i'm re-reading that inevitable victorian thing and urgh, man, it's so good i can't believe i found it in a store by coincidence rather than ordering it after seeing it on a List For Queer Fiction That Is Actually Great For Other Reasons Than Its Queerness, Too. i like it so much.
I recently re-read it too (and I NEVER re-read my books!), and loved it the whole time. It’s so weird, and I just adore it. And yeah, it’s easily my queerest book, but I love so many other parts of it too.
DW and Delayne strap on their hiking boots, load up their cargo shorts with candy contraband and head to summer camp as they discuss the excellent work ‘all the lights that lead us there’ by belikebumblebee.
In which Regina says no and then changes her mind, Emma is in love with Regina like it's a full-time job, and Henry really likes snapchat. Twelve months.
“Stupid,” Wynonna is cursing her, in that furiously terrified voice Waverly has become far too accustomed to. “Stupid, Waverly, what the fuck were you thinking?”
“That’s not really helpful,” Waverly snaps, annoyed more that her voice trembles than at the mess of wires and beeping lights in her hands.
“Oh that’s not helpful? Was picking up a bomb helpful? Was--”
“Wynonna.” Nicole’s voice cuts in, laboured like she’s breathing harder after a hard sprint from her truck to the bar. “Dolls wants you outside.”
“If you think--”
“Wynonna.”
Waverly looks up, finally, away from the bomb in her hands. Wynonna is pale, and pinched, and she’s got the deepest furrow in her brow Waverly’s ever seen. “It’s okay,” Waverly says, stifling the smallest tremble in her tone. “Wynonna, it’s okay. Go help Dolls. There’s bigger things happening than me.”
Wynonna shakes her head. “No such thing. Not in my book.”
“I’ve got this,” Nicole says, and Waverly--hasn’t managed to look at her yet. But her voice is calm and quiet and warm and it makes Waverly feel less like she’s going to tremble her way through the floor. She did a science experiment in school in the fifth grade. Lab coats and goggles and gloves even though they didn’t touch anything more dangerous than the weakest of acids. But the experiment--they’d put plastic army men in sandboxes and vibrated the sand until the little green men sank between the grains and out of sight, quicksand in accelerated time.
“--can you hear me? Waverly?”
Waverly snaps back to the present. She looks at Nicole, the curl of her hair more pronounced now that’s cut short, the lines of stress and worry and fear around her eyes and mouth. “Yeah,” she manages, her voice rasping. “I can hear you.”
Nicole shucks her jacket, her hat, letting them drop carelessly to the floor. “Hell of a thing, bombs. Did I ever tell you I came in at the top of my class at the academy?”
Waverly blinks. “Sheriff Deputies attend an academy?”
“Someday we’ll talk about how your sister is vastly, vastly underqualified for her position. The badge position, not the heir position.” Nicole inches closer with every word, and then she’s just there, close enough to touch. “But, my point is… I did go through some training on… this.”
“On bombs? Like this one? You know how to disarm this?”
Nicole falters. “Well--”
“Oh my god, I’m going to die.” Waverly blinks, rapid. “I’m going to die and I’m not wearing matching underwear. You’ll make sure they put good underwear on me, right baby? I don’t want to go in the ground wearing--” she falters. “But I guess there won’t be enough of me to dress for a funeral.”
Nicole’s hands falter above her shoulders, feather light, and then trace the lines of her jaw. “You’re not going to die,” she says, firm. “Dolls is gonna find the other bombs, and Wynonna’s gonna shoot the revenant, and you’re gonna go home with me.”
Waverly takes a shaky breath. “Promise?”
One hand trails down to press to her chest, feel her thundering scared rabbit thump of a pulse. The other disappears and then emerges from Nicole’s pocket holding a pair of wirecutters. “Cross my heart,” Nicole says. She smiles. “Eyes on me, baby. We’ll be home in no time.”
Waverly holds her gaze. Takes in Nicole’s face like it could be the time. “Eyes on you,” she echoes, and Nicole’s hand is on her heart.
Thank you, @belikebumblebee, for the extra love! And you’re welcome, @charcoalred. I love to talk about my processes and I’m always happy to answer questions like this about my stories and my writing!
I'd really like to be clever and say KYH!wayhaught+14, but I have a feeling that's not happening, so: divorce!wayhaught+16.
“Y’know,” Nicole says with a smile, whispering into Waverly’s ear, “I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to be doing this with you in a wedding dress or something.”
“Shut up,” Waverly murmurs back. “I don’t care.”
Nicole leads her back along the wood of the deck, slowly, each step in beat to the song playing softly from the radio stuck in the sand.
“Well. I suppose we haven’t been doing things very traditionally,” Nicole jokes.
Waverly whines and grips at the loops of Nicole’s shorts, tugging her closer and pressing her face against her neck. “Just shut up and dance with me, Haught.”
“I am dancing,” Nicole laughs. “Move your face. You’re going to get sunscreen in your eyes, and then you’ll spend the rest of the night bitching at me like it’s my fault.”
Her wife glares up at her. “It would be your fault.”
“Mhm. I know.” Nicole spins Waverly around gently along with a flourish in the song. “Can I ask you something, baby?”
“Of course.” Waverly nips at her ear, then grimaces as she gets a taste of sunscreen. “As long as it’s not whether we can stop dancing.”
“No; of course not.” Nicole rests their foreheads together. “Are you happy?”
Waverly grins at her and reaches up, stroking the back of her neck. “Nicole. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
“Sure?”
“Positive.”
Nicole beams at her, dimples on full display. She surges down and picks Waverly up, hooking Waverly’s legs around her waist. “Good,” Nicole whispers, still making the motions through the song, stumbling only slightly. “Can I tell you something, then?”
Waverly, giggling, links her fingers behind Nicole’s head. “Anything.”
“I love you.”
Waverly laughs and kisses her, laughing again when Nicole takes her turn spluttering on the taste of sunblock. “I love you too, Nicole Haught.”
i started following you because of that unbelievably gorgeous picture going around, but i'm so happy i did because you're such a genuinely positive presence on my dashboard. it really brightens my day. thank you for that!
