CHAPTER TWO
September 2017
It was like everything was going too fast around them, yet time still seemed to be moving in slow-motion for her, for all of them, Waverly felt, as she tried to gather her thoughts enough to actually understand a word of what she was trying to read for her research. Papers, books, notes – they were all scattered around her bedroom floor, and she chewed on the end of her pencil, trying to focus, but her mind kept wandering.
It was proving to be very difficult, simply because she kept worrying about her sister, and though she knew the research was important if she should ever stop worrying about her sister, but the worry kept pushing everything else out of her brain, because Wynonna had thrown herself into figuring out this thing about Bulshar, and also driving only God knows where on her motorcycle for hours on end, and therefore Waverly kept thinking about her sister, worrying, because she – more than anyone else – could see that Wynonna's heart was breaking.
It made sense of course, of course Wynonna's heart was breaking. She'd just sent her child, beautiful, tiny Alice Michelle Earp, away from the Ghost River Triangle in a helicopter with a man they barely knew. Of course, Waverly reminded herself, you were just about to marry him in an alternate universe, so we know he's a good guy. But that didn't change the fact that they'd sent Alice away, to be with Gus somewhere safe, and they didn't know when they were going to see her again.
If. If they were going to see her again, Waverly mentally corrected herself, which just made her worry grown even stronger.
Doc was handling it all remarkably well. Waverly wasn't sure what it was the he knew, or if it was because he wasn't ever really ready to be a father (though she found that hard to believe, because like he had promised, he was all in), but he was handling it – in his own Doc-ish way. Spending time with Wynonna, spending time with Jeremy in the basement of Shorty's, trying to keep himself busy now that Rosita wasn't around anymore. Doc was being Doc, and he had seen Alice, right before they'd sent her off, which was what they had all deemed very important, even in the midst of shit hitting the fan.
(Waverly still wasn't really sure how she felt about the fact that Rosita had turned on them like that, because she had been such a good friend to her. Waverly couldn't believe that Rosita was a bad person, she simply just couldn't, because just like Rosita had said that she liked Waverly, Waverly liked Rosita as well. And that had absolutely nothing to do with the kiss they shared. Nothing).
A kiss that, thankfully, Nicole had been cooler about than Waverly could have imagined to ever be if the roles had been reversed. Maybe it was because Waverly had been honest, and Nicole valued honesty so much, or maybe it was the fact that so much other shit kept happening right after, that one tiny kiss in a time of confusion didn't matter much. Or maybe it was simply the fact that their trip into an alternate universe (Waverly still felt incredibly guilty about that and the problems she'd caused) had solidified what she'd known since meeting Nicole that day in Shorty's, which felt like forever ago: That she and Nicole were meant to be together, at any time, in any universe, always.
Dolls and Nicole had both thrown themselves into researching and investigating Bulshar, trying to figure out what was happening, and Jeremy was trying to help them best he could, and Waverly wanted to do that too, and she tried whenever she could, but there was also Wynonna to think about, and Wynonna was Waverly's top priority right now; taking care of her, making sure that she took care of herself, because for Waverly there was nothing more important than Wynonna at the moment.
"Baby?"
Looking up from her bed where she'd been trying to read – keyword; trying – Waverly found her incredibly beautiful girlfriend leaning against the doorway into her room. "Hey you," she whispered as she snapped her book shut, placed it on the floor and padded the mattress next to her.
Nicole closed the door behind her and crept across the floor, carefully sidestepping all of Waverly's research; she was still wearing her uniform, looking amazing as ever in her vest and the cap that complimented her ridiculously gorgeous face so well. "What are you doing?" She breathed as she fell down on the mattress and greeted Waverly with a kiss on the lips.
