18. I'm Gay! (Waverly's Coming Out)

“Um, can we talk?”

Waverly clenched her jaw as she slowly shook her head and rolled her eyes before walking into the house, leaving the door wide open for Nicole to enter. The redhead hesitantly followed the brunette and softly shut the door behind her, not wanting to make a lot of noise. She hung her hat up before wandering to the bottom of the stairs, where Waverly was impatiently waiting for her to catch up.

“Okay, so–”

“Not here,” Waverly interrupted. “I don’t want there to be any chance of Wynonna coming home and interrupting your long overdue apology,” she stated, not even trying to hide the sass in her voice. Nicole nodded as she followed Waverly up the stairs, but the brunette quickly turned around. “And Nicole, this better be good.” She gave the redhead a look of warning before continuing to stomp up the stairs and leading them into her bedroom.

Waverly stood in the middle of the room with her arms folded across her chest, her left hip jutted out as she bore most of her weight on her right leg and glared at Nicole, waiting for her to begin.

“Um, do you want to sit?” Nicole asked hesitantly.

“No, I don’t.” She held her stare.

“Okay.” Nicole gave a short sigh. “Okay, so I’m really sorry for reacting the way I did. I think I may have overreacted a bit…”

“A bit?” Waverly asked incredulously. “Nicole, you’ve been ignoring me for nearly three days. Do you know how shitty that was of you?”

“I do,” she replied as she dropped her head in shame. If she had a tail, it would be between her legs right about now.

“No, I don’t think you do.” Waverly took a step forward. “I’ve been an emotional wreck. I couldn’t sleep, I’ve barely eaten, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, because you wouldn’t talk to me! I had no idea if we were even still together anymore. I mean, god, you’re my first girlfriend, Nicole. After so many years I’ve finally figured out a key part of who I am, and you’re the woman who helped me do that. You opened this door that I didn’t even know was there and completely flipped my world right-side up. Do you know what that means?”

Nicole pursed her lips, refraining from answering. She knew exactly what it meant, but she also knew that the question was rhetorical, and only an idiot would dare answer.

“It means that this,” Waverly gesticulated wildly between them, “Is a big fucking deal for me! And you just up and ghosting me like is just so…it’s so…” she balled her fists in frustration as she paused to give her brain a chance to catch up with her mouth. “Immature and selfish! And quite honestly, it’s something Champ would’ve done. Which really sucks, because you’re supposed to be better than him.”

“I know, I screwed up.” Nicole finally interjected, the pain of Waverly’s words hitting her hard. “I was just so hurt that you didn’t tell me about that guy before and I couldn’t deal.”

“Is it because I didn’t tell you, or because I cheated?” Waverly’s eyebrows knitted together and a scowl darkened her face as she stood with her arms crossed against her chest, which was still heaving in anger.

“Both.”

Waverly dropped her arms and shook her head. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but you have to believe me when I say that I would never do that to you. I know that what I did was wrong and immoral, and I would never do it again.”

“How am I supposed to believe that?” Nicole asked with trepidation.

“It’s called trust,” Waverly replied defensively. “You do trust me, right?”

“Well, yeah. But this– ”

“Then why is it so hard for you to understand that I actually care about you and would never want to hurt you?”

“Because the last time I believed someone who said that I got hurt!” Nicole replied a little too loudly, startling Waverly a bit. The immediate shock quickly wore off Waverly’s face as it softened a bit.

“One point for Wynonna,” Waverly mumbled to herself before stepping closer to Nicole and reaching out for her forearms. “What happened?”

Nicole stepped out of the brunette’s reach and sighed as she turned around, not wanting Waverly to see her as she collected her thoughts. She rested her hands on her hips and shook her head as she bit her bottom lip, tensing her facial muscles which almost made it look like she was smiling. After a few seconds, she turned back around. Her eyes were a little red, but she kept herself from letting any tears escape. “It happened over a year ago, with my last girlfriend. We had been together for a year, and we had just moved into a new apartment after living an hour away from each other. She was actively looking for a new job closer to mine, and I was actively looking for an engagement ring.”

Waverly’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline at the realization that Nicole had almost married someone else. She swallowed as she held back all of the questions that were running through her mind, wanting to let her girlfriend continue her explanation.

