Work Text:
Waverly drummed her fingers against the sticky counter as she surveyed the patrons of the bar. It was a slow night, the regulars the only ones settled in for the evening and too busy nursing their drinks to distract Waverly from her thoughts. Thoughts of a certain smile that she hadn’t been able to get out of her head over the last few days, even with the threat of Revenants breathing down her neck. And the warm eyes that accompanied that smile, sparkling in the bar’s overhead lights, haunted her, followed her wherever she went.
She shook the thoughts from her head and checked her phone for the gazillionth time that night—okay, maybe it was only the tenth—for a message that refused to appear. The only one she had received was from Wynonna, and not even about Revenants. Instead, it was a reminder that she was only a consultant to her and Deputy Marshall Dolls, not an actual agent. No cool badge or code-name for her. No flamethrowers either, from the looks of it.
Waverly pouted at the lack of Revenant news from her sister. She had hoped they would need her consulting by now. She would rather go toe to toe with a Revenant right now than keep thinking about—
“Now if that’s not the most adorable sight in Purgatory, I don’t know what is,” a distinctly feminine, distinctly familiar voice called from the doorway, and Waverly’s cheeks flushed a deep red at the sight of the very woman she was trying to distract herself from.
Her eyes flickered down to the card she had tucked against the side of the register, but she refused to let her gaze linger too long before she looked back up. She bit back a gasp when she saw the other woman had already crossed the room and now stood a mere foot away from her, the bar the only barrier between them.
“Officer Haught,” she said, but any other words she may have said caught in her throat. The sight of the officer in civilian clothing instead of her uniform had stalled her thoughts. Waverly had to admit she wore the denim jacket and white tank-top as well as any of the rodeo boys around town, and seeing her with her red hair free instead of braided back was having an… effect. Waverly’s fingers twitched, the urge to run them through the bright tresses filling every nerve.
“Crap, I didn’t accidentally wear my uniform, did I?” she teased. She gave herself a once-over and when she met Waverly’s gaze again, that damn smile was back. The one that made Waverly’s insides go all gooey. “Nope. Guess that means you can call me ‘Nicole’ instead of 'Officer’.”
Waverly ducked her head to hide the blush she could feel crawling up her cheeks. She mentally chided herself for the reaction. Not even Champ had been able to get her flustered like this. Granted, Champ didn’t set a very high bar, but that was beside the point.
“Sorry,” and Waverly could practically feel the sincerity filling the woman’s words, “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. May I start over?”
She looked up and met the sparkling eyes that were still watching her so fondly. She had caught those eyes following her throughout town over the last few days. There had been nothing malicious—just a curious gaze that studied her whenever they crossed paths and a warm smile whenever the officer realized she had been caught staring.
Waverly cleared her throat, hoping it would coax her elusive voice out of hiding. “It’s okay,” she said, relieved when she didn’t stumble over her words, “I’m just having a hard time separating the cop from the woman.”
The officer—Nicole—hummed and leaned forward so her elbows rested on the bar. “I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel like a different person when I have the badge on,” she admitted. “It seems I’m a little more charming when I’m in uniform rather than out of it.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
The words escaped before Waverly could stop them and she desperately wished she could go back to when her voice had fled. At least then it didn’t betray every thought she held in her head. The smile she received in response was enough to make the slip of the tongue worthwhile. And it brought the butterflies to life in her stomach. Maybe butterflies weren’t so bad.
“You know, you’re open now,” Nicole said. “What are the chances of a girl getting a drink around here?”
“I dunno. We’re pretty swamped tonight. Might be a while before I can get to you,” Waverly said. Nicole looked over her shoulder at the sleepy patrons inhabiting the tables, but quickly returned her attention to Waverly, raising her eyebrow. “Around these parts, we like to call that a joke. What would you like?”
“I was thinking something along the lines of a shot of whiskey and maybe a pitcher of something on tap.”
Waverly blinked back her surprise, but she pulled the bottle of Jack and a shot glass from under the counter. The glass clinked against the counter as she placed it in front of Nicole. She had barely finished pouring the shot when Nicole took the glass and threw the drink back. She placed the glass back on the counter with another delicate clink and flashed an appreciative smile. Waverly rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corners of her lips, so she quickly turned towards the tap and grabbed the cleanest pitcher she could find.
“I could have sworn you were going to order a cappuccino,” she absently remarked as she filled the pitcher. “You were so hellbent on havin’ one the other day.”
“It’s eleven thirty and I’m not on duty tonight. Little late for anything caffeinated,” Nicole replied. “Besides,” she said, leaning in closer, “I’m saving that cappuccino order until I can share it with a special someone. You might know her, actually.”
It was the following wink that did Waverly in and made her drop the pitcher of beer.
“Damn it. Sorry. You don’t have to pay for that,” she said. She grabbed another pitcher and quickly filled it, foam sloppily frothing over the rim as she set it in front of Nicole, along with an empty glass.
Yanking the towel off the counter, she knelt on the floor to clean up the mess she had made, but had to close her eyes to blink back her frustration. This was silly. She was silly. She shouldn’t be so worked up over something so small. But Nicole had called her special. Her whole life had been spent in her sisters’ shadows, had been spent trying to keep in line so she wouldn’t wind up committed the way Wynonna had. And she understood, she really did. Wynonna wanted her to be safe. But pretending to be someone she wasn’t had led to… settling.
Settling for sweetheart wallflower status.
Settling for a bar-tending job in small town Purgatory.
Settling for Champ.
And Wynonna had the nerve to show up after three years of wandering the world and tell her she deserved better, as if she didn’t already know.
Waverly sighed and tossed the towel on the puddle of beer, wary of the glass shards as she started to dab at the puddle. A soft hand took hers and she startled at the contact as if she had actually touched one of the shards.
An apologetic smile was on Nicole’s face, and those damn dimples made Waverly want to forgive her for whatever she thought she had done wrong.
“Maybe I’m coming on too strong,” Nicole said. She reached up with her free hand and tucked a stray strand of Waverly’s hair behind her ear, letting the touch linger a moment before she pulled back. “Tell me if I’m making you feel uncomfortable?”
There were many things Officer Haught made her feel—flustered, awkward, and silly, just to name a few—but uncomfortable was not one of those things. Mostly, she made her feel special in a way no one else had in a long time, and Waverly was so tempted to give in to those warm brown eyes and inviting lips simply because of that.
But the fact remained that she still had Champ. And he had hurt her on so many occasions, fooled around with so many others, that maybe he deserved a little bit of petty revenge, but she couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t taint whatever was building between her and Nicole for someone like Champ.
“You’re fine,” Waverly finally said, and a rush of air escaped Nicole’s lips. A triumphant smirk appeared on Waverly’s face. “Don’t tell me you were nervous over lil ol’ me, Officer Haught.”
It was Nicole’s turn to blush brightly. “And if I was?”
Waverly thought it over for a moment before she said, “Well, I’d tell you you have nothing to be nervous about.”
And against her better judgement, she went with her gut and brushed her lips against Nicole’s cheek. It was an innocent action, but it was also a promise to herself and Nicole. When she pulled away, Nicole’s eyes were wide and it seemed Waverly had left her speechless. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered again at the reaction.
She knew then and there that she would have to talk to Champ sooner than she had planned.