Work Text:
Toothpaste
Waverly and Nicole’s five year-old-daughter gets herself into a sticky situation on Valentine's Day
EFA Fic Challenge 2019
Our story starts with a trip to Dollar Tree after Kindergarten one morning, which is the littlest Earp’s favorite store. The Dollar Tree sells everything as it claims- for a single dollar. Ariel likes going to this particular store because she gets to pick out three new toys or books each time Nicole and Waverly take her there.
Nicole and Waverly like to take Ariel to the Dollar Tree because they can pick up essentials for the Homestead for cheaper than Walmart, and also because the aisles are wide enough for Ariel to scoot up and down in her little pink walker. Their girl hates walking because it’s no fun to have to drag the walker behind her but will do it if she’s motivated enough.
Ariel persuades her foster mothers to go down the toy aisle first, as she trudges forward and points to a shiny purple puzzle box with a picture of Rapunzel on the front.
“48 pieces,” Nicole says, handing the box to Ariel. “Are you up for the challenge?” Ariel nods sheepishly and throws the puzzle into the cart Waverly pushes down the aisle.
“I want…. I want to do it together, CoCo,” Ariel says looking up into Nicole’s eyes. The corners of her CoCo’s mouth turn upward and Ariel grins. She loves it when adults smile at her because that usually means that she’s done something right.
“Nicole and I would love to do a puzzle with you, Baby.” Waverly peers down at their little girl, cute as can be in her Beauty and the Beast dress. Today she’d asked for Belle's hair, and Waverly scoured Pinterest, trying to figure out how to create the perfect half updo for their tiny red-headed beauty.
“The cupcake holder! That’s what I needed to get, Nicole. The cupcake holder for her Valentine’s party tomorrow!” Waverly breathes a sigh of relief as she finally remembers what they needed to come to the store for in the first place.
“Can you imagine if we didn’t show up with the cupcake holder?”
Ariel thinks of the Funfetti cupcakes that she, Alice, and Auntie Nonna made this morning. They aren’t frosted yet, and she assumes they’re going to decorate them before her class party tomorrow. Ariel loves class parties because CoCo and Wavy get to come into her classroom. She also loves food.
“I think we’d be okay, cutie. She also needs a toothbrush and toothpaste for her new class on Monday.” Nicole puts an arm around Waverly as Ariel continues to browse. Ariel is going to be going to Kindergarten for a full day beginning on Monday. Sufficient to say Waverly is extremely nervous. She’ll remain in her current class in the morning with Alice, but in the afternoons she’ll join the adaptive skills classroom to work on daily living, conceptual, and social skills. Waverly is thankful that Mercedes will remain Ariel’s one-to-one paraprofessional in the afternoons, too.
Waverly feels lucky that her daughter will get the extra attention, but she doesn’t want her baby to feel any different than she already does at school. On the other hand, she never wants Ariel to be ashamed of being somebody with Autism.
“Hey,” Nicole tilts Waverly’s chin upward. “It’s going to be okay.”
“New class, Ma.” Ariel squeezes her hands together, then picks up a fluffy pink dog.
“I know you’re excited for your new class, Ariel. You’re going to learn all kinds of new things and make new friends.” Nicole hooks her index fingers together and moves them back and forth to sign friend.
“Their names are Sophie, Milo, and Brooke. I met them with Ms. Gardner last week.” Ariel discreetly throws the plush puppy into the cart. Maybe CoCo and Wavy will let her get four toys today.
“You’re right, Baby. I think Sophie goes to a different school in the morning but Brooke is in the classroom that’s next to yours.” As they make their way into the Health aisle, Waverly grabs a tube of toothpaste with Barbie on the packaging and hands it to Ariel.
“This comes out pink, Ari. Do you think you might like that?”
Ariel shrugs because aren’t Valentine’s Day cupcakes always pink or red?
“Pink’s nice, Mama. Milo talks with the iPad because he Autism like me. Ms. Gardner said so.”
“You’re right, sweetheart. He has Autism, just like you... .and you get to pick out a super special toothbrush, too. Princesses? Barbie? Tsum Tsums? Spiderman?” Waverly flicks through Ariel’s options, taking each one down from the shelf for her daughter to examine.
Ariel points to the Spiderman toothbrush . “That’s Batman, Wavy.” She hands the toothbrush to her CoCo who bursts out into giggles.
“Your poor Wavy doesn’t know her superheroes or sport-ow!” Waverly smiles sweetly at Nicole as she steps on her foot.
“Do you want Batman? ” Waverly asks, glaring at Nicole. “Or a Princess? I might not know sports but I know the Princesses better than Ma.”
Waverly smirks and Waves the Elena of Avalor toothbrush in Nicole’s face. “What Princess is this, Nicole?”
