Title: A Lovely Mess
Summary: She felt Nicky cuddle up close to her and she shook her head lightly, chuckling at the wet head of hair that touched her cheek. "You're a mess kid." An annoyingly, fluffy moment between this mother/daughter duo.
Disclaimer: I do not own OITNB or any of its characters. They belong to Jenji Kohen, I do however own my writing, please don't steal- Johanna002©
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A/N: For AliceSloane13, since she sparked the idea *Hugs*
Sitting at her makeshift vanity, diaper wipe in hand, Red removed the remaining traces of her make up. Looking in the mirror, she couldn't help but groan as black smudges streaked and smeared under her eyes.
Today had been a harder day than usual. Since the time she had gotten up that morning, nothing had gone right. Even with being the first one in the showers, the water had been freezing cold. In the kitchen, Norma and Gloria both were feeling under the weather, and were working much slower than usual. With no one to really help her caroule the other girls into action, they had gotten behind in both prep-work and delivery. At dinner, the icing on her proverbial shit-cake, Nicky had been terribly mouthy.
Now, normally, the girl and her crude tongue hardly phased Red, but tonight it had struck a chord in her like never before.
Even though Nicky was aware that Red was running the kitchen solo, it did nothing to sate her hunger and growing agitation. With no restraints, she bitched and groaned, every few minutes walking into the kitchen to poke and prod at Red to hurry up. It was maddening!
A sympathetic look from Gloria and soft pat on the back from Norma, grounded Red enough to not stab Nicky with a fork, unfortunately, they hadn't been able to keep her from lashing out. Her threat to Nicky had been coated in a perfectly articulated mix of both Russian and English.
"Damn it, Nicky!" Red threw down the utensils in her hand. Her behavior was further dramatized by her anger, and her hair seemed to turn a dark shade of red. "If you come into my kitchen again, I will hurt you." She walked over towards the girl, "YA budu. Poprobuy menya. Ty svodish' menya s uma chertovy!"
Gloria turned to Norma, eyes wide. She tried to hold back her laughter, and whispered, "What the fuck did she just day?"
Norma shook her head, and held a hand over her heart in a sign of surrender. She shooed Gloria away from her with a nod of her head. In no way was she looking to become the next victim on Red's hit-list.
Reaching for another wipe, she did not falter in her task when she heard the padding of bare feet enter her cube. There was a thudding sound against the hard floor, and she shrugged it off assuming Chapman was in another one of her self-absorbed episodes.
"Don't be lazy, Chapman. Pick up after yourself." She scolded, tone clipped in annoyance.
The squeaking sound of her bunk shifting was enough to finally catch her attention. Turning her head she fought the urge to roll her eyes when she spotted Nicky. The young woman had seemed to make herself quite at home in quarters that were not her own. A perfectly arched eyebrow rose when she encountered Nicky's boots carelessly thrown to the floor.
So it hadn't been Chapman. Biting the inside of her cheek, her eyes rose from the shoes up to where Nicky lay on her bunk, propped up by her hands, studying her intently. Cocking her head to one side, she stared back just as interested.
Nicky's face scrunched into one of irritation, and she rolled her eyes. "Stop looking at me!" She barked.
Outside looking in, you would think Nicky was a spoiled, sixteen-year-old, brat. In any other situation Red may have found her comical- cute even, now though she just found her to be tiring.
She decided to not point out the fact that Nicky was the one staring at her. She returned to her mirror and ran the wipe over her face one more time.
Nicky huffed in annoyance, tossing onto her back. She pulled the crocheted blanket over herself and curled up on her side.
Red watched her from the corner of her eye, fighting the urge to smile. As annoyed as she was, she couldn't help but admit to how utterly humorous Nicky's antics were. "Don't you have anywhere to be?" she asked. "Where is Lorna?"
"With Chapman." Nicky answered gruffly. She picked her head up just enough to look at Red and flopped back down unceremoniously. "Stop talking to me."
"Stop talking to you? You're in my bunk."
Nicky shrugged, not necessarily seeing what that had to do with talking to her.
Pulling herself up from her chair, Red walked over to her bunk and glared down at Nicky. The younger woman pulled her knees up to her chest, making room so that she could sit at the foot of the twin-sized bed.
