Work Text:
Nicole was browsing through the Purgatory public library aisles, hands casually grazing books as she passed by. She was quietly humming to herself, eyes wandering the shelves, when she found a familiar sight. Waverly was a few rows down, a stack of manuscripts and old records at her feet. Stretched to her full capacity, her fingertips were just barely grazing a dusty book on an upper shelf. Nicole smiled fondly and quietly walked over.
“Well Ms. Earp, fancy seeing you here.”
Waverly started, but upon recognizing Nicole turned back to her task at hand and sighed dramatically. “Please stop sneaking up on me in here. What if I’d yelled and brought the librarians running?” But her chastising was belied by the smile tugging at her lips.
Nicole just laughed. “Well that would be something to see.” She glanced down at Waverly’s collection. “Back at the county archives?”
“Mmhmm.” Waverly was biting her lip, calculating how to reach her desired book. Upon determining that it was physically impossible to reach without climbing the shelves, she turned to Nicole. “Could you…?” She tilted her head toward the bookcase.
Nicole bowed with a flourish of her arm. “Madame, it would be my pleasure.” She plucked the book off the shelf and proudly presented it to Waverly.
Waverly rolled her eyes. “Nicole, this is not the 16th century.”
“So?” She turned to Waverly with a serious look. “Am I not allowed to aid my lady fair?” With that she gracefully lifted Waverly’s free hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it.
Waverly blushed and began hurriedly gathering the stack into her arms. Nicole smiled and eyed the pile again. “Dolls having you do more research?”
“Yes. Well kind of.” She rearranged some manuscripts and began moving towards the front desk. “He mentioned some hypothetical situations that I want to get a jump on.”
Nicole eyed Waverly’s stack more critically. “Can I help?”
Waverly sighed, but pulled to halt. “Well if you simply must continue being gallant… you could grab the top few binders and books here.”
“Oh. Well that’s not what I meant.” Nicole glanced at Waverly. “Not that I can’t do that too!” She began rapidly grabbing material. “But I mean… do you need help with the research itself?”
Waverly looked somewhat taken aback. “Well…” She looked down apologetically. “The town history is kind of my area of expertise but maybe if you…” She glanced up hopefully. “How well do you know Latin?”
//
Wynonna had come home late, as per usual, with a bottle of whiskey in hand. Usually she’d nurse it for a while and crash on her couch. But upon approaching it tonight, she pulled up short.
“What in the world…?”
Waverly’s boxes of archives were scattered around the area, lids ajar. Aging papers were strewn across the floor in various piles. By the wall were numerous maps with color-coordinated thumb tacks embedded, the result of some form of diagramming. None of this was particularly surprising. Wynonna had seen Waverly enter a state of research frenzy before. But what was surprising was seeing Nicole and Waverly lying fast asleep on opposite sides of her couch, legs intertwined. Nicole’s arm was draped over the edge, while Waverly still had an open book on her lap. With the endearing nature of the sight, it was quite clear that Wynonna wouldn’t be sleeping on her couch tonight.
Wynonna closed her eyes and sighed, making her way to the hall closet to retrieve a spare blanket. She quietly walked over and gently removed Waverly’s book. Shaking her head, she placed the cover over Nicole and Waverly with surprising care. Before turning to leave, she paused to take in the sight of the two of them, utterly exhausted but peacefully content. Wynonna shook her head again, mumbling something about going soft in her old age. With another sigh she retrieved her whiskey and made her way to Waverly’s room to take advantage of the free bed.
What Wynonna didn’t notice was Nicole silently stirring and catching a glimpse of her as she left. Nicole just smiled to herself, stretching a little before snuggling back into the warm confines of the blanket. She had suspected Wynonna was a big softie at heart. Still smiling, she settled back into sleep.