“Moana?” Nicole tilts her eyebrows upward and takes a guess. There are exactly zero Disney Princess movies that her niece or daughter have not seen and memorized. There are, however, many Disney Princess movies she’s fallen asleep to on rainy Friday nights.
“ It’s Elena!” Ariel exclaims, shaking her head as her Wavy begins to giggle.
“See? I happen to know that Elena comes on in the morning while I’m at work and before you go to Kindergarten. That’s why I didn’t know her name.” Nicole tries to backpedal and stares at the red handle of the toothbrush.
“Sure, baby. Make all of the excuses. Would you like the Elena toothbrush, Ariel?” Waverly stumbles backward as Nicole wraps her arms around her waist.
“Yeah,” Ariel says, grabbing the toothbrush from her Mama.
“Magic word?” Waverly asks, holding the toothbrush midair.
“Yeah please ,” Ariel answers, and the toothbrush is tossed into the cart.
“Where’s the Wayne Gretzky toothbrush?” Nicole peppers a kiss atop Waverly’s head and she can practically hear her girlfriend groan under her breath.
About thirty minutes later they drop Ariel off at the Homestead with their reusable bags full of merchandise. Wynonna climbs into Waverly’s jeep. The ladies are going to Buy Buy Baby to purchase clothes for Wynonna’s unborn daughter while Doc watches the girls.
The name Stevie has kind of stuck in the week since Ariel came up with it.
Although they have three girls between them, neither Waverly, Nicole, or Wynonna could prepare themselves for the flurry of expectant mothers raiding a maternity store at two o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon.
“Look!” Wynonna holds up a package of mustache-shaped binkies. “She’s Doc’s kid alright.”
“You sure about that?” Waverly jokes with her sister and Wynonna almost has her finger out when a saleswoman comes up behind them.
“Congratulations on your new arrival,” the saleswoman says, grinning candidly at Wynonna. “I saw your partner an aisle over and she said you were looking for the footie pajamas. We actually are having a sale right now that if you and your partner come in together, you can buy one get one free.”
Wynonna’s face goes from disgust to dollar signs because she can get something for free if she smacks one on Haught.
“Where is my Nicole? She’s always off doing someth-” As Nicole turns the aisle to greet her family and show off the adorable footie with lemons on it, her mouth makes a small o as Wynonna slinks an arm around her waist.
“You found them! Thanks, babe.”
Nicole looks toward her actual girlfriend for help. In the years they’ve known each other, Wynonna Earp has hugged Nicole exactly five times.
“They’re actually having a sale today, Nicole. If you come in with your partner you...uh...get a free pajama set, so it’s awesome that you’re here...with...uh…” Waverly stares at the ground as she tries not to stutter.
Realization hits Nicole’s face as her eyes widen and she smiles at her future sister-in-law. “I guess since I’m here we can grab the one with the watermelons too.”
The saleswoman grins from ear to ear as she turns toward Waverly and motions to Nicole. “Are you her sister?”
Meanwhile, the tiniest Earps are about to make a mess in the kitchen while Doc and Jeremy play cards in the living room.
“Can we decorate the cupcakes, Daddy?” Alice walks into the living room with Ariel trailing behind her, holding the Dollar Tree bag.
“Sure thing, kid. I think your Mom put the frosting on the counter,” Doc says.
“Yeah, but we got two frostings now, one red and one pink because Ariel said Auntie Waves and Auntie Nicole bought more at the Dollar store.”
(Later, Wynonna will blame Doc for being so oblivious to his daughter and niece’s antics in this particular moment, because why would Waverly and Nicole buy another tube of frosting if there was already a sufficient amount at home? )
Doc nods as Jeremy calls out “Uno!” which is Ariel’s favorite game aside from Rapunzel Memory Match. “And remember girls-”
“Only use a plastic knife, we know, Dad!” Alice interrupts her father and drags her cousin by the hand into the kitchen.
Ariel pushes her walker into the kitchen and dumps the contents of the reusable green bag onto the counter.
“See?” She holds up the pink tube with Barbie on the front so that her cousin can see. “It’s frosting. Mama said it comes out pink.”
Alice unscrews the tiny frosting cap and sniffs the pink contents of the tube. “It smells like bubblegum, Ariel. I can’t believe it.” She grabs the cupcake container and starts to swirl the frosting around in a circle like she’s seen people do on TV.
“My turn please.” Ariel takes the tube from her cousin and squeezes it onto the next few cupcakes. “Taste test?”
Alice grabs the frosting out of her cousin’s hands before she can sneak a lick. “We can’t Ariel. We’ll get in so much trouble.”
Ariel unscrews the cap of the red frosting as Alice continues to decorate the cupcakes in Barbie Bubblegum pink. Not surprisingly, the red frosting smells sugary sweet and Ariel wishes that her CoCo was here, because she’d let her take a lick. It’s not like Alice to follow the rules.
