38. Periods Suck (Part 2)

Waverly was just about to lock up the coffee shop when she felt a mild yet familiar pain just above her pubic bone.

“Ugh, seriously? Now?”

According to her period tracking app, she was supposed to get her period yesterday. And normally two days before her period her legs felt achy like she had just run a marathon, and her breasts were just a little tender. But she hadn’t felt any of that, so she assumed that she would be a few days late as usual. But nope. Turns out her period was just being a sneaky squirrel this month. She didn’t even bring a tampon with her to work.

“Great.” She sighed as she made her way into the employee bathroom. She would have to make an uncomfortable makeshift tampon out of toilet paper...again.

Her period rarely ever came on time, and the fact that she was only a day off this time was surprising. It was always either a few days early or a few days late. One time she was two weeks late and thought that she was pregnant, but had gotten it right when she was at the store buying a pregnancy test. That was she last time she’d ever let Champ “pull out”, and laid down the law of ‘condoms or bust’ no matter how much the boy-man whined about it not feeling the same. But no matter how unexpected her period was, nothing was as unexpected as the time she had gotten her first period...

13 years ago

Waverly was 9 years old and barely knew what a period was. Sure, she had two older sisters who would talk about it all the time, but nobody ever really explained to her what it was. She wasn’t even set to have the sex talk in school until next year, and it’s not like her alcoholic father had planned to sit her down and explain to her how her reproductive system worked. Which was why when she felt an indescribable pain in the lower part of her stomach and saw her panties and bedsheet stained completely red and a bit brown, she began to panic.

“Wynonna!” She yelled as she ran out of her bedroom and to her older sister’s room. She pushed the door open and spotted Wynonna on her bed, talking on her black landline phone.

“What the hell! Did you forget how to knock, Dorkus?!” Wynonna yelled at Waverly before turning her attention back to her phone. “No, it’s just my baby sister being annoying again.”

“Wynonna, something’s wrong with me!”

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to tell you that for years kid.” The older Earp rolled her eyes.

“I’m bleeding everywhere!” Waverly cried, worried that she was actually going to die.

Wynonna looked at her baby sister and saw how terrified she was, and knew that something was seriously wrong. “Pete, I’ll call you back.” She put the phone back on the receiver before rushing over to her sister. “What happened? Where are you bleeding? What hurts?” Wynonna worried as she frantically checked over her sister for injuries.

“It’s my stomach, it feels funny and it hurts. Like that time I got food poisoning but different. Lower. And I’m bleeding out!”

Wynonna calmly stepped back as she looked down at her sister with a quirked eyebrow. “Bleeding out where?”

“You know...” Waverly trailed off as she looked down between her legs and back up to her sister. “There. Where I pee from. It’s all over my clothes and it got on my bed ‘Nonna!”

The older Earp shifted uncomfortably as she shook her head. “Waves, you’re not dying.”

“I’m not? But, how do you know that for sure?” Waverly was confused.

Wynonna sighed. She wished her mom was here to give this talk to her little sister. Their mom had left before Wynonna had even gotten the talk, but she got her period when she was 10 and learned about it in health class. Willa had helped her put on a pad and everything since she had gotten her period two years before Wynonna. But Waverly was only in grade 3 and wouldn’t receive the sex talk in health class until next year. Wynonna knew she would have to be the one to explain this to Waverly, since Willa and Daddy were out. Besides, Daddy would just ignore that anything was happening, and Willa would probably just try to scare Waverly and give her the wrong information.

Wynonna sat on the hardwood floor with her back leaning against her bed frame and patted the spot next to her. “Come here, sit down.”

“What if I bleed on the floor?”

“It’s okay, I’ll clean it up. Just sit down.”

Waverly hesitated before sitting down next to her sister.

“You’re not dying. You just got your period.”

Waverly drew her eyebrows together. “The thing you and Willa have?”

Wynonna nodded.

“What is it? What does it do? And why am I bleeding from my...down there?”

Wynonna rolled her eyes. “Okay, first of all it’s called your vagina. You can say it, it’s not a bad word. And it’s not where your pee comes from.”

“It’s not?”

“No. You have a separate hole for that, one that’s much smaller. Your vagina is a bigger hole between your pee hole and your butthole.”

Waverly giggled. “You said butthole.”

Wynonna rolled her eyes and chuckled as she lightly pushed her sister. “I’m trying to be serious here, Waves. You need to know this stuff now that you can have babies.”

Waverly’s laughter abruptly stopped and her eyes widened. “I can have babies?!”

“Yep. Do you know where babies come from?”

“Mommies. Duh, everyone knows that.”

“Okay, but do you know how they get in there?”

“I...they...” Waverly shook her head, realizing she had never really questioned it. She knew a mommy had the baby inside of her belly, but she never thought of how they got in there in the first place...or how they got out.”

Wynonna sighed. “Okay, do you know what sex is?”

“Ew, Wynonna, I don’t want to hear about this!” Waverly covered her ears with her hands. “What does this have to do with a period?”

Wynonna reached out and took Waverly’s hands from her ears. “Just trust me, we’ll get to that in a minute, but it’ll make more sense if you know how sex works. Do you?”

“I know it’s what boys and girls do when they love each other.”

Wynonna shifted her eyes. “Okay, well, not necessarily. You don’t have to love someone to have sex with them.”

“Then what’s the point?”

“Because it feels good.”

“So...this isn’t about making babies?”

Wynonna groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay, let me start over. Do you know what a penis is?”

Waverly nodded. “Boys have them. It’s where they pee from. Looks kinda like a hotdog.”

Wynonna leaned back and furrowed her brow in concern. “Wait, how do you know that? You’re only 9?”

“One time Hardy James got in trouble for peeing on the playground and a lot of us saw it. It looked really weird. And he was standing up instead of sitting down, which was strange.”

“That Hardy James sounds like a trouble maker. You should stay away from him.”

“I would never go near him, he has cooties!”

Wynonna chuckled. “Good. Anyways, to make a baby, a boy has to put his penis inside a girl’s vagina. That’s called sex.”

“So, that’s what sex is?”

