8. You Sure are a Clever One

Nicole jumped out of her car as soon as she pulled up. She ran in the door and heard noises coming from upstairs. Taking the stairs two at a time, she plowed into Waverly’s room. She saw her sitting on the floor in the same position she was in after her attack. Wynonna shot up from sitting in front of her sister and rushed over to Nicole, grabbing onto her arms.

“I heard her scream, so I came up and found her like this. She keeps breaking down and then freezing. I-” Wynonna shook her head. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh god, ok,” Nicole breathed out, looking past Wynonna and down at Waverly. She noticed her eyes were locked on something, so Nicole followed them up to a picture on her dresser. 

It was of Champ.

 Nicole dashed over and pushed it face down, tracing her eyes around the room, trying to see if there were more. She saw polaroids hooked to her wall and rushed over, pulling the ones with Champ in them down. 

Once she was sure she had gotten any that she could see in view at the moment, she grabbed the picture off her dresser and handed it all to Wynonna. “Add these to your burn pile,” she mumbled. Nicole walked over to Waverly and sat down next to her. Wynonna walked out and shut the door behind her, mouthing a thank you to Nicole. 

Nicole looked towards Waverly, seeing how her hard eyes were now locked on her dresser and her nails were dug deep into the skin on her legs. Nicole pushed herself up off the ground and walked over to the dresser, furrowing her brow when she didn’t see anything there. She slowly walked back over to Waverly and sat down in front of her, gently moving her hands to cup over Waverly’s. “Hey . . .” She gently pulled on them, getting her to detach her fingers from her thighs.

Waverly’s eyes snapped up to meet Nicole’s, and tears rushed her eyes again. Her hands pulled from being in Nicole’s so she could cover her face, and she pulled her knees in closer to her chest. Nicole let out a sad sigh, sliding her hands up and down the sides of her legs. “It’s ok, Wave . . . I promise.” 

They sat quiet besides Waverly’s cries and Nicole’s hushes for a few minutes before Waverly finally spoke after calming down a little. She lifted her head from her hands, clutching the shirt at her chest. “D-Did you get them all?” she asked, her voice breaking as another tear rolled down her cheek.

“I think so,” Nicole answered quietly, rubbing her hands on her legs again.

Waverly grabbed one of her hands and pulled her closer, getting her to sit next to her so she could curl into her side. They sat in silence for another couple of seconds before she spoke again. “Can you . . . like, clear my phone of him?”

Nicole looked down at her with a raised brow. “Are you sure you want me snooping through all of your pictures?” she asked with a little laugh.

“I would rather you find something bad than Nonna,” she admitted, looking up at her and tipping her head with a little smile.

“That’s fair. If I find any good ones, I’m sending them to myself, though.” She shot Waverly a wink and unpeeled her from her side before standing. 

Waverly did the same with a newly developed blush on her face, and she walked towards the door. “It's right there on the nightstand. The passcode's 9895. Go ahead and get started, I’ll be right back with some snacks . . . We might be here for a while.”

“It is not safe to use your birthday as your passcode, Waves, hackers are everywhere! You know that!” Nicole called out even though she was already halfway down the stairs. 

Waverly grinned at the fact that she knew her birthday, shaking her head as she made her way down the rest of the way. She came back up a few moments later with 2 cans of root beer and a box of Cheeze-its. “Hope you like root beer,” she said, tossing Nicole a can and sitting down on the bed next to her.

“Damn, Earp, you’re good,” she grinned, popping open the can and taking a drink.

“I am a bartender, it's kinda my job,” she chuckled, nudging Nicole with her shoulder.

“So,” she started, leaning back onto the pillows and crossing her ankles. “Should we start at the beginning or now?”

“You pick,” Waverly shrugged with a mouthful, picking up the remote and flipping the TV on.

“Well, I would really like to see some 2011 Waverly right now,” Nicole smirked, scrolling to the bottom of the pictures.

“Trust me, you don’t.” They both laughed. “Shall we watch the episode of Friends we left off on?”

“Indeed we shall." Nicole took a handful of crackers, clicking on the first picture. It was taken on September 8th, 2011. It featured a younger-looking Waverly taking a group selfie. She assumed it was her Sweet 16 birthday party and she had just gotten a new phone. “Oooo, I think you with braces is my new favorite thing.

“Ewwwww! No, I hate that picture!” Waverly complained, swiping to the next one. It was of a small fluffy brown dog. “Aww, Teddy! I miss him. He died at the beginning of last year. He was my best friend.”

