16. No Pun Intended

A painful pang jolted Nicole awake. Her hand had somehow managed to inch itself under her head out of habit. She groaned a few curse words and dislodged it with a groan, staring at the back of Waverly’s head as she hugged her arm to her chest. It felt a little chilly in the room, but she looked down and realized that was because Waverly had snatched the blanket all for herself. The only real warmth she felt was her butt pressed against her bare stomach where her hoodie had ridden up. Smiling, she rolled forwards some and wrapped her arm around Waverly, sliding her hand up her shirt and tracing her thumb lightly around her abs.

“G’morning to you, too,” Waverly mumbled, the sound of sleep lingering in her voice.

Nicole smiled, pressing a kiss into her neck. “I didn’t wake you, did I?” she asked.

That husky sleep voice did things to Waverly, and she swallowed roughly. “No, I woke up a few minutes ago,” she lied, not wanting to make her feel bad. She had actually woken up when she had heard her wincing at her hand.

“Mmk, good,” Nicole mumbled, snuggling her head into the nape of her neck. “You took all the blankets, Cutie.”

“I tend to do that,” Waverly mumbled with an embarrassed chuckle. Nicole put some pressure on her hip with her wrist and Waverly flipped over. They both smiled at each other for a few seconds before Waverly decided that wasn’t good enough. Faster than a blink, she had untangled her legs from the blanket and crawled on top of her girlfriend.

“Hey you,” Nicole smirked, tapping her fingers on the side of her thigh.

“Hey,” she smiled, placing her hand on her cheek and leaning down into a deep kiss.

Waverly bowed her back as she felt Nicole's nails dig into her ass. She giggled as she made a trail of kisses along Nicole’s jawline and down to that spot on her neck that always made her squirm. Nicole bucked her hips up, causing Waverly to slide forward a bit onto the part where Nicole’s shirt was still pushed up. Nicole’s eyes shot open and a huge smirk slid across her face. She grabbed her hand and brought it down to her stomach where the wet smear was. “Is that what I do to you?” she husked in her ear.

Waverly blushed, biting her lip as she met her eyes. “Uh-huh.” She walked her lips up to where her jaw bones met and back over to Nicole’s lips. Waverly shifted her body and pressed her thigh right in between her legs, and Nicole’s eyes rolled back as she moaned her name.

Both their eyes shot up when they heard a few bangs on the door.

“You better be keeping it PG in there, Haught Pants!” Wynonna warned.

“We aren’t doing anything, Wynonna!” Waverly shouted back.

“Oook, just making sure!” They heard footsteps retreat from the door. Waverly looked back down at Nicole, whose face was almost as red as her hair. She giggled and dropped her head back down to Nicole’s neck, nipping at the pale skin. 

“I need Tylenol . . . and coffee,” she said in between breaths.

“Nooo,” Waverly complained, wrapping her arms around her neck.

Nicole sat up. “We can come back to this later, Waves,” she assured. Waverly responded by hugging her tighter and crossing her ankles behind her back. “Why do you always make me do it the hard way?” She flashed her a cocky smile as she slid her arms under her butt and stood up.

Waverly looked up at her with her jaw dropped. “Really?” she asked eagerly. Nicole sighed and nodded. Waverly beamed brightly and placed her hands on her cheeks, giving her a kiss. Nicole jumped a bit to get a better grip since she was holding her up by her forearms instead of her hands and walked towards the door.

“Pull your shirt down, unless you want your ass hanging out,” she winked. Waverly released her death grip around her neck and did so, immediately rewrapping them, but not as tight. Nicole bent down a bit and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway. She walked to the bathroom and set her down on the counter. Chills ran up Waverly’s spine as the cool countertop made contact with her bare legs. Nicole peeked around her head back and forth, rummaging her hand around the cabinet until she found the right pills and handed the bottle to Waverly. “Hold.” 

Waverly took it and slid off the counter and back into Nicole’s arms. She walked out of the bathroom and went downstairs to the kitchen where Wynonna was standing. “The fuck?- You know what? I’m not gonna question it,” Wynonna muttered, waving her hand at them.

