I Love You
Nicole woke to the feeling of someone trailing their fingers through her hair and lightly massaging her scalp, and of course not wanting the sensation to stop she pretended to be asleep for a little while longer.
Waverly had woken up about half an hour ago, feeling more rested and better than ever. She turned around to face Nicole and felt her instinctively tighten her grip on her in her sleep, Waverly's face broke out in a huge smile - a smile that hadn't left her face since that moment. She'd been looking at Nicole for a while now, just taking in her peaceful demeanor as she slept, that was until she realised it could be considered slightly weird if she kept this up. Then again, what's another minute, right? It's not like she or anyone is awake to see me staring and admiring anyway, is it? She thought to herself as she brought a hand up to run through soft red hair.
A few moments later she felt Nicole stir, and her hand stilled immediately afraid she'd been caught mid act.
"No," Nicole whined from where her face was buried in a pillow, "don't stop, please?"
Waverly's smile grew impossibly wider just then, and she resumed her motions. "Good morning, beautiful," she said and leaned closer to kiss her cheek, "how are you feeling today?"
Nicole smiled then and slowly opened her eyes, "for the first time since Sunday, I don't feel like I'm dying." When Waverly only laughed as a response she continued, "all thanks to you actually. You and that amazing soup of yours seemed to have done it."
"No, no this is all you, I was just here for support and what I now realise where not very encouraging words..." She looked down shyly for a moment.
"Hey," Nicole started to bring Waverly's attention back, "check this out." She took a deep breath through her nose, something that for once didn't result in her starting to cough like crazy. Pointing to her nose, she said "this. This is all thanks of you."
Waverly let out a laugh as she buried her face in the crook of Nicole's neck, mumbling out a "shut up."
Nicole laughed and held on to Waverly as she rolled on to her back bringing Waverly with her on top. Waverly let out a short squeal as she was being pulled with Nicole, and glared at her for a moment before her serious face fell and her laugher filled the room with Nicole who simply hugged her to her.
When their laughter finally died down a little, Waverly propped herself up Nicole who then just took a moment to look at her, thinking the way the sun creeping in through the cracks of her curtains made Waverly look even more beautiful than always. Naturally she felt a need to tell Waverly this, and as much as she wanted to kiss her like crazy right now, she knew that it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. She didn’t actually want Waverly to get sick too, so instead she sighed happily and brought a hand up to tuck a piece of hair behind Waverly’s hair, “you’re so beautiful.”
Waverly smiled shyly, “says you, the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen.”
She leaned down to place a sweet kiss to Nicole’s lips, who effectively stopped her. Nicole had put her hand over Waverly’s mouth and was looking at her with an apologetic look as Waverly raised an eyebrow in question, “I’m kinda sick, remember...? I just don’t want you to get sick too because of me.”
Waverly, although thinking it was sweet of Nicole, didn’t really care at this point. It had been half a week and then some since she last kissed her girlfriend and sick or not, Waverly was determined to make this happen.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to stay away from your mouth then, won’t I?” Was said as her genuinely sweet smile was replaced with the biggest smirk. She dipped her head and started attacking Nicole’s neck, she worked her way across her collarbones and up her neck, where she took her sweet time. She reached Nicole’s weak spot it seemed when she heard Nicole let out a low moan, she lightly bit down before soothing over the mark with her tongue and continuing upwards. She was peppering her jaw with quick kisses, making her way to the corner of Nicole’s mouth where she lingered only a moment longer as she placed a kiss there.
When she pulled back to look at Nicole, Nicole was looking at her with wide dark eyes filled with lust. Waverly gave Nicole’s cheek a last quick peck before moving to climb off of Nicole, only to be dragged back by Nicole a moment later. She raised her eyebrows and Nicole looked at her for a second more before cupping both her cheeks and bringing her face to her in a crushing kiss. Waverly gasped into her mouth, taken a little by surprise but definitely not complaining, and Nicole took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.
Hands were wandering off everywhere, clothes were coming off – well, Waverly’s clothes were coming off - and it was only when Nicole was positive her lungs would explode if she didn’t get some air right that second that she reluctantly broke the kiss.
