Chapter Text
Nicole groaned, rolling onto her side to check the time on her cell phone.
2:14 AM.
What the shit? She thought, grabbing her glasses from the bedside table and flicking the lamp on. The loud knocking on the front door continued as she headed down the hallway, grabbing her service weapon as she went and flicking the safety off.
"Who's there?" She called through the closed door.
"'Tis me, Miss Haught, I'm sorry it's-"
Before he could finish, Nicole had unbolted and jerked the door open, panicked, "What's happened? Is it-"
"...so late," Doc finished lamely, standing on her front porch with a barely-standing, obviously drunk Waverly Earp propped up next to him and hiccuping softly. He took in Nicole's disheveled appearance, his eyes sparkling with genuine interest and amusement as he noted the faded t-shirt and loose boxers that were slung low around her hips.
"See! Tole ya shees got glasses," Waverly slurred happily, gesturing toward Nicole and sticking her tongue out at Doc who, for his part, managed to look sheepish and apologetic.
"You see, my dear," he continued, eyeing Nicole's gun warily as she lowered it and flicked the safety back on, "the young Miss Earp," here Waverly waggled her fingers at Nicole and giggled, "had a few too many during she and Wynonna's foray into town and once I finally managed to get these two ladies into my carriage there," he thumbed over his shoulder toward the hideous pink Cadillac idling noisily at the curb in front of Nicole's apartment, "this one would not quiet down about me shuttling her to her girlfriend's residence."
"We're not-" Nicole began to protest before Doc interrupted her with a placating gesture.
"I'm afraid, Officer Haught, that she does not remember the particulars of that...situation, and insisted. Quite vehemently, I'm afraid, and," he rushed on before Nicole could cut him off, "I have another equally as intoxicated Earp female passed out in my vehicle who I simply must attend to before she wakes up and drives away in my pink stallion."
"Oh, Nic," Waverly giggled, stumbling out of Doc's grip and falling toward Nicole, "I've missed you so much! Where have you been?"
Nicole, clumsy with sleep, grabbed the smaller woman with one arm and leaned to place her firearm gently on the lone table standing bare just inside the doorway.
"Doc," she threatened, her eyes narrowing, "you can't just-"
"I can and I have and I must be away, now," he interjected, turning and stepping quickly down the three wooden stairs leading toward the walkway. When he got to the car he turned to her and tipped his hat, "A good night to you, Officer. Thank you kindly for the help."
Nicole watched helplessly as he sped away, leaving a trail of exhaust in the cool, night air. When she finally came to her senses, she noticed a drunk Waverly Earp toying clumsily with the hem her shirt.
"Hey, sexy," Waverly smiled up at her, batting her lashes exaggeratedly.
Nicole groaned inwardly, tugging the girl into the apartment and shutting the door. She maneuvered the drunk woman, not so gently, toward the hallway and into the bedroom.
"You read my mind," Waverly's voice was low and sultry.
"Wave, hold still, just let me get this damn coat off," Nicole spoke firmly, not meeting the smaller woman's eyes.
"Gonna get me outta my clothes so fast?"
Nicole yanked the coat down Waverly's arms and pushed her back into a sitting position on the bed and knelt down, tugging at the laces of her furry boots.
"Be quiet," she drawled, pulling first one then the next boot from the brunette's small feet.
"Oh," Waverly smiled, flopping back onto the bed, "bad cop, eh?"
"Waverly," she began, tugging at the girl's socks, "you can't just show up here in the middle of the night and...and..." She trailed off, glancing up toward the bed. Waverly was out, dead to the world for all intents and purposes. Nicole shook her head, frowning slightly, and continued tugging Waverly's clothes off until she was down to her underwear.
Tired and upset, she tucked Waverly's limp frame under the covers and contemplated making her way back into the living room and crashing onto the couch. Shrugging and shaking her head, she looked down at Waverly's snoring form under the sheets and slipped into the bed beside her. She'd just finished working a double shift and the thought of thrashing the night away on the couch was just too much to bear. Not when she had a perfectly good bed right here.
