The Rubik's Cube - gaizotak (2024)

Chapter 1: Puzzles

Chapter Text

There are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 combinations on a 3x3 Rubik’s Cube. A number that large is nearly impossible to imagine – much like trying to squish the universe into a wooden frame.

It was Adora’s 12th birthday. Surrounded by her favorite people at the time when she received one of the greatest presents she has yet to be given. A simple cube with 6 colors on its sides. Adora has always been fascinated by magic and simple parlor tricks. There is an answer or solution to every trick but this multicolored block was different. Different with how you can get the same conclusion from a nearly infinite number of possibilities to achieve it. As hyper focused as Adora can be, she was practically unhinged by the time all her friend’s parents drove them home and Adora was finally able to sit down and play with her new toy. She plopped down in front of her TV and spoke the Starting spell on the toy’s case to begin the tutorial video on how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Mara, one of Adora's adoptive mothers, chided Adora for not helping clean up from her party that ended just moments ago.

“Adora? Come on sweetie help me clean and then you can play with your gift,” Mara ordered.

“Hm, okayyyyy,” Adora impatiently whined, but respectfully obeyed and began to clean at a rapid speed that left some areas dirtier than they previously were. Eventually, the house was clean and Adora returned to her seat and restarted the video.

Over the next few days Adora would bolt from class to class to get there early enough to practice memorizing the many steps and algorithms she’d been learning before the tardy bell rang. Oh, how she wished the cube jostled and turned much more quietly so she could fidget with it during class. She couldn’t bear it if her cube was snatched up again because it was considered “distracting”. Don’t teachers know how the anxious ADHD riddled brain of an adolescent works?

“Hey, Adora! Oh, cool, is that the cube thing from your party this weekend?” Glimmer scooted into her seat next to Adora and crept into her space, trying to pluck the cube from her hands.

Adora turned her back to Glimmer so she couldn’t take it, “Yeah, Hannah got it for me!”

“Jeez, don’t be a hog! I just wanna see it!”

“Not yet!” Adora grumbled, her hands wrapped possessively around the cube. “If I lose my spot then I will have to start all over! This takes serious concentration, Glim.”

“Whatever, but I want to see it at lunch!” her friend demanded and Adora reluctantly conceded.

Adora got better at hiding her cube when at school but teachers were easier to trick than other students. Kids would constantly ask to see it and mess with it or prove that it was easy to solve. The bombardment of questions spiked Adora’s anxiety from all of the sudden attention and inability to actually solve the puzzle yet. But this only pushed her to work harder at perfecting the toy.

Within a month, Adora had finally solved the damned cube. It was f*cking incredible. All the air vacated her lungs.

“Holy crap! Mara!”

“Language!”

“Hope! Look! I did it! I solved it, I solved it! Holy cra --” she finished off nervously as Hope, her other adoptive mother, gave her a warning look. Thankfully, Hope let it go when she saw how excited and happy Adora was.

“Woah! That’s awesome, baby girl!” Mara congratulated with a high five. “You deserve some brownies for this.”

Hope held out her hand to inspect the cube, as if to conclude it was actually complete. “That’s great, Adora.” She handed the cube back and, with an amused tone, said, “Now shuffle it and solve it again.”

Adora stiffened, “but – but I just solved it! Let me have this!” she reasoned with a chuckle.

“Aw, Hope, leave her be,” Mara called from the kitchen.

Adora was so proud of herself for completing the cube. This past month was mercilessly frustrating. She had dozens of papers with notes and algorithms scrawled across them in specific codes and contingencies when specific patterns appeared on the puzzle.

For the next couple weeks, Adora continued to flick the cube until she had every step memorized. She even got Mara to buy some WD-40 so she could grease up the toy’s core so it would spin faster and easier. When the pieces would get stuck, it was easy for Adora to lose her trace of mind resulting in her having to start all over again.

Being able to solve it brought a whole lot more attention to her than she would have liked. But the recognition for her achievements and being able to woo people with her skills, especially the girls, gave her a whole new layer of confidence. It was hard for Adora to stand out among the crowd when social situations were so terrifying and difficult to navigate.

Yeah, she had Bow, Glimmer, Perfuma, Frosta, and Huntara to hang out with, and she loves all of them, but having some of the more popular kids start talking to her and noticing her? Oh, dude. That was awesome. Freaking Mermista Salineas even commented on how cool Adora was for solving a Rubik’s Cube. Okay. Maybe she didn’t think Adora was that cool but she did compliment her with as much enthusiasm as a rock could muster. But, whatever, Adora would take anything at this point.

Eventually 7th grade rolled around and Adora had perfected her skills with the cube and was getting a little tired of it, to be quite honest. Sports were starting up again for the new school year and Volleyball tryouts were happening. There were so many cute girls in spandex and skin tight shirts that Adora didn’t even notice the smell of the gymnasium anymore.

“Adora.”

So… many girls in tank tops.

“Adora.”

I have got to make the team – wait the coaches are pretty too, oh --

“ Adora!”

“GAH!” Adora jumped at the sound of Glimmer yelling directly in Adora’s now ringing eardrum. “Holy First On – What? What’s that look?”

Glimmer held her bored glare and waited for her dumb blonde friend to piece it together.

“Sorry! I was just distracted! You know how I am!” Adora explained.

Glimmer rolled her eyes fondly and sighed, “You’re helpless.”

It appears other people were eavesdropping because Perfuma jumped in the conversation, “Any one you have a crush on, Adora?”

Perfuma appears innocent but Adora knows better at this point. Back in grade school, no one dared to take Perfuma on when it came to sports or deflecting emotions. Adora hated how easy she was to read. She also wished she hadn’t forgotten her meds today or she would be much more focused on serving volleyballs than losing motor functions because of Mizuno spandex.

Red painted Adora’s face, “Leave me alone, I can't help it.”

Perfuma softened at that. She was one of the most patient people when it came to Adora’s attention deficit issues aside from Bow.

Glimmer cackled mid serve and sent the ball flying into the rafters above, “Gods, Adora, you are so helpless! Just go talk to them!”

“It is not that easy!” Adora directed all of her frustrations into her next hit with a loud smack.

“Nice one, Grayskull!” her coach complimented. Boy, compliments from women were so nice .

“You know…” Perfuma started, “you could try to woo the ladies with your Rubik’s Cube skills.” She suggested.

Glimmer perked up at that with a lewd smile, “Oh, yeah! Totally show off those finger skills for ‘em!”

As embarrassed as Adora was for getting girl advice, they both had a point. “Yeah, I haven’t pulled that thing out in a while. I’m probably a little rusty though.”

A loud buzzer echoed throughout the gym and everyone headed to the locker rooms. As all the girls waited at the curb to be picked up Perfuma came up to Adora and flicked a small rose into existence behind Adora’s ear. “You got this, Adora!” she shouted over her shoulder as she leapt into the beat-up Subaru her older brother drove.

When Adora got home she set back to work with the cube and freshened up on her skills to jog her memory.

Sure enough, all three friends made the volleyball team. Their first game was away, so the team had to take the bus across town to Horde Middle School. On the bus ride there Adora whipped out her cube and it immediately sparked some attention. It felt good, and even unreal when they asked for her to teach them how to solve it. The gentle brushes of fingers glancing off each other as Adora properly positioned their hands where they needed to turn and face the cube was out of this world.

But the girls found something about Adora that was even more impressive, and that was how she was on the court.

It was like Adora became a different person entirely when it came to sports. This energy and drive to perform and show her physical strength and speed to a whole crowd was an adrenaline rush she never knew she needed.

Growing up in the foster care system didn’t give kids many outlets to express themselves when the group homes were so cramped with kids of varying ages and constantly exhausted foster parents. Adora had to spend much of her time looking after the younger kids and making sure chores were done so that no one could get yelled at.

Then, the memorable day came when Mara and Hope adopted her when she was 9 years old. Adora was so afraid she would let them down and they would return her like ill fitted jeans. For weeks she cleaned and cooked and would ride her bike to the convenience store for groceries when both of them were too busy to drive to the supermarket.

Soon, Mara and Hope sat Adora down and they explained that there was no chance in them giving her up. That wasn’t how love worked. Adora cried a lot that night and finally felt safe for the first time in her life. And knowing Mara and Hope were cheering her on the stands, witnessing this new side of Adora, only fortified their care and admiration for each other.

But here? Sweating her ass off and gasping for breath as hit after hit burned into Adora’s arms and hands? She felt like a God. A tenacity that no one had ever witnessed, not even Adora herself had experienced, had consumed her team's side of the court at every game. It was as if a lock around her emotions rusted and fell off. Adora was shouting assurances and cheering after every point and growling at every loss. Her energy was contagious as it spread to her teammates and fans in the stands as they pounded their way to victory every week.

Adora was the talk of her grade’s gossip as the awkward quiet girl who was actually a f*cking machine on the court. Someone started a rumor that she was using magic to excel at sports. But Adora knew how to get a handle on what she called “She-Ra” back in her group home. When their guardians would get too aggressive, Adora knew how to channel the mana within her to transform her into this human shield. She grew taller, more muscular and downright frightening when her body morphed and glowed into this golden warrior. She-Ra helped her protect her foster siblings and establish that violence would not be tolerated from their guardians. Guilt followed Adora when she left the home but, thankfully, the younger kids trained with their magic or physical abilities as hybrids to assert their dominance and aversion for abuse in any form.

So, Adora knew for a fact that she wasn’t using magic during sports. She didn’t need to protect anyone. She finally got to relax and release all of the emotions she's constantly afraid to display in social situations. Still, coaches and counselors spoke with Adora to make sure she wasn’t using magic in school sports. And, sure enough, she wasn’t.

About halfway through 7th grade and volleyball season was over, Mara started to get sick. She got ill from time to time because of an Autoimmune Disease that made her more susceptible to illnesses like the common cold. Except she would catch it more often and much more severely than average people. There wasn’t much magical healing could do when it came to natural born diseases.

Mara was strong and never allowed herself to appear weak. But Hope was never fooled. They'd been together since they were just kids, and started dating at 15 and married only 7 years later. They knew everything about each other.

Adora came home one day from school with a sense of dread building in her gut. She passed through the entryway and stepped into the living room where she saw Hope sitting on the edge of the couch while Mara lay stretched out with her feet in her wife’s lap. Adora always beat her mother’s home. They usually got home a couple hours after Adora’s school let out because of work.

“Hey, honey,” Hope greeted as she massaged Mara’s feet. “How was school today?”

Adora looked to Mara with a concerned brow at her mom’s lack of energy, “It was okay. Same as always.” Her ADHD meds hadn’t worn off yet, so Adora mechanically set up at her homework station on the kitchen table. Normally she would face her back to the rest of her

house to avoid distractions, but today she was too worried to leave Mara out of her sight with the state she was currently in.

“Hey, mama, how’re you feeling?” Adora only ever called Mara ‘mama’ when she was feeling especially timid and vulnerable. Physical affection was the easiest way for Adora to show her true feelings but… seeing Mara this broken... was unsettling and scary, to say the least. In her ears, Adora’s heart raced a mile a second as she waited to hear from her mother.

Slowly, that beautiful mass of curly brown hair rose as Mara crossed her legs and positioned herself to properly face Adora. “I’m alright sweetheart. A little under the weather today but I’ll be fine!”

Adora wanted so badly to believe Mara’s words, but the deep bruising bags beneath her eyes and the slight sniffle between her words made it difficult to quench her anxieties. But she held her tongue to be kind and let her mother hang on to this façade of strength and not have to wprry about whether her daughter was coping with this or not.

“That’s good to hear. You’re too strong for anything to take you down!” she plastered on a smile and decided to power through her homework before dinner.

Time passed and the air was beginning to warm up outside, but Mara was only getting worse. More and more often, Adora would see Mara lying on the couch when she would normally be at work or maintaining the daily chores or happily cooking dinner. One night when Adora went to bed, she stepped back out to refill her cup of water to see something heartbreaking.

Mara was crying -- on her side facing the couch while Hope rubbed her back and muttered soothing words to her. Hope looked up and noticed Adora hiding behind her door. She put a finger to her lips in a ‘shush’ gesture while continuing to rub circles across Mara’s back. Adora made the Etherian sign for ‘water’ and Hope nodded.

“Wait. I will bring you some.” Hope signed back and Adora quietly closed her door but didn't return to bed. Rather, she kept her ear pressed to the door and listened.

“Do you think you can try and go to sleep?” Hope asked.

A couple moments and some sniffles later Adora heard shuffling. Mara was probably sitting up. “Yeah… Let’s go to bed.” More shuffling and then a whine.

“I got you. I’m so sorry you’re hurting, I wish I could take all this sickness away from you.” Hope said with a hint of anger.

A low sob rolled under Adora’s door and crept up her feet, through her spine, into her brain and forged a memory she will never forget.

“f*ck… It’s too much, Hope. I think I – I think I need to go to the hospital.”

Adora’s heart stopped and she isn’t even sure if it would start again.

“I think so too…” their voices trailed off as they made their way to their bedroom and closed the door.

A few beats later and their door opened again and water started running. Adora finally stepped away from the door and got into bed. Hope gave two gentle raps on the wood and turned the knob. The room was dark but not too dark that one couldn’t navigate around the clothes and books strewn about on the floor.

“Hey,” Hope started as she handed Adora the cup of water and softly pushed her legs out of the way so she could sit and face her daughter. “I know you were listening,” Adora nodded.

“Is she gonna be okay?”

Hope held her hand when she set the cup down, “She will be fine. Sometimes… things get harder for a little bit. But the doctors will make her better in no time. I’m going to take her tomorrow once you leave for school, alright? Try not to worry too much.” As she stood up, Hope kissed Adora on the forehead and made her way to the door.

“Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Mara was in the hospital for about a week. The hospital really freaked Adora out with all of the sanitary odors and bland color schemes. The constant beeping and puffing of breathing machines made her skin crawl and she absentmindedly shuffled her Rubik’s Cube to take her mind off it.

She could deal with all of this. But, seeing Mara? That was a whole new ballgame of emotional gymnastics. There were wires and tubes attached all over her caramel skin that was more pale than she liked it to have been. Some murder mystery show was playing on the TV; they are Mara’s favorite show to relax to, ironically.

Adora tried to act as naturally and calmly as possible as the three of them chatted and laughed about everyday things. Some discussions about her health came up but Adora would hardly hear it when she couldn’t get her mind off how weak Mara looked in that distressed gown.

Hope’s voice brought her back to the present, “Hey, babe, we got something for you. Adora helped me pick it out!”

Oh, that’s right. She and Hope went out to some jewelry store to get Mara a ring. Mara was always misplacing things, especially her wedding ring of all things. Hope never took offense though, she always knew how scatter-brained Mara is. Besides, they wanted to do something nice for her and make her feel like a gorgeous queen that ruled all of Etheria no matter what state she was in.

Reaching into her pocket, Hope presented the ring and showed it to Mara who instantly burst into tears and pulled them both into a hug and Adora couldn’t help but cry, too. When they separated, Hope slid the ring onto Mara’s finger who then kissed the diamond on top of it and then kissed her wife and daughter.

“It’s beautiful! It’s so pretty, thank you both so much, I love you, I love you.”

After a few more days in the hospital, Mara was discharged and sent back home. But grew sick again after just another week. She was getting around but she had to stop going to work from the pain and nausea and cold sweats that racked her body all the time. It depressed Adora so much that she started staying out with her friends to take her mind off things.

“Hey, I know what will cheer you up! Let’s go to the girls soccer game tomorrow night!” Bow suggested as he licked his ice cream.

“Bow, it’s not even March and you’re having ice cream?” Adora snorted and chuckled at Glimmer’s visible revulsion.

“Sweets, even ice cream, can be enjoyed at any time, Glimmer! Don’t judge me and my sweet tooth! Even Adora is eating ice cream,” he replied with ice cream dribbling on his chin that he failed to lick up with his tongue and it only made Adora laugh harder.

“Well, Adora gets a pass, she is super sad and stuff!” She turns to face the blonde, “But the soccer game would be a perfect way for you to get your mind off your mom!”

Adora hated abandoning her mom but she just couldn’t handle the look of utter defeat on Mara’s face every time she came home. Her mind was spiraling, and cute girls sounded like the perfect plan to get her to relax.

“Yeah. Yeah! Let’s go!”

“Yay!” Bow and Glimmer shouted at the same time and crushed Adora in a hug.

“My older brother can drive us! He has some old friends going to the game too. Get you guys around 5?” Bow plotted out to which both of the girls nodded.

Friday rolled around and Adora found herself grouped up with a Bow and Glimmer and some other friends of theirs. Perfuma’s crush, Scorpia, was the goalie for their school’s team and she had come to every game so far. Frosta and Huntara were also on the team among other people Adora vaguely recognized from her classes and fleeting faces in the hallways. The coach of the Team was a senior class Government and politics teacher named Netossa. She has a long withstanding reputation for being one of the best Soccer coaches out there, as well as a great Debate leader.

Adora sat between Glimmer and Bow for ‘Maximum Love and Protection’ while Sea Hawk, who dragged Mermista along, sat behind them. To Bow’s right, was a girl with massive hair appendages muttering into a mouth piece and jotting down notes while also somehow staying involved with surrounding chatter.

“Adora! This is Entrapta, she’s my lab partner in Tech Club. Entrapta, this is Adora! I have talked about her a few times, I’m sure,” he chuckled and leaned back so Adora could shake her hand – er, her hair hand? Hand hair? Whatever, it was soft as hell.

“Nice to meet you,” Adora greeted sheepishly.

Whipping her body around to fully face Adora, she squealed, “Hi there! Nice to meet you, Bow tells me your mother is sick?”

Adora blanched at that and Bow was quick to interject and change the subject as the whistle blew to signal the start of the game.

“I’m sorry it slipped out!”

“It’s okay, Bow, really.” Adora drove her focus back to the game but Bow persisted in explaining.

“She didn’t mean to be inconsiderate, I promise, she –“

“Bow, I get it, it’s okay. Hope is the same way. I swear it's fine!” Adora promised and put a comforting hand on his shoulder which seemed to do the trick as he finally calmed down.

Leaning over and pausing her data analysis, Entrapta addressed Adora, “Sorry, that came off rather bluntly, I didn't mean to be rude or inconsiderate.”

The bombardment of apologies was beginning to get on Adora’s nerve but remained patient and met Entrapta’s earnest gaze. No one was at fault here, so she put on a sincere smile, “All good, but, yeah, let’s not talk about it, please?” They both nodded in confirmation and looked up at the game to see their school already scored a goal.

A maniacal laugh erupted from Entrapta as she began to rapidly scribble down notes and press play on her recorder again.

Adora peered back to the field to see the player who scored the goal high fiving her teammates and jogging back to her position for the kick and – woah. Woah, she’s pretty.

“Like what you see?” Glimmer drawled and raised her eyebrows.

“Huh? Wh-what? See what? What do I see that I like?” she fumbled pathetically. It was as if her tongue became paralyzed.

“Oooooooh, you got it bad for Catra!” her friend teased with puckered lips.

“Who? Who’s Catra?”

“The sexy magicat that just scored for us! Wait – how do you not know Catra?”

“Yeah,” Mermista stepped in with natural boredom, “She’s, like, been in the same grade with us since you moved here. Plus, she’s the only Magicat here or something exotic like that.”

Catra? Adora searched the field for the feline to see her sprinting down field with fluid precision as she weaved through players. Her tail was hypnotizing to watch as it twitched and flailed behind her to keep balance. And her eyes, holy crap her eyes were piercing and otherworldly. Even from this distance Adora could feel the power behind the mismatched ocean and gold orbs.

“Woah,” Adora said lamely.

“Isn’t she amazing!” Entrapta gushed.

"Yeah," Adora was in a daze after that. She couldn’t stop thinking about Catra and how exhilarating it was to watch her play. The girl moved like silk across the field with the ferocity of a viper. Adora's heart didn't mind steady rhythm until she finally fell asleep hours later.

Chapter 2: Shatter

Chapter Text

That next morning, Adora slept in later than usual and stepped into the living room to a wilted looking Mara and an annoyed Hope. Fear iced Adora's arteries and her breathing got shallow. She hates being yelled at. Her new family was pretty good about not raising their voices when things got heated or frustrating but Adora still prepared for the worst.

Hope waved her over to sit in the chair across from them. Turning more to face her daughter, Mara lifted her hands to sign but quickly realized she didn’t have the strength. So, Hope took over and began to sign to Adora but angled in a way that Mara could see. When Hope's get too stressed she can clam up and speech can feel like too much, and it seemed Adora had a similar issue. Therefore, sign language has proven a great help to Adora over her years since her adoption.

“Adora, where have you been? You keep leaving and staying out and ignoring our calls. She -- I... We need help.” As she gestured, Mara released a small whine and tears ran down her temples and into her ears from wear she lay.With a soft finger, Hope wiped the tears away for her wife. Adora didn't answer and the anxiety on her face must have been obvious. “What’s wrong?” Hope asked with drawn brows and a pout.

Adora fumbled with her hands before settling on a chest burning “sorry” against her sternum in terse circles. “I’m scared, I guess, of everything going on with Mara. I’m sorry, my friends said I just needed to take my mind off things and not worry about everything so much. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Hun,” Mara cut in softly. “She hasn’t seen me this bad before. Go easy on her,” she finished with a wet chuckle.

“Adora, we both really need your help. I have to keep going to work, and I need you to look after Mara when I'm gone. Please check in with us if you want to go out. But... your friends can hang out here so that you are close in case Mara needs something, okay?”

Nodding and blinking back guilty tears Adora replied with more confident hands, “I’m sorry. I promise to do better and be here for you, both of you.”

Some days were better than others. Certain medications worked and some didn’t do anything at all. When Mara had doctors appointments Hope made sure to schedule them on weekends or in the early afternoon so Adora could have some free time since she was too young to drive. Still, Mara had to keep coming and going from the hospital and Adora and Hope would visit when they could.

Adora didn’t see her friends as much or go out like she used to. But she stayed in touch with their group chats and Facetimes. While Adora kept an eye on Mara when she was home, she would work out while watching some TV to stay strong before volleyball started up again in a couple months.

Adora hadn’t picked up her Rubik’s Cube in nearly 5 months once she made the Volleyball team again. Mara’s complexion was paling and money grew tighter. Emotions were high strung in the house and a lot of sign language was exchanged amongst the family. Volleyball was a perfect place for Adora to work through her own frustrations in a healthy manner. But... her grades were slipping and she was more tired than usual. Despite all this, Adora kept a smile on her face and a jump in her step.

One Saturday morning, Adora was very behind on sleep and her vision was hazy with sluggish motor functions. She stepped outside for some fresh air in hopes of it waking her up when she misstepped the landing and rolled her ankle and bruised her wrist when she tried to catch her fall.

She attempted to keep in the cry of pain so she wouldn't alert Mara but it seems she failed.

“Adora? Adora! Are you okay?” the exhaustion in her voice was not lost on Adora’s ears and it annoyed her more than the pain in her swelling ankle.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Adora put on a robotic grin and went to stand when searing fire blasted through her ankle. She cried out, fully unhinged this time, and fumbled her way to a chair at the kitchen table.

Soft hands examined her injury, “It’s not broken, just a little sprain. Nothing ice can't fix!” Their eyes met, “Wow, Adora, to think you wiped out on a 3 inch step.”

That got a laugh out of the two and the tension dissolved to a more comfortable degree. “You’d think sports would help with the eye hand coordination!”

Silence permeated the air and the tension came back with a force of a 50 foot wave of water. Tears were freely running at this point as Adora realized that she might not get to play Volleyball for a few days. Mara saw the panic in her daughters eyes and cupped her cheeks. Adora didnotdo bed rest and sitting things out, she needed to be physically busy. Her mind flies faster than light and loses herself when she stays still too long.

“Hey, you’re a quick healer, I’m sure you will be good in time for the final game this week. I got magic mother skills, ya know?”

The attempt to lighten the mood was appreciated but didn't do much for Adora’s pounding fear.

Hope came home shortly thereafter with groceries for the week and they both helped set Adora up on the L shaped couch next to where Mara typically slept nowadays. Her ankle was elevated and wrapped in an elastic guard with an ice pack. The bruising on her wrist wasn't as bad as they thought and she was able to move it with ease after some icing.

By the time the school week started up again the coaches made Adora sit out at every practice and refused to let her play the final game.

Adora was a mass of annoyance and betrayal at her own body as she steamed on the sideline seats before the game started.

Glimmer and Perfuma came and took either a seat on either side of their injured friend.

Adora had her earbuds in and was practically losing years of hearing with the choice of volume when Glimmer gave a gentle tug on one of the connecting wires in a silent question to talk. As the earphones came out and she paused her music two sets of arms wrapped around Adora.

“Aw, stop pouting Adora, it’s just one game! This -” Glimmer started but was quickly cut short by an indignant Adora.

“It’s not just ‘one game’, Glim, it’s the game! This is the finals, the game to win the district and the last one for our middle school careers! And I am doing it on my ass!” Frustration burned behind her eyes but she shoved back the emotions. She was so sick of crying.

Hardly deterred by her outburst, Glimmer pulled back with raised brow, “What? Don't think we can handle ourselves out there without She-Ra?” She teased but it still stung. “Look, have some faith in us Adora.”

“Just because you aren't on the court, doesn't mean you can’t still help us win from the sidelines!” Perfuma tacked on. She went to say something else when blush swam her cheeks. Adora followed her eye gaze to see Scorpia enter the gymnasium… with Catra and Entrapta in tow. f*ck.

“f*ck.”

“Adora! What’s wrong?” Glimmer and Perfuma asked at the same time.

“The one game I can’t play and Catra is here,” she was practically out of her body with stress and shame at this point. “Uuuuuggghhhhhhh,” she groaned as she threw her head back.

“Adora, you do realize this is not the first game she’s watched right?”

Heat was boiling her face and she might have a second degree burn, “What? Since when? Which games? Who was she watching?”

Perfuma cackled and pat her shoulder, “Calm down! She’s been to a couple, at least from what Scorpia has told me.”

“Why - why didn't you guys say anything?”

Glimmer shook her head, “Because you’re you! You may not have much performance anxiety when it comes to sports, but a certain hot cat girl watching? Yeah you’d have broken your ankle-”

“Sprained!”

“-a long time ago.” Glimmer pressed on. “Adora, honey, love of my life, you are absolute eye candy even when drooling in your sleep.”

“Okay, rude!”

“She’s got a point.”

“Perfuma!”

“Either way, she will be looking at you, I’m sure of it!”

The coaches blew their whistles and Glimmer and Perfuma jumped up to get a couple more practice serves in before taking their place on the court.

By the time the first few points racked up Adora was shouting from the top of her lungs on every play without a single thought to her swollen ankle and sick mother. The two beaming eyes closely watching her had absolutely nothing to do with her improved mood for the rest of the game. Totally not. Those stupid stainless steel butterflies kickboxing in her gut were not from a gorgeous magicat.

They won. It was a hard fought battle that went into two overtimes but they did it. Having the home field advantage helped keep the momentum going. By the end of the first overtime, everyone was on their feet. Adora could see all of her friends jumping up and down, damn near breaking the plastic stands with their weight.

Even Hope was on her feet, she had her noise cancelling headphones on and seemed as engaged as Adora had ever seen her. Both of her hands clutched around her phone as she Facetimed the game for Mara to watch back home. It was nothing how she pictured her final game to go, but it was perfectly imperfect all the same.

The opposing team spiked the ball out of bounds and the room shook with screams of victory and defeat. Adora hobbled to her team and they all shared a massive, sweaty group hug with their coaches. Medals were passed around and placed around their necks and they took dozens of photos before heading out to a pizza place to celebrate.

It took Adora’s ankle another week to get back to normal to where she could put her full weight on it again. By then, winter was approaching and the family of three was in prepping mode. They were quick to harvest as many herbs and spices as they could before the plants full died off and hung them in the kitchen to dry before being packaged and stored. Besides managing the garden, they had to prepare the house as well. Mara was still under the weather more often than not. Winter brought many viruses and diseases that made trio nervous and Mara was more delicate than ever -- as much as she hated to admit.

They made sure to stock up on hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes to keep the house clean. Everything was going smoothly when Christmas came. Christmas was light on presents again but nobody was complaining. Mara was feeling a bit better and felt good enough to go to work a few times a week. Her job was kind enough to allow Mara to have a makeshift office at home.

February rolled around and Valentines was just under a week away. Adora never really cared for the holiday but all of her friends were smitten with their lovers or fantasizing about their crushes.

"So... you gonna tell Bow you like him yet, or what?" Adora started when she and Glimmer sat down in history class. Glimmer scoffed and tilted her head at her.

"And are you gonna tell Catra that you already have your futures plotted out together?"

"Glim! Not soloud! But, no. No I am not. My feelings are pointless when I've barely had a conversation with her." She explained to which Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Back to you," a groan and a light smack on the thigh. "So?"

The pink hair girl prepped her school material on her desk in her typical fashion and faced Adora with a neutral expression. "He doesn't even see me that way, Adora. It is extremely platonic between us," she stated with her chin up and faced the front of the class as the bell rang for class to start. Adora wanted to keep heckling her but she blinked away every time she brought it up.

Adora asked Bow if was going to do anything for a crush he went a little red and said, "Don't think so. Not sure they like me that way. Besides! Confessing your feelings should be special and doing it on Valentine's Day is a little unoriginal."

"I must incline to agree!" Seahawk joined in. "Everyday should be spent showering your lover in endless passion!"

"Thank you, Hawk! See? He gets it!"

Adora thought about that and pondered what could drive someone to be so... vibrant about love. Does she even know what romantic feelings even feel like? She thought to her mothers and how kind and gentle they are with one another. Seahawk continued to explain the need for fireworks to spark emotions between lovers. But Adora never saw that level of energy when it came to Mara and Hope.

Things never go beyond sweet kisses and a soft cup of the others cheek. Hope wiping away Mara's tears and fluffing the couch pillows before going off to work every morning. She will even spray Mara's favorite oil scents in the living room to relax the atmosphere. Mara almost never sprays it since the smells can be overwhelming for her wife, but Hope holds her breath on the way out to work just for her. And even when Mara is sick, she's keeping the counter free of stains or saving the game section of the newspapers for Hope's spot at the dinner table. Learning ESL to help Hope when she became overstimmed back in middle school. Hunting the internet for the softest sheets and blankets and knowing which farmer's markets have the sweetest fruits.

Thinking about her moms made Adora feel warm and fuzzy. Then she thought about Catra. How her laugh made her smile without fail. How her eyes glowed with ethereal magic she wasn't afraid to let seep through the cracks of armor for. All of the emotions that came with a single glance at Catra made Adora's brain melt out of her ears and she had no idea how to process that.

Three days later and Catra was still on her mind but all thoughts of her crush flew out the window when she came home from school. Adora could hear retching and ran to her moms bathroom.

"Mara?" she called through the bathroom door.

The door opened and Hope popped and guided Adora away from the sickly noises.

"Hey. Could you get the Anti Nausea potions and a bottle of water? I'm afraid she will have to go back to the hospital." Her mom sounded so tired and groggy. Did Hope even go to work today? Adora has been so lost in thought she wasn't even sure how long Mara had been getting worse and the guilt ate at her nerve endings.

"Yeah, yeah sure, of course!" Adora ran to the medical drawer and had to pull many boxes of supplies before she finally found the potion. Jogging back to the room with the items in hand, she saw Hope folding some blankets and clothes for an overnight bag for Mara. Hope gratefully took the vial and delivered more instruction for Adora.

"Please start the car and get it warmed up? Take this bag and one of the buckets from under the sink and load it into the car for me. I will be out with Mara in a moment."

Adora nodded her head and did as she was told. The car was ready with the radio turned off and cleared of any clutter. She hopped back inside just in time to open the door for a slow moving Mara and protective but gentle Hope holding her.

Mara put on a weak smile, "Hey, kid. Sorry about all this."

Adora wanted to scream, "No, no don't be sorry. I'm sorry I can't do more."

The two helped her into the car. Hope closed the door and turned to Adora, "Stay here, okay? I'll get her settled and be back home in a couple hours. I love you, try to eat something." She kissed Adora on the head and gave her warming hug before getting into the driver seat and taking off.

Adora walked back in to the house and stared into the quiet atmosphere. There was no way she could eat right now. She was too stressed to even have an appetite. Rather, she spoke a connection spell and played her music through the houses sound system and got to cleaning. The weary droop of Hope's face and the vacant look on Mara's was an unforgivable act of the cosmos.

Her mothers deserved the world and more. So, she started cleaning in their bedroom and bathroom. She yanked off their old sheets and threw on new ones. Clothes that were on the floor were hung and folded. And dirty clothes were thrown in the wash. While the washer spun, she cleaned their bathroom and wiped down every surface so Hope can come home to a clean house and unwind.

When the house was cleaned, Adora took a long hot shower. By the time she stepped out, now in her pajamas she saw Hope sitting at the kitchen table with a small bowl of pasta in front of herself, and one at the empty seat next to her. They made knowing eye contact and she takes her seat.

As they eat, they sign about mundane things and she thanks Adora for cleaning the house. Adora made sure to eat all of her dinner, even though her body's stress sensors told her to refuse. They bid goodnight and went to their rooms. Adora pulled out her Rubik’s Cube and twirled it until her eyes drooped.

Valentine's day came but Adora's heart wasn't in it. She got carnations from her friends, more than usual, when they heard about Mara's condition. Everyone decided to write Get Well Soon notes and other notes to that degree for Adora to take to Mara as a surprise. On the way to the hospital, she and Hope also got some sweets and a stuffed bear for her.

Mara looked like a wreck but glowed when she saw her two favorite people. As she read the notes, more and more life colored her eyes. They hung out for a while and played some card games until the hospital kicked them out. Adora and Hope each kissed Mara on the cheek as they left.

She was home alone one night, Hope at work and Mara still in the hospital, when her anger got the best of her. Her morning started off with a headache from lack of sleep and not eating much of her lunch at school. Their History test results came back and she bombed it and lost her B in the class. Someone borrowed her pencil and she never got it back. The sole in her shoe gave out in 3rd period and she had to duct tape it together and it didn't help that there was a screaming match between her math teacher and some equally tired classmates. Adora was at her f*cking limit. Getting home resulted in her slamming the front door shut and flopping onto her bed. Hope wouldn't be home for two more hours, so she rolled over and grabbed her cube.

She hadn't oiled up the puzzle pieces in quite some time. When the pieces got stuck and refused to turn, her rage boiled over. Adora put all of her strength into forcing the toy to spin only to make it split and shatter from its joints. A loud clack and several patters of flying plastic sprung across the room and into her face. Without second thought, Adora launched the toy into the nearest wall which ricocheted the rest of the lingering pieces attached at the core. She went to bed with a dent in her wall and surrounded by rainbow shrapnel.

Chapter 3: adora does some soul searching

Chapter Text

Adora’s mood hardly improved beyond being sour and depressed. Every moment her brain was lost in thought as her hands fiddled with old receipts from the gas station to occupy her hands. In between classes a large mass rammed into her side and sent her colliding into the wall next to her.

“Watch it, bitch!”

She was too stunned and rattled to even know what happened. A hand grabbed her shoulder and twirled her to face a very tall boy with amused anger on his lips. Adrenaline shot through her organs and sprung sweat to her hairline and spine. Her eyes began to glow a fierce blue and her clothes grew tight as her body expanded and prepared to defend itself.

“Get your hands off her!” Huntara? Huntara had at least another foot and 100 pounds on the bully as she shoved him away and sprawled onto the filthy tiled floor of the school.

“What the f*ck, Hunt?!”

“You don't touch Adora. Got it?” The boy got to his feet and grumbled off as Adora practically ran to her next class to get out of the crowd that was growing around her. Huntara called after her but she knew they would meet each other at their lockers before school let out if they needed to talk.

When the final bell rang, Adora crept to her locker with new found awareness of her surroundings as people whispered of her and gave her funny looks.

“Something you guys wanna say?” Huntara demanded from her locker as Adora approached. The people gossiping new better than to mess with Huntara and sped off.

“Thanks,” Adora muttered as she spun her locker combination. Two old sacks of moldy lunch greeted the two girls when the door opened.

“Adora…”

“I know, I know. I swear I ate breakfast!”

“Come on,”. Huntara’s lock dial busted within a week of the school year starting and was never fixed. Word of it remaining broken got around and everybody would come and treat Huntara’s locker like a concession stand or a place to pass notes. Huntara pulled out some stale crackers from her locker and passed the food to Adora. “Eat.”

It was a demand and she complied with an adorable pout that made Huntara smile.

“Aren’t you going to be late for soccer practice?” Adora asked, to which Huntara laughed deeply.

The two girls closed up their lockers and Huntara slung a meaty arm over Adora’s broad shoulders. “You’re more important. Let’s go walk down to that pizza place, on me.”

Once they settle down at the pizza place and get their order, Huntara sets Adora with a look. “Where is your cube thing?”

Adora flinched at that and shrunk into her seat. She swallowed her bite of pizza, “it broke.”

“Damn, how’d that happen?”

“Broke it, stupid thing wouldn't spin and it broke when I turned it!”

Her friend nodded. “Alright, then let's hitch a ride with my brother Paulie and he can take us to the mall tomorrow and I will get you another one. And don’t argue with me.” She said when Adora went to open her mouth to object. Tears rolled down her face with ease when Huntara hopped to her side of the table and hugged her.

“Wanna visit mama Mar?” Huntara asked after a while.

“...she would probably love to see you, honestly.”

“Bet, let’s go.”

Adora texted her other friends to see if they wanted to tag along, none of them had seen Mara in a while. Sure enough, everyone said yes and they all agreed to pile into one of Bow’s older brother's truck. They whipped around to scoop up Frosta from practice and she leaped into the trunk bed next to Perfuma. Perfuma stuck her head in the window from the trunk to ask Adora a question.

“Hey, Adora, is it cool if Scorpia comes along?”

“Ooooh, does Catra want to come too?” Glimmer butt in before Adora could think of an answer and was left a red hot mess.

Huntara put a finger in Adora’s face, “You better say yes, Adora.”

She crossed her arms, “Geez, fine, yes! They can both come!”

Everyone cheered and began hollering “Ready for launch!” when Scorpia thudded in and huddled next to Perfuma while Catra threw herself into the truck bed with unfair beauty.

“So, where are we going?” Catra asked after a pause when they got on the main road.

From where Adora was sandwiched in the center seat of the truck, both Glimmer and Huntara smacked her thigh to tell her to answer.

“Oh! Uh, we um, we are going to visit my mom in the hospital. If it’s not your thing we can drop you off wherever!” She added on quickly when she saw Catra’s split eyes widen.

Catra sniffed her armpits, “Eugh, I would have showered if I knew we were meeting someone's mom.”

“She won't care, trust me,” she assured. Adora had to raise her voice to be heard through the back sliding window of the truck as they picked up speed. Everyone in the truck bed had their hair flying in uncontrollable directions and frantically put their hair in a ponytail sans Scorpia. Adora could not take her eyes off Catra even if her life depended on it.

“Mara, my uh mother, Mara she used to play sports all the time growing up until college so she understands the grime that comes with it.” Adora added on.

Catra nodded at that and asked, “Athleticism runs in the family or something?”

Awkward was too simple of a word to place on the silence that captured the air.

“No, I’m adopted, actually,” she replied with some anxiety.

The ears on Catra’s head perked up at that, “No sh*t? Me too. And it sounds like she got the perfect kid then.” There was a bit of a sadness at the end of her words but Adora didn't want to prod. She agreed with a grin and turned back around to see everyone smiling to themselves.

On the way, Perfuma suggested they bring flowers and sprung some to life and put them in an empty Gatorade bottle from the back seat.

“Mama Mar!” Everyone shouted when they saw her, making Mara jump from her seat on the bed.

Emotion flooded Mara’s face as she sat up to hug Adora and her closest friends. She went to shake Catra and Scorpia’s hands but was greeted with a massive hug that trapped both her and Catra in her arms. The move made Mara laugh freely as Catra struggled to escape, but she was grinning with her fangs so she wasn't trying that hard.

It felt so good to see Mara so happy and lively for the first time in months. Adora feared that bringing all her friends would be too much but she couldn't have been more wrong. They stayed until visiting hours kicked them out and Adora kissed Mara goodbye on the cheek.

“Thank you guys,” Adora said when they climbed back into the truck. “Thank you guys so, so much. I haven't seen her that happy in ages.” Everyone leaned in to hug her or place a hand on her shoulder except Bow’s brother who was focused on driving, but told her it was no problem at all. The first to drop off was Perfuma, then Frosta who lived in the gated community down the street from the flower girl.

Catra poked her head in to give directions to her house that took them down a dirt road lined with country homes with acres worth of land. The land was scattered with various ranch animals like horses, goats, and chickens.

“Yeah, just pull over right in next to this mailbox… yeah, right here, perfect, thanks.” Catra hopped out of the car and unhooked the chain around the rusted gate before slipping through and latching it back and being greeted by numerous outdoor cats and shepherd dogs. They waited to make sure she went inside a small dimly lit house. To the right of her home was a guest house and rotting farm house full of tools and lawn care supplies.

When they were sure she was inside, Adora sealed away the location of Catra’s house to her mental notes.

Scorpia and Glimmer were dropped off at their cozy homes next and then Huntara who lived in a spooky house with overgrown weeds and bushes a couple blocks down. Then, they crossed a small intersection and turned into Adora’s neighborhood. She ran into the house to start dinner and slept soundly for the first time in a long while.

Mara’s health was hit or miss for a while but she seemed to be showing improvement with some new treatment and vitamin injections to give her energy. Though Adora stayed busy to finish off strong for solid grades to end her Middle School career. Huntara made good on her deal and got Adora two new Rubik’s Cube that Adora was hasty to pay back with the money she made from Pet sitting in her neighborhood.

Summertime hit and everyone prepared to go to Brightmoon High school. Brightmoon offered a Strength and Conditioning camp for athletes who wanted to get in prime shape before sports tryouts kicked in. It was 5 days a week for 5 weeks in the blistering humid heat of summer. It was both exhausting and soul mending. Everyone who wanted to play sports signed up. So, you could say Adora was quite happy to see Catra again. Especially in the locker room. Oh stars.

Around the last week of workouts, they were all in the weight lifting room doing deadlifts when Adora didn't line her back up properly and felt a very scary pulling sensation in her lower back. She dropped the bar to stop the pain from spreading. Tryouts were in 3 days and she was not going to f*ck this up and make a fool of herself again.

As the day of tryouts approached, the pain only grew and her back began to pinch whenever she sat down or bent over.

“Come on, let’s get you to the chiropractor,” Hope pleaded after the second day of Adora wincing when she sat down for dinner that evening. “The sooner we do this, the sooner you can be ready for Volleyball tryouts, okay?”

Reluctantly, Adora nodded and they set up an appointment for the morning before tryouts started. Adora was a bit nervous on the ride there. She had never been to a chiropractor before and didn't know what to expect but pushed through the anxiety for the sake of making the team.

“Spinnerella is very good at what she does and is very sweet. I have been going to her for years. Plus, her hands are wonderfully soft and gentle.” Hope stated. Hope and Adora were both a bit particular about their personal space, but if Hope trusted her, then Adora could too.

Adora marked her pain log on the sheet and laid down on the cushioned benched.

“Hey there, you must be Adora?” A honey voice asked from the entryway. She put her hand out, “You are Hope and Mara’s daughter, right? I’m Spinnerella.”

She shook her hand, and her hands were extremely soft, how did she make them so soft? “Hi, nice to meet you, yeah I’m Adora!” she replied with a little too much volume but Spinnerella hardly seemed bothered.

“All right let's do a quick X-ray and then I will adjust your back.”

Okay, so getting your back adjusted is terrifying and amazing at the same time, Adora concluded. She had no idea her body could turn like that and f*cking pop like bubble wrap. Everything was looking for the better when Spinerella said something that crushed Adora’s heart.

“You need to rest and not do any extraneous activities for at least a week. And I would like to see you again in 4 days for another adjustment, okay?”

Her stomach sunk and flopped out of her body, “But -- but I have tryouts tomorrow, I can’t sit out, I won't make the team if I sit out!”

“I’m sorry Adora, maybe they will go easy on you with your injury but you really need to take it easy or this will only get worse.”

Of course, Adora didn't listen. She told her parents that everything was fine and she was good to go for tryouts that following morning. She felt fine at first, but after the first hour of passing drills and line sprints, her back was starting to tighten again but she pushed through. Thankfully, the first day was easy cardio so coaches could see where everyone was at strength and agility wise.

On the second day of tryouts though, it came down to the major things like how hard you could attack or spike a ball. Every leap at the net left Adora’s back on fire and screeching for release. After her, probably, 10th spike her hits got messy and wild and a couple hits later her back completely shut down and it was as if she was thrown into space.

All the air left her lungs in a f*cking instant and sent her to her knees with a sharp gasp as a stabbing pain pricked in her lower and middle back. Breathing was nearly impossible with how hard her nerves were spasming around her rib cage.

Her teammates and coaches surrounded her and she heard Glimmer command, “Give her space! Get back! Adora? Adora, can you hear me? What’s wrong?”

All she could do was growl in response as she put her hand to her back.

“Adora,” it was one of the head coaches, “I need you to breathe, okay? Breathe for me, honey.”

“Let me teleport her somewhere more comfortable?” Glimmer pleaded and Adora’s eyes were still screwed shut from the pain but she assumed the coach agreed since everything went fuzzy and then cleared again. She could feel the cold tile against her hot skin and it helped calm her down a little and was finally able to take in some shaking breaths.

Glimmer and her coach, and eventually Perfuma were at her side to coax her through her breathing until the pain subsided and she was breathing evenly again.

“Adora, if you have a back injury, then you needed to tell us.” Her coach -- Adora looked up to see it was Coach Octavia -- chided her.

“It’s not that bad, I just pushed too hard and it surprised me,” Adora pleaded and knew it was a weak lie considering the show she just put up moments ago.

Octavia didn't buy it for a second but decided to go easy on her, “I want you to sit out for the rest of tryouts today. There isn't much left to do today. So, take it easy and we will talk more tomorrow, got it?”

A heavy sigh, “Okay.”

Their coach went back to practice and requested that Glimmer and Perfuma come back too once Adora was situated and comfortable.

“Please rest, Adora, please. You really scared me there,” Glimmer begged.

“Yeah, please tell us when you need a break. We know how you tend to bottle things up.”

“I’m sorry.” Adora hung her head as they resumed tryouts. She dug through her gym bag and pulled out her cube that Huntara got her to fiddle with until the buzzer went off for everyone to head home. The girls carpooled home with Glimmer’s mom. Once home, Adora put on her brave face again and acted like nothing wrong had happened.

For the next two days of tryouts, Adora bit her tongue every time the pain spiked and pushed through. Everyone was giving her concerned looks when they saw how sloppy her passes and serves were getting. She was even running behind on drills where she normally excelled at. Panic crept in and she pushed herself to perform better and prove herself worthy to be on the team.

The final day of tryouts arrived and Adora stocked up on painkillers and Biofreeze to cope with the radiating pain that hadn't left her since the second day of tryouts. Today was team building and settling into possible positions if you made the cut.

Adora was on the back row taking serves in the kill zone when a nasty serve landed far enough out of her reach that she had to extend her back further than her body allowed and it made her yelp when she hit the floor, missing the pass in the process. Everyone turned to the sound she made but she hopped up as fast as she could to mask it as a silly screw up and got back into position.

“Adora, don't push yourself. Do it again and I am benching you for the rest of tryouts.”

Huh? Who said- Adora turned to see both of her coaches and fellow teammates eye balling her carefully.

“What’re you-” she started but was quickly cut off by Glimmer.

“Sit down for a minute and come back when we start spike drills again, okay? Do it for me, please?” The look on her friend's face was heartbreaking and Adora found herself nodding and walking over to the benches. Fire shot up her back when she sat down and she hissed. When no one was looking, she took two more painkillers and lathered more biofreeze on her back.

She got about 15 minutes worth of rest when the coach ordered, “Alright, line up on the outside of the far left of the net. We want to see the spiker’s forms again. Liberos and setters, set up on the other side so we can see you in action!”

Glimmer teleported in line next to Adora, “Adora…” she warned.

“I’m good! The rest helped a lot!” Adora lied with too much force and stepped into position for the run and jump.

“Only do what your body will allow, Adora!” Octavia scorned. Adora nodded and crouched.

Octavia slapped the ball and tossed it in a high arch. Adora stepped left, then right, then left again. The ball reached its apex and Adora crouched down with her arms wide on either side like wings ready for take off. She put all of her weight onto her toes and flung her arms up for momentum to launch her into a high jump as the ball began to fall towards her. Her spine arched back as she went to put her arms up and back to prepare for the hit when her entire body seized and spasmed making her cry out. She fell out of form from the shock and landed in the net, missing the ball entirely.

Adora couldn't fight the agony off any longer. Her body ached all over from working out so hard and she definitely has a bruise on her thigh from taking the brunt of the fall. Her head bounced off the gym floor and made her brain throb. It was too much, all of it was too much and she sobbed through gasping breaths onto the dusty floor.

She spent the rest of the tryouts lying down on the bench and listening to music in a futile attempt to drown out the pain. Breathing was still difficult but at least she finally stopped crying. Then, the coaches vacated the gym to deliberate on who should make the team.

As her team came back to the rest at the bleachers Adora aimed to sit up but was stopped by several hands.

“Uh-uh, no way, you stay down!”

“Come on, Glimmerrrrrr…”

“Nope, you pushed it way too far today.”

“Fine,” she grumbled. “How long until they get back to us, do you think?”

Her friends sat down and began to towel off and rehydrated. Perfuma took a few gulps before she answered, “They’ve been making tallies and writing notes as tryouts progressed, so it shouldn't be long. I think the coach said it will be about 10 minutes before they speak with us one on one.”

Dread filled her stomach like toxic slime.

“Adora, I’m sure you’ll make the team! Once you have recovered you’ll be unbeatable, they would be stupid to not have you!” Glimmer comforted with a pat on her shoulders.

Doubt flooded Adora’s senses and slowly sat up, “I’m gonna use the restroom before they get back.” Her friends helped her sit up and let her go.

In the bathroom she splashed her face with water and collected her emotions. She did not want to break down again. Features calmed and emotions bottled, she returned to the gym to see the coaches have taken their spots in the gym and have started calling up girls to give them their results.

Glimmer is one of the first ones called up and it's pretty obvious she makes the team if her unhinged squealing is any answer. She teleports right into Adora’s arms. “Adora! I made the team!”

“I knew you would, any one who underestimates you for your size is a fool,” Adora laughs and hugs her. Some people were not so lucky. From strangers and old teammates and friends alike, they turned away with a dejected face. Some unbothered, some utterly defeated and looking for a shoulder to cry on.

Then, Adora is called up. Both Glimmer and Perfuma squeeze her hands and she stiffly marches up to the coaches.

“Hey there, Adora, how’s your back?”

“Fine,” she replied curtly and prepared for the worst. To her right, she could see Perfuma being called up to chat with one of the other coaches.

“Adora, you are an amazing player. Your energy on the court and ability to keep a rally going is commendable. But,” she put her papers down, “with this injury? We just can’t put you on a spot when your recovery period is unknown to us, so… I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to try next year. You have so much heart and we would love to have you for next season.”

“Okay.”

“Take care, Adora, don’t let this hold you back from playing again.”

She can hear Perfuma squealing to her teammates-- she made the team.

“Okay, thanks coach,” and numbly grabbed her bag and headed out to the parking lot to be picked up. Everyone was congratulating each other or giving apologies for not making the cut. Adora didn’t care. She simply texted Hope that she’s done and ready to be picked up. Glimmer and Perfuma enveloped her in a somewhat comforting group hug.

