Work Text:
"Okay, you ready?"
"Mmhm," Waverly smiled, snuggling under the blankets and watching as Nicole slid in next to her.
The bedside lamp was on, giving off just the right amount of soft light. She watched as Nicole settled in, propping herself up slightly against the pillows. The light glowed around her profile, illuminating her skin and highlighting her beautiful features; her red hair glowed like firelight. Waverly sighed and wiggled closer, eyes wide with anticipation.
"Okay, so where were we?" This had become their nightly routine. Odd as it was. Childish as it possibly was. Neither of them cared. On the nights they were lucky enough to be alone and going to bed—not crawling or falling into it with exhaustion—at the same time, this is how they liked to celebrate. This is how they relaxed together. It was their quality time in chaotic weeks where a few stolen kisses and whispered words of love in the evidence locker at the Sheriff's Office was their average level of interaction.
A few shared meals, hastily eaten before Nicole's radio crackled or Waverly's cell phone jangled obnoxiously. It was hard for the couple to find any down-time together, so they were careful to make it as best they could. To be happy in the quiet presence of one-another.
"Probably where you left the bookmark, silly."
"Oh, right," Nicole grinned, wrapping her arm around Waverly's shoulders and pulling her closer, "what would I do without you?"
"Gosh, we're getting close to the end," Waverly frowned.
"There's plenty more where this came from," Nicole assured the little brunette.
Nicole cleared her throat before taking a sip of water from a glass on the nightstand. She was about to start when Waverly chimed in again, "This is in my top five favorite things that we do together, you know."
"Oh, top five, eh?"
"Mm, it's up there somewhere."
"Can I guess what number one is?" Nicole smirked, rubbing her thumb over the soft skin of Waverly's shoulder.
"You think you're so smug but it's actually a toss up between that and kissing you," she giggled, lifting her head and pressing her lips against Nicole's. When she pulled back, Nicole had a stunned look on her face.
"Kissing me?"
"Mmhmm."
"Over...the other...things we do?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Well, I mean, you can kiss anybody!"
"Oh, I can? I'll have to remember that. There is that cute new ranch hand working for Mr. Danvers."
"Hey, now, I didn't mean-"
"Then what did you mean? Because I've kissed a few people, ya know, and not-a-one of 'em has ever kissed me like you do."
"Is that right?" The smirk returned, accompanied by those devilish dimples.
"I should really just shut-up. You certainly don't need your ego inflated even more than it already is," she laughed, dropping her face and snuggling into the redhead's chest.
"You think it's different because I'm...a woman?"
"I thought that, at first," Waverly breathed against her chest, "but something about saying that just seems...fake. Wrong. It's not just how your kiss feels, per se, you know, not just as a collection of nerve endings—but how it makes me feel. Or what it makes me feel—or, whatever. I don't know."
"What do my kisses make you feel?" Nicole asked softly against Waverly's hair.
"Safe. Happy. Loved. And before, it was like kissing was—well, okay, I dated this guy once," Waverly said, bouncing up onto her knees and turning to face Nicole, "we were joking about something, I can't remember what, but that doesn't matter, anyway," she breathed, "we made a bet and he said 'If you lose we have to make out for three minutes straight' and, of course, I lost and he set a timer and everything!"
Nicole howled with laughter, dropping her head back onto the pillow behind her.
"Hey! It's not funny!"
"It kinda is."
Waverly crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Nicole, "You suck."
"No, no," Nicole smiled, reaching a hand out and stroking Waverly's cheek and neck, "I get what you're saying. Kissing felt like...a bartering chip. Something that was maybe expected of you?"
"Exactly!" The smaller woman said, throwing her arms up and shaking her head. "Thank god you get me," she sighed, scooting back down under the sheets and curling against Nicole again.
"That's actually kind of sad, Wave."
"I know. It is. But the thing is...I guess it felt like a chore and that's why I remember that story so vividly. I mean, I wouldn't mind you having your tongue down my throat for three whole minutes!"
"Ha! Well, that's probably not true since I'm not such an avid tonsil hockey player."
"Maybe."
"I mean, this guy doesn't sound like he was very...grown up. Maybe you just didn't like kissing him because he wasn't really well-versed at kissing, yet. He could be an excellent kisser now."
"Pfft, I doubt it. He's married to that hoochie Sarah Evers who, if I remember correctly, was never long without somebody's tongue down her throat in high school!"
"Well, there. It's a match made in heaven," Nicole snorted. "Maybe she likes his style of kissing?"
"Ugh, gross."
"Or maybe," Nicole reached a hand down and lifted Waverly's chin, "I'm just a really good kisser." She pressed her lips to Waverly's softly and the smaller woman responded by sighing deeply into the kiss and fisting one hand into Nicole's hair. She kissed along the edge of Waverly's mouth and down to her chin, pulling her lower lip gently between her teeth. She let the lip go and nudged the brunette's nose with her own, pressing their foreheads together.
"Could be," Waverly breathed.
"Or maybe you just love me," Nicole grinned, snuggling back into the pillows.
"Hmm."
"Now, you want me to read or not?"
"Please," Waverly smiled, laying her head back onto Nicole's chest.
"'But, you see, Jo wasn't'...wait, what else is in your top five?"
"Umm, cuddling?"
"Oh, geez, okay," she cleared her throat, "'But, you see, Jo wasn't a heroine, she was only a struggling human girl like hundreds of others, and she just acted out her nature, being sad, cross, listless, or energetic as the mood suggested. It's highly virtuous to say we'll be good, but we can't do it all at once, and it takes a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether.'"
Before Nicole had finished two pages, the smaller woman was out like a light, snoring softly against her shirt. She shut the book, placing the bookmark safely in its spot, before switching off the lamp and attempting to slide down in the sheets. Waverly pulled closer, gripping the cotton of Nicole's sleep shirt and draping a leg over her thighs. Nicole sighed and shut her eyes and tried not to think about how smooth the skin of Waverly's legs felt.
"Nicole?" A small voice asked.
"Yeah, baby?"
"I'm not ready to be asleep, yet."
"Wave, you're exhausted. I barely made it two pages through Little Women. You said it's one of your favorites."
"I know, but it's...I have a hypothesis."
"A what?" Nicole's eye opened, confused.
"I mean, maybe, you know, my top two favorite things to do with you are always trading spots because, well, they're just so much fun to do at the same time."
"I see."
"So...I was thinking-"
"We should definitely test your theory," Nicole smiled, rolling Waverly onto her back and settling between her thighs, "for science."
"For science," Waverly giggled, wrapping her arms around Nicole's neck and pulling her down into a searing kiss.