“Basically, more or less. Well, that’s sex, but it’s not the only thing sex is. That’s just how babies are made. There are other ways to have sex.”

“How?” Waverly asked, genuinely curious.

Wynonna looked at her little sister. She really didn’t want to explain all of this to her right now. Right now she was just here to explain what was happening to her body. “I’ll tell you later. So a woman has eggs inside her body-“

“Like a bird?!” Waverly shrieked.

“Um...kind of? I mean, they’re small. Like small enough that you can’t even see them. And there are hundreds, thousands even.”

“Wow.” Waverly drew out with a deep sigh as she looked at her stomach. Her mind was blown.

“Yeah. So a woman has eggs inside her, and a man puts his penis in her vagina and when he comes he shoots out sperm, which is what fertilizes the egg and makes a baby.”

Waverly furrowed her brow. “Comes where?”

“Huh?” Wynonna scrunched her face in confusion.

“You said when a man comes he shoots out sperm. Where does he go? And where does the sperm shoot out from? A gun?”

“No, I mean...come means something else. It’s like...well, it’s just something that happens during sex. It shoots out of his penis and into the woman’s vagina, which is how she gets pregnant.”

“Oh. So boys come and girls get pregnant?”

“Yeah, but not always. Girls can get pregnant, but it doesn’t always happen. And girls come too, but they don’t shoot sperm.”

“So what happens when a girl comes?”

Wynonna paused. “Well that’s something you’ll just have to experience for yourself because it’s hard to explain. But only when you’re much, much older. Like, at least 30.”

“Have you ever come, ‘Nonna?”

Wynonna stared at her little sister. “I... um...” She froze, unsure of how to get her little sister to drop the question. Waverly had always been the curious type of child, constantly seeking knowledge. Which was cool and all, but not when it pertained to her 15-year-old sister’s sex life. “Ask me that when you’re my age and I’ll tell you.” Wynonna finally said, hoping that by the time Waverly was 15 she would not care to know anymore.

Waverly nodded before scrunching up her face as she processed all of the information she had just received. “I don’t think I’m ever having sex. It sounds so gross. Penises look too weird and I don’t want them anywhere near my vagina.”

Wynonna laughed as she patted her sister’s leg. “Just wait until you hit puberty. You won’t be saying that anymore.” She continued laughing for a few more seconds until the reality of this all had hit her. She stopped laughing and looked at her little sister. Waverly had hit puberty. She got her period, she could have a baby. Her chest was starting to look like a woman’s chest. Her sister was becoming a woman, and she was only 9 years old.

“So, what’s a period then?” Waverly questioned, shaking Wynonna from her thoughts.

“Oh yeah. Okay, so babies aren’t made in your belly, they’re made in something called your uterus. It’s below your belly. And every month an egg goes into your uterus and the uterus prepares to have a baby by lining the walls with nutrients and stuff for the baby to grow strong.”

“Like food?”

“Well, no...I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s just some kind of lining on the walls of the uterus that helps the baby.”

“Oh. Okay.” Waverly nodded, processing the information.

“So that happens every month, and if the egg doesn’t get fertilized-“

“By sperm.” Waverly stated matter-of-factly with a huge smile, showing off one of her missing front teeth.

“Right, by sperm, then the uterus doesn’t need that lining.”

“Because there’s no baby.” Waverly added.

“Mhm. And so it sheds the lining and it comes out of the vagina, which is why there’s blood and sometimes other stuff. That other stuff is the lining. And that’s what’s happening to you right now, kid.” Wynonna gave Waverly a heavy pat on her shoulder blade.

“Does the egg come out too?”

“Yep. But you can’t see it.”

“Is the egg a baby?” Waverly asked, worried that she was killing a baby.

“No, no.” Wynonna chuckled. “The egg isn’t fertilized so it’s not a baby yet, remember? Kind of like the eggs we eat for breakfast. Those aren’t chickens, because they’re not fertilized.”

“Oh.” Waverly sighed in relief.

“Does all of this make sense?”

Waverly nodded. “Basically, a boy and a girl have sex by the boy putting his penis in the girl’s vagina, he comes out sperm which fertilizes the woman’s egg and makes a baby. If there’s no sperm, the egg doesn’t get fertilized and comes out of the vagina along with blood and the lining of the uterus, which is what a period is. Did I miss anything?”

“Nope, that’s pretty much it.” Wynonna wasn’t even surprised that Waverly had picked up the information so quickly. She had always been the smartest one in the family. “Do you have any questions?”

“Where do the eggs come from?”

“They’re in your ovaries, which are kind of like egg sacs. You have two of them, one on each side of your uterus.”

Waverly nodded. “And is sperm in a boy’s penis?”

Wynonna flinched. “Um, no, it comes from somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“Um, something called testicles? Most people call them balls.”

Waverly’s eyes widened in realization. “I’ve heard of them before! A kid in my class had to go to the nurse because he got hit in the balls while playing soccer. I was confused about it before because I didn’t know what balls were.”

Wynonna chuckled. “Yep. Those are them. Do you know where they are?”

“Between a boy’s legs?”

“Mhm. And if a boy ever gives you any trouble, just kick him as hard as you can there and he’ll be on his knees. That’s a boy’s weak spot. Got it?”

“Um, okay. Got it.” Waverly nodded.

“Good. Any other questions?”

Waverly shook her head.

“Does it still hurt?” Wynonna asked as she nodded towards Waverly’s stomach.

Waverly nodded as she pointed a few inches below her belly button. “Hurts here. Like a stomach ache. Is that because of the uterus getting rid of the lining?”

Wynonna smiled sympathetically as she nodded. “Those are called cramps. You’ll get your period once a month, and you’ll get cramps. Sometimes they’ll be okay, and sometimes they’ll hurt really bad. But it usually only hurts the first couple of days if you’re like me and Willa.

Waverly’s eyes widened. “Couple of days?! How long does this last?”

“Oh, forgot to mention that part. Your period lasts about a week.”

“A week?!” Waverly exclaimed.

“Yeah, it sucks. But you can take medicine for it and it won’t hurt as bad.”

“I wish boys got periods too.” Waverly pouted as she pushed her fists against her cheeks with her elbows rested on the inside of her knees.

