Chapter Text
EPILOGUE 2 – TWO YEARS LATER
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“The cops are going to think you’re kidnapping me.”
“That’s why I used a sleep mask instead of duct tape. Christ, you have no patience, do you?”
“No. Not at all. You should know that by now.”
Nicole rolls her eyes and reaches over to the passenger seat, linking her fingers with Waverly’s. “Baby. Seriously. Can you just humor me for like fifteen more minutes?”
“Fine,” Waverly replies grumpily. “But this better be good.”
There’s an edge of nervousness in Nicole’s voice as she replies, “It will be.”
+++++
“We’re here,” Nicole says, parking the Jeep. “Don’t take that blindfold off just yet, babe. There’s just a little bit more to go.”
“I hate you,” Waverly grumbles.
“No; you don’t.”
Waverly sighs softly. “I don’t. But I will if you don’t get me out of this thing soon.”
Nicole goes around and opens Waverly’s door, holding her hand to guide her out into the snow. She presses a kiss to Waverly’s cheek and murmurs, “Soon. I promise.”
She leads Waverly blindly forward before stopping and wrapping her arms around Waverly from behind, resting her chin on the top of Waverly’s head.
“Do you trust me?”
Gentleness seeps into Waverly’s voice as she says, “Of course I do. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Nicole kisses Waverly’s cheek again before murmuring, “I’m going to take the blindfold off now, sweetheart.”
The sigh of relief as light comes back to her vision is cut off as she realizes that they’re standing on the edge of a frozen pond.
“Nicole, what the-”
“It’s okay,” Nicole soothes, whispering in her ear. “It’s okay. I’ve had it checked about a hundred times. It’s so cold right now that this thing is frozen solid.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Waverly takes one foot off of the safety of the snow and taps it on the edge of the ice. “Why are we here?”
“I thought maybe you’d want to walk out to the center with me. Just to give it a shot?”
There’s a moment of fear deep in her veins, but the warmth of Nicole holding her shakes it away. “Yes,” Waverly whispers. “Yes. Let’s do it.”
“You’re sure? We don’t have to.”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay.”
Nicole moves around a bit, taking the first firm step onto the ice, then takes Waverly’s hands in hers and gently leads her out towards the center.
“Are you okay, baby?” Nicole asks quietly.
Waverly swallows and nods, staring at her feet.
“Waves, we don’t have to stay out here if you don’t want to.”
“No,” Waverly quickly replies. “I’m alright, Nic. I promise. It’s just a weird experience.” Her voice drops a bit. “Honestly, I’m… I’m surprised as how much it just feels like when I’ve gone out onto the rinks with you.”
Nicole gives her a kind smile. “It’s just ice. That’s all it is. Just some ice.”
They reach the center, and Waverly pulls Nicole into a tight hug, her breath rapid.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Waverly reassures. “Just… Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Nicole says wryly. She pulls back, resting her hands on Waverly’s shoulders. “Do you, uh… Do you know where we are right now?”
“Uh… On a pond?”
“Yes. But what pond, babe?”
Waverly looks around, confused, and it’s only then that she notices the lake on the other side of the Jeep. “Wait…”
“Now you’re getting it.”
Waverly turns her gaze to meet Nicole’s, surprise in her eyes. “That’s the lake. The one I fell into.”
“Yes.”
“And this would then be the pond you were playing hockey on?”
“Yes.”
Waverly pauses, her hand reaching up to play with Nicole’s hair, almost absentmindedly. “Why bring me here, though? There are plenty of ponds near Purgatory to do this experiment with…”
Nicole swallows, that nervousness now in her eyes as she straightens a bit and clears her throat. “Right. Well. This is the place where we first met all those years ago. It’s important.”
Waverly blinks at her. “For… what?”
“I will admit that I sort of expected you to get it before now,” Nicole jokes. She slides her foot back and kneels down, holding Waverly with one hand and searching her pocket with the other. “Dammit,” she mumbles under her breath. “This was supposed to be smoother.”
“Nicole,” Waverly whispers, eyes going wide.
“Sorry,” Nicole says sheepishly as she finally pulls a small black box out of her coat pocket. “It got a little lost in there.”
“I… Okay,” Waverly says.
“Don’t look so surprised, baby,” Nicole murmurs, kissing the back of Waverly’s hand softly before opening the ring box and holding it up. “I’ve been ready to do this for a very long time.” She takes in a quick breath before saying, “Waverly Earp. Will you marry me?”
She barely finishes the sentence before Waverly is dragging her up by the collar of her jacket and kissing her hard on the mouth.
“Yes,” Waverly says breathlessly. “Yes, Nicole Haught, I most certainly will.”
Nicole beams and hugs her tightly. “Thank god. I wasn’t sure if you were going to kill me for bringing you out here to do this.”
“Never. It’s perfect for us.” Waverly cups Nicole’s face in her hands and kisses her. “It’s perfect, and I love you for it.”
“I’ve never been more glad of anything in my life.”
Waverly kisses her again before saying, “Now, if you don’t get me off this pond, I’m going to divorce you the moment we’re married.”
Nicole laughs and hands the ring box to Waverly before turning her around and guiding her back to the edge of the pond by her shoulders. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
“No,” Waverly says, setting her hands on top of Nicole’s. “We definitely would not.”