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As the helicopter lifted off, taking away her niece to parts unknown, Waverly Earp sighed, a profound sense of relief washing over her at last. The baby was safe. Wynonna was safe. She wasn't half revenant. And as strong, loving arms wrapped around her from behind, she was reminded of something else. She had the love of her life with her once more, happy, healthy, and while still technically married, definitely very much all hers.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A month later, it was time to go and celebrate because that last little thing sticking in Waverly's mind was gone. Shae was as good as her word and had signed the divorce paperwork unasked for. Working across the borders to get all the legalities taken care of had taken a few weeks, but at last, every database was updated the world over. Nicole Haught was an unmarried woman and her emergency contact had been correctly updated to reflect that.
Rather than go to Shorty's, the happy couple had decided to go into the big city and have a true night out, just the two of them. Allie's Echo was a new club in the tiny district of gay bars in town. Named for the nickname the owner's girlfriend had given her, it was almost exclusively a womyn-only bar, and any person rude enough to attempt to challenge someone's sexuality was promptly dispatched with zero leeway. What men came in generally stayed with the partner they walked in with or behaved respectfully or else. Nicole had done a bit of research and discovered that not only was Allie's Echo going to be a place they could go and not get hit on by drunken men all night, they were having karaoke night. And there were few things Nicole Haught loved more than watching Waverly sing.
Given that the 'big city' was big relative only to Purgatory, it didn't surprise either woman when they walked into the bar that there were only about 20 people inside. It was, after all, a Thursday evening. Still, the faces that looked toward the door as they entered seemed friendly enough, and the singer on stage at the moment was pretty good, despite the fact that she was singing a country song about being dumped. As they approached the bar, the singer was finishing her last verse and rolling into a chorus that called for a shot of whiskey. She left the stage, microphone still in hand, and brushed past Nicole as she sang the last line, "Pour meeeeeeeeeee!" She cut off abruptly as she snatched a hat sitting on the bar, put it on her head, and tossed the shot of whiskey waiting underneath it to cheers all around. She placed the shot glass back on the bar, walked the microphone back up to the KJ, and came back to stand once more next to Nicole.
"Sorry, didn't mean to shove in. Jane always slips the shot under the hat to make people cheer when I sing the song for her, but I always seem to forget until right before the end." She plucked the hat from her head and held it out to the bartender once more, never looking away from the tall redhead to her left. "But it saves me buying a shot and lets me have extra cash to buy one for lovelies like yourself. You gonna sing something, gorgeous?" The words had come out in a rush from the singer, who smiled up at Nicole, ignoring an increasingly disgruntled Waverly.
"Who, me sing? Maybe later," came the startled reply. "I'm more interested in watching Waves sing. Oh, sorry. This is Waverly, my girlfriend." Nicole wasn't new to this game. While she'd found her confidence in flirting before she ever met Waverly, she'd never been one to blatantly try to poach someone else's girl. She lifted their interlocked hands, pressing a kiss to delicate fingers to soothe away any ruffled feathers. "I'm Nicole."
"Charmed," was the flat response. "Well, if you decide to talk to someone who can see over the bar, come find me Cutie." And with that, the singer, who'd never introduced herself, swept away, smirking rudely at Waverly as she passed her.
"What the hell was that?" asked Waverly as she watched the woman saunter off. "People like me. Why did she have to act like that? And what's with the height joke? She's what, two inches taller than me?" This was not something she had planned for. She knew her girlfriend was beautiful. She just hadn't factored on people hitting on her while they were literally holding hands in a gay bar. The fact that Nicole had been the one hit on instead of herself was immaterial.
"Who knows, babe? And it doesn't matter, because I only have eyes for you, my sweet," Nicole leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to one cheek, "loving," a kiss to the other cheek, "absolutely wonderful," a gentle peck to the tip of a small nose, "love of my life." This time the kiss landed where they both wanted it to, lips meeting and moving together for several seconds. Funny how they were able to come out of it on their own without Wynonna showing up to distract them.
Eventually, they parted and Nicole was happy to see the light reemerge in Waverly's eyes. They ordered drinks and settled in at a tall table to look through the book of songs and wait for Waverly's turn to sing. There was a small dance space directly in front of the stage that had a few people moving around in it depending on the song, and several high tables placed around the perimeter of the room with the wrap around bar at the center with stools, most of which were full. As the sun finished going down and late evening moved more solidly toward night, the atmosphere picked up as the room began to fill.