“Tell me about it sister.” Wynonna stood up and held out a hand to help Waverly up. “Now come on, let’s get you cleaned up, and I’ll show you how to put on a pad. Oh, do you know what a clitoris is?”

Present day

Waverly chuckled at the memory as she drove her Jeep over to Nicole’s house. They had originally planned on having some intimate time together, but that was now off the table since she didn’t feel like doing anything other than changing into comfy clothes and eating a gallon of ice cream.

When she got to the house, she walked up the front porch and unlocked the door. After taking a couple of steps into the house, she tripped over one of Nicole’s boots, causing her to stumble.

“What the fuck!” She yelled in surprise before kicking the boot out of frustration. “Nicole!”

“Up here baby!” Nicole responded from her bedroom. She was lighting some candles, wanting to put in a little extra effort to make the night special.

Waverly stomped up the stairs and into the bedroom. “I tripped over your fucking boots!”

Nicole dropped the lighter and spun around in concern. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine, but I could have gotten hurt!” She barked.

Nicole held her hands up in defense. “Okay, I’m sorry. Jeez, you don’t have to yell at me.”

“I’m not yelling. All I’m saying is can you please not leave your shoes lying around the house like a death trap? I nearly twisted my ankle on the stupid things!”

“Look, I’m sorry you almost got hurt, but this is my house, Waverly. I can leave my boots wherever I want.”

Waverly dramatically nodded as she sucked on her tooth. “Oh, okay. I’m sorry, I misunderstood. See, I thought that when you gave me this key it meant that I was welcome over here at any time, and to make myself feel at home. But I didn’t realize that in reality, I’m still a guest in your house.”

Nicole sighed. “That’s not what I meant.”

“No, you know what? Here.” Waverly took out her keys and began to take the painted house key Nicole gave her off of the key ring. “Take your stupid key back!” As soon as it came off, she threw it at Nicole, causing it to fumble a bit in the redhead’s hands before she had caught it.

“What is your problem?!” Nicole yelled. “I don’t understand why you’re being so-“ she paused, suddenly realizing why Waverly had been so pissy the past couple of days. “Oh.”

“Oh? What do you mean oh?” Waverly demanded with her arms folded across her chest and her left hip jutting out.

Nicole softened her voice, trying to be nicer. “No, nothing! It’s just, I forgot that around this time of the month is when you get your-“

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence Nicole.” Waverly warned, cutting off the redhead before she had made her mistake. “Don’t you dare try to invalidate my feelings like that.”

“I wasn’t!”

“You were! You were about to blame my period, like that’s the reason why I’m mad at you right now, and not because of your stupid fucking shoes!”

“So...you did get your period then?”

Waverly opened her mouth, and then closed it, unsure of how to respond. She glared at her girlfriend for a moment before finally saying, “Are you serious right now?”

“Well I just wanted to know so that I can prepare for this week.”

“Prepare? God, you are un-fucking-believable!” Waverly stormed into the bathroom and slammed it shut, causing the house to shake, and Nicole to wince.

Nicole sighed as she sulked over to the door. “Waves, I meant prepare as in like, do stuff for you and make you feel better. Not stuff like this.”

“And what is ‘stuff like this’ Nicole?” Waverly yelled from the other side of the door.

“You know...” Nicole sighed and rolled her eyes as she began to gesticulate her hands wildly in the air as she continued. “C’mon, I mean, don’t you think that you’re overreacting just a little? You tripped over a shoe, and you’re acting like I committed a felony. I’m not saying your feelings are invalid, but I think they’re a little heightened right now from the hormones. I get it, I get extra annoyed when I’m on my period too.”

Suddenly the door swung open, causing Nicole to jump back, and revealed a very angry Waverly. “I’m not you Nicole, and me being pissed off at you has nothing to do with the fact that I’m bleeding out of my vagina right now! God, I would expect this from Champ, but I never expected you to be such a jackass.”

“Waves...” Nicole said in an apologetic tone as she took a step forward, but only received a door slam in the face.

Nicole blew out a puff of air as she pressed her palms against the door and lightly rested her forehead on the wood between them. She waited a few moments before softly saying through the door, “I’m going to get some takeout for dinner. Any preferences?”

She waited, but no response.

“Okay, I’ll pick something for us. Do you need me to pick up some tampons while I’m out?”

Still no response.

“I’ll pick some up anyways just in case.” She mumbled before walking away from the bathroom door and sauntering down the stairs. She walked over to the front door to put on her boots and sighed when she saw one standing up where she had left it, and the other one a couple of feet away laying on its side. She snatched the boots up and shoved her feet into them before walking out the door.

---

About an hour and a half later, Nicole returned with an extra large pizza, a gallon of chocolate ice cream - both vegan - and a box of tampons. She set the stuff down on the table and walked into the living room, where Waverly was sitting with her back against the armrest and knees bent towards her chest reading a book. She was wearing her navy blue baggy sweatpants, oversized pink hoodie, and her hair up in a messy bun - which has been her ‘first day of shark week’ outfit for the past three years. Her makeup from the day had been wiped completely off, and yet Nicole thought she still looked like the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Hey, um, I got some vegan pizza from that place you like near the city. And I got some vegan ice cream as well...and some more tampons if you need them.” Nicole awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

“Okay.” Waverly said dryly as she turned the page of her book.

Nicole sighed and sat on the couch next to Waverly’s feet. She turned around and lowered Waverly’s book, urging the brunette to look at her, but Waverly just continued to stare down at the page she was on.

“Hey, I’m sorry for earlier.” Nicole tilted her head down and looked up at Waverly, trying once again to make eye contact.

Waverly sighed and rolled her eyes as she closed the book and dropped it in her lap. She folded her arms and glared at Nicole, waiting for her to continue.

“I’m sorry I tried to blame your period for you being mad. And I shouldn’t have left my shoes in front of the door when I knew you were coming over, I’m sorry about that too. You had every right to be angry with me. Can you forgive me?” She poked her bottom lip out as she pushed her eyebrows together.