A despondent expression appeared on Nicole’s face as the painful memories that she had tried so hard to bury drifted up to the surface. “Then one night, two days after moving in with her, I told her that I had to work a double shift. I was going to surprise her with a romantic dinner to celebrate the new apartment. She was supposed to be at her mom’s house, so it was the perfect plan. But when I got home with the groceries, I heard a noise in the bedroom. I quietly went in to catch whoever was in our home, and that’s when I found her…completely naked, on top of some guy.”

Waverly winced at the look of pain that crossed Nicole’s face. She knew that Nicole seeing her girlfriend with someone else was bad, but that seeing her with a man was even more gut-wrenching.

“And I just froze in the doorway, watching them together. It was like watching a horror film, where you so desperately want to close your eyes, but at the same time you just can’t look away. After what felt like an eternity they finally saw me there, and she quickly jumped off of him. She gave me the whole ‘I can explain’ bullshit, but I already knew it would just be a lie. So I left the apartment and stayed at a hotel.”

“Nicole. I’m so sorry,” Waverly quavered sympathetically.

“That’s not even the worst part. A couple weeks later, after breaking up with her and moving back into my old apartment, I found out that I wasn’t actually the one she wanted to move closer to.” Nicole paused before looking up at Waverly. “She had been having an affair with that guy for six months. Six fucking months. I mean, what kind of a police officer has no idea that their girlfriend has been screwing someone else for six months?! I was humiliated. The news quickly spread, and I was the laughing stock of the station. The guys already couldn’t believe that I had landed a girlfriend ‘that stacked’…their words, not mine,” she rolled her eyes at the immaturity. “And when they found out that she was getting dick on the side, they rubbed it in my face. A lot of ‘I told you so’ and ‘no woman that pretty would choose to be a lesbian’ and ‘you should just go back to men’ were said to me over the next few weeks. It was hard enough being the only woman at my job, but then to also be labeled as the stupid dyke who got played by a woman who was already out of my league? That was toughest thing I ever had to go through.” She grimaced as she remembered the countless amount of derogatory terms that were thrown at her from her co-workers. “And it was suddenly no longer my physical capability of doing my job that was questioned, but also my intelligence. Nobody ever gave me any cases that didn’t involve helping old ladies cross the street. They wouldn’t even trust me to change a flat tire properly, despite all of the jokes that were made about my sexual orientation dictating my ability to do so.” She sighed and gave a slight shake of her head. “I basically got demoted to coffee runs and keeping the station clean, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it because it was me against everyone else in that shithole.”

Waverly was fuming at this point. She wished that she could go back in time and punch all of those guys – and Nicole’s ex – in the face. “Officer Nicole Haught, you listen to me.” Waverly lifted Nicole’s chin with her index finger and forced them to make eye contact. “You are the most amazing police officer I’ve ever met. You’re kind, and compassionate, and you care about everyone in this small town. You have so much good in you, and this world needs someone like you to keep it safe from the bad guys. And despite what those sexist pigs believe, there’s not a single person in this world that is out of your league. In fact, you were clearly out of her league. I mean, you had to be in order for her to be dumb enough to choose some guy over you.”

Nicole smiled, appreciative of her girlfriend’s kind words. “It broke me, you know? After that, I promised myself that I would always be skeptical of others and put myself first in order to keep my heart safe, no matter what it took. And when you told me that story of cheating on Champ, it triggered something in me. All of those feelings came up, and I went into defense mode.”

“I get it. I mean, how can you not after going through something like that?” Waverly replied as she waved her hand around. “But you have to talk to me when something’s bothering you, okay? No matter how hard it is. You can’t just shut me out like that. We have to communicate with each other, because that’s the only way this relationship is going to work. We’re a team now, you and me.” She smiled as she wrapped her arms around the redhead’s waist and looked up into light brown eyes.

Nicole nodded, aware of her mistakes. “Look, I trust you Waverly. Really, I do. You’re the only person I’ve been able to trust since then, actually. And in my heart, I know you would never cheat on me. It just took me a little bit of time to reach that conclusion…and a bit of Wynonna kicking my ass.” She chuckled as she shook her head at how grating the older Earp was, and not at all like Waverly. “I’m really sorry. Can you forgive me?”

The brunette exhaled deeply as a warm smile graced her cheeks. “Are you kidding me? Of course I forgive you. But next time you go into this deep dark spiraling mindset of doubt, you have to promise that you’ll talk to me about it instead of disappearing and pushing me away, okay? I want us to be able to get through our challenges together.”