Nicole looked at her and pursed her lips. “That’s probably the best decision,” she sighed, setting Waverly down in a chair. She whined at the loss of contact. “How’m I supposed to get coffee like that?” She tucked a strand of Waverly's hair behind her ear and smiled.

“Fineee.” She tucked the pill bottle in Nicole’s pocket. “But now you have to get me a cup, too.”

Nicole glanced back at her from the counter. “Already planned on it,” she said with a wink. She grabbed two mugs out of the drying rack. Waverly was still staring at her, a smile on her face.

“You practice those googly eyes in the mirror or is it just natural talent?” Wynonna asked, wiggling her brows at her sister and leaning forward onto the opposite end of the table from her. Waverly rolled her eyes. Nicole walked back over and leaned down, plopping both mugs down that she was holding with one arm down, causing some of the liquid to slosh out the sides.

“Nicole,” Waverly tutted, wiping her finger on her sleeve to get the droplets off.

“I did it,” she smirked, sitting down and pulling the pills out. “Can you open this?”

She gave her a look and snatched the bottle, popping the lid. “How’s it feeling?” she asked, pouring two of the pills out onto her hand and handing them to her.

“Just dandy,” she deadpanned, downing the pills. She pulled the gauze off her hand to look at it, realizing she was even concerned about it at this point. She hadn’t meant to hurt herself that bad, she was just so overwhelmed with anger that she didn’t care. It hadn’t even started to hurt until she got into the car and started to clean it. Even after that, though, it wasn’t that bad because of the super strong, basically steroid, pain killers she took.

“Ughh, Niccc,” Waverly groaned as she gently took her hand and examined it. “We really need to get going. I don’t want to wait any longer." It wasn’t a suggestion, more of a set fact, and Nicole nodded, knowing she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

They looked at the stairs when they heard footsteps coming down them. Willa walked into the kitchen with her eyes set on Nicole.

“Damn, she’s an Earp, waking up past 10 AM,” Wynonna said with a wide smile.

“You live here, too?” Willa asked, gesturing to Nicole and ignoring what Wynonna said.

Nicole glanced between her and Waverly. “Uh, no, I just, uh . . .” She swallowed as she met Waverly's eyes, really wanting her girlfriend to step in.

Unbeknownst to them since she was behind them, Wynonna was silently pointing to them and making a heart with her hands.

Willa made an “o” shape with her mouth. “Wynonna, you didn’t tell me Waverly was a . . . gay,” she mumbled, seeming to be very surprised at the fact. All three of them were staring at Wynonna at this point- Waverly with a look of anger, Nicole with a look of worry, and Willa with a look of confusion. 

Waverly shifted her vision back to Willa and cleared her throat. “Willa. This is my girlfriend, Nicole,” she said with a slight grimace in her voice.

“I see,” she mumbled, giving Nicole a tight-lipped smile.

Waverly clenched her jaw. “Alright, Nic, let's go get ready,” she grumbled, grabbing her hand and stomping up the stairs. They walked into her room and she slammed the door. She paced around for a few seconds, spewing out random insults and then went to her dresser and pulled a bra out, flinging it around as she spoke. Facing the wall, Waverly stripped her top and Nicole was frozen, taking in the fact that she not only had no pants on, but had no bra either. “Like, seriously! She just got here and is already insulting me and my girlfriend! She always hated me, I guess things hav-” She stopped when she glanced back at Nicole. “What?” she asked with demanding eyes.

Nicole snapped out of it and scratched her head, looking away. “Uh, nothing, just . . .” She looked back at her with a deep blush on her cheeks.

Waverly looked down at herself, realizing the situation. She quickly snapped her bra on and turned around. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, I got really carried away the-”

“No, no, it's fine. I just . . . wasn’t expecting that,” she interrupted, keeping her eyes upward, but still blushing hard. “I’m gonna . . .” She made a spinning gesture. “And . . .” She pointed to her bag. “Yeah.” She turned around and Waverly did the same. 

