"Hey, come back here!" Waverly shook a fist in the air as she chased after her wandering girlfriend.

"You can't catch me," laughed Nicole, who sped away. She darted around the back of a tree, peeking out from behind to tease Waverly before running off again.

"Nicole," Waverly whined, sitting down on the nearest bench. She huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm tired."

"Oh, come on," Nicole said, taking a few steps toward Waverly. "Are you really?"

Waverly nodded and looked up at Nicole with pleading eyes. "Yes."

"Fine," sighed Nicole, who sat beside Waverly and slung an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders. "I'll stop."

"Tag, you're it."

"What?"

"I never said I gave up. You're it, I quit."

Nicole groaned into her hands. "Aw, Waves!"

"Loopholes." Waverly grinned at Nicole and gave her a little kiss on the nose. "Don't pout. You look too cute." Waverly pinched Nicole's face and jiggled her cheek, jerking Nicole's pouting expression from side to side. "So cute."

Nicole ducked out of Waverly's grip and stood up, pulling Waverly by the hand. "Let's go. I still want to see the library."

Waverly smiled as her girlfriend led her by the hand, talking about how excited she was to be in college. The two had met in high school. They'd grown up in the same city but never met each other until freshman year on the first day of classes. They'd hit it off and had several classes together, leading to Waverly frequently tutoring her red-haired friend. As God willed it, the two began dating at the beginning of their junior year after two years of being best friends. Clearly, the two had decided that best-friendship wasn't enough. Waverly still remembered the slightly awkward confession she'd made to Nicole, which had involved tackling her onto the sofa and spilling her feelings out after already kissing the girl senseless. Nicole's wide eyes had stared up at Waverly with so much love as Waverly rambled on.

And to imagine Waverly had once told Nicole she was straight...

What a joke. Waverly was only kind of straight. Kind of. Champ had been a dick, yeah, but boys were still nice. It's just that, well, Nicole? She was more than nice. She was amazing. She was an angel sent down to bless Waverly and rock her world more than anyone before her. No person had ever made Waverly feel like she was on fire. Every time Waverly lay eyes on Nicole, she'd think I'm so gay. Nicole was the best.

Waverly thought about when Nicole had originally revealed her crush to Waverly's immense surprise. Waverly had known Nicole was gay because she'd dated Shae sophomore year, but never would Waverly have ever guessed Nicole had a crush on her. Waverly Earp.

"It's so big," Nicole marveled, eyes roaming the spacious room. She looked in awe at the high ceilings that yelled back to tell them they were insignificant human beings. Nicole thought it was awesome. There was shelf after shelf of books that Nicole could already picture her Waves reading by the stained glass window as she stared at her beautiful face. Nicole could honestly stare at Waverly all day. If somebody paid her, even better. "Plenty of books, Waves."

"Yeah," murmured Waverly with a soft smile. She ruffled Nicole's hair, earning a cute grin and affectionate hug. With Nicole's arms wrapped around her, Waverly couldn't help but take a whiff of the vanilla-dipped donut smell that constantly engulfed Nicole. The aroma filled Waverly's nostrils, making her relax. And hungry. It made her hungry.

"The library is so nice. I can already picture myself studying here."

"Us," corrected Waverly, who lightly scolded Nicole with a tap on the nose. "Us studying here."

"Right," Nicole nodded adamantly, kissing Waverly's forehead. "Us."

Waverly got another whiff of vanilla-dipped donuts, and her stomach growled for the library's occupants all to hear. As several unknown pairs of eyes landed on Waverly, she cleared her throat and tugged on Nicole's sleeve. "Can we go?"

"I think your stomach wants to," playfully teased Nicole. She poked Waverly's stomach, making Waverly instinctively smack Nicole's shoulder.

The couple headed to one of the campus cafes, hoping to get a bite to eat. Nicole was excited to have a nice, steaming cup of coffee, despite the not-very-cold weather outside. The sun actually shone through the windows of the cafe, making for nice lighting at the high table Waverly and Nicole seated themselves at. A sprawling view of the grass Doll Commons that many students stretched themselves out along. Waverly was watching two friends play frisbee when Nicole came back with their order.