Waverly pursed her lips. She didn’t want to give in so easily, but how could she not when Nicole was pouting like that? She sighed and bit her bottom lip. “You can’t do that!” She unwillingly smiled as she pushed Nicole’s shoulder. “You can’t be cute like that when I’m still mad at you.”

Nicole dropped her playful pout and nodded. Waverly sighed.

“I may have overreacted a little...” she mumbled before letting out a short breath. “I just hate it when people invalidate my feelings just because I’m sensitive. It’s not even just when I’m PMSing or on my period, but anytime I cry or get really upset about something people just roll their eyes at me like, ‘oh there she goes again’. I know I’m overly dramatic sometimes and I know I have a tendency to wear my emotions on my sleeve, but that doesn’t mean that my feelings aren’t real!” She began to raise her voice, anger and frustration taking over. She threw the book out of her lap and jumped off of the couch and began pacing around the living room floor. “Champ used to do that to me all the time and I hated it. Every time I would get mad at him for something, even if he completely deserved it, he would just say ‘Oh, is it your time of the month?’ as if I wasn’t allowed to have any negative emotions! And then you go and do the exact same thing! That was completely unfair, Nicole.”

Nicole lowered her head in shame. She was doing the same thing as Champ, and she was disappointed in herself for it. “Baby, I’m so sorry.” She finally said, looking up at Waverly, who had momentarily paused her pacing to look at the redhead.

“You know what’s even worse?”

Nicole shook her head.

“You actually have a period, Nicole. I mean, Champ was just ignorant and probably thinks that ‘uterus’ is the name of a planet.” She snorted, thinking back to all of the dumb stuff Champ ever said to her. “But you…you get it. You go through the same thing and you still tried to blame me and my hormones for my anger instead of accepting that I was just angry that you left your fucking shoes in front of the door!”

With apologetic eyes, Nicole stood up and moved in front of the brunette. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I guess because I know what it’s like I was too busy thinking about how we are affected by our hormones, and not about how we actually feel when we’re affected by them. If someone said that to me, I would be pissed.” She sighed as she took Waverly’s hands in her own. “Waves, I really am sorry. It was wrong of me to try to invalidate your feelings, and I shouldn’t have left my shoes in front of the door.”

Waverly looked down at Nicole holding her hands as she sighed. She then looked up into soft, loving brown eyes. “Okay. I forgive you. Just please, don’t do that again.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“Okay.” Waverly said with a curt nod before plopping back down onto the couch. Nicole sat down next to her, and they both stared at the empty fireplace in front of them. It was only a few seconds later when Waverly broke the silence. “Did you say something about vegan pizza and ice cream?”

Nicole smiled as she turned her head to look at the brunette. “It’s on the kitchen table.”

Waverly grinned before her smile turned into a blush. “And uh, thank you for getting some tampons. I forgot to grab some from home and you’re almost out.”

“I remembered that I was.” Nicole chuckled. “Oh, and I know we were going to have sex tonight…I mean, did you still want to do that?”

Waverly scrunched up her nose and shook her head.

“Didn’t think so, but I didn’t want to assume. Are you cramping? Do you need the heating pad or anything?”

“I’m okay. I had some pain reliever in my purse so I took some of that before I left work. But I just feel kind of bleh, you know?”

Nicole nodded as she gave a sympathetic smile. “Well, if you want, I can light those candles again and give you a full body massage to make you feel better? I mean, not a full body massage…everywhere but…well, you know what I mean.” She chuckled awkwardly.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Waverly laughed. “And I would love that, because my back is killing me right now, and I’ve been on my feet all day. But pizza and ice cream first?”

Nicole nodded as she brushed a strand of hair behind Waverly’s ear. “Deal.”

---

Nicole had never seen Waverly eat six slices of an extra large pizza, and she had no idea how she was able to scarf down a huge bowl of ice cream after doing so, but she didn’t dare ask nor did she comment on it. She was too smart for that, something she knew Champ Hardy was not, and that made her feel a little bit better about before. They watched an episode of Supergirl as they ate before heading up to Nicole’s room for that massage she had promised earlier.

“Did you know that Wynonna was the one who gave me the sex talk?” Waverly said randomly as she laid in the bed wearing nothing but her underwear. Nicole was standing on the side of the bed, massaging her calves.

“No way! Wynonna?!” Nicole laughed at the thought of a teenage Wynonna telling Waverly about how sex works.

“Yep. I got my first period at 9 years old and she was the only one who was home at the time.”

“You were 9?!” Nicole asked in disbelief.

“Yeah.” Waverly chuckled awkwardly. “Well, 9 and a half technically.”

“That’s so young though.”

Waverly nodded in agreement. “I was only in grade 3.”

“Seriously?! Wow, did you even know what was happening to you?” Nicole had moved up to massage the backs of her thighs.

The brunette shook her head. “Nope. Which was why Wynonna had to explain everything to me. She did a pretty good job though, all things considered.”

“Wow, I can’t imagine. I got mine at the beginning of grade 6, and I thought that was a young age.” Nicole shook her head. “Now that’s an embarrassing story.”

“Can I hear it?” Waverly asked with hopeful eyes as she rested her cheek on the backs of her hands, intrigued to hear all about a little Nicole getting her first period.

Nicole chuckled as she lightly shook her head. “Why not. Okay, so I was 11, but it was a little over a month before my 12th birthday. And everything just felt off from the moment I woke up…”

15 years ago

“Nicole, wake up.” Her mother said sternly as she shook the sleeping 11-year-old.

Nicole groaned into her pillow. “I don’t want to go to school today. I don’t feel good.” She yanked the covers up over her head, hoping her mom would take the hint and just go away.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, Nicole.” Her mom sighed as she lifted her arms up and let them fall by her side. She looked at her watch and shook her head. “I don’t have time for this nonsense. You’re going to school today.”

Nicole pushed the covers back, revealing just her face with her messy red hair spread across it. “But I don’t feel good.”

Her mom reached down and felt her forehead. “You don’t feel warm to me.”

“Well my stomach hurts.” She rolled her eyes at the knowing look her mom was giving her. “Mom, I’m not making this up.”

“Well, stomach ache or not, you don’t have a fever so you’re going to school. Just take some antacid, it’s probably just gas anyways.”