They both changed in silence, besides Nicole randomly cursing at her hand. Last night when she packed, she knew she wanted to look nice for Waverly, even though they were literally just going to be sitting in a hospital all day long. She pulled her hair out of the bun and pulled on a white v-neck shirt and some tapered khaki joggers. She changed her long black socks to short tye-dyed ones and slipped on her white Converse. She stood up and winced as she pulled on her dark blue jean jacket hoodie. She began to roll the sleeve but realized she wouldn’t be able to do the other by herself. “Hey, Waves?”

“Yeah?”

“I need help, can I turn around?”

“Yeah, Honey, go ahead, I’m basically done.” Nicole and Waverly both turned around. Nicole stopped mid-roll and Waverly stood with her jacket halfway on. They were frozen, scanning each other up and down. Waverly was wearing a red, thin-striped crop top sweater with a forest green bomber jacket (almost) on over it. Her high-waisted skinny jeans were the same color as the jacket and she had brown combat boots on her feet. 

Their eyes caught each other’s after a few seconds. “Wow,” they breathed at the same time.

Waverly dipped her head, blushing as she shoved her other arm in the sleeve of the jacket. She looked back up and made her way over to Nicole. “What’d, uh- What'd you need?” she asked with a laugh. Nicole smiled and stuck out her arm. Waverly nodded and rolled it. She pulled both of her wrists down to her sides and made sure the sleeves were even just below elbow level, fixing them until she was satisfied with it. She moved her hands up the zipper on both sides and landed at the collar, smoothing it out a bit and straightening the hood. “There. Anything else?”

Nicole looked down at herself. “Um . . . Can you tie those?” she asked, pointing to her shoes.

Waverly smiled and dropped to a knee. “Double knot?”

“Yep.” Waverly tied them both. She looked up at her legs and started resituating Nicole's pants. She grabbed the ankle band, turning it a bit so it was straight and worked her way up her legs, fixing it here and there. She stood back up and looked at Nicole, who had a goofy smirk on her face. “You happy now?” she asked, raising her brows.

Waverly eyes widened. “I was just-”

Nicole quickly shook her head. “I’m kidding, Waves,” she assured, dropping her hand to her waist.

“Oh.” She looked down with a blush. “I thought you hated khakis.”

“I do, just not these,” Nicole replied with a smile. “I actually look good in these.” She bent down and pulled a hairbrush and toothbrush out of her bag.

“I beg to differ,” Waverly argued, eyeing her. Nicole shot her a look. “Ok, fine, maybe these are a little bit better- Wait.” Waverly grabbed her hips and spun her around, examining her backside. “Mk, yeah, a lotta bit better, I stand corrected. You in your uniform as a whole is still at the top of my list, though.”

Nicole turned back around, rolling her eyes. “I'm gonna go get rid of my morning breath,” she laughed, bopping her on the head with the end of the hairbrush. Waverly smiled as she walked off to the bathroom, heading to her desk and sitting down in front of the mirror to finish getting ready.

“I’m almost done, maybe like five more minutes,” Waverly said when she heard Nicole walk back in a few minutes later.

“Take your time, Waves,” Nicole encouraged as she grabbed her denim Adidas snapback and walked over to the mirror on the door. She put it on, making sure the bill was straight back and not dipping down too far. She fixed her hair and walked over to the bed, picking her laptop up off the floor and logging on. She signed into the station’s database and checked on what she was looking at before bed last night. Her eyes widened as she read through it. “Hey, guess what?” 

“Chicken butt,” Waverly mumbled as she filled in her eyebrows.

“Champ got transferred this morning. He pleaded not guilty, but they’re still holding him ‘cause he was deemed too dangerous for release.”

Waverly shot up and rushed over,  snatching the computer out of her hands to read through it herself. She lifted her eyes from the screen, staring right into Nicole’s. “Not guilty?” She handed her back her laptop. “Is he really that stupid?”