You've got this, Nicole, she thought, settling onto the mattress, you've been here before, you're okay.
==========================================
Waverly cracked her eyes open slowly and brought a hand up to cradle her forehead. Good lord, she thought, how much did I drink last night? Am I...naked? She peeked under the soft sheets and looked down at her body, noting with some relief that her underwear and bra were still in place. However, she wasn't the only body under the covers and she slowly lifted her gaze to the pillow beside her to find long strands of brilliant red hair splayed wildy around a serene and sleeping Nicole Haught.
Nicole!
Waverly froze, one hand on her forehead while the other still held the sheets open. Her eyes darted around the room and the familiarity of it all flooded into her memory; she was in Nicole's apartment. In Nicole's bed. With Nicole.
I'm gonna kill Wynonna, was her next thought.
Embarrassed, she tried to think of a way to sneak off without disturbing the sleeping officer. Before she could make a move, however, Nicole shifted beside her, tossing an arm across her waist and snuggling closer. "Wave," she mumbled, smacking her lips slightly and burrowing her face into the brunette's neck.
Shit! Shit, shit, shitty shit!
The sensations were all too familiar; Nicole's soft breathing against her skin, the slightly calloused pads of her fingers wrapped firmly about her waist, the crisp clean smell of her morning skin. It had been two months since she'd found herself waking up in this bed. In this room. Curled tightly against Nicole's front. She remembers how she'd wake in the early morning light and wait, excited and unmoving, for Nicole to wake up, too, unable to bring herself to rouse the redhead herself even though all she really wanted was to kiss her girlfriend awake and never stop kissing her until they had to go to sleep again the next night. She hadn't forgotten just how happy she'd been. How her mornings had been filled with anticipation and yearning and wonder and magical touches and now...well, now, every morning brought just another day to get through. Another grind. Another revenant to track. And all for what? So she could make it through the day alive and go back home to her empty bed and hollow nightmares. To her now-boring mornings and lonely breakfasts.
How did I end up here? It was a double-edged question, she knew. She wasn't just confused about the here and now of being partially naked in Nicole's bed but, also, the reasons she'd stopped being here in the first place. I had to do it, she reasoned. It was for her own damn good, damn it to shit!
But feeling the way Nicole now held her and molded to her again so effortlessly and completely made her question herself. Her decision. The decision. It almost made her question her sanity, when she felt Nicole's thumb begin tracing lazy circles over her ribs.
God, I miss this.
She was just about to turn in Nicole's embrace and let go of every inhibition holding her back and give in to all of her suppressed angst when, suddenly, Nicole was pushing away from Waverly as if she'd been stung—though, Waverly supposed, she kinda had been—and was quickly ripping back the covers and standing at the side of the bed, purposefully not looking at Waverly. Waverly looked down and noted her exposed torso and bra-clad chest and moved to pull the sheets up and cover herself.
"Nic, I-"
"Spare me," Nicole spat, grabbing her thick-framed glasses from the bedside table and shuffling toward the bedroom door. "I'll make you some coffee."
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Waverly! She chastised herself as she climbed from the bed, searching for her clothes which, of course, were neatly folded and stacked on top of Nicole's dresser. She hastily made the bed—the least I can do!--before exiting the room and heading for the bathroom. She could hear Nicole banging pots and pans around in the kitchen as she ducked into the bathroom only to find a new, still-packaged toothbrush sitting out for her on the edge of the sink next to the container that held Nicole's contact lenses.
She sighed and went about scrubbing her face, puffy from drink and lack of sleep, and brushing her teeth. When she finally entered the kitchen, Nicole was still wearing just her boxers and a t-shirt but had pulled her hair up into a loose ponytail.
"Eggs?" She asked, not looking up.
"Um, sure, thanks," she replied, settling onto a stool at the high counter and reaching for the coffee carafe.
They ate in a deep, devastating silence. Waverly was unable and unsure of how to begin. She'd once felt so comfortable and sure of herself around Nicole and now, well, not so much. And it's all my fault, she mused darkly.