"A vanilla-dipped donut for the lady," said Nicole before heaving an appreciate sigh and continuing, "with a hot cup of joe for me."

Waverly bit into the donut, feeling the sugary goodness coat her tongue. Glaze melted in her mouth, making her warm inside. It tasted just as good as it always did. You could never go wrong with a classic, and vanilla-dipped donuts were definitely a solid favorite. Waverly adored them almost as much as she adored Nicole. Whenever Waverly missed Nicole, she'd buy a vanilla-dipped donut. Now that the two were at the same university, Waverly hoped she'd spend less time eating vanilla-dipped donuts alone and more time eating them with her hopefully present girlfriend.

"Excited for basketball season?"
"Yup! I think I'm playing small forward this upcoming season, but I'm not sure. Whatever Coach wants me to play, I guess, but that's okay! I'll play anything. You know, Coach back home had me, get this, play center one game after having me practice shooting guard! You can't even begin to imagine how difficult it was for me to all of a sudden be thrust into the middle of our plays without knowing what I was doing. The shooting guard and center did entirely different things, and you already know I can confuse myself easily," Waverly giggled at that, "so it was insanely hard. Luckily, my teammates helped me out, saving me from looking like an ass, and we won the game with a three-point buzzer beater. Good times. You know what else though? I remember we used to do this one drill where..."

Waverly nodded and added in a few okays and yeses here and there. She loved listening to Nicole speak. Nicole didn't often go on tangents or ramble, but when she did, Waverly was also eager to hear what she had to say. If Nicole could say a lot about the topic, it meant she was passionate, and Nicole's passion was one of the sexiest things Waverly had ever witnessed. Waverly knew that maybe in and of itself it didn't sound very sexy to say passion was a turn on, but boy, it was.

Waverly was fully immersed in listening to Nicole talk about the unlikelihood of meatballs falling from the sky when there was a soft tap on the window. Waverly turned her head to see several droplets of water begin to slide down the glass, the sky outside still bright but tinged with gray. The sun was still out, no clouds hiding it from sight. Nicole noticed the increased amount of gentle taps against the window and her eyes widened.

"Waves! It's raining!" Nicole slapped a hand on the window, her face right up against the glass. "Do you see this? Rain!"

"Yes, Nicky," an amused Waverly said, attention on her girlfriend. "I do."

"It's so calming," Nicole said in awe of the drizzling rain. Her eyes flit from drop to drop that smacked into the window. There were so many. Each drop landed and began its descent, sliding slowly (or quickly) toward the ground, where it would probably land in a puddle. Puddles! "Do you have waterproof shoes on?"

"These boots? Yeah, I think."

"Great!" Nicole grabbed Waverly by the hand and ran out of the shop, depositing her finished coffee in the trash on the way out. Nicole sprinted in a circle around Waverly, laughing. Nicole's child-like laugh, free of worry and stress, made Waverly feel content. Nicole splashed into a puddle with one big stomp before gesturing at Waverly to go join her. Waverly's mouth turned up into a grin and she dashed off before leaping up. She landed in the same puddle, sending a wave of water up at Nicole.

"Hey!" Nicole protested lightheartedly. She bent down to swish her finger back and forth in the clear water before standing and tilting her head towards the sky. She stared up as rain dripped onto her face and down her body, slowly soaking her clothes. She loved rain. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah," Nicole said after a moment, eyes on the sky. She opened her mouth to catch a few drops of rain. "Rain is so cool. And pretty."

"It is."

"Do you ever think about how raindrops fall from the sky alone, but then meet friends on the ground? All alone, they drop, but then they end up in a puddle, lake, ocean, something, and they aren't alone anymore." Nicole nodded so solemnly as she spoke that you'd think she was talking about real people. But to Nicole, everything and everyone mattered.

Waverly didn't know whether she'd ever heard anything more innocent and pure. "No, but I will now."