Nicole's lip pouted. “I’m sorry. He looked like he was a very good boy.”

“When he wasn’t eating my socks, yeah.” Nicole laughed at that. She continued scrolling. It was mostly pictures of Waverly and her friends, selfies, and random pictures of nature. After a little while, she was getting into the summer of 2012, and she knew that was around the time when Waverly and Champ had started dating. She scrolled onto a picture of Waverly holding a beer bottle. There were people with bottles in the background. It looked like a party of some sort.

Nicole let out a faux gasp. “Ms. Earp, how scandalous! Underaged drinking? I can't believe this!”

Waverly leaned into her to look at it, and she let out a snort. “Oh boy, that was Jessie Reyes’ Sweet 16. Her parents had to be out of town so they paid up for it by letting her have a few friends over. Those few friends turned into over half our grade and a whole lotta alcohol. She got her ass beat.” Waverly let out a laugh, thinking back of that night. It was the first time she had ever tried alcohol.

“Sounds like it was a blast.” Nicole chewed the inside of her lip for a moment before looking towards her. “Jessie Reyes, huh?” she asked, trying not to sound too suspicious.

Waverly met her eyes with a nod. “Yeah, you know her?”

“I dunno, the name just sounds familiar,” she lied, continuing on. 

It didn’t take too long for her to get to the first picture that featured Champ. They were posing together at some kind of rodeo and he had a trophy in his hand. She quickly deleted it, looking toward Waverly. “I’d suggest not glancing over anymore, ok, Wave?” she asked calmly, resting her hand on Waverly’s thigh.

“Ok,” she mumbled with a hard swallow. She slowly slid her hand under Nicole’s and grabbed it. Nicole looked over at her with a smile before continuing on, only letting go to clap along to the theme song when the next episode started, but she had scooped it right back up. She had found pictures some every so often with Champ, but they were becoming more frequent as it was nearing their one year anniversary.

Nicole came across a picture of Waverly in a pool posing on a giant unicorn floatie, and she almost choked on her drink. Not only was it amusing to look at, but the view of Waverly wearing a bikini over her toned cheerleader body was also a plus. Waverly looked towards her with a cocked brow, and she pointed the phone towards her. “I didn’t even know they made these! I now have the urge to ride a unicorn!” Nicole turned the phone back towards herself. “I’m keepin’ this one.” 

“You really haven’t seen one of those before?” Waverly asked with a laugh.

“No!” Nicole laughed. She began typing her name in so she could send it to herself, and it popped up as ‘Nicole Haught ❤️❤️’. She felt her cheeks grow hot. “You sure are a clever one, Waverly Earp,” she mumbled, pointing the phone towards her. 

“Hey! You’re a cop! I was being funny,” Waverly said in an attempt to explain herself, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. 

Nicole shot her a look and picked her phone up off the bed, scrolling through her contacts to find Waverly’s. She pointed her screen at Waverly so she could see that her contact name was ‘Waves ’. Waverly's mouth opened the slightest bit, then turned into a smile. “Calm your tits,” Nicole said softly with a smirk, clicking to send the picture to herself. Waverly laid back down and continued watching Friends, and Nicole slid her hand back into her's and continued on.

After an hour, Nicole had deleted almost 200 pictures and was at the end of 2014. She scrolled onto a picture of Champ standing at a bathroom mirror with a Santa hat on.

And only a Santa hat. 

Nicole quickly hit delete and dropped the phone, causing it to bounce to the floor. She rubbed her eyes aggressively. “Agh! No!”

“What?” Waverly asked with a laugh, sitting up abruptly.

“Naked Santa Champ,” Nicole muttered, shoving her face in the pillow beneath her.

Her eyes widened. “Oh . . . Yeah, that was my Christmas present that year. I didn’t want him to get mad at me so I didn’t delete it.” There was a grimace on her face as she ran her hand up and down Nicole’s back. “Your poor eyes.”

Nicole flipped back over and let out a puff of air as she met her eyes. “There is nothing else on there I shoulda got a warning about beforehand, is there?”

“I don’t think so,” Waverly answered with a guilty smirk.

“Ok, good.” Nicole searched around on the bed for a moment before letting out a groan,Your phone’s on the floor.” She bent down and felt around for it, unable to feel it. “Dammit. I can’t find it.” She pushed herself back up onto the bed.