"You can borrow a clean shirt or something if you need to," Nicole spoke down at her eggs, the sudden break in silence startling Waverly from her reverie, "you remember where the closet is, I assume."
"I, uh—yes, yes I do," she tried to sound chipper and grateful, "thanks." Inside, her heart was breaking all over again. She took in Nicole's tired frame as the redhead stared down at her eggs, poking them unenthusiastically with her fork; her shoulders, once so sturdy and straight, were slumped forward in defeat. I did this to her, was all Waverly could think. But, I had to! I had to, right?
"You might grab a coat while you're in there, too," Nicole said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her index finger—a familiar move that squeezed Waverly's heart in her chest, a mundane gesture she'd always found to be overwhelmingly adorable—and continuing, "there was something...spilled, I think, on your jacket. I threw it in the washing machine."
"You didn't have to do that," Waverly whispered, breaking eye contact.
"I know," Nicole sighed, "but I don't mind."
===========================================
Waverly was in Nicole's closet, rummaging around for something that would fit her without hanging down to her thighs. She could hear Nicole clearing the dishes and turning on the tap in the kitchen.
"Waverly, do you need help down there?" The redhead called.
Panicking, Waverly grabbed the closest shirt—a white tank-top—she could find and hastily yanked a black, wool peacoat from its hanger as well.
"Nope, all good in here!" She called back, pulling the top over her head and tying a quick knot in the fabric at the small of her back—a now mindless habit from her time spent working at Short's—and rushing from the bedroom.
When she stepped back into the kitchen, Nicole was soaping up a plate and looking at her with an amused smirk, "Interesting choice," she nodded at the shirt.
Waverly looked down, confusion furrowing her eyebrows together, and read the front of her shirt. 'Pride Toronto - 2014' was emblazoned across the chest followed by a waving, rainbow flag.
"Oh," she managed, "yeah, well." They stood smiling at each other for a few more moments, these ones not as awkward as before, when Waverly finally managed to say, "Thank you, Nicole. I'm so sorry about last night."
"It was no problem, really," the redhead replied, turning her attention back to the dishes.
"I owe you one," she smiled.
"Yeah, yes you do," Nicole replied, sounding sad again.
"'Kay, well, I'll see you at the station."
"Yep, sure thing. I'll bring your jacket on my next shift."
"I appreciate all this, Nic, I really do," she said softly, scooting closer and raising up on her toes to press a quick kiss to the taller woman's cheek. She turned away when she saw that Nicole's skin was beginning to flush crimson.
"You don't want a ride somewhere?" Nicole's eyes didn't leave the fork she was scouring rather thoroughly.
"Oh, no, that's not necessary," Waverly swatted a hand through the air. "I think a brisk walk and some fresh air will do me a lot of good," she tossed over her shoulder, grasping the doorknob and twisting.
"Alright, then, good-bye, Waverly."
"Bye, Nicole."
Once outside, Waverly leaned back against the door, steadying her pounding heart with deep, purposeful breaths. Shaking her head, she hopped down the steps to the hard sidewalk and tossed Nicole's coat around her shoulders, shrugging her arms into the sleeves. Pulling it tight around her, she could smell Nicole's distinctly Nicole smell wafting from the fabric. She sighed heavily—Of course it smells like her, you idiot!--and pushed the broad buttons through the holes, securing the coat before delving her already-freezing hands into the pockets.
What the frick? She wondered, feeling something square and velvety at the bottom of the deep, silk-lined pocket. Retracting her hand, she brought the small box up and held it in front of her face, curious. She flicked the lid open with her other hand and gasped, freezing abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk.
The ring was gorgeous and obviously quite old. It was clear that a lot of work had been done to improve and restore the ring's original luster. The stone, possibly an emerald, gleamed brilliantly at the center. "What on earth?" She youngest Earp wondered aloud to nobody in particular.
Oh, my god, Waverly suddenly thought, panicking as realization dawned on her. She was going to...Nicole had planned to ask her...Oh, my god.
TO BE CONTINUED...?