“I know, I know. I will, I promise.” Nicole smiled as she leaned in and delicately pressed her lips against Waverly’s.

As soon as she pulled away Waverly grabbed her by the collar of her uniform and pulled her back in, not wanting the kiss to end so soon. After all, it had been three days since she kissed Nicole, and she forgot how sweet she tasted. Pretty soon the kiss became heated, and Waverly was becoming more and more impatient by the second. She pushed Nicole up against the wall, peppering kisses all over the redhead’s neck, causing a hoarse sigh to escape the back of the taller woman’s throat as she involuntarily bucked her hips in response. Trailing her hands down the front of Nicole’s body, Waverly took in every dip and curve of the woman’s structure, smiling at the figure beneath her skin. She stopped at the black leather belt and began to frantically undo the buckle, her one-track mind already planning all of the things she was going to do to this woman.

Nicole sighed in frustration as she brought her hands down to Waverly’s wrists and stilled her movements.

“Why do I always get stopped at the belt?” Waverly whined before noticing the uncertainty in Nicole’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I uh, started my period this morning,” Nicole replied as she rubbed the back of her neck. She didn’t know why she felt so awkward telling Waverly since it was a natural thing that happened to half of the population, and especially since just the other week she had convinced Waverly not to feel bad about her own period. It was something she went through every four weeks for the past fifteen years, but she still couldn’t help but feel like she was admitting to something shameful. She silently cursed society for instilling this mindset into her before straightening her posture to give off some of the confidence she was clearly lacking.

Waverly quickly withdrew her hands from the belt and slid them tenderly around Nicole’s shoulders. She felt the tension that resided there, and when she looked up at her face she could see that the redhead was clearly uncomfortable and nervous about the situation. Waverly pondered for a way to make her girlfriend feel more at ease before finally deciding to take the humorous route.

“So, we’re not pregnant then?”

A breathy chuckle escaped Nicole’s lips as she pulled Waverly into a hug and kissed the top of her head. She stayed there for a moment with her lips resting against Waverly’s hair, relishing the scent of her lavender shampoo before pulling away. “Not this time, love,” she replied playfully.

Waverly smiled at her girlfriend’s reaction to her joke, pleased to see that the taller woman had relaxed. “But in all seriousness, if you still want to have sex, I’m okay with it. I mean, if you’re wearing a tampon it won’t even cause a mess. But even if you aren’t, I don’t mind...” Waverly trailed off, hoping that Nicole didn’t think she was weird or gross for offering.

A reassuring smile spread across Nicole’s face as she cupped her girlfriend’s slightly flushed cheeks and gave her a sweet kiss. “Thank you baby. That’s really kind and caring of you to offer that. I am wearing a tampon, but I’m not sure if it’s something I really want right now. Especially with it being the first day and all, I just feel kind of bloated and achy and not really in the mood to be touched down there.” She lovingly brushed Waverly’s cheeks with both thumbs in an attempt to show her how appreciative she was, even though she didn’t accept her offer. “Maybe another time though, I’ll be more confident to try it?” Waverly nodded in response before Nicole quickly added with a smirk, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t pleasure you. I’d be more than happy to do so.”

“I think I’d rather wait.” Waverly gave a soft smile. “Everyone knows that make up sex is the best sex, and I want to do it when we’re both able to...no matter how horny I am right now.” She backed away from Nicole and plopped onto the edge of the bed with the redhead traipsing towards her.

“So,” Nicole started as she stood between Waverly’s legs and began massaging the girl’s shoulders. “Do you want to do something? Since it’s only…” she looked at her watch. “Seven thirty.”

The brunette sighed in response to Nicole rubbing out the knots in her shoulders caused by the tension she had been holding in the last few days. “Do you want to go to Shorty’s? Have a drink, play some pool?”

The dimples on Nicole’s cheeks appeared as she brought her hands up to the back of Waverly’s neck and leaned down. “I would love that.” She gave a slow, gentle kiss before adding with a whisper, “Beating you at pool is my favorite sport.”

“Hey!” Waverly slapped her arm. “I’m good at pool!”

“I never said you weren’t good. You’re just not as good as me.” The redhead sported a smug grin.

“God, you’re so cocky,” Waverly rolled her eyes as she strode out of the room.

“And you love it!”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Waverly waved her hand in dismissal as she led the pair downstairs. Nicole grabbed her hat from the hook and suddenly remembered she was in uniform.

