56. Let's Ask the Third Party

       “What are we gonna do now?” Nicole mumbled into Waverly’s chest. They were laying on the couch, and the redhead was laying on top of her. 

       “I dunno,” she frowned, tugging the quilt tighter around them. 

       They had spent their day off of work laying around watching Friends, not realizing that they were close to finishing it.

       And they just had. 

       “Chandler and Monica got twins, man,” the taller one sighed. “Imagine thinking you’re having one baby, ‘n then boom. Twins .” 

       Waverly shook her head, looking up at the ceiling as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know if I could handle two newborns at once,” she said with a laugh. 

       “Do you know how many diapers we’d have to change?!” 

       Waverly let out a groan at the thought of that. “Too many.”

       Nicole was about to say something else, but she was cut off by her phone alarm going off in her pocket. She let out a complaint, pulling it out and shutting it off, dropping it to the floor. “No.”

       “C’mon, Nic. Go.”

       “No,” she whined, fisting her shirt in her hands and snuggling her face further into her front.

       “Babe,” Waverly warned, sitting up and rolling her off of her. 

       “Wave,” she whimpered. 

       The brunette stood up and grabbed her hand, dragging her to the bathroom. “Aaah,” she said, opening her mouth, wanting her to do the same. The redhead begrudgingly did so. Waverly gently flipped her bottom lip down, checking on her teeth. 

       It had been a week since Regionals. After the other Officer had picked Doc up, Waverly and Wynonna rushed Nicole to the emergency dentist to reattach her tooth to her mouth. The punch had also knocked the teeth on either side loose, so she now had to wear a metal wire, basically braces without the brackets and instead some waxy glue stuff, for a few months until all three bottom teeth reattached properly. And every four hours for two weeks she had to rinse her mouth with salt water.

       She had quickly grown to hate this part of her day. 

       As for Doc, neither Nicole or Dolls pressed charges, so he had made bail.

       The only problem was that no one had seen him since. Wynonna had relentlessly searched for him, but after 3 days of driving town to town, she was still coming up empty-handed. Waverly tried to convince her that he’d come back when he was ready, but she was certain he was gone for good. 

       Dolls was currently only talking to them for work-related reasons but didn’t speak to Wynonna at all. It was probably for the better, though. She was more than mad about the things he had said about her. 

       Now that things had calmed down a little, everyone was rolling by, trying to live their lives to the fullest. The Blue Devils had ended up winning the game against the Cougars, then going on to get the bye, so they only had to play one more game. And they won, taking home the Regionals trophy. They’d be traveling to Calgary in two weeks to compete at Sectionals in hopes to make it to the Championship in Edmonton. Only being a middle-school team, there were no Nationals, so the Championship was for the best of the best teams in Alberta. 

       “Ow,” Nicole hissed as Waverly pushed along her gums, checking on the swelling. 

       “You’re fine,” she sighed, letting her mouth go. The redhead quickly rinsed her mouth out, making disgusted faces in the mirror the whole time. Waverly rolled her eyes at her. “You’re literally the most dramatic person I’ve ever met.” 

       “Besides yourself?” She asked with a smirk. 

       Her mouth dropped open, corners turning upwards. “I’ll beat your ass.” 

       “Oh, will you?” She challenged, leaning back on the sink with her arms crossed. 

       "Well," she slowly walked in front of her, placing her hands on either side of the counter around her body, "unless you have a way to make it up to me?" She bit her lip to hold back a smirk. 

       "Hmm . . . I just might, Ms. Earp." She stood up straight, pulling her forward as she rested her hands on her hips. Her mouth curved into a soft smile. "You know I love you, right?” She asked, placing a gentle kiss on her nose.

       “I mean, I’d hope so,” she laughed, drooping her arms around her neck. “Why?” 

       Nicole shrugged, "Just making sure." She walked them out of the bathroom, leaving slow kisses along her jaw. She pushed her against the wall, pulling away from her jaw and cupping the bottom of her chin. "Cause I really, really love you." 

       Waverly grabbed her cheeks, connecting their lips. "I love you, too," she mumbled, slowly sliding her hands to her hips, pulling her closer. The redhead smiled, sliding her hands up her hoodie, brushing her thumbs under her bare breasts. 

       A chill still ran down Waverly's spine and her stomach still fluttered at every touch. It didn't matter how long it'd been or how many times she had done whatever it was. It was always like the first time over and over again. She hitched her right leg, hooking it around her hip and tugging her impossibly closer. Nicole ran her fingers up and down her sides as she detached their lips, pushing their foreheads together. 

       “Je t'aime tellement,” the smaller girl breathed out with a smile. (I love you so much.)

       The Officer dipped her head with a blush, grabbing her other leg and lifting her up. “Je t'aime, aussi,” she whispered, pulling her away from the wall. (I love you, too.)