Nicole closed it and tossed it on the bed, following Waverly back to her desk. “Apparently. He must be crazy if he thinks any jury will believe that.” Waverly put on some lipstick and stood back up.

“What a dumbass.” She walked to the mirror, ruffling her hair a bit and fixing the collar of her jacket.

Nicole moved behind her and placed her hands on her waist, wetting her lips and pushing her front against her back. “You look . . . really nice, Baby,” she whispered, moving her hair to kiss her neck.

“It’s not too much is it?- I mean, we’re just going to the hospital.”

“No, I think it's fine,” she assured.

Waverly turned around and traced her finger down Nicole’s stomach, feeling the protrusions of her abs. “I like Frat Boy Nicole,” she teased with a giggle, sticking her tongue out from between her teeth. Nicole crossed her arms and pursed her lips, though the corners were turning up. “I’m kidding!” Nicole grabbed her hand and spun her around, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her tight.

“Good, 'cause I was gonna start calling you green bean,” she smirked. 

They looked at each other through the mirror. Nicole let her out of the hug and Waverly turned back around, sticking her thumbs up her shirt and running them across the thick band of her briefs that stuck above the hem of her pants. “I do like this, though. It’s . . . really hot . . . no pun intended,” she mumbled, pulling her bottom lip under her front teeth.

“Mmm, I could tell when you started eye-fucking me when I turned around,” Nicole muttered back. “But that’s what I was going for.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t do the same thing,” Waverly said with a wink. “And in case you were wondering, that’s what I was going for, too.”

“Mission successful,” Nicole grinned before going in for a kiss. The corners of Waverly’s lips turned up and she ran her hands up Nicole’s arms, squeezing her biceps. Nicole ran her tongue along Waverly’s bottom lip, and she opened her lips. Waverly turned them around and eased Nicole against the wall, arching into her. Nicole reached up and turned her hat around to the front so it didn’t bend and then moved her hand down to Waverly’s ass, pulling her as close to her as she could.

They pulled away quickly at the sound of the door swinging open and Wynonna’s voice booming into the room. “Babygirl, you won’t-” She made a gagging noise. “Gross, guys, seriously!? Don’t you have better places to be besides down each other’s throats?” Waverly looked back at Nicole blushing. “Haught, get your hand off my sister's ass.” She did so and Waverly walked over to her.

“Hi, Wynonna. Uh, quick question. Ever heard of knocking?!” Wynonna crossed her arms, but Waverly grabbed her wrist. “You take your hand and you go like this.” She tapped her hand on the door. “See? Easy right? NOW DO THAT FROM NOW ON!”  

They both looked at Nicole when they heard a snort come from that direction. “Yeah, she’s right, Earp, you did that to yourself,” she sighed, walking over to them and flipping her hat back around.

Wynonna glared at her. “Fine, whatever. Anyway, Willa says she's never had Taco Bell, so you two are gonna bring us back a buffet when you get done with your hospital shenanigans.” 

“Sounds great to me,” Nicole grinned. Waverly looked up at Nicole with a brow cocked. “What?”

She looked back to her sister. “Wynonna, there’s no reason you can’t drive yourself there and get her some.” 

“But I want Taco Bell,” Nicole said softly with a pouty lip, and Waverly clenched her jaw as she looked up at her.

“Alright, so it's settled. Waves, you're getting us food,” Wynonna said, smiling wide at Nicole.

“No, I’m not,” she scoffed. Nicole looked at her confusedly.

“Babygirl, your poor girlfriend has a jacked up hand and is in dire need of some Mexican diabetes,” Wynonna said with a pouted lip, putting her hands on Nicole’s shoulders. “And your sister has never had the privilege to eat a freaking taco.” Waverly looked between them unamused.

“Pwetty pwease?” Nicole begged with a pouted lip below puppy dog eyes. “With a chewwy on top?”