Waverly fisted her shirt to keep her from backing away. "You?" She sheepishly questioned, locking her eyes with those above her; pressing another kiss to her girlfriend's lips and breathing in the scent that was so Nicole. Vanilla dipped donuts. Her own personal favourite. She tried not to think too much about it, especially after everything else that had happened, but she had come so close to losing this beautiful woman above her, and honestly, she wasn't sure she would have been able to ever be truly happy again if she had to go on without Nicole. And that, that was as scary as the thought of facing Bulshar or Bobo del Rey.
Nicole's eyes shone as she shook her head, "You're impossible," she whispered, pressing more kisses to Waverly's lips and letting her hands travel above clothes. "I missed you today. Work's been pretty tough, and Nedley's trying out this new schedule which will have me working the graveyard shift two weekends a month," she started to tell, while Waverly did her best to listen to what she was saying, "and Dolls and I have really been trying to figure everything out, but it's just do damn tough to focus when I'm missing you like I was today."
"Hm?" Waverly wasn't entirely able to focus – something about a graveyard, Nedley's schedule and a doll – because her girlfriend's hand was tickling her bare midriff and sending tingles all the way down to her toes.
"Waves," Nicole grinned, only too aware of what she was doing to her girlfriend, "I'm trying to talk to you about my day."
Waverly pulled her face closer again, eyes cloudy and her desire to get her girlfriend out of the uniform was almost intolerable. "How 'bout you stop talking, huh?" She whispered, pressing her lips to Nicole's once more, inviting her impossibly closer. Her hands fell from the vest, only to push it off Nicole's shoulders, before she let her fingers tangle in red hair and sighed happily into her mouth.
Nicole deepened their kiss, letting her fingers travel across Waverly's stomach and up her body, while she pressed herself closer to the smaller girl, thigh nudged between her legs, and desire spreading throughout her like wildfire.
Waverly loved the feel of Nicole all over her; it was the most relaxing, comforting, safe space she could ever be, and at the same time it was the most tantalising, mind-blowing, intimate sex she had ever experienced. It was kind of amazing to find both in one and the same person – something that Waverly had never thought she'd be able to find, least of all thought she had deserved.
Maybe it was because she was an Earp and Earps had always been told that they were trouble, not worth the dirt on the ground, or maybe it was because her father always used to tell her that she was no good, an afterthought, and those kinds of things stuck with a person – even after she found out that she couldn't possibly be an afterthought, because she wasn't her daddy's kid, perhaps not even her mamma's? Waverly knew that Wynonna had said that she clearly remembered their parents bringing her home from the hospital, but as Waverly had come to learn the past year, things weren't always like they seemed. There was witchcraft, demons, alternate universes, so who was to say that Wynonna's memories were true? Maybe they had been altered, maybe they had been changed. Or maybe they really did bring Waverly home from the hospital, but that still didn't mean that she was biologically theirs.
Or even entirely human at all.
At least Peacemaker didn't think she was; it had burned her fingers – just slightly – but it had burned her nonetheless. But it had also let her shoot it.
She'd decided to put a pin in that for now though.
"Hey," Waverly was pulled out of her train of thoughts by Nicole breaking away from their kiss, "where did you go?"
Closing her eyes, Waverly sighed and pressed her forehead against Nicole's collarbone, "I'm sorry," she whispered, "there's just so many things in my head, and I really just wanted to kiss my girlfriend."
Nicole chuckled, Waverly could feel her trying to hold it back, but she was entirely unsuccessful. "Not that I mind the kissing, but maybe we should talk then, eh?" She suggested.
Waverly pulled back, staring into her girlfriend's eyes, "I just wanted to have my wicked way with you," she said, all too seriously.
This time, Nicole let out a full-blown belly laugh. "Sure, you did," she replied softly, bashfully lowering her eyes in almost shyness. Her lashes brushed across fair skin, and Waverly's thumb brushed over the tiny beauty mark beneath her eye.
The tiny brunette couldn't hold back her laugh either, and even if this wasn't the clumsy, not-quite-getting-out-of-their-clothes sex that she'd imagined, it did the trick. She felt lighter instantly, something not many people would have been able to accomplish so quickly. Only Nicole, really.