“Can we swing by my place first though? I want to change into something more casual...and maybe take some Midol.” She clenched her jaw at the dull ache in her lower abdomen. “God I hate being a woman sometimes.”

She felt Waverly’s hand snake around her arm and her warm lips press against her cheek. “Whatever you want, honey.”

---

Nicole reached out for the handle of the front door to Shorty’s and pulled it back, holding the door open and gesturing for Waverly to walk in. “After you.”

“So chivalrous,” Waverly replied with a smile big enough to force her eyes to nearly disappear. She walked into the bar, Nicole following behind.

“Hey sis!” Waverly lilted cheerily as she walked up to the counter in front of Wynonna and leaned onto her elbows.

“Hey, Baby Girl. Everything alright?” Wynonna questioned as her eyes flitted over to Nicole, skeptically glaring at her.

“Yep, everything is great!” She gingerly took Nicole’s hand for a brief moment as she looked lovingly into her eyes.

“Okay, ew. Cool it with the googly eyes. This is a bar, not an Olive Garden.” Wynonna playfully winked at her younger sister, who was shaking her head and squinting her eyes at Wynonna while trying to hide her smile.

“Waves, why don’t you get us a pool table and I’ll bring our drinks.” Nicole smiled at her.

“Okay, cutie.” She lightly squeezed Nicole’s hand before making her way over to the only empty pool table left, which was only about ten feet away from the side of the counter that was behind Wynonna.

“Her nicknames for you are much nicer than mine,” Wynonna stated as she watched her sister walk far enough away out of earshot.

“Yeah, about that. Look, you were right earlier. I was being a dick to Waverly. But, I talked to her, and we worked it out. So, thank you for dragging me out of my head.” Nicole pursed her lips and struggled to raise the corners of her mouth in one of the most awkward smiles Wynonna had ever seen.

“Jesus, you look like you’re about to take a massive shit.”

Nicole quickly dropped her smile and tilted her head, looking at Wynonna incredulously. “I’m trying here, okay? Can you just accept my apology so we can go back to being friend...ly people who are important to Waverly?”

“I don’t remember you actually saying you were sorry.” The older Earp stroked her chin with her thumb and index finger, eliciting an eye roll and a sigh from the redhead.

“Okay fine. I’m sorry. We good now?”

Wynonna pondered for a moment before saying, “Yeah, we’re good.” She smiled and shook hands with Nicole. “But I’m still watching you,” she warned with a wag of her index finger.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from an Earp.” Nicole grinned.

“Two beers then?” Wynonna asked. Nicole nodded in response and Wynonna grabbed a couple of clean glasses from behind the counter and set them down.

“Oh, just a heads up, everyone’s talking about you.”

Nicole quirked an eyebrow. “What about me?”

“It seems the cat’s out of the bag.” Wynonna replied before pouring the beer into the mugs, filling them almost to the brim. Nicole stared at her, unsure of what the woman was talking about. Wynonna rolled her eyes. “That you’re a member of the ladies lovin’ ladies club.” Her eyebrows pulled together as she looked Nicole up and down. “Or, president, with that get-up.”

Nicole looked down at her red flannel buttoned up to the top with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, dark blue jeans, and black suede Puma sneakers before looking back up. “What’s wrong with this?”

“Nothing, you just look really gay. I mean, you’re more obvious than Lance Bass in the ‘90s. I’m honestly really surprised people are just now figuring this out.”

The redhead huffed in annoyance. “Okay, so back to the important topic. People know I’m gay?” She lowered her voice as she leaned over the counter.

“Seems like it. Everyone’s been talking about it all day. You hear a lot when you’re a bartender with the eavesdropping skills of a middle-aged woman in church...and also, some of these drunks are loud as shit when they’re gossiping.”

“Do they know about Waverly?”

“I don’t think so. One of the firemen here is friends with a guy from your previous job and told him you were gay…well, actually he said it in a less nicer way, but I figured you’d want me to paraphrase. But he was talking about it with one of his buddies, and it just kind of blew up from there and now pretty much the whole town knows.”

“So that’s why Nedley was acting so weird around me earlier.”

“Probably. But yeah, there was no mention of Waverly. Also, I overheard a few of the ladies mention something about being over the men in this town and wanting to try a new flavor. And based on my excellent deducting skills, I’m pretty sure you’re the new flavor they were talking about.” The brunette tried not to gag.