“Let me try,” Waverly suggested, bouncing across her and plopping down so her stomach was on Nicole’s chest and her head was hanging off the bed. Nicole let out a loud groan in pain, and Waverly giggled, “Sorry! I think it went under the bed.” She slid her body down so her ass was right in Nicole’s face.

Nicole let out another pained groan and smacked Waverly on the ass a few times. “Waverly! Hurry up! You’re hurting me!”

“Hey, I’m ordering takeo-” The bedroom door opened and Wynonna stopped to look at what was happening on the bed in front of her. Nicole realized her hand was still on Waverly’s butt, so she quickly moved it down her side and let out a sigh.

“Uh, ok, you guys do that, but I’m still getting takeout. What do y'all want?”

Waverly shot her hand in the air in front of her, holding her phone. “Found it!” she squealed, struggling to get herself back up on the bed. Nicole rolled her over and grabbed her arms, yanking her back up with a laugh.

“Ahem!” Wynonna was still standing at the door.

They both looked towards her.“Oh, sorry. I want sweet and sour chicken,” Waverly said. “And steamed broccoli.”

“Ok, you?” Wynonna asked, looking at Nicole.

“Uh, chicken lo mein, please,” she answered with a smile.

“Mk, got it,” Wynonna replied, turning to leave.

“Get an order of crab rangoons, too, please,” Waverly begged.

“Already planned on it, Babygirl!” Wynonna shouted from the steps, and Waverly let out an excited giggle. “Doc’s here, by the way!”

“Ok!” She handed Nicole her phone and unpaused the show.

“Thank you for breaking all my ribs, I really appreciate it,” Nicole deadpanned, looking up at Waverly and holding back a laugh.

“It’s my pleasure,” she said with a big toothy grin.

Nicole let out a sigh, shaking her head. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” she muttered under her breath.

“Sure am,” Waverly mumbled back. Nicole hadn’t realized she had said it loud enough to hear and she glanced up at her, noticing the smile on her face. She smirked a little before continuing on with the pictures.

Nicole was edging towards the middle of 2015 when Wynonna came in carrying a bag of takeout boxes and two more cans of root beer. “Delivery for Haught Sauce and Babygirl!” she singsonged, handing her sister the food. Nicole’s eyes rolled back so far, she could almost see her brain.

“Oo, thanks Wynonna,” Waverly grinned as she set the bag down and looked inside of it.

“You’re welcome,” she said before walking out. 

Waverly pulled the food out, handing Nicole’s to her. “Food,” Nicole hummed, tapping her fingertips together with a grin. She grabbed a packet of soy sauce and poured it over her noodles, and they both began to eat.

Waverly noticed that Nicole was using chopsticks, and she raised her brows high. “You know how to use those?!”

“Yeah . . . you don’t?”

“No! I never had anyone to teach me,” she shrugged, popping a piece of broccoli in her mouth.

“Well, I’ll teach ya then.” Nicole picked up the other set that was at the bottom of the bag and placed them properly in her hand. “Use these two fingers to hold this one steady, and use these two to move the top one.” She handed Waverly the chopsticks and placed them properly in her hand.

“Like this?” she asked, opening and closing them a few times.

Nicole nodded. “Yeah, but don’t cross the ends. Go ahead, see if it works.”

Waverly held her wrist with her free hand and led it to a piece of chicken. She slowly lifted the top stick and slid them around the chicken. Closing them, she led it to her mouth and threw her hands in the air. “I did it!” she giggled, trying again without her other hand holding her hand steady this time. She was again successful.

“Now you’re a master. Congrats,” Nicole said with a laugh, and Waverly smiled proudly as she continued to use them as they are.

“I’ve got a question for you,” Nicole prompted after several minutes of small talk as they finished up their food. 

“Alright, let’s hear it,” Waverly encouraged, turning her body so she was facing her.

“What’s a smart girl like you doing working at Shorty’s as a bartender? I mean, you obviously have the potential for greater things than that.”

Waverly blushed a little at the compliment. “I don’t really know to be honest. I guess I just don’t wanna leave Purgatory. There no jobs here that offer what I studied.”

“Which is what?” Nicole asked, snatching a piece of broccoli out of her dish.

“Ancient Cultures and Languages."

She raised her brows in surprise. “Damn, that’s the last thing I would have guessed. Sounds really cool.”

Waverly let out a breath. “Finally! Someone who doesn’t think I am a nerd!”