"Look at the droplets falling from the tree," Nicole said in a hushed tone, watching intently as a few drops fell to the ground, the sound drowned out by the showers that fell from the sky. "They're so fun to watch."

Waverly didn't respond, eyes fixated on Nicole as she watched the flurry of rain. The first time they'd been together and it'd rained, Waverly had been taken aback by Nicole's fascination with the natural phenomenon. Nicole, much like she did in the coffee shop, had her attention zapped immediately to the rainfall. The sound and view of falling rain soothed Nicole in a way that made Waverly want to pinch Nicole's cheek with how sweet she got. Nicole often stood outside when it rained, taking in as much of the scene as she could, coming inside only when the rain stopped or when staying out any longer would earn her a talking to. Nicole didn't like those kinds of talking to.

What a softie, Waverly thought affectionately, watching as Nicole clasped her hands together and held them to her chest. She took a deep breath and spread her arms wide. Nicole then spun slowly, facing the sky. Nicole suddenly stopped and closed those warm brown eyes that Waverly loved so much, holding a finger out to silence the already silent Waverly, who'd been too enamored with Nicole to say a word. "Listen."

Waverly did. She listened to the soft sounds of the water thudding into the ground and against the leaves of the nearby trees. A light breeze rustled the misted leaves and sent shivers down Waverly's spine. She felt so calm, at peace.

Nicole opened her eyes and looked at Waverly with a broad smile. "Isn't it breathtaking?"

"You're breathtaking," Waverly said back, pushing stray hair from Nicole's face.

Nicole held a hand out to catch a few drops of the falling rain before letting the water run through her fingers. She placed her hands on Waverly's face and leaned forward, touching their foreheads together. Waverly's breath hitched at the small gesture. After two years, Nicole still made her feel like she couldn't breathe.

"I love you," Nicole whispered softly, so Waverly could barely hear it. Waverly couldn't help but giggle a little at the bashful look that was etched onto Nicole's face.

"I love you, too, silly."

"I know. That's why I can do this."

Nicole's lips, as always, were soft. When the redhead pressed her body against Waverly's, Waverly snaked her arms around Nicole's waist to hold her there. Warmth spread from Nicole to Waverly and into Waverly's heart, which beat fast and hard in Waverly's chest. Waverly loved how every time Nicole kissed her, she could just feel it. She could feel how much Nicole loved her. Nicole didn't need to tell her twice. Nicole nibbled gently on Waverly's bottom lip and gave her one last kiss as Waverly's hand tangled in a wet mop of bright red hair. Waverly could feel Nicole smile into the kiss, a beaming smile probably shining as bright as the sun, and it made Waverly smile too. The two pulled away laughing together, Waverly still hugging Nicole close.

"Hey, let's dance."

"What?"

"Yeah, let's do it," Nicole said eagerly, holding Waverly's hand. She began moving slowly, taking a few experimental steps to see if Waverly was following. Waverly walked after her girlfriend and felt herself begin to spin as Nicole twirled her. When they faced each other again, Nicole held Waverly close. Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole's neck, and the two swayed back and forth. Their bodies were in sync, moving to a beat they just knew. Nicole leaned down to press another kiss to Waverly's lips as the gentle rain clung to their clothes and any exposed skin.

Passersby maybe would've smiled at the couple, wondering what they were dancing to, before continuing on their way, an answer just out of reach. What music were they dancing to, anyway?

With the rhythm of the rain and the sound of their hearts, Nicole and Waverly stepped back and forth in the rain, the tinkling sound of their laughs carrying in the wind. Nicole lifted Waverly up for a moment before bringing her back down to land in a puddle with a splash. They moved fluidly, in harmony, knowing what the other was going to do before she even did it. They knew each other well like that. A few steps here, a few steps there. A couple of movements in syncopation, and another two stable with a twirl to end that sequence. They just knew.

So the two continued stepping to the never-ending beat of rain with a gentle laugh every now and then, dancing to an alluring melody only the two of them could hear. A song just for them.

Just them.