Perfuma looked into Adora’s eyes, “When you get better, we can play at that park's sand pit, okay? You’re still one of the best players among us, Adora.”

“Yeah! This isn’t the end of volleyball for you, babe. You’ll come back stronger than ever!” Glimmer beamed. They hugged once more and headed to their rides. Adora looked up to the sky--

“Hey, Adora.”

Adora whipped her around to come face to face with none other than Catra. What was she doing here and woah is she in a crop top right now?

“Wha- Hey! Hey there, Catra. What’s up?” her sadness momentarily forgotten as her mind swarmed with Catra’s abs and handsome f*cking jawline. She’s never been this close to her before and it was intoxicating.

“Was bored, so I hung out at Sparkle’s house until it was time to come pick her up.”

“Sparkles?”

A high raspy laugh bounced through Adora’s ear drums and it was greater than any music she had on her dented phone. “The one you normal people call Glimmer? Yeah, that’s Sparkles.”

Adora couldn't stop smiling, “Didn’t know you guys were friends.”

“What? Didn’t think I could handle a firecracker like her? Is that really so surprising?” the feline drawled with a sexy smirk that Adora was going to see in her dreams tonight.

Pretending to think, “Hmmmmm… I guess...”

“Catra! Let’s GO!” Glimmer shouted across the parking lot. That’s when Adora understood. That Glimmer sent Catra over here to cheer her up because of not making the team. Or did Catra really just care that much?

“Looks like I gotta run, see you around, Adora.” And the catgirl sauntered off with a flicking tail and wave of her fingers.

“Yeah, see ya,” she ended quietly. A few more minutes and Hope pulled up with Mara in the passenger seat.

“Hey, kiddo!” Mara greeted. When her moms saw her down trodden appearance, they knew. “Oh, oh no, I’m so sorry.”

Mutely, she got in the car and held her tears in until she got home and told them everything.

“I lied about my back, about the pain, and that I was feeling okay. I’m so sorry I shouldn't have lied to you guys. I let you both down, I messed everything up I’m sorry,” she signed frantically. Her mothers held her close. Hope eventually stood up and prepared an ice pack while Mara clung and scratched blunt nails up and down Adora’s back and arms to calm the spilling stress that she kept bottled up for so long.

Mara fluidly signed to Hope to prep the couch. Once Hope adjusted the pillows Adora wobbled over and lied back on the ice pack.

“Hungry?” Mara signed with a questioning furrow to her brow. She hands her some tissues.

With a slight head shake and quickly sticking out her tongue, Adora facially read back, “Not yet.”

It is then Hope reappears and hands her daughter her trusty cube, already shuffled and ready to be worked on before walking out of sight and into Adora’s bathroom. Water begins to run as she fills the tub and adds muscle relaxing serums to the water.

Adora has calmed down a little at this point as she put her worries into solving her puzzle. The couch dips at Adora’s feet as Mara sets to removing her shoes, socks, and knee pads. A knob squeaks and the water stops running.

“Ready when you are.” Hope gestures with her pointer and middle fingers crossed in an ‘R’.

Adora mutters a sincere, “Thank you.” After a moment she got up and into the tub and melted into the healing water. The adrenal high from her emotions and pain slowly slipped away and swirled down the drain. When she gets dried off and changed, dinner is made and her ice pack is refrozen. Laying in bed that night she feels more vacant than she would have liked.

The cork that plugged up years of fear and trepidation poured out and she was left bare. Many say that getting everything off your chest feels good. It does, it really does, because now she doesn’t have to hide and she can make room to heal. It took several more sessions with Spinerella to begin feeling normal again. All the bed rest and inability to be active made her mind sluggish and slow. Her body and soul were disconnected and setting up for her next stage of schooling wasn't presenting a calming atmosphere to reflect on herself.

High school was exciting and petrifying, to say the least. She got at least a couple of her friends at lunch and they made sure to sit outside so they could be as rowdy as they wanted. All of her teachers were kind and patient with her when she would either come early before school or stay late after school to really understand the lessons being taught for tutoring. Having straight A’s kicked ass but she missed spending time with her friends. She missed playing volleyball. But she failed to make the team. And getting top notch grades was the next best thing for making up for it. To who was she doing this for? She isn’t sure.

She made sure to go to every game whenever she could, even at away games. Sometimes Scorpia or Mermista and Bow would accompany her, but she didnt ever see Catra. Everyone was very active with other sports or other hobbies and clubs and she was feeling a little lost on who she was outside of athletics. But, once again, she shoved and crammed those thoughts into the deep crevices of her mind.

At one home game Adora decided to ask about her whereabouts as nonchalantly as possible for Adora to accomplish but Scorpia didn't seem to notice.

“Oh, Wildcat? She’s taking like all AP classes and has a really tough Art teacher this year and they tend to butt heads about her projects. Oh! And it seems she’s running and training a lot more often to stay in shape for soccer tryouts!”

“All AP classes?” Mermista asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah, she’s doing everything she can to be the best of the best so she can qualify for scholarships! Getting into University is a pretty big deal to her. She’s pretty incredible at keeping up with everything.”

All AP classes? It’s no wonder Adora never sees her. Their classes are on opposites of the school. Advanced classes were too much for Adora to handle without getting overwhelmed and falling behind over minor occurrences or misunderstanding instructions. She took one AP class for 7th grade math and wanted to cry every time she took a test. Only reason she passed was thanks to a very patient tutor who taught her to learn visually rather than verbally, and even then she only passed with a C. But she didn't care back then; Mara and Volleyball were the priority.

Adora suddenly felt so subpar to her peers as they chatted about their annoying AP classes and the gossip and rumors that swam around that section of the school. She went to reach for her cube and realized she didn't have it. She couldn't recall the last time she even picked it up. Mentally, she noted to herself to find it and keep it on her while she navigates the new school year. Letting her parents down is not something she wants to feel again because she was too antsy to pay attention in class and recall lessons.

Brightmoon High volleyball won by a landslide and everyone decided to hangout and celebrate at the local diner, but Adora decided to pass and be with herself for the evening.

When she got home, she saw a familiar pair of shoes at her front door step. Stepping inside, Hunatara was sitting at the kitchen table with Mara and playing some card game.

“Yo,” a simple greeting from Huntara made Adora’s heart soar with affection.

“Sweetheart! How was your day?” Mara asked as she shuffled the deck and immediately dealt Adora in, “It’s Gin Rummy, by the way.”

They all picked up their cards and began sorting out a game plan. “It was alright, how’re you guys?” she deflected.

Huntara has become quite familiar with Adora’s defense mechanisms since they became friends back in 4th grade when she moved schools. “Doin’ well,” she tells her with a gleam to her eyes that she’s playing along with Adora’s faux response.

Mara perks up at a card she pulled, “I’m doing so much better today! The doc’s got me another Iron Transfusion this morning and I felt well enough to go to the grocery store. Thought I would make some casserole tonight. Huntara, you are welcome to stay the night and eat with us!”

Looking over at her friend, Adora pleaded with a hopeful raise to her brows. Since she’s known Hunatara, she has never been big on accepting help or receiving charity. Her home life has always been an enigma to Adora but she knows it’s not the best -- considering Adora has never even seen or been allowed to see the inside of Huntara’s home -- and she doesn't want Adora to worry about more than she already has on her own plate. With a simple eye gaze, they both silently agreed to discuss things later. Thus, Huntara agreed to stay for dinner.

Five games of some very competitive Gin later, Hope finally came home and visibly drained from the deadlines of being an architect.

Everything was surreal. Mara was commanding the kitchen for the first time in what felt like years. Huntara was maneuvering to prep the dinner table like second nature from the weekly sleep overs they used to have when they were younger. She could cry at the nostalgic familiarity of it all. When Hope tried to come in the kitchen and help, Mara waved her off to go relax in the living room to kick back and watch some television.

“Baby, you’ve done so much for me,” a kiss on the lips, “please, let me take care of you for a while,” another kiss, and that was all Hope needed to fully drop the tension from her shoulders.

Dinner was amazing from the flavors and consistency. But the whip cream and cherry on top? The ease and sincerity that radiated in the kitchen between everyone. Adora learns what it’s like to see life through rose colored lenses.

Everyone finished eating and cleared the table for dishes to be washed and leftovers to be stored for future meals. Mara and Hope plopped down on the couch.

“Feet,” Mara demanded with grabby hands. Gratefulness washed Hope’s features as she leaned back and put her feet in Mara’s lap to massage and moisturize away the pain of work shoes. Meanwhile, the two friends took turns taking showers before heading for bed. Adora filled two cups with water and brought them back to her room to find Huntara leaning against the wall on her bed with a sketchbook in her hands.

Without looking up or any foreplay, “Wanna tell me what’s really going on, ‘Dor?”

Blunt as ever. She puts the cups down on either night stand and crawls into bed to sit next to her friend. Watching Huntara draw, she details her day, “... I feel… dumb for getting upset about it… but -- it just -- I dont know!”

“You need to remember that your grades don’t define your worth alright? Am I any less of a friend for only scraping by in all of my classes?”

“But you’re dyslexic --”

“And you have learning and hearing disabilities and sh*t, Adora! Don’t talk yourself down like that alright? You’re an amazing person, you hear me?”

Huntara is right. She always is, to be fair. “Sorry. You’re right. So… what’re you drawing?”

They leaned in close for a better look at the page, “this is what graffiti artists call a Black Book. You practice all of your art and tags ‘n sh*t in here and keep it a secret. Graffiti artist’s never reveal who they are, for obvious reasons. And so only the art is judged and not the person, ya feel?”

Adora has always been enamored with the art world. She never got to explore it unless she was in required art classes because life always got in the way and sports were more of a priority when it came to Adora managing her mental health. But with no volleyball to keep her busy… maybe she could try something new. The way the letters and colors clashed to make shapes was enticing.

“Teach me?” A mischievous light crossed Huntara’s face.

They were up until 4am when Adora couldn’t stop yawning and they agreed to sleep. Huntara taught her all about tagging, battles, bombs, where to get spray cans and the best brands, throwies, and the hierarchies of the levels of art. It was so much information and Adora found herself writing everything down in a spare sketchbook Huntara brought with her that she’s now letting her keep. Adora hadn’t felt this excited since she first solved her Rubik’s cube.

“Okay, the most important thing to graffiti is your street name. Like, mine is Bull. It’s short and quick to write and represents me without having to say much. Plus, it’s something my grandmother always calls me, so it has a deeper meaning to me. And you don’t want a name that someone else has, but you want to remain anonymous, alright. So, you can’t use She-ra, cuz then everyone will know it’s you.”

Hearing that was a bit of a downer but didn’t let it deter her. For the next few days she brainstormed on ideas and what was easiest to draw but also meant something to her…

“I got it!” Adora f*cking sprinted to Huntaras table at lunch; texting was too difficult when you're quaking with excitement. Mara was healthier and getting back into her graphic design work, Hope might get a raise at her job, and there’s a get together at Frosta's house so Catra will definitely be there.

“What do I owe the pleasure of Adora being late to class to speak with me?” Adora’s outburst drew some attention from the other kids at the lunch table and she immediately lost her nerve and Huntara couldn't help but notice her deflate. “Here, I will walk you to class, can’t have you tarnishing your punctuality.”

They merged into the crowd of students and Adora opened up to the marked page in her black book. “Look at this.”

Huntara took the book and giggled to herself so she wouldn't embarrass and kill her friend's eager mood. “Swifty? Your great aunt Razz’s dog Swift Wind?” she nodded and Adora’s smile faltered a bit, “You know what? It’s perfect. It suits you.”

“Yeah?” the blonde asked cautiously.

Huntara had to laugh now, “Yeah! Design some more ideas, your letter work is getting better, too. Maybe you can come hang with me in the theatre after school today and show me some of your art? I promise there’s not a lot of people in the tech crew.”

She mulled it over for a minute as she got to her class and held a first out, “I’ll let my parents know that I’m staying late.” Huntara beat their fists together and headed off.

When Adora wasn't sitting down to draw, she had her cube out to keep her busy as her mind reeled over the flooding ideas of artworks. Adora made her way to the theatre, she hadn't been there since orientation back in August so she was a bit timid to be in such an unfamiliar place but new Huntara would make sure she was comfortable.

Stepping into the auditorium, Adora’s heart dropped when she didn't immediately see her friend. There was a group of people seated on the stage going over lines and marking the floor for the upcoming play of West Side Story.

She walked up the group and asked, “Hi, have you guys seen Huntara?”

“Yeah, she just had to grab some more tape, she’ll be back in a moment. I’m Kyle, by the way!”

“Adora,” she introduced herself with an angular wave that almost looked painful.

“Nice to meet you, darling, I’m Double Trouble, but you can call me DT. Lonnie is the one eating sh*tty instant ramen--”

“Fruck yrou!”

“-- and Rogelio is the Lizard fella, he’s mute, by the way and is on the tech crew with ‘Tara.”

Mute? Adora felt a little bit more comfortable at that and began signing as she spoke. “Nice to meet you guys!” Rogelio smiled at that and returned the greeting with much smoother hand movements.

Just as Adora went to sit down, Huntara popped in and gave her a side hug. “Come on back here and show me what you got.”

While Huntara built and painted props, Adora took her on a tour of her recent ideas. It was nice getting feedback from people with more artistic backgrounds. Rogelio put in his 2 cents here and there and he and Huntara agreed that Adora had a knack for the art form.

The three were animatedly chatting when DT stepped into their bubble with their notorious smirk and popped hip, “Sorry to interrupt, darlings, but Huntara has some visitors.”

Huntara looked over her shoulder to see Hordak standing by the entrance doors and looking bored as hell. The guy looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Sighing heavily, “Excuse me, you two.”

Adora watched her purple skinned friend follow the paler one out the doors. With her social interaction sidekick gone, Adora felt awkward and out of place among the theatre crew. So, while she waited, she did some more doodling and brainstorms that Rogelio and Huntara suggested.

Quite a bit of time had passed when Huntara finally returned and she looked pissed. When she made eye contact with Adora, she wiped her face clean and plastered on a smile so quickly it was concerning. Huntara never gave Adora a chance to ask what happened.

Chapter 4: Adora pines

Chapter Text

Soon, the weekend of Halloween came and the party at Frosta’s house was big news at the school. But Frosta is pretty stingy about who comes to her house so it’s invite only. She was reluctant to invite Huntara because of her rough reputation but agreed after Scorpia and Catra vouched for her at practice one day. Her parents are helicopters and go so far as to have cameras in the house. The only reason everyone agreed to let Frosta host was because she had a pool and hot tub, pool table, movie room, great stereo system, and her parents would cater food. So, the rich family stuff. It’s hard to pass up for kids their age.

For Halloween Adora dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, per Mara’s request. Huntara dressed as a dead jock since all she had to do was raid her older brother’s closet for the get up. Bow’s dad, Lance, carpooled them to the party since he needed to head in that direction for more Halloween candy anyway. Bow was dressed as Robin Hood (like he does every year), they picked up Glimmer who was a witch, and Perfuma was a fairy with gorgeous wings. They made it to the party and were swarmed with hugs and compliments.

Frosta was some kind of ancient warrior from her ancestry’s folklore. Scorpia went redder than the tomatoes on her burger costume at Perfuma’s short skirt and low collar and it was hilarious to witness. For some reason, Scorpia was dared to wear the burger fit from Catra and other girls on the soccer team. Her pincers nearly cut it to ribbons but they managed to get it on her.

Walking further into the house, Adora saw some more people she didn’t personally know but recognized from sporting events. Then she found Catra. She was standing by the bar and munching on some chips wearing a costume, if you could call it that, which was simply devil horns. She was so attractive.

A little over an hour later and DT walked in with some of the school’s theatre crew which included new faces and Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle who were all dressed as prison inmates. DT was decked out in silk fabrics and wearing glow in the dark vampire fangs.

The night was full of laughs and some old drama that would come up that DT was constantly instigating for their own enjoyment. Adora eventually peeled off and went to put her feet in the hot tub to get away from the noise and whiny bitching. Glimmer got a little too heated and Bow had to pull her back so that was unsettling and made her nervous. After a few moments of privacy, Perfuma and Scorpia and some other soccer player in a skimpy mummy outfit joined her.

“Have you guys seen Catra?” Scorpia asked after a lull in conversation.

Everyone shook their heads and then they heard screaming back inside the house. Adora’s eyes glowed and felt her muscles tighten on reflex at the noise and stood up to investigate when the back doors busted open. With a growl, Frosta appeared with a terrified Seahawk.

“I do apologize for my over eagerness, Frosta! Perhaps we can work something out!” He pleaded as she hauled him bridal style outside the house as she flung him into the pool.

“Stay out! Ugh! Mermista!” And she stomped back into the house, to berate Mermista, probably.

A beat and then everyone else stumbled outside coughing and yelling “Air! I need air!” and “Oxygen, sweet -- sweet oxygen!”. Seahawk finally got out of the pool in a drenched pirate outfit with a sheepish smile that made Catra laugh with mirth.

“Holy crap! That was amazing! Hawk, consider that my birthday gift.” Wait, it was Catra’s birthday?

“Catra that was terrifying!” Bow whined as he clutched onto Glimmer.

“Gah! Bow! Ugh, get — off me! You’re smudging my make up with your tears!”

“Well I’m glad to have brought joy to someone’s evening!” his misdeeds and fear of the ice bender already forgotten.

Huntara could be seen laughing with the theatre crew and when she made eye contact with Adora she jogged over with a wide amused grin.

“Adora, you just missed the funniest sh*t!”

Apparently, Seahawk learned how to turn an everyday lighter into a f*cking flamethrower that set one of the fabric placemats on the kitchen counter on fire. The event sent Mermista and Frosta into a very funny rage fit that DT happily relayed for everyone. After some more death threats from Frosta, Seahawk decided to stay by the pool for the rest of the evening. Mermista stepped outside with a gallon of ice cream that no one was getting a bite from. She wasn’t even in a costume, well, if the plastic tiara counted for anything.

“Is everyone okay?” Adora asked quickly.

“Everyone is fiiiiiiine. Frosta and Mermista sealed the table in ice before it could get serious, it’s all good,” Huntara assured with another laugh. Adora settled down at that and was then dragged into the house to play poole.

When they walked past the dining room to head upstairs, Adora saw some kids playing spin the bottle and DT was down right begging Catra to join them. Catra rolled her eyes at the antics with a hard shake of her head.

“Not my thing, you guys mind if I join you?” She asked Adora and Huntara.

“Y-yeah, sure! We were going to play poole,” Adora said as they made their way up the stairs. Huntara racked up the balls. Their friend group got pretty great at poole over the years of hanging out at Frosta’s.

“Have you ever played before, Catra?” Huntara questioned.

“Nope,” she answered with an enunciation on the ‘“p”.

“Then, you can watch and learn.”

“Oh,” she eyed Adora, “I intend to.”

Adora choked on air and fumbled to remove her red cloak from how hot the room became. They agreed that the winner would team up with Catra 2v1 match against the loser. Adora is pretty good at poole as is and knew Huntara was going easy on her so she could double up with Catra in the next game.

But… Huntara really had to dumb it down because Adora could not function with how flirtatious Catra made her voice when she commented on her form. The way she

Finally. Finally, Adora knocked the 8 ball in and own the game and Huntara wanted to slap her for being so uselessly gay. She was a true friend for not teasing her in front of her crush.

Adora grouped up with Catra with visible sweat. Catra almost went downstairs to get a glass of water because of how paramount it was. As the game progressed, things only got worse for Adora. Whether she was aware of it or not, her tail kept flicking in a certain way that made Adora’s heart skip and stutter. It didn’t help that she would lean in to Adora when she asked her to help lineup her shots either. First Ones, where did her cool go?

“So, why didn’t Entrapta show up tonight? She’s usually all over the ‘social experiment’ thing, right? And aren’t you and Scorpia close with her?” Adora pondered as she sunk in a solid and prepped to line up another shot. Catra sighed heavily.

“Nah, she got invited to some other thing the science club was up to. Something about animatronics and a haunted house? Honestly, it sounds pretty dope.”

Missed the next shot and Huntara circled the table to pick out her next hit. “Oh, yeah? That does sound fun! Where are they doing it? Maybe we can check it out or something?” Huntara mentally congratulated Adora for being bold with that question.

“It’s at uh... sh*t, what’s his name? Prime? Some pompous ass name like that.” Huntara scratched — terribly — and cursed under her breath. “He’s step brothers with Hordak and Kadroh who Entrapta is friends with in the club this year.”

Adora noticed Huntara’s alter in her body language and gave her a questioning look as Catra was distracted with setting the cue ball.

Huntara popped her neck and asked, “Entrapta really hang out with that crew?”

Something in Huntaras tone made Adora nervous. “Eh, I’m only really familiar with the guys because they work for my dad from time to time and Hordak and Kadroh are family friends from way back. The twins are odd but smart and that’s probably what drew Trapta to them. But Prime? f*ck if I know, he’s just creepy. Have you heard him laugh? sh*t’s not normal or sane at all.”

Adora had heard some strange rumors about him since he transferred because of the recent divorce and remarriage in his family. Now, she kind of wishes she didn’t bring up the idea of going to the haunted house.

Tension broke in the room when Glimmer and Bow teleported up, “Super Smash Bros tournament! Come down asap!” Glimmer squealed with Bow and vanished into a pop of glitter.

The three girls decided to turn poole into a manic game of Who Can Hit As Many Balls Into The Pockets First. There was lots of shoving, name calling, and laughter as the last 7 balls cleared off the table. The poole sticks were hastily thrown back onto the wall rack as they tumbled down the stairs in a race to the theater room to play the Switch.

It was nearing 11 o’clock when the final winner was about to be decided. The top four players were on the platform and began their battle of organized button mashing. Frosta was Ganondorf, Rogelio was Isabelle, one of the soccer girls, named Alex, was Yoshi, and Perfuma was Zero Suit Samus. Alex was crushed within a minute and Perfuma eventually followed her in defeat. Everyone made a mental note to never compete with Perfuma in SSB because she was utterly terrifying when angry.

Rogelio and Frosta were done to one life each. Frosta was getting progressively more violent with her descriptions of ripping out Rogelio’s entrails with each passing minute and it was making Kyle very queasy. Everybody looked to Rogelio to ‘please let her win so we can go home with our heads’ and he, thankfully, got the message and made an error that looked completely natural and unforced. Frosta was shouting with glee.

No one had to wait long for their rides to arrive. Everyone thanks Frosta’s parents for hosting the party and attending the Trick or Treaters so the older kids could hang. They weren’t too happy about Seahawk’s fire fiasco, but decided to let it slide if he never stepped foot in their house again.

The whole way home and even a few days later, Adora was still thinking about how Catra would lean into her at the pool table and brush their hands together. Just the thought made her stomach tingle with energy.

Later in the week, Huntara got her older brother, Marcus to buy her some spray paint for an ‘art project’. She and Adora went into the woods where an abandoned shack was for her to practice with actualyl spray painting her graffiti. Guilt filled her veins for doing this behind her friends and parents backs. But it was so exhilarating to tap into this new side of her. People judged her for hanging out with Huntara but she knew she was a good person underneath the rough edges. And, besides, she’s fun to be around — she relaxes Adora and grounds her.

Thanksgiving approached and Razz came down with Swift Wind for the holiday. Adora was so pumped. She gets to see Razz, Swifty, and eat her great aunts cooking. Razz is unrivaled when it comes to cooking and baking. She has a plethora of skills and techniques and old recipes that she shares with the whole family every time they meet. Razz was amazing in helping Adora feel more at ease in her new living situation prior to her retiring from work as a seamstress and moving a few hours north. Adora would spend the weekends with her at her apartment and laugh at old programs and play games and eat all the fattening food she could ask for.

Swift Wind, her yellow Labrador Retriever, was beyond happy to see Adora again after so much time. Her back yard was too small for Swifty to get healthy exercise in so she would walk him down to a local park and play fetch. Luckily, he was well trained and barely needed a leash. Glimmer and Bow, and sometimes other friends, would join her and hang out at the park with them. It was hard not to love such an endearing dog who looked to be practically smiling all the time. It was nice to feel active again.

Thanksgiving was the best they ever had and they maintained happy food comas for days after thanks to the load of leftovers they had.

School started back up again and final exams were quick to approach. All of Adora’s friends taking AP classes were hardly seen because of how much studying the exams required. So, Adora spent much of her freetime being rebellious with Huntara. They followed the length of the train tracks to where they dipped under a bridge that was a popular tagging spot. And a popular spot for other sinful things, Adora came to realize but didn't comment on it.

“Okay, graffiti artists get mad street cred if they tag in higher places, so,” Huntara crouched, “get on my shoulders!”

“Are you sure you want my name up there? Your stuff is so much better!”

She scoffed, “Adora, my stuff is all over town! If you do this, it will boost you up and get noticed quicker. Now, come on! Before someone sees us!”

Adora wiggled her way onto the taller girls wide shoulders and reached as high up as she could to start her piece. While working she had to direct Huntara when to move since she was acting as her legs. It was difficult to keep their laughter from echoing off the cement archway from how awkward the position was.

“Damn, dude, nice work! You’re a natural at this.” She complimented.

Adora gushed at the praise and smirked, “All thanks to a great teacher.” Huntara pursed her lips and nodded sagely at the words. The girls stepped back and admired the work a moment longer

Huntara sucked air through her teeth, “Man, wish I could get a photo of this, but it’s too risky have that evidence on ya.”

“What? Like the cans and paint splatter on our clothes isn’t incriminating enough?”

They both looked down at their hands and clothes to see they did, in fact, have paint littered on their hands and shirts.

“sh*t! We forgot to put our gloves on!” There was both panic and laughted at the realization when Adora suggested they run back to her house to clean up. Paint cans rattled and clanged in their backpacks as they sprinted.

“My moms shouldn't be home for a while!” she checked her phone to see when they texted they would be another hour doing errands, “Yeah, we should be good.”

They hauled ass back to Adora’s place and the cold air burned their chests. The warmth of the house was sweet relief to their body and they began scrubbing the paint off.

Note to self, Adora thought, wear clothes you don't mind getting stained next time.

Finals week came and Adora aced all of her tests. She wouldn't have had to take them if she didn't have a library fee over some books she forgot she had under her bed.

The winter holidays were around the corner and remained as mellow as last year since money was still tight from so many doctor visits. On the brightside, Adora got a whole bunch of art supplies as gifts, so she was pretty content with how things played out and thanked her mothers for weeks.

Huntara and Adora continued to do graffiti when they had free time. There were a couple close calls when somebody would walk by but it was all a part of the thrill. Hearing footsteps always made She-Ra pop out and heighten her senses.

The ability was pretty clutch one time when a group of people snuck up on them and Adora scooped her friend up and leaped over a fence and away to safety.

“S-sorry! I wasn’t thinking!” She apologized as she set her friend down.

“Damn, Adora! That was badass. You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet,” she smirks.

Adora choked and cleared her throat awkwardly.

The reaction made Huntara chortle, “you definitely need to try that on Catra! She’ll swoon for you for sure if you do that.” They walked along the fence that bordered the train tracks to avoid the public as they made their way back to their homes.

“Are you sure? I don’t really know her well enough or if she would like her personal space invaded like that and people say she can be really defensive. Have you seen her scream when Scorpia hugs her? So, I don’t-”

“Adora?”

“Yes?”

“She was practically groping you with her tail at that party. Every time you flexed to hit a ball in, she had heart eyes! Trust me, muscles work for her.” Huntara deciphered.

“How do you know she wasn’t just really into the game and has a thing for billiards or something?!”

She facepalmed and sighed, “we really gotta work on your self esteem, dude. Girls like you!”

At this point they were almost back to Huntara’s house. It was getting close to dinner time at Adora’s place and they both needed to get home anyway before someone’s parents got annoyed.

“Well, it seems like every time girls look at me, it’s because I’m strong or have some cool skill that interests them and stuff,” she looked down at her feet and wrung her hands. “I don’t think anybody wants me for me. And I’m so… scatterbrained and don’t have any social skills. Why would any girl as amazing as Catra want anything to do with me?”

“Hey,” her eyes snapped up to see tender embers of anger in her friends dark eyes. A purple finger came up to Adora’s chest. “You are one of the best damn people in the world. You are a wonderful and amazing person who puts everyone else first because your heart is that damn big. Adora… You are good and brilliant and you make so many lives better just by walking into the room, okay? Anyone who can’t see that side of you is a waste of your time. I know this won’t be enough for you to believe but one day, you will. And for the record, from the way she looks at you? It seems genuine, because we both know I’m the one with the bugger guns.” She flexed for emphasis and they shared a laugh as water welled in Adora’s eyes.

She leaned in for a hug which the bigger girl quickly returned. The pressure of the hug was calming and settled her thoughts. They both squeezed some extra strength into the embrace and parted.

“Remember what I said and I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you.” Adora turned and headed to her house just as the street lamps flicked on. She mulled over her friend's words as she strolled home.

Adora wanted to be more than a tool. Standing out was something she always wanted but the attention she got turned her more into an object, a ‘thing’ to be molded. But she didn’t know who she was. She doesn’t know who she wants to be or if she needs to be. She tried molding herself into other areas but they never felt right. Art made her feel warm and relaxed but she isn’t sure it’s what she really wants, if she’s being honest. All of these thoughts were so conflicting and puzzling, she had no idea how to navigate them to make the pieces fit for any of it to be congruent.

By the time she got home and unlocked the front door, another cap was on her emotions and closed behind a door of false security to the outside world.

Once inside, she quickly made her way to her room with even steps so the paint cans in her bag wouldn't rattle together. Her parents were very big on respecting someone's privacy and that was something Adora was foreign to in the system. She never knew how an agency of privacy could make her so safe. In this moment, she was even more grateful for the ability to tuck things away from prying eyes.

At least with her moms, she knew she was loved and accepted as Adora first and foremost. They quickly learned about her enhancement and defensive magic when her foster parents warned Mara and Hope about it. Adora was constantly turned away when people learned about her capabilities. So, it was a massive shock that these two women signed the papers without any hesitance.

“If that is who she is, then that is who she is. We will love her, all the same.” Mara declared with one of the kindest voices Adora ever heard. It was soft and buttery.

“You have no idea what you are getting into…” her guardian grumbled.

Hope glared at her comment and spoke with a commanding voice that instantly made Adora respect her, “Anyone can be who they chose to be. Do not force someone into a category when they have barely started their journey.”

Her foster mother shut up pretty quickly at that and didn’t say much else. Adora looked to Mara to see her smiling at her wife with fond admiration that the young blonde wanted to receive. Witnessing that, Adora packed up the few things and went home with them that evening. As scared as she was, she had never been happier to see another side of life.

Chapter 5: stay away from Prime

Chapter Text

Spring danced into the air as flowers bloomed and Adora was starting to learn how to drive. When either of her moms was clocked out of work, they would head to vacant parking lots. Prior to physically driving, Adora familiarized herself with Mara’s car since it was a newer model with a back up camera. Getting her seat and mirror adjusted, she pressed on the gas. She could totally do this.

Driving was horrifying. So many things could go wrong and it didn't help that Adora was distracted by every bug that buzzed past the windshield. Every time the car swayed Mara would grip the 'oh-sh*t-bar' and go through breathing exercises. When she drive with Hope, it was much more relaxed but more stern about perfect turns and when she was accelerating. Adora sweated each time she twisted the ignition to practice. Her moms said the anxiety would fade as she got better, and she really hoped they were right.

After her third driving session, Adora has already decided that she will stick to riding her bike for the rest of her life, but her moms remained patient and reassuring.

At least school was going well, but this semester was especially stressful for Catra, to say the least. It was rare for her to venture out to parties or trips to the mall, so seeing her at school was a treat since her nose was buried in books. All of her friends made an effort to visit her between Soccer, Art projects, and AP homework. Adora wished she could see her more often but wasn't sure if she earned the right to really call her her friend yet. She didn't even have her number, let alone hang out with her one on one. Despite this, she went to every soccer game and cheered her on with her friend group.

Spring break hit and Adora was very, very excited. Mara and Hope discussed going on a vacation for the week down to the coast along the Salineas Pier. And, yes, that Salineas. But, life decided to cancel the potential of a vacation completely.

“...what do you mean? They can’t just fire you! You’re the best person in that whole company! If anything, they should be raising your pay and your position!” Adora was dumbfounded and livid at Hope’s news that evening.

Hope’s head hung low and couldn't get rid of the stress headache she’d had since receiving the news that morning. Noticing this, Mara made her some coffee and did her best to contain her own boiling rage.

“We move for this company, we stayed with the company when there were better options out there and now they just -- just -- drop you!? I… I can’t believe this. Honey, I’m so sorry, this is -- I’m sorry.” Mara rubbed her wife’s back and gave a soft kiss to her temple.

Hope was nonverbal at this point and staring into her untouched mug of coffee. Both took notice of this and put their anger on the back burner to not escalate already high emotions. Mara guided Hope into their bedroom, turned out the lights and closed the door.

Mara sighed and ran a hand through her thick hair, “Okay… help me clean up, please?” Adora nodded and got to work. The cleaning helped them sort through their emotions and calm down from the initial shock. So, it was a smart tactic on Mara’s part.

“Are we going to be okay?”

“Hope is very good at what she does, it won't be difficult to find a job but it will take some time for her to adjust to the abrupt change. Gods, I wish I could give that entire company a piece of my mind!”

Adora relaxed at that, “me too, they suck.” Mara’s words made her more nervous for Hope adjusting to a new routine than finding a job. When her schedule and daily rhythms skew, Hope has a difficult time functioning and managing her emotions, along with her sense of time and organization. She can become irritable and often forget little things.

They stayed home for break and helped Hope revisit some old hobbies while she job hunted on unemployment. Hobbies like getting back into collecting stamps and coins and building models of building structures and vehicles. The activities help her relax immensely in between the weeks of scheduling interviews and waiting for follow up calls. About two months go by before a company takes interest and calls her up for another interview. It was great seeing Hope more often and diving into her hobbies; it was a side of her mom that she rarely got to see. Adora found them hanging out more and feeling much closer than before. When she would land another job, Adora will be sad but more joyous than anything else. Mara and Adora shared anxiety as they waited for Hope's return from this latest interview.

Hope comes home that night with a neutral look.

“Babe!” Mara declares out loud before code switching to sign language, just to be safe, “How’d it go?”

Hope holds her stare before a cheek bruising grin spreads across her smooth dark brown features. She puffs her chest out and makes a knocking motion with her right hand in an animated ‘yes’.

“Yes?” Mara whispers full of hope.

Four more strong hand knocks.

“Ah! Hope!” And the wives are hugging and laughing with relief when Adora joins them. The family was happy to be getting back a new sense of normal rather than the day by day stresses over money once more.

Freshman year of High school comes to a close and everyone was antsy for Catra’s art showing. All of the art students got to present their work on their own personal display board to be judged and given prizes for numerous categories. Catra seemed pretty proud of her work and was enjoying the praise, but Adora noticed her parents weren’t there. And when a retired sorceress known as Shadow Weaver came to see her board, Catra’s mood changed from elation to disgust.

“Good work, but it would have been better if you had worked harder and not busied yourself with other activities. I will see you next semester, Catra. I expect to see a massive improvement when summer break ends.”

Catra was fuming and every compliment she received that night went out the window. Stomping to the exit, she left before they could even announce awards.

Adora grew concerned at that, “Should we go after her? Make sure she’s okay and all?”

That drew a head shake from Glimmer and Scorpia. “It’s best to leave her alone when she’s upset. She has a bit of a temper and it is not pretty,” Glimmer warned with a clawing motion of her right hand.

Adora frowned at that, “If you say so…”

Unknown to Catra, she won best in show in painting among the Freshman classes.

Soon, summer break starts up. Practically everybody is going to driving school at this point and it is… chaotic. Glimmer demands that her acceleration is simply ‘more efficient’ and everyone is just a big baby. Bow and Perfuma are very sweet and follow the rules perfectly. But… Perfuma’s road rage is in a class of it’s own and it makes She-Ra slip out here and there when she starts threatening to ‘follow the bastard home’. Scorpia, as patient as ever, reminds her of inner peace and everyone settles down again.

Frosta is constantly on the more assertive side of things and needs a booster seat when driving. Apparently Huntara started learning to drive around 13 years old when she would visit family out of town, so she’s definitely the only one Adora feels comfortable behind the driver wheel at the moment. And Entrapta? Yeah, you dont ride with her if you value your life. The girl practically drives a spacecraft at mach 20. Catra is the only one of the group that can drive stick shift because both of her family's cars are older models that need to handle certain terrains. As terrfiying as driving is, having this new found freedom is a greater feeling than Adora could ever imagine. Her truck isn't perfect and still can't parallel park to save her life, but that's why she got a vehicle that can off road.

Sophom*ore year starts and everyone decides to skip homecoming since last year was terribly boring and the DJ had a very outdated sense of popular music. So, everyone just agreed on another gaming tournament and then hit the local diner some bag of bones named Skeletor ran. He was very annoyed with the groups of teens that came to his place but he couldn't deny that they were good for business. His voice was very shrill for someone so tall and scary looking. Every joke went right over his head and he wouldn't catch on until several minutes later. The man was rude but was sincere about his food being made properly so they tried not to give him too much of a hard time.

Adora tried out for volleyball again but just missed the mark from being out of play for so long and an injury that kept coming back when she pushed too hard. It was painfully disheartening and only fueled her inner thoughts of being a failure to everyone, including herself. To make up for it, she decided to join the Tech Crew with Huntara. Creating art was cathartic for Adora, and having that art be used and seen and recognized by an audience felt really good since she didn’t have to stand there and present it. She could happily remain anonymous.

Not only was painting a nice release of stress but building the props was even more enjoyable. Working up a sweat while sawing and lifting wood and massive props was a lot like sports practice and helped fill that void. Her moms were proud of her for stepping out of her comfort zone and putting herself out there.

Little did everyone know how much self doubt was eating at her insides and keeping her up at night. The praise began to feel empty and did little to improve her mood. Her friends showed concern for how much time she was spending with Huntara and decided to blame that for Adora’s slipping grades.

“What’re you guys talking about? Huntara isn’t a bad person. You guys don’t know her like I do!”

Glimmer and Bow shared a pained look. “Adora… I know you like to stay out of the loop of the gossip here, but… there’s something you need to see,” Glimmer said as she pulled up some photos of Huntara smoking with Prime and other kids with notably poor reputations.

She always knew Huntara was into some sketchy things, but she never judged her for it. Huntara has been nothing but supportive over the years with Adora’s personal life and she couldn't berate her for her own vices when she didn’t even know what was going on at home. Prime had come by after school a few times to hang out in the theatre department and chat with Huntara in private but Adora decided to stay out of it.

“I think she’s been lying to you about some things.” Bow tells her.

“She isn’t lying to me, Bow!” She was getting defensive now, “If there are things she doesn’t want me to be a part of, then that’s fine! That’s how things have always been between us. We are there for each other even if we don’t down right say it! She is private and the least I can do is respect” She sighs and unclenches her fist, “I think you guys should leave, I can handle myself. Huntara would never hurt me or get me into trouble,” except for defacing public property from time to time, “so, just -- back off, alright? Okay, I’m going to class.”

Her friends grimaced at the logic of Adora's statement and began to protest but she didn’t want to see the looks of pity any more.

Adora got to theatre class and greeted Huntara, “Hey!”

“Hey, blondie, what’s goin’ on?”

“I’m okay. Bow and Glimmer are on my nerves. What about you?”

She shrugged, “Good, good. Just want to be done for the day.”

Adora decided to push and make sure she was being truthful. She doesn’t believe the rumors but she can’t help give in to the fear that her friend is in some kind of trouble or potential danger. “Yeah?”

Huntara stared at her, “nothing you need to worry about, alright? Lies are getting passed around, but I promise I’m good. Now, hand me some of those clean brushes,” she deflected.

She passes the brushes, “I’m here for you, okay?”

Huntara smiled warmly at that, “I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

A week passed and Huntara didn’t show up to the theatre one day. Adora texted asking where she was. Whenever Adora had an anxiety attack in class she would text her friends to help her out. Glimmer would teleport and what she could but Huntara knew what these attacks felt like and was much more understanding in that regard. Adora lied about using the restroom when she didn’t get a reply and began checking all of the bathroom stalls. She was with Huntara in the lunch room just before class so she knew she should be here. Her brain tried to rationalize that she might have had a sudden doctor's appointment but Adora knows her family doesn’t have money for insurance and they avoid those types of costs. Anxiety shot through her system like a wildfire and She-Ra began to surface with each empty stall.

The air around her began to steam as she resorted to checking the nurses office to find it empty. Adora had been gone for over 10 minutes now and didn’t want to seem as overprotective. Huntara could’ve been held up in a class from a test and was already back in the theatre. Swallowing her fear, she breathed deeply as she walked back to class and ignored the weird glances from bypassers as She-Ra evaporated and Adora was back in control.

Back in the auditorium, Huntara still hadn't arrived or answered her texts. Adora texted her one more time before getting back to work with shaky hands. Rogelio noticed and asked if she was okay, but she couldn't see straight and gave him a half assed ‘fine’ before putting her earphones in and turning up the music.

Class ended and her messages were not even opened yet. She texted everyone she knew about Huntara’s whereabouts only for DT to strut up behind her in the hall.

“Wondering about Huntara? Oh, darling, have you not heard the news?”

Her blood ran cold, “What? What news? What happened?” The complacent grin on their face was not helping the pit widening in her stomach.

“It’s all the rave! Huntara got arrested!” No. “Apparently she was selling some pills to students and got caught.” No f*cking way. “She’s being sent to Alternative Schooling for the rest of the semester, maybe longer. No one knows yet.”

This couldn't be happening. This could not be happening. Bile rose in her throat but she forced it down enough to call Huntara. It went straight to voicemail. f*ck.

She shoved DT out of her way and bolted for the nurses office.

The nurse there was Glimmer’s aunt Castaspella and saw Adora’s panic stricken face. Wordlessly, Casta wordlessly opened the curtain to a vacant bed and left to bring her a cup of water and an ice pack.

“I’m going to check in these other students and I will be right back.”

Adora stared right through the ceiling as her mind whirled. After an unknown amount of time, Casta came back.

“What’s wrong sweetheart?”

Weakly, she choked out, “Did- did you hear about what happened to Huntara?”

She nodded, “I did, I’m so sorry Adora. I know she’s your best friend.”

The floodgates broke and she could no longer hold back from getting sick in the bathroom next to her cot. Huntara seems to always get the sh*t end of the stick and Adora feels powerless to do anything about it. And… feels even sh*ttier being this upset over something she cannot control anyway.

There were hardly two classes left for the day and Casta let Adora message her moms about needing to be picked up early since She-Ra refused to leave. Mara was able to slip from work and get her home within 20 minutes of the message. Mara didn’t ask any questions until they were both home and she could use her hands freely.

Adora lethargically signed about the news and Mara looked just as broken as her daughter felt. She set Adora up on the couch with some water while she surfed the TV for a decent thing to watch.

Mara walked back into her line of sight and handed her her Rubik’s Cube which made Adora nearly break all over again. Even with Huntara not here, she was still comforting her.

There were two days left in the school week and Adora passed through them with little interest. Everything felt so out of place when the biggest thing you leaned on was yanked away and leaving you to stumble for balance. Yes, she had other friends and they did their best to cheer her up, but they didn’t know how to read her like Huntara could. They couldn't see the signs of an oncoming anxiety attack or when she needed space.

Saturday came and Adora’s phone pinged.

Adora: hey wya? are you okay? 12:20pm

Adora: Huntara??? 12:37pm

Read 10:13am

Huntara: Hey… 10:28am

Adora immediately replied and asked if she could call. Huntara called and Adora took a deep breath before answering.

“Hey, are you okay?”

A heavy sigh with an exhausted laugh, “You know me, I’ll be fine. But… somebody is gonna get it, Adora.”

She did her best to keep her voice level, “What do you mean? And please, please don’t leave anything out. I don’t care what happened.”

“Adora, if I tell you, you have to promise to remain cool. No She-Ra Business okay? I know how you get.”

Adora did not like the sound of that. “Fine,” she lied and her magic snapped as taught as barbed wire.

“You prolly know what kind of crowd I hang out with aside from you. These guys are into some bad stuff... I was moving some things to pay back a favor but they set me up as a scapegoat. They made sure the stuff was on me at school and reported me.”

Red. Red was all Adora could see, “Who.”

“Adora…”

“Who, Huntara.” Her room filled with steam.

“First One’s, dammit, Adora! I need to keep you out of this, okay? It’s just some bitches who didn’t like me for stupid reasons. They know that you and I are close and if you try and get involved it will only get worse. I… I can’t protect you if I’m not there. Please stay out of this.”

She wanted to cry again but resorted to pacing her room and turning the fan on the highest speed to cool her off. She hardly noticed how tall she became when her head knocked into the fans pull switch. Her mind was spinning faster than the fan blades and her breathing got heavy. “Tell me what to do. How can I help, let me help you, please?”

Some shuffling on the other end of the phone. “Just focus on school. Get your grades up. Talk to your other friends -- talk to Catra! Yeah! Try and make some moves with her and get her number! I want updates everyday. We don’t get to have phones at this place so coming home to some texts would be nice. My mom hasn’t stopped crying and Paulie -- yeah he wont talk to me. You’re kinda the only good thing I got going right now….”

“I can do that. I’ll be here for you,” Adora announced as if the words were glued to cracking seams. “I’ll try and talk to Catra sometime soon… I’ll have Glim help me out, they are close, afterall.”

Just before hanging up, Huntara asked, "Has Prime been around you at all lately?"

The question random and cryptic. "Uh, no? I don't think so? Why?"

"I'm not even fully sure myself, but...just...don't go near him."

They hung up and Huntara's words refused to leave Adora's brain. All she could think about was if she had ever been near Prime in some way and how serious all of this seemed to be; how much more dangerous everything felt. Adora picked up the Rubik’s Cube and never let it leave her side for the rest of the weekend.

It was the lull between mid semester exams and finals week. Adora was doing her best to seek out Catra and get close, but she somehow evaded her. Oh. Also. Apparently Catra has been sharing her same lunch period with Adora and her friends all along, she just utilizes that eating time in either the art room or is in the Library.

“Guys! I have the best news!” Scorpia announced. “Catra is joining us at lunch today!”

Adora’s heart sped up and her foot began to tap incessantly.

“Oh, really?” Glimmer and Bow both said at the same time in a higher pitch which only made Adora sweat harder.

“Damn, finally. Does she ever take breaks anymore?” Frosta said.

Kyle swallowed his bite of sandwich and frowned, “I worry about her overworking herself. Since High School started I almost never see her anymore. She hasn’t even come to any of the theatre department's plays.”

“Any reason why she works so hard? Even I don't have that many homework assignments,” Bow questioned.

Scorpia waved a dismissive claw, “Wildcat is just an overachiever! Although… she could use some down time. She seems more irritable than usual lately.”

“Sup, losers.” Catra.

Adora’s head spun to the sound of her voice and watched her stalk around the table until she plopped in the seat between Scorpia and Kyle across from Adora. Everyone greeted her as she pulled out a spiral notebook.

“Watcha got there?” Adora somehow found her voice.

Catra’s ears perked up before going to a more neutral position, “Stupid math questions. And I was wondering… if any of you guys were in class with Schroder and had done it yet?”

“Oh!” Bow started, “I was stuck on those too! Here, let's compare notes.”

Everyone shuffled seats so that Bow and Catra could sit next to each other… which placed Catra right next to Adora. Adora couldn't help but notice how nice Catra smelled today and made a subtle effort to check her own breath and body odor.

And then something baffling happened. Catra put on glasses. Adora has never seen Catra wear glasses before.

“You wear glasses?” the words left Adora’s mouth before she could stop herself.

“Call me a nerd and I’ll mince you.”

Panic overtook her motor functions, making her tongue go numb and she sputtered, “N-no! I was- I was just gonna say that you - that they look nice on you! It’s nice. On your face”

The most amused smile spread across the feline's face and let out a soft giggle with a little tail twitch, “Yeah?” The two girls locked eyes and the rest of the world disappeared for a moment until Scorpia’s inability to read the room jumped in.

“Oh, yeah, Catra’s far sighted! Aren't they super cute on her? Cat’s have great vision for like night time and things far away and whatnot but some also have-”

“Scorpia.”

“Shutting up.”

Catra fondly rolls her eyes before getting back to her homework sheet with Bow who now has 3 calculators out.

When Adora leans forward to grab her water bottle, she can see Glimmer giving her suggestive eyebrows and wants to kick her in the shin but she’s too far away. She texts Frosta, who’s seated next to her and tells her to kick Glimmer. Frosta loves to pick a fight so she knows she doesn't need to explain her reason. A yelp and a hiss from Glimmer is all Adora needs to know it worked.

The moment lunch ended, Adora texted Huntara on her progress. Which, admittedly, isn’t much. But that eye contact made Adora’s whole week shine.

A presence sprinkles to life next to her, “You are so helpless.”

“Hey, Glim. And, no, I am not! I complimented her!”

“Pft, after your brain rebooted. Anyway, I have a game plan to get you guys talking more. And before you interrupt!” She held up a finger, “You take a while to warm up to people. So, this will be an indirect way for you to get closer without having to be forced.”

“This sounds forced, Glim!”

“It’s not! Look, Scorpia and everyone at the table knows she’s a brainiac and they want to convince her to help them out in some of their classes anyway! This is perfect!” And she bolted off to class before Adora could get another word in.

The next day came and Catra sat with them with an annoyed eye roll. But everyone could tell she was having fun and enjoying the antics. It took a couple days to warm up to the social setting but even she started to crack jokes. Adora started to stutter less and even made her laugh once about an off handed comment about a bruise on her thigh shaped like Shrek. To which Catra asked to see for proof and Adora rolled up her pant leg to show it off. Catra didn’t stop laughing for the rest of lunch because of the uncanny similarity.

It was Dead Week and Catra was still sitting at their table at lunch. Adora only had two exams she needed to take this time around and was the first to the table. Bow and Kyle never showed up and Glimmer was working the winter dance booth at the front of the cafeteria. After a few more minutes of awkward waiting, Scorpia, Frosta and Catra plopped in.

They were all pretty focused on their studies and Adora was beginning to get frustrated with her worksheet. A chair screeched and Frosta shot up, “I’m going to the vending machine. Scorpia, come with me.” She snarked as she pulled Scorpia away with a stomp.

Adora’s mind streaked with words of what she could say to break the silence that now loomed over the table between her and the cat girl. Catra then sighed and took off her glasses to rub her eyes, “f*ck, my eyes are so dry.”

“Here, I have some eye drops in my bag, let me get them out!” Adora was happy for the distraction from her studies and sifted through her designated pocket of health and emergency needs. Because who knows when you will need some duct tape or have a third degree burn or the school was built over a sinkhole? She pulled out the eye drops and handed them to Catra who muttered a ‘thanks’. Replacing the eye drops in its special pouch, Adora got an idea.

Catra’s ear twitched at the faint sounds of shuffling and looked over at the blonde, “Is that a Rubik’s Cube?”

Play it cool, Adora! “Yeah, it helps me relax.” She continued to mix up the colored tiles as Catra watched her closely.

“So, can you solve it?”

A wave of confidence boosted through her and she straightened from her slouched position and slapped on a co*cky smirk, “Watch.”

As she worked, Adora mindlessly muddles every algorithm as she went-- little did she realize that Catra could easily pick up every sounds. As the puzzle grew closer to completion, Catra’s eyes grew wider and her grin soon followed.

Within a couple minutes the cube was solved and she placed it on the table. Catra quickly snatched it up and eyed it. “Damn, dude,” she said impressively. “Think you can do it again?”