A little out of breath, Waverly cheekily asked, “I thought you didn’t want me to get sick?”
Nicole laughed and jokily said, “well there’s no need to be a jerk about it…”
Waverly made a serious face then, before answering “you’re right, I’m sorry.” She smiled a little again before continuing, “that was amazing though.”
“I know.”
“Plus,” Waverly said, starting to climb off of Nicole for a second time, “there is always the chance I won’t get sick even if you’re sick. Maybe you’re past that whole infecting people phase?”
Nicole shrugged and laid on her side as she watched Waverly get out of bed, “hey, where are you going? Are you just gonna make me all hot and bothered and then take off?”
Waverly picked up her sweater off the floor and walked over to Nicole’s side of the bed, sitting down and placing a quick kiss to her lips. “I’m sorry, but I do actually sort of have to go to work…” When Nicole pouted at her, she said “I know, I don’t want to leave either, but I was supposed to be there an hour ago, so I’m already pretty late…”
Nicole must have looked like a question mark then, because Waverly laughed and said “it’s almost one, Nicole, we slept for, well, pretty much for ever.”
Her eyes went wide, “oh my gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever slept in that late.” She made to get out of bed herself, but was held back by Waverly.
“Nope, you’re staying right here. You may feel better, but that doesn’t mean you’re 100% well yet, and I am not risking you infecting half this town with whatever it is you’ve got.”
Nicole huffed, but laid back down none the less. “Oh, so you’re more worried about the health of the citizens of Purgatory than your girlfriend dying of boredom? That’s super comforting…”
“Hey,” Waverly lightly slapped Nicole’s upper arm, “that’s not what I said. And for the record, there is nobody in this town I care about more than you.” She let that hang in the air for a second before saying, “well, maybe Lincoln, but I suppose he doesn’t count, does he?”
It was now Nicole’s turn to lightly slap Waverly’s arm, and laughing she answered “that’s not very nice, Lincoln is a cat. A cat should not be more important than a person. …should it?”
Waverly simply shrugged as she stood up, “I don’t know. But honest to God, or whatever’s up there, you are more important to me than anyone else in this town.”
Not really knowing what to say, she didn’t say anything. She watched intently as Waverly stood up and walked over to the door, stopping and turning around as reached the threshold, catching Nicole staring. “Wow, Nicole, way to be subtle about it.”
Nicole gave her a sheepish grin then, weakly offering up a “sorry?”
Waverly dismissed the poor apology, and said, “whatever, pervert. I’ve got to go, but me being gone does NOT mean you are free to walk around, go outside or be in much activity, got it?”
The stern look Waverly was giving her was slightly intimidating, so Nicole just nodded her agreement and smiled, “got it.”
“Good! And if you’re extra good, I might let you go outside tomorrow – might.”
Nicole laughed then, “just get outta here, the sooner you leave the sooner I’ll see you again.”
Waverly shook her head as she walked out of the room and towards the door. As she opened the door, she called back to Nicole, “goodbye, I love you!” Before walking out of the door and towards her car.
It was only when she closed her car door and turned on the engine she realised what she’d just said, she’d just told Nicole she loves her and then walked away without thinking about it. It just naturally left her and she didn’t think twice before letting it slip, it simply happened. She started slightly panicking and worrying, wondering if maybe it was too soon – was it too soon? She’d thought about it for a while, but she didn’t want to scare Nicole with all her feelings all the time, so she was thinking she would wait until a reasonable time had passed before she would say anything, like a normal person. What had just happened did not fit well with that plan, and she knew she had to get to Shorty’s so she couldn’t exactly go back now. Or could she? No, she thought to herself, no, it’s okay. It’s better to get it out in the open. I just told her how I feel and that’s totally okay. Not a big deal at all… Taking a deep breath, she pulled out of the parking lot and started her short drive over to Shorty’s, hoping she hadn’t freaked Nicole out too much.
