rolls her eyes.
“Very funny, Sheriff.” Waverly captures Nicole’s lips for a quick kiss before she hurries back into the lab.
On their way home from Kindergarten on Friday, Nicole pulls into Tim Horton’s and places a chocolate donut on the table in front of Ariel.
Across the table, Nicole fiddles with her watch and takes a bite into her strawberry donut.
“I want to tell you a secret, baby.”
Ariel’s face is covered in chocolate, and Nicole wipes it off with a napkin.
“What is it?” The little girl’s eyes widen, as she finishes chewing.
“I want to propose to Waverly, sweetheart. Do you know what that means?”
Ariel shakes her head back and forth.
“When I propose to your Wavy, that means I am going to ask her to marry me.”
“I thought you guys married now.” Ariel stares down at the remainder of her donut.
“It sure seems like it, huh?” Nicole strokes Ariel’s cheek with her knuckles as the little girl nods.
“How do you know she say yes?”
It’s a genuine question, and Nicole can’t help but smile at Ariel’s inquisition.
“Let’s just say that once upon a time, years ago, Waverly thought I was asking her to marry me, and she got disappointed when I didn’t.”
“When you gonna ask her, CoCo? Can I be the flower girl?”
“I was hoping that maybe you would like to help me propose, Ariel.”
Ariel gives Nicole a look that says are you off your rocker, Co?
“I want to be the flower girl with Alice.”
Nicole nods and passes Ariel the remainder of her strawberry donut (okay, she’s kind of bribing her kid) which she happily accepts.
“I bought you a super special shirt to help me ask. I’ll tell you the truth, Ariel, I’m nervous to ask Waverly. I’m anxious she’ll think the timing is wrong or-”
Ariel toddles down from her chair and patiently waits for Nicole to lift her onto her lap. She rests her head in the crook of her mama’s neck.
CoCo is warm and safe and knows how to make her feel better when she’s sad. Now it’s her turn to make her CoCo feel better, and not like Fear does in Inside Out.
“Once Waverly and I get married, nothing will change, okay? You’ll still be our best baby girl in the world.”
“She say yes, CoCo. I help.”
Ariel presses a kiss to Nicole’s cheek and wraps her arms around her neck.
“Put fireworks in the sky at Disneyland like the daddy did on Full House.”
Nicole grins down at her girl.
“Is that who our family reminds you of?”
Ariel giggles a little bit and rests her head on Nicole’s shoulder.
“Sorta. Funny stuff happens, and everyone hugs each other.”
Nicole nods in agreement and brushes a strand of her daughter’s red locks behind her ears.
“You’re a smart cookie, Ariel. You should tell Wynonna that our family is like Full House when we get home, she’ll get a kick out of that.”
Ariel likes to watch Full House with Alice because it does remind her of the Earps. When anyone in the Tanner family is in trouble, they help each other out, like the Earps do
The Earps are better than any family on television that she’s seen.
Nicole explains her proposal plans to Ariel, and the little girl gives her a high five before adding a complimentary “You got it, dude!”
It’s Tuesday night, and Nicole insists on Waverly and Ariel meeting her at Shorty’s for a late dinner after work. As they pull up to the bar, Waverly shakes her head.
“Don’t know why your CoCo wanted to eat this late. It’s past your bedtime.”
Ariel bites her lip and tries very hard not to say anything as Waverly carries her into the restaurant.
Waverly’s jaw nearly hits the floor as she opens the door. The lights are dimmed, and soft music is playing from the speakers. Nicole is sitting behind the bar in a purple flowery shirt, nice dress pants, and heels. Her hair is curled to the side. She looks gorgeous. Waverly feels like a mess in her sweater dress and flats.
Nicole takes Ariel from Waverly’s arms and presses a kiss to her forehead.
“You got your Waverly to come. Good job, Princess.”
Ariel yawns and Nicole cradles the little girl against her chest.
“You look pretty as ever, Waverly Earp.”
Waverly comes behind the bar and presses a kiss to Nicole’s cheek.
“Not as pretty as you.”
Ariel rubs her eyes and lifts her head from Nicole’s chest.
“I gotta go number two, Co.”
“It’s alright baby, I’ll take her.” Waverly tries to take Ariel in her arms, but she remains dead weight on Nicole’s chest.
Nicole shakes her head and places her hand over Waverly’s.
“You sit and pour yourself a drink. I’ll take her. We’ll only be a few minutes.”
As they enter the bathroom, Nicole gives Ariel a high five.
“You did sooooo good, Princess. Wavy totally bought it.”
Ariel grins up at Nicole.
“Did I look tired?”
Nicole spins Ariel around in the air before placing her on the bathroom counter.
“The most tired. I actually thought you were going to fall asleep.”
Nicole goes inside one of the stalls and brings out the plastic bag with the little purple shirt with gold letters. She helps Ariel put on the shirt and zips up her sweatshirt jacket.
“Remember. You ask Waverly to unzip your jacket. I’ll get behind her and….”
“Pop the question?” Ariel adjusts her glasses and gives Nicole a thumbs up.
Nicole presses their foreheads together.
“You ready to go get engaged, Mini-Me?”
Ariel gives Nicole a peck on the forehead as she’s lifted up.
“Wavy gonna be sooooooo happy.”