“Oh, Mom.” Nicole groaned as she pulled the covers back over her head, but her mom immediately yanked them down.

“Get up, Nicole. The bus will be here in ten minutes and you better be on it, because I have to get to work and I don’t have time to drive you. Besides, you have a basketball game today and I’m definitely not letting you miss that. Especially since you begged your father and I to shell out $200 just so that you could play that ridiculous sport.” The older redheaded woman rolled her eyes.

Nicole sat up. “Are you and Dad coming to the game?”

“I don’t know about your father, but I’ll still be at work.”

“Come on Mom. You and dad have never even been to a game.” She whined.

“We just don’t get the sport. All you do is throw a ball into a basket.” Her mom scoffed.

“Well I know it’s not horseback riding like you and dad wanted, but I’m really good at it. Coach even said he might have me start a game soon if I keep it up this season.”

“I don’t know. I’m really busy tonight.”

Nicole groaned. “But Mom, you never have time for me! All you and Dad do is work, work, work, and I’m sick of it! It’s like you don’t even care about me at all!”

“Natalie, please!” The woman shouted, but immediately froze.

Nicole glared at her mom for a moment as her look of surprise changed into a scowl. “Nice.” She said as she jumped out of bed and walked over to her dresser to pull out some clothes for school.

“Nicole, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

“Just forget it, it doesn’t matter. And don’t bother coming to my game tonight. I don’t even want you or Dad there anyways.” Nicole stormed off to the bathroom and slammed the door shut before changing her clothes and getting ready for school.

Nicole had spent the whole day with her weird stomach pain. She even had to ask the teacher if she could lay her head down for most of art class – her favorite class – because of how bad she was feeling. She had asked to go to the bathroom at some point earlier in the day to see if she had eaten something bad, but everything seemed fine.

After school, she headed straight for the gym to change for basketball practice.

“Hey, Nicole!” One of her teammates, Jamie Schaffer, called out from the locker room. The team was for girls grade 6-8, and Jamie was in grade 8, as most of the girls were. There were a couple of girls in grade 7, but Nicole was the only girl in grade 6 to play on the varsity team, which made her a bit of an outcast to the other girls. But Jamie was always nice to her, and she wasn’t afraid to admit that Nicole was one of the best players on that team, eleven years old or not. “You ready for the game tonight?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Nicole shrugged apathetically.

“What do you mean you guess so? You’re one of our best players!”

“I know, but I don’t feel good. My stomach hurts.” Nicole shook her head as she began to change into her basketball uniform. She pushed down her jeans and grabbed her green basketball shorts from her gym bag, but stopped when she noticed Jamie looking at her with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I think you got your period.” Jamie explained as she pointed to a giant red spot that was clearly visible on Nicole’s underwear and the inside crotch of her jeans that were now sitting on the bench next to her bag.

“What?!” Nicole exclaimed as she bent over and looked between her legs. When she saw the red patch, she began to panic. “No. No, no, no! This can’t be happening!”

“Relax, I’ve got a tampon you can use.” Jamie reached into her bag and pulled out a tampon to hand to Nicole, which she just stared at.

“But that’s not…I mean, I don’t know how to use that thing. We only learned how to use pads in health class, and I haven’t even used one of those yet!”

Jamie retracted her hand with the tampon as she drew her eyebrows together. “Wait. You mean, this is your first period?”

“Jamie, I’m not even 12 years old yet! Of course it is!”

Jamie’s eyes widened, suddenly remembering that Nicole wasn’t 13 and 14 years old like most of the team was. And sure, it was pretty common for a girl to be even that age and still not get her period yet, but most of them at least knew the general idea of how to put a tampon in by then just from going to the bathroom with the rest of the girls during class bathroom breaks. But since Nicole was only in grade 6, her classmates didn’t really talk about it like the grade 8 girls did. “Oh, shit! I completely forgot. Well in that case, congratulations!”

Nicole groaned as she slammed her forehead against her locker door.

Jamie grabbed Nicole’s shoulders and pulled her back. “Okay, first of all, put your shorts on before the rest of the girls come in and start to make fun of you.” Nicole quickly put her basketball shorts on. “Second, I don’t have any pads, so right now your options are to either try to use this tampon, or tell Coach Brown that you got your period and can’t play today.”

“Are you kidding me? I can’t tell him that! I don’t even want to tell my mom about this!”

“Okay, then I guess your only option is to put this in.” She held the tampon back out to Nicole.

Nicole eyed it cautiously. “What if I just wait until I get home after the game? I’m sure my mom has some pads lying around the house.”

“Nicole, it’s not just going to stop coming out just because you ignore it. If anything, it’s going to get worse from all the running around and sweating. And then you’ll be that girl with the huge period stain on her shorts. Is that really what you want?”

Nicole sighed. “No.”

“Okay then, take the tampon. And you might want to take off your underwear too, because that stain might get on your shorts as you’re playing.”

“You want me to go commando during the basketball game?! What if someone yanks on my shorts and pulls them down?!”

Jamie rolled her eyes. “That won’t happen. And trust me, that’s better than bleeding everywhere.” She shoved the tampon in Nicole’s hand and watched amusedly as the redhead looked it over, as if it were some sort of foreign object.

“Okay, so how do I use this?” Nicole quirked an eyebrow.

“Well, first you unwrap it.” Jamie chuckled. Nicole began to take the wrapper off, but Jamie stopped her. “Wait!”

“What?” Nicole froze, slightly frightened that she had already done something wrong.

“Wash your hands first. You don’t want to touch something going up your vag with dirty hands.”

“Oh. Right.” Nicole thoroughly washed her hands before unwrapping the tampon. When she saw it, she looked even more confused than before. “But this is plastic! Won’t it hurt having this in there while moving around?!”

Jamie stifled her laughter behind her hand. “That’s the applicator, silly. The actual tampon is inside of it.” She rolled her eyes when Nicole just gave her a confused look. “Okay, so you put this part inside you, and then you push here.” She pointed to the parts of the tampon. “When you push on this, it’ll push the cotton out of this end and into your hole. Then once it’s out, you pull out the applicator, and all that’ll be left is a string. When you’re ready to take the tampon out, you just pull on the string and it’ll come out. Simple.”