The corners of Waverly’s lips turned ever so slightly upward. “Fine,” she grumbled flatly. Wynonna and Nicole began jumping around and cheering while Waverly still stood with no emotions. “You’re still paying, Wynonna.” Wynonna stopped jumping. “Mhm.”

“Ugh, fine, be that way.” She stomped out of the room and went downstairs.

Nicole slowly approached Waverly and pushed the hair out of her face. “Hey. What was that all about?” she asked softly.

“I don’t know why Wynonna thinks I have to be nice to Willa. If she’s gonna be a bitch to me, I’ll be a bitch to her.”

“She doesn’t know any better, Babe. She didn’t mean it, ok? She was just confused,” Nicole consoled.

Waverly let out a breath. “Yeah, right, sorry. I just . . . I have to get used to having her back, that’s all. If it even is her.”

“Speaking of that, I still haven’t heard anything . . . Get your stuff together, I’ll meet you downstairs in a few.”

“Ok- Hey, I’m driving, by the way.”

“Mk,” Nicole mumbled, picking her phone up off the bed. Waverly grabbed her purse and headed downstairs as Nicole clicked on Jeremy’s contact.

Nicky: Hey, when do u think those tests will be done? They’re gettin antsy over here

She shoved her phone back in her pocket and grabbed her wallet off of the nightstand, heading downstairs and finding Waverly talking to Gus in the kitchen.

“Lemme see this hand of yours, Girly,” Gus said as Nicole walked up to her. Nicole held her fist out in front of her and the older woman examined it with a grimace on her face. “Oh for Heaven’s sake,” she muttered. “You need to ice that on the ride there, it’ll take some of that swellin’ down so they can examine it better.” She looked back up at Nicole and let go of her hand.

“Told you,” Waverly grumbled. Nicole elbowed her and Waverly smacked her. Nicole elbowed her again, and Waverly wagged her finger in her face. “I will tickle you.”

“And I will carry you around upside down all day long, how’s that sound?” Waverly bumped her with her shoulder with a roll of her eyes.

“Quit it,” Gus grumbled as she continued cutting up the vegetables she had been cutting before. Waverly smirked and clasped her hands in front of her. “Y’all best get goin’, who knows how long you will have to sit in that waiting room.”

“That’s true,” Nicole sighed. She held out her hand for Waverly. “C’mon Waves.” Waverly took it and they started to walk away. “Bye, Gus!”

“See ya later, Gus!” Waverly called. She pulled them to the freezer and pulled an ice pack out.

“Bye, girls. I’m hoping for the best, Nicole,” Gus called back.

“Me, too!” 

Waverly pulled open the front door, but they stopped at a voice from behind them. “Where are you going?” The couple turned around, seeing Willa standing behind the couch.

“To the hospital,” Waverly answered. “Rocky, here, decided to bust her hand and we’re getting it checked out.” She held up Nicole’s hand.

“Oh no,” Willa frowned. “Well, good luck with it. I hear I’m getting Taco Bell upon your return.”

“Yep,” Nicole said with a smile. “Bye, Willa.”

“Goodbye.”

Nicole gave Waverly a look, and she sighed. “Bye, Willa,” she called in an annoyed tone.

“Bye, Waverly.” The girls headed out to Waverly’s Jeep. Nicole hopped in the passenger's side and Waverly got in the driver’s seat and handed Nicole the ice pack. She started the car and pulled out of the driveway as Nicole’s phone buzzed on her lap.

Jeremy : They should be done soon. I'm at work rn so I'll check it when I get home. It would have been done this morning, but I had to test it again because somethin didn’t seem right.

Nicky: What u mean something didn’t seem right?

Jeremy : Nothing, I think I just plugged my data in wrong idk

Nicky: Ok, well I hope it works this time

Jeremy : Yeah, me too. TTYL, Boss Man doesn’t like us on our phones

Nicky:

Nicole knew something was up. Jeremy didn’t just plug data in wrong, he was too careful for that. She almost said something to Waverly about it, but didn’t. She didn’t want to worry her when she wasn’t even for sure if there was something to worry about.