“Just one?” Ariel pleads with her cousin, and Alice shakes her head.
“We might not have enough. We need to make twelve red ones and twelve pinks so it’s perfect.”
The girls work hard on decorating the cupcakes without supervision and stick the cupcake toppers that boast HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY in gold letters atop the pink and red frosted treats. By the end of the project, sticky red and pink hands find their way into mouths.
Ariel doesn’t say it, but the bubblegum frosting tastes a lot like… well… toothpaste.
As Alice places the cupcakes into the holder, Ariel drags the walker behind her and goes into the living room.
“Ari! Come to join us?” Jeremy grins as Ariel toddles toward him and points upward.
“Up.” She climbs on Jeremy’s lap, and Doc deals her seven Uno cards. Ariel likes to yell UNO and it’s a way to get her to use her words, so whoever is playing with her usually lets her win.
Doc’s cell phone rings and it’s an incoming FaceTime call from Nicole. As he tries to slide his finger across the screen to answer the call, Ariel grabs the phone from his hand and unlocks it.
“Ma!” She yells into the phone and hears her CoCo giggle. “You’re coming home soon?”
“Ariel!” Nicole grins as her little girl’s face pops up on the screen. “We’ll be home in a little while. Mama’s picking out some new clothes for you, and me and Auntie NoNo are bored to tears.” Nicole flips the camera so her baby can see Waverly in the aisle, sorting through leggings.
Ariel shrugs. “I already have all of the Princess dresses.” She shows her Ma how she can twirl around in her Belle dress, and her curls fly around her head.
“I know you love the Princess dresses but you need other clothes too, Little Miss. What are you up to?” Ariel squeezes her hands together and tells her foster mother about the cupcakes.
“... and some are red and some are pink. ”
Nicole raises an eyebrow because she didn’t know that there was pink frosting in the cupboard.
“Pink?” She makes a P in sign language and flicks her fingers over her lips to sign pink.
Ariel bops her head up and down because she doesn’t know how her CoCo forgot about the new frosting they bought in the Dollar Tree this morning.
“It’s bubblegum pink, CoCo.”
Before Nicole can answer her little girl, Alice bursts into the living room holding two lopsided construction-paper hearts.
“ARIEL!” she exclaims. “Our homework! Remember?!”
Ariel tilts her head and her stomach sinks a little because she has homework that neither her CoCo or Wavy can help her with. They always help her with her homework but they just can’t this time, because her homework is supposed to be a surprise. This morning, Mrs. Lovejoy had told the class to make Valentine’s Cards for their parents and families. It’s just copying words from a piece of paper onto a heart, but Ariel doesn’t feel very confident in her writing skills.
“Oh.” Ariel hands the phone back to Doc dejectedly and walks into the kitchen where Alice has set up the markers, crayons, and stickers at the table. Alice lifts her cousin onto the seat and puts a paper heart in front of her.
“I’ll help you,” Alice announces. She holds the paper with the sentences out in front of her and points to each word as she reads the sample card.
“ Dear… Okay, write Dear dot dot dot.” Alice places her right hand over her cousin’s left and helps her trace the letters.
“C-O- spells Co Co .” Ariel uncaps a pink marker and tries to write her CoCo’s name. Alice crosses her arms and takes the marker from her cousin. Unphased, Ariel takes another marker from the bin and continues to focus on her writing.
“It says Dear dot dot dot, Ariel, so you have to write dot dot dot.” Ariel doesn’t let Alice take the marker from her hands and her cousin sighs, exasperated. She writes:
Dear dot dot dot,
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Love, Alice Earp
Ariel copies the entity of Alice’s card, replacing dot dot dot with CoCo and Wavy. She doesn’t know who dot dot dot is, and why she hasn’t met them if they’re a part of the Earp family. When she reaches the part that says Love she thinks of a better way to end her letter.
Dear Co and Wvy,
Hpy Valtine’s Day.
Your Friend, Ariel
“Your friend? Mrs. Lovejoy said you only put ‘Your Friend’ when you write a letter to a friend.” Alice remembers that she’s not supposed to criticize Ariel’s work, but she wants to help her cousin make the best card possible.
“It’s for my friends.” Ariel puts her hands over her heart, and Alice understands that maybe Ariel didn’t have a lot of friends before she came to live with the Earps.
“You’re my best friend, Ariel.” Alice pushes herself up on her knees and kisses her cousin on the cheek. Ariel stiffens but takes Alice’s hand in her own.
“Best friend,” she says, resting her head on Alice’s shoulder.
That night as they tuck her in between them, Ariel runs her fingers down her CoCo’s cheek.