“Good,” Nicole nodded with a sigh of relief before Wynonna looked at her with gritted teeth and a mean mug that wasn’t afraid to show how ready she was to deck the redhead. “I mean, good that they don’t know about Waverly, not about the flavor thing. And I don’t give a shit if people in this town know about me, I’ve been out for a while so people talking about me is nothing new. I just want Waverly to have the chance to come out on her own terms when she’s ready.”

Wynonna unclenched her fist as a slight smile formed on her lips. “Speaking of Waverly, you better get this alcohol in her system pronto if you want to beat her at pool.”

Nicole chuckled. “Trust me, I have better ways of raising my chances.” She reached into her back pocket for her wallet. “How much do I owe you?”

“This one’s on the house,” Wynonna winked as her lips curved up into a subtle smile.

Nicole responded by smiling back and giving a slight nod as she picked up the drinks and walked over towards Waverly, who was concentrating on hitting one of the balls into a corner pocket.

“Getting some practice in I see?” Nicole teased as she reached the table.

“Oh, you know, just making sure I’ve still got it.” As soon as she finished her sentence, Waverly took the shot, knocking the ball that she was aiming for into the corner pocket before the cue ball ricocheted off the wall and hit another into a side pocket. She looked up at Nicole triumphantly as she walked over to take her beer from the redhead’s hand and took a sip, all while staring at Nicole’s shocked expression. “So, you ready to lose?”

“Now who’s being cocky?”

“Hey, I’m just glad I’m finally dating someone who’s mature enough to handle losing. I always had to fake it with Champ…along with other things,” she winked.

“More mature than a boy-man? Indeed. But you’ll never know how good of a loser I am, because I’m always winning.” She knocked the beer back and took a large swig before slamming the glass down onto the counter behind her. “Rack em’ up.”

Waverly rolled her eyes and emptied the ball pockets before placing the pool balls in the rack. After setting the rack aside, she lined up her cue stick for the break and knocked in two solid balls with a grin that Nicole found more cute than annoying.

“Beginner’s luck,” the redhead huffed with a stern look, her eyes betraying any real anger.

“More like expert’s skill!” Waverly walked around the table for the next shot and sunk another ball in.

Nicole watched the brunette take her shots from the stool by the bar while nursing her drink. Just when Waverly was lining herself up to pocket her fourth ball, Nicole sighed and began to fan herself off. “Does it feel hot in here to you?”

Without breaking her form, Waverly shifted her eyes up at Nicole with an eyebrow quirked in suspicion. “No? I mean, I feel fine, but maybe it’s because of that thick flannel you’ve got on,” she suggested before focusing back on the ball.

“You’re right, it’s probably the flannel.” The redhead began to unbutton the top two buttons as she rubbed the condensation from her glass all over her skin.

Just as Waverly was about to take her shot, Nicole loudly sighed again, but this time it was a sigh of relief. Annoyed, Waverly groaned and stood up to say something about keeping it down, but when she noticed what Nicole was doing, she gulped. She stared wide-eyed as the woman sat on the stool with her legs crossed at the knees and back against the bar, slowly rubbing all over her chest with her right hand as she leaned against the counter on her left arm. The way her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly agape almost made it look like she was getting some sort of pleasure out of it in some way.

When Nicole heard Waverly’s breath hitch, her eyes slowly opened. She tried her best not to smirk at how well her plan was working.

“Aren’t you going to take your shot?” Nicole asked, pulling Waverly out of her fantasies.

“Huh?” The brunette tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry.

“It’s still your turn, right?”

“Oh, right.” Waverly shook all of her thoughts of a naked Nicole out of her head and tried to regain her focus on the ball. She leaned down, hands slightly trembling as she took her shot, but the ball ended up missing and hitting one of Nicole’s in.

Nicole tutted as she stood up from the stool and in the most seductive manner rubbed chalk on the tip of her pool cue, being sure to do it in Waverly’s line of sight.

“So close,” Nicole said disappointedly. After a few seconds of chalking, she blew on the stick in the most sensual way possible before strutting over to the edge of the table directly across from Waverly. She leisurely leaned down as far as humanly possible, exposing her bra-clad breasts to Waverly.

Waverly’s jaw nearly hit the floor. She quickly looked around the room to see if anyone else was seeing this, but noticed that nobody was paying any attention to them, and that she was the only person who could see Nicole’s chest from that angle. She turned back around to her girlfriend and watched attentively as Nicole took her first shot, and then another, and another, and another, all while giving Waverly a show – biting her lip and sliding her hand up and down the cue stick. With only two striped balls left, she missed, walking away from the table to let Waverly take her turn.