Adora saw the challenging glint in the blue and yellow eyes, “There isn't a combination on that thing that I can’t solve.”

Catra smirked at that and turned her back to Adora and began wildly mixing the pieces, “No peeking! This is about to be the hardest puzzle of your life.”

After what felt like eons, Catra finally turned around and presented the toy with a smug grin. Adora took it with a purposeful touch to Catra’s fingers that made her tail minutely twitch. The magicat’s reaction gave Adora a bit more confidence. Staring at the cube to watch her fingers dance the pieces around gave her an excuse to avoid eye contact when she asked, “So, you do art?”

Adora finished the ‘White Cross’ pattern and moved onto the ‘Daisy’, “Yeah, been into it since I was a kid. Oil paints are my favorite.”

Now, to complete the very bottom base. “I would love to see your work sometime, I’ve heard you’re really talented.”

Catra scoffed at that and Adora risked a look upwards to see her smile waver a bit. “Everyone seems to think so except Ms. Weaver.”

“Sounds like a bitch.” Adora said it without thinking and faltered a bit in rhythm and worried she annoyed Catra with the comment. Squealing laughter erupted from Catra and had to put her hand over her stomach.

“She is! She really f*cking is!” She wiped a tear on the cusp of her eye lid, “Everybody despises her and I swear she’s never been hugged before in her life.” Adora refocused on her puzzle and started on the middle row of colors, bringing them down from the top.

“Are there not other art teachers you can switch to?”

“The main reason any of us stay in her class is out of spite and proving her wrong when we go and claim the Visual Arts contest ribbons. Either that, or you are in the class because you have that little of love for your mental health.”

She was almost done and began completing the upper most layer to make it solid yellow which required a couple different types of algorithms depending on the pattern. “Hmm, makes sense.”

Adora grew lost in thought as she approached the final steps. Catra was watching closely now as if a buzzer was going to go off before she could finish. When she got to the final memorized steps she made pointed eye contact with bi-colored eyes. Surprise crossed Catra’s face as she watched Adora finish the cube and set it down on the table without even checking to see if it was done, because she knew it was.

A slow clap and a smirk, “Bravo, bravo, Adora. Very dexterous fingers you got there.”

Adora flushed at that and all of her self assurance plummeted. Shyly, she picked up her cube again and absent mindedly making patterns of flowers, zigzags, opposite crosses and anything else that she learned when Huntara got arrested.

“What are your electives?” Catra asked after a few moments.

“Aside from foreign language, I am in the tech crew with theatre.”

“No sh*t? So you guys paint and stuff and get artsy?”

Adora could hear her excitement over that and decided to reveal more about herself, “Yeah, I got more into the arts when I got injured and didn’t make the sports teams. Huntara told me about the tech stuff and being easier than dealing with the pressure of the art classes here so it worked out pretty well!” She started to get carried away and words kept fumbling out. “I’m drawing more often now, Huntara gave me a sketchbook and shown me a thing or two, but I still suck, so I'm drawing whenever I can. Though I probably shouldn’t or I will fail Spanish,” she ended with a dry laugh.

She made a disgusted face at that, “Eugh, the spanish curriculum is terrible here. Half of the teachers can’t even remember what words are masculine and feminine. f*cking tonto’s.”

Adora paused her work on the cube and looked at Catra with hopeful eyes, “Wait, do you know Spanish?”

“Yeah. It’s an uncommon language spoken among Magicats but both of my parents are from this smaller village south of Halfmoon that still has Spanish as its primary language. So, when they took me in it was my first language until we moved here.”

Warmth colored Adora’s pale cheeks and asked in a small voice, “Would it be too much to ask for your help in the class? If not, I know you’re busy, you can totally say no!”

“Actually, I would love to.” She smiled with a fang poking out and Adora nearly blacked out. “Here…” And then Catra whips her phone out to open the app to add a new contact. Adora is officially deceased and Catra has to physically place the phone into her hand. “Dork, did your hand break from your fancy puzzle moves or something?”

“S-sorry!” She typed in her number and an unknown number buzzed Adora’s phone just as the bell rang and they parted ways for class. She could see Scorpia and Forsta hiding out in the library when she walked by and they gave her a thumbs up.

Unknown Number: Hey, Adora ;)

Adora didn’t waste a second to text everyone her achievement.

Adora to Best Friend Squad!

Adora: PHONE NUMBER ACQUIRED

Adora to Huntara

Adora: CALL ME WHEN YOU GET HOME

Her and Huntara chatted about Adora’s accomplishment and caught up about school. It looked like Huntara was excelling in her classes in the Fright Zone because of how quiet it has to be and how few kids are in each classroom. She nearly has Straight A’s except in grammar.

The next day at school she hugged every single person she knew and thanked everyone who ate at her lunch table.

She and Catra decided to meet up in the mornings at the library before school started to work on Spanish together. Catra’s house was under construction or she would invite Adora. Adora wasn’t sure she could handle being in Catra’s house yet anyway. Nor could they meet at Adora’s since her parents worked late and Catra had limited transportation as well.

As it turns out, Catra is hysterical and more sharp minded than Adora expected her to be. It’s both refreshing and disarming and Adora’s brain takes a minute to catch everything. When Adora can’t think of a witty comeback she pokes Catra in the ribs and tickles her. Gods, she loves her laugh so much she nearly gets them kicked out one morning.

The day was Friday and final exams were that coming Monday. Adora’s brain was fried so when she got to her seat at lunch, she opened her sketch pad and mindlessly doodled. Drawing was more cathartic than she thought it would be, but she hit a creative block and asked Huntara for a prompt to get her gears turning again. Huntara asked her to ‘Draw She-Ra’. She was still working on getting the hang of human anatomy so this was about her fifth attempt at getting the body shape right. Adora wrote a note on a seperate page to remind her to look through Mara's old graphic design books to do some self teaching. She was halfway done with designing She-Ra’s armor when a purr trilled next to her ear.

“Oooooh, and who is this pretty Princess?”

Adora instinctively covered her page but relaxed when she determined the voice to be Catra. “Oh, uh, this? This is She-Ra!”

“She-Ra? Dope name. What is she the princess of?” she asked with a sway of her tail.

“Um,” well, this is embarrassing, she thought. “She is the… Princess of Power.”

Catra didn't laugh, surprisingly, just simply nodded and opened her bag of chips then questioned further, “Is she from some kind of TV show or comic or whatever?”

Are all cat’s this curious? “No. No, actually, she is me. This is -- uh -- me,” she coughed and swiped her sweaty palms against her pants.

Her tone wasn’t mocking but was obviously amused if the flick of her ears was anything to show it, “So, you have this badass princess alter ego? Do you like, kick ass in the name of justice when school lets out?”

She giggled at the assumptions, because, if she’s honest, she wished she could like that. Adora fully set her book down and decided to hash this out before everyone else showed up in the next minute. “No, nothing like that… well at least not that extreme? So, when I need to, I can make myself really strong and I get taller and more muscles and my eyes and body glow and stuff. Some people call me that when I get really into a sport or assertive. The kids I grew up with called me She-Ra and it stuck. It’s like it's me, but it’s not me? I feel different and more powerful. It-it’s kind of a defense mechanism thing. Does that make sense?” Adora winced and hoped she didn’t scare Catra off.

Catra was quiet for a beat and said, “Damn, that’s hot. Why are all of the First One’s so hot? f*cking spectacular gene pool.” And started munching on a sandwich like she didn’t just dose Adora in kerosene and light a match.

Stunned was an understatement; Adora was f*cking floored at the words. Nobody had ever thought that side of her was attractive. She always thought it was a turn off since the history of the First One’s lost a lot of appeal when one of their ancient warriors made a reckless sacrifice that did more harm than good in the Great Etherian war hundreds of years ago. Her race developed a stereotype of being aggressive and unruly which made getting adopted for her so trifling. Thankfully, she was saved from having a response when Glimmer, Bow and Kyle came in with the gentleness of a tsunami. For the rest of lunch, Catra kept eyeing Adora, and Adora kept looking back.

Chapter 6: actions speak louder than words

Chapter Text

Doubt was ever present. Winter break came and went and Adora could not stop thinking about Catra’s comment from lunch that day about her being hot. As wonderful as the compliment was, she couldn’t help but feel that Catra was only seeing her magical abilities to be attractive and not Adora herself.

The second half of the school year started off slow and boredom was evident amongst the friend group. Adora was walking to the bus ramps to head home with an overly exhausted Glimmer hanging off her shoulder.

“Adoraaaaaa I don’t want to keep doing this everydaaaaay.”

Adora snorted, “You aren’t doing this everyday, it’s only five days a week, Glim.”

A huff but the weight on her shoulder never wavered. “Don’t get technical or whatever with me! All the teachers are just as miserable to be here!” They got on to the bus to sit down and Glimmer reclaimed her spot on Adora’s shoulder.

“Glim. This is dramatic, even for you.”

“Thinking about dropping out and getting my GED.”

That was a shock, but it also wasn’t. “Your mom would never let you do that.”

She sat up and pouted, “I don’t care what she thinks!”

Adora rolled her eyes. “Yes, you do, and don’t even try to deny it!”

“You suck,” she harrumphed but a smile tugged at her lips. Some time passed and she spoke up again, “Are you staying busy?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

A hesitant look turned into a frown, “You are more distant lately. Haven’t really responded to our texts or wanted to hang out over break. Did… something happen?”

The blonde looked out the window and thought for a moment but avoided having to say anything when Scorpia and Bow hopped onto the bus and took the seats behind Glimmer and Adora. Glimmer gave Adora a side hug.

“When you wanna talk, text me or call me or anything, okay?” Adora nodded and hugged back. The bus took off and soon everyone made it home and Adora avoided her feelings once again.

Every once in a while, Adora and Catra would meet for study sessions. Adora was a bit more withdrawn but hid it well when Catra was practically a professional at making Adora laugh. When soccer tryouts popped back up, they didn’t meet much anymore from the workload piling up now that soccer season was in effect.

The whole gang went to their first game but something came as a massive shock to everyone when Frosta joined them on the bleachers.

“Woah, Frosta? What are you doing here?” Glimmer asked and Bow gave a theatrical gasp when he turned to spot her.

Frosta plopped down next to Adora and groaned, “Coach was being stingy and said my play style is too aggressive. It’s not my fault people don’t know how to steal a ball! I’m playing to win.”

Bow winced, “Well… you can win without starting a fight at every game.” That earned him an icy glare.

“Lame, now these games are going to be so dull. There’s, like, never any real action with soccer, but you actually made it fun,” Mermista commented. Glimmer smirked at her words.

“Damn, did you just compliment someone, Mista?”

That earned a blush from the girl but was saved from having to make a comeback when Seahawk piped up, “Mermista is a loving and caring soul, it should be no surprise that she is capable of such kind words!”

“So, are you going to join any other sports?” Perfuma prodded. “What are you going to do with all this extra free time, Frosta?”

“Yeah, apparently my anger is ‘concerning’ or something like that, so it was recommended I try to join a sport that was more physical and in a ‘controlled setting’. Been thinking about doing Boxing. Netossa is good friends with the trainer at the local gym and has some extra spots open for her evening classes.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Bow squealed and everyone had to agree that it was a solid joice for someone like Frosta. Attention turned back to the game when a warning card was pulled on the opposing team for roughing a player. Adora searched for Catra to see if she was caught up in it, and was happy to see she was chatting with Scorpia at the goal and obviously not involved with the scene at the center of the field. Her heart rate lowered and relaxed as her muscles loosened.

It was half time and they hit the concession stands. Glimmer and Bow were fighting over which chips to get while Seahawk was practically singing to the cashier about Sour Patch Kids. Adora was next in line when a scraggly voice spoke up next to her group.

“Have you seen an Entrapta?”

The friends turned to see Hordak. Adora thought back to the day Huntara obviously had a disgruntled chat with him. Then she remembered how Hordak is tied to Prime and the mysterious activity happening at school. Fire ignited in her gut as she felt a tug on her skin and jaw.

“Oh, she’s in the booth today! She finally weasled her way up there when convinced that she could improve the score board and sound systems.” Bow explained.

“Thank you.” and he walked off at a stiff march. Adora didn’t take her eyes off him as headed for the booth.

“Ma’am, are you ready to order?” Adora barely registered the cashier’s question but turned to give her a soft ‘sorry’ before taking off for Hordak, her hunger completely irretrievable now.

“Adora?” That was Glimmer.

“Forgot to ask him something,” she replied without even looking back. Adora widened her strides to catch up to him before he could open the door to the technical room. She slapped a hand on the door and closed it with unnecessary force and it wasn’t until she was looking down at him did she realize she had gone full She-Ra. Hordak seemed hardly phased and looked at her with what almost looked like sleepy exhaustion.

She glared into his flat eyes. “What did you do to Huntara?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

An angry chuckle left her throat, “Don’t be coy with me. Why did you set her up?” She crept him closer to the wall but he remained still and held eye contact. The glow from her eyes reflecting off his pale skin.

“You shouldn’t shove your nose where it doesn’t belong. Someone could get hurt…”

Adora did not like the sound of that and blew hot steam from her nose, “If you-”

The door burst open and Entrapta appeared. “Hordak! You made it! Adora? Hey!” She grabbed Hordak with her hair and dragged him through the door and slammed it closed. Adora got her breathing under control until she was herself again and made her way back to her group. She took a seat next to Frosta.

“Hey, you said there are other spots open at that gym you joined?”

“Yeah, wanna come beat things up with me?” She asked with a devilish smirk.

Adora smirked back with raw determination. “Absolutely.”

Boxing was f*cking awesome, to say the least. Adora was never fond of violence but this felt so… thrilling. Her mothers were fully supportive and bought her gear. They knew how down Adora was without a physical outlet and wondered if this could even help her control She-Ra tendencies. Prior to her first session, Adora practiced at her hand wraps until she had the motions and patterns memorized to a comfortable and efficient setting that would protect her knuckles and wrists.

Everything about this work out was similar to when she would solve her cube. There were rhythms and systems to certain techniques that would alter your approach depending on your opponent. Her training coach, Juliet, was a gorgeous badass that Adora was slowly growing to admire. She was a beast in the ring but patient and kind in her one on one discussions about form when Adora would screw up her punches. Adora distantly thought how much Juliet reminded her of Huntara.

She and Frosta were having a blast with this newfound activity. They would ride together to the gym and even spar from time to time. Adora was feeling really good, probably the best she’s felt in years.

March hit and Huntara finally came back to school. She was bombarded with hugs and gossip and Adora could hardly get a hold of her to even say ‘hey’. Eventually, they ran into each other in the hallway and Huntara looked deeply uncomfortable, almost as if all of her clothing was two sizes too small.

“Hey, you. You okay? People have been all over you.”

“Haha, yeah, I’m alright. We can talk more after school?” Adora nodded and they parted ways. It was obvious there was a lot on her friend's mind, but she figured it was from all of the drama that comes with returning to the place full of the people who caused it.

Things turned back to a somewhat normal between the two. Huntara was a bit dodgy and not as quick to respond to texts as she usually was. One weekend Huntara decided to join Adora for some boxing with Frosta. When they got to the gym, Huntara removed her jacket to reveal an open sided tank top and Adora’s stomach dropped.

“You got a tattoo?” her voice was small and Huntara grimaced.

“Yeah… sh*t, sorry. You weren’t supposed to see it.”

“Why not?” she leaned her head for a better look at the swirling calligraphy of her culture clutching around her ribs, just beneath her left breast. “It’s cool! What does it say?”

When she didn’t say anything, Adora said, “I’m not mad you know? Just… wish you could’ve felt safe enough to tell me.” Adora began wrapping up her hands.

Frosta noticed the awkwardness and left to do some stretches. “You two better hurry up or Juliet will make you do laps.”

Huntara sighed, “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“What? No, no I’m not disappointed at all! I’m not going to judge you for that, you know that.” They joined Frosta on the floor to stretch their legs. “Kinda wish I could’ve been there when you did it.”

Huntara gave a weak chuckle at that, “Probably best you didn’t since it was done in some guy's garage.”

She gaped at that, “Garage?! Are you sure it’s not infected or something? Were the needles clean? Is that scabbing supposed to be there, is there-”

“Geez, Adora chill! Everything is fine, and he’s a pro! I’m good friends with his sister and he’s been doing it for years.”

Adora relaxed and smirked, “‘Good friends with his sister’ huh?”

It seems Adora’s jab falls flat with how massive Huntara’s grin is. “Yeah, seems I’m doing better with the ladies than you.”

Adora grumbles a weak shot back and stood up to do some jumping jacks before the three started to jog the gym to warm up their muscles some more.

“Gonna tell us what it means or not?” Frosta grunted after a beat of silence.

“It means ‘Deeds, Not Words’. It’s an old proverb.” Adora nodded her head like she knew what that saying even meant but Huntara could read her like a book and elaborated. “Basically, don’t trust anyone because of their promises and sh*t. They’re actions speak louder, so, like, be careful who you have in your life.” She gave Adora a sweet smile as if to reinforce that she was happy to have the blonde in her life.

“Preach,” Frosta said and Adora had to agree.

Boxing went really well and it was great seeing Huntara relax and laugh again. She and Frosta got along just like they did when they played soccer. The two old teammates had to agree this was much better than kicking a ball all day. They were more about strength than agility and found this much more enjoyable.

News of the three taking up boxing scattered around their school grade. Some thought it was cool, others thought it was terrifying. Adora was a First One and her boxing made people nervous that it meant she was more likely to be violent, but it was the complete opposite. Boxing relaxed her mind and body now that she had an outlet for her bottled up emotions. It was much more effective than any other sport she has tried. Her friend’s did their best to extinguish the rumors to minimize the dirty looks Adora kept getting. From time to time she would get lewd smiles from girls she passed in the halls and she wasn’t sure how to feel about being so openly gawked and eyed at. If she was being honest, she only wanted Catra to look at her that way.

When she did see Catra for their Spanish tutoring, it was normal despite the more frequent looks she caught the magicat giving her.

“You gonna steal our whole soccer team away, Adora?”

“Huh? No! Crap, it probably seems that way doesn’t it.” Adora apologized but Catra only laughed.

“Calm down, it’s fine. Those two are obviously much happier with punching bags than running 8 miles a day.”

Adora giggled, “That’s for sure, they can get really intense. It’s nice to see them cut loose. Frosta is a lot stronger than she looks!”

“...And what about you?”

“Me?”

“Are you stronger than you look?” she asked with a smirk.

Heat rose in her cheeks, “Uh, I mean, I would like to think so? I can keep up with the other two pretty well.”

“Think you could bench me?” Adora was sweating now and extremely captivated by the fang poking out of her lips when she grinned. She coughed to clear her parched throat.

“Heh, yeah! Yeah, I’m, like, super strong,” she slapped her flexed bicep and immediately regretted it from how predatory Catra’s grin became.

“Will have to see for myself sometime.” The bell rang and Adora withheld the relieved exhale she was holding and sped to class.

When she got to the class she shared with Glimmer she rested on the pink girl's shoulder and mumbled, “Catra doesn’t like me for me.”

“What gave you that impression?”

She sighed, “She heard about me boxing and kept asking about my muscles and stuff.”

Glimmer let out an exasperated groan, “Oh my Gods, Adora. It’s called flirting! She loves getting reactions out of people with insults but she never seems to do that with you. That means something coming from Catra! She is never forward with how she really feels.”

“Really?”

“Wow, okay, look. When summer hits, you and I are going to hang out with Catra as often as possible. You both would get along really well if you bothered to get to know each other and stop being coy with your feelings.”

Some hope floated in her chest. “If you say so.”

Summertime came and Adora finally stopped putting off getting her driver’s license. Glimmer failed her test 4 times before she actually got hers but everyone else succeeded with much more ease. Seahawk got three speeding tickets within a month of getting his license and everyone agreed to not let him drive them around again. Frosta practically had a booster seat when she drove and her uppercut was the only thing keeping them from making fun of her or it. Having the freedom to drive was incredible now that Adora finally got a car she felt safe in and could easily see her blind spots. Entrapta was beyond excited to work on everyone’s vehicle when something went wrong or needed fixing.

Thanks to transportation being more accessible, everyone made an effort to hang out more, even Catra would join in their adventures. It was tough to coordinate around work schedules but they visited each other if they were out and about with errands. Adora and Huntara continued to graffiti new parts of town, but made it less of a habit since working was becoming more of a focus for everyone.

Adora got a text from Glimmer that made her day sparkle.

Glimmer: free today? was going to pick up catra and hang out!

Adora: yeah, where should we meet?

Glimmer: how about your place? we can walk down to the smoothie place to see perfuma for lunch from there!

Adora had to make a glass of water with the knowledge of Catra coming to her house for the first time.

Adora: sounds good! just let me clean up a bit and I will lyk when to come over.

After the house was thoroughly cleaned twice she texted Glimmer she was ready for them to head her way. She was terribly nervous and solved her cube to keep her hands busy. Eventually, the doorbell rang repeatedly until she opened the door to see two devious friends with snacks and Glimmer’s Switch.

When Catra stepped into the house she immediately started sniffing as she took in her new surroundings. “Nice place, Adora.”

“Thanks, yeah Mara and Hope love to decorate!”

Glimmer set the snacks down and twirled around the living room. “Are they not around today?”

“Nah, they won’t be back until later tonight. Lots of errands to run that I was able to get out of.” Adora got to connecting the Switch to her living room TV and sat back on the couch once she was done. Glimmer and Catra sat on either side of her.

As they played games, Catra grew closer and closer to Adora. Glimmer was already latched to her side, as was expected, but when Catra started to do it? Woah. Her fur was so soft and was mesmerizing on her bare skin. Her tail would occasionally flip and sway around on top of their legs in concentration or amusem*nt. Adora wanted to reach out and stroke it but thought better of it. She wasn’t sure how comfortable Catra was with physical affection as Adora was.

A couple hours passed and they agreed to walk down to get some lunch and visit Perfuma who made a mean smoothie. They all noted to visit more often. When they finished their drinks, they headed back to Adora’s place and ate the rest of their snacks before heading to the backyard. Catra brought her soccer ball to show them some tricks. Which was disastrous considering the number of times they had to hop the fence into the surrounding neighbors yards to retrieve the ball. Glimmer’s teleportation was pretty handy so that they didn’t have to bother the neighbors every time it happened.

The sun started dipping behind rooftops when her parents got home.

“Hey girls!” Mara greeted with several bags from her shopping spree with an exhausted Hope trailing behind her with groceries. Adora felt wise to speak with her hands and mouth to make Hope more comfortable with the new guest in the house.

“Hey! Hope, Mara, this is Catra.” She gestured to her friend who approached her moms with a hand shake once their hands were free.

“Nice to meet you, your house is lovely, by the way.”

When Hope shook her hand, Adora and Mara both noticed her eyes widened from the downy fur on Catra’s hand.

“Catra, it is nice to meet you. Adora tells me you have been helping her in Spanish?” Hope asked.

Catra giggled and stole a glance at Adora that made her blush. “So, she has spoken of her amazing tutor?”

“Yes, thank you for doing it,” Mara said to which Hope agreed and thanked as well.

Catra gave a dismissive wave. “No problem at all. She is an excellent student,” she smirked.

“And Glimmer? How’ve you been?”

Glimmer and her moms caught up but Adora didn't hear a single word. She isn't sure what happened, but the world stopped spinning as Catra gave her a slow blink. Adora new this action could mean multiple things; like trust, compassion, that you do not pose a threat or that you are simply acknowledging that person. It could mean any of these things and she wasn't sure which to stake it on, but Adora felt it would be rude to not return the gesture. It was like some form of feline sign language and it comforted Adora. When Adora blinked back at Catra and her smirk turned into a soft smile that spokes valleys and mountains of emotions she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

They all continued to chat and talk about various things when stomach's started to rumble. Mara asked if the girls wanted to stay for dinner and possibly sleep over since it was a Saturday night. Cooking for people and sharing meals was a great way for Mara and Hope to really learn about Adora's friends and was one major way they truly welcomed them into their home and life.

Adora looked at her friends expectantly. “That cool with you guys? Your parents?”

Both of the girls called their parents and agreed that it was okay. As it turns out… Glimmer already packed an overnight bag for her and Catra. Smug sparkly-

“Awesome! Hope, will you get the guest room set up?” Mara asked and Hope dutifully did her task.

Dinner was delicious and everyone hit the showers. Once cleaned, they convened in Adora’s room and sat on her bed. Catra pulled her sketch pad out and started to draw a mini scene from the commotion of the kitchen earlier. Hope was searching through the spice cabinet while Mara stirred a pot on the stove. Adora was setting the table as Glimmer washed the growing stack of dishes.

“That’s really good!” Adora complimented. Glimmer didn’t even look up from where she lay on her stomach playing Animal Crossing when she spoke.

“Catra is amazing, she could probably teach you a few things since you have been getting into art lately.” So, so smug.

Catra smiled at that, “For sure. Show me what you got, princess.” Okay, Adora’s heart completely exploded within her chest. “I haven’t seen your work in a while.” She scrambled through her backpack for her sketch pad and sat back down and Catra scooted close enough to touch. Adora could see Glimmer smirking out of the corner of her eye.

The more they drew, the closer they inched towards one another until their shoulders and thighs were pressed together, giving Adora very welcomed goosebumps. At some point, they all lied down on Adora’s bed and talked about anything and everything. It was pretty obvious no one was going to sleep in the guest room that night.

Glimmer let out a massive yawn and wrapped Adora’s arm under neck, “‘M sleep here,” and threw her leg over the blondes. There was shuffling to Adora’s right and she felt Catra press against her.

“Is this okay?” It was the most sheepish she had ever heard Catra. Adora was at a loss for words and pulled her arm up high to signal Catra to curl up next to her and wrapped her arm under the girl's neck. She might as well have died and gone to heaven, because this was it. Two girls were using Adora’s biceps as pillows with all of their arms and legs tangled together like sailor knots. A gentle purr kick started from Catra and sent shivers through Adora’s whole being, it was undeniably soothing and it brought sleep faster than any sleeping pill or technique she has tried since her adoption.

Glimmer shuffled a bit more and placed a kiss on Catra and Adora’s cheek, “Night.” And passed out. Catra wiggled in a bit closer and Adora turned to look at her.

Her eyes glowed in the darkness of the bedroom. Adora wasn’t sure how long the two stared at the other but it was peaceful and she never wanted it to end. Catra gave her a soft smile and said, “Goodnight, Adora.”

“Yeah, night.”

Adora woke up in the early morning to find a tail tightly coiled around her waist.

Chapter 7: lmao life is bumpy

Chapter Text

All three girls were blissed out when they eventually woke up. Both mothers made a massive feast of breakfast for the girls before everyone went home.

“Looks like you had a successful sleepover,” Mara noted slyly. Adora’s face grew hot.

“It wasn’t -- we got -- they are very cuddly, okay?” Adora justified which only made her mothers grin.

“It was nice to see Glim again, and Catra was very sweet as well.” Her smile grew, “you should invite them over more often.” Adora’s face continued to darken with hot embarrassment. Everyone knew Adora was gay before she did; the topic always made Adora blush.

Hope pushed the teasing a bit more but more gratefully. “I’m simply glad I don’t have to resituate the guest room again, really.”

That made the child bashful. “Yeah… thanks for setting it up anyway, though. I didn’t expect them to sleep in my bed.”

Mara looked ready to destroy Adora’s last ounce of barely contained embarrassment but Adora cut her off, “I’m going to go get dressed now! Thank you guys for everything and being so kind!” And she made great strides to her bedroom to prepare for the day.

School rolled around and Junior year was in full effect. Everyone made sure to park next to each other in the school lot so they could walk in together. Some people in the friend group found some jobs to start making some money now that they had their licenses. Adora could hardly contain her excitement for this school year. She was having so many of her friends in more of her classes and was branching out in new courses that have always sparked her interests. For once, she didn’t feel as lost and alone now that she had her friends backing her up as she traveled these new paths to explore.

Adora decided to try her hand at one of the Psychology classes since Bow would be in it. It’s rumored to be a tough course but Adora wants to challenge herself in some new areas and see if it’s something she can possibly follow. From how Bow describes it and what learning the field can do to help people greatly intrigued Adora. She would have English with Scorpia and Math with Kyle and Lonnie. Rogelio would be missed by his two partners since he was in advanced mathematics.

Also, Adora finished her Spanish language requirements and was elated to be done with it, in all honesty. As much as she loved that the class brought her and Catra closer, she figured Catra could help her keep up with it outside of school. Besides, the two discovered that they would take Art History together.

The world was so bright and colorful and she genuinely looked forward to starting her day. She had yet to run into Huntara and decided to check the Theatre to look for her. She asked around but no one had seen her all day. Blackness weighed in her belly and texted her friend of her whereabouts.

When Adora got home from school, she still hadn’t heard from Huntara. By the time dinner rolled around she texted her again and got a reply shortly thereafter. Huntara asked to come over to which Adora’s mothers agreed to.

A few gentle knocks at the door sprung Adora to her feet and opened the door to a solemn Huntara. Huntara greeted and hugged the family of three before the two friends decided to step out onto the back porch to sit down.

“What’s up?” Adora started.

Huntara sighed and smiled at her friend, “You’re not gonna like this.” Her heart raced at the reply and the blackness in her gut turned from mere sludge to hot poison.

“Okay, um, okay.” Adora stammered before setting her shoulders and searched for confidence. “I can handle it.”

They held eye contact for a moment. “I’m… not going to be at school with you anymore.”

“What? What do you mean? Is everything alright? Are you…?”

Huntara chuckled dryly, “No, I’m not in trouble again. This isn’t that alternative school for bad kids thing. It’s… it’s like a place where I can get through school faster. Like a progressive academy.”

Anxiety began to simmer down but she still had several questions and wiped her sweaty palms. “So, it’s like getting your GED, or something?”

“Kind of, yeah. Coming back to Brightmoon High made me realize a lot of things.” Adora nodded for her to keep going. “Back at that detention center -- you remember how good my grades were, right? I was making the best grades in my life! And when I came back, they dropped again and that’s when I knew why. There are so many distractions in, like, regular school. I can’t walk through the halls without getting messed with and paying attention in class is hard enough already and the noise of the classrooms has just finally made me snap, I guess?”

Adora felt a little sick at the information for not seeing how much Huntara actually really cared about school and the trouble that came with the troublemakers that have made her life hell over the years. “That makes sense and… I think you should do it.”

Huntara smiled, “Thanks. And, yeah. I want to be done with school and get a move one. I need a full time job and start making money if I’m ever gonna got out of my house. I could be done with school by the end of your Junior year if I stick with this.”

“I’m happy for you, I really am! I think this is the best decision, honestly,” she chuckled. “Brightmoon hasn’t been exactly pleasant to you. It’s gonna suck not seeing and having you there with me, but I support you.”

“Yeah, I thought you’d be more upset or angry with me. I can’t be there to protect you.” Memories of Huntara stomping down bullies over the years flashed through both of their minds. The way they reminded the other to eat or take care of each other when things got rough. Those nights they stayed up on the phone as they coaxed one another through mental battles that they hid from everyone else. The two were codependent to a fault but it seems they both came to the conclusion that it was time to learn some independence and branch out.

“I’m going to miss you, like, a lot,” Adora confessed with a laugh to cover her emotions.

“Pft, I’m down the street, remember? You’ll be okay, you’ve made some strong relationships and even got a car now! Plus, you’re boxing-- nobody will f*ck with a fully trained She-Ra now. But, yeah, I’ll miss making fun of you in between classes.” They chatted a bit more and laughed and Adora walked her friend to the front door so she could go home.

The girls hugged tightly through bittersweet emotions and said their goodbyes. For some reason, the hug didn't settle Adora like it usually did.

Sharing a class with Catra was more hilarious than Adora ever thought it could be. It was nearly impossible for the teacher to get them to not laugh after every slide of poorly drawn caveman paintings and stone carvings. Keeping their hands off each other was a whole other battle. Adora loved hearing Catra squeal when she got poked in the ribs and Catra couldn’t contain herself from tickling Adora with her tail and swatting her pencils away when they worked on essays. Every exam or quiz they turned in was covered in crude drawings and lame puns about the artworks that week.

October rolls in and Catra’s birthday is coming, and this time Adora is prepared and already has a gift in mind to get her. Catra was never big on celebrating her birthday but Huntara threatened to smack her if she didn’t get this girl a gift. Catra had taken up a job at the local arcade with Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio. It was a family owned business that everyone in town loved and frequented. The business had Laser Tag, Arcade games, and a room for slipping through beam mazes and even a place to host birthdays and events.

Kyle decided to take Catra’s shift on the Saturday before her birthday so she could have the night off to play the games there with everyone. They all ate dinner at a pizza place and poured into the arcade with pounds worth of coins for gaming. Everyone was there, even Entrapta. Adora was bummed Huntara only stuck around for pizza but was glad to see her nonetheless.

The arcade battles between everyone scared the younger kids there. Adora couldn’t blame them, Glimmer and Catra playing air hockey was on the cusp of violent and borderline vandalism to the game table. Then having Perfuma almost rip the joystick off of the crane game because the toy Scorpia wanted was in an impossible wedge against the back wall was so concerning that Kyle just opened the lock and pulled the toy out, much to Perfuma’s demise. Seahawk seemed to prefer standing on tables rather than the floor like a normal person and Frosta and Mermista hogged the Tekken station that the other kids started placing bets on who would win.

At some point, Bow and Adora found their way to the Deal or No Deal booth and sat down. As they played, their group huddled around them and shouted over each other for which cases to pick and when to slam the button.

“There is a 83% chance that case number 5 is low.” Entrapta would mutter absentmindedly.

“Don’t be a bitch, Bow! Go big or go home!” Glimmer pressed as she squeezed his shoulders.

“Why are all of the case girls so hot even when pixelated?” Catra mused to which Mermista and Adora had to nod at.

Perfuma did her best to relax Bow. “Pick what you feel is right! You have a decent amount of money at this point.”

Frosta placed an icy hand on his shoulder and gritted out, “Don’t listen to her, play to win.”

Bow whimpered and slammed ‘No Deal’ and lost the game a few moments later, much to everyone’s deflation and anger. “I’m sorry, okay!? You were all stressing me out!”

To diffuse the situation and bullying of Bow’s defeat, Adora suggested they head to the Laser Tag room. They entered the Black Light arena and when Adora looked to Catra her knees buckled and she had to lean against the nearest wall when she saw how her fangs glowed as she smirked. They split into two teams: Adora, Bow, Glimmer, Seahawk, and Mermista against Frosta, Catra, Scorpia, Perfuma, and Entrapta. When the game began, all hell broke loose.

Glimmer teleported as she snuck up on people to shoot them and poofed off before she was noticed. Frosta and Catra teamed up on her and scaled the gymnasium like barbarians as they tried to get the jump on her. Frosta left many dents in the wooden gymnasium as she clumbered around as Catra leaped with fluidity from every platform that had Adora tripping over air. Watching Catra scale the three story set was much more enticing than lazering sweaty teenagers.

Seahawk didn’t know how to keep his voice down as he sang of Adventures of the scifi realm they battled in while Mermista shot at everyone with the skill set of a soldier. Bow and Adora were in full military mode as they tactically covered Glimmer from their enemies flanks. Scorpia and Perfuma disappeared at some point while Entrapta modified her suit to have rapid fire. After a bit of time and chaos, Lonnie shut the game down and ordered everyone to leave the arena before people were going to have to start paying for property damage.

Glimmer came in second place to Entrapta, “You cheated! This isn’t fair at all!”

Catra and the rest of the group scoffed, “Oh, please. You glittered and poofed your ass from the shadows every 3 seconds.”

“It’s called being tactical!”

“Then so is Entrapta’s modifications,” Bow interjected with a wince when Glimmer glared at him.

Kyle came up shyly. “About that modification...can you undo that for me please? I don’t want anyone to get in trouble.”

Entrapta begrudgingly reversed her work when Scorpia and Perfuma finally appeared and looked absolutely smitten with each other.

The group moved to the maze room where Catra showed off some very impressive acrobatic skills as she beat the game on its highest difficulty. Adora was damn near drooling as she watched the magicat flip and bend her way to all of the checkpoints. When she came out of the room she winked right at Adora as she guzzled some water and Adora burned the sight into her memory.

Closing time came and everyone piled into their respective cars to head home. Catra was riding back with Scorpia and Perfuma while Adora went with Bow, Glimmer, and Mermista. Adora bolted for Glimmer's car and grabbed the gift she got.

“Hey, uh, Catra?” she got the girls attention and she turned back to the blonde and walked up to her.

“Hey, Adora. What’s up?” Adora was entranced once again from the glow of the cat’s eyes in the night.

“So, I know you aren’t big on birthday things and stuff, but I wanted to get you something anyway...um. If this bothers you it’s no problem! I can return it and we can pretend this never happened?” she rambled as she fidgeted with the gift behind her back.

Catra’s face went from shock, to confusion, to something softer. “Hmmm, I think I deserve something for putting up with you,” she said which earned a light hearted snort from Adora that made Catra shake with laughter. “So, I think I will make an exception for just this once.”

“Wow, and to think I thought we were friends,” Adora joked but handed her the gift anyway.

Catra held eye contact as she flicked out a sharp claw and tore the wrapping paper. The sight made Adora sweat for various reasons she can’t explain. When the wrapping paper fully came off, Catra’s eyes widened and looked up to Adora.

“What?” Adora got nervous at the question and swayed from foot to foot as she rubbed her hands together to release the energy.

“We-well I just, uh, remembered how you said you were, like, really wanting to read this book? And how you-you, uh, said it was hard to find because it’s super popular with the movie coming out soon and I wanted to do something for you. Because. Ya know, putting up with me and helping me with class. If you don’t want it, that’s cool! I can take it back!” Adora finally clamped her mouth shut and stared at some grass over Catra’s shoulder.

Catra snapped from her stupor and apologized. “sh*t, sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that. I’m just surprised is all. I never thought you’d remember something so offhanded like that.”

And now Adora probably had a fever. It’s true how offhand the comment was. It came up a couple weeks before school started up again and they were all getting tacos when they discussed the movie release date and how badly Catra wanted to read the book but had a hard time finding a copy.

Adora rubbed the back of her neck. “Heh, what can I say? I’m a really good listener.”

The feline smiled sweetly, “Thanks, Adora. It means a lot,” she mumbled. She clutched the book tighter to her chest. “I’ll read this as fast as I can before the movie releases in a couple weeks.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course! I’m glad you like it. I hope it’s a good read and all.”

“I’ll see you in class,” and strutted off with a lazy whip of her tail to Adora’s calf. Adora was pretty sure her skin was about to catch fire and pranced to Glimmer’s car to be taken home.

Adora couldn’t help but giggle when she told her friends in the car.

“Damn, she didn’t snap at you or anything?” Mermista asked with obvious confusion.

“Nope!”

Glimmer cooed from the driver seat, “I think she likes youuuuuuu!”

Adora snorted. “Please, this gift was long overdue. From all of the help she’s given me and stuff, I think she realized how much she needed some form of payment for it.”

In the passenger seat Bow disagreed, “No way, that was huge!”

Mermista rolls her eyes, “You are blind, woman.”

Catra is reading the book every chance she has. Whether it’s a few pages between classes, at lunch, or when she takes a break from homework, she is determined to finish the novel. Seeing Catra enjoying the book makes Adora’s heart speed up.

The movie is in 2 days and Adora asks, “How much is left?”

Catra pauses and marks her page, “This is a beast of a book but I have about a hundred pages left? So many f*ckin’ essays to write or I would be done by now!”

“Think you can finish it in time for the premier?”

“Maybe, I will do whatever I can to finish this in time.”

Adora was curious about one thing though. “Who are you going to see it with?”

Catra held her eyes for a moment and said, “Glimmer wants to go and already has a backpack full of supplies so we can stand in line to make sure we get tickets.” She laughed before adding on, “do you want to come with us? You did get me this book, after all.”

Excitement tingled at Adora’s stomach, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course, princess.” And Adora new this girl would be the death of her.

It was the night of the movie's premiere at the local theatre. Adora offered to drive and scooped up Glimmer and then Catra who still had her nose plastered to the book as she got into the car. Catra read the book up until they got into line when she finally snapped it close and dawned a victorious smile.

“You guys have no idea what’s in store tonight. That twist was insanity!”

The trio congratulated her and finally got their tickets and sat down. Catra sat between them in a tightly curled up ball of tension and amusem*nt as the movie played. Adora did her best to watch the movie, but seeing Catra communicate her emotions with twitching her nose, widening her eyes, swiveling her eras and flicking her tail was far too important to miss. And, Catra was right, the twist was so out of left field that the whole theatre gasped and rumbled with comments until the credits rolled. The girls rambled about it the whole way home and Catra made sure to thank Adora again for the gift when Glimmer wasn’t in ear shot.

"Thank you, Adora, really."

The blonde blushed at the attention and tried to play it cool but it only made Catar giggle. "Uh, yeah, no biggie. I just like to make sure all of my friends are happy!"

Catra's tail brushed her hand as she passed her to get in the car. "Mhmmm."

It was a couple weeks until winter break when Adora was in her History class and got a surprising call. It was Huntara’s mom.

Adora had always seen Huntara’s mom, Evelyn, as a second mother. Evelyn was on disability but always made an effort to be active in her daughter’s life and grew quite fond of Adora. When she wasn’t in too much pain from a car crash several years prior, she would take them to the mall or buy them some movie tickets. She and Adora texted from time to time around holidays and birthdays. And when Mara was ill, Evelyn would make meals to help alleviate stress in the household and pick up Adora from school when they needed help.

It was rare that she called, though. She typically reached Adora this way when she was curious of Huntara’s whereabouts, and, usually, Adora didn’t have an answer for her other than a vague idea of friends or areas she figured she might be. Huntara hated how her mom used Adora as some kind of leash to keep tabs on her, because it isn’t Adora’s responsibility. Evelyn grew more concerned when Huntara got arrested which caused quite an argument that Evelyn stopped calling Adora entirely except chit chat through occasional texts.

So, when Adora saw her contact info pop onto her phone she asked to be excused to answer an urgent call. The teacher let her step into the hallway to answer.

“Hey ma, how’re you?”

A sob on the other line, “Oh, Adora, sweetie. I’m-I’m so sorry, I know you’re in class but --”

Panic rattle Adora’s bones and she began to pace the hallway. “Hey, no, no! You’re fine! What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“It’s Huntara,” she weeped and Adora trembled, “She-she didn’t come home! I tried calling her but it went straight to voicemail and- and that was two days ago!”

“Oh, oh, okay, um,” Adora scrambled for some way to rationalize the situation and calm her down. “Where was she last? Did-did she mention anyone?”

She sniffled, “She left in her car when she got home from school and I haven’t heard from her since!”

Adora’s mind reeled over any possible answers but settled on a quick, temporary solution. “Okay, I am going to ask around class and see if anybody knows anything, okay? Everyone knows her and I've some ideas of who can tell me what happened. I’ll call you back here soon, okay?”

“Honey, thank you so much. I’m sorry to roll you into this but you’re the only friend of hers that I have in my phone.”

Adora shook her head. “No, it’s okay, really. I will find her, I will. Huntara can handle herself, I’m sure she’s fine. Just relax while I handle this. Have you called the authorities?”

"No, I don't want to lose my baby again."

"That's alright, I'll find her. Let me-- I got this, okay?"

Eveyln hummed her agreement through a swollen throat from crying.

“Good, I’ll call you later. I love you.”

“Thank you, Adora. I love you too, sweetie.” And they hung up.

Adora stood out in the hall for a moment to gather her thoughts and keep herself from throwing up in the bathroom from the acidic stress now building in her stomach. When she walked back into class she ignored the odd looks and hoped no one over heard too much of the call. The bell rang and she bounced after some classmates she knew were friends of Huntara’s. No one knew anything, or at least didn’t want to say anything. After two more class periods of detective work she ran into Hordak at lunch.

Anger must’ve been obvious on her face as she approached him because he scowled and tried to dodge her. She followed after him and growled, “Where is Huntara?”

He wrinkled his nose. “I think I’m having deja vu.”

“Shut up, where is she? What did you do?”

“I do not know what you’re talking about,” he spit with annoyance and sped up his gait.

Adora stayed hot on his heels and glared with flaming blue orbs. “No one has heard from her for nearly three days. I need to find her!”

Hordak stopped and turned to face her with a puzzled look. “Look, I have not been involved with any of this nonsense for quite some time now. I don’t know anything.” And stormed off. Adora didn’t follow him and decided to try someone much more willing and open.

She texted Entrapta for Kadroh’s number which she received without any resistance.

Adora to Kadroh

Adora: hey. adora here. do you know where huntara is?

Kadroh: Hello! I do not, I am afraid.

Adora: please. I think she’s in trouble, I need to find her.

Kadroh took a long time to type then finally messaged back.

Kadroh: Ask Prime.

Prime. Adora should have figured, but the guy freaked her out and Huntara always warned her to not interact with him. But she needed to find her friend.

Adora: how can I contact him?

Kadroh: Please, be careful. Contact Attachment

Adora: thank you so much! I will delete your number and messages.

Anxiety shook her fingers as she typed in Prime’s phone number.

Adora to Prime

Adora: have you seen Huntara?

She decided to omit her identity, just in case. A reply came quickly.

Prime: This must be Adora.

She could hear him chuckling on the other end of the phone as she read the message. Before she could say anything back he messaged her again.

Prime: She was no longer of use to me. She got co*cky and needed to learn her place.

Adora didn’t reply and couldn’t bring herself to call back Evelyn. Her ears rang until she got home. She didn’t sleep a wink and occupied herself with staring holes into the ceiling as her heart clogged with panic.

Chapter 8: a new enemy

Chapter Text

Adora went to school in a haze that following morning when she got a text from Evelyn asking if she found out anything. The last thing Adora wanted to do was give a mother false hope about her child’s whereabouts, but she also didn’t want to outright lie to her either. Thus, she settles for saying ‘waiting to hear back from a friend who might know something’.

School goes on like any other day. But not for Adora, and all of her friends can see it. When Bow sees her in Psychology he tries to prod but all Adora can do is viciously scrape her pen into her journal that Perfuma suggested she try using to keep her emotions at bay. If she even tries to open her mouth to speak, then it won’t be pretty and she doesn’t want to flaunt Huntara’s business in a place where the trouble began. The wrong people could be listening and her under eye bags and oily hair is probably a dead give away to what’s battering her brain.

She gets to Art History class to see Catra doodling something in a sketchbook as usual.

“Sup?” Adora hears Catra greet her but a white haze is clogging all of her senses as she mechanically pulls out her notebook and flips to an empty page. She begins to draw random patterns to occupy her mind until the teacher starts lecturing and she can refocus her brain on it instead.

After a few sketches another pencil comes into her peripheral as a familiar feline hand starts a drawing of its own. It’s a Rubik’s Cube. The gesture is so simple and incredibly considerate that it makes Adora begin to shake with emotion. Catra has yet to really learn much sign language other than the basics. She has the alphabet down but fumbles from time to time. And Catra has also come to learn how Adora’s brain functions. Adora is easily startled and doesn’t respond well to confrontation. Her mental health nauseatingly sways on a seesaw between anxiety to depression. The most surefire way to keep her from dissociating from stress or panic is by keeping herself distracted and Catra picked up on it almost immediately.

Seeing the drawing of the Rubik’s Cube is a question that Adora has the option of answering. The teacher begins the class and Catra turns her attention to the screen at the front of the classroom while she scoots a little closer to the blonde. There is about a foot of space between the girls and Adora appreciates it dearly as she pulls out her cube and hands it to Catra to shuffle. Catra quietly accepts it with a skin tingling drag of her claw along Adora’s palm. The gesture helps render the blonde back to the present. The sensation on her palm sent Adora into a state of bliss that she wasn’t pulled from until she felt a boxy item placed back into her hands.

Catra must have noticed Adora’s reaction to her claw because there is a playful grin on her face as she writes notes.

Class ends early since the lesson that day was quick so everyone is chatting and waiting until the dismissal bell rings. Adora puts her things away and rests her forehead on the table. Two taps lightly vibrate the table and Adora turns her head to see Catra with her head resting on the table to mirror Adora as they look at each other.

Catra slowly brings her hand up and rests it on Adora’s back and begins to run soothing circles with her claws along her tense muscles. A giggle erupts from the magicat as Adora’s eyelids flutter and she hums her thanks.

“Idiota,” Catra whispers without any malice, “tell anyone about this and I will end you.”

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me,” Adora mumbles back as they both chuckle. Catra scratches her back until the bell rings.

Adora has a throbbing headache when she gets back home and takes some pain killers. She knows it’s because she hasn’t eaten or drank much water today but she figures the cup of water she uses to swallow the pills is better than nothing.

Twenty minutes past after she has lied down when she gets a call from an unknown number. Adora is so groggy that she doesn’t even think twice when she sweeps her finger over the ‘answer’ button.

“Hello?”

“Adora?”

Adora shoots up and has to collapse back into bed from how fast her blood pressure drops.

“Huntara? Huntara is that you? Are you okay?”

Huntara sighs, “Yeah, I’m okay, I’m fine.”

Relief stings at Adora’s eyes, “Your mom called me freaking out the other day about you missing or something and we’ve been trying to find you!”

“Did she call the cops?”

“I-I don’t know. I don’t know what she’s done but we’ve been texting for updates.” Adora says as she lies back on the bed just to sit up again and thump her leg.

“Whew, okay, good. f*ck. I’m sorry she reeled you into my sh*t again.”

Adora laughs breathlessly, “You were missing! I’m sure Mara or Hope would have done the same thing. But, really, are you okay?”

A long pause and then, “I need a favor.”

“Anything,” she replies on instinct.

“Okay, um. Could you come pick me up? I promise when you get here that I will explain everything to you and pay you back for gas.”

“Yeah sure,” Adora is definitely not letting her pay her for gas. “Where am I getting you? Should I come get you now?”

“Now would be great,” Huntara says through a loud exhale. “Here, write this address down.”

Adora writes the address on a sticky note and punches it into her trackerpad and heads to get Huntara. It’s about a 20 minute drive and the quality of homes dwindle as she approaches her destination. The roads are full of potholes and broken bottles and stray animals when she finally pulls up to the house. If you can call it that.

It’s no bigger than a cargo container of a train. Rust dusts the fading cream paint and mismatched blankets cover the windows. The land surrounding the home is gravel and overgrown with weeds around the cars parked there. Various items of trash and car parts litter the lawn. The property has a chain link fence on its perimeter and several dogs are sleeping on the porch.

Adora pulls off the road to park along the grass on the street and calls Huntara. Her phone rings and goes to voicemail. She tries again and still gets no answer. Adora gives in and exits her car. She knows this is the place from how Huntara described the board of graffiti leaning against the house.

The dogs napping instantly awake and eye her. They seem fairly well trained and only give a few barks out as she climbs the few steps to the front food and knocks.

“Huntara? It’s Adora!” She announces, just in case, and steps back. After a few moments she hears some fumbling and laughter as her friend swings the door open with a big smile on her face.

“Hey, come and sit while I get my things.” Huntara leads her to a nearby couch where three other Lizard Folk are lounging and playing video games. Adora waves limply and receives no response from the other guests. “Sorry I missed your call, I’m too sketched out to answer it right now.” She vanishes through a curtain and Adora sits awkwardly next to a dark green scaled Lizard who eyes her before returning his attention back to the tv. The couch is grimy and full of lumps from years of use to the point that the cushions might as well be replaced with cardboard.

Dozens of bottles and other contraptions scatter the coffee table before her and the floors are all made of wooden palettes that have warped from poor insulation.