“Uh, sounds terrifying.”

“It’s not. Trust me. You’ll be fine.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.” Nicole said hesitantly as she began to make her way over to a stall.

“And Haught, don’t mess up. That’s my only one.”

Present day

“So, did you get it in?” Waverly asked as she reveled in the feeling of Nicole massaging her lower back.

“Yep. Felt really weird at first. I must’ve looked like a crazy person the way I was walking around, but once the game started I didn’t even notice that it was in there. And nobody pantsed me.” Nicole laughed.

“Wow. That sounds super embarrassing.”

“I think I was too freaked out at the time to be embarrassed. Jamie was cool though. She even gave me something to help my cramps. If it had been anyone else on the team, I would’ve been teased for sure, so I was lucky. And better her help me than a teacher.”

“Did you tell your mom?”

“Actually, I didn’t tell her for a few months. She only found out when she realized her tampons were only lasting through one cycle instead of two. She asked me about it, and I told her the truth. She was kind of pissed that I didn’t tell her right away, but I think she understood why. We never really talked very much about stuff like that.”

Waverly nodded. “I can’t believe you used a tampon. I didn’t even start using them until I joined the cheerleading squad in high school.”

“Yeah well, I didn’t have a choice. But it wasn’t all that bad.” She shrugged before looking at Waverly with a smirk. “So, since I told you my first period story, does that mean that now I get to hear yours?”

Waverly chuckled. “Only if you keep up the amazing massage.”

---

The next day

Waverly sighed as she laid on Nicole’s bed, waiting for the officer to get home. She was horny, and she wanted sex. Not just any sex, but some good, passionate, rough, strap-on sex. She just hoped that Nicole would do it for her with her being on her period and all. Sure, she had given Nicole sex when she was on her period just a little over a week prior, but that didn’t mean that the redhead would automatically be down to be the giver while Waverly was on hers. She just hoped that Nicole would be down for it, because otherwise she would have to make a trip to the homestead to grab that vibrator Wynonna had given her for her birthday – which actually did end up being a pretty good gift.

“Baby?” Nicole asked as she walked through the front door of her house after work. Waverly had texted her saying she’d be waiting for her there.

Waverly sat up and smiled before yelling, “Up here!” Her smile grew wider as she heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Hey baby.” Nicole grinned as she walked over to Waverly and leaned down to give her a kiss. It was only meant to be a quick one, but when she tried to pull back Waverly had stopped her and instead deepened the kiss as she pulled Nicole down on top of her, wrapping her legs around the officer and effectively trapping her.

Nicole giggled against Waverly’s mouth. “Someone’s in a good mood.”

Waverly nodded as she sighed. “Baby, can we have sex tonight?” She asked with a pout as she played with the collar of Nicole’s uniform shirt.

“Whatever you want baby.” Nicole smiled before leaning back down to kiss her girlfriend.

“And you’re okay with that?”

Nicole chuckled as she furrowed her brow. “Uh, have you seen you? Of course I’m okay with that. Why wouldn’t I–” And then she suddenly remembered that Waverly was on her period. “Oh. I mean, yeah. Yeah, that’s okay.” She gave Waverly a warm smile.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to say yes if it’s not something you want to do.”

“No, Waves, really it’s okay. I want to make you feel good. And more importantly, I want to give you orgasms. I mean, I hear those are good for relieving cramps. And also...have you seen you?” The officer smirked as she leaned down and gave the younger woman a passionate kiss.

After a few seconds, Waverly pulled out of the kiss. “Are you okay with using the strap-on?”

“Whatever you want baby. I’ll do it all.” Nicole replied reassuringly.

Waverly grinned as she hustled over to the closet and took out the strap-on. She excitedly tossed it on the bed before making her way towards the bathroom. “Put that on. I’ll be out in a couple of minutes. And put out the towel.” She shut the door as soon as she finished her sentence.

Nicole chuckled at her girlfriend’s eagerness as she shook her head. She stripped off her uniform and slid the strap-on up and over her bare hips before walking over to the hall closet and pulling out the brown towel - which they had dubbed the period towel after last time. She placed the towel on the bed and sat waiting on the edge with her arms bracing herself behind her back, showing off her toned abs, and her legs outstretched in front of her and crossed at the ankles.

It wasn’t long before Waverly had opened the door wearing nothing but a silk robe. She strutted over to the bed, biting her lip as she looked over the redhead’s body. She hummed in approval before untying the robe and dropping it to the floor, exposing her completely bare skin from head to toe.

As the robe dropped, so did Nicole’s jaw. She had seen Waverly Earp naked plenty of times, but for some reason it was like seeing her body for the first time. Maybe it was her rare boldness, or the sheer confidence that radiated from her tanned skin. Whatever it was, it made it impossible for Nicole to tear her eyes away from the woman in front of her.

Waverly couldn’t help the blush creeping into her face. She never felt particularly attractive when she was on her period...if anything she always felt fat, and the giant pimple on her chin - she always got a huge pimple somewhere on her face due to the hormone changes - wasn’t making her feel any better. But Nicole was; more specifically, the way Nicole was looking at her was. In that moment, Waverly felt like a model, and it was all because of her girlfriend’s reaction.

“Like what you see?” Waverly smirked.

“Waverly,” Nicole breathed out in awe. “You are extraordinary, do you know that? God, how is it that I get to look at someone as beautiful as you?”

Waverly blushed as a smile crept onto her face. She bit it back, trying to keep her seductive demeanor, but it was difficult when her girlfriend was complimenting her like that.

“Play your cards right, and you’ll get to do more than just look, Officer.” Waverly teased as she crawled onto Nicole’s lap.

She placed her knees on either side of Nicole and kneeled above her, being sure not to touch any part of the redhead’s body other than her shoulders. Waverly smiled at the way the officer was looking down at her abs. They weren’t as visible as usual due to the bloating, but Nicole didn’t seem to notice, and if she did then she didn’t seem to mind. Waverly pushed a breast closer to Nicole’s mouth, hinting at what she wanted. The redhead cupped the outside of the breast and hovered her lips over the nipple as she looked up for approval.