The brunette slowly walked over to the table, eyes flitting between it and Nicole, before leaning down to take her shot. Before she could even take any practice strokes, she noticed Nicole slowly drag her hand up her own thigh and landing on her crotch, causing her to gasp as she slammed the cue stick into the ball, sending it flying through the air towards the redhead.

Nicole’s eyes went wide with worry. She quickly reached out to catch the ball before settling back into character. “Someone’s getting rusty,” she chuckled before placing the ball back on the table and taking her turn.

“I, uh…” Waverly was going to say something, she was sure of it. But as soon as the redhead bent over all of her thoughts went out the window, and the only thing she could focus on was how sexy her girlfriend looked leaning over the table with her unbuttoned shirt, brow creased in concentration as she took her shot. And a perfect shot, at that.

Nicole walked around to the corner and knocked in her last striped ball before leaning back up with a smirk and setting herself up for the eight ball. “Corner pocket,” she said before shooting the ball straight in. She slowly leaned up and walked over to Waverly, who was too mesmerized by the taller woman to even realize that the game was over.

Nicole leaned down to Waverly’s ear, smiling at the slight gasp that left the brunette’s mouth in anticipation before whispering, “I win.”

Waverly jumped back as soon as the words registered in her brain. “Wait, what?” She looked over at the table and noticed that all of the striped balls, and the eight ball, were missing. “No! You cheated!”

“How did I cheat?”

“Because! Because you–...you were being all sexy and distracted me!” She accused as she waved her index finger around.

“Maybe if you didn’t ogle me so much, you wouldn’t have been so distracted,” Nicole replied with a smirk.

“Oh, I’m so getting you back for that! We’re playing again, and this time I’m not looking at anything other than this pool table,” Waverly stated before tossing her cue stick in the air and snatching it by the middle as she gave Nicole a stern look.

Nicole chuckled and shook her head at the adorable woman angrily placing the pool balls inside the triangle before walking over to her beer on the counter and taking a swig.

“Hi,” said a blonde woman around Waverly’s age who had walked up to Nicole.

“Hello,” Nicole replied slowly with raised eyebrows, immediately noticing the woman’s short crop top and even shorter skirt. She blinked a few times as she quickly flitted her eyes up to the woman’s face, realizing that she had been inappropriately staring too far below it. “Um, did we steal your table?”

“No, no.” The woman chuckled. “I came here to talk to you, actually.”

“Me?” Nicole questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

“Well, you are Officer Haught, right?” The woman smirked as she stepped a little closer toward Nicole.

“Oh, yeah, I am. Is there something you need my help with? I’m off duty at the moment, but I can give you my card.”

“I would very much like that,” the blonde replied as she bit her lip and eyed Nicole up and down.

“I’m not going to look, I’m not going to look, I’m not going to look,” Waverly whispered to herself as she took her fourth shot, knocking a ball into one of the side pockets. She smiled to herself before quickly flitting her eyes up towards Nicole for a moment, briefly giving into the temptation before immediately looking back down at the table. As soon as her brain registered that Nicole was talking to a woman, she jerked her head back up. Her mouth dropped when she noticed the woman gently touching Nicole’s arm, but then her jaw clenched when she realized who the woman was.

“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.” She muttered through gritted teeth as she slammed her pool cue down on the table – not caring one bit about the fact that half of the pool balls had shifted – and marched over to the woman.

“Beverly Shaw.” Waverly said smugly as she folded her arms tightly across her chest.

The blonde whipped around to face the fuming brunette. A sly smile slowly spread across her face as she placed her hands on her hips. “Waverly Earp. Can’t say I’m surprised that you’re still here in Purgatory. You never did seem like the kind to branch out,” she said with a snarky tone.

Waverly knew that was a dig at her level of success. “You do realize that I was valedictorian, right?”

“It’s not like there was much competition,” Beverly scoffed.

“Oh, like you? Were you even in the top 10%?”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “I never applied myself back in high school. I was too busy working on my image to get good grades, unlike you.”

Waverly quirked an eyebrow in genuine confusion. “Was that an insult towards me or you?”

“I’m a successful business woman now,” she boasted, completely ignoring Waverly’s question.

“Where? Hooters?” Waverly replied as she eyed the woman’s outfit.