A very particular stench stains the air and Adora already knows what kind of house this is if Huntara’s anecdotes of her other friends are any clue. The kitchen seems hardly used and the walls are discolored. Eventually Huntara returns with a backpack and waves for Adora to follow her. Adora instinctively goes to voice her goodbye but bites her tongue when she sees her friend not give one as they exit the trailer.

As they head to Adora’s car Huntara says, “Thanks for doing this. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.” Adora stops in front of Huntara before she can get into the passenger and wraps her in for a tight hug.

“Just glad you’re okay.”

They pull apart, “Me too,” she says solemnly. “Wasn’t sure you would come.”

Adora stares at her in shock, “What?” Huntara looks ashamed. “Huntara. I love you, okay? You’re my friend and I care about you.”

“Sometimes I think you’re the only one that does.”

Adora jokes to lighten the mood as they take their seats in the car. “Ha, don’t count your mom out like that. When you scraped your knee skateboarding I thought she was going to have a heart attack. Plus! You are basically my adopted sister in my household and you know Mara and Hope would do anything for you.”

Huntar laughs but switches topics and flicks on the radio. They jam out until Adora prepares to turn into Huntara’s neighborhood.

“Wait, can we go to your place? I wanna tell you everything first before I see my mom?” Adora nods and changes lanes.

They make it back to Adora’s to see Mara and Hope sitting on the couch. Adora keeps the chit chat brief as the two friends slip into Adora’s room.

When seated, Adora looks at her expectantly and Huntara takes a deep breath.

****

The clock was approaching midnight when she noticed her car running low on gas. With a ‘tsk’, Huntara pulled over to the closest gas station. It was empty and quiet.

Pulling out a $10 bill, she walked to the gas station employee. “Hey, 10 on 3, please?”

“Sure thing.”

She walked back to her pump and began filling up her car. Another car pulled up and erratically parked right in front of hers. The person in the passenger seat popped out of the car and Huntara found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.

Her body froze over and sounds became static.

“Give me your keys, bitch!” His hands were shaking with rage and his pupils were dilated. Huntara knew her best bet was to let this happen with a druggie pointing a gun between her eyes.

She didn’t even bother to move from where she was leaning against her car. “Alright. But if you’re gonna drive off, can I at least have my cigarettes?”

Confusion washed his face, “the f*ck you just say?”

“Can I have my cigarettes? You’re about to drive off with everything that matters to me and I doubt you’ll let me clean out the car. So, can I have my cigs at least, please?”

The gas pump clicked but no one moved. All that could be heard was the buzzing of fluorescent lights, the gunman's heavy breathing and the idle running of the getaway car.

“Back up from the car,” he waved the gun to a spot away from him. “Go over there. Move and i’ll f*ckin’ end you, bitch.”

Huntara did as told and crossed her arms against the cold night air.

The gunman removed the gas pump and turned towards Huntara. “Throw ‘em keys!”

She sighed but did as told. Not even bothering to keep her motions steady as she unclipped her keys from her belt loop and tossed them right at the assailant's face making him flinch. He got the keys, impressively, and got into the driver seat with the gun still pointed at his victim.

He was putting the keys in the ignition when she asked again, “cigs?”

The car sparked to life and he threw the pack of tobacco at her feet that sent the remaining 4 cigarettes flying into the night winds.

Not even a second later both cars squealed into the night and vanished.

Huntara stood there for a moment and looked to the sky void of all feelings. Then, she bent down and collected her cigarettes and went to light one when she realized she had no lighter. She walked back into the gas station and approached the clerk once more.

“Can I get a light?”

He rang up the lighter and told her the price. Then she realized she had no money. No wallet. No phone. And was stranded at least 20 miles from home.

“Could I use the phone?”

“What?”

“Could I use the phone you got back there? I know you got one.”

“I... I don’t think that’s allowed ma’am.”

“Look. I just had a gun shoved in my face and all my sh*t got stolen,” she snapped and pinched the bridge of her nose but took a calming and continued, “I need to make a phone call so I can get out of here, alright? Please?”

The man stared at her for a hot moment before reluctantly conceding. Huntara wrapped around the counter and called the only person she could think to be up at this hour and have a car. She had 4 phone numbers memorized and thankfully, this was one of them.

She punched in the numbers and the phone picked up right before it went to voicemail.

“Who’s this?”

“Sup Prime, it’s Huntara. Look I could really use a ride. Some assholes just hijacked my car and I—“

“You finally got what’s been coming to you, huh? I do hope this teaches you a lesson. Stay out of my way, little sister. You’re not hot sh*t and don’t get to call any shots. If I see your face again, I won't hesitate.”

He hung up and Huntara had all of her suspicions about tonight’s events answered. She put the phone back down and the man spoke up.

“Hey, you should call the cops.”

If only it were that easy, she thought. She already has a record and can’t tell the cops who it was or Prime will come after her. “No, I can’t. It’ll be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Well... I have to call anyway. Company policy is to report any criminal activity here.”

f*ck, now she’s gotta leave. She can’t risk being seen. “sh*t. Fine.” she headed for the door and went to exit the store.

“Wait! Where are you going?” he called after her.

“Cops and I don’t mix,” she said with her hand on the door.

The employee looked conflicted. After a moment of chewing on his lip, he grabbed the lighter and a water bottle and handed it to her. “It’s free. Just take it, I'll give you a few mins head start,” he whispered.

Huntara eyed him and took the items. "Thank you.” And pushed outside into the black of night.

She went into a dead sprint down the main road and sought out a neighborhood to hide in. She ran until she was out of breath. It was at least another 3 miles or so on this strip of highway until actual suburbia. She carefully walked the shoulder of the parkway and dove into the camouflage of the tall grass when cars drove by. Being caught hitchhiking this late at night would only add to the sh*t storm that today has already given her. Plus, assholes seemed to think running people off the road was a great pastime.

Almost two hours lapsed she finally hit a neighborhood. Her feet were sore from walking and popped down on someone’s front bench swing to relax and have a smoke.

She lost track of time and dozed off on the seat when a scraggly voice woke her up just as the sun broke the horizon line.

“Who are you?” she sounded irritated. Huntara rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes to see the woman peeking her head out from behind her front door, obviously scared and Huntara couldn't risk this lady getting the wrong idea.

“Sorry...” she apologized, omitting her name, and put her hands up to show she meant no harm.

“What’re you doing on my property? Are you homeless?” She asked with obvious disgust and backed up.

Huntara lights her last cigarette and sighs out the smoke. “No. My car got stolen and started walking home but I got tired.”

The woman still had her guard up but softened. "Damn kids," she mumbled under her breath but Huntara still heard it and couldn't agree more. Then, more loudly, “Is there no one you can call? What about the police?”

Gods, she was ready to snap in half with frustration. She can’t call the cops, no way. They might even brin gthe city guards for simply associating with the traitors. She doesn’t know who she can trust in her friend group, and on top of that, she doesn’t have their phone numbers memorized. f*ck, how she wished she could remember Adora’s number right now. She always had her on speed dial and never bothered to remember it; she made a mental note to burn it into her memory later. Contacts like Prime were too risky to have saved in her contacts if her phone ever got confiscated. The only other people that would answer would be her family and refused to call them right now. Thus, she decided to take a chance on one man she could put her future on.

“If I could borrow your phone and call my friend, yeah? And I’ll get out of your hair.”

A few moments of staring and then, “Stay here.” The woman went inside and returned with a phone. She hesitated but handed Huntara the device with a watchful eye.

She grabbed the phone and dialed Tung Lashor. He wasn’t directly associated with Prime and the two always got along pretty well.The phone rang until it hit voicemail. She hung up and dialed again and debated praying for once. The phone rang again and he finally answered.

“mmm, hello?” He grunted sleepily through his accent.

“Lashor? It’s Huntara... I’m in some trouble,” she said quietly so the woman watching her wouldn't hear.

“Hunt?” a loud groan, “What’s it now? What’s wrong?”

“Car got stolen. Some thugs,” she lied. “I'm stranded in the Wastes.”

“f*ck, okay. Where?” Rustling on his end indicated he was getting dressed and she heard a jingle of keys.

Huntara looked to the woman. “Where are we? I can have him pick me up the front of the street or something so no one comes near you.” The woman nodded and relayed the street address. Tung Lashor punched it into his trackerpad and hung up. She passed the phone back to the woman and started walking away.

“Thank you, sorry for the trouble ma’am.” The woman didn’t respond as she went back inside and watched Huntara walk down the street from the safety of her living room window.

****

“And yeah. Went back to Lashor’s place. Turns out a lot of people have left Prime but not without their fair share of violence. Lashor got me a burner phone and I got your number from Lashor since he knows Rogelio.”

Adora was slack jawed. She took a breath and leaned back against the wall to rest her shoulders from how strained they were the tense story. “Woah. Well, I’m glad you’re okay. That’s terrifying!”

Huntara laughed humorlessly. “Prime…” she growled his name with venom.

Adora felt anger, then had a depressing realization. “Your car! Oh, my gods you loved that car! All of your savings went into that thing...”

“Yep, they knew how to get me where it hurts. Adora…” she looked sideways at her friend with a sober expression of sorrow. “Everything I owned was in that car.”

Clenching her fists to bite down her reboiling rage did little to make Adora feel any better. Thoughts of how to get back at Prime clouded her vision.

“Don’t,” the words brought Adora back. “Don’t even think about getting involved and going full blown She-Ra. This is bigger than me. I cannot risk you getting hurt, I could never forgive myself. You’re too good and--and gentle for this. Prime has a lot of enemies now. Pretty sure there are already people plotting his downfall for all the sh*t he’s pulled. He will get what’s coming to him.”

They sat in the quiet for a few minutes in reflection when Huntara finally asked for Adora to drive her home and deal with her distraught mother. Just before she got out of the car, Huntara leaned over the middle console to hug Adora. “Thank you for everything.”

When Adora got back to her house, she took a long hot shower as the adrenaline of fury exited her bloodstream as the fear and panic of almost losing one of her best friends settled in. For a fleeting moment she thought of texting Catra to distract herself but decided against it. She didn’t want to disturb the feline with her nonsense when Catra said she was fighting one of her regular migraines and wouldn’t be able to get notes from class today to Adora until tomorrow morning. She felt so trapped and useless and wondered how much of a disappointment everyone must think of her. In class today she kept getting distracted with vivid daydreams and hypotheticals. For a moment, she thought of seeing a psychiatrist but felt dumb for even considering the idea of needing help and eliminated that train of thought with the strength of a troll.

Losing track of time, she took a longer shower than expected and washed up quickly to head to bed. Her hands didn’t stop shaking as she fell into a restless sleep. She dreamed of her house filling with fire as her friends and family remained trapped inside while she was helplessly fighting off giant scorpions in Antarctica. The nightmares never made sense and she eventually settled on not sleeping for the night after waking up for the third time, unable to escape her own mind.

Chapter 9: party time

Chapter Text

“You look like sh*t.”

“Thank you for stating the obvious, Catra.”

Catra groans and points her pen in Adora’s face. “I didn’t say anything yesterday, but now I am. Have you not been sleeping? Eating? Are you even breathing properly?”

Adora sighs deeply and it makes her head spin. “I’m just super stressed. It happens, alright?”

“Missing two whole days worth of sleep isn’t a normal response to ‘just stress’. What’s going on in that skull of yours?” Catra chided.

She claps her hands to her face and mumbles, “Can we not do this here? Please?”

Catra stared at her a moment. “Fine. My place or yours, Princess?”

And that is how Adora ended up with Catra in her bed, once again. She hadn’t stopped flushing since Catra asked to come over nearly four hours earlier in class. Mara made them some snacks for them to munch on. Catra hopped to the bathroom before Adora could start rambling and when she stepped back out Mara pulled her to the side.

“Can you make sure she eats? I don’t care what you have to do, just make sure she eats everything on that plate, can you do that? We are trying to be patient but she’s--”

“Stubborn,” Catra finishes for her and they both share a soft laugh. “I got her, don’t worry. I am very persuasive,” she says with a flex of her claws that makes Mara snort very loudly.

Catra reenters the bedroom and plops down on the bed and hands Adora a cracker layered with meats and cheeses. “Eat.”

Adora groaned and looked to the floor. She wanted to eat, she felt lightheaded and lethargic but the lack of food in her system made her stomach so acidic to the point of feeling queasy. Food sounded so unappetizing

“Adora.” She turned her head to see desperation on her friends face. Adora gingerly took the snack and took a bite and chewed slowly before swallowing. Her throat was ready to reject it but she forced it down with her teeth grit. Catra looked from the cracker to Adora and so she took another bite until it was all eaten.

“Happy?” Adora toned with a painful smile.

She prepared another cracker and handed it to Adora. “Very. One more and then we talk.”

Adora did as told and drank some water as she leaned back against the headboard. It took about an hour of rambling and slurred sleep speech before Adora eventually spilled her guts of all the drama lately. Cara's face remained neutral but it was obvious something was itching her mind from the fang biting into her lower lip.

“So...yeah. And, please don’t talk to anyone about this. Huntara is very private and I feel bad enough to talk about it without her even knowing.”

Catra nodded her understanding, “I get ya’. So… Prime did this? You guys are sure?”

“Yes, totally.”

The catgirl learned her head back with a thud. “Mierdaaaaa.” Adora gave her a quizzical brow to ask her to elaborate. “Prime works for my dad.”

“Oh, First Ones.” She ran her hands through her hair and rid her ponytail. “Does your dad know?”

She shook her head without removing it from the headboard. “Doubt it. He just assigns him miscellaneous work. Deliveries… errands… uh, occasional lawn care or planting things and handing out business cards. sh*t, it’s probably how he has so many connections. I’ve even seen him make business stops at Perfuma’s smoothie place.”

Adora got to her feet to release some nervous energy. “Um, um, okay. That could be bad but I doubt Perfuma knows anything.”

“All she’s ever said is how ‘dark his aura is’ so I doubt she actually knows what he’s up to. Wait- what is he up to? What is he doing that almost got people killed?”

That, they didn’t know. “Huntara never gave me details but I have an idea it's drug or gang related.”

“Uuuuuuugh,” they both flopped back onto the bed with a springy bounce. “Why can’t high schoolers be normal and just, ya know, not be criminal masterminds.” The girls laughed with exasperation.

Adora made note to talk to Huntara more about Prime and his connection with Catra’s dad. Once Catra got Adora to eat more food and drink another glass of water, Adora walked Catra to her car for her to drive home.

“See ya manana, Adora,” Catra winked and drove out of the neighborhood.

A feeling bubbled up in Adora’s sternum but she couldn’t put a word to it yet. All she knew was that she only felt it when it came to Catra.

For a while, things were fairly back to normal and Winter Break hit. So far, Adora’s family had no plans other than Razz coming down for the holidays. One morning, a week before New Years, Adora got a text that had at least 20 people in the group message from Catra.

Catra to NYE Party

Catra: new year’s party at my place. wear your ugliest sweater and bring something for the buffet table. will also do a white elephant event. I expect chaos. starts at 8. be there or be a bitch.

Adora got permission from her moms and grabbed Glimmer and Bow to head to the mall for their gifts. Getting to see Catra, her house and meet her family was making her head spin with excitement and a bit of anxiety, so she needed the distraction.

Huntara stays pretty tight-lipped and under the radar as days go by but Adora gets a call two days after Christmas that her car has turned up.

“Hey, guys? Is it cool if Huntara and I hang out for a bit?” She asks her family.

“Sure, but we may have you stop by the store on your way back for a couple things for dinner tonight,” Hope says.

“Oh! Good idea honey, and, yes, you may go. Be safe! It may snow again later today.” Mara added on and Razz walked Adora to the door.

“Be extra careful dearie. And not just of the weather.”

“...That’s not cryptic at all, Aunt Razz.” Adora commented.

“You tend to lose your way when it comes to helping friends, Adora. Remember to think about yourself first! Your heart can only grow so big before it runs out of room for you.” Razz gives her a peck on the cheek and waves her off.

Adora got goosebumps from the words but tries not to let it distract her too much. She scoops up Huntara and they take off for an auto mechanic shop that a family friend of hers owns on the outskirts of the city.

Both girls gasp when they see Huntara’s car… or what’s left of it, anyway.

They step out to greet the mechanic and go over the damage.

“It appears it was in a hit and run,” the mechanic, Hugh, details. “Cops found it abandoned along the highway. Whoever was driving it got away pretty fast, since nobody saw them.”

The front end of the car is completely crushed in to the point that the airbags deployed. Tires are shredded from hitting guardrails and other loose debris from the other car they hit.

Huntara pops open the trunk and starts looking through what was left. Her tooth brush and other toiletries are still there but her clothes and shoes are gone. Various forms of trash from fast food places are littered between the seats and soaked with alcohol and smoke.

“No wallet… no phone… figures.” She notes to herself. Both girls continue to collect important items but Huntara keeps digging for a few more minutes before slamming the trunk to her hatchback shut with unnecessary force.

“You okay?” Adora quietly asks.

“Those f*ckers. They take my money, my phone, and those designer shoes. What else would you need for extra cash, right? But I guess it wasn’t enough.”

“Huntara?”

She looks at Adora with fierce eyes, “Bastards took the photo of my dad.” Adora’s breath catches and the world feels 30 degrees colder.

Huntara’s dad passed away when she was just a toddler. A few years after that, their house got hit by a massive storm that flooded their house and soiled all of their family photos. Only a handful survived the disaster. There was only one photo of her dad that made it, she always had it in her wallet. When she got her car, it stayed on the front dashboard. Now, there was nothing left of him but his tombstone.

Adora holds back her tears of frustration as they load up her remaining belongings into Adora’s truck.

“I’m sorry,” Adora says as she pulls Huntara in for a hug.

Huntara only sighs and briefly hugs her back before turning back to Hugh. “Do what you want with it. Damn thing is totalled.” And she gets in the car for them to drive back home.

“I know you told me to stay out of this mess, but… if there is anything I can do, please tell me.” Adora begs as Huntara steps out of the car.

Huntara gives her a thankful smile. “Love ya’, Blondie.” And closes the door.

It was the night of Catra’s New Year’s party. Adora threw on some holiday sweater that had a horse with a Santa hat on. She knew this would get a rile out of everybody and probably turn into a roast fest about being a horse girl, but little did they know about her White Elephant gift being the same f*cking thing.

Glimmer picked her, Bow, Perfuma, and Frosta up. Adora had massive nerves the whole ride there and had to remember to breathe was they stepped out of the car. There were at least half a dozen other cars already there and a bonfire roaring with people gathered around it. Many of them seemed to be adults or parents of the friend group. Angella and Micah were there chatting with two magicats that Adora is assuming to be Catra’s parents. Scorpia’s moms are chittering with Mermista’s dad and Bow’s dads. Sometimes Adora forgets how close all of these families are and she secretly wishes that Mara and Hope would come to an event like this one day.

Seahawk, Mermista, Entrapta, and Scorpia could be seen mingling in the living room but Catra had yet to be spotted.

The group of five approached the gathered parents and introduced themselves. Adora noticed how much thicker their accents were and how lovely it sounded.

“Lovely to meet you guys! I am Catra’s mother, Carmen.” Carmen was a red tabby with striking hazel eyes with black stripes along her arms and legs. Her mane of black hair was wild and reached her mid back like Catra’s when it wasn’t in a ponytail. She held herself with a rigid posture and smile that brandished her with an air of authority.

“And I’m her dad, Miro! So glad you guys could all make it.” Miro had a few inches on his wife. His fur was black with tufts of gray and white patches on his ears. He donned a dorky grin that showed his crooked fangs. He was heavier set but obviously strong. His eyes were a gentle forest green that sparkled.

They shared a few more pleasantries before the teens headed into the house to see the rest of the group. The front porch wrapped around the back of the house and had a pergola with lights hanging from it where Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio were hanging out with some other adults that they seemed familiar with. Dozens of plants covered the patio as did many outdoor cats. Adora wanted to pet and introduce herself to the kittens but decided to wait until she had the clear from Catra.

Everyone stepped inside and was greeted with hugs and comments on their sweaters. The door led you directly into the kitchen where a simple lounge area for a couch and chair were off to the right against some wide windows designed for natural lighting and naps in the sun. To the left was a massive round table and several couches gathered around a fireplace and flat screen mounted on the wall. Past the kitchen was a hallway with one door on either side until it split into a T to two closed off rooms. It was small, but much bigger than the outside led you to believe.

Adora saw DT talking animatedly to someone prone on the couch and when she stepped closer she saw Catra nodding along with a devious smile on her face. Catra’s nose twitched and turned to see Adora. Adora’s heart soared to the moons when she noticed Catra’s smile only grow wider as they took each other in. The magicat sat up and sauntered to the blonde and slowly looked her up and down.

“You got balls, Princess.” Adora’s heart skips a beat at the sound of her raspy voice.

“Only the biggest balls,” Adora fired back with a grin turned smirk. “What? No pun-tastic cat sweater for us? Just something you pulled from a back alley?”

“Hey! My Abuela made this!” Adora’s heart dropped.

“Oh! I’m-I’m so sorry! It’s a lovely sweater with lots and lots of sentimental value with expert craftsmanship--”

Catra barks a laugh. “Gods, you are too easy, Adora! This is just some $2 wool sweater from Goodwill.”

Adora eyes her suspiciously and Catra rolls her eyes and adds on, “Adora. My abuela didn’t make this, I swear.”

“Okay, whew. I got super nervous right there for a second,” she laughs through an embarrassed blush.

“Such a dork.”

Adora could see DT eyeing them curiously as they walked by and into the kitchen. Everyone placed their gifts on the table and gathered food on their plates. Many grapes were thrown across the room when the targeted mouth was missed. Cheese was stacked to ridiculous heights. Seahawk and Adora then made a competition of who could make the tallest sandwich and manage to take a bite out of it. Adora only lost because Seahawk dislocated his jaw to beat her. But, eh, he’s the one in pain for the rest of the night.

At some point they all went outside to chill by the fire and play fetch with the two shepherd canines named Ace and Annie. They were brother and sister of the same litter and utter dorks. Ace somersaulted every time he caught the ball and Annie would stare into space and bark at literally nothing which kept putting Adora on edge.

“You’d think cats would hate dogs…” Mermista jabbed when they reconvened at the fire.

“You calling me a racist?” Catra’s comment had everyone bent over in laughter. Miro popped out with several long stakes and materials for s’mores.

“Good evening children, tonight I have prepared a tray for the creation of S’mores,” Miro said with a wistful edge. “Here we have the finest milk chocolate that was scavenged from deep within the farmlands of Half Moon and over here we have-”

“Papa!” Catra admonishes and it only makes Miro laugh as he sets down the tray of sweets.

Bow pipes up when Miro goes back inside, “Your dad is a funny guy, Catra!”

“Ugh, try living with him.” But she’s smiling through the complaint.

S’mores is… an event. Entrapta declares that she has made the perfect s’more that launches everyone into a wild argument over how much to cook the marshmallows which leads to Seahawk attempting to eat his marshmallow while it is still on fire. But Mermista is quick to dose him in water from her cup that she then makes him refill as an apology.

Scorpia keeps breaking her crackers with her claws but Perfuma helps her make them after her third attempt. It’s disgustingly sweet and Frosta is fake gagging the whole time who skips the whole s’more process to shove marshmallows directly into her mouth. That turns into a tug of war over the bag between her and Glimmer so Frosta doesn’t eat another entire bag.

Meanwhile, Adora is just trying to get the goo from her s’more out her hair that defied physics to get there. Catra is squeaking with laughter as she struggles to lick it off her face and chin as Bow attempts to rid it of her hair.

“You could help, you know!” Adora yells

Catra continues to shake with laughter, “No way! This is too good. Free f*cking comedy right here!” And Adora can’t help but giggle with her.

Once everyone is full, they head inside to exchange gifts. Catra pulls out a hat and writes down everyone’s name to be pulled out at random.

Glimmer is the first one called up and randomly selects a gift. She opens it with a sputter of confusion and laughter, “A mug that says ‘water me daddy’? Who got this?!”

Perfuma raises her hand with a proud smile. Seahawk is called up next to pick out Frosta’s gift that is full of obscenely carved bars of soap that Seahawk accepts like a champ.

Up next is Scorpia who opens Glimmer’s gift to reveal a rubber horse mask that is hysterical when worn against the contrast of her scorpioni race.

Finally, Adora’s gift gets picked by none other than Lonnie and her death glare only intensifies as everyone begs her to put it on.

Bow is selected and plucks Catra present and he gasps in horror. “Catra!”

“Yeeesssss?” She purrs with delight.

“This is terrible! Where did you even find a gift like this?!”

“Don’t be a softie, it’s funny!”

“I am not wiping my butt with Principal Grizzlor’s face! It’s--it’s… He will be looking at me the whole time!”

Catra narrows her eyes. “Are you rejecting my gift? Do you know how much hard work and thought I put into this?” She covers her heart with her hands and shakes her head in mock disbelief.

“No! No, not at all! I… It’s wonderful Catra.” Bow says with a defeat slump of his shoulders. Catra’s grin is devilish.

“You better use it all. Can’t be wasteful now can we, Bow?”

Frosta is called up next to receive Entrapta’s gift of Infrared goggles that Frosta refuses to take off for the rest of the night.

Another name is pulled and Rogelio is given a Bob Ross Chia Pet from Bow. Kyle follows after him and is given Bacon Flavored toothpaste from Mermista that makes everyone gag.

Adora sees Rogelio sign, “Don’t even think about kissing me with that mouth.” And Adora cannot contain her laughter long enough to hear her name be announced next.

“Adora!” Glimmer bellows across the room. “Get a gift! Get a gift!”

She scrambles to her feet to hide her blush and hovers her hand over a light weight box. She sits back down to tear it open to reveal a very, very adult coloring book that makes her nearly cough out a lung.

“Oh, my…” DT says with a gaping mouth.

Entrapta leans over to inspect the pages, “The anatomy is quite accurate.”

“Is that really what a Satyr’s--” Mermista is cut off by a twitching Glimmer.

“Who got this?!”

Everyone dives into silence and looks around to see a very ill looking Kyle raise a shaky hand.

Lonnie and Rogelio are gawking at him with unreadable expressions. After a few moments of shock the room floods with high pitched laughter and Kyle gets several high fives for his bold gift.

DT pulls their own name out of the hat and twirls to the table and snags a gift. They open it swiftly and, “Ugh. Really? Nicholas Cage? They couldn’t have found literally anybody more attractive? But, I am a trooper who loves their friends and will wear these socks at least once before I re-gift it. Now. Who purchased this sin?”

“That would be me, babe,” Lonnie says with a puffed out chest. “This is the best one tonight and you should be grateful.”

What happens next nearly breaks the house with screams of laughter as DT transforms into Nicholas Cage and chases Lonnie around the house. Catra springs to the rafters of her house while Glimmer latches onto Bow and teleports outside in a yelp while Frosta watches with pure confusion through her goggles. Mermista takes this time to get more food as Seahawk prances along with her. It took another 10 minutes for everyone to calm down before they resumed their gift exchange.

Entrapta is next and selects DT’s gift to reveal an adult card game that everyone demands to play when this is all over.

Only three people are left and Perfuma is up. She receives a Baby Yoda plushie from Rogelio that she vows to protect until her dying breath.

Catra is next and steps up to the table and looks to Adora, “Pick it for me?”

From where Adora is sitting, she is practically leaned into Catra’s legs as her tail swishes in amusem*nt. Adora’s knees pop when she manages to stand and nearly tumbles into Catra as the feeling returns to her legs. There are two gifts left. Both are in roughly equal sized boxes.

Adora goes to reach for a gift but stops and turns to Catra. “Are you sure you want me to pick?”

Catra nods softly. Maintaining eye contact, Adora grabs a gift and hands it to her with a flutter in her heart. Is Catra feeling this too? They both sit back down and Catra unwraps the present with her claws and it sends a shiver down Adora’s spine.

When the gift is revealed, a massive smile spreads across her face as she eyes Seahawk. “You don’t think I can handle this?”

Seahawk’s eyes shine with a challenge, “I would love to see the Catra test her spice limits. A very daring adventure indeed!” Catra bolts to get a bowl of chips and settles back down.

She pulls out a bottle of hot sauce titled ‘Satan’s Sweat’ and rips the plastic sealant off the cap and flicks it open. She dabs the sauce over a couple chips and picks one up. Everyone watches with anxiety as Catra hovers the chip in front of her open mouth as she slowly brings it closer and eats the whole thing. After the first bite, her discomfort is obvious but she powers through. Her eyes barely water when she finishes swallowing.

“Delicious,” she purrs with a lick of her lips that makes Adora melt through the floor. From then on, Glimmer, Lonnie, Seahawk, Frosta, and even Entrapta take a chip to eat.

Glimmer goes down immediately and teleports to the fridge for water and milk while Frosta freezes her tongue over. Seahawk swears he isn't affected but the tears streaming down his eyes beg to differ. Lonnie coughs for nearly 3 straight minutes before Frosta finally gives her some ice to chew on.

Then, lastly, Mermista grabs the last gift and groans.

Seahawk leans over and squeals, “You have to say it! You have to!”

Mermista glares into Scorpia’s sheepish smile and says the iconic words, “It’s an avocado… thanks.” And holds up the avocado with distaste but smiles all the while and Scorpia releases a massive exhale of relief.

“To be honest, I completely forgot to get a gift and grabbed this on my way out and wrapped it when I got here.”

It’s about an hour until midnight when some of the party people decide to head home to beat the drunk drivers. Angella and Micah are the only parents who stay. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio say there is another party they want to hit and take their leave. Frosta has passed out from her sugar rush and has claimed the living room couch.

Entrapat, Bow, and Carmen appear with several bags of fireworks. Bow uses his archery skills to pop some off in the sky to dazzle everyone while Entrapta toys with the fuses and chemical components of the fireworks to make the explosions bigger.

Everyone makes a note to keep Seahawk away from the explosives, for obvious reasons. But it seems he has had several hidden in his sweater and stabs 4 massive rockets in the ground and lights them up before anyone can stop him.

The rockets shoot off ear piercing shrieks and the booms of detonation that vibrate everything around them and fills the sky with dozens of colors. It’s beautiful and mind blowing until he sets off another one that launches straight for the farm house that is the definition of a hazard. Bow thinks on his feet and sends an arrow at it and redirects it to the sky for the rocket to end up being a dud anyway.

All the commotion wakes up Frosta and she finds an old clump of muddied snow to launch at him. The snowball fight eventually has everyone, including the parents, into a filthy and freezing battle that ends rather quickly as they all dart for the warmth of the house.

It’s now five minutes to midnight and Adora’s heart is racing. She knows she’s not the only single person there but there are expectations with this kind of thing. Part of her wants to hide in the bathroom until it’s over so she doesn’t have to stand awkwardly. She goes to the buffet again to mindlessly occupy herself with room temperature food and dry broccoli.

The countdown began

10

“Adora!” Glimmer shouted from across the room.

9

“Get over here!” She waved.

8

Adora made no response that she was moving.

7

Glimmer teleported to her and grabbed her arm

6

“Don’t be a mope!”

5

She grabs Bow and Entrapta.

4

Next she poofs Frosta and DT over.

3

She grabs Catra

2

“Uh..”

1!

It’s a massive group hug that Entrapta uses her hair to wrap everyone up in. It was the last thing she expected and was also exactly what she needed. Scorpia and Perfuma shared a peck on the lips before Scorpia noticed the hug and leapt into theirs. Mermista can be heard groaning but when she slips into vision she is blushing next to a very happy Seahawk.

The night comes to an end and people start to head home. But Adora? Something inside her keeps her feet planted and rooted to Catra’s living room carpet. Glimmer can see Adora fidgeting and not putting her shoes on like everyone else. This house is so cozy and calming to Adora and finds herself dreading the thought of having to go home.

“Are you leaving?” Catra asks and it startles Adora.

“Um… I mean. If -- I can -- I, uh, Glimmer’s my ride?”

Catra gives her a look over and flicks her ear as she creeps in closer to whisper, “You can stay. If you want to.” Adora’s eye widen and Catra gets nervous. “‘Cuz, I mean, Frosta stays all the time and we cook a pretty big breakfast in the morning--”

“Oh, Adora, we would love to have you!” Carmen jumps in with a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

Adora flicks her eyes between Catra and her mother. “Are you sure? I hate to intrude.”

“Not at all! We would love to have you, we love a busy house and new faces to meet.” Carmen’s smile is so warm and serene that Adora relaxes. She goes to Glimmer and tries not to squeal when she says she will be staying the night. Bow and Glimmer give her big hugs and lewd eye winks as they leave.

Glimmer drives Bow and DT home while Scorpia takes Mermista, Seahawk, and Perfuma. Frosta skirts into the office where there is a couch and falls asleep when she hits it. Angella and Micah hang out on the back porch for a bit longer to chat with Catra’s parents

“Wanna see my room?” Catra says with a smirk.

“Y-your room?”

“Yeah, dummy, my room. I saw yours, it’s only fair I show you mine.”

Adora obediently follows Catra through a wooden door and into a room that has half of its walls built with pallets of wood. There’s a desk covered in art supplies and dozens of art projects fill the floor space, leaving a limited trail to walk to her full sized bed. Above her bed are some cushioned ledges for her to perch up on.

“Sorry about the mess…” she says as she shoves things out of the way and makes space for them to sit on the bed. Adora takes it all in and sinks into the mattress. They sit for a little bit and chat about the events of the night. At some point the girls take turns brushing their teeth and using the bathroom. When Adora returns to Catra’s room she pauses at the threshold and looks to Catra sitting in her bed.

“Um. Where--where should I sleep?”

Catra turns to her and pats the vacant spot on her bed to her right. Adora’s heart is thundering as she pads over and wiggles under the covers and decompresses into the gentle smell of Catra’s sheets. It’s a tight fit with Adora’s broad shoulders but neither girl seems to mind in the slightest. In fact, they only shuffle closer until they are both on their sides, nearly nose to nose.

“Tonight was fun,” Adora blurts and it makes Catra smile.

“Yeah.”

The silence stretches on but it doesn’t leave Adora unsettled like it should. She feels calm and… safe. Everything is frozen and she is in the one cubicle of space that continues forward. Catra is in a tank top and Adora wants to touch her so badly but is released from her conflicted thoughts when Catra makes the first move.

Her hand reaches out slowly for Adora’s and keeps her claws sheathed as she gently drags her fingers up along her arm. Adora hums at the sensation but refuses to close her eyes and miss a single second that could be spent gazing into those mismatched gems. Catra’s hand continues to ghost along Adora’s arm until she stops at her shoulder.

Time completely freezes and all that signifies that they aren’t dead is a rapid heartbeat and low rumbling purr.

Her hand shifts. Adora’s face flares when Catra grazes her knuckles against her face to push her hair behind her ear and trails back down to cup her steaming cheek that Catra can definitely feel.

Adora isn’t sure who moves first but their faces are getting closer and eyes flutter closed as Adora travels back to when they lit up all of those fireworks a couple hours ago, because that is exactly how she feels as she tastes those soft lips she’s been fantasizing about since 7th grade.

The kiss is only seconds but she has to pull away to catch her breath as her vision tunnels from her speeding heart and then they’re both leaning back in. Their hands find each other’s hips as they begin to explore the dips and curves of the other’s landscape. Their knees graze and Catra is wrapping her tail around Adora’s calf as she attempts to pull her atomically closer. Lips slide and breath is shared in what feels like a union of souls. Adora has no idea what she’s doing, she’s never been kissed before, but it’s become her new favorite thing.

At some point the back door swings shut and they break apart from the startling noise. Catra’s parents walk to their room for bed and when they are sure they won’t be heard both girls giggle and cling to each other. They kiss again and now Adora is on her back with Catra looking down at her like Adora’s eyes are the gateway to Nirvana. Adora brings her hand up to brush Catra’s unruly hair out of the way so she can see the moons’ light glint off her eyes again. They can’t keep their hands off each other as they take in on another. Catra is stroking Adora’s hair with her claws and it makes her moan involuntarily but she’s too blissed to even care. She never wants to leave this moment and she prays the girl above her feels the same way.

“You’re beautiful,” Adora tells her just above a whisper.

“No, you,” Catra fires back gently but it makes Adora snort so loudly she covers her face and Catra collapses on top of her in a wild fit of laughter. “Such a f*cking dork,” she says from where her nose is pressed against Adora’s collar bone. When she speaks, the sound of her voice feels like honey against her skin.

“Your dork.” Adora realizes what she said and begins to panic. She isn’t sure what to think of this or where to go from here. She’s never been asked out or been on a date before. Her mind spirals as she searches her mind for some phrase to get her out of the corner she’s put herself in. For all she knows, Adora means nothing to Catra and she is just--

“My dork,” Catra hums and her purr intensifies. “I like the sound of that.”

“Yeah?” She swallows thickly with emotion and a bit of hope.

The cat girl giggles sweetly and rubs her cheek along the blonde's jaw, “Yeah. C’mere.”

Chapter 10: is this real?

Chapter Text

Light bleeds past Adora’s eyelids and stirs awake with a sleepy groan. She flutters her eyes open to see Catra snuggled onto her chest and legs entwined with the blonde’s. Adora can see that she’s awake and on her phone as she flicks through messages. Catra’s purring halts at Adora’s shuffling but resumes when she sees her smile.

“Morning.”

“Morn’,” Adora mumbles with a joint popping stretch that makes the magicat giggle.

“I thought you would never wake up,” she rasps and Adora smiles at the sound of her voice.

She rolls over to snuggle closer into the girl. “Don’t think I’ve ever slept that well in… Well, a long time, really.” Back when you last cuddled me to sleep, she says to herself but withholds the information to not come off as clingy.

Catra wraps her arms around Adora’s middle and starts bringing her claws and down her back as she leaves feathery kisses to her cheeks. “I tend to have that effect on people.”

That makes Adora raise a brow. “Just how many people have you slept with? Should I be concerned?” The jab earns a small shove and a scoff.

“I am quite the catch,” she replies with a flaunty grin. A claw lines up Adora’s spine and comes to scritch at the nape of her neck. “But, you’ve knocked everyone else off the list.”

Adora feels heat rush her face and tries to hide it in the pillow. “What, you like me or something?”

From where her blonde locks fell over her face, Catra pushes them away to look at the bashful girl. “Mhmmm.”

Her response doesn’t do much to boost her confidence in the agency of this budding relationship. She stutters for her words for a straight up solid yes or no answer about the two of them. Misinterpreting is one of Adora’s fortes and she needs to get out of the fog in this new terrain. “Does… this mean we are like…I-I don’t really know how this works,” she shrugs from where she is laying down and avoids eye contact. “Is this real? Or, uh, um, is this… not…?”

Catra sits up and pushes Adora flat onto her back, forcing the girl to look up at her. She’s wearing a sweet smile that Adora has never seen before. “Adora. I like you… a lot.” Her ears flatten. “I have for a while, actually.”

Adora perks up at that. “Yeah? Me too,” she confesses. “Since you cuddled me over the summer, but I’ve liked you since I first saw you, if I’m being really honest.”

“Really?” She seems baffled by the admittance and it makes Adora blush and the blonde can only nod in response. “And all this time you didn’t say anything?” The question isn’t rude -- just innocently curious.

She kept her eyes turned away and focused on the sharpie drawings all over the walls. “Yeah. I’ve never done anything like this before. No one has… ever asked me out or… even kissed me and I honestly doubted you could ever see me that way, but Glimmer and Bow told me I was being dumb.”

“I was your first kiss? And your…?” She nods rapidly and risks a quick glance to the girl above her to see her smug expression. “So, I got Adora, the She-Ra, first?”

Adora realizes that Catra is avoiding the first question she initially asked but decides to humor her a bit longer. “Don’t get too co*cky. Now that I know how it works, there will be a line of girls wanting a piece of me.”

“You’re pretty confident in yourself and you haven’t even treated me to a date yet.”

“I will. But, first… will you… be my girlfriend?” Adora’s voice minutely cracks with emotion at the last word and Catra most definitely heard it, but doesn’t comment.

A struggle seems to rage in Catra’s eyes at the word but her face softens. “...Yes.” Adora brightens and Catra reflects her giddiness. “Yeah, be my girlfriend?”

“Yes,” Adora breathes and cups Catra’s fuzzy face to bring her in for a searing kiss. She breaks away and asks, “Hey, I told you when I liked you, now you gotta tell me when you knew. It’s only fair.”

Catra groans and mumbles, “You’re going to be unbearable if I tell you.”

Adora co*cks her head and finally feels like she has the upper hand. “Catraaaaa….” The cat girl drops her head to Adora’s chest and groans loudly and it makes Adora wrap her into a tight hug and kiss the top of her head. “Please?”

She huffs and glares. “Fine…. It was that one day at lunch -- f*ck, I can’t believe I’m saying this. It was when you showed how to solve your stupid, dumb cube thing!” Adora cannot control the ecstatic laughter that bursts through her body. “Ugh! You’re -- just -- stop laughing!” Catra tries to slip out of the blonde’s grip but is trapped.

“I wooed you with my puzzle skills? Glim and Perfuma always said it was a great way to get girl’s attention! I’m really glad it worked for once.” Catra has stopped trying to wiggle free and joins the laughter as well, hugging her with her nose in Adora’s neck.

“Meanie...” It looked like Catra wanted to say more, Adora figured from how Catra’s ears flicked and her deep blush. Adora eyed her carefully with a smirk.

“Don’t think too hard…” Adora used Catra’s joke back at her, making the feline glare softly at her. They held each other’s eyes until Catra gave in with a smile and roll of her eyes.

“I’ve…” Catra sighed with folded ears, “I’ve liked you since I saw you when you moved here at the beginning of fourth grade. When I saw you beat all the kids at the little rockwall. I was in denial...but. Like, the whole puzzle deal really confirmed it, is what I’m getting at.” She flicked her tail bashfully and Adora wanted to sing. Not only has Catra liked her since she first saw her, but she was also being painfully cute about it.

“Wow, who knew you were into muscles.”

Catra smacked her arm when Adora flexed her biceps. “Such a dork.”

“Your dork,” Adora sings and holds the other girl closer.

“You’re insatiable.” And she smother’s Adora in wet kisses until there is a knock on the door.

“Do I hear two giggling teenagers in there?” Miro calls out to them through the door.

“No!” they both yell back.

“Oh, sorry, my mistake. Guess I will eat all this breakfast by myself!”

Both girls launch to their feet and shove each other through the door and stumble into the kitchen to see that there isn’t any food made yet.

“Que carajo?” Catra asks.

Miro looks devilish and hands Catra a basket. “Busca los huevos, si?”

Catra snatches the basket and pulls Adora along outside. “Where are we going?” Adora asks.

“Our neighbors have chickens, we do lawn care for them and they let us get free eggs.”

“That’s pretty awesome, actually.” They walk to the far left side of the fence and leap over it. The feline is much more skilled than Adora but she still makes it over without tripping. Once at least half a dozen eggs are gathered, they race back to the house to which Adora wins.

“Hah!”

“I had to carry these stupid eggs! Don’t get full of yourself.”

“Excuses, excuses,” Adora smirks but it drops to something more somber when she notices a subtle eye twitch from Catra. “Sorry, did I say something?”

The glaze over Catra’s eyes fade and she looks to Adora. “Don’t worry about it,” she said curtly and flinched at her clipped response. “Sorry… Weaver just says that a lot.” Adora goes to say more on the topic but they are now within earshot of the rest of the people in the house and decides to stop for Catra’s sake.

Frosta only wakes up and drags her feet into the kitchen once the eggs are beaten and poured onto the skillet. Carmen busies with prepping toast and layering it with cheese and meats while Catra gathers cups and plates to set the kitchen table. At the table, Adora and Frosta pour juice into the cups and place jelly, seasonings and butter for everyone to use. The bumble and rhythmic noise of breakfast being prepared hugs Adora into a blanket of tranquility.

“Wanna meet Abuela?” Catra’s words startle Adora but she hides her flinch.

“Sure?” Catra snickers and grabs her by the hand to trek over to the guest house.

It’s small and painted in chipped white wood. Catra gives three hearty knocks to the door before she opens and leads them inside to reveal a small cottage decorated in vintage furniture and family photos. The first room they step into is the bedroom with a twin bed up against the right wall and a small dresser against the left with a TV on it.

“Abuela? ¡Ven a desayunar!” Catra calls out when she doesn’t see her grandmother in bed. They walk further into the home, still holding hands, to pass by what must be a closet and bathroom, since the doors are closed. A couple more steps and an elderly magicat pops her head out from the kitchenette she is brewing coffee over.

“Corazoncita?” Her voice is soft and makes her sound younger than she actually appears. “Y una amiga...” a glance to their entwined fingers, “una muy buena amiga por lo que veo.” Catra simply rolls her eyes.

“Abuela, ella es Adora. Adora? Abuela. No te dejes engañar por su edad ni su apariencia.”

Adora extends her hand and attempts her spanish, “Mucho gusto conocerla, senora.”

Abuela takes Adora’s in both of hers and rubs her padded thumbs across her palm and back of her hand. “No, no, you call me Abuela!”

“S-sorry! Abuela, got it.”

The magicat stares into Adora’s blue grey eyes and she smiles warmly and releases her hands to attend to her coffee mug. “We can talk more over breakfast, vamos!” She orders and they head back to eat.

Breakfast goes smoothly but Adora gets the feeling Catra has never mentioned her before to her family. They all ask very simple questions about her background and what she likes to do when that could have easily come up in passing conversation if Catra told them about her. It leaves her very confused and decides to mention it later and doesn’t want to break the peace of the table. Besides, Catra’s tail keeps running over her legs as in some form of apology when Adora gives her a questioning look. Frosta plows through nearly three plates of food and discusses what she’s been missing since she stopped playing soccer and how boxing has been going.

They finish eating and clean the table and kitchen and any other mess from the previous night. Adora cleans whatever she can and thanks them for having her over and hosting the party for everyone.

“We couldn’t miss a chance to see all of Catra’s friends. She is the one who came up with the idea.” Carmen whispers when Catra slinks off to the bathroom.

“What do you mean?” Adora asks.

Carmen sighs and puts another plate away. “She is not very open when it comes to her social life. The only people she has ever had over are Glimmer, Scorpia, and Entrapta. And that was school related. The fact that she wanted this is amazing! I’ve never seen her so happy and comfortable before.”

Adora’s chest warms. “Oh… I didn’t realize…” Catra returns a moment later and stretches as she takes in the morning sun flowing into the kitchen.

The dishes are done and Adora grabs her phone to tell her mothers that she will be heading home shortly. She feels that she has overstayed her welcome and it was time to leave. As much as she wanted to stay, her brain needed some alone time to process everything over the last several hours. Frosta says she can hitch a ride home with her since her dad is coming to pick her up as well.

Catra follows Adora back into her room to collect her things when the feline hugs her from behind.

“Hey, Adora.” Adora leans back into the embrace and rests her head against Catra’s shoulder.

“Hey, Catra.”

“Text me when you get home?” She twirls to face Catra and kisses her, because she can actually do that now, and can feel the other girl smile when she kisses back. The kiss deepens when she tilts her head and Catra’s hands squeeze Adora closer at the hips. The sensation makes her feel like air and she thinks she might collapse but Catra’s grip is surprisingly strong and it’s so hot.

Adora leans back with her hands around the other girl's neck. “What? Miss me already?” she asks a bit out of breath.

Catra tickles her in response until Adora has tears in her eyes. Eventually, Adora gathers her things and thanks everyone again on the way out when she sees Frosta’s dad pull into the driveway.

The ride home is a dreamy haze as she relives her first kiss with Catra. Every time she thinks about it she can feel fresh fireworks light her nerves. Once home, she texts Catra and walks in to see Mara and Hope cuddling on the coach and drinking coffee and tea as they watch some random movie.

“Happy new year!” Mara cheers from her seat without even bothering to get up.

“Hey, how was the party? Sounds like it was a lot of fun,” Hope asks and Razz gets up to give Adora a kiss as she prepares her a cup of coffee as well.

Adora cannot, for the life of her, mask her smile and flaming cheeks as she sits down on the couch against the arm rest. Razz hands her the cup with a knowing smile while Mara and Hope give her puzzled brows. She takes a sip of her coffee and sets it down before she crosses her legs and hugs a pillow to her chest.

Mara’s smile spreads with every passing second. “Adora?”

All the daughter can think in response is a high pitched squeal into her pillow. She rocks back and forth with energy and has to avoid eye contact when she says, “Catra...maaaaay have kissed me.”

Mara shoots up and nearly spills her drink so Hope takes it and sets it on the side table. She crawls to Adora on all fours along the couch with wide eyes, “Tell me everything.”

Adora rehearses the night -- quickly covering her kiss because those moments are far too personal -- and tells them about the morning of meeting Abuela and collecting eggs for breakfast.

When she’s done explaining her face is sore from how wide her smile is and Mara has her wrapped in a tight embrace

“Aw! Adora, I’m so happy for you! This is so exciting!”

“Quite a way to start the new year,” Hope commends. “Catra is a very sweet girl, too.” She stands to kiss Adora’s cheek and refills her coffee.

Razz continues her knitting and says, “Adora dearie, this is wonderful news! From what you tell us, she seems like a very lovely girl.”

Adora can’t stop herself and softly says, “She really is.”

Two days later, Adora goes back over to Catra’s place. Her and Scorpia are doing some practice before tryouts next week and Adora had nothing else better to do, anyway. When Adora pulls up, the last thing she expects to see Hordak and Kadroh getting into Miro’s truck. The three make awkward eye contact as they pull out of the driveway with a trailer hitched to the truck.

Adora pulls her gaze away to get out of her own truck and walk over to where Catra is kicking balls at Scorpia to block.

“Hey, guys!”

“Adora, hey!” Scorpia greets as a ball flies right past her and into the net. Catra turns to face Adora and gives her a peck on the lips.

“Glad you could make it.”

“Y-yeah, of course. What’re you guys up to?”

Adora is ready to pass the f*ck out. She was never one for sports based on cardio and running miles. It also doesn’t help that Catra is as fast as the wind. At some point Adora has to stop playing entirely and lie flat on the grass from her burning leg muscles.

A shadow with a frisky tail swinging blots out the sun. “Wear you out, princess?”

Adora responds by trying to sweep Catra’s legs out from under her but she jumps out of the way. She tries again with little success.

“Stop… being… so… athletic!” Adora complains as she continues to weakly fight after Catra. Her attempts make the magicat laugh loudly.

“Let me get you some water, idiota.” As Catra gets some water bottles, Scorpia plops in the grass next to Adora. After a minute or so, Catra returns and joins them on the grass as they make shapes out of the clouds.

They eventually get back up to do more drills but Adora occupies herself with trying some fancy soccer footwork that gives her numerous grass and mud stains. When she grows tired of that, she plays fetch with Ace and Annie and pets the four cats lounging on the back porch.

After the girls get about 3 hours of practice in, Scorpia heads out to run errands and see Perfuma. When they wave her off, Catra and Adora head inside to change out of their filthy clothes and Catra hands her some things that were too big for her. Adora is changing in Catra’s bathroom when she realizes what she’s doing. She’s about to wear Catra’s clothes. As if to cherish the moment, she slowly puts on the shirt and pants as if she’s putting on some royal pressed uniform fresh from the dry cleaners. Catra’s scent fills her nose and has to bite back a happy sigh in case the feline hears her. Calm and intense comfort warm her body as she takes in the wonderful smell.

Adora snaps out of her daze and heads back into the living room to join Catra on the couch where she has a game set up with snacks and drinks on the coffee table.As Catra shows Adora through some fantasy RPG, they cuddle close under a thick blanket and Adora cannot help but feel she is dreaming. She gets to hold, kiss, and just be with Catra in a way she never thought was possible.