       Waverly’s eyebrows shot straight up. “Depuis quand est-ce que tu parles Français?!” She asked with a laugh. (Since when do you speak French?!) 

       “J'ai pris quatre ans au lycée,” she smirked, gently laying her down on the couch. (I took four years in high school.) Her hand met the warm skin of her chest again as she started a trail of kisses down her neck. 

       “Le parlez-vous couramment?” She questioned, feeling her right hand slowly sliding downwards. (Do you speak it fluently?)

       “Autrefois, je le parlais couramment.” (I could speak it fluently before.) Nicole slipped her hand under the hem of the stolen briefs she had on, pulling her hand out from her shirt and moving it to the back of her head, pushing her fingers into her hair. 

       “Vous êtes impressionnante, Officier,” she smirked. (You are impressive, Officer.)

       She slipped through her folds, beginning to circle the bud. “Et vous es belle, Mon Amour,” she whispered, meeting her lips with a slow kiss. (And you are beautiful, My Love.) 

       Waverly had always thought French was a sexy language. But that was before she had heard Nicole speak it. Now she was determined it was the sexiest language. She cupped her hands around her neck, pushing her hips up into her hand. 

       “Mmph, Nic,” she whimpered as the redhead pressed tender kisses along the parts of exposed collarbone. The Deputy looked up at her with a smile, pulling her hand out from her hair and interlocking their fingers. The brunette bit her bottom lip, matching her smile. 

       Nicole could tell by the wrinkle in between her brows that she was already trying to hold off from coming undone, not wanting the moment to end just yet. She kissed her softly, pushing their foreheads together. "It's ok, Wave," she whispered.

       Her brow loosened, teeth retracting from her lip. She squeezed her hand tighter into Nicole's, the other fisting the shirt at her waist. The redhead sped up her rhythm, staring right into her eyes as her core started to pulse. Waverly met her eyes, mouth falling open as her breathing picked up. Her back arched off the couch as her she-

       The front door swung open. "Yo, Love Bu- WOAH!" Wynonna quickly pulled the door closed. 

       Nicole ripped her hand out of her pants, eyes bugging out as her head snapped towards the door. Waverly let out a shriek in surprise before her brain caught up to what had just happened. " WYNONNA!" They both screamed. 

       Nicole shot off of the smaller girl, marching to the door and ripping it back open. "WHAT THE FUCK, EARP?!?" 

       The brunette had her hands clamped over her eyes, rubbing her palms into them vigorously. "Do you have bleach. I need bleach. Maybe a Bible, too." 

       The Officer's face was cherry red from the mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Do you EVER knock?!?" 

       "Only when the door's locked," she mumbled, still rubbing her eyes. She finally removed her hands, looking up at her bashfully. "But seriously, guys? The couch? People sit there."

       "You have absolutely no room to talk," Nicole grumbled. "I saw you naked before I saw her naked." She turned from the door, walking back into the house. She saw the lump of quilt on the couch and slumped down next to it, crossing her arms over her chest. Wynonna walked in after, heading into the kitchen and going through their food cabinets. “Why are you here?” She asked, throwing her a look as she saw her walking back with a bag of croutons. 

       “I’m bored,” she shrugged, plopping sideways onto their brand new recliner, throwing her dirty boots over the armrest as she scrolled through their Netflix. 

       “Don’t you have other things to do when you’re bored?” 

       “Like?” 

       “Like anything that’s not coming here?” She reached sideways, pushing her legs off with a tut. 

       “You act like you were busy or something,” she mumbled with a smirk. Nicole threw her a glare, face going red again. The lump let out a groan. 

       “You’re just lucky we were clothed,” she grumbled back. Wynonna’s face contorted in disgust. The lump let out another groan, kicking the redhead’s thigh. 

       “You ok over there?” Wynonna asked, leaning forward in the chair. 

       “I hate you, Wynonna,” it mumbled. 

       Nicole sighed, reaching over and pulling the blanket down to reveal a red-faced-uncomfortable-looking Waverly. “We’ll get her back, it’s ok,” she smiled with a wink. 

       She pushed herself to a sitting position, leaning back against the arm of the couch. “This was almost as bad when Gus walked in on Champ and I in 10th grade,” she pouted, shivering at the memory. 

       Both of the other girls winced. “Her poor eyes,” Wynonna breathed.  

       “She must be scarred,” Nicole added. 

       Waverly rolled her eyes at them. “What do you want to do, Wynonna?” She sighed. The other brunette shrugged, popping another crouton in her mouth. Waverly stood up, walking over and grabbing the bag out of her hand. “We could go grab some dinner so you’re not eating all our damn food?” 

       “Ooooo, yeaaaaa,” both girls grinned at the same time, Wynonna staring at the back of her head as she reached up and put them back, Nicole looking at . . . elsewhere. She dropped back down to the flats of her feet, blushing slightly as she watched the redhead snap her eyes back up to her’s when she turned around. 