Waverly nodded before adding, “Um, they’re a little sore right now, so just be extra careful. No teeth.”

Nicole nodded in understanding before gently guiding the fleshy mound closer to her mouth and placing delicate kisses around Waverly’s nipple. She slowly swirled her tongue around, lightly licking the bud.

“That’s perfect baby,” Waverly panted as she threw her head back in pleasure.

Once Nicole was satisfied, she moved on to the other breast and did the same thing.

“Baby? Can you fuck me now?” Waverly was basically panting. She didn’t want to wait anymore. Her center was aching to be touched.

The redhead smiled as she gently brushed her hands down her girlfriend’s back. “Of course baby, whatever you want.”

“I want to feel you on top of me.”

Nicole leaned forward and gave Waverly another kiss before moving off the bed. She waited for Waverly to get situated the way she wanted to as she put on a condom and grabbed the lube.

“Any specific instructions for me?” Nicole asked as she coated the dildo.

“Just...don’t be too gentle.”

Nicole paused as she quirked an eyebrow. That was the opposite of what she was expecting.

“Right now I’m really craving rough, passionate, almost desperate sex, you know what I mean? Like, we can’t get enough of each other.” Waverly elaborated.

The redhead nodded as a smirk formed on her face. This wasn’t exactly the way she had pictured their lovemaking to go tonight, but she wasn’t complaining. If Waverly wanted rough sex, then Waverly was going to get rough sex. Nicole situated herself between Waverly’s legs and let her body rest on top of the smaller woman’s as she began kissing her neck.

“Oh, and still be careful with my boobs. Just rough down there. Like, rough fucking but not rough foreplay?” Waverly hoped that she was explaining this properly, because she was sure that she was being confusing right now.

Nicole lifted her lips up from Waverly’s neck and hovered over her face as she gave a warm smile. “Got it.” She reassured before leaning down and capturing soft lips in a heated kiss.

Bracing her weight on her left hand next to Waverly’s head, the redhead lifted her body up so that it hovered over Waverly’s as she guided the dildo into her center with her right hand, all while looking deeply into wanting eyes. She studied Waverly’s reaction, and was pleased to see dilated pupils as she pushed all the way in. She gave a few gentle thrusts for Waverly’s walls to adjust before thrusting her hips harder.

A loud moan escaped Waverly’s lips as she wrapped her legs around Nicole, pulling her in deeper. Nicole instinctively began thrusting her hips harder, pounding her erection into Waverly.

“Oh Nicole!” Waverly yelled out in pleasure. This was exactly what she wanted. She was afraid that Nicole wouldn’t have it in her, that she would be too protective to fuck her like that. But their trust in each other gave Nicole the confidence to perform the way Waverly wanted her to.

They were moving so much that the bed was shaking and pounding against the wall. Nicole was thankful that she wasn’t in an apartment, or they would surely receive some complaints. Nicole looked down and noticed that they had moved up the bed a bit and the top of Waverly’s head was now hitting the wooden headboard. She wrapped her hand around the top of Waverly’s head, providing a cushion that she knew the brunette would need as she grabbed onto the headboard with her other hand and began slamming her hips into Waverly as hard as she could.

“Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck...” Waverly repeated, each time getting louder and louder, until...

“FUCK!” Waverly’s body shook as she frantically rocked her hips against Nicole, who at this point was just pushing her hips forward, allowing Waverly to control all of the movements as she rode out her orgasm.

Nicole’s eyes roamed over Waverly’s face as the girl dropped down onto the mattress, completely spent. She dropped her hand from the headboard to the mattress as she slowly and gently lowered herself down on top of Waverly. With her hand still cradling the top of Waverly’s head, she began to lightly brush the soft light brown hair with her thumb.

“Are you okay?” Nicole whispered as she continued to study Waverly’s face.

Waverly’s eyes slowly opened, and a smile formed on her face as soon as the blurry vision of red hair, brown eyes, and dimples came into focus. She reached up and cupped Nicole’s cheeks as she whispered back, “That was perfect. Thank you.”

Nicole leaned down for a chaste kiss before nuzzling Waverly’s nose. “I want to make sure you feel safe with me.”

Waverly chuckled. “I do feel safe with you.” She stated, as if it were obvious.

“No, but I mean, I want you to feel like you can express your feelings to me. I don’t want you to feel like you did with Champ. I want to be someone you feel safe talking to.”

Waverly drew her eyebrows together as she looked at her girlfriend, trying to figure out what was going through her mind. “Is this about the thing with the boots yesterday? Because I thought we worked through that.”

“Well, yeah I still feel a little guilty about that, but it’s not just that. It’s also...the threesome.” She said hesitantly. She paused for a moment before lifting her torso up. She knew this wasn’t a conversation they should be having with their dildo inside Waverly. “I’m going to pull out, okay?”

Waverly nodded, and Nicole moved her body so that she was now laying on her back next to Waverly. Both of them ignored the small blotches of red on the condom. Waverly laid still as she waited for Nicole to continue, slightly afraid of where this conversation was going.

Nicole sighed as she collected her thoughts. “You were afraid to tell me about the threesome because you were scared of how I would react, and I don’t ever want you to feel that way. I want you to be able to tell me things, anything, everything. I want us to have this open communication with each other where no matter what it is we’re thinking or feeling, we’re not afraid to say it.”

Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand. “I know, and I want that too. And I do feel like I can tell you things. The threesome thing was just me being dumb thinking that you would give me crap for it, and I know that yesterday you were just reacting to me overreacting. Nicole, I feel safer with you than with anyone in my entire life, even Wynonna.”

“Really?”

“Really. I mean, I’ve never had period sex with anyone before because I was too afraid, but I’m so comfortable with it now because of you. And I gave you that awkward lap dance that one time, which I’ve never given anyone by the way.” She chuckled. “If that’s not a true testament of how safe you make me feel, then I don’t know what is.”

Nicole let out a short laugh. “Fair point.”

“Now, if we’ve gotten all the mushy feelings out of the way, can we please go back to fucking? Because I’ve done some research on must-do sex positions while on your period, and doggy style was one of the top recommended.”