Smacking the door open, Wynonna entered the bedroom with a hand over her eyes and a bottle of whiskey in the other, startling the couple apart. "Tell me you're wearing clothes this time!" She all but yelled, while blindly stepping into the bedroom and trampling all over Waverly's research on the floor.
Nicole breathed out deeply, "Yes Wynonna, you can look," she said, and Waverly watched as her older sister dropped her hands from her eyes and suspiciously gave them a once-over.
"You were about to get the hanky-panky on in here with my baby-sister, weren't you, Haughtpants?"
Waverly immediately missed the full body contact when Nicole rolled off of her to sit by the foot of the bed. "Sure Wyn, as you can see, we were this close to having sex," she sighed at her sister, holding her thumb and pointer finger out to illustrate her point. "The door was closed though, sis," she added, for good measure.
Wynonna rolled her eyes and waved the whiskey around, "I didn't see any knickers on the door, I thought we talked about this," she argued, rolled her eyes and took a long swig of the bottle. "I don't wanna catch you with your head between Nicole's legs again, so please do feel free to use those knickers I gave you."
Nicole's eyes went wide, and she looked at the ceiling, no doubt remembering the unfortunate incident where a very pregnant Wynonna had caught them on the couch; Nicole sprawled out, buck-naked, with an equally naked Waverly kneeling on the floor, head buried between Nicole's thighs while she ate her out, and the redhead had a firm grip on a chunk of her hair. She had been this close to an orgasm, breathing Waverly's name repeatedly, when Wynonna crashed into the homestead, two hours earlier than anticipated, and ruined it.
Waverly remembered it clearly, because she had never seen Nicole that particular shade of red before. It had practically matched her hair.
(And Wynonna had bought a pair of horrendous knickers two days after just to make a show out of it when she presented them to Nicole in the middle of Shorty's).
"Let's not talk about this again," Waverly quickly brushed her sister off, eyeing her girlfriend who – even if she had gotten way better and handling Wynonna's sarcasm and off-hand comments – still wasn't so good when it came to teasing about their sex life. "Please," she added for good measure.
Wynonna scoffed, "Use the damn knickers, Waverly."
Nicole cleared her throat and stood up from the bed, "So, I'm gonna head back out," she said, pointing a thumb backwards over her shoulder, to illustrate her point. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Waverly's lips, "I'll call you later, how about that, baby?"
"Mh," Waverly whispered, slightly out of breath even just from a little kiss. "Love you, baby," she added, because she was still getting used to the taste of those words on her tongue. She knew she had taken her time actually saying those words aloud to Nicole, even when the redhead had said them many times, and Nicole – she'd been so patient, like she always was with Waverly. It was just strange for Waverly to actually say those words and not fear rejection and heartache. Now, whenever she said them, flutters started in her heart and a goofy smile appeared on her face.
Wynonna huffed.
"Love you too, Waves," Nicole replied, before she grabbed her vest from the floor and headed out of the room. Waverly could tell that her girlfriend was not getting tired of hearing those words casually sent her way in the most relaxed way possible.
The two sisters stared at each other wordlessly; Waverly on the bed, and Wynonna standing on the floor, until they heard the door smack close and the sound of Nicole's cruiser driving away. Waverly didn't want to break the silence between them, assuming that Wynonna had wanted something since she had felt the need to parade in there and interrupt their make-out session. She did have a tendency to do that, sometimes just for the kick of it, but Waverly wasn't going to be the first to break their unofficial staring contest.
Oh, except she so totally was, because Wynonna could stare forever.
"So," she said, sitting up and tucking her legs beneath herself, "did you want anything, sis?"
Wynonna groaned and fell down on the floor in front of the bed. She popped her legs up, resting her back against the side of the bed, and Waverly gingerly reached a hand forward and brushed it through her wild curls. She kept trying to figure out how she could best be there for Wynonna right now, because on one hand she wanted to continue to apologise for the mess she had made of everything, and on the other hand she wanted to talk to her sister about her feelings, about Alice, but at the same time she could tell that all Wynonna really did was throw herself into work, and maybe, Waverly realised, the best she could do was just be there.