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Nicole had momentarily frozen up when Waverly had told her she loved her. She was sure she hadn’t meant to say it, so she was a bit unsure how she should react. She definitely felt the same way, she’d known for a while now really, but she hadn’t wanted to say it yet in fear it would be too soon. But Waverly just said it, so I can say it back, I need to say it back, I want her to know.
And with that thought, she got out of bed and started getting dressed. If she was doing this, she was really doing it, and she had a few things in mind for just how she wanted to do this.
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Waverly had spent her time at work at Shorty’s trying to figure out how to explain to Nicole what had happened, she had tried to come up with some excuse and at least a hundred different apologies she could give her.
Her hours spent at work had been filled with too many worries and not enough attention, resulting in more than a few orders getting mixed up and a few not so happy costumers. When she finally finished her shift, she was more than happy to get out of there and finally get some time to seriously think about where she went from there.
Little did she know, that Nicole had spent the entire day running around town sniffling, trying to get everything she needed to surprise Waverly after work. She needed to get some flowers, she needed to find a restaurant they could go to because she really wanted to take Waverly out and just spoil her like nobody had. Which is why when Waverly walked out of Shorty’s she stopped dead in her tracks, more than a little surprised, at the sight of Nicole leaning against her truck – flowers in hand and a big smile on her face.
“Hey!” She said happily when Waverly walked out of Shorty’s, continuing to speak as Waverly walked towards her, “I know, I know, I’m not supposed to be out of bed, but I really needed to see you.”
Waverly came to a stop when she reached Nicole and just looked at her in question. Nicole figured maybe she should try doing a better job at explaining, “I mean, I hope you’re not mad or anything, you kinda left before I got a chance to say anything, and I have like a lot to say.” They stood in silence for a bit, Waverly waiting for Nicole to continue, and Nicole letting the nerves get the best of her for a moment, “oh!” she said as she held out the bouquet of flowers for Waverly to take, “these are for you – and before you say anything, I know they don’t measure up to you really, but they were the prettiest I could find that were closest to matching you…”
Waverly looked down at the bouquet in shock for a moment before taking it from Nicole’s hand, it really was a very beautiful bouquet of roses, lilies, and alstroemeria. ”Nicole,” she started as she lifted her eyes to meet Nicole’s, “these are really beautiful, I don’t know what to say - thank you! You didn’t have to do this though, you don’t have to-“
“I know,” Nicole stopped her, “but I wanted to.”
Waverly was grinning from ear to ear, she couldn’t believe Nicole would do this, even after she let the words slip earlier at what she was so sure was too soon for Nicole. “So...”
Nicole snapped out of whatever staring moment she’d been having, blinking a couple of times before saying “right! Sorry. I uhh, I went ahead and got us a table at this place right around the corner, nothing super fancy, but I’ve heard they’ve got burgers to die for. Figured you might be up for some food when you finished work… We don’t have to go though, I mean I know you might be tired after a long day, and I don’t want to keep you out if you don’t want to – you might not even be hungry! I don’t know why I did that without checking with you first, that was maybe dumb…” She finished her rant and took a deep breath.
Waverly was just standing there smiling, she stood up on her toes and pecked Nicole’s lips before saying, “I would love to have dinner with you.” She then took a hold of Nicole’s hand, “lead the way, I am starving!”
Nicole laughed and started walking, not once forgetting how great Waverly’s hand seemed to fit in hers, like they were made for each other. She kept smiling the whole way, stealing quick glances at Waverly and seeing her with the same big smile on her face.
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They made it to the restaurant in a few minutes, and they were seated in a booth in the back corner by a window with a nice view of the town. They had both ordered and were sat waiting for their food.
“So,” Waverly eventually spoke up, “any reason for this lovely evening?”