Nicole held up a finger. “Hey, I never said that, I just said it sounds cool,” she corrected, biting her lip to hold in a laugh.

“Futue te ipsi,” Waverly huffed, crossing her arms.

“Ok, smarty pants, what’s that mean?”

“Means fuck you in Latin,” Waverly replied, taking a drink to shield her smile.

“Oooo, good one,” Nicole laughed, scraping the last bit out of her takeout box.

“Mhm,” she mumbled. Waverly turned and laid back down after she set her empty containers on the floor next to the bed. “How many more do you have to go?”

“I’m almost halfway through 2015, so not that much,” Nicole confirmed, turning the phone back on. “Damn, it’s almost 8 o’clock already?”

“Really? When d’you get here?” Waverly asked. 

“Around 3, I think,” she said with a shrug as she got resituated.

“Oh . . . It doesn’t feel like you have been here that long.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Nicole smirked as she went back to scrolling.

Waverly shifted on the bed. “Ugh, it's cold in here,” she complained, pulling a blanket up over her.

Nicole looked towards her. “Hey! I want some!” She yanked half of the blanket onto her side.

“Noo.” Waverly pulled it back with a pouty lip.  

“Fine,” Nicole huffed. “We can do this the hard way.” She scooted as close as she could to Waverly and used her hand to roll her onto her side. Grabbing Waverly’s belt loop on the back of her pants, she moved her into the right position, now spooning her. Nicole pulled the blanket back over her and rested her arm on her shoulder so she could still see the phone. “Hmph!”

Waverly’s eyes were as wide as could be. She hadn’t expected that but was definitely not opposed to it. Who would be? Having Nicole pressed against her sounded like a dream, and it was actually happening. “Fine,” she grumbled, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

About 45 minutes later, Nicole finally finished going through Waverly’s phone. She had even deleted the pictures of him that were posted on her Instagram. She slid her arm down the front of Waverly’s body and dropped her phone in front of her. “All done.” She moved her arm down so her hand was on her stomach.

“Thank you," she mumbled. "It really means a lot that you took the time to do that for me." She placed her hand on Nicole’s as she looked back at her.

Nicole shook her head. “I told you I’d always be there to help you, Waves. No need to thank me.”

She shrugged a little, flipping over to face her. “Still, usually no one is this nice to me.”

“Well, they're the ones missing out. Remember that.”

Waverly smiled a little. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“What time is it?” Nicole asked, feeling around on the bed for her phone. She picked it up and saw that the screen read 8:35. She let out a groan, flipping back to her back and rubbing her eyes. “I should probably get going, I’ve gotta be at work at four tomorrow morning.”

“Ew, that is way too early for me,” Waverly grumbled.

“Yeah, me too, but I have to or Nedley’ll be up my ass,” she sighed, rubbing her hands up and down her face.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly mumbled as Nicole rolled her head to look at her.

“It’s all worth it. I couldn’t ask for a better job . . . Maybe a better uniform, though. I hate khakis with a passion.”

“Ha,” Waverly teased with a giggle.

Nicole smiled a little, but it faltered a bit. “So, uh . . . D’you think you’re gonna be ok tonight?” she asked, turning on her side so she was facing her.

“I don't know . . . I haven’t figured out how to stop the nightmares yet,” Waverly mumbled, furrowing her brow as she tugged the blanket to her chin.

Nicole clenched her jaw. “Maybe you could try to fall asleep thinking of something that makes you happy . . . Like a place or event, I dunno.”

Waverly laid there for a second, trying to think of something she could imagine. All kinds of ideas flashed through her mind, but none of them sounded right.

Suddenly, it hit her, though.

She remembered how she had fallen asleep on Nicole earlier with no problems at all, and also that she had fallen asleep the previous night completely fine thinking about her.

She turned onto her side and looked right into Nicole's eyes. “Nicole,” she said, sliding her hand up to rest on her cheek. “You are my happy place.”

Nicole was shocked by that response. She was honored, but didn’t really know what it meant. That she really enjoyed spending time with her? They had only known each other for a few days, though. She shook the thoughts away and finally managed to stutter out, “I-I am?” with a confused grin on her face.

Waverly nodded with a soft smile. “Earlier today was the soundest I have slept in months, and- and every time I’m with you, I barely think about him. I don’t know why, but everything about you is . . . it’s perfect.”