Beverly’s eyebrows knitted together as a scowl formed on her face. “No, I have a jewelry business in Vancouver that sells high-end merchandise. But I hear you’re a barista at The Grind now? Must be riveting.”

Waverly balled her fists as she pursed her lips. She wanted nothing more than to slap the smug look off of the blonde’s perfectly make-upped face. “I have a four-year degree in Ancient Cultures and Languages, I’ll have you know.”

“Oh really? What college did you go to?”

The confidence fell from Waverly’s face. “Well, it was by correspondence.”

Beverly snorted. “Not surprised. Only an Earp would get a boring and useless degree online.”

“What are you even doing here?” Waverly growled.

“Here in Purgatory? I’m here for a couple of weeks to help my dad move out of our old house and into a smaller apartment. Here in this horribly tasteless bar? Well, I came here for a drink, and luckily stumbled across one of the most talked about officers in this town. But that was sheer luck.” She smirked at Nicole, causing Waverly to nearly blow a gasket.

Nicole looked between the women and noticed Waverly’s fists shaking. She jumped forward, forming a barrier between the two. “Okay, ladies. Looks like this has been a fun little reunion,” she chuckled nervously. “Bethany, I’m sure you have places to be.” She looked over at Waverly and glared at her. “Waverly,” she warned with pointed eyes, knowing exactly what the brunette was planning.

“Actually, it’s Beverly. As in, Beverly Hills.” The blonde corrected.

“You know Beverly is also the name of one of the worst tasting beverages in the world, right?” Waverly pushed Nicole out of the way and took a step closer towards the blonde.

“Oh, I can guarantee that I taste really sweet,” Beverly replied as she ghosted her fingertips up Nicole’s exposed forearms.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Waverly swatted Beverly’s hand away and pulled Nicole closer to her, causing the redhead to stumble back a bit. “You’re not even gay! Or did you forget that time you slept with my boyfriend?” She folded her arms across her chest.

“You don’t know what I want, Waverly! Maybe I’m over jackass men.” She wrapped her hand around Nicole’s bicep and squeezed, feeling the tense muscles of the redhead. “Maybe I’m ready to be with someone who knows how to treat a woman with respect.”

Waverly growled as she yanked Beverly’s hand off of Nicole once again. “Well it sure as hell isn’t going to be with my girlfriend!” She shoved the blonde, causing her to have to catch her balance on the counter.

Nicole looked around the room and noticed that everyone was staring at them – including Wynonna. She then looked at Waverly and saw that her eyes were glued to Beverly, either oblivious to the seemingly shocked patrons or uncaring. She prayed that Waverly was ready to come out, because it would be pretty difficult to backtrack and explain the whole girlfriend thing.

Beverly scoffed as she looked between Waverly and Nicole. “You two are together?”

Nicole hesitantly nodded, unsure if it was the best move for having any chance of un-outing them as Waverly pursed her lips and gave Beverly a look that said, ‘yes bitch, now leave us the fuck alone’.

The blonde chuckled in disbelief. “Didn’t you just bring up your boyfriend like two seconds ago? Never pegged you, goody two-shoes Waverly Earp, as the type to play the other side for attention.”

“I broke up with him, and now I’m with Nicole. And I’m not doing anything for attention. I’m gay.” Waverly replied through gritted teeth, offended by the blonde’s accusations.

Well, there goes any chance of backtracking, Nicole thought to herself.

Beverly rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure. Whatever. If you’re gay then I’m a drunk, because you can’t get any straighter than head cheerleader and prom queen,” she snorted.

“Hey!” Nicole turned to the blonde. She’d had enough. “You don’t get to say who someone is. If Waverly says she’s gay, then she’s gay. And trust me, she’s very gay.” The corners of Waverly’s mouth tugged up in an endearing smile. “And you suggesting that someone can’t be head cheerleader and prom queen and queer is a bit narrow-minded, don’t you think? I mean, weren’t you just hitting on me?”

“I just wanted some girl-on-girl action. I never said I was a lez.” She folded her arms across her chest defensively.

“Well you can consider your offer declined, because I’m happily taken by an amazing woman, and nobody even comes close to her.” She wrapped her arm around Waverly protectively as she rested her other hand on her hip as a way of asserting her dominance.

Beverly rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Whatever. You’re not that hot anyways, Carrot Top,” she barked as she sidled ungracefully between the two women, pushing them aside as she went.