At first, Catra seemed so far away and unattainable. Then she started to tutor her for Spanish class. Yes, they would joke and physically mess with one another, but there was always some kind of wall keeping it from going further. The conversations stayed in the shallow end of the pool and they always stopped short of diving into the deep end. Soft comments that allured to an issue or struggle they faced would spur into casual conversation but both girls strayed from picking deeper at old wounds.

From what Adora has learned of her new girlfriend is… not much. But it’s enough to answer some of the confusion behind her defense mechanisms and need to focus school. As it turns out, both of them went through some form of therapy-- Catra still attends her sessions while Adora stopped going to group therapy when high school picked up. Her counselors had a really hard tome getting her to open up and be honest about her feelings, so she's always maintained some guilt for not opening up since she gained almost nothing from the experience. But, with Catra, she thinks that can change. Maybe.

“I can hear you thinking.” Catra points out as she slays some trolls and absurdly large arachnids.

“Hm? Oh. Uh-- I-- well…”

“Adora, you’re gonna hurt yourself.”

Adora scoffs. “Hey! I know how to think! I just--I don’t know how to put it into words.”

The game pauses and Catra turns in Adora’s lap so that they are eye to eye. Adora’s shoulders hunch over in minor insecurity and Catra cards her claws through her hair until her ponytail falls out. “Your brain is too fast for your mouth, it’s okay. Being a genius is hard work, babe.”

Adora flushes at the pet name and Catra smiles widely and kisses her deeply. Fuzz fills Adora’s senses and still cannot believe what is happening and asks, “How is this happening?”

“That’s a very vague question,” Catra giggles.

“I don’t know how to word it, but doing this with you turns me into a puddle and you’re just so good at it all and so-so put together about it!” Her hands gesture wildly as she sputters and tries to hold eye contact.

The couch shifts as Catra leans back out of Adora’s space to give her some breathing room, but gently holds her hands to ground her. “I’m pretty nervous too, ya know?” Adora looks at her in disbelief. “I had a couple flings but both of my partners were absolute assholes and didn’t last, so I’m about as lost as you are right now. I just...it feels natural to do these things with you. I’ve known you since you moved here back in fourth grade. So, I’m pretty shocked at this myself that we ended up this way. But it feels right.” She ends with a shy chuckle.

Her words settle Adora’s spinning thoughts and she can breathe easier now. “Oh, uh. Well, thank you for being honest, because I have no idea what I’m doing. And I’m still having a hard time believing that you actually like me,” she says with a nervous laugh that makes Catra grin.

“I think I’ve always liked you, Adora. It’s just…” Catra thinks for a moment about what to say next and Adora keeps quiet. “Every person I dated up until now blamed everything that went wrong on me. I never felt good enough and I kind of ran out of hope that…. Well, I saw myself as a f*ck up and-- basically therapy has gotten me through some of this sh*t. I’m still messed up in the head but I finally let myself not hold back and not be so scared. The more I thought about you… the more I wanted to be with you,” she sighs, “even though I’m terrible at showing it. That day at lunch just helped me really see it; see what I wanted.”

Adora squeezes Catra’s hands. “I want you for you. I may not know what I’m doing, but I do know that I care about you and just want you to be happy and that you deserve to be happy. And I want to be as perfect as I can be for you.”

“I don’t want you to be perfect, I want you to be yourself, Adora.” The words make Adora blush and grin bashfully. Catra smirks at the sight. “Gods, you are so cute...babe.” Catra adds on the last word and relishes in Adora’s reddening complexion. “Or...I could say...baby?” And, oh. Adora damn near blacks out.

“Stop, you might actually rob me of my lungs.” She really hopes she doesn’t stop and it seems Catra can read her mind.

“Sexy? Baby girl?” Catra’s face inches closer with every word. “Hot stuff? Mi amor?” Adora’s breath catches and mouth dries completely as she struggles to wet her lips. “Gorgeous? Angel?” Their lips are an inch apart. “...Delicious?”

Their mouths meet and Adora can feel Catra’s textured tongue press at her lips. The feeling makes Adora gasp and release an unhinged moan when it enters her mouth and ventures over her own tongue. Her body feels on fire and nearly evaporates in a pool of sweat when Catra asks against her lips, “You like that, princess?” Adora uses her last bit of oxygen to groan out a ‘yes’ as she pulls Catra on top of her.

Their mouths dance and explore one another for an indistinguishable amount of time when they both finally part for gulps of air.

“That...that--wow.” Adora swallows and takes another breath before she can speak again. “That was fun.”

A purr melts their bodies together and Catra looks ready to make a lewd comment but closes her mouth to say something more sincere instead. “It’s supposed to be fun. Please, please tell me if you don’t like something. Or, sign it out -- or even say it in spanish, I don’t care. Just--communicate with me.”

“I’ll try, I will. I can get a bit clammed up when I’m overwhelmed, but I feel comfortable with you. And...I trust you to not hurt me.” She kisses her again and gets an idea. “I… want to be more open with you. I want to know more about you. I feel like we have steered clear of those rougher places, but I want to really understand you. If you will let me in.”

Catra strokes her thumbs across Adora’s flushed cheeks and eyebrows. “I’d like that. We can take turns talking about things. Would much rather not do this is all in one go,” she plots with a quick laugh.

“I would like that. You can get back to your game if you want to. I think I’d feel less nervous talking about this stuff if your attention isn’t like, completely on me. If that makes sense?”

“Perfect sense,” Catra says with another kiss and leans her back into Adora’s chest as she resumes her game. Immediately, Adora relaxes and wraps her arms around the magicat’s muscular abdomen. Her tail comes up under the blanket to idly flick over where Adora’s hands rub her stomach.

“Well, uh, first off. You seem fairly aware that I struggle with my words, and just, language in general. I didn’t talk much in the group home I grew up in. My brain was really slow in figuring sentence structure and putting words together. People would tell me things and it was basically like hearing a foreign language and people thought I was dumb when I didn’t respond or follow directions properly. Eventually a social worker put word in about how quiet I was and had me meet with some speech therapist that basically said I have a Receptive-Expressive Speech and Language disorder. Which is just, big mumbo jumbo for jumbling words in my head and them coming out jumbled. When Mara and Hope adopted me, that’s when I got into Group Therapy. Got me to be more open with other people and not be scared to use my words more.”

Adora stopped talking and tensed around Catra. As she spoke, Catra’s ears twitched but she did not interrupt once. After a beat of quiet, Adora rapidly pat her thumb against Catra to signal that she was done. Catra’s tail twitches in recognition.

“That...makes a lot of sense, actually. But, Adora, you aren’t dumb. Does me calling you those things bother you?” Adora could hear the timid sadness in her voice and was quick to answer.

“No! No! No, it doesn’t bother me at all, I promise! It has never offended me when you say it. You...hmmmm. You only say it when I’m being silly; never when I struggle with school or something like that. I like the nicknames and pet names you give me.” Adora bit her lip and pushed the last few words out, “They make me feel special.”

“Then I will keep on doing it, honeybunch,” she purred the cringey pet name but it made Adora blush and internally squeal all the same.

“And what of you? Do you like nicknames? Or are we sticking with ‘brat’?” Adora wondered.

“Hmmm, I roll with them. Everyone calls me something different. Glitter calls me ‘scum’, Frosta calls me ‘meow meow’ or something stupid to irk me and Scorpia calls me ‘wildcat’. They’re fun and personal.”

“Then...let me test a few?” Catra’s ear swiveled in excitement so Adora brought her mouth closer so she could whisper, “Hey there, kitten.” The name got an involuntary trill that seemed to shock Catra. “Kitten? You like when I call you Kitten?”

Catra groans, “DT always calls me that, but...it’s kinda hot when you do it?”

“Hmmmm, well I will still call you that. But I want to have others with you that don’t make you think of other people. Let’s see….” Adora stretches to grab her phone from the coffee table.

“Are you seriously looking up pet names?”

She shoves Catra by the shoulder but then tightens her grip to hold her closer while she searches the internet. “Shut up! I’m drawing a blank from things other than just the simple ‘babe’ and ‘baby’ options.”

“Alright, alright. Hit me, princess.”

“Okay...hot cakes?”

Catra sputters a laugh.

“puss* cat?”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Noted. Ummmm, oh. Babylicious?”

Catra squeaked with laughter, “f*ck, that’s too much.”

“Heh, half pint,” Adora muttered and it made Catra give an indignant scoff as she defended her height. “Gumdrop? What is that… how is that cute?”

“Ew, next.”

“Well, would you look at that, Poptart is on this list!”

“They’re f*cking yummy and you will not name me after my favorite snack, Adora.”

“Mmmm, I think you could warm up to the name… poptart.”

At that, Catra paused the game and flipped around in Adora’s arms to grab her by the collar of her shirt with a fake anger. “Don’t test me, babe.”

Adora brought her phone back in view and kept reading. “Honey Sugar bumps?” A growl. “Num nums?”

“Scroll out of the food category already!”

“...jelly bean?”

Catra swatted for the phone but Adora was quicker and shoved Catra away with a stiff arm to her furry chest and read the next thing she could see.

“Boothaaaaang!”

“Noooo that’s terrible!” Catra cackled as she reached for the phone again— making Adora roll off the couch and behind another chair in the room for some distance.

“Inna—mor… mata? Innamorata?” Adora struggled to pronounce the strange word.

“The f*ck does that even mean?” Catra asked as she got on all fours and prowled the blonde like prey.

“I dunno, but it sounds cool,” she replied as she watched the feline stalk her out of the corner of her eye. “Oooohhhhh, what if I call you a Knockout?” She winked and slowly backed up to the back door.

“A knock out is what you’re about to get!” She threatened as she pounced after her girlfriend and chased her into the yard. The two wrestled and tickled each other until they were sapped of energy.

They turned on their sides to face each other with huge grins on their face.

“Babe? I like babe. Because, I mean, you are a babe,” Adora tested the words to which Catra nodded sagely. “I was never very good at nicknames. But ‘babe’ and ‘kitten’ are my favorite.”

Catra flushed at the attention. “Test some out. See what else sounds right and I’ll tell you if I actually hate it.”

Adora agreed to that and kissed Catra sweetly before they got up and headed back inside. Back on the couch, Adora put her head in Catra’s lap this time as they moved into a two player game.

When Adora got home later that evening she continued to mull over nicknames and Catra’s soft lips.

Chapter 11: the next step

Chapter Text

School is back in session and their school's first soccer game is home. It’s cold as all f*ck but Adora doesn’t care in the slightest, although Glimmer is a bit bitchy about it and brings it up every five minutes. Meanwhile, Perfuma is trying to make sure Frosta doesn’t turn Glimmer into a block of ice with every comment on the weather.

“Gods, can you shut up? It’s not that cold!” Frosta barks at Glimmer who is wrapped in a very thick blanket and scarf with mittens.

Glimmer guffaws, “easy for you to say! Your DNA is literally made of icicles. First One’s sake, you’re in shorts and a t-shirt!”

Adora tunes out the rest of the bickering when Catra finally spots them hovering at the entrance to say hi before the game starts. She jogs right up to Adora who meets her halfway to get some privacy from her friends.

“Hey, Adora,” she says with a warming kiss.

Adora pulls her into a hug. “Hey. Are you warm enough?”

When Catra comes back into view she says, “Have you forgotten that I’m a magicat?”

“Shove it, fur ball, even you can get cold. Don’t think I didn’t see that snow cap earlier.”

Catra grins widely. “You been watching me for a while, huh?”

A roll of her eyes. “You are much more entertaining than those two,” Adora says with a point over her shoulder where Perfuma aims to calm the rising tension.

“I’m impressed Glitter even came, how’d you even do that?”

“I have my ways.”

Catra goes to say something but a whistle blows. “sh*t, time for me to go.” Adora pulls her in by the jersey for a rough kiss.

“Go get ‘em, Tiger.”

“Tiger? That’s new…” The cold weather has nothing to do with the flush on Catra’s cheeks as she skimpers back to the field.

They win, of course, and head out for fast food after the game to celebrate. Once they finish eating, and Adora survives the relentless teasing from Glimmer about her and Catra being unbearably cuddly in public, Adora finds herself in Catra’s old convertible sports car parked on the curb outside Adora’s house.

Adora has never hated a center console more than she does in this moment. It’s digging into her side from how she’s leaning over it to make out with Catra and it would kill the mood if her chapstick didn’t taste so good. Catra’s claws are running along her thighs like her fingers are made of lightning strikes as she purrs like thunder. Adora feels like she’s in the middle of a storm cloud and the only thing keeping her from getting lost in it is Catra’s stupid f*cking console bruising her hip bone.

But she doesn’t stop. Some massive guitar solo rips through the car’s speaker and she hardly flinches. Catra’s mouth moves to her neck and can feel her fangs graze her throat and--

The porch light flips on. “Adora?”

The girls bounce from each other and back into their seats at Hope’s voice. Adora prays that either Catra’s windows are tinted enough that Hope didn’t see anything or there is some glare blocking her vision. Neither of them can help but laugh at the situation.

“Guess time’s up?” Catra smirks.

“Ugh, yeah, sorry.” Adora rubs her neck and collects her things.

“Don’t be. Thanks for coming out tonight and meeting some of the team.”

“Of course.” Both go in for a parting kiss and Adora heads inside and avoids eye contact with a mumbled ‘sorry’ to her mother.

“I will spare you, just this once,” Hope says and waves Catra off with a playful smile.

As school picks up, Adora sees less and less of Catra. She should’ve figured as such, but it doesn’t make Adora any less antsy to see her girlfriend. Other than seeing her in class, occasionally lunch time and soccer games, Adora feels like she needs to be doing more for Catra. Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes or laugh as loudly as she normally would at Adora’s jokes.

When Catra seems too occupied, Adora whips out her cube to keep herself from reaching out or bothering Catra while she works. About a month into school they get their first big test for Art history and Adora swears she heard Catra whimper at the announcement. Adora slithers her hands into Catra’s under the table and squeezes. Catra doesn’t react much except for a brush of her tail against her calf and a gentle squeeze back.

“You got this,” Adora whispers. “I can come over and we can study it, together.”

A long sigh and another squeeze of her hand. “Okay,” Catra agrees and Adora nearly sings with joy.

That Friday night Adora heads over early to Catra’s house to prepare dinner before the magicat can get home. She wants to do something special for her to help her relax and Carmen gladly helps her.

As they cook, Carmen teaches her some phrases and words in spanish to strengthen her language skills. She’s getting better now that she speaks it more regularly with Catra and her family and it makes her feel closer to them.

The back door creaks open to show a disheveled and limping Catra. “Hey, mami. Oh, hey, princess.” Adora kisses her cheek as she takes her duffle bag.

“Hey, babe. Get cleaned up-- food is almost ready.” Neither girl can help but blush as the domesticity of the exchange.

“¡Tienen 8 minutos para venir a comer!” Carmen shouted with a waving spatula. With that, Catra sprinted to get changed.

Miro finishes up tending to the garden just in time to join everyone for dinner and some spanish television show that Adora hardly understands. But it doesn’t matter with Catra pressed so tightly into her on the love seat as she twiddles with Adora’s fingers.

Eventually, dinner is eaten and put away as they make their way to their rooms for the night. Catra is still walking funny and winces with sudden movements. As they get ready for bed Adora decides to speak up.

“Is everything okay? Did you get hurt at practice?”

Catra spits out her tooth paste and leans against the counter. “There was a scuffle for the ball and one of my teammates took me down with her. If she wasn’t so damn heavy I coulda slipped out of her grip but she panicked and I fell on my back pretty hard.” She rubs her back and Adora swishes out her mouth.

“Let me take a look at it? Please? I know a thing or two about sport injuries with how often I’ve had to visit Spinerella.”

Catra sighs, “Yeah sure. Netossa said she’d bench me if I didn’t take it easy and get better.”

They head to Catra’s room and Adora guides the catgirl to lie on her stomach. Adora grabs the hem of Catra’s shirt.

“Can I…?” Catra winces with how quickly she sits back up to face Adora.

“Um. Uh. Okay-- so.” Insecurity caves in on Catra and Adora reels back.

“Sorry! I won’t do it if you don’t want me to. It’s no problem, you can keep your shirt on.”

Catra groans and rubs her face before meeting Adora’s eyes. “It-it’s not that. I just… I’m embarrassed about, uh. My back.”

Her brows furrowed in confusion. “I won’t judge you or make fun of you or something, if that’s what you’re wondering. But, you can tell me if you want to. Whatever it is, it can stay between us.”

A battle is fought in blue and gold eyes until she relents a deep exhale. “No. I should tell you. We talked about being more honest and open. So, when Magicat’s get stressed their fur gets dirty? It’s basically dandruff. It’s kinda gross and I try not to let anyone see…”

Catra trails off and Adora could cry. “Dandruff? That’s not gross at all, Catra.” She rubs a soothing thumb over the felines knee. “Bodies are just… like that. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you can’t help it.”

“Sorry, I just feel a little...exposed about it. Since, it’s like, my stress is made physical. It feels like a crack in my armor, or whatever. Like people can see how much I’m struggling, so I’m nervous to show you. The fact I even told you about it would blow my therapist’s mind.” Catra laughs quietly and holds Adora’s hand like an anchor.

“I get that,” Adora says and intertwines their fingers. “When I get stressed I get tremors in my hands and pick at my skin. It makes it pretty obvious when I’m not doing so hot and I forget to hide it. But, I’m really glad you felt safe enough to tell me about it. Just know that you’re not alone with this and I won’t judge you. I can rub your back over your shirt, if you’d rather?”

“No. I...I think I want you to see.” Catra’s ear pin back and the blonde gives her an encouraging nod to do it when she’s ready. Slowly, Catra turns her back to Adora and takes her shirt off. She’s wearing a sports bra but the dandruff is easily visible. Her back is littered with pale flakes.

Adora is really glad Catra can’t see how red her face is right now and goes to stroke her tan fur, but stops. “Can I?” She receives a nod and gently scratches her nails through her soft fur. “You’re so beautiful.”

After a few moments Adora stops and scoots close to hug Catra from behind and hears the magicat sniffle with emotion.

“You’re not bothered?”

“Not even in the slightest,” she says with a kiss to her ear. “It’s natural and normal and it doesn’t make you any less gorgeous than you already are.”

Catra giggles at the compliments. “You sure do know how to make a girl feel special, princess.”

“I’ve been researching how to smooth talk, so I’m glad it's paying off. Do you still want me to massage your back?”

“Uh, sure. Get the light?” Adora hops off the bed to turn the lamp off to cloak the room in utter darkness. She can barely see where Catra is lying down. And when she goes to rub her back, Adora sucks in a breath when she realizes Catra isn’t wearing her bra anymore.

She notices Adora’s hesitation. “I thought this would make it easier,” the catgirl says with a teasing lilt that makes Adora huff. Two can play at this game.

Adora settles to straddle Catra’s back and is rewarded with an excited mewl. “I thought this would make it easier,” She retorts back and begins rubbing the tight muscles.

“Enjoy being on top while it lasts, baby.”

And f*ck, Adora is so f*cked.

“No witty comeback for me, hot stuff?”

Adora can only think to respond by applying more pressure along Catra’s spine in hopes of shutting her up. Catra begins to purr the more she works her muscles loose and Adora takes that as a small victory.

“You’re good at this,” Catra mumbles beneath her.

“All that Rubik’s cube practice did me some good.”

“Bet it made you good at all kinds of things.” She laughs at her own innuendo and Adora rapidly changes the subject before those kinds of thoughts turn her brain into pure putty.

“Hope gets really tense from work, so I had to get pretty good at massaging her shoulders and neck when Mara isn’t feeling well.”

From below, Catra slightly turns her head to eye Adora. “How is Mara? Not sick this winter or anything?”

“Thankfully, no. She’s doing better. A bit tired but she’s tough.”

They continue their small talk for several more minutes when Adora feels she’s gotten enough of the tension out of her back and trails kisses down her fuzzy spine.

“Better?”

“Much,” Catra replied and put her shirt back on and crawled into bed.

Adora followed suit and they both gravitated until their bodies meshed together. Their lips met like it was second nature and hands wandered to grip closer.

“If there is anything I can do to take some stress off your shoulders, please, please tell me?” Adora practically begged. Catra tucked her nose into Adora’s neck and inhaled deeply.

“You’re doing exactly what I need right now. Just being here is what I need,” she said quietly and the words tickled Adora’s neck to the point of giggling. And, of course, Catra had to tickle her further. Eventually, she showed mercy and Adora was able to drape across Catra and fall asleep with a gentle purr rumbling against her cheek.

When they wake up and eat, the couple settles at the kitchen table to study. Adora pulls out her notes from her backpack as Catra slams several folders and binders onto the table. Just looking at the pile made Adora want to vomit. Catra is purposefully ignoring the withering looks Adora keeps giving her as they begin studying.

“Adora. Stop making that face.”

“What face?”

“Adora.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

Catra runs her claws through her hair. “Look, it may look like a lot, but it really isn’t.”

Adora raises her brow and shoots back, “The bags under your eyes say otherwise.”

“You’re one to talk, dummy.”

The study session stayed pretty tense for about another hour when Catra got up to work on some of her art projects. Adora followed her back to her room to watch. Painting was like second nature to Catra, the brush was practically an extension of her mind with how fluid and precise her strokes were.

As she worked, Adora noticed how much more relaxed Catra became and her tail languidly swayed behind her. Adora always wants to see Catra this content, she wants her to do what she’s passionate about and not worry about trying to impress everyone all the time. They’ve had this argument a few times since they have grown closer this past year. It feels frugal to bring it up again and so Adora sits back and shuffles her cube to take a break from her homework.

At some point, Adora gets up from Catra’s bed and wraps her arms around the seated girl’s shoulders. The painting is a landscape from the perspective of someone's porch and on the table is…

“Is that my Rubik’s Cube?”

“Yes, in fact, it is.” Catra hums into a purr and kisses Adora’s forearms.

“Aw, that’s so sweet! Can I ask why?”

Catra turns in her spinny chair to face Adora who then straddles her hips. “Not yet.”

Adora captures her lips, soft and slow as she breathes in the magicat’s scent. “Mysterious…”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Catra giggles and shoves Adora onto the floor into a heap of wrestling until there is a knock on Catra’s door. The girls separate and Catra goes to open her bedroom door just as Adora scrambles to act natural on the bed.

Miro had a massive smile on his face when the door opened. “Heeeeeeeey!”

Catra’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”

“Come help me move some things? Pretty, pretty please?” He begged with a sparkle in his eye that made Catra exaggeratedly roll her eyes.

“Ugh, fine. Come on, miss buff.”

Adora leapt to her feet and followed after Catra and Miro to the shed and her heart plummeted. She snatched Catra by the hand with a yelp and yanked her back into her room for privacy.

“S-sorry, Mr. Miro, I just need to ask Catra something really quickly!” Miro gave Adora a weird look but conceded and went outside.

“Mierda, Adora! Damn near dislocated my shoulder!”

Adora spoke rapidly. “Prime is out there. We-we- Huntara said to stay away from him. Like, seriously stay away.”

“Babe, I know we talked about him being up to no good, but he’s here almost everyday and I haven’t seen him doing anything suspicious. This work could just be a cover.”

“I don’t know...”

“Look, he’s f*cking freaky and patronizing but he works hard so my dad keeps him around. Plus, he’s a family friend, so we can’t really turn him away.” Catra said with a concerned look at her trembling girlfriend and rubbed her arms. “Are you okay?”

Taking a minute to settle her nerves, Adora grabbed Catra’s hand. “Just… stay away from him, if you can, please? I don’t trust him.”

Catra nodded and kissed her knuckles. “If that makes you feel better, then yeah. But, come on, let's not keep my dad waiting.”

They headed out to the shed where Prime was leaning against the large frame of the building. When he saw Adora his smile widened and eyed her with what felt like an examination with his four eyes. Catra’s fur slightly bristled at the action and walked in front of Adora to disway his gaze. Miro was completely oblivious to the interaction between the three and went in to direct everyone to grab a massive piece of machinery for plowing that a friend of Miro’s was purchasing. Both girls didn’t talk to Prime and he didn’t speak to them either as they kept their distance.

It took some time, but the ordeal was over and both girls headed back inside. Adora did her best to get back to studying but couldn’t get Prime’s face out of her mind. The weekend came to a close and Adora occupied every moment of spare time beating a sand bag. Frosta saw how much harder Adora was going at the gym.

“You good, dude? Who got up in your grill this time?”

Adora paused for a breath and water before she replied. “What do you know about Prime?”

“Ew, that guy? Nasty and slimy. I’ve seen him at some of my parents venues for their business and events. Every time he opens his mouth about business empires I want to sock him in the jaw!” Both girls went back to punching for a bit.

Adora did another minute of rapid hooks and asked, “What do his parents do?”

“Something with the stock market and real estate? I usually tune that crap out and stick with Glimmer at those things,” Frosta explained. Adora stopped training entirely and turned to face her friend.

“Glimmer? Her family goes to those events too?”

“Yeah, they always come. Both our families have a long line of doing work together and it seems Prime’s family wants in on it. Hordak and Kadroh show up too, they always…”

Adora couldn’t hear anything. Blackness swam into her ears and the world became muffled and grainy. She clamped her eyes shut as he body began to sway like driftwood and hugged the sandbag to keep herself up right. None of this made sense. How was Prime everywhere all the time? Why was he so connected to the business side of some of the largest companies in Etheria? Who else was caught up in this web. She needs to--

Her knees hit the mat and felt cold hands bite at her sweaty skin. The shock of the cold brought her back to the present and sucked in a massive gulp of air.

“...dora?” Another breath, in and out.

“Adora? Can you hear me?” Frosta asked but Adora kept her eyes closed. She could hardly open her mouth to speak and all she could muster out was an affirming groan.

“You don’t look so good, Adora.” That was Juliet. “Have you eaten enough today?”

She hadn’t. She refused lunch at Catra’s and said her moms had food waiting for her at home and came straight to the gym where she’s been for the last four hours. They got Adora situated and Frosta man handled Adora until she ate a whole protein bar and was stable enough to drive herself home.

The business world made little to no sense to Adora and felt lost trying to wrap her head around all of the terminology when she did research. It was frustrating to a point of wanting to pull her hair out and resorted to texting Glimmer and Mermista about it. She told them about Prime but didn’t have much new information about him as a person that she hadn’t heard already. It seems he is just as mysterious as he appears.

After school one day, Adora finds herself back at Lashor’s place to chat with Huntara. She had come over here and there since her car was hijacked to give her spare clothes and snacks when necessary. The streets have become familiar and the dogs recognize her scent now and don’t bark when she pulls up.

She enters the trailer to see Lashor, Huntara and three other people Adora has yet to learn the names of. They are gathered around the living room table on the couches and discussing random things. She sat down next to Huntara and told them everything she knew from what she had gathered from her friends involving Prime.

“Thanks for the intell, blondie. Couldn’t risk this stuff over the phone; this bastard has eyes and ears everywhere. From what you tell me, this goes beyond just school connections. He’s building a big posse among the students and their parents.”

Lashor piped in, “We have been trying to cut off heads but he just grows more. The only way to put a cap on this is to target him head on.”

Nausea gurgled in Adora’s stomach at the idea of facing him directly. “What exactly is he up to? If I’m going to be feeding you guys information I deserve to know the full story.”

Huntara turned more to face her. “He’s making something. It’s dangerous and like nothing we have seen on the market in the medical and magical field. Back when I first got set up, he was having me move some product, I was going through Hordak at the time. Then Hordak gets washed out and won’t even speak to me about any of this sh*t. Prime did something that set a lot of people off. My gut told me it wasn’t good, so I got back in his circle. I gained his trust and became one of his go to partners. He never told me what the drug really was, just that it needed to be moved and if I tried anything, then it wouldn’t end well.”

“The hijacking…” Adora pieced together. Huntara nodded and one of the other people in the room finally spoke. She was a Satyr with piercing eyes and grim features.

“Prime’s got four eyes, but it’s his lackeys you have to look out for,” she said in a thick accent.

Huntara took a long drag of a smoke before continuing her story. “I pushed my luck and took some of the product. It was like some kind of green serum connected to a blade. I think he’s nicking people with it, like some kind of infection.”

The words were unsettling and the discomfort in this room was shared among everyone there. “Where is he cutting people?” Adora asked.

“Usually on the arm or thigh,” Lashor answered. “Somewhere he can get to easily and wouldn’t be seen as much of a concern since it's so small. Whatever this drug is, it’s strong.”

“That’s why I told you to keep a distance from him, but I was wrong. He’s got other people doing this too. Not sure about his following but the largest number we could confirm was nearly three dozen people at his whim, and that’s just within the school.”

A hand gripped Adora’s heart and lungs as she processed the words. Her mind spun to every moment over the last couple years of when someone came close and could have cut her with this stuff. She’s played in a variety of sports, dealt with bullies, been jammed pack through the halls of their school in passing periods, but nothing in particular stands out. Her brain skips to her friends and if she has ever seen a cut on them but they are just as active as Adora. Then she thinks of Catra. Catra and her family are so close to Prime and his family. They could have been nicked during the laborious work and not even notice or see it because of their fur.

The hand around Adora’s chest loosens and comes to her shoulder. Huntara is staring into her eyes fiercely.

“Adora, get some air and come back inside.”

“No, I’m fine. Just trying to… remember if anything or anyone stood out.” She did her best to get her breathing under control. Leaving and missing any information was not something she could risk right now that Hunatar was finally giving it to her. “Do we know who Prime has gotten with this serum stuff?”

Lashor shook his head. “Difficult to tell, but if you were close to him, you got it before Prime even spoke to you.”

Adora’s head spun to look at Huntara who kept her face neutral. “Yep, he got me our freshman year. It was like a paper cut. Body didn’t feel any different and healed just the same. Never thought anything of it until I actually got a look at the serum itself and then it all made sense.”

Ice dried out Adora’s body. She couldn’t protect her friend--

“Adora, don’t blame yourself,” Huntara chided with a stern glare. “None of this is on you, this is on Prime--”

“I could’ve done something. I should’ve done something! After all that you have done for me? Let me help, let me do something now to make up for it.”

“All you do is help others, blondie. Not everything is on you just because some assholes raised you to think it was your job to protect everyone but yourself. You aren’t some tool to be used and thrown away, alright? Being a First One doesn’t mean you have to make up for a history of bad blood, and having this power doesn’t mean it should overshadow the fact that you are just a kid.”

“But you’re just a kid too!” Adora fired back.

“I am, and this sh*t sucks. But I got myself into this mess ‘cuz I don’t know any better. This is going to follow me unless I cut it at the source. That isn’t your job, it’s mine.”

Suddenly, Adora remembered they weren’t the only ones in the room and tried to hide her blush from the other witnesses of such a sincere moment. “When did you get so good at words?”

Her friend bellowed a laugh at the attempt at humor when she realized it was Adora’s own way of admitting that Huntara got her point across. “The new girlfriend wants to be an English professor, so she’s helping me out there. Plus, I am technically almost a high school graduate.”

“Oh? Well, I am happy for you. But this doesn’t change that I still want to help you guys! Prime is basically at Catra’s place all the time and I need to be prepared.”

The other man in the room, a burly man, but thinner than Lashor with darker skin tone than Adora gave a wavering glare at the blonde. “Does she know about all of this? How much does she know?”

His tone sounded accusatory and Adora’s eyes glowed in warning. “If you think she has anything to do with this--”

“She could be lying to you.” The Satry added.

“No! Stop, Catra wouldn’t do that!”

“How can you be so sure?” Lashor asked and doubt seeped from Adora’s mind and turned into sweat along her hairline.

“Because-- because--”

“Shut up, all of you!” All attention snapped to Huntara and quieted. “Catra does seem to be in a great position to move this operation but I highly doubt she is involved. Her and I grew up together; this isn’t something she would get into. She is being manipulated, her dad especially, and they don’t even know it.”

Adora’s hands finally stopped shaking and bit back on her transformation. The crowd eyed her while she got her breathing regulated and the other woman in the room, a four armed amphibian finally spoke up.

“Besides,” she started and Adora met her yellow eyes, “Catra would never let herself be controlled by the likes of Prime. We did a group project with him last year and she damn near spit on him.”

Adora groaned. “Sounds like Catra.” Then she got more serious again. “But, really, she isn’t involved. Even when he is over, she keeps a distance and her dad seems pretty oblivious to it all too.”

The group conceded and went on with discussing a way to deal with Prime, but Huntara pulled her outside before they could dive too deep into planning.

“I need you to go home now.”

With a massive scoff, Adora said, “As if! My friends and their families are involved in this, I need to know how to protect them.”

Huntara sighed. “Your friends are strong. You need to have a little more faith and trust that they know how to take care of themselves. All you can for now is warn them. This isn’t meant for your shoulders alone. Let my group handle the rough stuff, I’ll keep you updated, alright?”

After a bit more convincing, Adora finally left and headed home. She had quite a bit of homework she had been pushing off and finally sat down and powered through it all before their due dates. Sleep was lost in the process but she wasn’t going to risk a missed assignment because she was occupied, she wasn’t going to permit any excuses.

Two days later when she gets home from school, Adora is greeted by a handful of gifts, cards and party streamers decorated across the kitchen table. Tears spring to Adora’s eyes when she realizes she had forgotten about her own birthday entirely. Her birthday was usually lost with the other holidays that collided with hers this time of year, but her moms always made it special. Realizing that her birthday was tomorrow made Adora begin to mentally prepare for the bombardment that her friend’s would give her at school.

The next day at school had Adora wishing she prepared more and had gotten more sleep. She couldn’t get more than an hour's worth of sleep without jolting awake in a heap of sweat and anxiety. The moment she found her friend’s that morning before class, she was wrapped in flowers that overwhelmed her senses as everyone sang Happy Birthday and shoved gifts into her arms. She loved the enthusiasm but it was too much for her brain to handle with everything else going on. As she opened her gifts, she wished Catra were there and began to feel guilty if she ever told Catra when her birthday even was.

Art History class came and Adora walked to the room on pins and needles. When she sat down at her desk next to a doodling Catra she was not expecting a fiery kiss.

Adora hardly had her backpack off when Catra grabbed the collar of her shirt and their lips met.

“Hey there, birthday girl,” Catra whispered so no one else could hear which Adora was immensely grateful for.

“Heh, uh, yeah. Are you mad?”

Shock washed Catra’s face. “Why would I be mad?”

Adora started folding a loose sheet of paper to occupy her worried hands. “Because I never told you about it…”

“Well I never told you about mine either, but you did something sweet anyway.” Catra smiled and scratched her girlfriend’s back. “So, consider us even, alright? Cuz I get it.”

“Oh-- okay.” She breathed and released any feelings of shame.

“You got plans tomorrow night, princess?”

Adora’s heart raced with excitement. “Not that I know of. What, you got something secret planned?”

“Maybe, maybe. I figured you would want a break from all of the nonsense lately and we could do something relaxing, just the two of us.” Catra’s words would have come off as suggestive if it weren’t for how sincere and soft her expression was.

“I would really like that,” Adora said and melted a little more into the sensations on her back. They shared a lingering kiss when the bell rang and turned their attention back to class, but couldn’t keep their hands off each other beneath the table.

That night, Adora had much more pleasant thoughts in her mind when she went to sleep.

Chapter 12: everyone needs some good friends

Chapter Text

Adora woke up that morning with a spring in her step and clear of any thoughts related to Prime. Catra had planned a surprise for her and nothing else could possibly occupy her mind. She was told to dress casual and that Catra would come pick her up to take them to lunch. Apparently, there was a whole agenda to this surprise and Catra did her best to not reveal too many things but just enough to ease Adora’s worries on how to be prepared.

Breakfast was light but filling enough so that Adora would be a reasonable amount of hungry by the time their lunch date came. It was so weird and otherworldly to be using the word ‘date’ as often as she was now, the thought alone made her squeak with happiness. Her moms had a hard time hiding their amusem*nt at Adora’s obvious spike in happiness. It was a relief to see Adora more welcoming of life again; there was only so much parents could do where friends needed to step in for certain sections of the child’s life.

Catra would be there soon to pick her up, so Adora sat on the swinging bench on the front porch and waited. Flames tickled in her gut when her girlfriend pulled up with the hood back and blaring spanish rock. The rapid lyrics and intense instrumental was exactly how Adora’s heart felt when Catra languidly pulled her sunglasses down and gave her a toothy smile.

“Hey, good lookin’.” Adora couldn’t help but snort at the greeting and slipped into the passenger seat and pressed her lips to Catras in one surprisingly smooth motion.

“Hey, Poptart.” She replied with a cheeky smile that earned her a hard shove.

“You’re lucky it’s your birthday!”

Catra shifted gears and tore out of Adora’s neighborhood with a speed that she had grown more accustomed to over the last couple months. The more they drove, the harder Adora thumped her foot in anticipation for what was to come.

Pulling into a parking lot, Catra shuts off the radio and turns to face Adora. “I hope you’re hungry.”

Adora bolted from her seat and the two raced inside to the restaurant. Opening the door, Adora was hit with a cacophony of smells that it made her stagger back. Catra’s clawed hand came to her lower back to keep her steady.

The feline leaned in real close and whispered magical words. “It’s all you can eat for $9.99 today.” Adora almost fell back over again.

So, Adora may or may not have eaten four plates worth of food before even considering dessert. Much to Catra’s amusem*nt as she enjoyed the show. It was hilarious seeing Adora get so excited over such an overwhelming amount of food and combining new flavors. It made Catra happy to see Adora eating and enjoying herself when she’s been so trapped in her own little world of worry and compartmentalizing her issues all for herself to the point of skipping meals. Getting Adora to open up was going to take time, but the least she could do was help her relax and eat. After all, she did promise her mothers that she would help get some more healthy weight on Adora -- she was beginning to look gaunt.

Adora is pretty sure she just put on 20 new pounds worth of weight in 15 minutes. She was ready to pass out and was currently slumped in her side of the booth across from Catra.

“I think I overdid it,” she moaned and covered her eyes. Catra snorted at the words as she finished her plate of chicken and vegetables.

“Was the food terrible? It seems like you hated everything you ate,” Catra jokes.

Adora attempted to glare from her position but it fell flat from how droopy her eyelids became. “Catraaaaa, why didn’t you stop me?” She asked.

“I was not going to try and stop the bulldozer that just plowed through that buffet,” Catra snickered. “You ready for dessert?” The comment earned another long groan in response. “Perfect, I’m getting the Tiramisu and a couple brownies for the road.”

Adora had to cover her eyes when Catra ate her cake, then she pocketed the brownies in a napkin. Eventually, the girls left the restaurant and dragged their feet back to the car in a drunken haze from the heavy meals. They both flopped in their seats and Adora turned to face Catra who had pulled out some mints out of her center console and passed one to Adora.

“My breath stinks that bad?”

“Adora. I’m a magicat. I can smell everyone’s breath.”

Adora snickered and sobered up. “Thank you for lunch, I’m sorry for getting so carried away. Didn’t realize how hungry I was…” A finger poked her forehead.

“I would’ve made fun of you if you ate like an actual princess. Besides, food makes you happy! Now…” Catra flipped the stereo on and changed it to Auxiliary and shuffled a playlist that opened to a song Adora absolutely loves.

A smug grin covered Catra’s face when she saw Adora perk up at the song's opening guitar riff. It was cold out, but the afternoon sun warmed the air a bit and Catra flipped the car's roof back and backed out of the parking spot. Adora couldn’t stop herself from belting out the first few lines.

Now if you're feelin' kinda low 'bout the dues you've been paying

Future's coming much too slow

And you want to run but somehow you just keep on stayin'

Can't decide on which way to go

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Catra pulled onto the highway, causing the wind to swirl within the car. The cold air stung against Adora’s bare skin but the bite felt nice and grounded her. Just like Catra’s beautiful claw reaching over to cut through her hair band, Adora’s worries flew and were taken by the speeding breeze that now whipped through her free blonde locks.

I understand about indecision

But I don't care if I get behind

People livin' in competition

All I want is to have my peace of mind, yeah, whoa

Adora had no idea where Catra was driving but she didn’t care. Her words were lost in the hurricane of noise and wind and she reached for Catra’s hand to lace their fingers. They shared a glance and the look on Adora’s face must’ve spoken a thousand words because Catra’s eyes crinkled as a happy smile split across her face and she pressed on the gears to shift to the next speed. She released their hands to grab the stick but immediately held hers again and brought it to her lips.

It was obvious Catra was only playing this song for Adora since she simply bobbed her head to the beat. She always sang so animatedly when she knew the words and Adora kept this album on her Karaoke playlist which Catra recently learned was something she went to when she was feeling really intense emotions. The fact that she chose this song specifically meant she was actually paying attention and watching Adora when they were studying in class the other week. Adora always kept her music on low volume so she wouldn’t disturb Catra’s sensitive ears, and this song was on repeat. Catra had her earphones in, but it seems… she wasn’t listening to her own music at all.

The next set of lyrics came and Adora whipped her head back to sing at the top of her lungs and closed her eyes.

Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder

Hope it doesn't take too long

Can'tcha you see there'll come a day when it won't matter?

Come a day when you'll be gone, whoa

They approached an intersection with a traffic light flickering to yellow-- Catra floored it and they cleared the cross walk just as the light changed red to keep up the wind to match the momentum of the song.

I understand about indecision

But I don't care if I get behind

People livin' in competition

All I want is to have my peace of mind

Adora felt tears stinging her eyes but the sharp wind and her flailing hair masked her surge of emotions.

Take a look ahead, take a look ahead, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

She looked to the abstract art of clouds that painted the Etherian sky.

Now everybody's got advice they just keep on givin'

Doesn't mean too much to me

Lots of people out to make-believe they're livin'

Can't decide who they should be, whoa

These words always hit Adora the most and none of it clicked until Bow told her what Imposter Syndrome was last year. How her emotions were riddled by a machine gun of bullets loaded with despondence, worthlessness, uselessness and general fear of what the future held for her. That this body felt more owned by She Ra than Adora herself.

I understand about indecision

But I don't care if I get behind

People livin' in competition

All I want is to have my peace of mind

She was so f*cking stressed and scared of -- just -- everything. The rest of the song played out and Adora shook with frustration and her mind--

A furred hand squeezed hers tighter and she sucked in a deep breath. Another squeeze and her mind slowed and she could hear the music again. One last squeeze and a thumb rubbed the back of her hand and Adora finally melted into the passenger seat.

They drove around with the top back until Adora fell asleep. When she woke up they were parked in a small lot that faced a vacant meadow with a small creek slithering through it. The sight of it brought immediate peace to Adora. Then she realized she fell asleep and looked at Catra to apologize.

“Stop,” Catra commanded, “you needed the sleep. I know those eye bags aren’t genetic, princess.” Adora must not have looked convinced and she added on more softly. “Really, baby. Don’t overthink it, there are no written rules for date etiquette other than having a good time. Besides, you’re really cute when you’re sleeping.”

Adora blushed but reeled it back with a counter. “We must’ve been sitting here a while if you could watch me sleep.”

“What can I say? Drool turns me on.”

“So you were watching my mouth?”

Catra’s face reddened but she powered through the banter and refused to let Adora have the final word. “I’m always thinking about your mouth.” Adora really hates magicat hearing because she totally just heard her breath catch. The hunger in those blue and gold eyes don’t unerve her like they used to, now the look fuels a fire in her gut and makes her blood roil with confidence.

“Why don’t you dont come and take it?”

Catra pounced to the passenger seat, straddled Adora, and pulled the chair lever to lean them back into a lying position. The movement was so swift and seamless that it made the burning in Adora’s gut increase into a full blown inferno that ran across the rest of her body as Catra slotted their mouths together with a growl. Adora shot her hands to the feline’s hips and pulled her closer.

As awkward as the position was, none of it mattered and all discomfort went out the window when Catra’s tongue swiped into her mouth and began to wrestle hers. Groans became uncontrollable the more they kissed and Adora couldn’t help but keen when Catra nipped at her pulse point.

After a bit of time they strolled down the length of the stream and Adora’s heart rate finally calmed down. She was smart enough to leave a scarf in Catra’s car since the last time she was in it. They held hands as they found a place to sit down and enjoy the current silence away from the business of humanity. Leaning back on the grass the partners cuddled close and made shapes out of the clouds.

“What’s… Hey, look.” Catra perked up and narrowed her eyes over to some spot on a nearby chain link fence.

Adora followed her line of sight but couldn’t see what she was pointing out. “Where?”

“Here,” Catra stood up and pulled Adora with her, “I think there’s an animal stuck underneath the fence.”

As they walked closer, Adora could see a large tortoise stuck under the fence in an attempt to get to the stream. It was covered in dried mud and weak. Both girls knelt down next to it and Adora petted the shell.

“You poor thing!” She looked at Catra who nodded and began pulling the fence forward. Carefully placing both hands on the side of the tortoise, Adora began to pull the creature forward. The tortoise shot into the safety of its shell at the sudden movement but didn’t protest. Catra grunted more effort into her muscles and Adora was able to fully free the tortoise.

Adora cuddled the creature close and gently carried it to the edge of the stream. She set him down and stepped back to give the animal space as Catra nuzzled into her neck from behind. After a few moments, the tortoise popped back out of its shell and began to drink from the water before it.

“That felt good, I’m glad you saw them,” Adora said and Catra hugged her tighter.

“Me too. Ready to go? We got one more stop, princess.”

Adora’s heart rate spiked with glee hearing that their events for the day weren’t over yet. They headed back to the car and only stopped holding hands to get in their car side doors before Adora gripped onto Catra’s again.

“Babe, I need my other hand to do stick shift,” Catra said with a toothy grin at Adora’s clinginess. The blonde wilted a bit for being so eager but Catra would not allow Adora to doubt herself. She flipped her tail over the console and wrapped it around her girlfriend’s wrist. A relieved breath left Adora and curled her fingers around the end of Catra’s tail and idly played with the luscious fur.

For a day so chilly, Catra felt so warm and her muscles were loose and relaxed. Catra nearly liquified through the car when Adora brought her tail to her lips for a sweet kiss. Once at a proper speed, Catra whipped her tail back and replaced it with her hand in Adora’s which got a massive giggle fit from the blonde that was more intoxicating than their kissing earlier.

It was a quick drive to Catra’s place. Apparently Catra’s next plan of the birthday-date she had put together was very self indulgent.

“You want me to just… sit here?”

“Yes, however you want,” Catra gestured with a hand to the couch in the afternoon sun. Eyeing it warily, Adora caved and sat down. She kind of liked the idea of posing for Catra but was not sure if she could sit still that long.

“Um, I’m not sure how long I can hold a pose before I get all twitchy,” she explained with a vague imitation of a restless twitch to her arms and hands. With a finger held up, Catra grabbed a folded up sheet and handed it to Adora with a kiss to her cheek. Adora was speechless. The sheet was silky and smooth against her fingers and even smelled like Catra.

“Are these--?”

“So, start unfolding that and hold a pose for 10 seconds before switching it up!” Catra cut her off with a blush as she set up her drawing pad. She held her pencil to the paper. “Ready?” Adora went to a random pose and it was so stiff and unnatural that Catra couldn’t help but quake with laughter, making drawing difficult.

After about the third pose, Adora was starting to feel her muscles loosen and the way she held her body felt more natural and relaxed. Having something to toy with helped settle her physically, but Catra’s scent was the best at bringing her mind at peace. It was a shocking revelation to Adora; she normally relied on fidgeting to calm down and smells would usually overwhelm her and make her nauseous. But now? She wants to take a piece of this bedding and take it with her everywhere.

Her thoughts were halted when Catra spoke a new order. “Alright, babe, ready for something longer? You’ll want to be comfortable and seated.”

Adora isn’t sure what happened to her body, but felt hot and flustered at Catra commanding things of her and she couldn’t help but comply with instinct. She lied back on the couch with one knee up and the other leg hanging over the arm of the couch. Both hands went behind her head.

With a smirk, she asked, “How do I look?”

Catra blinked a few times and pulled in a deep breath. “Like the hottest dork alive. But, you should still hang on to the sheet, I know how you get. Bring your right arm down so it can hang free for me? I need you very still for this, princess.” Then brought the sheet for a blushing Adora to hold when she got into position.

Catra was right, she’s glad to have the sheet to twiddle with. Not even five minutes into the drawing she was already feeling antsy to move but the look of deep concentration on her girlfriend’s face gave her the will power to hang tight. She was used to seeing the magicat so focused and lost in thought with her artwork but to be in the receiving end of her focal point was hypnotising. The way her fang would poke out and nibble into her lower lip with her brows furrowed and tail swaying in a rhythmic dance behind her was magical. Not to mention how full of affection her dual colored eyes shone when she looked up to speculate Adora’s reclined form and jot down every detail. She was beautiful and strong and Adora could see her ruling the world one day. Picturing that made Adora swoon and curve her lips into an easy, proud smile. This is her girlfriend and Catra wants her. It was almost too much to handle and she gripped the sheet tighter-- she still couldn’t believe it.

After what felt like an eternity, Catra gestured Adora to come see the drawing. She stood and walked out her stiff joints and turned to see the sketch pad and gasped.

It was her. Yes, a recreation of herself but it was so undeniably Adora that you could point her out in a crowd from it.

“Catra…” Adora said with her throat tight from emotions she cannot explain. Emotion from the picture, Catra’s skill, how happy Adora looked? Probably all three. Pent up tears rolled down her face in slow tracks and Catra kissed them away.

“I think that’s the first time anyone has cried over my art. I will take that as a compliment, I hope?”

Adora turned to face her and hugged her tightly with the force of unspoken words. She had to say something, though. “It’s so beautiful.” Catra held back her teasing and led them to the couch and flipped on a cooking show. Once seated, she pulled out the brownies from earlier and they each ate one.

They remained cuddled on the couch and shared soft pecks to one another's hairline until Catra’s parents came home and found Adora snoozing into the feline’s neck. Every breath Adora took made Catra shiver and Adora bolted awake when the door opened and her parents clambered inside with groceries.

“Sorry! Did I drool on you? I can’t believe I keep falling asleep,” Adora scolded herself and gave a meek wave to Carmen and Miro. Catra smooched her forehead.

“You’re perfect, princess.”

Carmen’s voice broke the moment, “Can you two help with groceries?”

All of the groceries were brought in and put away just as everyone’s stomach started to growl. Adora pulled Catra to the side, far away enough that her parents wouldn’t hear them. “Should I go? You’ve done so much for me today and I don’t want to overstay after everything you did today.”

Catra placed both hands on either side of the blonde’s face. “Adora, it’s your birthday and you are my girlfriend. Do you want to go home?” Her voice was soft but her eyes were stern. It shook Adora.

“...I want to stay…” Adora felt distressed at voicing her desires but Catra’s hands were so gentle on her cheeks. “And, thank you. Thank you so much for today. Everything, all of it -- you have been amazing.” Tears burned behind her eyes and Catra could smell the salt building there.

“The only thanks I need is you having a good time, dummy,” she said with a deep kiss. “And don’t feel bad for dozing off. You need rest and you deserve to have some fun and have a day to yourself. Don’t overthink it, okay?”

Adora stayed for dinner and Catra drove her home shortly thereafter once dishes were cleaned. That night Adora dreamed of ruling the world with Catra.

A couple weeks later, Glimmer and Bow pulled Adora over to Glimmer’s house for a spa day.

“Why are you making me do this again?”

“Because! You seem to think sleep deprived is a good look and have worn holes into 4 of your tshirts!” Glimmer admonished and pointed to a hole on the edge of Adora’s shirt.

“Plus,” Bow started, “We feel like we haven’t seen you in months!”

“We see each other at school!” Adora shot back.

“Pfffft! That hardly counts! Even on New Years you were so withdrawn and in your head, and before that we barely saw you between then and Catra’s birthday for laser tag.” Glimmer crossed her arms and glared at her friend. “You will have fun today.”