Nicole chuckled at the fact that Waverly had done research, not that she was surprised. “Okay then, let’s not waste any more time.” She smirked as she stood up, grabbing the bottle of lube and reapplying it over the condom. She flitted her eyes from Waverly’s down to the dildo as she rubbed her hand up and down the shaft, showing her girlfriend that she was not afraid to touch her blood.

---

The next morning

Wynonna was sprawled on the couch watching reruns of NCIS, a two liter of diet soda on the coffee table and a giant mixing bowl of extra buttery popcorn resting on her belly. She didn’t bother moving when she heard the door open and close. She looked over and saw Waverly walk into the living room to greet her, and took in the sight of her well-known hoodie and sweatpants.

“Uh oh, you’ve got your period outfit on. First day?”

“Actually, the third. I just ran out of clean clothes at Nicole’s.”

“Oh. You know, I remember when I used to get a period...” Wynonna trailed off, clearly trying to brag to her sister.

Waverly rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. So you’ve said every time I’ve gotten my period over the past four months.”

“Is this what men feel like?” Wynonna asked curiously.

“Yeah, sure. Except for, you know, the morning sickness, and the weird cravings, and the back pain, and the having to pee every five seconds, and the actual growing a baby inside them. But other than that, I think you’re onto something.” Waverly said sarcastically, not even bothering to hide her eye roll.

“Ha ha, okay, I get it. No need to be snarky, period lady.”

“Don’t, okay. I’ve had enough people tell me about the inevitable mood I’ve been in this week.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Nope. I just want to enjoy my day off, relaxing on the couch doing absolutely nothing productive.” She stated as she walked past Wynonna and plopped down next to her sister.

“Well I’ve got the day off too. Want to do nothing together?” Wynonna grinned as she threw some popcorn at her sister.

Waverly just laughed and ate the popcorn off of her shirt. “Only if you share.”

“I just gave you some, didn’t I?”

Waverly rolled her eyes and reached into the bowl, pulling out a giant fistful of popcorn and tossing a piece into her mouth. “Hey, do you remember when I got my first period?”

“Oh god.” Wynonna dramatically rolled the back of her head against the couch. “I gave you that horrible sex talk. Please tell me that’s not what turned you gay.”

Waverly lightly shoved her sister. “Ha ha, very funny. You did a pretty good job for only being 15. Besides, if it weren’t for you, I never would’ve known about my clitoris.” Waverly mocked as she drew out the word.

The older Earp shook her head as she laughed. “I can’t believe I walked in on you flicking the bean. I mean, you didn’t even think to shut the door first? You’re supposed to be the smart one.”

“I was 9! And it’s your fault, you’re the one who told me about how good it felt.”

“Yeah but I didn’t think you were going to do it while everyone was home with your door open!” The sisters laughed in amusement at the memory, until the laughter died down and all that was left was silence “Daddy was livid when he found out everything I had told you. He said that if you ever got yourself unexpectedly pregnant he would blame me for it.”

“I think that was just his usual drunkenness.”

“True.”

“Willa told me that getting my period meant that I should stay away from boys forever, and that they wouldn’t want me anyways because I was so unlikeable.”

“Ha. Guess her plan worked after all.” Wynonna winked as she tilted her glass towards her sister before taking a sip. “Speaking of lesbians, where’s Haughtstuff?”

“She’s working today.”

“Boo.”

“Why, were you actually wanting to hang out with your little sister and her girlfriend?” Waverly quirked an eyebrow.

“I mean, a girl’s day sounds kind of nice. We could relax, eat doughnuts, maybe have some sort of spa day...” She paused as she noticed her sister staring at her with raised eyebrows. “What?”

“Okay, you really need to get laid. Is this what you turn into without sex?”

Wynonna rolled her eyes. “I’m doing just fine in that department thank you very much.”

“Oh yeah? When was the last time you had sex?”

“When was the last time you had sex?” Wynonna quipped.

“Last night.” Waverly folded her arms confidently across her chest.

“Dammit.” Wynonna hissed in defeat. “Hold up...” her eyes widened and her jaw dropped into an open-mouthed grin as she pointed a finger at her sister. “Red did the red?! Well damn! Anyone who swims in the Red Sea during shark week is a keeper, little sister.”

Waverly held up a hand. “Okay, stop trying to change the subject.” Waverly tried to hold back her dopey smile, but her blush was still obvious. “I answered your question, now you answer mine.”

Wynonna groaned as she gave a dramatic eye roll. “Ugh, you’re so annoying. Your birthday party.”

“That was almost a month ago...have you ever even gone that long without sex?”

“Okay, no need for the slut shaming.” Wynonna shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

“No, I wasn’t trying to...I just mean, why wait so long?”

“Because I’m ignoring Doc and Dolls has been acting weird ever since my infamous speech about my sex life at your party. I think he knows I slept with Doc.”

“Well probably. I mean, he is a police officer. He’s kind of trained to put puzzle pieces together.”

“Good point.” Wynonna sighed as she set the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. She leaned forward and rested her forearms on her thighs as she clasped her hands together. “There’s not a good selection of man candy in this town. I mean, you know how it is. You were stuck with Chump for years.”

“Yeah but that was more about deflecting...”

“Not the point.”

“Okay, well what is the point? Because the only person stopping you from going after what you want is yourself.”

“And what is it that I want?” Wynonna quirked an eyebrow.

“Doc. Duh. But you’re too stubborn to admit that, so instead you’re sitting around the house sulking and pretending like nobody wants you.”

“I am not!”

“Are too!”

The older Earp paused as she pursed her lips together. “Well, maybe I am. But I’m definitely not into Doc. That ship has sailed and crashed into an iceberg.”

“Whatever, keep telling yourself that, Rose.” Waverly rolled her eyes as she hopped off the couch.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“To get some of my DVDs. If we’re going to sulk on the couch watching TV together, it’s going to be a Rom-Com, not boring reruns of cop shows.”

“Why do you get to pick?” Wynonna complained.

“Because, I’m on my period, and you’re not.” Waverly stuck her tongue out at her older sister before trotting up the stairs.