Staring down at the spot for a minute, Red crossed her arms. "That wasn't what I had in mind." Her eyes widened and she shook her head, "And your hair is wet, Nicky?" She whispered harshly under her breath, "Now my pillow is all wet."
Nicky's eyes locked with hers and a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips before she stretched back out, groaning in satisfaction as she did so. "Your pillow would have gotten wet anyway; your hair is wet too!" Like a naughty child, Nicky seemed to be highly entertained with the knowledge that she could irritate Red at the push of a button. She made it a point to further bury herself in Red's blanket and push her head further into the pillow.
"Nicky, move," Red reached down to pull the blanket away from her but Nicky just whined in response. "You're being ridiculous."
Nicky shook her head, incorrigibly responding with a short, "Am not."
"Do you think it's funny to piss me off?" Steadily, Red was reaching a point of almost begging Nicky to move. She was exhausted, her body ached for sleep and all Nicky wanted to do was work her nerve.
This is motherhood. Red reminded herself. Sometimes, Nicky was angelic and magical- mostly when she was asleep, but she had her good days. Other times, like tonight, she was annoying, mean and a downright bratty little shit.
Mulling over the question, Nicky smiled. "I find it entertaining to piss you off." She held out her hand, a pair of socks folded neatly in her palm. Her eyes softened and lips pouted out slightly in pleading. "My feet are cold," she whined.
"No, absolutely not." Red shook her head, unsure whether to laugh or cry at the scene before her. "Put your own socks on!"
Erupting into a fit of laughter, Nicky tossed the socks in her direction. "Ma, the floor is cold. I'm gonna get sick."
"Didn't you walk in here barefooted?" Red asked, brow raised high in question. "You'll live."
Nicky shook her head and her lip poured out further. "I'm gonna get sick." She tried again. "Don't you love me?"
Red swatted at her legs, frustration rising to the peak, "Move, move" she seated herself at the foot of the bed and unraveled the socks. "Give me your feet." She couldn't believe she was doing this.
A coy smile on Nicky's lips told her this would be no easy task. Her suspicions were confirmed when Nicky wiggled her toes underneath the warmth of Red's legs.
Rolling her eyes heavenward, Red asked through gritted teeth, "This is what we're doing now?"
"Just love me!" Nicky begged.
At this Red smiled, laughing at how childlike Nicky was. "What's wrong with you, huh?" Her hand reached forward to pinch at the skin around Nicky's knees. "You're insufferable tonight."
"Ow!" Nicky batted her hand away. "Don't be mean to me!" She whined, attempting to wiggle away from Red's hands. She laughed out loud when she felt Red grab a hold of one of her feet, fingernails tickling against the sole, "No, Red!" She begged laughing, "Please, Please- Ma!"
Nicky's laughter was music to her ears. The peaceful sound of it pulling her out of her previously irritated mood. "You don't like it, huh? She laughed, fingers still tickling against the skin of her feet.
Trying to kick her feet away from Red's grasp, Nicky was unable to get a hold of her laughter. "Ma!" She squealed in response. "Stop! Please!"
Glancing at the young woman's features, Nicky's face as red as her hair she gently let up on the pressure. Taking Nicky's heal in her hand she squeezed gently, laughing at the desired yelp that left Nicky's lips. She grabbed one of the socks and lazily pulled it over Nicky's foot. "Stop," she warned, trying to fight back the grin on her lips when Nicky erupted into another fit of laughter. She grabbed Nicky's other heal and pulled her sock on over her foot.
"What the fuck, Red?" Nicky asked, staring down at her feet. The socks baggy and not pulled up all the way. "What kind of shit is that?" She laughed, sitting up enough so that she could fix them properly. Lying back down, she smiled innocently and scooted over as close to the divide as she could get. Turning onto her side, she pat the space next to her, "Just for a little bit?"
"Hmm," Red hummed, shifting so that she could lay next to Nicky. They were crammed, but in a way she couldn't quite form into words it felt comfortable. She felt Nicky cuddle up close to her and she shook her head lightly, chuckling at the wet head of hair that touched her cheek. "You're a mess kid."
Nicky smiled, eyes closed in peace. Her hand blindly found Reds and she entwined their fingers. She squeezed gently and mumbled, "Still mad at me?"
Red shook her head, "No."
Nodding, she asked, "Still find me annoying.
"Mmhmm,"
"Still love me?"
Red squeezed her hand, whispering, "Always."