“You can’t make someone have fun, Glim,” Adora pointed out to which Bow placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

He closed his eyes, as if his words were deep and meaningful. “Adora, go cut some cucumbers and warm up some water--”

“But I hate cucumbers?”

“They aren’t for eating! Now, Glimmer,” he turned his head, “Gather the towels and lotions. I shall get the incense and pillows lied out for us.” Clapping, he signalled them to get the materials prepped.

Okay. Adora may have been a dick. This whole spa treatment was incredible and found herself sinking into her lounge chair in the game room of Glimmer’s upstairs. Angella and Micah even made some lemonade and snacks for them to munch on and both were elated to see Adora for the first time in a while. Adora found herself doing a lot of apologizing. Glimmer and Bow wrapped her into a hug, completely ignoring the fact that their faces were green and their heads were wrapped in warm towels.

“Aw, Adora, you don’t need to apologize to us! We do this because we love you and realize how stressed you are,” Glimmer told her. They all pulled from the hug and Bow grabbed their hands to remain in contact.

Adora saw his expression shift and knew what was coming next and found herself unable to unclench her jaw. “Do you want to talk about it? I think you will feel better if you let some things off your chest. Even if it’s something small. You don’t have to, but I think we can help you if you did.” The words made her feel small and insecure. But, she could count on them, she always has.

Both friend’s waited patiently as Adora’s eyes burned as they swirled around random objects in the room to avoid their gazes and squeezed their hands tighter to ground herself. They squeezed back and she sobbed with a full body jolt. The floodgates exploded with years worth of sadness and fear. “I’m--I don’t d-deserve any-- any of this.” They stayed quiet as she swallowed enough tears to speak more coherently. “I’m not good. Not good enough and--and I… I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know w-who I’m supposed to be.” She sobbed harder and curled in on herself.

Glimmer held her fiercely to her chest as Bow grabbed some tissues and rags to clean the crying girl’s face. Adora trembled like the tectonic plates of her bone structure were tearing apart; trying to release all the tears, anger, and dejection she’s been carrying. Gods, she really hoped Micah and Angella couldn’t hear how much she hurt, but she couldn’t stop the sobbing screams that rocked her body as Glimmer cradled and swayed her like an infant.

“Your brain is being so cruel to you, Adora,” Bow said after some of her crying calmed down. “I know you are going to have a hard time believing us right now, but you do deserve good things. You are good Adora. We do all of this because you are worthy and wonderful and the kindest person I know.”

Glimmer piped in, “And that says a lot, considering we are great friend’s with Perfuma and Scorpia.” The joke made Adora laugh wetly.

“When you feel ready, you should tell your moms about this,” Bow said and felt Adora stiffen and her breath shallow. “You don’t have to tell them anything at all, I promise! But if you did, they would only help you--”

“I don’t deserve help. I’m just a burden,” Adora spoke the words through gritted teeth and clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Her two friends leaned back and shared a look before Glimmer grabbed Adora’s face and stared her straight in the eye with a much more icy glare than Frosta’s whole bloodline.

“Don’t ever say that,” the girl snapped.

“Glim…” Bow tried to calm her anger but she pressed on as if it were only she and Adora in the room. The blonde would rather have her asss beat than do this but could only stare back into Glimmer’s flaming gaze. She has never seen Glimmer so livid before.

“Every single person deserves help and every single person needs help, Adora. You are one of a kind and just as worthy as the next person, okay? And stop apologizing, please? Just take what is given to you and appreciate it for what it is. We love you so, so much, Adora.” Glimmer pulled Adora into another hug before continuing. “You are so worth it, you are worth everything and I would beat your brain to a pulp for making you feel that way if I could.”

“But...but what if it doesn’t actually h-help? What—What if I’m st-still… broken?” Adora asked through gasping breaths.

Glimmer held her tighter and pressed a kiss to her temple. “That’s why you have us.”

“You aren’t broken, Adora. You’re just hurt,” Bow explains gently and Adora could hear the tears in his voice as he handed more tissues.

Fresh tears washed Adora’s face but not out of hopelessness, but from relief. It’s words she always wants to hear but could never find the strength to ask for. Maybe one day she will open up again. Maybe.

Bow joined the hug. “We are here for you, for everything. You aren’t alone, Adora. You are always there for us, let us be there for you, you aren’t the only strong one here and you don’t always have to be tough.” Adora nodded into their embrace and hiccupped. “When you want to get more serious about this… please talk to us or your moms or Catra. I know Huntara is who you usually go to but she’s been on and off the grid and you need someone more solid to speak to that can be responsive, okay?”

A weight came off her shoulders, a weight so massive that she thought she would pass out from the shift in gravity around her. It was everything she needed to hear and more. Life always made her feel as if she needed to be an impenetrable wall to all feelings and that if she cracked, then that was how it was meant to be and everything she built would toppled over and she wouldn’t be real anymore. But everyone seems to be proving that theory wrong with hugs. They held her for a little while longer when they finally deemed the day needing to end for rest.

Bow dropped her off at home and she felt raw and exposed, like a cadaver on a cold metal table for all to examine. Her brain was dissected and open for all to prod. But she didn’t feel as scared by the attention as much as she thought she would be. Rather, she felt safe and provided for and in a blanket of security because she trusted those who held her and promised to be there for her as they carried her through the burning maze of her brain.

That night, she dreamed of her Rubik’s Cube and finding a solution.

Chapter 13: learn your place

Chapter Text

It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow and Adora is a broke bitch. Yes, she makes some money but most of it goes towards gas and savings for college. She needed to do something special for Catra, since this would be their first V-day as a couple and she wanted to make it memorable. Adora’s jaw hurt from overthinking as she scoured the internet for ideas but nothing felt right or settled with her. Then, she got an idea.

When she got home, she sat both her moms down at dinner and asked for dating advice.

“What do you mean…?”

“I mean,” Mara began with a fond eye roll, “You don’t need a fireworks display to make Catra feel like a number one girlfriend! Oh, and can magicats have chocolate?”

“Yes,” Adora answered.

“Perfect! Get her favorite candy, maybe a rose? Do Magicats like flowers?”

“It’s more about what they hate,” Hope pointed out as Adora said, “Catra loves Snapdragons!”

Mara leaned back in her seat as if to conclude her statement. “Then there you have it! It’s all your girl will need, trust me, honey. She’ll fall over her own feet at such a simple gesture!”

“Mara is right,” Hope added on. “Catra comes off as someone who enjoys spending time with people as opposed to pricey items. Remember how she treated your birthday?” Adora felt a wave of peace soak her bones at the memory and Hope smiled at her reaction. “See? Very easy and intimate.”

Nodding, Mara recalled, “Just because Seahawk spends $60 on fireworks for Mermista, doesn’t mean you have to, too.”

Adora felt a lot better now, Gods, she loved her moms. “I love you guys, thank you.” She hugged and kissed them both and packed a quick bag before taking off to the local flower shop and to hunt down Catra’s favorite candy.

The fateful day came and many emotions and scents clogged the air vents in the school. Adora walked to her designated spot all of her friend’s waited at before the first period bell rang and saw two very, very, red Bow and Glimmer exchanging roses and boxes of chocolate. She prepared to confront them about it when blue and gold eyes captured hers through the crowd of students. Her hairy was wildly curly with that voluptuous volume Adora loved to run her hands through. They made their way towards each other with both of their hands behind their backs.

“Hey, Adora.” Adora’s face was on the verge of numb from how hard she was smiling.

“Hey, Catra,” she crooned back and the feline’s smile got bigger than she thought was possible.

“That’s a pretty dorky grin you got there, princess. These gifts must be something special.”

“I could say the same to you, I can hardly see your irises with how blown your pupils are, kitten.” Both girls were furiously blushing and blatantly ignoring the staring eyes of nearby students as if this were a standoff.

“Touche, touche.”

“What, no spanish for me?”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Igualmente, es verdad, tienes razon--”

“Alright, alright!” Adora wanted to kiss that bratty mouth.

“Touche is just-- way more cunning than those phrases, and it doesn’t hurt to be multilingual.” Catra’s smile fell into a smirk.

“As hot as that is, I really want to give you your gift, so…” Adora whipped out her gifts and saw Catra’s smirk vanish into a small gape and then into something more personal, like a rising sun that warmed Adora to her core.

Catra revealed her hands as well to show a Rubik’s Cube but with hand painted flowers on all sides. Smiling was obviously going to remain on the agenda for the rest of the day. The flowers looked so real and flowy and there was a crisp glaze over them Adora felt when they finally swapped gifts. It was so soothing to run her thumbs over its surface. She was so lost in thought she forgot to look up and see Catra’s reaction. Looking up from the cube, her eyes shimmered with emotion to see Catra already eating her Sweet Heat Starbursts with the flowers cradled close to her cheek.

“Of course, you remembered my favorite flower… and drove 45 minutes for my incredibly hard candy to find.” The small wobble in Catra’s lower lip, that she tried to cover with excessive chewing, was still easy to see for Adora who wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

Grabbing the front of Catra’s shirt, Adora pulled her into a long, moaning kiss that was spicy, sweet, and soft-- just like Catra’s candy. The rest of the day passed in a blur of drunken admiration as she shuffled and solved the cube. It was difficult with the new added colors but that made the challenge to complete it that much more satisfying.

Every time the couple saw each other in the hall, they shared quick pecks. And right when they get to their separate classes, they text as often as they can. Once they got to Art History class, Catra’s tail wraps around Adora’s wasit like an electric cord searching for its power source. Adora is enraptured in everything ‘Catra’ that she misses the entire lesson of the day. Her primary concern is tracing heartfelt patterns into her girlfriend’s back, thigh, and arms. Touching Catra is something she never wants to stop doing and feeling Catra touching her is another. Adora’s skin roars like a wildfire everytime she feels unfeigned claws light up against her flesh and through her fabric to the point she has to close her eyes and steady her breathing. She sucks in a trembling breath and Catra’s smirk is plaptable.

Adora is already plotting to see Catra after her soccer game this weekend and it seems so is the magicat.

Being a First One has its perks. For example: leaping over several bleachers and bounding onto a soccer field for your injured girlfriend is a useful tactic to get to her aid in three steps or less. But having such a proactive genetic magic coding has its downside…. Much like growing into a towering warrior and scaring an entire soccer match and getting thrown out of the stadium for disturbance.

Hence, Adora has been ejected from Catra’s soccer game and is currently hovering in the parking lot by the changing rooms until the game ends. Catra seemed pretty mad about the whole stunt but the yelp Adora heard across the field did not sit well with her. She apologized several times while Frosta shouted her defense for Adora to stay in the game. It damn near started a riot and so Adora shoved Frosta and a growling Glimmer back into the stands so the game could resume.

The game was tight between the two teams. There was 8 minutes left in the game when the opposing team, The Titans, tied the score. Catra was pacing on the sidelines and yelling at her coach to be let back in but Netossa was headstrong about her staying out because of her injury. Adora isn’t sure what Netossa said, but it got Catra to chill out and give a resigned huff.

She breathed a long sigh of relief at the sight. Catra’s injury was nothing to brush under the rug since another player got aggressive and decided to shove her for the ball, causing Catra to roll her ankle a bit. But, the most concerning injury was what the Titan’s player did to her tail. Stepping on a magicat’s tail is a seriously dirty move yet is sadly common in the sport world. Adora could see her walk with a bit of a tipsy limber in her gait which meant that playing soccer wasn’t going to be easy until she was healed. So, Netossa made the right call and held her to the bench since Catra would probably just hold them back.

Adora looked away from the match to see Carmen and Miro approaching where she was standing.

“Uh, hi,” Adora stammered with a rub of her neck.

Miro hummed with laughter. “¡Eso fue otra cosa, Adora! I swear, every magicat in the stands nearly leapt after you from all that glowing you did!” Embarrassment was an understatement for Adora’s emotions and Carmen smacked Miro on the bicep in an action that Catra definitely got from her mother.

“Miro! Hush!” She turned to Adora and gave her a chaste kiss to the forehead. “Are you okay? That was quite a scene.”

“I’m fine! Is Catra okay? She seemed more mad at me than at the girl who checked her…” Adora recalled the fury in Catra’s eyes when she looked up and spotted Adora hovering over her and cringed.

Miro made a pained expression and Carmen gave Adora a sad smile. In the background, a timeout was called. “Catra is strong, and works very hard to prove that she is tough and can handle herself. And when you appeared, looking for a fight, it made Catra feel like a damsel in distress who needed saving.” Adora was about ready to cry at the realization of her actions and why Catra lashed out. “Don’t feel bad, she knows you mean well, but the attention of the crowd certainly made it more...undesirable. She will be fine! You have nothing to worry about.”

Adora sweated through the rest of the game. Scorpia made an amazing save at the goal to keep the score at 2-2. During the time out, Netossa was yelling very animatedly over some kind of strategy as she pointed to opposing players and locations on the field. It was obvious she knew what it took to finish this game with a trophy. The clock showed 7:12 just as Brightmoon’s soccer team popped the ball high for a head butt into the top left corner of the net to make the game 2-3.

Every person in the stands and sidelines lunged to their feet in dismay or cheers. Adora found herself clinging to Carmen’s hand as the magicat parent’s tails swished in anxiety. Both of Catra’s parents used to play soccer up until they got out of college and that was how they met their Sophom*ore year at the university, then getting married a few years after graduation.

Not long later did Brightmoon manage to defend their side of the field and keep the game 2-3 to claim the win for the Varsity soccer team. Catra and her other teammates sprinted onto the field to join the group hug. After shaking hands with the losing team and claiming their ribbons and Netosssa holding the tall trophy for photos, Catra branched off and searched the crowd.

Adora knew she was looking for her and wondered if it was too late to hop in her truck and speed home, but when her eyes met Catra’s, she was shocked at the smile splitting her girlfriend’s face. The second she saw Adora, she dropped to all fours and pounded through the saturated dirt and jumped into Adora’s arm for a full body hug. Glimmer must’ve teleported the whole friend group over because Adora was suddenly swimming in hands and arms as a dozen voices yelled their congratulations. Adora’s mind spun from the madness but found herself laughing from the excitement rather than feeling overwhelmed, but it was cut off when they all separated and she was remet with Catra’s injury and the tension surrounding it.

Catra gave her a hard thwack with her tail and winced at the involuntary action. “Dummy.” She took a calming breath. “I’m sorry for getting angry,” she said with down turned ears and looked away in shame. Adora hugged her again.

“I promise you’re strong, I shouldn’t have let that happen—“

“Hey,” Catra scolded gently. “Let’s talk about it in a minute, okay?” Then leaned up to press a kiss to Adora’s lips. “Party time, beefcake,” she said with a sh*t eating grin and they shoved each other all the way into Catra’s sports car.

Catra didn’t start the car when they got in, rather, she turned to face Adora with low eyes as she watched her claws sheath and unsheath. “I’m sorry for snapping at you when you were only trying to help. That was rude of me and I should have handled it better.”

The apology sounded rehearsed but was deeply sincere from the look she gave Adora when she stopped speaking. “It’s okay--”

“No, it’s not.” She interrupted. “I’m trying to be better and that was...that was not a healthy response.”

Right, Catra is still going to therapy, Adora pieced together. “I accept your apology. And,” Adora put her hand up to stop Catra, “I shouldn’t have stormed the field… I wasn’t thinking.” Adora already knew the answer from her parents, but she felt like she needed to hear it from Catra directly. “Can I ask why you got mad?”

Silence overtook the interior of the car like thick fog. Catra’s tail slightly twitched at the tip, but Adora stayed patient and occupied herself by wrapping her finger in a loose thread on her shirt.

Adora is so concentrated on the lines the string makes around her coloring fingers that she jolts when Catra pokes her shoulder. They both laugh at the reaction, making them blush, but it seems to settle Catra. “Dork….But, I got mad at you because, and this--this is not an excuse. I just hate feeling weak and when I got hurt, everyone was looking down at me, covered in dirt and stains, and then you were there as She-Ra and I… I didn’t feel strong. I felt helpless and I hate being seen that way, especially in front of so many people. I still shouldn’t have gotten mad at you, so I’m sorry. Again.”

She nodded her head. “I understand, I do. I’m really proud of you and thank you for telling me. I never want you to feel weak, please tell me if I do it again. I don't ever want you to feel that way.”

“Okay.” Catra leaned over the console and kissed her cheek. “I will next time, I promise.”

“You were amazing today, by the way.” Catra blushed. “That guy had to target the strongest player just for a shot at winning,” she added on, making Catra groan and unsheathe her claws.

“Wish I coulda swiped at her for that, mierda.” She takes another deep breath.

“How's your tail? I can…?” Adora gestures to herself and Catra takes a moment to process the request but eventually nods slightly. Adora gently holds Catra’s damaged tail in both hands. Her body and Catra’s tail glow, healing her ankle in the process, and when she’s done, she gives her tail a quick kiss before Catra pulls it back to test it out. “There, all better!”

Catra rolls her eyes. “Don’t let it go to your big head,” she snarks with a poke to Adora’s forehead.

“Always will,” Adora replies easily with a big grin and lets Catra wrap her tail around it’s favorite place along Adora’s wrist. Catra starts the car and they zoom off to the diner.

Everyone is already there and assumes the worst as to why Adora and Catra showed up so late. They settle down and Adora orders Chicken and Waffles while Catra gets a burger with fries and a shake. Skeletor seems to be down and Bow asks what’s wrong before he can walk away to put in their order sheet.

“Our shipment on eggs got busted on the way here in this delivery truck this morning and it’s been hurting what people can order and it’s causing them to leave.”

The group ‘awwwed’ and apologized for the skeleton's misfortune. Frosta threatened with clenched fists, “Who was the delivery driver?”

“Frosta…” Bow rebuked immediately to which Scorpia had to agree.

“Yeah, we don’t know what happened! The delivery person could have been having day or hit a pothole or it wasn’t even his fault or--”

“Skel,” Catra interrupted, “Sorry about your eggs and sh*tty customers. Now could we get our food? I. Am. Starving.” Skeletor gave her a thumbs up and ushered off to the kitchen to give Randor their orders. “Sorry,” Catra groaned to the group but didn’t seem that apologetic about it.

“No, thank you,” Glimmer piped in. “I cannot wait for my pancakes!” The table had to agree and soon, their food was brought out.

Each person moaned with delight at their first bite of food. There wasn’t much speaking as they ate. Skeletor brought Catra’s milkshake out and it was topped with a cherry.

“Hey, Adora,” she said with a purr, forcing Adora to make eye contact and become hypnotised by everything that is Catra.

“Hi,” Adora said lamely, breathlessly and it made a few eavesdroppers snicker that Catra chided with a growl. The rest of the group chatted about random things and events while Catra slowly pulled the cherry from her milkshake.

Dangling the cherry over her mouth, she slowly pressed out her tongue to lick its surface clean as she held Adora’s half lidded gaze.

Catra displayed her fangs to capture the ball of the cherry and pull it from its stem and into her mouth with languid chews before swallowing and licking her lips clean. Adora had to remind herself to breathe.

“You good there, baby?”

“Uh-huh, yeah,” she replied through dry lips. Catra snickered.

“Watch closely….” And put the cherry stem in her mouth. Adora watched her lips closely as they wiggled and moved, occasionally showing sharp teeth or puckering to maneuver the stem. She really wished they were alone right now.

After another moment, which felt like years, had passed, Catra stuck her tongue out to reveal a perfectly knotted cherry stem. Adora couldn’t even respond but Glimmer spoke her mind.

“Holy sh*t,” she said and turned to look at Bow who she shared a silent conversation with, probably about something inappropriate. Adora is so happy those two finally got together, though she was in no room to chastise.

Perfuma covered her mouth. “Oh, that’s a wonderful talent, Catra!” Scorpia was oblivious to what the technique implied and asked to be taught how, to which Catra quickly refused and Pefuma said they would learn it together instead, making everyone gag.

Adora leaned in when the topics changed and made many suggestive comments to Catra, making her mewl and trill. The night ended shortly after that since many were tired from their food comas and the soccer players from their sore muscles.

Now that Catra was done with sports for the rest of the school year, Adora was able to see her more often and see her smile and laugh a bit brighter. Adora was falling head over heels for this girl and never wanted to stop.

Spring break was spent at Salineas beach in Mermista’s beach house that everyone stayed in for a few days. Her dad was there, but not often enough that he felt intruding and mainly let them do their own thing. Adora was thankful to feel like she was away from the world for a while so she could simply cuddle Catra and enjoy the jokes and games her friends all played together. Sandcastle competitions, ‘sand angels’, as Seahawk called them, overly massive bonfires, wiping out in the waves when surfing, and shore fishing.

But the best part was watching Catra sun tan in her boxers and bikini top. The magicat looked so content and had more color in her face and fullness to her body that Adora hadn’t realized was missing before. Now, Adora realized why Catra and her mother’s concern for her well being was warranted and not something she should keep brushing off. She never wanted the ones she loved to feel this level of distraught for her. It was too much.

She left where she was standing along the shore with Glimmer and Scorpia, excusing herself, and shuffled over to join Catra in her sun tanning.

Catra didn’t even open her eyes, merely flicked her ear in acknowledgment at Adora’s presence. “Hey, princess.”

“Hey, tiger,” she greeted softly and trailed her fingers along the auburn stripes that lined Catra’s warm back.

“Mmmm, keep doing that.”

“Needy.”

“You crave it.”

“I do,” she agreed with several kisses to Catra’s spine.

“Get a room!” Everyone admonished at the same time while Bow and Scorpia made massive heart eyes in support.

Seahawk stumbled in with a cartwheel from the shore. “Love should never be hidden, but shared with everyone! Much like a flame that only grows when given to others!” Adora and Catra both chose to ignore that Seahawk used the word ‘love’ and buried their red faces in the sand.

“Uh,” Glimmer started, “I did not consent to this fluffy mess. I’m going inside for lunch.”

Everyone headed in but Mermista and Frosta who played some elemental form of rugby and basketball combined with frozen water tricks. Thankfully, they were far away enough to not disturb the smitten couple.

Adora settled on her stomach and turned her cheek against her forearm to face her girlfriend. Catra opened her eyes at the change in pose and gave Adora a soft smile. As if reading the other’s mind, they reached their arms out to hold hands between their faces against the warm sand.

“You seem happy,” Adora noted.

“The sand in my fur is going to be a bitch to get out, but, yeah. I am happy.”

“I can help you with the fur problem,” Adora leered, making both of them snicker and share a soft, salty kiss.

“And you? You seem oddly relaxed for such a boulder, princess.”

Adora snorted. “Wow, Catra, didn’t know you were into rocks so much.”

“They’re delicious,” Catra said and licked the whole right side of Adora’s face, making her squeal and flick sand into her girlfriend’s face. “Ah! Gross!”

“I could say the same thing!” she shot back as Catra spit out sand.

“Shut up, you crave it.” The magicat threw back. Adora tackled her, sending them rolling in the sand into a fit of head nuggies and sputtering laughter from the flying particles of sand.

The wrestling ended with Adora in a headlock as Catra left wet kisses all over her flamed cheeks. While Catra attacked her with endearment, Adora took the opening to turn in her partner’s arms and pinned her with her body against the ground.

“Hah!”

“Oops, you got me. What’re you gonna do now?”

And then Adora’s stomach grumbled, rather loudly. “Eat?”

“...Me?” And Adora tickled her furry belly until there were tears in her eyes.

An exhausted and starving Mermista and Frosta joined the couple back up to Mermista’s beach house for lunch with the rest of the group.

Catra immediately called dibs on one of the guest showers and purposefully left the door unlocked for Adora to slip in. When she did, Adora ran her fingers through the fur on Catra’s back with magicat specific soap. The two didn’t speak, as they have done this before and Adora has learned to scritch her blunt nails with the direction of Catra’s fur. The only sounds were soft sighs and happy moans as sand washed down the drain.

The end of the school year art show took place and Catra came in second this year. She was a bit flummoxed but bit back her anger since she knew Shadow Weaver was on the judging committee this year. Adora held her close and spoke affirming words in her ears. But, Adora noticed something that made her heart flutter and squeeze with emotion. There was a Rubik’s cube in every painting; either hidden within the background or made in the front with vivid detail. Catra got massive kisses in the parking lot for that stunt. Adora was only seeing half of the real gift, Catra thought smugly to herself.

Chapter 14: Razzle Dazzle

Chapter Text

Adora shot out of bed at her Mara’s cry.

“Razz?! What’re you— are you okay? Razz! Don’t start with me— yes I’m coming up there!” A beat of time and then, “Look, I’m calling your neighbor to check on you and you are going to be nice to her and let her help you, got it? Yes. Yes you will… Razz, I want you to call me back when she is over there… No, don’t— stop trying to get up! Ugh… Please, listen to me, just this once?”

Adora timidly stepped out of her room to see Mara pacing the living room while Hope was gathering things into bags.

“Guys?” she asked and Hope paused her packing to sign.

“Razz took a fall at home,” she said with tired eyes and limp hands that reenacted Razz falling. Adora’s eyes went wide and Hope quickly added Razz’s name sign and then the sign for ‘ok’ to settle her nerves. “We may have to go up there to take care of things.”

Mara fumed as she hung up the phone and dialed Razz’s neighbor. “Such a stubborn old woman.” She finally noticed Adora in the room. “Oh, hey honey. We can talk more in a second.” And put the phone back to her ear.

With a wave, Hope called her daughter over to eat some breakfast while Mara tried to coordinate some kind of rescue mission over the phone. After several more minutes she finally hung up and sighed heavily as she lied back onto the couch.

“Apparently, this isn’t the first time she’s fallen… her neighbor has helped her before but Razz never told us since they were both together at the time.” Mara sat up and walked over to the kitchen table and put her weight against it. “We are going to have to go up and get her… I don’t think it’s safe for her to live on her own anymore and… assisted living is just so expensive.”

Hope snorted, “she would never let anybody but you help her. Nurses would pull straws to take care of her.” They chuckled at that and the air felt lighter.

Putting her plate in the sink, Adora began to fill the dishwasher and asked, “Are we all going? Like a little road trip?”

Mara and Hope had a silent conversation for a few moments when Hope finally spoke. “We may need to take two cars. Some of her things can go into a storage unit until we figure out what to do with it all, but we can get her essentials in our two cars.”

“Yes,” Mara agreed, “Hope and I can each drive a car and you can drive with one of us. If we do this fast enough, we should only have to spend one night there.”

“That’s… such a long drive to do by yourself though. Seven hours in the car by yourself? What if… What if I had someone come with me?” Adora thought and her mind went straight to Catra. Her girlfriend mentioned something about being free this week and wanting to hang out. Maybe she would enjoy a little impromptu vacation?

Hope looked to Mara. “We could use all the hands we can get. This will go much quicker with another person, yes?” A nod from her wife and she turned to look at Adora. “Who did you think would come with you?”

Adora flushed. “Let me ask my friends and I will let you guys know!”

After doing the dishes, Adora hopped to her room and called up a sleepy Catra.

“Mmmffmmm, hey, Adora,” she groaned through the speaker and it made Adora’s heart race.

“Hey, sleepy head. How’d you sleep?”

“Woulda slept better if you were here…” the catgirl purred over the phone.

Adora couldn’t bite back the smile on her face. “Aw, miss me that much?”

She spoke through a yawn, “What about you?”

A deflection that stung a little and made Adora’s confidence in her original intent at her call waver. “I slept alright, but…. I was wondering what you are doing the next couple days?”

“Mmm, nothing, I don’t think. Just some stupid summer reading but I can push it off for a bit. Why do you ask?”

She swallowed, “Uh, something happened to my aunt Razz this morning.” Catra shuffled on the other line.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes! Everything is fine! Well, kinda. She— she fell this morning? And we might have to drive up and get her. She...we are thinking of having her move in with us.”

“sh*t, Adora, that’s scary. Is...is that why you called? Do you need help?” Catra sounded so earnest and much more awake and it made Adora’s heart soar.

“It’s a bit of a drive. And you can totally say no to this! I was just wondering if you want to, maybe, ride with me? Mara and Hope will take their car, and I will take mine so we can get her down here in one go— sorry if this is so sudden, I don’t expect you to come if you can’t or don’t want to or anything.” She rambled and curled in on herself as she await a response.

“Let me get this straight. It’s going to be me, and you, alone, in a car, for several hours?”

“...Yes.”

“Oh, this will be fun.”

“Is—is that a yes?”

“Yes, babe, it’s a yes.” Adora could hear the smirk over the line.

“Really? Wow, okay. Well, it will be a two day trip. If it’s too much—“

“Adora, I have nothing to do for the next 4 days. This will be great for me to get out. Besides, I want to be there for you. This stuff is pretty scary.”

That’s right, Catra has been through a lot with her Abuelita’s health over the years. If anyone is going to be understanding in this area, it’s her.

“You’re the best. I will let you know when we decide to leave and you just tell me when you’re ready!”

“Will do, dummy.” And hung up. Adora set down her phone and fist pumped the air several times in a silent cheer.

Adora told her moms about Catra tagging along and they didn’t even try to cover their smirks. About an hour later, Hope’s SUV was packed and Adora’s dingy truck that they bought from their neighbor was prepped for take off. Her moms took off while Adora pulled into Catra’s driveway to scoop her up.

She gave two quick honks and Catra and her parents walked out to her driver side window.

“Morning, Adora!” Carmen greeted her.

“Morning, guys, i’m sorry this is such a short notice.”

Miro waved off her concerns. “It’s fine, it’s summer and Catra needs to get out of the house anyway! I trust you guys to look after each other,” he said with a smile and a kiss to Catra and Adora’s temple. Such affection was common among Magicats but Adora was starting to get used to it; she found it quite endearing.

Catra hopped into the passenger seat. “Hey, babe,” she said with a kiss to Adora’s cheek.

“Hey,” she smiled back. She turned to address the parents again. “We will keep you updated every hour.”

“You better,” Carmen teased. “You guys be safe! And I hope your aunt will be okay!”

They waved each other off and got onto the road. Adora was bubbling with excitement. Once out of sight from her parents, Catra undid her set belt to re-buckle herself in the middle seat next to Adora. Adora had never been more happy for a bench seat than she did in this moment.

When Adora hit the first red light, Catra pulled her into a searing kiss until the light changed.

“Woah,” Adora said in a daze as she caught back up to reality and focused on the road. “Keep doing that and we might not make it in one piece.”

Catra snickered, “Such a lesbian.” She reached a clawed hand to fiddle with the radio station and draped her tail across Adora’s lap.

“Your parents seemed pretty happy to see you get out of the house?” Adora pressed.

“Ugh, yeah. I mean, can they blame me for being home all the time? I spend so much time at the school so when I get the chance to lay around they think I’m being a hermit or something.”

Adora blanched. “sh*t, did you want to just lay around today? Did I interrupt something?”

Her hand squeezed her thigh in reassurance, “No, no, stop. I wanted to come. I wanted to spend time with you! Being with you is better than laying around alone at home.”

Her heart raced at the words. “Okay, that’s—that’s good! I… you were the first person I called to see if you wanted to do this with me,” she confessed.

“You better have, can’t have you favoring Glitter over me,” she teased then became more sincere. “But, really, this is nice.”

They chatted for a bit about summer homework assignments when Adora had Catra text in a group chat to both girls' families about where they were and that they would be stopping for gas and snacks.

While Adora topped off the tank, Catra got a variety of drinks and snacks for them to nibble on.

Back on the road and hunger gone with salty chips, Adora asked Catra what classes she would take this year.

“Well, I’m sticking with art, that’s for sure. My parents keep asking me to drop it, but that’s just not gonna happen.”

“Why can’t they see how important your art is? It helps you so much and you’re so talented at it!”

Catra giggled at the compliment but sobered up again. “They don’t think it will make me enough money, that’s why I push so hard for soccer scholarships. And they said if I keep doing art then I need to stay in AP classes.”

Adora gaped, “But— that’s— how? That’s so stressful! I thought you were doing all of these things because you loved it.”

Catra leaned into her and sighed. She turned down the radio a little bit. “Well, I do, and I don’t. The challenge is nice, but i’m mainly doing it to get into a good college that will provide me with financial aid. If I can get into university with soccer, then I will get a full ride deal. But if that fails, then I’ll rely on my GPA for that and hope for the best.”

“But...art can get you into a good school too, right?”

“Yeah, but I doubt Weaver would ever write me a recommendation letter. The bitch hates me. But if I can impress her, then schools are bound to listen.”

Adora felt anger rise in her chest. “That’s...that’s just not right. Can she get over herself for five minutes and see how amazing you already are?”

Catra purred at the words and linked her fingers with Adora’s. “And hearing that means a lot. It’s just... none of it matters unless I’m at the top of the chain— it’s safer there. Only the best get recognized, once I get there, it will be worth it and I can do whatever I want.”

“What if... I could convince Weaver to write you a letter?" Catra growled and began to admonish here to she further pushed the point. "You should always be able to do what you want. She is being so unfair to you and is biased! I just... you shouldn't be limited,” Adora mumbled as she passed a semi truck. Her words made Catra get defensive on reflex.

“Speak for yourself, Miss I’m-Only-Worthy-If-I’m-Useful-To-Others. You throw your own issues out the window for everyone else!” Catra called back and sighed. “Sorry, that wasn’t fair of me to say.”

Adora shook her head. “No, you’re right. It’s definitely something I still need to work on. I just… don’t know who to be. So i’m trying to be everything to everyone. And I just really care about you and want the best for you...” Adora blushed fiercely with the admission.

Catra smiled and rubbed her thigh gently with reaffirmation. “You’ll figure it out, we will figure it out. I’m here for you, remember? You don’t have to do any of this alone. We have each other. And I know you got more going on in that head of yours but we can talk about when you aren’t driving, okay?”

Adora nodded her agreement and relished in the pecked kiss Catra gave her temple.

They lapsed into silence as the radio filled in the through the speakers.

After a couple songs and sh*tty commercials, Adora spoke up again. “Hey…if you could pick between soccer or art, which would you choose?”

“Art. Without a doubt. I love soccer, the exercise is like nothing else. But art? Art is everything to me.”

“I ask this because… you get so stressed with so much on your plate. But if you focus on just one of those, then you can have more time for academic things, ya know.”

A long, drawn out sigh. “Yeah…. I just, what if it’s not enough? I—I can’t let this slip through my fingers. I’m tired of getting shoved behind and… it sounds conceited but I want to stand out.”

Her tail twitched nervously in Adora’s lap. She stroked the end of it in hopes of calming her girlfriend’s worry. “If anybody can’t see how extraordinary you already are, then they are a giant f*ckhead.”

Laughter bellowed out of the girls at Adora’s rare moment of swearing. “Damn, that was a good one!” Catra kissed her on the cheek and jaw.

“Stop! I need to focus on the road!” Adora chastised her with a happy grin.

“Yeah, yeah.” She relented and curled further into the blonde’s side. “I’ll think about it.”

“About…?”

“Ugh, school! Whether to keep up with soccer or not, I’ll think about it!”

“Yay!”

“But.”

“...But?” Adora didn’t like this.

“But only if you start to focus on being selfish more. Try to just let people do things for you, you’re running yourself ragged and not putting yourself first.” Adora groaned and grumbled for a bit but eventually conceded.

“Fine.”

“Such a good little princess for me,” Catra purred and knew it was making Adora’s brain melt.

“DRIVING!” She reminded her and Catra laughed boisterously.

After that, they moved onto lighter topics and updated the parents again. There was about 5 hours left in the trip and Catra whipped out her sketchbook to doodle with her feet on the dashboard.

“Next stop, i’ll drive for a while. You look like you could use a nap, baby.”

“Yeah, probably. All the commotion woke me up much earlier than I would have liked. Took me a while to get to sleep last night.”

Catra trilled at Adora’s response and being honest about her sleep for once. They turned the radio back up as Catra drew the passing landscapes and her girlfriend driving, obviously.

Nearly two hours later and they hit another pit stop for coffee and bathrooms. They swapped spots and Catra adjusted the seat and mirrors before getting on the highway again.

Adora pulled out her phone. “Looks like my moms will beat us there by about half an hour.”

“Cool, cool,” Catra said as she patted her lap with an expectant brow raised. Adora rolled her eyes and adjusted her seatbelt so she could still be wearing it while lying down with her head on Catra’s thigh.

“Wake me in an hour so I can text everyone,” Adora told her as her eyes began to feel heavy with sleep. Fighting off sleep was impossible once Catra started dragging her nails through her hair.

“You got it. Now, sleep.” And she did.

Catra woke Adora three times to check in with their families. Normally the parents wouldn’t be so anxious for updates but this was a long trip for two young drivers. They were about to pull into Razz’s city when Catra pulled over to let Adora drive the rest of the way since she knew the town.

But before Adora could take off, Catra pressed her into the door with a ravishing kiss.

“Gotta get this out of my system before we get there. How does that sound?” Catra whispered into her burning red ear.

“Just leave nothing where it can be seen,” Adora smirked and secretly wished she had fur to cover such marks.

About 20 minutes later they got back on the road and pulled into Razz’s driveway.

This would be Catra’s first time meeting Razz, Adora just realized and grabbed Catra’s arm before she got out of the car.

“Damn, babe. Round two already?” Catra teased and Adora sighed dramatically.

“Some other time. But, I just realized that this will be your first time meeting my Aunt Razz. So, I’m sorry if she’s overwhelming and just a lot for you.”

“From what you tell me, she sounds awesome.” She kissed her deeply. “Let’s go meet this crazy lady.”

Stepping into the house with at least 50 minutes between her and her moms arrival was probably for the best. It seems the commotion of the house was in the aftermath of a very long lecture about Razz’s health and that this needed to happen.

Adora hugged her Aunt and introduced Catra who was ready to meet her with a held out hand to shake but was quickly shocked as Razz gripped her into an impressively strong hug for such a small old woman. Catra laughed into it and hugged back with equal, but careful, enthusiasm. Pulling back from the hug, Razz held Catra’s hands and looked into her eyes, much like when Adora meet Abuela for the first time. What was up with old women and staring into your soul?

“Oh, a very sweet girl in deed! I trust that you are looking out for my little Adora, yes?”

Catra smirked. “Don’t worry, I got her.”

"Ah, yes, she is quite the clumsy one. I'm glad she has someone like you, dearie."

"She's pretty heavy with all that muscle-" Adora elbowed her, "She's... one of the best people I know." Catra and Adora made eye contact that filled with so much tender passion that they're breathing synced together, breathing each other in.

And that answer seemed to satisfy Razz and they turned back to Mara who was going through important items in the small home.

“It seems I am not getting out of this. So, you two,” Razz pointed to Catra and Adora, “Get to work on packing my nick nacks! There are newspapers in the storage closet and tissue paper!”

Catra laughed at the older woman’s demanding voice when her physical body completely betrayed her personality.

Everyone got to work with packing the essentials as Razz cooked snacks while they filled boxes and prepped dinner as the day came to a close. Swift Wind was very excited to see everyone and seemed especially fond of Catra; probably because she smelled like her dogs back home. Adora was extremely happy that they got along so well since Swift Wind would now be living with her back home.

That night, Mara and Hope took the guest room while Adora and Catra claimed the living room couch. It was a tight fit, but they had plenty of room with Catra sleeping on top of Adora who purred them to sleep.

Hope got up early the next morning and got a trailer to hitch to her car to carry any extra luggage and furniture Razz would want in her new room at their house.

It was a rush, but they got both cars packed with minimal shouting and arguing as Swifty took the back seat of Adora’s truck and Razz rode with Mara and Hope. The girls got coffee and hit the road. Swifty kept trying to jump into the front seat but settled down after a few treats and lots of attention from Catra.

Every pit stop they made ended with them trying to get the zoomies out of Swift as he and Catra took turns chasing each other before hopping back into the car. Catra hardly broke a sweat with the activity but Swifty fell asleep within seconds of getting back into his seat.

Catra rode back to Adora’s house with her to further help with Razz’s move in. With the extra hands, the process was quick and clean. The day came to an end and Razz served up a massive buffet for dinner as thanks and appreciation.

They were in the middle of dinner when a wave of realization blew over Adora. She would be living with her Aunt Razz and Swfity. Everyday she could wake up and see them without some date telling her when she would need to wave them off again. As wonderful as this was, it was a grim reminder to why Razz was living with them in the first place.

Adora and her moms all knew this was going to happen one day. Razz was fairly old and the shaking in her hands as she knitted was a meager warning to how detrimental the old age was treating her. It turns out, she has fallen more than twice in the last year. Apparently her memory was starting to slip and misplaced her keys to the point she hadn’t driven her car in 4 months. It seems Swifty’s circadian rhythm was enough to keep Razz in track when she would become forgetful about food and things.

Anxiety constricted Adora’s arteries as all of the possible ways Razz or Swift Wind could have been hurt or even died and they wouldn’t have known. The mashed potatoes in Adora’s fork no longer seemed appetizing and set her utensil down to pretend to drink water to occupy herself.

Throughout the rest of dinner and prepping for bed, Adora did her best to remain normal but Catra’s tail brushing her calves told her she wasn’t fooled in the slightest.

It was about time for Catra to head home when she pulled Adora to the side and asked, “Necesitas que me quede esta noche? Lo estas pensando demasiado. Te vas a dar canas, bebe."

Adora thought it over but there was no denying cuddles with her partner. She could feel an anxiety attack on the rise and didn’t want to be alone with her head tonight. She pressed their foreheads together and let out a deep breath. “Please?” The simple plea made Catra purr, but she kept is quiet, so only Adora could hear it.

“Of course, princess," Catra told her as she nuzzled under neck.

Adora signed to her moms about what was going on while Catra phoned her parents. Both pairs of parents just have a sixth sense to Adora’s mental health apparently since they all agreed that Catra could stay away for one more night.

Adora lied back on her bed and waited for her girlfriend to finish getting ready for bed in the bathroom. The door opened a few moments later and was quietly shut as Catra crawled into bed and brought Adora’s head to her chest and began to purr.

“I’ll purr you to sleep if you want me to.” Catra was giving Adora a chance to either open up or let the day end. Purring was bringing sleep quickly but she wanted to talk a little bit since Catra did so much for her and her family over these last couple days.

She shuffled to look Catra more in the eye and brushed some of her brown hair behind her ear where we scratched. “She’s just…getting so old and I just kept thinking about how something worse could have happened and we wouldn’t have known.”

“Yeah, but she’s here now and Razz is strong and Swift Wind is probably a telepath with how well he helps her out.” They both giggled at Catra’s theory.

“He’s amazing, and I’m so happy he’s here.”

“Me too. And...honestly, she’s in the perfect place right now. When my Abuela moved in, I felt more complete and relaxed knowing she was right there if she ever needed anything.”

Anxiety began to vacate Adora’s bones and she brought her head back down to feel Catra’s rumbling against her cheek to ground her into sleep. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, kitten.” Catra pressed several lingering kisses into her blonde hair and that was all it took for Adora to finally conk out.

Water. It was everywhere in massive puddles full of creatures who couldn’t climb out. The creatures turned into Razz, her moms, Huntara, her friends. Adora was rooted to the dirt or she would help them. The sky began to rain and the clouds must’ve been alien since the rain melted through her skin and into her lungs. She began to drown in the rainfall and tried to run for a bus that appeared a few meters off. Her attempts to flee didn’t matter, no matter how hard she stomped, she couldn’t get closer to the bus.

All she wanted was to get a one way ticket away from the constant fear she felt every morning she woke up. The land changed and she was inside the school cafeteria to see Prime leaning over a beaten Catra. Adora attempted a scream but her lungs were cemented from the rain. She still couldn’t run so she threw a random object to get his attention.

The object hit his feet and turned to face Adora with hungry eyes and bloody teeth like a vicious predator from his hunt. Adora looked to see Catra barely moving on the cafeteria table and that’s when she finally screamed.

She bolted upright to a dark room, gasping for breath in a puddle of feverish sweats. Where was she? Where is Prime and where is Catra? Catra.

“Adora? Can you hear me? You’re okay, I stayed the night remember?” Catra was here. She was coaxing Adora down. A sting in her shins made her lift the covers to examine her legs.

“I’m— I’m okay,” Adora signed as she struggled to breathe. The room was dark but she knew Catra could see her hands through the night with her cat like eyes. “What… what happened? Are you okay?” Her legs had small cuts and her toes felt numb at the nail. Oxygen finally made its way to her brain and she was able to think more clearly now as the pressure of panic went down in her heart.

Catra leaned more into Adora’s view and slowly took her hand to place a cup of water in it for her to hastily drink. Adora could see a glint of tears around Catra’s eyes. “You were kicking the wall pretty hard,” she audibly whispered. “When I couldn’t shake you awake I grabbed your legs...and I kinda scratched you from all the flailing.” With a closed first to her chest, she rubbed in sincere circles around her chest to sign the rest of the words as she avoided her eyes. “I’m so sorry about the scratches, I didn't mean to hurt you. I’ll get some bandages.”

Adora grabbed her before she could leave the bed and spoke aloud. “Don’t leave. I’m not mad. I can barely feel it, I will heal here in a moment,” she explained so Catra would stay. After that nightmare, she needed Catra near where she could prove she was alive and safe. "Please, stay."

Returning to the bed, Catra nodded and let Adora lead them into a different position so she could tightly hold the magicat to her chest. A ripple of warm magic shivered her injured legs and they healed. Adora lifted her leg for Catra to see. “See? All good now. It’s not your fault, you were just trying to help.” Catra wrapped her tail tighter around her own waist in shame.

Her ears were still pinned down against her skull. Adora tried again. “Hey,” she kissed her ear to make it flick. “I’ve woken up to Mara holding me in a headlock in the middle of my room once from a night terror. Hope had a bruise on her cheek from trying to wake me up. If anything...I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt trying to stop me, so I promise I’m okay, Catra.” Adora held Catra closer and rubbed her girlfriend’s back beneath her shirt, eliciting a purr.

Catra relaxed into the touch and Adora’s words. “...Okay. I’m still sorry,” she mumbled into Adora’s chest. “We need to make a protocol for this stuff,” she tried to joke and Adora giggled a little but they quickly fell back into silence.

“It was bad.” She knew Catra would ask if she wanted to talk about it or not so she saved her the trouble. This isn’t the first time their sleepovers took such a dramatic turn. “Drowning and everyone getting hurt. And Prime…” Shudders rattled her weary bones at the memory and decided to keep the details to herself. “Was I loud?” She decided to change the subject.

Catra shook her head against her chest. “The kicking woke me up but you didn’t make any sounds. I’m sure everyone is still asleep,” she confirmed with a flick of her ear to prove her claim.

Relaxing at that, Adora began to feel the aftermath of the attack but was too afraid to fall asleep yet. She didn’t want to end up in that realm of torture again. To occupy her hands she gently twirled Catra’s hair between her fingers and ran her other hand against Catra’s bare fur beneath her tank top. Both girls sunk into the feeling and Catra kick-started her purr again as she trailed her claws against Adora’s upper arm.

Despite the reason for their current predicament, Adora felt so safe, more so than she ever has, even if fleetingly with her still having flashes of her night terror. Catra was there and grounding her as if she had been doing it since they were kids. The magicat felt perfect against her chest and Adora was—

“I love you.” She was too tired to even feel embarrassed or second guess her words. There weren’t any fireworks this time, only peace, but everything had never felt more right than it did in this exact moment. Catra shuffled so they could face each other.

Catra’s eyes glowed in the night and Adora could see a ridge of water against the magicat’s lower eyelashes. “Do you mean it?” Her voice was constricted but Adora heard her loud and clear in the silence of her room. Catra needed to now Adora wasn’t just saying this because she was half awake and drained from her night terror. Having the rug pulled out from under her feet would rob Catra of her last sliver of safety she felt with someone, to know that she hasn’t been f*cking this up from the start with her sarcasm and flippant aggression.

Emotion filled Adora’s eyes as she registered the pure hope and need to be wanted. For Adora to prove that she was breaking her walls down in asking for what she wanted. “I’ve never been more sure of anything, Catra, I promise. I love you, I really do,” she repeated as fresh tears came to her own eyes at the affirming words.

Catra brought her clawed hand up to trail along Adora’s eyebrow in soothing strokes. “I love you, too.” The words came out, still choked up, but held more confidence. “Adora... I love you so much.” Their tears mixed together and rolled, hand in hand, down Adora’s temples and into her ears as if the tears dragged the words inside her to confirm their reality.

Adora cupped Catra’s face and pulled her in for a slow, passionate kiss that echoed in their skulls. She mumbled against her lips, “I love you.” Gods, how she wanted to keep saving that. “I’d do anything for you, Catra. You make me feel so safe. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” She made sure to elaborate her love and show Catra how much she cared and was serious to wipe away any doubt Catra held about Adora, and herself. Adora distantly wondered what her life would have been like if Catra was with her from the very beginning.

Catra keened and sobbed against her lovers lips as she kissed her again and again, deeper and deeper. “I got you, I’ll be there for you, always. I promise. f*ck, I love you, so much, Adora.” The magicat felt so raw and open. All of her vulnerabilities on display and amplified as Adora did the same. Adora was trusting her with these words and feelings. She knew how terrifying this was for Adora to voice such personal wants. Catra was going to make damn sure Adora knew she wasn’t going to fall off an edge, that Catra would defend her from a world that worked so hard to make her feel undesired. A protective growl rose from her throat.

The kiss grew more heated and hands began to travel the others body like they were blindly running towards a light in the distance. Soft cries turned into giggling sniffles of realization. Orange warmth caked their pressed bodies like a safeguarding beam to thwart off any negative spirits that could break the temple of love they were building with mixed breaths and words.

“I want you… I trust you,” Adora spoke and Catra growled louder, making the blonde smirk a little bit; she loved this side of her girlfriend and kept pushing. “And I promise to always trust you. I won’t leave you out again, I promise.” It was like a switch. Adora felt Catra clamp her fangs around Adora’s pulse point in a claiming bite. The sensation turned Adora’s body into electricity, making her moan and release all tension as she sank into her mattress. She finally dropped the emotional weight off her shoulders and let someone take control and couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone other than Catra.

Both girls didn’t bother to contain themselves as their walls and filters turned to ash in a burning hearth-- becoming a fuel of scorching intimacy.

Waking up that following morning was surreal and Adora found herself blinking several times to counter the disbelief crawling up from the dark pits of her mind. She had to, she needed to, because Catra was lying on top of her, bare chests sealed to one another at the heart. This was nothing new, except now, they loved each other. Adora felt tears prick her eyes for the 100th time that week and snuggled in closer to Catra. They could both easily smell breakfast and hear the bustling of morning routines, but neither made an effort to move.

When Catra felt Adora shuffle into wakefulness she wiped the morning gunk on her mouth and pressed several soft kisses to Adora’s cheek and neck. “Good morning, baby,” she mumbled into her lover’s bruised and bitten skin. She pulled back to see a dazed Adora and smirked at the sight. “How’d you sleep?”

“Hey, I...I slept pretty good, actually,” she replied and rubbed the tiredness out of her face. “Thank you, f-for helping me through it.” Catra kissed her forehead, nose and then her lips as Adora scratched behind her ears, making her purr softly.

“Incase you forgot… I love you, princess. Or is that brain really all air?” The feline said the words confidently but was blushing the whole time.

Adora pulled her in closer, rather than pretend she doesn't want anything for herself. She wants so much. Nothing could hold her back in this moment. She never wanted to be chained by shame again as Catra said those magic words once more, quieter.

“I love you, too,” Adora told her and sealed the words with a wet kiss.

They stayed in each other’s arms for another hour, chatting about random things that happened at school and funny stories about Razz. As they talked, their hands wandered, occasionally walking their fingers across the others skin, drawing circles in their hips, kissing in soft places to hold on to the tenderness of their morning, making sure to chisel this moment into their memories.