Nicole makes her way back to the bar and sees that Waverly has poured herself a beer and water for Ariel.
“A toast,” Waverly says once her girls are back.
They show Ariel how to cheers, and the little girl does it perfectly before she says that she’s warm.
Ariel looks up at Waverly with bright blue eyes, and signs help, please.
More than happy to oblige, Waverly starts to unzip Ariel’s jacket and soon realizes the little girl’s Tinkerbell shirt has been replaced with a new one.
“Hey Aree, can you read what your shirt says to Waverly?”
Nicole’s voice is shaky as she moves behind her girlfriend and daughter.
Ariel gazes up into her future mom’s eyes and recites the saying on the shirt perfectly.
“It says Wavy, Will You Marry My CoCo?”
Waverly’s hand flies to her mouth as she squeezes Ariel tightly and spins on her heels to face Nicole who is down on one knee, ring box popped open.
“Surprise.”
Waverly’s vision blurs as she holds on to Ariel and presses kisses to the little girl’s head.
“Waverly, before I say anything, I want to let you know that I’m taking advantage of wearing heels now because you said I couldn’t wear them on our wedding day.”
Waverly giggles and perches herself on the bar with Ariel in her lap.
“Screw it this is uncomfortable,” says Nicole and she hops on the bar next to her girls.
“Waverly, When I stepped into Shorty’s one morning six years ago, our lives were intertwined for good. I didn’t think people like me got happy endings, and I never dreamed we could have this beautiful family we have created.”
Waverly wipes her eyes with her fingers.
“You’re not the prince that I imagined Nicole, you’re better. You’re my princess.”
Nicole smiles bashfully at Waverly, and her dimple pops out.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yeah. I will.”
Waverly wraps her arms around Nicole’s neck and plants a firm kiss to her lips.
“I can’t wait to be Mrs. Earp-Haught.”
“You want to change your last name?”
Waverly nods and caresses Nicole’s hand as she slips the ring onto her finger.
“I thought… that when Ariel is officially adopted, maybe she could be an Earp-Haught too. Would you like that, Princess?”
Ariel signs yes and Waverly nuzzles her nose into the little girl’s hair.
Nicole helps her girls down from the bar and they move to a table. She opens the tiny black box and pulls out the matching ring. Waverly slides the ring onto her fiancée’s finger.
“You’re shaking, Nicole, are you okay?”
Nicole nods her head and takes her girls’ hands in her own across the table.
“I never imagined I could have this, Waves. I’m so happy."
Nicole reaches into her bag, and pulls out another tiny box. Inside the box is a lavender band.
“This is for you, Ariel.”
Ariel’s eyebrows shoot up as she grabs the tiny ring out of the box and yawns.
“Sorry CoCo, you can’t po-pose to me. You already got a lady.”
Nicole grins at Waverly and places the ring in Ariel’s palm.
“This is called a promise ring. With this ring, Waverly and I promise to love you forever. We promise to always make you feel better, and give you lots of hugs and kisses.”
Waverly is touched that Nicole thought of getting their little girl a ring too.
Nicole lifts Ariel onto her lap.
“We promise to adopt you and be the best moms we can be. You don’t have to call us anything but CoCo and Wavy but….we’re here for you, Princess. We stay with you and stand by you.”
Nicole flips the band vertically, and Ariel can see a jumble of letters on the inside of the ring.
Repeated around the ring is:
CoCo Wavy Ariel CoCo Wavy Ariel
“It’s a circle that doesn’t end which represents our love for you.”
Nicole slides the ring onto Ariel’s finger as tears fall down her freckled face.
“Whenever you wear this, it’s like you’re super strong because you have our love inside of you.”
The little girl throws her arms around her foster mothers.
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
She signs.
Ariel falls asleep in Nicole’s arms a few minutes later. Everything becomes hazy and golden as she closes her eyes.
She wakes up in the middle of the night tangled in between them in their bed.
On her left side, Nicole is snoring, red hair splattered all over her pillow, falling onto Ariel's face. One hand is wrapped snugly around her girls, the other is hanging off the edge of the bed.
On her right side, Waverly’s asleep too, and Ariel’s tucked between the bottom of her chin and her sprawled out legs. Her arms are laid over Ariel’s tummy, instinctively pulling her closer with every breath.
Mom. She practices saying it out loud but the word gets stuck on her tongue.
Because Mom isn’t Mom with her dirty blonde hair and dark eyes yelling at her and ignoring Jack’s cries.
Mom is Nicole carrying her on her hip to her walker. Mom is also Waverly encouraging her to take a few more steps toward them because she knows she can do it.
Mom is also Nicole playing Super Spy Barbies and Waverly singing along to Tangled with her.
Mom is when they kiss her boo-boos and read to her class and most importantly Mom is their patience because they know she’s different but they won’t let her differences become the only thing about her.
Waverly is the sun that comes up in the morning to shine on her day, and Nicole is the moon that shines on her sleeping.
Mom is what she doesn’t have to say, and what they’re not making her say because she has a choice.
She doesn’t know if she wants to say it out loud because it all might be too good to be true.
She wonders what Matilda called Miss Honey after the book ended.
Moms stay. And so does she.
She snuggles closer to them, and closes her eyes.