Song after song was played, some singers quite obviously intoxicated to the point of courage but also inability to carry a tune. Many were decent, and a couple had been downright amazing. Just as the third round of drinks arrived at their table, Waverly's name was called out. She'd chosen to let Nicole pick her first song and had no clue what was going to play as she stepped on stage, but she knew in her heart that she trusted the love of her life. So when the opening riffs to Natalie Merchant's "Wonder" played, she grinned and nodded an acceptance of the choice.
Secretly, she was pleased. The song was more than a little self-aggrandizing, but knowing that Nicole had picked it for her, knowing that the words of the song were meant to show how extraordinary her beloved thought she was, made it all the better. The fact that it fit her voice quite well was also a bonus. She looked out through the now crowded dance floor to where Nicole sat, smiling as she watched, drink raised halfway to her mouth, forgotten. Waverly's smile mirrored Nicole's as she began to sing.
The chorus was one that every woman in the room knew, and the entire bar's voice lifted up together as Waverly performed. She laughed and smiled and suddenly was feeling all the good that she usually felt around people, helping them feel better about themselves as she made each person believe that she was smiling at them alone. She'd always had this skill, though she didn't know quite where it had come from, given that no one else in the family had that kind of charisma.
As the song wound down, she glanced over to the table, only to be startled as she saw no fewer than three women clustered around Nicole, blocking their view of one another almost entirely. Barely staying on stage long enough to return the microphone to the KJ and get her well-deserved applause, she began moving back toward her girlfriend and the opposition.
Alas, many people had loved her song and kept trying to speak to her as she moved past them. Unfailingly incapable of being overtly rude without there being imminent danger, she thanked each person, admitted that yes, she had a drink already, yes she might sing again later, but right now, she really needed to get back to her girlfriend. And so it took nearly until halfway into the next song (a truly ear-shattering rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart no less) before she was able to arrive at the side of her favorite cop.
As she had approached, Waverly had taken a look at the women - it was four now - who were trying to hit on Nicole. Even she could tell that it was trying, because as she came into hearing range of her girlfriend's voice, she heard Nicole waxing philosophical about rock climbing, completely oblivious to the four rapturous faces ogling her rather than paying attention. Well now Waverly knew. This wasn't a time to be jealous. They'd discussed what had happened with Rosita, Nicole was divorced from Shae, and they were solid.
No, this was time to show off and be possessive in such a way that only heightened the sexual tension that had been thrumming between the pair since Nicole had picked her up at the homestead. The youngest Earp slipped up behind her babbling partner and trailed the very edge of her nails along the collar of Nicole's shirt. The taller woman jerked away, interrupting herself and automatically starting to demure and remove the offending hand when she saw the package it was attached to. "Waves, there you are! You were amazing sweetie, I loved it."
Waverly smiled at the reaction, knowing that the women around them didn't really need what she was about to do to know that they were barking up the wrong tree, gorgeous though she might be. Simply the change in those eyes from excited to adoring was enough. But she wanted to do one better. "Why Officer Haught, thank you for the compliment. I need to give you proper credit and thanks for the song choice though." Small hands wound their way up around the back of Nicole's head and pulled her down to press their foreheads together. Fingers trailed their way to soft cheeks, giving gentle caresses as one tilted the other's head to the perfect angle and then they were kissing, sharing breath, sharing space, and the world faded out around them.
She'd intended it to be hot and steamy and for it to result in her much taller girlfriend picking her up and possibly literally carrying her off, but instead, they just got lost in one another. Gentle kisses, lingering kisses, artful but delicate touches of tongues, all of it just cemented how very much in love they were with one another. When they broke apart several minutes later, gasping slightly, they realized that the hangers on around the table had all wandered off save one.
The lone woman remaining had tears in her eyes. Dashing the tears away as she shook herself back to reality, she spoke at last. "I'd come over here to compliment your singing and offer to buy you both a drink for the entertainment you provided, but after seeing that, I feel the need to go find my own girlfriend and see if I can raise that much love around us when I kiss her. I don't know what's gone on in your lives to lead you to each other, but take it from a stranger who took a long time to find her person. Hold her, keep her, and always stay aware of each other." She smiled at each of them in turn, not really seeming to speak to one more than the other.
She walked off as the two young lovers looked at each other in confusion at the word choices, but they both broke into a smile as they realized that these were things they already intended. No matter what was coming down the road, they had each other.