“That, was amazing.” Waverly praised as she turned to Nicole.

“Yeah? So, you’re okay then?” The redhead asked a little worried.

“Of course I’m okay! I’m better than okay! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because, you kind of just came out to everyone in this bar, which means that by tomorrow everyone will know about us…and, you.” She said hesitantly, unsure if Waverly was aware of her public admission.

Waverly looked around and noticed that everyone was looking at them as the sounds of whispering filled the room. “Oh.” She gulped a little nervously. “Well, that’s okay. Honestly, I’m glad it’s out there. I feel relieved.” She grinned as she took Nicole’s hand.

“Yeah?” Nicole asked excitedly.

“Yeah,” she smiled. “I have such an adrenaline rush right now. I feel invincible, like nothing can bring me down!”

“I heard all of that!” An angry voice came from behind them.

“Fucking hell.” Waverly muttered to herself.

“So, this is why you broke with me? To be with her?!” Champ staggered across the bar, only slightly running into the corner of a pool table. “I knew something was off about you the moment I met you in that bar!” He scowled at Nicole.

“You mean, this bar?” Nicole questioned.

“That’s what I said, Ellen!” He shouted in her face. Nicole clenched her jaw and glared at him, not moving a muscle.

“Champ, you’re drunk. And apparently a raging homophobe,” Waverly berated as she folded her arms.

“It’s just gross! Two women kissing and stuff.” He scrunched up his face in disgust. Waverly rolled her eyes at the double standard, knowing full well that Champ often watched lesbian porn. “The last thing this town needs is a big butchy lesbo walking around the streets and gaying things up.” He jabbed his finger accusingly at Nicole.

“Oh, you mean like me?” Waverly gestured towards herself.

“You’re not gay, Waverly! We had sex.” His speech was gradually becoming more slurred as he grabbed onto the pool table to hold himself up.

“And it was the worst sex of my entire life. Trust me, Champ, I’m completely happy with Nicole. If you refuse to believe that I’m gay, then fine. I couldn’t care less what you think. But you better leave us alone.”

He scowled. “I’ll have you know there are tons of girls out there who say I’m the best they’ve ever had!”

“Oh, I believe it,” Waverly muttered, referring to the sheer amount of women Champ had slept with, even when they were together.

“Whatever, you can have your lesbo cop. I don’t care anymore. You weren’t that good in bed anyways, since I could never get you to shut up for five minutes! Always talking about dumb history things that nobody gives a shit about,” he scoffed as his eyes began to droop.

Waverly pursed her lips and slowly took a step towards him. She was beyond furious at this point. All of the negative feelings she had harbored towards the guy over the past four years had been pushed way down, and suddenly they were all flooding to the surface.

“You can’t talk to me like that, Champ. Not anymore.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah? Why not?” He taunted with a dopey look on his face.

“Because, I’m not afraid to tell you to go fuck yourself anymore.” She took another step forward. “And because I’m no longer afraid to admit that I like girls.” Another step. “And most importantly, because I’m Waverly fucking Earp.” She barked before driving her foot as hard as she could into his crotch, causing him to yelp and drop to his knees.

Nicole jumped back at the sudden act. The police officer part of her was telling her that she should do something, but the girlfriend part of her was proud of Waverly, and a little turned on. “And I’m fucking Waverly Earp,” she murmured to herself as she eyed the brunette up and down in astonishment.

Wynonna – who was just a few feet away behind the counter, polishing glasses as she watched the entertainment unfold in front of her – looked over at Nicole as her face twisted in disgust. “Okay, ew.”

The redhead rolled her eyes. “Earp, it’s not like you don’t know we’re sleeping together. Just the other night you were pimping me out!”

“That wasn’t me! It was the pregnancy hormones and the adrenaline rush from kicking Earl’s ass!” She whispered so only Nicole would hear her.

Nicole sighed and shifted her eyes as she turned back to Waverly, who was standing over Champ.

“This is the last time I’m going to say this. Don’t ever talk to me again! Or next time, I’m just going to chop it off, got it?” Waverly scolded.

“Waverly Earp!” A woman yelled from the back of the bar.

The whole place went silent. Waverly gulped before turning around, her eyes landing on a very angry older woman who was sporting a terrifying scowl as she stood with her arms folded over her chest.

Waverly chuckled lightly as she took a step away from the writhing boy-man on the floor. “Hey, Gus.”