Leaning into Waverly's touch, Wynonna finally opened her mouth to speak, "You're the best thing in my life, you know that, don't you?" She questioned. Her voice was low and breathy and for the first time, Waverly could tell that she'd been drinking quite a bit more than just that whiskey she was holdning. As if reading Waverly's thoughts, Wynonna took another sip of her bottle. "Like, right now, you're the best thing that I have with me. I," she cut herself off, "I feel so empty, Waverly, with Alice gone, but at the same time, I just," she paused, turning her head to meet Waverly's green eyes, "I really, really, really just am so happy that I have you with me. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Wyn," Waverly whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to the older woman's cheek, "you won't ever have to find out. Like I said that day at Shorty's, you're the best of us, too."
Wynonna closed her eyes for a second, clearly trying to figure out the right words to use, and Waverly let her take her time, didn't want to rush her, because words had never been her sister's strong suit. "You're gonna be so mad at me," she finally said, not daring to open her eyes.
Biting her lip, Waverly huffed. She had no idea what that was even supposed to mean, but if Wynonna said she was going to be mad, she was probably right, and Wynonna had done something stupid as always. But now wasn't the time to talk about that stupidness, or whatever mistakes, because all Waverly really wanted to talk about was Wynonna. "Then we can be mad at each other, okay? I deserve it, too," she simply just replied, smiling when her sister finally opened her eyes and green met blue.
"I remember looking down at you when you were just a baby," Wynonna said then, brushing a finger out to touch Waverly's hand. "I looked at your green eyes, and I held your hand," she tugged her finger inside Waverly's hand, "like this," she paused. "And I remember thinking you were the most amazing thing in this entire world. And I thought, I thought that…" she swallowed loudly, and again Waverly let her take her time to find the right words, "that… I would do the same with her, y'know? Stand there and look down at the baby that I made, and, and instead of Willa standing next to me, it'd be you, and you would hold my baby, like I held you, and just," she stopped talking, letting the words hang between them.
Waverly could feel her heart swell; she'd imagined all that for them as well. She'd meant what she had said to Wynonna in the beginning of the pregnancy: It was their baby, and she would have been there every step of the way. She had even imagined her and Nicole babysitting together to give Wynonna some time to herself, and even – one day – giving her niece or nephew a cousin to play with and have a friendship with; someone to live through the pain of being an Earp with. She had seen all of that for them, even if the timing was fucked, and their life possibly, not really, fitted the life that a baby needed. They would have made it work; they would have taken turns watching over her, making sure that she was safe.
Now she was safe, of course, but also so, so far away.
"That's how it should have been, 'Nonna," Waverly replied, squeezing her sister's finger like she imagined at baby would.
"But this place ain't no place for a baby." Wynonna coolly replied, retrieving her finger and kicking a foot out to touch the stack of papers on the floor. "How's the research going? I mean, besides your research on Nicole Haught's body I saw earlier."
Rolling her eyes, Waverly knew that Wynonna was trying to change the subject before it got too emotional for her to handle. "I'm acing that research, just so you know," she jokingly said, before she reached down to the floor and grabbed the book she had been trying to read earlier. "I'm trying to find a meaning to that ring though, and it's not going so well, it's just," she winced, "dead-ends."
Nodding, Wynonna didn't reply. She took another long sip of her whiskey and winced when she swallowed.
"So, what have you and Doc been up to?" Waverly questioned instead, wanting both to know how Doc was doing, but also if they were okay, and if they were, what they had been spending their days doing. She grabbed the bottle from Wynonna's hand and let the burning liquor slide down her throat.
Wynonna glanced at her through heavy eyelids. "Don't know much about Doc, he's been… off doing his own things, being all Doc-like," she explained and motioned for Waverly to give her back the bottle.