Nicole rubbed the wrist of the hand on her face with her thumb. “Thank you? Or maybe you’re welcome?” She laughed a little. “I really don’t know what to say to that.”

“Well . . . maybe you shouldn’t say anything at all.” Nicole cocked a brow, but they shot right up when she felt Waverly’s lips against hers when she leaned into a soft but deep kiss. Nicole began to kiss back, pulling Waverly closer with her hand on her waist. She slid her other hand under her and pulled her onto her lap, sliding her hands up her back. 

After a few more seconds, she pushed her back slightly when it all came together in her mind of what was happening. “What happened to friends?” she asked, slightly out of breath.

Waverly swallowed a little, pressing her hands into the pillow on either side of her head as she stared down at her with wide eyes. “I- I decided that if I want to properly get over him, I need something important to occupy my mind. And- And that something is you. I’m not trying to say I'm using you ‘cause I’m totally not. That’s not what I mean, um . . . I'm just saying . . . I really, really like you, like, more than I’ve ever liked anyone before. And just ‘cause something terrible happened to me last night does not mean I’m gonna let it get in between this . . . Did that make sense at all . . . I feel like I am making no-,”

“Yes, you are making perfect sense, Waves,” Nicole assured, sliding her thumbs under the bottom of her shirt and rubbing them softly on her hips, trying to calm her down a little bit.

“Ok, good,” Waverly breathed out with a smile. She quickly leaned down into another searing kiss. Nicole grabbed her waist after a few seconds and sat up, pushing Waverly’s legs behind her back and rolling them over so she was on top. She leaned closer and closer into the curve of Waverly’s body with every kiss. She bit at Waverly’s bottom lip causing a small moan to escape from her mouth. 

Waverly began to stick her hands up Nicole’s shirt, but Nicole reluctantly pulled back again. “Ok, not that I didn’t enjoy that ‘cause, trust me, I did. I just don’t wanna take anything too fast right now. Whether you wanna admit it or not, your life was changed forever last night and it’s gonna take some time to get over it. But I will be right here with you no matter what happens . . . I just don’t wanna push you too far, too fast, ok? . . . Plus, I feel like if we don’t stop now, we never will, and I really need to go so I’m not late for work in the morning. I’m sorry.”

“No, Nic, I get it,” Waverly assured, sitting up and resting her hands on Nicole’s thighs. “You care about me. And I am 100% ok with that ‘cause not a lot of people do, so thank you.”

Nicole gave her a soft smile, pushing herself up off the bed. She pulled her shoes on and Waverly walked over to her, sliding her hand down her arm. “Thanks again for coming over when Wynonna called. And for clearing my phone. It really means a lot to me.”

“Really, it's no problem, Waves. You don’t have to keep thanking me.” Nicole smirked a little, pulling her closer by the waist. “I mean, at least not with words.”

Waverly rolled her eyes playfully and stood up on her toes to press a short kiss to her lips, then pulling her into a hug when she dropped back to the flats of her feet. “I’ll walk you down,” Waverlysaid, pulling out of the hug. “Wait!”

“What?” Nicole asked,quickly meeting her eyes.

Waverly giggled. “Chill, you just have my lipstick on your face. C’mere.” She licked her finger and began rubbing it around her lips where some pink smudges were.

“I wonder how that got there?” Nicole deadpanned, exiting the room.

“I have no clue,” Waverly replied with a laugh. They both stopped at the bottom of the steps with disgusted looks on their faces when they saw Doc and Wynonna having a hot and heavy makeout session on the couch.

“You get used to it after a while,” Waverly sighed quietly. “Ahem!”

Doc jumped off Wynonna into a standing position. “Uh, hello there, Ms. Waverly. Officer Haught.” He reached to tip his hat, which was not on his head, but on Wynonna’s.

“Hi, Doc,” they said in unison.

“Nicole was just leaving,” Waverly said, nudging her towards the door.

“Bye, you two, thanks for dinner!” she shouted before Waverly could close the door behind them. They walked to the cruiser and Nicole climbed in, looking up at her with a soft smile. “Thanks for having me for so long today. I really had a good time.”

“Me, too,” Waverly agreed, leaning in and giving her a quick peck.

“Sleep well, Waves. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Officer Haught.” Waverly shot her a wink and shut the car door. She turned and headed for the door, looking back when she got to the porch and seeing that Nicole was almost out the driveway. She smiled with a happy sigh and went inside, feeling butterflies dancing around in her stomach for the first time in a long time.