“Actually,” Nicole drew out, “yes.” She took a deep breath and reached for Waverly’s hand across the table. She opened her mouth a couple of times and closing it again, maybe she should have thought through what she wanted to say a little longer before actually doing this? It didn’t matter though, not really, because she knew what she wanted to say, and she was just going to say it. “You know how this morning, as you left, you kinda threw out an I love you before you walked out. And well, I know you probably didn’t mean to do that, but I’ve been thinking a lot lately and when you said that I just realised I really want you to know that I love you.” She laughed a little, “I really do… It may seem silly or too soon to say that, but that is how I really feel, and why can’t I say that, right? You don’t have to say it back, I just wanted you to know.” She stopped for a moment, but before Waverly could say anything she added, “and I wanted to spoil you a little bit tonight as a thank you for last night, because you were amazing and I’m pretty sure I would have died if you hadn’t come over. And of course because you truly deserve this and so much more… Waverly, you deserve the world, and I’m gonna give it to you. If you’ll let me of course…” She ended on a bit of a shy note, not daring to meet Waverly’s eyes just yet.
Waverly was a little bit shocked, she didn’t fully understand how Nicole could be so open with her, just like that, in a way that seemed so effortless as well. There were unshed tears in her eyes, and she was sure her face was taken over by a face splitting grin as she further processed what Nicole had just told her. She loves me, she thought, she really loves me. She’s not scared because of how I said it and she loves me back.
Waverly tugged gently on the hand in hers, trying to have Nicole meet her eyes. She was unsuccessful, however, but she could understand why. Which is why instead of insisting, she simply spoke up anyway, needing Nicole to know she felt the same way. “It may have slipped out this morning, but I really did mean it. I mean, I guess I’ve known for a while actually… When you didn’t answer any of my calls or texts this week and you weren’t at work, Nicole I was so scared. I didn’t know what was going on and I thought I was losing you – or even worse that you were seriously hurt – and that scared me half to death. I love you. I really do, and I am so sure of it, more sure of it than I’ve perhaps ever been before about anything. I know how I feel about you and I may not have meant to say it but I did mean it when I said it. Even if I do wish it had happened in a smoother way.”
Nicole was looking at her again now, smiling widely, “really?”
Returning Nicole’s wide smile, Waverly simply answered with a “yes.”
Nicole nodded Waverly over, “come here,” and put her arm around Waverly’s waist to hold her closer once she sat down next to her.
Waverly laid her head down on Nicole’s shoulder and took her hand in her own, “I like this,” she said. “Us, I like us.”
Nicole dropped a kiss to the top of her head and hummed in agreement.
Their food soon arrived, and Nicole was right, this place had some really good burgers. They spent most of their time eating in a comfortable silence, occasionally catching each other staring for a minute but would just smile of plant a kiss on the other’s cheek before going back to eating. Everything felt so natural and good between them that they didn’t mind the silence at all.
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When they’d finished their food, Nicole had paid without much of an argument with Waverly much to her surprise, she may have prepared quite a few good arguments to win the fight, but even better was never having it. They had walked back to Waverly’s truck where they were now standing, saying their goodbyes.
“I love you,” Waverly said as she sank back down on her feet after giving Nicole a quick kiss, her arms remaining around her neck.
Nicole still had her arms wrapped around Waverly’s waist, not yet ready to let go, “I love you too.”
Waverly pulled Nicole down to her again, but instead of bending down, she tightened her hold on Waverly and gently lifted her up to kiss her. She could feel Waverly smiling against her lips and couldn’t help the small smile that graced her own lips.
When she was sat back down a moment later Waverly laughed innocently, “I’m sorry I’m so short…”
Nicole shrugged, “I like it.”
Standing on her tows to give Nicole one last kiss, she said, “okay, I really should get home… And you really should get back in bed! You weren’t even supposed to be here in the first place.”
“What can I say – I just had to tell you I love you.” Nicole answered. Then, as if on cue, she sniffled for a short moment before shutting her eyes and sneezing hard.
Waverly laughed and said, “I rest my case,” which earned her a glare from Nicole.
“Yeah yeah, bed, I know…”
“Mhm,” Waverly said and climbed into her truck, “I will see you tomorrow?”
“Definitely,” Nicole answered immediately, “drive safe, okay?”
Waverly smiled and said “Always do,” before backing up and driving home.
Nicole looked after her for a moment, slowly shaking her head at herself, its official - I've got it bad. This girl has turned me to complete mush.