“My card might not be perfect .” She hugs her Rapunzel doll to her chest. “Messy.”
“Perfect? Who said your card had to be perfect, Ariel?” CoCo presses a kiss to the crown of her head and an arm around her waist. Ariel feels protected and snug as a love bug with Waverly on one side of her, and Nicole on the other.
She finger spells her cousin’s name in the air.
“O h ,” says Wavy, and her face does the twisty thing where she tries not to smile. “Alice likes to help you sweetheart, and sometimes she doesn’t always understand that you like to do things your own way.”
“You like my card?” Ariel’s perplexed as she adjusts her nighttime diaper because CoCo pulled it up too high.
“We’ll love your card, Princess.”
Nicole grins at Waverly and then tickles their little girl’s tummy. Ariel giggles and pushes on her Ma's arms for her to stop.
“Will you be my Valentine tomorrow, Ariel?”
Ariel looks at her Mama and Ma in disbelief.
“Absolutely not. Waverly’s ’spos to be your Valentine. You can’t cheat on her.”
“I can’t have two Valentines?” Nicole throws her arms around her daughter and continues to tickle her.
Ariel puts her finger on her chin as to think.
“Mama’s your big Valentine and I’m your little Valentine.” She climbs onto Nicole’s back and tucks her head over Nicole’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around her neck.
“I want story, please. Read, Mama.”
Waverly takes Peppa’s Valentine’s Day from their bedside table and begins to read, pointing at each word. “ It is almost Valentine’s Day! There are lots of special cards and packages in the mail today.”
Nicole completely forgets her confusion about the pink frosting until they’re halfway to school with the cupcakes in tow.
“Let’s play the Listening Game. I’ll say a sentence and you have to tell me how many words are in it.”
Ariel loves to play the listening game in the car.
“I like cupcakes,” Nicole says.
“THREE!” Alice yells out and nearly hits Ariel in the head with her hands. “The Listening Game is just a counting trick, Ariel.”
“I like swirly cupcakes on Valentine’s Day,” Waverly adds, stopping at a red light.
“SEVEN!” Ariel throws her arms in the air and Alice gives her a high five.
They’re three-quarters of the way to school when Waverly smells a bubblegum scent in the air.
“The cupcakes smell, Auntie Wavy! The cupcakes smell.” Alice kicks her feet against the car seat as she holds the cupcake holder in her arms.
In the million things she’d forgotten to do last night, check on the cupcakes was one of them, because Doc had assured her it’d all been taken care of.
“It smells like bubblegum in here.” Waverly twists back in her seat and takes a good look at the cupcakes. Half of the cupcakes are opaque and red with sprinkles tossed atop the frosting. The other half are bright pink with sprinkles sticking to the edges. That’s when the extra gooeyness of the pink cupcakes hit her.
“Ariel, what happened to the new Barbie toothpaste we bought you yesterday?”
“We decorated the cupcakes with Barbie, Mama.” Ariel’s an honest child and looks up at her Mama’s confused face.
“With the Barbie toothpaste.... we bought yesterday?” Waverly questions her little girl, careful not to let her voice fluctuate so Ariel doesn't become scared.
“With the frosting, Mama.”
“ Ohhhhh .” That’s where the pink connection comes in, and Nicole feels like an idiot. “Princess, I think you might have… you might have thought that the toothpaste was frosting and decorated the cupcakes with the toothpaste.”
“Ewww!” Ariel begins to giggle, and Alice joins in. “We messed up, Ma. I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about, my Little Valentine. It’s actually pretty creative of you. ”
“What are we gonna do now?” Alice looks at her cousin as her Auntie Waverly switches lanes quickly.
“We’re running to Tim Hortons, sweetheart. TimBits are better than Toothpaste Cupcakes.” Waverly tries not to speed as she accidentally cuts off a car.
“Can we still eat the red ones CoCo?” Ariel’s eyes widen because she and her cousin worked so hard to decorate the cupcakes.
“Of course, Princess. I think we’ll have to give Uncle Doc a taste of the pink cupcakes since he didn’t watch you two in the kitchen like he was supposed to.” Nicole turns around in her seat and squeezes her daughter’s hand.
“I’m so proud of you two for trying to decorate the cupcakes by yourself, though. You girls did an awesome job.” Ariel returns her Ma’s hand squeeze because it means that everything will be okay.
“Me too, girls. I guess we’ll have to buy you more toothpaste for Ms. Vera’s class, Ariel.”
“Or….” Ariel squeezes her hands together. “You can just buy me some frosting instead.”
On her first Valentine’s Day with her Mama and Ma, Ariel learns that making a silly mistake doesn’t mean that she’s loved any less.
(For the record, Doc finds Barbie-Bubblegum-Toothpaste-Flavored cupcakes to be disgusting.)