Chapter 15: plotting

Chapter Text

Razz has now been living at Adora’s house for roughly 3 weeks now.

“Bah! Don’t spend anymore money on me, you have all done plenty. I will be fine.”

“Razz...please. You-- the-- look,” Mara gritted out. “ Getting around is hard enough for you now--”

“I’m spry!”

“--and getting you a mechanical bed will make it easier to get on and off! We can’t have you face planting onto Swift Wind every morning because you’re stubborn!”

Hope put a calming hand on her wife’s shoulder and faced Razz. “Razz, this makes everything so much easier. It’s a cheap mattress anyway and is one we have been needing to replace.”

“We both just want you to be comfortable,” Mara pleaded. “And Hope is right, that mattress is sh--uh, terrible,” she caught herself and Hope snickered.

Adora jumped in. “Please, Razz? I...I hate seeing you in pain. This is one way we can help you feel better.” Her exaggerated puppy dog eyes must have worked because Razz finally caved and went back to her baking.

“Fine, fine! Now, can I finish this pie, dearies?”

The three headed to the living room and Mara whipped out her laptop to start researching adjustable beds. Mara found a good bed just as it was time for everyone to head to work. Adora saw her moms off and got dressed herself to go walk her scheduled dogs and hit the gym. Getting to get her walks in and hang out with dogs twice a day for the summer was really racking up money and keeping her relaxed. Huntara said she would keep her updated on anything new happening with Prime but that was almost a month ago.

Adora got anxious every time she called Huntara to check up on her only to be shut down and told to sit tight. That was one thing Adora sucked at so the active routine Hope had her set up for the summer when Catra and Perfuma finally got Adora to open up about getting some healthier coping mechanisms. She didn’t tell them the full story about Huntara, she didn’t want to worry them, but she spoke up about how much school threatened her self worth and made her insecure. Boxing was great to get rid of energy but it was becoming a form of self injury and punishment for her imperfections.

Mara brought up seeing a psychiatrist or going back to therapy but the idea made Adora queasy. She feared what it would lead to, what she would learn about herself. Her friend’s spoke highly in support for professional help but Hope could see how much that scared Adora. Thus, Hope got a large, white board calendar with daily chores and activities.

Being a visual learner, Adora loved being able to physically see what she needed to do through clear directions. She felt more at ease now and her friends decided to further that relaxation with a trip to Mystacore, some natural hot springs on the skirts of town. It wasn’t for a few more days because summer gets them busy, but it gave Adora something to look forward to.

There was about a month until school started up again, and Adora, along with her friends, would be going into their last year of high school. The thought filled Adora with conflicting emotions that she didn’t want to dissect yet.

When the evening comes and her moms are back from work, Mara gives Adora something to do.

“Hey, honey? Would you mind getting the bed for Razz? Hope and I are so swamped and the earliest pickup time is tomorrow at one. Do you think you could do that for me, please?” Mara asked and Adora could see the exhaustion in her face. She couldn’t help but say yes.

“Of course! My truck is the biggest car and I got She Ra to pick it up if the guys need help!”

Her mom smiled and kissed her temple. “You’re the best. Take a friend with you, we had to get it from a farther location.” Mara’s smile turned devilish. “You should take Catra.”

Adora blushed and snorted at the comment. “You read my mind,” she chuckled.

Catra was enthusiastic about the idea and said they should go early to lay around on the mattresses. Adora didn’t understand the appeal; maybe it’s a magicat thing?

Okay, so Adora loves mattress stores now.

“I told you this would be a great date,” Catra rebuked from where she was curled up in a precious ball at the foot of the bed across from Adora. On her bed of choice, something more firm, she felt like air and was ready to pass out.

“Mmmm…” Adora was too relaxed to retort. “Why is this fun, how is this so fun?” she mumbled and felt a weight at her feet. She looked up to see Catra crawling up the bed to her side.

“Have you ever heard of a tempur-pedic?” Catra asked.

Adora rolled on her side to face Catra. “No, is it amazing? It sounds… different? Foreign?” She thought aloud then shook her head. “Anyway, take me there, hottie.”

“Pffft, you’ll be calling me more than just ‘hottie’ when you lay on this thing.”

Catra led her to the section of mattresses that looked no different than the others. Adora pressed her hand into the mattress. “It’s soft...but it’s not. Are you japing me?”

The feline raised a bored brow. “Did you really just say the word ‘japing’?”

“I learned it from Bow the other day!”

Spirits, she’s so cute, Catra thought and quickly kissed her paramore's cheek before flopping on the bed in a stiff jump when she hit the not-so-squishy bed. “Gonna join me or are you gonna study the bed some more first?” She asked with her head propped on her head, hip jutted upwards from laying on her side. The position made Adora giddy and she decided to be a dork for a moment.

Adora took a few steps back, got into a sprinter's starting form, and lunged for the bed and tucked her head in so she would front flip onto the bed. She heard Catra yelp a laugh and cackled when Adora landed on the stiff bed with an ‘oof!’

“Owwwww…” She sat up to see, tragically, that Catra wasn't flopped off the bed from the bounce Adora was hoping to cause, but was still sitting in her original position with a cheeky grin full of love on her face.

“It seems your evil plan to overthrow the mighty magicat was poorly thought out.”

Adora rolled her eyes and adjusted into a more normal lying position--

“Hey guys, please don’t bounce on the beds, please.” A very tired looking man in a suit warned them and then walked back to some other guests he was helping, who were now also staring. Adora flushed with embarrassment but it seems Catra had a different reaction.

“Sorry, we had to make sure it could handle some big stunts,” she remarked with a smirk. The employee shook his head and chose to ignore the comment. Both girls' snicker and Adora’s senses finally returned to the mattress she was on. At first, the bed was hard and strange, but as she lay there, her body began to sink and shape to her form. It was insanely comfortable.

“Woah…”

Catra brushed some of Adora’s now loose hair poof off her forehead and trailed a claw around her ear to further soothe her. “That brings the total to Catra being right 4 times today.”

Adora scoffed weakly and leaned into Catra’s touch. “If this is what you being right means, then what about your left?”

“My left? Wh-- oh, you! My left is leaving your smart ass here!” Catra barked back and started tickling Adora, making her laugh loudly to the point the same employee threatened to kick them out. “Welllll, we need to pick up a mattress. I believe the order is under Mara Armstrong. Give us that and we will finally be out of your hair, good sir,” she said with a salute and Adora nodded with an apologetic smile.

Begrudgingly, the man alerted the movers to bring out the mattress to Adora’s truck. As they approached her truck with the bed on the dolly, Adora shifted into She-Ra and picked up the mattress with no effort and set it gently into the bed of her truck. She shifted back to her non-powered self.

“Thank you for bringing it out!” Adora said cheekily, causing Catra’s tail to curl around her lover’s waist and sauntered to the passenger side of the truck.

The moment Adora slid into her seat, Catra planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek and neck. “f*ck, you’re so sexy.” Adora giggled a storm as she fought Catra off with her own wet kisses as some smitten form of attack.

They eventually got home and Catra was very pleased to see Adora back in her rare She-Ra form moving the beds around. At some point Mara and Hope got home and helped organize the extra mattresses into the garage for them to get to when Adora eventually moved out and would need one. That was the day that Catra learned Mara was also a First One.

“Maldicion, you’re a First One, too?”

Mara sported a big grin. “Sure am, it’s just not a form that is as needed in this day and age. Used to live in a rougher area before moving here and needed the strength. But, now? We are in a nice place and I can rest easy,” she explained and then she rolled her eyes fondly. “Adora is a bit more of a loose cannon since she doesn’t have as much control over her impulses.”

Catra nodded in understanding and thought back to that soccer game. “Makes sense. She’s gotten better though, I see less She-Ra and more Adora as we have grown up. Boxing seemed to help a lot.”

The mother’s eyes turned back to their natural color as she shifted to her human state. She smiled at the magicat and signed slowly for Catra, since she was still learning and didn’t want Adora to overhear. “You’ve been a big help, too. Us First One’s need an anchor,” she gestured to herself and Adora then made the sign for ‘boat’ with pointed hands as she dragged a hooked finger down as if to park a ship. In the corner of their eyes, Adora was showing Razz how to use the bed. “Typically our anchor is a person we love.”

Catra flushed and watched Adora animatedly explaining how the bed will sit up and down or lower to the ground and Razz nodding along with pure joy to be amongst Adora’s presence. The scene filled her senses with warmth. “She’s an anchor for me too,” she signed the new vocab back and heard Mara snort, making Catra attempt a glare but only made the long haired mother laugh fully.

“You’re softer than you look,” Mara jabbed and Hope chimed in with a, “Figures, she’s a Scorpio.”

“Wh--you--?! You know what? Whatever, you’re right. I am a water sign and I own that,” she admitted with a point to her own chest.

Razz and Adora appeared from her room and gathered where Catra and the two moms were chilling on the living room couch. “Oh, Dearies, it’s perfect! Ah! Thank you for treating this old woman so well,” Razz cheered and gave everyone pecks on their cheeks. “I am sleeping like a dog tonight,” she turns to Swift Wind, “Aren’t I Swifty?” Swifty gave a happy woof in response and wagged his tail making everyone laugh.

Sure enough, Razz slept nealy 10 hours. Although, sleeping so well made her realize how much her back actually hurt and Adora scheduled her to meet with Spinnerlla to get her back adjusted. Adora was happy to see Spinnerlla again. It had been about a year since she last saw her and had any words of wisdom from someone who cracks spines for a living.

Razz filled out her sheet of where her pain was before Spinny took them into her room.

“Adora!” Spinny greeted with a hug that the young blonde happily returned. “And who do we have here with you today?”

Adora stepped aside so Razz and Spinny could meet. They shook hands and Spinny led Raz to the table to lie down on and discuss how her back felt. Razz explained her pain and was prepped to be popped. Spinny turned to face Adora as she worked.

“I can see where you and you mom, Mara, get your stubbornness. If Razz here got a better bed even just a month ago, she wouldn’t be here, I’m afraid.” Adora sighed and Razz merely waved her off.

“My back has been bad for years. That one night of sleep was the best I have ever gotten! I should have moved in with you girls ages ago!”

“Razz, we have asked you to move in with us countless times,” Adora reminded her for Razz to wave her off again but was cut short as Spinnerella went to crack her neck. Once she got her breath back and put into a new position, Razz chided her.

“Bah! Don’t tell an old woman what does and doesn’t know!” Spinnerella snickered.

“I’m inclined to agree with her, Adora.”

Adora scoffed with a grin and decided to leave it at that as the pops to Razz’s back got more intense. Spinnerella remained gentle with her old bones and lack of cartilage. As Razz made her way to the check out, Spinny gestured for Adora to hang back.

“Your back may not be sore, but you are very stiff.”

Adora normally brushed off her words but she knew whatever she said would stay between them. “Things…aren’t easy, right now.” She nodded for the blonde to continue. “And, uh. But, I mean. It’s hard? Catra helps… Oh!” Adora remembered the trip she had in a couple days. “Me and the Best Friend Squad are going to Mystacore!”

The doctor smiled sweetly. “Oh, that’s wonderful! Netty and I spend a lot of time there. A great place to relax and unwind. I do hope it helps you, Adora, you deserve it.”

“T-thank you. I’m looking forward to it. Will see you next week with Razz?” Adora asked and was surprised to get a hug from the older woman. The hug was soft and tender.

The hug ended. “You’ll be okay, Adora. Trust your friends, okay?” Adora nodded minutely, partially stunned from the affection that she had not received before from such a long term family friend.

Adora mulled over her words for the rest of the day when her thoughts were disturbed by a sudden call. She turned down the TV show she and Razz were watching as they ate lunch.

It was a call from Huntara, she was executed to hear from her friend. She slid her thumb over her phone. “Hey! Wha--”

“Adora!” She shot to her feet as the sudden shout of panic on the other end of the line. Heavy breaths and curses took in the background noise. Was she running? Who was with her?

“What’s wrong, where are you?” She asked rapidly. Huntara grunted on the end of the line and glass breaking.

“f*ck-f*ck--I need you to come pick me up!” This time, her words were said as a harsh whisper. Adora sprinted for her backpack that had her keys and wallet inside.

“Razz! I’ll be right back!” Adora shouted to her aunt and flew out the front door, not even bothering to lock the door and got into her truck. “I’m in the car and I’m coming to Lashor’s place!” She put her phone on speaker and buckled her seat belt as she started her truck.

“No! No, don’t come here!”

“Then where!?” Slamming her foot on the gas as she turned to peel out of her neighborhood.

“I don’t know yet, I’m just running.” Huntara sounded out of breath and grunted a few times. Adora thinks she is hopping fences. “The authorities showed up, Brightmoon guards and all! f*ck--”

“What? Why?!” Adora was freaking out. She couldn’t let Huntara get caught. Before applying more speed to the odometer, Adora thought better of it. Now was not the time to draw attention to herself. She slowed her car to a more normal speed. “Where are you now?”

“Uh...There’s that pizza place over here. I think I got out just in time before anyone saw me.”

“Okay, I’m almost there. make sure you weren’t followed,” Adora squealed around a corner as the light turned red and hoped there wasn’t a cop nearby. “And stay on the line, please,” she pleaded.

A breathless chuckle on the other line. “Yeah, yeah….okay I’m behind the dumpster back here. First One’s, it smells back here,” she whispered with a muffled voice from blocking the smell with her hand.

Adora relaxed knowing she was somewhat safe. “It’s garbage or guards, Huntara.”

For the rest of the drive, Adora could hear Huntara’s breathing even out on the other end of the line.

“Like, 10 seconds out; get ready.” Huntara grunted a tired confirmation. Adora mentally prepped herself to come in the parkway through the left side so Huntara could jump directly into the seat instead of having to run around the front of the truck.

She pulled up and Adora didn’t even bother coming to a complete stop as she rolled by the designated dumpster and unlocked her car door for her friend to appear and leap into the seat before lying flat along the bench seat for cover. Adrenaline dripped out of their bodies as the sense of panic finally ended. Adora’s hand still trembled where they gripped the steering wheel.

“What about everyone else?”

Huntara shook her head. “No idea, we just bolted when we saw those stupid purple and pink SUV’s. I think they got Lashor.”

“sh*t.”

“Yeah.” They stayed quiet for a moment then, “Your house?”

“My house,” Adora agreed.

Adora and Huntara went straight to Adora’s room. After a quick hug with Razz and puppy love from Swift Wind who followed them as if to be moral support. Both girls knocked back a couple glasses of water from the adrenaline rush and settled into Adora’s bed.

“You know how I was going to call you with any updates on Prime?” Adora nodded. “So, we had a plan and, long story short, Lashor decided to do it himself to prove something in his clan and got us f*cked.”

Adora groaned loudly and covered her face with her hands. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am and he got caught. When he confronted Prime, he basically spilled our whole operation. I’m assuming Prime had eyes on us because those authorities showed up rather quickly once Lashor left.”

“You think you guys are being followed? Or is there a leak? Is the place bugged?” Adora ran through all the possibilities of how Prime could have figured it out.

Some fear made its way onto her friend’s lilac face. “Adora, I think he’s been watching all of us.” Ice replaced Adora’s spine and her hands shook with a nasty mix of anger and fear. A familiar golden glow lit the room, making Swift Wind whine.

“I’m gonna kill him, Huntara.” Two heavy hands held her by the shoulders and forced her to sit back down.

“Cool it, She-Ra. I need Adora right now.” The words helped calm her anger, even if only a bit, but it was enough to clear the red over her vision.

“What do we do?” Adora asked through gritted teeth. She thought of her family and friends and how Prime’s disgusting eyes or little sheep have been basically stalking her family.

“I need to speak with everyone. And by everyone, I mean those whose parents work with Prime’s family.” Adora went to respond when the doorbell rang. Both girls remained quiet out of fear that they could have actually been followed. Razz’s cheery voice answered the door.

“Catra, dearie! It’s so great to see you again!”

Catra. Adora totally forgot that Catra was coming over. She was so lost in the madness the last half hour that she didn’t realize what time it was. she shot to her feet and went to go greet her love. Her hugs and kisses sounded splendid at the moment. Thankfully, Huntara hung back and stayed out of sight.

“Catra!” Adora greeted with a beaming smile and kissed the cat girl and wrapped her in a tight hug.

Catra laughed into the kiss, “Somebody missed me.” Adora took her hand and led her to her room. “Somebody really missed me.”

“Uh, hah, yeah. About that?” Gods, she felt terrible about this. She heard Catra sniff the air, no doubt picking up on the smell of Adora’s anxious sweats and lingering magic from earlier.

“Adora…?” The door opened to reveal a tired looking Huntara at Adora’s desk with her head in her hands. “Oh, that explains it.”

“You have no idea,” both girls said at the same time.

Adora held Catra close in her lap on the bed as Catra coiled her tail around her shaken girlfriend’s waist, purring to relax the blonde. She and Huntara explained what went down and that’s when Huntara got up to make some calls in the backyard. It was probably an attempt to give them privacy, which Adora was grateful for since Catra seemed very annoyed with everything with how silent and furrowed her brows were. Adora’s just happy she didn’t snap at Huntara about it, and simply remained quiet and hummed her acknowledgment.

“Sorry, about all this, babe. I didn-”

“Hush, you had no control over this,” Catra interrupted her. “I just…. Can we just lie down?”

They didn’t release their hold on another as they both lied on their sides to face each other. Adora attempted another apology through a lingering forehead kiss that didn’t satiate Catra like she had hoped it would.

She was still so tired from the adrenaline rush, Catra could smell it, so when she spoke, she kept her voice low and calm.

“You told me you would stop leaving me out, Adora. You promised me,” Catra said with a bit of pain. “Why have you been bottling all of this up? Why are you guys trying to face Prime alone? I know how stressed out you are.”

Adora wanted to cry. “I…” She didn’t know what to say. “I wanted to tell you…” Can she risk letting Catra in when she is already so close to danger? But she also doesn’t want Catra to feel weak. Spirits, she feels so stuck.

When she stopped talking, Catra added one, pushing Adora to stop capping her emotions. “Adora. From what y’all told me, this sh*t sounds like it’s getting worse. Don’t let people use you. It’s okay to say no so you can focus on your own issues. I hate seeing you this stressed and scared, baby. I feel powerless to help you. It feels like… you don’t want me-- you don’t trust me,” Catra said with wet eyes that made Adora want to sob.

Adora pulled her in tight to her chest. “No no no no no,” she explained with a bit of panic. “That’s not it all! Catra I was so scared and all I could think about was how badly I needed you with me through today and everything else. I… I was going to tell you, I was I-I just needed to get the facts straight. And…” Adora looked in Catra’s eyes and remembered their talk about trusting each other. “I didn’t want to risk any one’s well begin… I just…”

“Wanted to carry this burden all on your own?” Catra finished for her, but not rudley. Her words made Adora a bit more aware of how this seemed from an outsider's perspective. How if the discussion were flipped, she would be asking the same questions.

With a sigh, Catra pulled back from the embrace and cupped Adora’s wet cheeks and kissed her gently. “Hey, I’m not mad at you. I just don’t ever want you to feel as if I can’t be there for you because you are afraid i’ll get hurt. I’m strong in my own ways. Just because I can’t lift a whole couch by myself doesn’t mean I can’t take it, okay?” They kissed again. “I want to be there for you like you are for me.” It was like the talk she had with Bow and Glimmer. Her moms. Spinnerella... everyone. Maybe it's time she finally listened.

She needed to make good on her promises.

Adora nodded and now it was Catra’s turn to hold her girlfriend to her chest. “Let it out Adora. Stop holding back. It’s okay, you're safe. Nothing exists outside of this room.” Catra kisses her temple softly and it makes Adora tremble with love. “I’ll be right here to put you back together if you break, I promise.”

Within her chest and behind her eyes, Adora felt the build up of stress break through the plaque that was trapping her emotions inside her, ruining her. Catra’s arms wrapped a bit tighter.

And Adora keened, high and long before falling into full body hiccups. Every time Adora snuggled in closer, Catra kissed her hair and scratched her back and murmured sweet words into her ears.

“It’s okay. You’re okay, I’m okay. Huntara is okay, and so is your family. You did so good today Adora, but you don’t have to do it alone. You’re enough and aren’t a disappointment for needing to focus on yourself.”

Adora cried a while longer before finally relaxing and her sniffling stopped. Maybe she did need therapy.

“How’re you feeling?” her lover asked softly and brushed some of Adora’s hair out of her face.

“A little better. Still angry about Prime.” They both shivered. “There is still a lot we don’t know.”

“This is suuuuuch bullsh*t,” Catra cussed as she pulled Adora into a more comfortable position where they could face each other. “Summer is going out with a bang.”

“No kidding. All I want is to take him out right now, but that’s…”

“Dumb.”

“Yeah.”

They snuggled until Huntara came back and said she got a ride to hide out somewhere outside of town. They decided to discuss setting up a meeting with her friend’s tomorrow. Adora saw her out while catra stayed in bed and munched on some snacks from her pantry.

Adora comes back and flips on her TV. “Movie? Cartoons?”

“As long as I get to hold you,” Catra told her through a mouth of chips. Adora picked some random superhero movie and jumped onto the bed and latched onto Catra. “Update?” the feline asked once her mouth wasn’t full.

“Feeling a lot better now,” Adora said as she pressed her ear to Catra’s chest, letting her heartbeat match the magicat’s rhythm.

That following day, a flash flood hit. The rain was pouring down so hard that Mara and Hope couldn’t even go to work. After an hour or so of rain, they lost power. Four hours later and their power was still out. Thankfully, they had a generator powered by magic energy that her whole family was jam packed with. Adora and her friend’s did their best to stay in contact with the shotty connection. At some point, Glimmer got so fed up with boredom that she teleported Bow over to Adora’s house with her with board games and snacks.

A cloud of sparkles brought Glimmer and Bow into Adora’s living room.

“Game time!” They both announced at the same time, scaring a very comfy Mara and Hope cuddled on the couch.

Mara’s eyes glowed instinctually and held a hand to her chest to calm her breathing. “Spirits! Did you have to do that right behind me!”

Next to her Hope pressed her fingers to her temples to settle her nerves and made an annoyed blink. “It is wonderful to see you both, as always.” The couple turned sheepish and apologized but quickly perked back up.

They all settled down in the living room to play cards.

“How are you guy’s houses holding up with this flooding?” Mara asked the kids.

Glimmer replied, “Fine! Our pool is looking pretty disgusting, and I am not looking forward to cleaning that up. It was just so boring over there without power and we missed you guys!” Bow nodded in agreement.

“Yeah! We haven’t been over here in a while. But, my house? The water was getting too close for comfort, although we should be fine.”

“It’s great to see you both,” Hope agreed. “The rain should let up soon. Are you looking forward to your senior year?”

“Sure am! I am ready to get on with my life!” Glimmer exclaimed as she set up the board game for ‘Sorry!’ Mara giggled at the response.

Bow had a tense smile. “As much as I love my family, I’m ready to get out of the chaos of having so many siblings and lack of privacy.”

Adora took the top card of the game deck to move her piece. “From the time I have spent at your place, I’d be ready to get out too.” The conversation was making Adora anxious as it pulled her thoughts to her unrelenting fear of the future, but she tried to play it cool. It seems Hope picked up on her struggle and subtly held a hand to her chest to remind Adora to breathe.

Changing the subject, Mara asked what game they were playing. After a moment, Adora asked about Catra and how her house was doing.

Sadness filled Glimmer’s eyes and it made Adora’s stomach clench painfully. “Her land is completely underwater. Luckily, her house is raised so it’s away from water, but they can’t get out. Their roof is leaking, too. But they should have enough buckets to catch the drips. I teleported over there and sent them to my house but Catra wanted to go to Entrapta’s for some reason or she probably would’ve come here.”

That made Adora curious and a little jealous. She knew Catra didn’t have a thing with Entrapta, plus, there was a rumor that she and Hordak were an item. She settled at that thought and wondered what she could be up to.

“She said she might come later,” Bow supplied as if reading Adora’s mind while he knocked one of Glimmer’s pieces back to start, making her groan loudly.

“Really Bow!? I just got out of there! Gah!”

“You’re the closest to my Home!”

****

Nasty water poured through the drenched ceiling and dribbled into a tin bowl that Catra had changed four times already.

“Al carajo con esto,” Catra swore and rang up Glimmer. The pink haired girl picked up after the first tone.

“Thank the Gods, someone to talk to who isn't my parents and rambling about which Hostess dessert is the best!”

“Hey to you too, Sparkles,” Catra drawled. “Can I ask a favor?”

“Anything, please.”

“Look, so you know how crummy my house is and this rain is being a bitch.”

“Say no more!” Glimmer shouted and poofed next to Catra and hugged her to which Catra limply returned. “Where-- Oh, hey there!”

Miro and Carmen popped around the corner as the familiar scent of teleportation magic.

“Hola! ¿Cómo estás, Glimmer?” Miro asked as he hugged her and Carmen right after him.

“Estoy bien!” She looks around the house, taking in the scene. “¿Cómo…?”

Carmen sighed. “Nothing we haven’t dealt with before. Winds knocked some heavy branches into a sensitive part of the roof. But, we are managing.”

“You guys want some bigger bowls and then I bring you to my place?” Glimmer offered with a hopeful shrug.

Catra gave her parents pleading eyes. She really hated dealing with this mess and wants some new company. Her parents agreed and Glimmer disappeared and returned a few moments later with massive buckets to replace their heaviest leaks.

“Alrighty! My place!” She held out her hands for the magicat’s to hold.

“Muchas gracias, Glimmer.” Both parents said gratefully and they poofed into Glimmer’s den to see her parents now reading peacefully on the couch by candlelight; the bickering now over.

When they got there, though, Catra whispered to Glimmer. “Hey, think you could jump me somewhere else?”

Glimmer turned to her with a smug grin. “Oh, I getcha, wanna see Adora, huh?”

Catra scoffed. “Actually, no. I was hoping to go to Entrapta’s, if that’s okay and you still got juice left for another trip.” This was the perfect chance to get something done, and she knew Entrapta would have power at her place.

Glimmer sobered up. “Really? You’re saying no to Adora? Her place has power, you know?”

“No sh*t? Well, this is something I need to do. When I’m done, then I’d love to see her,” Catra said with a lilt that made Glimmer roll her eyes and cross her arms.

“Care to tell me why you are being so secretive?”

“Because you have a blabber mouth, so this secret is staying a secret, got it?”

Glimmer scoffed. “You think Entrapta can keep a secret?”

“Told her it was an experiment that would be ruined if she spoke about it.” The feline shrugged with a victorious grin.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll take you. I’m getting Bow and heading to Adora’s to play board games. If you wanna join us, then let me know.”

“Thank you,” Catra said sincerely. Then they were at Entrapta’s and were immediately hit with smells of electricity and plasma.

“Yeah, okay, have fun,” Glimmer said with a scared expression and peace sign.

Catra was used to Entrapta’s shenanigans and walked without fear and shouted for her friend until she turned around and flipped up her face mask.

“Catra! How did you get here? Don’t you hate storms? Aren’t the roads flooded? Did you use a-- ooooohhhh, Glimmer,” She deduced herself. “Are you here for…” she leaned in as if someone was listening, “the thing? For that person?”

Catra laughed lightly. “Yes, the gift for Adora. You can say it aloud when no one is here.”

“But, there is someone here. Hordak is making tiny sandwiches in the kitchen.”

“Oh, uh. Well, thanks for the discretion. I really appreciate it.” Entrapta nodded and led Catra to another workbench that had a small cube resting on it. Catra gasped quietly at the sight. “Can I hold it?”

“Absolutely!” Entrapta screamed and passed the object to Catra with her hair.

It was perfect. Catra held it gently and examined the cube. “H-how much longer until it’s done?”

“Oh, this is just a prototype! Considering Adora has broken three of her Rubik’s cubes, I am designing a much more sturdy one with slicker sliding with magnetic energy! Isn’t that amazing?! I am also voiding the cube of stickers so that the appearance remains pristine after years of use so that will be just as new after 88 years of daily use! I could make it longer but I would require longer incubation for the plastic but you need this by January 1st of this year and it simply isn’t enough time. So! The final draft should be complete in exactly 47 days since I still need to develop the compartment!”

Emotion choked Catra’s throat and her ears perked up with joy as a loving smile filled her face, showing her fangs. “Can… can I hug you?”

Entrapta tilted her head in cute confusion. “I do not understand why you would like to hug me when I haven’t even completed your request. But, thank you for asking and yes I will accept your hug!” She swaddled Catra in her hair and hugged her swiftly for exactly 3 seconds before releasing her.

Catra has only hugged Entrapta a few times since they met back in Kindergarten. Neither of them were keen on hugs, but Cata felt this was warranted and appropriate. “You’re amazing, Trap, thank you. Adora’s going to love this.”

“Of course! This has been so much fun!” Catra loved this brainiac.

“Catra, I thought I heard you. How are you doing?” Hordak returned with tiny sandwiches.

She turned to face him and snagged a sandwich. “Doing great. How’ve you been?” Catra decided to stay and catch up with the new couple. A couple hours later, the rain stopped and had Glimmer take her by Adora’s for a quick kiss which turned into everyone, including Entrapta, Bow, and Glimmer, helping repair Catra’s roof with Entrapta’s new sealant.

Catra never thought letting people into her life could be so wonderful and she wishes she could tell her younger self that the world wouldn’t fall apart if she let herself be happy.

Chapter 16: when you want to do more, but you cant

Chapter Text

It’s the first day of her senior year, the year she has been dreading because it means she has to prepare for the next big chapter. A chapter she wishes she could skip ahead and read, but the pages are blank, or so she thinks. But right now, she feels worse than she ever wanted to feel. Prime no longer goes to her school.

She should feel elated that she longer has to deal with him controlling half the student body, but now no one can keep an eye on him during the day five days a week. Anxiety crawls through her skin like maggots. Her eyes fog over as her breath shortens, as if her lungs are growing full of lichens.

“Hey,” Glimmer draws her back. “We will be okay! Now that he isn’t here, we don’t have him breathing down our necks all the time!”

“That’s the thing, Glimmer,” she says roughly. “Now, we can’t see what he is up to! Where is he? He has to be planning something.”

“Adora, can you calm down?”

“Glimmer,” Bow warns her, “this is clearly upsetting her. Let's be empathetic about it.”

Perfuma steps in and sides with Bow. “I agree, Adora, you have been at the frontlines with this-- having to deal with it through Huntara. But, we need to take a breath so we can think about this calmly.”

“Sorry,” Glimmer apologizes and holds Adora’s hands. “I shouldn’t have said that to you. Let us start by asking around for his whereabouts! Somebody has to know something!”

“Isn’t Catra the closest to him?” Mermista asks and everyone starts looking around for Catra.

“She’s running late,” Adora supplies through returning panic at remembering how often Prime has been at Catra’s. “He has to be plotting something,” she said again.

“Lets find him, and kick his ass!” Frosta shouted with a grin as she pounded her fists together.

“Orrrrr, we could--” Seahawk begins, and everyone knows where it is going.

“No, that’s just cruel,” Perfuma admonished. “A good beating should suffice.”

Two arms wrap around Adora’s waist. “Hey, Adora.” She is initially spooked but settles when she realizes it’s Catra. “Sup, nerds.”

Everyone greets her as she places a couple kisses to Adora’s neck. The First One turns in her lover’s arms to hold her closely. Taking in a deep breath of her scent helps relax her nerves. “Hey, Catra. What took so long?”

“Sorry! I needed to be picked up!” Scorpia answered with a shy wave of her claw. “I forgot to fill up my car with gas and asked Catra to pick me up. Perfuma, I would have asked you but I knew you needed to get here early, and I would have asked Entrapta for a ride but her car was already full and I could have--”

“It’s okay, sweetie, we understand,” Perfuma stopped her rambling and kissed her cheek.

Adora tuned out the rest of her friend’s conversation and sinked into Catra’s arms still around her, resting her head on her lover’s shoulder. She needed some semblance of peace before the nausea of fear took over the rest of the day. “You’re stressed. What happened?”Catra asked when she took in Adora’s stressed out hormones. .

“Prime, he doesn’t go here anymore. We don’t know where he is or what he could be up to. He-he,” she swallowed, “He could hurt someone, and we wouldn’t even know it. There is so much he did at school. Imagine what he could do now if he is done with school? Has he moved onto a university? He could be attacking parent’s or--or--”

Catra pulled back to cut Adora off by squishing her face between her padded palms. “Adora,focus on me.” She brought their foreheads together, then took Adora’s hands and placed them over her chest so she could feel Catra’s heartbeat. “Match me, baby,” she ordered her gently and rubbed the nape of her sweaty neck.

Adora felt a tear drop down her cheek at how sweet Catra was being with her. The words, the pressure-- the love-- grounded her and she felt her airways open up and wounds of fear begin to heal. In, out, in, out. After a few more moments, their heart beats matched and her blood pressure leveled out.

“There we go.” Her hand moved to bring Adora back into a hug so she could rub the blonde’s back. Adora kissed her on the lips before snuggling into her neck to feel her pulse against her damp cheek.

“Thank you.”

“I got you, I love you.”

Adora held her tighter. “I love you, so much.”

The bell rang shortly thereafter and the school went on like any other day. But, for Adora, she felt pins and needles pick at her skin all day as anxiety weaseled its way through her pores and worked its course to her heart and brain.

When Adora gets home from school, her blood turns black. Blacker than a starless night when she spots the last person she ever wanted to see on her front door step...talking to both of her mothers.

Sound is swallowed and vanishes as Adora shifts into autopilot. She floors the gas the last few yards to poorly park her truck alongside the curb in front of her house. She doesn’t even bother to turn her car off when she breaks her door open from excessive force and stomps with leaded footsteps to the tube headed male on her doormat, grabbing his shoulder, whipping him around and flinging him--

But she doesn’t make it further than the muscle twitch to throw him when Mara is full blown Warrior Goddess and pressing Adora into the wall of the house with her forearm.

“What do you think you’re doing Adora?!” Mara demanded with piercing blue eyes back at Adora’s own.

Hope turned to Prime and asked, “Are you alright?”

With a devilish smile he straightened his shirt. “I’m quite fine. My dear friend Adora here was just excited to see me.”

“Shut up,” Adora sniped which earned her another hard glare from her transformed mother. “Mara, he needs to leave! Hope! Get away from him!” she begged as she struggled against her mom’s hold.

“No worries, I was just about to take my leave, anyway, Adora,” he says, knowingly before turning to address both of the older women. “I do look forward to our business in the future, Miro will be very happy to have some new customers. I will see you all on Thursday.”

Adora goes to say something but Mara co*cks her head in question. “Are you going to apologize to our guest?”

Her breathing is still ragged and her panic is still skyrocketing. Prime turns to face her on the edge of the porch; it seems he isn’t going to leave until she apologizes. This asshole, Adora thinks, he won’t leave until I say it, is he?

She gives in to his power trip. “I’m sorry for how I treated you,” she grunts out as calmly as she can. Mara loosens her grip only when Prime slips into his coop and turns the corner out of sight.

“What was that?” Mara nearly shouts as she shuffles everyone inside from the prying eyes of their neighbors that came to witness the commotion. “You better have a good explanation for me.”

Adora can hardly hear her mom over the roaring blood in her ears. Her panic keeps her as She-Ra in self defense as they settle into the living room. Mara has shifted already and is obviously exhausted from the intense moment earlier, so Hope gets her some water and a bagel with cream cheese to bring some energy back in her. Meanwhile, Adora has to pace to house to keep herself from sprinting after Prime and socking him in the jaw a few times.

“Adora!” Hope shouts with worry. “You must sit! You’re going to pass out from breathing so hard. Honey, please,” she pleads with both hands on her shoulders to guide her to the couch to lie down but Adora shoves her off with sudden sob.

“Stop! Stop telling me what to do and--and listen to me!” Her mothers twitch at her outburst. She-Ra’s voice is much more authoritative and deep than Adora’s, but perhaps it will get her worry across. She crosses the room to her moms and rolls up their sleeves. “Did he touch you? Hurt you? How close did he get to you? Is Razz here?”

Mara looks at her, puzzled. “Adora, explain yourself. What is your deal with Prime? And, no, Razz is out getting early dinner with some friend’s.” Then, Adora sees it.

A small cut, so small, on Mara’s caramel skin along her upper forearm. She whimpers through trembling lips, “I failed. I failed you guys, I failed everyone, I failed--”

Mara cups her face with tears in her eyes. “Please tell me what happened, sweetheart.” The crack in her armor splits from one sliver into thousands as she crumbles back into Adora on the floor at her parents’ feet.

“I couldn’t-- I--- I failed to protect you! Prime! He--he is a bad, bad m--man,” She gasps through heaves of tears and snot. Her mother’s keep their distance but sit next to her so they are in her sight but far away enough for her to not feel cornered. “He’s hurting people with--withw--with some new serum. We don’t know what it does but he has to, um, uh, cut you for it to get into your bloodstream.” Flashes of the cut on Mara’s arm blinds her vision and she yells into the wood floor.

“A cut…” Hope whispers and reaches for her thigh. “How do you know all this? Do you have proof?”

“That’s enough for now,” her wife interjects and Hope nods. Tissues are slid into Adora’s perspective which she takes gratefully. “Lay down, Adora, and we can keep talking when you feel better?”

Adora wobbles to the couch and lies back with a tear stained face, eyes bruised from the full body jolts of despair that strangle her brain.

“And,” Mara starts, “You didn’t fail us.” Adora doesn’t believe her but her throat is so dry and hoarse that she can’t find the strength to bicker.

Half an hour passes when Adora can finally see clearly again as she melts into the cushions with her head in Hope’s lap and Mara gently massage her feet and calf muscles. The pressure is soothing and Mara knows all the right points to dig her thumbs in the sole of her feet to relax other parts of her body. Like her neck, stomach, and head.

Adora finally finds the lucidity to tell her mom’s everything regarding Prime. His connection to Catra and what he has done to Huntara. The news shocks her mother’s and they hold her closely when she starts crying again.

“Adora, this is all too much for one person to handle,” Mara tells her with a wet sniffle. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“You...you both have done so much for me. And you’re so stressed all the time and I hate to put more on your plates than you already have. You’ve done so much for me, it’s only fair I do the same for you guys…”

Mara brings Adora to meet her eyes with a gentle caress of her chin. “Honey, looking after someone goes both ways. How are we supposed to look after you if you don’t tell us how? How are we supposed to be prepared if we don’t know what is going on?” The blonde pulls her head away in shame.

Next to her, Hope shuffles and takes her daughter’s shaking hand. “We love you so much, Adora. We will do anything for you--”

“That’s the problem--!”

“Let me finish,” Hope says, rather harshly and it makes Adora shut up. “Why do you think that you aren’t worth helping? We do this because we love you, we care about you, so much. That isn’t a crutch or a weakness. We are your parent’s, and you are our child. It is our duty to look after each other. We mustn't keep secrets from one another or we don’t know how to properly care for the other. We are stronger together. So, we are upset with you for keeping this from us, but we can move past that. Right now, we are more concerned for your well being. How can we help you?”

Adora doesn’t answer, so Mara reinforces Hope’s words. “We love you, we care about you. You aren’t a burden and we want to help you, Adora. You don’t have to be alone in this. Stronger together, remember?”

That was something her sport’s teams always emphasized and it became a motto for the Best Friend Squad. It's all she needs.

“I… We need to stop Prime. I--we--we would go to the authorities but they are all on his side. We can’t trust them. Frosta’s parents are with the royal guard and--and... ”

“Adora,” Hope started softly, “do you have evidence, something to prove, what he is doing? Do you know what he is doing? What is his motive?”

Adora stammers and realizes, that no, they do not have any evidence “No, but going to the guards is a waste of time anyway.”

“Okay, you said your friend’s are involved? How involved?” Mara ponders. Adora gives a ‘so-so’ hand movement. “Okay, you should tell them about what just happened and meet with them in person, like Huntara suggested. We can talk to the parents, if you’d like? Give them a heads up?”

Adora nods slowly and Hope keeps her voice down when she says, “Let us handle our part, you handle yours, and we keep each other updated.We will tell Miro to hold off on our need for his services until we figure this out, or we don’t have Prime come to do it. Sound good?”

Gods, Adora loves her mother’s so much.

Immediately, Addora calls Catra about what happened and Catra comes over to help her relax. Together, they create a massive group chat and sort out to meet with their friend’s to meet up this weekend on Sunday morning. The week passes with a lot less weight and a lot more hope. Her friend’s are sincere and help her with school and remind her to eat and drink water. Perfuma gave her a lavender lotion to calm her nerves while Glimmer made her favorite pork steam buns. When she has class with Bow, they fold up some paper to play fortune teller and other little games to pass the time in the back of class.

This year, Adora pushes herself to take an advanced History course with Catra and Scorpia. Scorpia actually has a great memory when it comes to school. She teaches Adora new flower species Perfuma taught her and Catra will draw them as detailed as possible. It becomes a routine for them and Adora loves how natural it feels. She is also very happy to have Catra seated next to her again so they can play with each other's hands which somehow evolves into footsie with Scorpia that almost gets them all separate seats. Adora nearly cries at the thought but Catra saves the day with her effortless acting skills.

When she sees Catra at lunch, she can tell something is off.

“Hey, babe? Are you alright?”

Catra rubs her temples. “Migraine is coming. Sorry...just--can you--sorry.” And slumps with her head in her hands with a defeated sigh.

Adora lowers her voice. “It’s okay, put your head down and I’ll get your headphones out for you.”

All Catra can manage is a small hand knock to say ‘yes’. The fact she is restoring to sign language means she is in a lot of pain. Being a feline, sounds must be very intense right now. Adora tries to be as quiet as possible as she digs for Catra’s headphones. She finds them and slips into Catra’s lap for her to put in, which she quickly does and sags as the noise cancellation mode kicks on.

Adora does her best to get Catra to eat but she’s too nauseous from the pain and doesn’t want to risk throwing up. Inevitably, the bell rings and Catra tries to muffle a whine into her forearm. Everyone at the table did their best to keep their voices down, which Catra gave them a thank you from her chin. Catra went straight to the nurses and Adora guided her so she didn’t have to open her eyes.

This migraine seemed worse than usual…

“Catra?” Adora whispered. “Do you have your meds?”

Catra shook her head and made an ‘oo’ with her mouth with the sign for ‘medicine’ that translated to “medicine empty”. That stunned Adora, Catra had a great memory and was very on top of keeping her meds refilled.

“I’m going to call them in and pick them up after school,” she told her quietly and kissed her cheeky softly. “I gotta get to class. Send me updates, I love you.”

Catra made a small groan, handing Adora her insurance card and signed the lexicalization for “i love you”.

After about an hour in the nurse's office, Catra managed to get through her last couple classes so she wouldn't fall behind. But when that final bell rang, she sprinted on all fours to her car and sped home and collapsed in bed before the pain reached unbearable levels.

Adora made her way to the pharmacy to get her meds as well as other’s since Catra was running low on her other pharmaceuticals. Catra’s triggers range from certain smells, loud sounds, lack of sleep, or even stress. Adora is putting her bet on stress because of Catra’s work load.

When she goes into the store to get her meds, Adora also purchases sports drinks high in electrolytes, some of her favorite candies, and peppermint oil since Adora has heard that if you rub it on your temples, it can relieve the pain.

Eventually, Adora makes it to Catra’s and opens the door with the spare key Catra texted her about that was under a certain pot on the porch. Adora noticed the dogs barking at the neighbors pets and Adora knew Catra wouldn’t be happy. Sure enough, when Adora got inside the house, she heard sobbing.

Quietly, she jogs to Catra’s room which is pitch black and finds the magicat shaking with her head under a pillow.

Adora grabs some tissues and rests the pills by Catra on the bed. “I'll go shut them up.” And sprints out the door as She-Ra, picking up both dogs in either arm, and putting them in the office with some treats where they cuddle each other for a nap.

Getting back to Catra’s room, she finds her girlfriend sniffling with a heating pad wrapped around her head and sipping on the drink Adora bought her.

“Thank you…” she says wetly and reaches for Adora with a limp arm. Adora silently crawls into the bed and gingerly lies next to her lover.

“What can I do?” Catra answers by snuggling her nose into her pulse point and breathing deeply.

“Peppermint is helping.”

“Do you need more?” Adora asks and rubs her back.

“Please...I don’t know where it went…”

Adora blindly runs her hands until she finds the glass bottle of Peppermint oil. She dabs some on her finger and rubs it into Catra’s fuzzy temples, making the feline moan in relief, then settles in closer. About half an hour passes before Catra begins to stir and can think more clearly.

“Better?” Adora asks with a chaste kiss between Catra’s eyes.

“Much. Thank you, Adora.”

“Of course. Is there anything else I can do?”

Catra giggles at her earnestness. “Always so ready to help. But, maybe toast me some pop tarts.”

“You got it, babe,” Adora says and kisses her long and hard as she leaves the bed.

A few minutes later, Adora returned with four hot pop tarts with melted butter on them and Catra fell more in love; tears burning her eyes. Her head was still sore and she had several homework assignments to do, but getting to eat pop tarts with Adora was infinitely more important.

Sunday rolls around the corner and everyone is on edge. All the friend’s spoke with their parents but not all agreed that Prime was a threat and it was causing a rift to split on how to handle the situation.

Mermista’s dad is the one that leads oversights of the ports in Salineas and finds Prime’s family to be rather up-worthy and respectable, but can sense an air of lies when they meet at political and business parties.

“Prime does quite a bit of talking when it comes to these events,” Mermista tells everyone. “He has definitely got my dad and I with that serum sh*t.” Although she says it absently, Mermista hugs herself and thinks about Seahawk holding her, and wishes he was there.

Frosta adds on to her experience. “My parents and I are at every one of those meetings. They happen every 6 months to go over new employees and branches or to make new connections. Prime and his dad talk to everyone.”

“Yep,” Glimmer agrees. “Miro and Prime have done work on the houses my mom sells that need yard maintenance. They’ve even done our home a few times this year.” She shakes her head and groans as she throws her head back. “This is unreal, how did we not see this coming!?”

Scooting closer, Bow rubs her back. “One thing at a time,” he says and faces the rest of the group. “Who else has been to the meetings?”

Perfuma, Scorpia and Entrapta raise their hands. Everyone sighed heavily and Adora held Catra tighter around the waist in a protective hold. Catra wraps her tail around Adora in response.

“My parent’s have attended recently with Entrapta’s since they are working together for faster plant growth without magic for non magic users,” Perufma explained and Entrapta rattled on about the science behind it.

“What we have accomplished is groundbreaking! With my dad’s automotive manufacturing, we can create gadgets and mobile machinery to increase abilities for non magic users or even the physically disabled! With the addition of Perfuma’s parent’s botany knowledge and magic, we can combine our products to make easily accessible medicine for everyone instead of having to visit healers!”

Perfuma nodded enthusiastically and put a gentle hand on Entrapta’s hair. “It really is amazing what we have accomplished.”

Scorpia spoke up sooner with her own excitement. “Both of my moms’ insurance companies have really taken off in the last couple years! They’ve attended 3 of the last meetings to expand their business advertising with Angella’s real estate company!” Then her joy sobered and she slumped a bit. “But, they have been at the meetings when Prime is there, and I went once last year. So, he got us.”

Perfuma held her claw and gave her a sympathetic look. “He got us all, Rosebud. We didn’t know.”

“Well…” Bow began and stretched out the word. “My family hasn’t attended any of the parties. It’s possible I am in the clear, but we really can’t take any chances.”

Entrapta perks up with a data analysis. “It is a 96% chance Prime has gotten all of us, considering we still are unsure when he began targeting the student body and forging his members following.”

At Bow’s right, Glimmer nods and sets her face. “We need to prepare for the worst and expect everything. Prime has been several steps ahead of us, of every one, since he got here. We haven’t heard much about his dad, which is concerning.”

“It’s possible his dad has no idea what he is up to,” Catra points out.

“Using his dad to plan his evil whims sounds like Prime,” Mermista drawls with a sigh.

Frosta punches her fists together and growls out, “Can we please beat his ass senseless?”

Chuckling, Huntara shook her head, “Call me if you ever get that close to him. I hardly got in the same room as him and worked for the guy.”

“That’s the other thing,” Adora said. “We don’t know his strength. When he was at my house… I tried to grab him but Mara stopped me from really landing a blow.”

Catra squeezed her hand. “It’s better you didn’t anyway, we can’t risk him hurting anyone. Look at what’s happened to Huntara.” Adora knew Catra was right, as much as she wished she could have thrown him 30 feet last week, she nodded and leaned further into her lover’s side.

“So…” Double Trouble starts, stretching out the vowel with a bored twirl of their hair. “Why am I here? I know I look fabulous, but I do have to be somewhere, eventually, darlings.”

Adora leans over the table with the forearm not around Catra. “We need you to do some undercover work for us.” That gets a glint in Double Trouble’s eye. “You are the only one that can do this.”

“And the payment? I do not use my skills for free.”

It’s Catra’s turn to lean onto the table and digs into her pocket to reveal an envelope that she then skids across the table to Double Trouble. They pick up the thick package, open it and smile widely. “What did you have in mind?”

They go over the game plan and Huntara gives everyone her new phone number so they can send updates on one another's progress. Everyone heads home and it seems Adora still can’t rest, even as she heads to bed.

It’s Mara, hunched over a pillow with her shirt off in obvious pain as Hope paces on the phone with what sounds like scheduling an appointment.

“Mama?” Adora asked, voice small and Mara looked up at her with tired eyes. She sped to her side and her eyes went wide at Mara’s back. “What’s wrong? What happened? Are you okay?”

“Hey, honey,” Mara said after a deep breath. “Something new is what’s happening.”

Adora’s breath caught and anger gripped her blood vessels. “Prime. The cut. He did this--”

“No, Adora. Just…”

“It can’t be a coincidence, Mara.” Mara gave Adora a soft glare for the interruption, making Adora wince and sign ‘sorry’. She needed to bite down on her fury.

“With my body? More likely than not,” her mom continued and laughed humorously. “It’s shingles. This just happens to those who neglected to get their vaccine as a kid.”

Adora deflated, but was still on edge. “Have you tried transforming? Maybe your magic could heal it?”

Mara shook her head and groaned at the movement. “Already tried. Being a magical warrior doesn’t protect you from your own genetics or viruses like these. But, when I am changed, I’m fine. It’s just so exhausting to use magic like that for more than a couple hours now. And doing that everyday? That’s straining on my human body when I come back down.”

At this point, Hope got off the phone and sat down next to Mara with concerned brows. “There isn’t much we can do other than simple pain relief until it finally leaves…” Hope looked pained at what she would say next. “And with your condition, it will take much longer to recover from. We can see healers who can show us some spells or give us eliquiers for the pain but…”

Mara smiles softly and cups Hope’s face. “It’ll be okay.”

“You are trying to comfort me,” she scoffed without rudeness, “when you are the one suffering through it.”

“Yes, but you have to help me. And that’s pressure on you, too,” Mara says with a kiss to her wife’s nose.

Hope leans in and kisses her temple. “I hate seeing my love hurt.”

“Yeah...this won’t be easy.”

And it wasn’t easy. Adora could hardly think straight when she heard Mara groaning in pain through two closed doors. All her life, Adora has never heard her mother reveal how much pain she is actually in. She-Ra floods to the surface every time she hears her mom, but holds her back from breaking the surface. Every instinct tells her to heal Mara but it’s frugal.

Mara let her try to ease some pain the other day but it did nothing. Adora felt so helpless and did her best to shove her own feelings into the pit of avoidance so she could focus on helping Mara and stopping Prime from whatever he is scheming.