The younger Earp took another swig of it first. "He's not hanging out with the revenants, is he?"
"I get a feeling this is definitely not revenant-business." Wynonna replied, letting her head roll back on the mattress to stare up at the ceiling.
Waverly got a feeling that Wynonna was pretty much done talking, but she tried her luck anyway. "News from Gus?" She questioned, trying not to sound too hopeful, knowing very well that communication between them had to be scarce because it could all be intercepted, and the revenants might not be able to leave the Ghost River Triangle, but other demonic beings could, and Bobo had always had friends in a lot of high places.
"Nope," Wynonna just replied, popping the 'p' and emptying the last of the whiskey down her throat. She sighed, "And what about you, baby girl? Any idea where your distinctively not Earpy ways are coming from?"
Sticking her tongue out at her sister, Waverly said, "Hey, I've been told I'm the Earpiest Earp of them all."
Wynonna raised an eyebrow. "That's not something to be proud of, you know."
Waverly softly replied back, "I think it is. You're something to be proud of, Wyn."
They looked at each other for a moment, and Waverly knew that Wynonna meant her words in the best way possible; that she thought that it was a good thing that Waverly was not an Earp, that she was better than them, more special and meant for something bigger, but Waverly had spent her whole life wanting to be just like her sisters (well, mostly Wynonna) and wanting to make the Earp name proud, to break the curse. And damnit, if she wasn't related to Wynonna, she was still an Earp, because in her eyes, an Earp was the best thing to be.
That didn't mean she didn't want to find out who she was – what she was.
Clearing her throat, Wynonna prodded her on, "Well?"
"I'm actually thinking of asking Greta," Waverly whispered, not quite wanting to meet her sister's eyes. "I know it went super bad the last time, but she also helped us, you know, when you were gone," she whispered the last part, "and uh, I was starting to wonder if there maybe was a spell or something, anything to make you so clearly remember me coming home from the hospital," she paused, meeting Wynonna's eyes, testing her reaction to these thoughts. "I mean, someone might have altered your memories, even Willa's, and… and I know that Greta and Mattie's mom was The Blacksmith before, so yeah, Greta might remember something?"
Wynonna nodded her head, and Waverly was thankful that she wasn't objecting to this idea or trying to talk Waverly out of it, of going to Greta, because it was honestly the best option she felt that she had – it was clear that she could not trust a word Bobo had been telling her (well except for the fact that she wasn't an Earp perhaps?), so maybe it was better to get her information elsewhere, and Greta was… Greta seemed eager to help make up for the mayhem she had inadvertently helped Waverly cause. It wasn't a perfect plan, and there might not come anything out of it, but Waverly was honestly out of options at this point.
"Just take me with, okay?" Wynonna broke Waverly's thoughts, reaching a hand out to tangle their fingers together, "When you talk to her, eh? Just take me with."
Waverly felt her heart speed up in her chest; she knew that she hadn't allowed Wynonna to develop much interest in this project, since she had taken so long to actually share her doubts about her heritage with her, but now she couldn't imagine going down this road without her sister by her side. Both her sister, and Nicole, of course. The two best people in the world. She nodded her head. "You want to?"
Wynonna withdrew her hand, clearly feeling a bit too overwhelmed with the closeness and sincerity of the situation. "I have to make sure you don't fuck up and make me disappear again, don't I?" She questioned as she pulled herself off the floor.
Biting her lip to hide a grin, Waverly hummed in response.
"C'mon then," Wynonna said, pulling her off the bed, "we're out of whiskey, so I think it's time to hit Shorty's."
xxx
Thank you so much for your interest in the first chapter. If you can't already tell, this story is going to go a bit back and forth between years, but it should always be only one place per chapter, and I'll always make sure to put the years at the top as it is rather important.
This chapter was me putting a few waves in the water and trying my hand with my favourite couple. Also the sisterliness which I just love.
Make sure to let me know what you think!
Disclaimer; I do not own Wynonna Earp.