       “Where d’y’all wanna go?- Jesus Christ, I’m turning into you,” she breathed, eyes widened at the Deputy. 

       Nicole snorted. “I don’t care.”

       “Don’t matter,” the older Earp shrugged. “Let’s ask the third party . . .” She poked a finger into her stomach. “Watchu want?” She waited a few seconds. “Dairy Queen? A Dairy Queen double cheeseburger and onion rings? And a Reese’s Blizzard? You’re right, that does sound good.” She looked up at the couple with a smile. “I think she’s decided.” 

       They let out a joined sigh. “We’ll go get dressed,” Nicole sighed. She and Waverly began to walk out of the room towards their bedroom. “Please don’t get the clicker lost down the recliner!” 

       “The huh?” Wynonna questioned with a cocked eyebrow. 

       “The remote!” Waverly shouted back. 

       Wynonna shook her head in confusement as she continued clicking through the TV options out of boredness. 

       A few minutes later, her ears perked up away from the Stranger Things trailer she was watching. She hit mute on the TV, immediately regretting it. 

       “ Fuck, Baby !” She heard her sister moan. “ Unngh, Nic, you’re gonna make me- ” A sharp wail pierced through the air. She clapped her hands over her ears, mashing the volume button on the TV until it was loud enough to where she couldn’t hear her anymore. 

       She sat with her hands over her ears for a few more minutes until she saw them walk back into the living room out of the corner of her eye, both dressed and ready to go. She slowly stood up, turning towards them with a pouted glare. 

       “What’s wrong?” Nicole asked with an innocent tip of her head. 

       “I want to throw up my ears.” 

       “Why?” Waverly asked, holding down a smile. “Oh, could you hear that?” She feigned a wince. “Sorry,” she said with a shrug, a smirk finally forming on her lips. 

       They began to walk towards the door as Wynonna’s lips formed into a straight line. “If you ever do that again, I will murder both of you.” 

       Nicole closed the door behind them. “Mm. Yea, I’ll try to remember that next time I’m tongue-deep in your sister.” She looked towards her with a dimpled smile. Waverly smacked her arm. 

       The older Earp gagged, bracing herself against Waverly’s Jeep door. “ I’LL KNOCK FROM NOW ON, I PROMISE !” 

.  .  .

       “Well . . . What’d she say?” Nicole asked, swiveling nervously in her office chair, fingers clipping and unclipping her holster strap. 

       “ I dunno. She just asked how I was doing, normal catching-up stuff, I guess ,” Jeremy answered from over the phone. 

       “Did she . . . ask about me?” She asked hesitantly. 

       He was quiet for a few seconds. “. . . No. I was only there for a few minutes. I didn’t know she was gonna be there . . . Or that she even came up here anymore. The last time I saw her was, like . . . 2 years ago. ”

       “Yea, I know. Neither did I,” the redhead mumbled. 

       “ I’m sorry, Nicky .”

       “No, it’s fine. I don’t want anything to do with her. She doesn’t want anything to do with me. You know that.” 

       He let out a sigh. “ But I know you still care about her. ” 

       “I just don’t get it,” she groaned. “She knows you’re gay and doesn’t seem to care, but just cause I’m gay and her kid, she’s appalled!” 

       “ Nicole . . . ” He was trying to help. He always was. But this area had always been hard for him because he didn’t know what it was like. His mom took pride in the fact that he was gay. Hell, she was the founder of Purgatory Pride . She just couldn’t convince her best friend to see it in the same light that she did. 

       “I’m sorry . . . It’s just . . . annoying,” she sighed, leaning forward and rubbing her forehead. 

       “ She . . . said she is going to be at my mom’s all of this week. You could go talk to her? Maybe- ”

       “Nope. Not happening. Nu-uh.” 

       “ You could try ?”

       “Nope.”

       “ Why ?”

       “Cause I don’t want to.” 

       “ . . . Ok, Nicky. It’s your choice. ” A silence fell over both of them, Nicole thinking and Jeremy’s mind filling with sadness, knowing how much it hurt her deep down. “ I’m gonna let you go. My break ends in a few minutes . . . ”

       “Mk . . . Love you, Jer,” she mumbled. 

       “ Love you, too, Sis. I’ll talk to you later. ” 

       “Bye.” She pulled the phone away from her ear, tossing it up onto her desk as she dropped her elbows to her knees and pushed her hands into her hair, running her nails along the top of her scalp. 

       She heard footsteps approach her door a few seconds later. She looked up, seeing a slightly-scared Waverly standing in her doorframe. She quickly stood up, walking around her desk towards her. “What’s wrong, Baby?” She asked gently, rubbing her hands up and down her upper arms. 

       Her mouth came open a bit, eyes tracing over her concerned face. “I just met your mom.”