Outside Of Life [WayHaught]

From The Watchtower

Waverly looked into Nicole's eyes and felt her mind go numb.

That was it.

Just nothingness.

Her brain had gone completely blank.

The redhead's smile started to fade a little as worry took over. "Oh god, I'm sorry Waves. I shouldn't have asked, I'm so sor-"

Waverly put her hands either side of Nicole's face and leant in close until their lips were just touching. Pausing just for a moment, just long enough to make sure the Sergeant was ok with it, the brunette brought their lips crashing together in a sensational kiss.

However, as soon as the thought entered her mind, as soon as Waverly envisioned her name, there was a knock on the door.

"Haught! Some shit's going down by the wall and we need you! Get your ass out here or I'll hurt your cat!"

Nicole broke the kiss and rested her forehead on the brunette's, biting her lip. "Earp you wouldn't go near Calamity-Jane if I paid you. Just give me a minute."

"Dammit, Haught, we don't have a minute."

The door burst open, the lock flying into a corner of the living room.

"Waves?" Wynonna was out of breath, her eyebrows knitted together with confusion. "Jeez you guys can't keep away from each other, can you? Anyway, Haught, I need you, like, now."

"What's happened, Wynonna?" Nicole stood up and made her uniform look presentable again. "Please tell me it's worth you knocking down my door."

"It's Champ. You know, rodeo-champ Champ?"

Waverly stood up suddenly, gasping at the same time. She'd been avoiding him since joining the Outsiders; she didn't quite know how to say no to him in a way that he would get. "Is he ok?"

The elder Earp winced, shaking her head. "Not exactly, baby girl."

The trio ran to the other side of the city where Champ's wall post was except he wasn't grinning and making bad jokes from the top of the watchtower; he was hanging off of the side of it, the bright red patches along his torso dripping down his legs and onto the ground. A handful of other guards were keeping the civilians away as best they could although a couple of people were wailing which didn't help with keeping the crowd calm.

Waverly told herself to remain as calm as possible, knowing whatever had happened would have an explanation. After all, getting worked up wouldn't achieve anything. She walked through the crowd and past the guards, Nicole helping to move people aside, and headed straight for Sergeant Major Nedley who was talking to Dolls and one of the guards.

"What's going on, Dolls?" Nicole asked, her hand snaking its way around the brunette's waist as Waverly started to tear up.

"From what we can tell," the Sergeant explained. "He was shot from a distance but it's impossible. No-one within the city would have the means to kill, as you know, because the guards and Outsiders are the only ones allowed weapons."

The guard stepped forward, his voice stuttering. "Unless it was a guard that killed him."

Waverly suddenly recognised the tear-stained face of the guard. "Perry? Why would you say that?"

"Champ wasn't a popular guy, Waverly. To be honest, he was arrogant and annoying. It would surprise me if, with rumours of rations getting low with no cure in sight, someone took the opportunity to-" He couldn't finish the sentence, Waverly's eyes locked onto his, welling up once more."I'm sorry, Waves."

"Waves?" Nicole muttered under her breath, letting go of Waverly's waist.

Nedley let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Perry can you get some guards to bring Champ down so we can bury the poor boy. Figuring out who did this can be done at the Outsider HQ."

Perry saluted the order and shouted to a few of his unit. As they begun climbing the ladders, Wynonna headed to the HQ with Nedley, Dolls not far behind.

"I'm so sorry about this, Waverly," Nicole mumbled, taking mental notes of the public's reactions as they followed Nedley. "I know you and Champ were friends."

The brunette scoffed at Nicole's choice of words. "Sure we were friends but I can't say I enjoyed spending time with him. You'd think the end of the world would change people's perspective on things, you know? Like how being interested in languages and history doesn't make you boring and why 'turning my brain off' is super offensive when my brain is who I am!"

The was a moment of silence before Waverly mumbled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble."

"It sounds like you've kept that bottled up for a while?"

"You could say that, yeah."

"In that case, I'll need you to make a deal with me."

Waverly stopped walking and looked up at the redheaded Sergeant. "What do you mean?"

"If everyone in the city knows you were friends with Champ, then they might expect you to have a certain opinion. The fact that it sounds like you feel the opposite might startle them."

"Startle them? What are you trying to say, Nicole? You're worrying me."

"I don't want guards who don't know you to suggest you might have harmed Champ."

"But I wasn't anywhere near him?"

The redhead shrugged, her cheeks flushed pink. "I know that, and you know that," she mumbled.

Waverly lead the Sergeant to the side of a building so they were out of sight from the main crowd. She let her hands settle on Nicole's waist, using her index finger to lift the redhead's chin, locking their eyes together for what felt like an age. Taking a breath, the brunette let go of her anxiety for a moment and said, "Are you concerned for my safety, Sergeant Haught?"

A/N: Ooooo I have no idea what's going on. Or do I...? Let me know what you think in the comments - who killed Champ?!