It’s the first month into the school year when Adora gets a slap to the face. Not an actual, physical slap, but it might as well be with what Catra informs her of.

“You quit soccer? When? How did your pare--”

“Adora,” Catra silenced her and grabbed her shoulder so her girl friend would face her and not lose herself to a spiral. “I told you about this on our first day back to school. We talked about me choosing art over soccer?”

Slipping into a state of confusion, Adora did her best to recall when that happened. She remembers discussing it when they needed to help her Aunt Razz, but doesn’t remember it coming up again. She feels like garbage for not knowing, she feels like the worst girlfriend in the world for not paying attention.

“When…? How-how’d your parent’s take it?”

Catra looked hurt and it made Adora want to cry. “You don’t remember anything I said? It was the first day of Senior year….”

“I’m--I’m so sorry, Catra. I--I--sorry, I don’t remember,” Adora apologized and felt her throat get thick with sludge and felt it rise to her eyes and nose. Catra was going to see how terrible she really is and she--

Two gentle, such gentle hands cup her face and brush her tears away. “Hey, hey, Adora, it’s alright. I mean, I’m a little upset you don’t remember it, but no one can blame you, okay? I’m not mad, I’m...mostly just worried about you.” Catra pulled Adora close and kissed the mate mark on her pale neck from a couple nights ago that Adora refused to heal. The gesture helped calm her racing heart-- reminding her that Catra still loved her. But Adora still was unsettled that she forgot such a conversation.

A sob shook her body as she melted into Catra’s arms. School was just let out and some people stared as they drove out of the parking lot, but neither girl cared. Catra held her tighter and suggested, “Let’s go sit in the bed of your truck and we can talk some more. I don’t work tonight so let's talk this out.”

They made their way to lie down in her truck’s bed where they pulled back the cover to reveal a set of pillows and blankets to snuggle up in. Adora was prepared to pull Catra to her chest but held back a yelp of surprise when Catra flipped their positions. That lovely purr jump started and Adora felt better within seconds.

“Talk to me, baby.”

Adora trembled and Catra’s purr only grew in volume and intensity as the blonde released everything she didn’t realize was excruciatingly twisting her insides. She told Catra about Mara, how she can’t protect her family, the stress of figuring out what Prime is up to, her last year of school and how she doesn’t know what she’s going to do after she graduates. Spewing her emotions left Catra’s shirt ruffled and damp, yet Catra wrapped her tighter against her body, using her tail to curl around her leg as she scratched her back.

Adora sucked in a deep breath to fight off some of the sobbing shakes. This last bit is one part that has been eating at her forever and she needs it off her chest as her mind slips. She made sure there wasn’t a thing Catra didn’t know about her. She wanted to be so open for Catra that she could step inside Adora’s mind and close the door without leaving anything behind.

“I don’t know who I am, or who I am supposed to be. Everyone always needs She-Ra, not me. I suck at school and nothing makes me feel like it’s meant to be. Like I don’t connect with any of the material. It all feels so...superficial and foreign to me. Yeah, the stuff excites me at first but I lose interest and get tired of it. It--it doesn’t...challenge me?” Catra nods for Adora to keep going when she loses her momentum and feels the crashing aftermath of her expulsion.

“I don’t know what to do. Everyone keeps asking me what I want, but all I want is...is...to feel complete.” Adora shakes her head. “That’s not the right wording but it’s like…”

Catra waits a few moments to see if Adora can find her words, but when she sighs, she helps her. “You feel disconnected?”

“Kind of,” she says softly. Catra tries again.

“Misplaced?”

Adora nods slowly. “Like I don’t fit, you know? Only time I really feel whole is when I’m alone with you. I don’t have to be anything but myself when I’m with you.” Catra pulls her closer and Adora keens as she feels firm, passionate kisses patter the top of her head like morning rain.

“I’m happy you found me, Adora. I will always be here for you, okay? Is this why college scares you so bad?”

More tears roll down Adora’s cheek as she nods into Catra’s neck. “Mhm. Feel like a useless puzzle piece.”

Catra pulls Adora back to face her and Adora’s eyes widen with how much emotion is in those eyes. “You aren’t useless, you are exactly who you need to be and me and so many other people are here to get you there. You are the sexiest, most badass, most genuine puzzle piece that every puzzle needs.” Adora can only nod and brush her lips with Catra’s as more emotion swathes them both in shimmering, hopeful light. The kiss is initially soft and tastes of salty tears and chapstick but quickly turns passionate and deepens.

Their hands card through one another’s hair and then break for air. Adora brings her head to Catra’s chest to feel her purr again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Being so tender was something most people never attuned to Catra, but Catra was the epitome of caring. Adora loved her so much. Adora never thought she could feel as safe and whole as she did in her arms. They were in a bubble where nothing outside of them existed and it calmed every one of her senses. It made Adora cry again, but her eyes were dry and she became dehydrated.

Adora shook with the aftershocks of her panic attack and curled into Catra’s neck and inhaled her scent with shaking breaths. The parking lot was empty except for a few cars at this point and the air was a soothing mute. Clawed fingers began to run through Adora’s sweaty hair.

“Adora, a lot of these things can be handled with teamwork, which we are doing. But,” Catra was picking her words carefully and kept her voice low, “it seems like the future, especially with school and stuff, really freaks you out.” Adora nodded with a whimper. “That's something… I think you and I can talk about more, like really talk about it, if you want to?”

She hesitated for a moment but nodded after a short pause. Catra was someone she could trust when Adora still couldn’t bring herself to seek professional help.

“This isn’t a dead end, this is something we can figure out, I promise.”

And that was all Adora needed to fully melt into the magicat’s strong arms. “I trust you.”

“Thank you, for trusting me. Before we get talking again, let's get some food and water in you, princess. Those water works need to be refilled.”

Both girls headed back to Adora’s in their own cars and Catra followed Adora to make sure she could handle the drive. When they get there, Adora shushes Catra as they creep inside since Mara is sleeping, face down on the living room couch so she isn’t on her back where the virus has attacked her nerves. Both girls gather some snacks and water and head to Adora’s room to unwind.

They sign to each other with hushed whispers and Adora is too exhausted to dive more into imposter syndrome so Catra decides to tell her about the soccer ordeal. As it turns out, Catra’s parents were more accepting than she initially thought.

Catra was so ready to be seen as this f*ck up-- as a waste of space-- for not being able to handle all the extracurriculars to build a better repertoire for universities, but it was the complete opposite. Her parents praised and loved her for making such a mature decision. Since quitting soccer, Catra has had more time for homework, leading to less stress and better sleeping and eating habits. She still makes time to go for runs since she craves the exercise and Adora is wondering if she can convince Catra to come box with her sometime. Her grades and attention in class is improving and she is bringing bigger meals to lunch.

Hope came home and the garage door rising open woke Mara up. Catra took that as a good cue to leave since it was close to dinner and they had school in the morning. They kissed each other goodbye and Adora felt a bit lighter knowing Catra was willing to help her discover herself. Opening up about that part of herself is something that has terrified her since she was a kid and is glad Catra is the one to put light on those dark areas.

As Catra drives away, Adora makes a firm decision to pay more attention to Catra. She never wants Catra to feel like she isn’t wanted when she works so hard to make Adora know she is. It’s time she returns the favor and turns to see her moms holding one another closely. Everyone has done so much for her. Hope is working extra hours to make up for when Mara is in too much pain to work. Adora sets herself to make dinner and is thankful that her moms don’t comment on Adora’s puffy eyes. As she cooks, she remembers Catra’s birthday is coming up and plots date and gift ideas.

Meanwhile, Prime is somewhere smiling to himself.

Chapter 17: evasive action

Chapter Text

Today is the day. It’s DT’s time to shine as they make their way to the bathroom after school to shift into one of the janitors that left already. They are really playing the part and beginning to realize how filthy the school actually is.

Static signals off in their earpiece as Glimmer comes over the comms.

“Are you to the bathrooms yet?”

DT doesn’t bother to muffle their groan; they’ve been paid already. “Simmer down, darling, these toilets aren’t going to clean themselves. I use these stalls!”

“We have a very small time frame!”

“You should really see these toilets.” DT smiles widely when they hear a loud groan from Glimmer who is fuming while Catra can be heard cackling.

“I swear to--” fumbling on the line and Bow’s voice replaces Glimmer’s.

“Sorry about her, we really appreciate you cleaning those bathrooms but we do have a small time frame, I’m afraid.”

Cleaning the last toilet, DT begins to make their way to the principal’s office to ‘clean’ Principal Grizzlor’s office. Digging into their pocket once the door is shut, DT remains in character and discretely slips a USB into the desktop since there are cameras in the room.

“Do your thing, pigtails.”

“YES!!!” Entrapta screams into the comms, making DT fight off a massive flinch. As the scientist hacks the school’s system, DT slowly cleans the office until she is done getting the information on Prime’s academic history.

“How much longer?” DT grunts as they unplug the vacuum. “This room is surprisingly clean.”

“Oh, I finished two minutes ago, there’s just some operational updates needed to this computer!”

Without even asking, DT yanks the USB from the port, blatantly ignoring the reprimands pouring over the comms. “Look, this guy’s shift ends in,” DT checks their watch, “8 minutes and we still need to hit security, and I am not getting arrested for being a janitor, darlings.”

“Okay, valid,” Glimmer concedes. “We will make sure Entrapta doesn’t get side tracked this time.”

They make it to the security room, collecting trash on the way, and reach into the other pocket for the second USB. They slot the device into the camera feeds for Entrapta to work her magic in copying streams with Prime’s face in the shots. Several minutes pass and there is about one minute left when DT begins to lose their calm.

“Look, I know I say ‘you can’t rush perfection’, but this is cutting it close!” DT grunts out as they sweep the floor for the second time.

“Almost….there….” Entrapta says absent mindedly.

“We are at 88%!” Adora updates them.

DT looks to the camera feed to see if the halls are still clear and spots a shadow coming around the corner. “Someone’s coming.”

“93%!” Bow says with a bear hug on Glimmer to quench his fear.

The shadow gets closer and DT shuffles to the side of the room so they cannot be seen through the door window.

“97%”

As the figure gets closer, DT notices the person is tall in stature. Who...? Another figure appears at the other end of the hall, making their way towards them and DT holds their breath.

“Done!”

DT quickly sweeps back to the camera setups and quickly ejects the USB and checks the cameras again for anyone in the hallway and sees two figures standing on either side of the door DT is in. Their heart rate spikes and does their best to stay in character and whisper into the comm link.

“What the hell, you guys?! They’re just standing there to jump me!”

“I’m going to come scare them off, okay? Hang tight!” Glimmer tells them and Bow tries to stop her but she is already a cloud of glitter.

Double Trouble slowly dusts the keyboards to pass the time when they hear Glimmer.

She poofed around the corner to make it seem like a casual waltz and approached the two students with faux authority. Whipping out her ID badge to have some semblance of superiority, she says, “hallways need to be cleared out! All students need to go--”

Then they charge her and that’s when she recognizes the students. “Adora! Someone, grab Huntara! Quickly!” She grunts out between dodging blows. “It’s her goons from the trailer you talked about! It’s the reptilian and the satyr-- Janice and Riley!”

Adora hears Glimmer and whips her head to look with unkempt accusation at Huntara’s wide eyes and shocked expressions. “What the f*ck!” Huntara yells in confusion and Scorpia joins Adora as they slowly approach her. “I did not plan this!”

“Sorry, but you gotta see how this looks,” Scorpia said as she slowly raised her stinger to prepare for a strike, making Huntara go on the defensive.

In the hallways, Glimmer can feel her strength wavering as she dodges every punch and kick. They haven’t managed to hit her yet, thankfully, so she decides to lead them to a more open space so she can throw some sparkle bombs.

“DT!”

“Yeah? Are you good, girl?”

Glimmer coughs a laugh as she takes in some extra breaths to stay focused. “Just fine and dandy! Look,” she shifts to a whisper, “I’m--I’m going to, AGH, f*ck OFF!” Glimmer bellows and launches a reflexive shot of glitter at the stayr’s face, making her cry out. “I’m drawing them away so you can dip out!” She whisper-shouts over the line and bends back to avoid another uppercut.

“Roger that, pinky!” DT waits for them to fully clear the hallway into the main entrance of the school before slipping away and back to the Janitor’s locker room. “Clear!”

The commotion Glimmer caused alerted some staff members and at least 3 teachers have congregated in the hallway and Glimmer teleports beneath the stairs to hide from their eyes. The two assailants flee but are quickly stopped and asked questions and Glimmer takes that as her cue to head to the meeting point to scoop DT and head back to her house.

“DT, I’ll be at the spot.” The two meet up and teleport back to her house to find a slumped and paralyzed Huntara rolling her eyes at a very apologetic Scorpia.

Adora’s head is spinning and doubt festers in her bones like leeches. Huntara is a bit incoherent and can’t speak just yet so Adora helps her sit up and Catra and Scorpia watch her out of the corner of their eyes.

Everyone crowds around Entrapa’s computer to see what all she found through the USBs. They sit in anxious silence as Entrapta’s hair and hands maneuver through several screens of code and footage.

“This will take at least 11 more minutes so you can all take a seat, if you’d like to stop crowding me,” Entrapta tells them without missing a beat in her work. Bow and Adora stay nearby to watch closely.

Adora doesn’t realize she’s been tearing the skin on her lips with unnoticed fixation and worry until Catra pulls her hands away and hugs her from behind.

“Keep doing that and there will be nothing for me to kiss,” Catra jokes softly with a kiss to her neck to bring Adora back to the present.

“Sor-- I mean, thank you,” Adora corrects herself and leans further back into Catra’s embrace, releasing some stress. With a kiss to her cheek, Catra rewards Adora for stopping herself.

“Good girl,” Catra says low and deep, making Adora’s knees turn to jelly for a moment.

The moment is broken as Glimmer returns with snacks for everyone to which Adora’s stomach growls loudly. Scorpia makes a plate for Entrapta with small foods to munch on while she works. Catra puts extra food on Adora’s plate with a stern look that the blonde sheepishly complied to. After some time, Entrapta is done and calls everyone over to look at their findings.

What they discover is shocking and increasingly confusing with each passing second.

Every video shows Prime going about his day like any other student, but it seems he talks to everyone. Everyone including all the staff members, and it seems he gets along with all of them fairly well- too well.

“He’s networking, even at school,” Adora points out with choked breath.

Glimmer hums and nods. “Sure seems like it. He even joined clubs to build relations.”

“To get close to them.” At his words, everyone turns to Bow with anguish. “He’s been at this from the start.”

Catra steps forward and leans towards the monitors with a set jaw. “Bring up his academic profile. Let’s see where he went to Middle school and Grade school.”

A moment later the screen fills with dozens of files and the room goes quiet as they take in all the information on the screens. It seems Prime has transferred schools nearly a dozen times in his youth. Each one in a major city with a dense population.

“What the f*ck?” Catra cusses with a tight grip to the table.

“That...cannot be good...right? That is very suspicious-y,” Scorpia says with a weary claw as she gestures to the screens.

“It seems we were wrong,” Entrapta begins with a rare gloominess in her voice. “He isn’t done with school. He merely transferred again, like he has before.”

Adora feels the air get a bit colder. “He’s targeting everyone. Everyone.” Her blood is pulsing at the surface of her skin as if it’s going to seep out of her body. All she can hear is her own breathing and it picks up pace when she remembers Huntara and barrels around on her heel to march to her friend who seems a bit more lucid now. “Huntara?”

Her eyes are bleary and words are slurring but the eye roll she gives Adora shows she is actually present. “I didn’t put them up to this and you know I wouldn’t, Adora.”

Guilt bites her heart and its teeth sink into her bloodstream, filling her with it’s poison. “I--I--I don’t know what to think right now. And I…. You…” Razz and Spinnerella’s words fill her thoughts, ‘trust your friend’s’. “Huntara isn’t involved. She can’t be,” Adora says with new found confidence, making Huntara smile graciously.

“She could be fooling us,” Glimmer accuses with clenched fists. Exhaustion is weighing on her from the scuttle earlier but she refuses to show any sign of weakness. “Those two knew what we were up to! We saw it on the feed just minutes ago!”

Arguing ensues and then quiets down when Entrapta speaks up. “I can tap into her phone and see if she ordered this-- text or call.”

Every one turns to Huntara who is glaring, damn near snarling, at the pigtail girl. “Don’t even think about looking through my sh*t!”

“Guys! Is this really necessary?” Adora questions but Glimmer is already looking for Huntara’s phone. Bow tries to stop her but she powers through.

“My parents are being targeted, as are all of yours!” Glimmer bellows. “We can’t risk a mole or information getting out or people turning on us! So, yes, we are checking her phone.” She hands the phone to Entrapta who gives her a weary look.

“I cannot conduct any science, research, or invade someone’s privacy without their consent.” Glimmer fumes and faces Huntara with a steely glare.

“How about it?”

Adora is getting pissed off and fists her hands but stops when Catra steps forward, arms crossed as she blocks Glimmer’s line of view to the other girl. “Lay off, Sparkles. I know you want answers, but we need to be cool about this or we are no better than Prime.”

It seems that only added fuel to Glimmer’s rage. “You’re one to talk. You could easily be a part of all of this!” Adora feels her heart stop.

“Glimmer!” Bow and Adora both gasp in shock and Perfuma covers her mouth, appalled at the words.

“What? She’s a perfect candidate to betray us!” Sweat beads at Adora’s temples and sounds get grainy. Everyone is questioning each other. Why didn’t she just take out Prime on her own like she planned?

“Enough!” Everyone jumps in surprise and turns to face Scorpia, who rarely raises her voice, looking more pissed off than anyone has ever seen her. “Prime is a master manipulator, and that’s exactly what he wants to happen. Cause doubt and distrust. We have to be better than that!” Glimmer slumps at her words and goes to counter her point, although weakly, but Adora doesn’t hear it. She hardly feels the gentle hands that grab her forearms.

“Adora, hey,” Catra faces her and brings their foreheads together. “Look at me, feel me, smell me. You’re okay. We are all okay.” Adora does as she’s told and let’s Catra’s gorgeous jewels of gold and teal fill her vision as tears spring to her baby blue ones. She brushes their noses together as she bends her head to rest it on Catra’s shoulder. Comforting arms pull Adora in close and hold her securely so she doesn’t crumble from the sudden lightheadedness.

“Nothing makes sense.”

“Yeah, this sh*t sucks.” That gets a small laugh out of Adora and Catra pulls her to sit on the couch.

The friend’s argue a bit more until Glimmer relents and gives Huntara her phone back, but the still partially paralyzed girl shakes her head.

“Search it. For all we know, my phone could be bugged.” Turns out, it was. And Entrapta checks everyone elses phone, but thankfully finds none there.

Afterwards, they took the time to facetime the friends that couldn’t make it today and updated them on their findings. Eventually, apologies were made and everyone went home to destress, but Catra followed Adora back to her place.

Hope wouldn’t be home for a little while longer and someone needed to help Mara change the numbing bandages on her back. Catra helped prep dinner while Adora took care of Mara in her bedroom for privacy. The bandages only did so much for the burning pain as the shingles attacked her mothers nerve endings. Adora did what she could to heal away the pain but to little effect, making her feel so helpless. Helpless to rid her of pain and protect her family from Prime, as well as Catra’s who’s been a target of Prime’s plan since the start.

Frozen dinners are in the oven and tea is prepped, thanks to Catra, and the two cuddle up in Adora’s bedroom to watch some TV, keeping the door open to listen to Mara and the timer on the oven. The lovers don’t say much, just hold one another close and recharge as time passes.

After the food is out of the oven and cooling, Adora returns to her room and Catra asks her something. “Why do you have so many maps?”

“Huh?” Adora is still a bit groggy and then sees that Catra is pointing to a box with maps overflowing it. “Oh. Uh… I don’t know. It’s just something I’ve always done, I guess. Everytime we go on a trip or visit somewhere new, I like to grab a map of the areas.”

Catra stands and asks, “Can I look through them?” Adora nods and the feline returns with the beaten cardboard box and shuffles through the aging paper. “They are pretty. All the colors and symbols.”

“Right?” Adora agrees with flushing excitement. “Everything is so accurate and precise and… and perfectly done. The legends are all different based on the sights to see and landscapes affect whether the maps have elevation,” she rambles and then stops, embarrassed at her rapid speech and stuttering. “But, yeah, I think maps are really interesting and all that.”

Catra smiles sweetly and holds her fidgeting hands. “Have you heard of cartography?”

“Cart-- what?”

Catra giggles at her adorable confusion, making Adora’s chest pop and dance with affection at the sound. “Cartography. Basically, you make maps, like these.” Adora nods with wide, interested eyes, signalling Catra to continue talking about it. “I bring this up because… I don’t want to stress you out more than you have today, but….”

Reaching to hold her paramore’s hand, Adora tells her, “It’s okay, I want to hear what you have to say. I’ll be okay.”

Catra relaxes and wraps her tail around Adora’s wrist. “You are really good at geometry, because it’s so visual. And your line work in your graffiti is amazing. And I’ve seen how you check out the map section whenever we hit convenience stores or see new cities. Adora...have you considered pursuing something like that?”

Reeling, her mind is reeling. Maps? Math? Drawing and traveling for a living? Every moment where she has drawn her maps or simple line work for fun makes her heart race with too many emotions to track. She thinks of the globes in her room and how she could stare at the historical maps in her textbooks for hours.

“I...I have never considered that before…”

Catra kisses her, bringing her back to the present. “Just something to keep in mind. It’s just an idea. I know how worried you are about finding a path for yourself. Food for thought.” They kiss again, and it helps Adora feel more grounded.

“Thank you, I-I’ll think about it. Thank you.”

Weeks pass and Adora is losing her mind. It’s nearing Thanksgiving and Mara hasn’t gotten any better, Hope is incoherent from stress and has been non verbal more often, Huntara won’t answer her phone, and Prime has barely made a blip on the radar. But then, he does.

Adora’s phone rings and when she reads the contact info that she saved years prior that one fateful day, she begins to shake. With fear? Anger? She isn’t sure, but she is confused and incredibly perplexed. Without thinking, she answers.

“Prime.”

“Adora, it is so nice of you to answer my call.” Anger, she is definitely feeling anger. Scooting into her room and closing the door so her mother can’t hear, Adora paces the length of her room.

“What do you want?”

Prime chuckles and it sounds way too happy. “No pleasantries? Alright. How are your mothers doing?”

A chill blasts her body with panic. Prime did cause Mara’s illness. But…what has he done to Hope? “What did you do?” She growls through gritted teeth and is ready to pull her hair out of her head.

“You mean my little experiment you and your friend’s have been digging around in?”

Of course Prime knows what they have been up to. “Yeah, we have been digging around. Because we are going to stop whatever it is you’re plotting. We will take care of you ourselves.”

“And yet you haven’t ‘taken care of me’ at all, yet. Why is that? What is stopping you?” he leers and Adora can feel his smug grin through the phone against her ear.

Adora tries to save her argument. “We will find what your end game is and use it against you.”

“Do you take me for a fool? You cannot beat me. I am much more powerful than you realize, Adora. I have had each you wrapped around my finger for years.”

“You aren’t getting away with this. You may have control over the authorities, but you shouldn’t underestimate us.” Adora doesn’t even try to keep the bite from her words. “This is all just some game to you! Stop messing with people’s lives!”

Prime laughs again and breathes into the phone for a moment before speaking again. “So, so naive. This has never been a game. This is a revolution. You and your group of what people have come to call Princesses think your magic makes you better, more powerful than everyone else. I’m afraid you have miscalculated, Adora. I’ll see you around.” The last sentence is said with an air of control like he has a secret no one will ever learn.

Adora tosses her phone onto her desk with a loud clatter and a few thumps. Breathing is hard and ragged as her vision swims. Her knees are jelly and she wants to collapse but instead she sucks in a deep breath and sprints for her car keys. recklessly, she drives to Hordak’s place in hopes of Prime being there.

Banging on the door several times, a peppy Kadroh opens the door in an apron covered in flour.

“Is Prime here?” Adora asks quickly and tries to peek around the twin.

“He isn’t. He recently got a new apartment outside the city,” Kadroh explains with a bit of a frown. “One day he just up and left us.”

“Oh, uh, sorry? That’s too bad. But, do you know where he is staying now?”

“Afraid not. He never really spoke to us about it,” Kadroh explains and Adora feels her stress building again.

Nodding her head in acquiesce, she says, “Okay, well, thank you anyway. Have fun cooking or baking… er...whatever you are doing in the kitchen.”

Adora returned to her car, defeated, and drove to a nearby lake to catch her breath before heading back home. Once home, she texts her friends about her call with Prime before she face-times Catra. Her girlfriend always put her in a better mood. Razz made Adora a new blanket for winter this season and curls up while her phone rings.

The call is answered and Adora is greeted by Catra wearing Samus’s helmet from Super Metroid that Adora got her for her 18th birthday. It makes Adora laugh with how cute Catra’s ears are when she wiggles them loose when she removes the helmet so she can properly speak without being muffled. They fall asleep chatting with each other and Adora wakes a few hours later to Catra watching her phone and purring. Past Catra would have stopped and been embarrassed. Now, she purrs louder and smiles.

“Hey, Adora.”

Through a yawn that makes Catra giggle, Adora responds, “hey, Catra. Been watching for long?”

“How much time counts as a long time?” Adora snorts at that and Catra purrs louder at how endearing the sound is.

They sit and look at eachother for several quiet moments and Adora finds herself getting sleepy again, thanks to Catra’s purrs.

“I wish you were here.”

“Me too,” Catra replies and gives Adora a slow blink that makes the blonde’s heart sutter. Adora returns the gesture.

“I love you, so much, Catra.”

“I love you, infinite.”

“Brat.”

“Dork.”

They both roll their eyes at the names with flushed fondness. Neither can wait for their anniversary. Each of them has a special gift in mind that they anxiously hope makes their lover’s heart skip as much as it does theirs.

Adora’s gift for Catra is something she can buy with her next paycheck from the animal shelter she recently started working at that just opened down the street. She has spent weeks plotting the perfect gift for her and this new job paid a lot more than dog walking every week. Researching for hours on end and making calls to get everything set up was a hassle but completely worth it.

Both of Catra’s parents already agreed to the idea and have even helped her plot everything.

Final exams hit and then it’s winter break time. Everyone celebrates at Bow’s place for food and games to kick off the holiday season. Adora can’t keep her hands off Catra and it seems neither can the feline. At some point they all sit down to enjoy a dumb movie to make funny commentary over.

The couples are all snuggled into their blankets across the couches and chairs as they watch the movie but within a few minutes Adora and Catra have tuned it out. They sit curled up against each other, their legs entwined while their hands roam beneath the thick blanket and share kisses softer than butterfly wings. Catra is purring so loud that Glimmer had to turn the TV volume up, but it doesn’t deter the magicat.

Adora merely held Catra closer. Her lover’s semester ended on a sh*tty note with more wonderful words from Shadow Weaver that had the two in a screaming match about what counts as art and the grading system. The yelling only stopped when other teachers came to check on the ruckus and Catra bolted on all fours to Adora’s truck to be taken home. It took a lot of strength but Catra managed to hold Adora back from confronting Weaver about it, much to her displeasure. But when she saw the tired look in Catra’s eyes, she stopped and drove them to get vegan milkshakes from Perfuma’a place of work.

And Mara was still in an immense amount of pain from the shingles tearing her nerves apart. She’s sore from sleeping on her stomach all the time and is losing energy to transform to gain some pain relief. Meanwhile, Hope is a mess and Adora thinks it’s more than just stress. She keeps forgetting things and Adora can only blame Prime and hope she is doing enough for both of her moms. Razz does her best to look after them but can only do so much, but Swift Wind has been a major emotional support for everyone.

Thus, the two girls hold each other even closer as they breathe one another in. The scents are more comforting than any blanket in the house and it lets them pretend the world doesn’t exist for a while.

Chapter 18: under the stars

Chapter Text

Frost covers the land that Christmas morning. It was not their typical day of gifts but it was definitely memorable. Razz made everyone mimosas to help Mara’s pain and Hope’s piling stress. The winter holiday was very much on the back burner this year with everything else going on. So, Razz and Adora took the initiative to make the holiday more grand and lovely for everyone. Still showing her thanks for moving in all those months ago, Razz bought some luxury gifts like massagers and new kitchenware that Adora helped her picked out. They even got fresh sets of soft pillows and blankets for the house.

The only thing her parents are in desperate need of right now is comfort and relaxation. And it seems it was an effective plot for gifts since Hope hasn’t stopped rubbing and twiddling with the pillows and throws and Mara even managed to stand up and hug everyone. Adora was already putting the wrapping paper in the trash when Razz nearly broomed her in the head.

“Ah ah ah!” Razz chided with a shake of her finger. “We are not done yet, no we are not!”

Adora was puzzled and wanted to ask what she meant when Hope got up and pulled out a small gift from beneath the tree that Adora had missed.

“It’s from all of us,” Hope explained with a smile and handed Adora the small box.

Adora sat back down and began unwrapping the gift. In the box revealed a Visa gift card with a hefty amount of money on it. Her head snapped up to look at her family’s smug grins.

“You haven’t had time or money for yourself because of everything going on lately. So...treat yourself to something nice!” Mara told her. “You deserve to feel good and enjoy yourself too, Adora.”

Tears burned in her eyes as love and appreciation relaxed her muscles. “Thank you guys, really. This is amazing. I...never...I forgot to think about myself. Thank you for this.” She meant every word and already began plotting all of the games or new clothes she could buy with this card. Excitement strengthened her bones and she felt more complete as the feelings of unworth faded to the background.

It was four days until the new year. Four days until her and Catra’s one year anniversary. And four days until Adora hoped to blow Catra’s mind with her gift. But today was the day she would bounce in her truck the whole way to Catra’s place.

The gate was already open when she pulled through and the front door was unlocked for her to sneak inside and surprise a sleepy magicat. She didn’t want to scare her too bad, so she at least knocked before entering Catra’s room and shuffled into the dark room.

“Catra?”

“Mmmmm…” Catra shifted and raised her head, blinking a few times and then trilling happily. “Huh? Adora?” The blonde beamed and flopped onto the bed next to the yawing feline and kissed her several times across her furry face, making her giggle.

“Morning, gorgeous. You may hate me for a while or you may love me even more after what I have planned for you.” Saying that made Catra slit her eyes in suspicion but was purring as she did.

“Are we finally going to ask Huntara to--”

“No! NO. Definitely not that!” Adora squealed in panic and embarrassment, making Catra laugh loudly.

Catra leaned up, pressing Adora into the bed as she captured her lips for a drowsy kiss that made Adora moan with happiness. “Just teasing you, princess. What did you have in mind?”

Adora cupped her face and rubbed her thumbs across Catra’s cheeks, which the magicat melted into with a rumbling purr. “Do you trust me?” she asked with a slow blink.

With a smile that revealed a fang, Catra returned the slow blink. “Of course I trust you, dummy.”

And that was all Adora needed to hear. She crashed their mouths together in a kiss that was all teeth and tongue. Fire flicked in their chests as their bodies pressed closer together as if to melt two candles into one. Every flame was stroked and roared higher as Catra grinded down onto her. Adora planned several hypotheticals into her anniversary gift and saw this potentially happening. So, she let loose and didn’t worry about being on time as she mentally shuffled her itenary to make sure everything would still happen on time.

Catra eyed Adora suspiciously as they packed her bags for a 5 day vacation. It was going to be a two day car drive but Adora already had a cooler prepped in the back seat, a tent to camp in to save money over hotel rooms, and sights to see as they went.

The family of magicat’s all kissed Catra and Adora goodbye as they took off. Adora felt guilty leaving Razz to look after Mara and to keep an eye on Hope, but her great aunt shooed her out the door and promised everything would be fine.

“Adora Dearie, you have a lover to treat for this very special day! Have class! Be selfish! Own the world for a few days!” Razz emphasized with a wave of her batter covered spatula. “Things will be fine here, I promise.”

Adora nodded dutifully as a mission was tasked to her. “Yes ma’am,” she said and kissed her family goodbye.

Now the two were about to get on the road when Catra yelled, “Wait!”

Adora froze in place with her hand on the gear shift and looked to Catra with wide eyes. “What? Everything okay?” she asked but Catra was already out the door and running on all fours to her room. Watching and waiting, Catra eventually returned with something stuffed under her jacket.

“Close your eyes!” Adora closed her eyes with a giggle as Catra approached the car and put the mystery item away.

“Okay.. now, you can open them.”

Adora decided to be a brat. “Open what?”

Then, closer. Right next to her ear with a soft breath to her now burning cartilage. Catra whispers, “your legs.” And Adora wrapped her girl friend in a merciless head lock.

Soon, they were on the road and it was 18 hours until their destination. Adora wondered how long it would take until Catra figured out where they were going. As they drove, Catra curled up next to Adora on the bench seat.

After about 4 hours of driving, Adora pulled into a gas station she marked on her map and filled up while Catra got them snacks and coffee from inside the store. When she returned, Adora did not get on the highway again, but rather took a detour down a dirt path that led to hundreds of ranch homes with various livestock and services. After about 20 minutes, Adora pulled into a plot of land with a house far in the back past all the cows roaming freely along the road.

Adora could tell Catra was a bit tense about being in this new area, so she held her hand and squeezed. Catra turned to her and they smiled. She would be okay. She trusts Adora.

They stepped out of the truck and walked up to the home. There were signs about business sales and items being stocked. Behind the building Catra could see several cars parked. With an adorable jingle, they opened the door and into a home full of art. There were paintings, sculptures, and photography covering the walls like a fresh coat of paint. It was beautiful.

Catra looked to Adora with the most passionate smile she had ever seen. “This is amazing,” Catra said as she twirled to take in all of the art. “How did you find this place?”

Following her girlfriend, Adora also let herself take in the art and greet the gallery owners. “Mara. Growing up was tough on her from how violent her city was. She would take a bus, and then ride her bike through these roads to clear her mind and get away from it all. It’s one of the few places that has artworks from First One artists who rejected their nature. All Mara wanted was to get away from the anger and destruction in her town. She and Hope spent a lot of time here once they started driving.”

“Wow. Adora… this is so f*cking cool.” They took their time as they examined and enjoyed the art in the small home.

Catra would explain the symbolism and where the artist excelled at using certain elements and techniques used in their works. Adora was grateful to bring Catra here because it also helped her learn about her people more as the feline and fellow shop members explained the history tied to each piece.

As they waltzed the gallery, Catra made notes of prices and artists in her phone to reference later. Meanwhile Adora made mental notes of Catra’s notes for future use. The two returned to the truck and got back on the road which brought them to a small urban town where they took in the sights before pulling back onto the highway.

They were on the road for about half an hour when Adora pointed. “This is where Mara and Hope grew up.”

Catra turned to see a busy city, jam packed with buildings and concrete roads that left very little room for plants. Some areas were run down and held together with wood while some buildings looked new and remodeled within the lash couple years.

“Seems this place got somewhat of a face lift,” Catra noted and wondered what it looked like when Mara and Hope were kids.

Adora nodded with a hum. “New mayor and other switches in politics decided to focus on making everything look pretty. But the bad parts are still there.” She sighed at the mess the city still is. “A lot of people just leave, like my moms did.”

“Can't cover a sh*tty personality with makeup,” Catra said and Adora couldn’t agree more.

Their first day of driving came to an end as the sun glided to the horizon line. Adora pulled and parked at a campsite a few miles off the highway. Catra has never camped before, Adora learned from Miro, and Adora hoped Catra would enjoy herself. The drive south meant the nights were a bit warmer, thankfully.

Retracting her claws, Catra learned how to set up a tent for the very first time. She loved the sparkle in Adora’s eyes when she got to show Catra something new.

After a bit of wrestling with the tent, and each other, both girls got into the tent with goodbyes to their fellow campers on the site. Adora had two sleeping bags for each girl to sleep in and Catra was pretty quick to deny that idea.

“No, I demand snuggles tonight.”

Adora stopped what she was doing and looked at the girl. “And how else do you suggest we sleep? We both can’t fit in the same bag!”

“Dummy, we use my bag for the base and yours for the top cover,” Catra explained with a smirk and raised brow, begging Adora to counter her idea.

She couldn’t. And now the two were happily wrapped around each other in the sleeping bags as the sound of crickets lulled them into a sleepy haze. Catra was curled into a purring ball of warmth as Adora held her close as they both lied on their sides. The purr practically shook the whole tent and Adora felt Catra’s tail wrap around her calf.

A contented sigh left Adora’s lips and pressed her face further into Catra’s mane and kissed her head slowly, softly. Catra began to knead into Adora’s stomach as they both found sleep.

Catra woke first. She knew Adora set an alarm and checked her watch to see what time it was. Turns out she had about an hour until their alarm would go off. It was still dark outside and the night life was beginning to shut off for the sun to wake the day time creatures.

Catra stretched as subtly as she could so she wouldn’t disturb her sleeping lover. She attempted to go back to sleep but found herself wide awake. Giving up, she settled for checking her phone for a moment before setting it back down and snuggling closer to the blonde.

With her eyes, Catra could easily take in every gorgeous feature of Adora’s gentle face. Her soft parted lips as soft snores left her throat. The way her nose was slightly bent at the bridge from a fight when she was much younger. The small scars in her face from acne.

Catra felt hot, happy tears creek out and roll down her temple as she basked in Adora’s presence. She loved every atom of this girl and began to purr at the thought. Occasionally, Adora’s face would contort or her body would twitch from her dreams that Catra could only hope wouldn’t turn into nightmares.

Like a gentle breeze, Catra held Adora’s hand and ran her claws up along her pale arms to soothe her scrunched up face.

Catra checked the time again and saw the alarm would be going off soon. Carefully, Catra grabbed Adora’s phone and turned off the alarm just before it went off.

If Adora could be romantic and corny with this secret road trip, then so can Catra. Gingerly, Catra pulled Adora to her chest and purred louder as she ran her claws up her back.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Catra whispered with sweet kisses to Adora’s head.

Adora hummed and curled in closer, fully hugging Catra now with her face buried in her breasts.

“Mmmm. No. I stay here,” she mumbled and the vibration of her voice against Catra soothed her, much like a purr her parent’s give her. Catra feels so relaxed with this girl and the gift in her suitcase is warming the tent as she thinks about how Adora will react to the present. To see how far Catra went to making sure Adora knew she was loved and cherished and so f*cking worth it.

“Did your itinerary account for sleeping in a bit?”

Adora didn’t move from her spot against Catra. “Yeah, thirty minutes. I even set a second alarm.”

Catra pulled Adora’s face to look at her. “Thirty minutes, huh?”

With a massive smirk, Adora seemed to snap awake at that and pressed her mouth to Catra’s and their bodies melted together again.

Everything was packed up and the girls were back on the road. Adora had the map and routes memorized at this point as she took all the scenic roads for Catra to see massive statues of war heroes, Etherian landmarks of protected wildlife and natural formations, and to hit one of the highest rated Diners in the world. They even made it on time for their reservation. The food was worth every dollar and hour drive it took to get there.

They were 3 hours out from their destination when they finally got off the scenic route and back onto the main highway again. That’s when Adora saw Catra’s ears shoot straight up and her eyes go wide.

“Hold the f*cking phone!”

Adora wasn’t sure if this was a positive or negative response so she prodded, “Everything okay?”

Catra tightened her ponytail, rolled the window down, stuck her head outside to get a better look at the passing statue of Queen Cyra. The ancient Queen of Halfmoon that forged the relationship that Halfmoon lands now have with the rest of the Magicats, and thus joining with the rest of Etheria nearly 2,000 years ago.

Once the massive statue was far behind them, Catra sat back down and put the window back up.

“Adora? Are we going to Half moon?”

She could hear the emotion in Catra’s voice. “Yeah, is...is that okay? Do we need to turn around?”

Catra laughed softly and a couple tears shed from the movement. “You’re such an idiot.” She wrapped Adora in a tight hug with a kiss to her neck, cheek, and corner of mouth, while still being mindful of the fact Adora was driving. Adora kissed her back with massive relief.

“You said you haven’t been here since you were a kit. And I… I’ve never been here before either so I thought this would be a fun trip for the both of us. To get away for a bit. And your parents helped me set this up, too.”

Catra still hadn’t left her side and instead buckled up into the middle seat and wrapped her tail around Adora’s waist. “You really do think of everything, don’t you?”

“Material things don’t mean much to you. Memories and spending time together is really important to you, and it’s become important for me, too. I love you, so, so much and I’ve never felt this way about anybody and I wanted to make this first anniversary something significant for you. For us.”

Out the corner of her eye, she could see the dreamy expression on her lover’s face. “You’re amazing, you know that? Adora, I love you, like nothing else in this world. I’m sure you worked your ass off to make this perfect, and it truly is, because it’s coming from you. Being with you is what is going to make this a f*cking awesome anniversary. Gods, this still feels unreal,” Catra said with a chuckle and sniffle, running her hands through her hair.

Switching the radio station to the local channels, Magicat music filled the speakers and Adora could tell Catra felt so complete and more connected with her people here. As they drove south to Catra’s home town, Catra commented on all of the sights and anecdotes from her earliest years of life.

Adora was swooning at the chance to hear more about Catra’s childhood. It seems Catra was given up and was one of the youngest of her litter. She was in the system for about 3 years when Miro and Carmen came along to adopt her. Found family is a major social norm in Magicat culture and many often don't bother seeking out blood relatives. What matters is who you have in your life that loves and cares about you. Catra had a rough start with her new parents and lashed out a lot and was very defensive until she started grade school. As time passed, she learned to trust them. She still had a hard time making friends and stuck with Entrapta and Scorpia since they were the only ones that knew she only lashed out because of anxiety, stress, and untamed aggression.

Therapy at a young age was tough and she refused it, but when middle school hit, things got worse and she finally asked for help once her parents begged her to consider it. Eventually she was medicated and learned how to handle her emotions in a healthy way. Through that, her relationship with her parents grew stronger and there was a lot less tension in the household. It seems sports, especially soccer, is very popular in Halfmoon and is one of the reasons her family stuck with it, because it made them feel closer to their heritage.

The family always wanted to visit Halfmoon more often but after the move to Brightmoon, money became tight and they lacked the time and Abuela's health plummeted. Catra hasn’t seen this place since they moved when she was 6 years old. The move was a big trigger for stress and Adora hopes this doesn’t turn into a negative trip for her.

The trip was one for the books.

They drove into the capital city of Halfmoon and parked the truck so they could take in the sights and smells of magicat culture. Holding hands, wide eyes, and shining smiles, the lovers spent hours going into trinket shops, galleries, visiting historical markers and eating new foods.

Catra’s eyes glistened as they finally made it back to the truck, full and exhausted, ready to set up camp for the night. As Adora drove south to Catra’s village where the campsite was, Adora let herself listen to Catra’s chatter about the types of foods and landmarks they saw in further detail with silly anecdotes.

Camp was then set up and the nights were a bit warmer in this part of Etheria. Adora was ready to step in when she saw Catra looking up at the stars. She could hear Catra sniffling and swiftly came to her side, wrapping the feline in her arms.

“Everything alright?”

Purrs elicited and grew in volume as Catra melted into her embrace. wrapping her tail around Adora’s waist. “Ever the worrier,” she deflected.

“Happy or sad tears?” Adora pressed and kissed her head.

Catra nudged into Adora’s cheek fondly. “Happy tears. Today was just a lot. And then… I looked up and there’s just so many more stars here than in Brightmoon.”

Adora nodded and looked up. “They are really beautiful. My star chart is in my truck if you wanna see?”

Leaning back to fully face Adora, Catra rolled her eyes and held Adora by the hips. “Of course you have a star chart.”

“The stars were the maps waaaaaaay back in the day! Of course I have a star map.”

Catra kissed that cute, excited mouth she loved so much. “Are we going to be here tomorrow night too?”

“Yes, until the first of January, then we drive back,” she informed her. Then Catra yawned, making Adora yawn and then laughed tiredly. “Bed? Stars will be here tomorrow and I can tell you all about the constellations.”

“Sure thing, dork.” Another kiss and Catra pulled her by the hands in a lazy twirl towards the tent. “Bed.”

Day three of the trip rose with the sun and the two lovers slept without an alarm clock this time. Catra woke up first, again. She opened her eyes and felt pain in her arm from where Adora was spooned against her chest and her head on Catra’s arm. Gently, Catra pulled her arm out and, as quietly as possible, shook the beads of sleep from her arm to get blood flowing again before propping her head in hand so she could look down at the sleeping blonde.

Her other hand stayed on Adora’s hip where she rubbed soothing circles into her warm skin. A few minutes later, Adora grumbled.

“Cold.” And grabbed Catra’s hand, pulling the girl back to properly be snuggled and warmed by her fur. Catra bit back a laugh. Even when hardy awake, Adora was still wanting Catra. Her guard is down and she doesn’t realize she’s voicing her desires rather than holding them in like usual. Catra easily let Adora readjust them and turned on her purr to soothe the girl back to sleep. Adora hasn’t had any night terrors since they’ve been on this trip. She pulled the sleeping bag further on top of them and kissed that pale neck with candy sweet kisses. Entwining their fingers, Catra went back to sleep with her.

At some point, they do awake and head into the little town. They strolled through the antique shops and Adora made sure to get several maps. When they came upon a park, they played chase and eventually other Magicat’s joined in with them and Adora has never seen Catra have this much fun.

Catra was able to speak spanish freely; Adora becoming more attuned to the language now. It was as if two rivers finally met at their delta and flowed together. Catra seemed so at ease and happy. For a moment it made Adora feel inadequate, but she forced the dark thoughts away and played frisbee with some of the younger kids.

After a while, Adora plopped onto the ground and drank some water while watching Catra continue her games. Then, Catra turned her head and Adora thought Catra might tear her face open with how wide her smile became when they made eye contact. On all fours, Catra sprinted over and rolled into the spot next to Adora, bumped their noses, and kissed her deeply. It all happened so fast that Adora wasn’t sure when her heart stopped beating and when it started up again. So much love gushed through her veins for this girl.

“I love you, Adora,” Catra stated it like she was at an altar and Adora thought back to the first moment she ever laid eyes on her. How pre teen Adora never saw this possible in her future. To hear the love of her life kiss her passionately and speak words with such effortless emotion like it was easier than breathing. Adora feels the fireworks boggle her senses again.

Sweat pooled under their layers of clothes but Adora didn’t let that stop her from holding Catra close as she kissed her again. “I love you too, Catra.” She brushed some of the girl's dark hair out of her face which came loose from her ponytail. “Having fun?”

Catra blushed and nodded. “Yeah, but I think I’m ready for food now. What did you have in mind for dinner? Because I know you picked the best spot for tonight.”

Smugly, Adora winked. “Only the finest eateries for her excellency,” Adora said with a faux accent and hand to her chest. Catra shoved her and then straddled her hips, bending down to kiss her with a bite to her lip.

“Such a sexy dork. Come on.”

It was New Years eve and Adora was beyond excited to take Catra to the final part of the anniversary gift. They slept in again and when they got up, they headed for a building squished between its neighbors. Post brunch and lots of coffee, Adora lead the way to this little hole in the wall that had a carved wooden sign that said “Magicrafts”.

When they stepped into the shop, Catra sucked in a hard breath and squeezed Adora’s hand tighter. Adora was in just as much awe as her paramore.

Wood. Gorgeously engraved wood pillars, walls, toys, statues, panels… everything you could think of filled the store in glorious magicat art forms and styles. The building had multiple floors and was deeper than it was wide, giving off the illusion that the art never ended.

“Morning! It looks like this is your first time at the shop, yes?”

With a few false starts for words from Adora still half in her trance, Catra finally snapped from her daze and said, “Yeah. Do you make all of this?”

The shopkeep rounded the counter. “Not just me. There are 3 other artists aside from who help run this place and make art. My name is Rick Rivero, but you can call me Rio,” Rio introduced himself with a short bow.

“Catra,” she said and then gestured to Adora. “Adora.”

Catra saying her name got Adora to be fully present and find her tongue. “Oh! Yeah, Adora! Nice to meet you.” Her girl friend chuckled at her and rubbed Adora’s lower back to settle her.

“Sweet place you got. Tell me about these columns?” Catra asked and they followed Rio around the store.

Catra was blown away by the art. The wood engravings were all done by magicat’s using their claws to sculpt the wood that came from the native trees in Halfmoon. It’s an art form that is only found in a few sparse cities in Halfmoon but this shop in particular is one of the oldest around. Some of these works are on hundreds of year old trees.

In Magicat culture, wood engraving waas how royal homes were decorated and how different cities and villages expressed themselves amongst the others. It’s an ancient art that only the best of the best create nowadays. Catra has never dabbled in sculpture but her house many arts like what is in this shop. Before they leave, the girls speak with the other artists and buy a few art pieces to take home.

They were so enamored with the art that it was nearing dinner time when they left the store. Neither of them minded.

In the truck as they headed for street food, Catra spoke for the first time since leaving the shop. “Adora?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Thank you. I...I haven’t been there since before we moved to Brightmoon. The second the scent of that store hit me I was a kid all over again. I had completely forgotten about that place.” Catra turned to her as they prepared to get out of the truck. An easy smile and soft eyes covered Catra’s face as she laced her fingers with Adora’s. “Thank you, for bringing me here.”

“Anything for you,” Adora responded breathlessly. Catra chuckled and her smile turned smug.

“Can’t wait to give you your gift tonight.”

They ate dinner, then got some extra foods to eat back at their camp where they lied on a blanket, looking up at the stars that were just beginning to pop out as dusk turns to night. The small fire they built kept them warm as Adora rambled about constellations, just like she promised. Catra loved every second of it, loved every ounce of excitement Adora expressed for her hobby and interests.

It was nearing 11pm when Catra finally pulled a wrapped box out from the tent and returned to sit back down, facing Adora.

“Happy anniversary, Adora.”

Gingerly, Adora took the box and began to unwrap it to reveal a box that she then popped opened and her jaw dropped. Inside the box was a softly glowing, metallic Rubik’s Cube. When she picked it up, she noticed how light it was despite it’s metal appearance. It’s edges and surface were smooth and pleasant to run her fingers across.

“Catra…”

Catra held her hand up and pulled out a folder. “You know how I was putting the cube in all of my paintings? Well… it was for this moment. Um.” She began to stammer with nerves as she handed Adora the folder of papers. “In there are photocopies of my paintings. Put them in order of creation date and then you’ll...get an algorithm and solve the cube.”

Adora smiled at her with amazement since she lacked the words to really explain how stunned and in love she was. But then she saw the cube was already solved. She held the cube up with a questioning brow. “But it’s…?”

“Just-just spin the things! It’ll make sense, I promise.”

Adora wasted no time as she sorted through the 19 sheets of paper. Absently she noted that was the day of her birthday and gave Catra a knowing look which made her blush and scoff. She returned to her little treasure hunt. Once she got them lined up and in order, Catra handed her a sheet that looked a lot like sudoku and each color on the toy tiles was a number. Adora did the simple math which was in correspondence with the alphabet that spelled out an algorithm for Adora to follow.

The process was so complex and Adora paused to look at Catra. “How long did this take? This is incredible!”

“I have been plotting this for a while, obviously. But Entrapta helped construct the whole thing for me and finished this a few weeks ago,” Catra admitted with a blush and twitch of her tail. Adora pulled her in by the collar of her jacket and kissed her hard, but slow and meaningful.

She pulled back and said, “Let’s open this thing.” Catra curled around her back and watched Adora work her magic from where her chin rested on her shoulder. The pieces slipped and slid against each other so smoothly that it gave Adora goosebumps.

Slowly, and with excitement, Adora flicked the last side into place and the cube began to shift and transform within her hands. It startled Adora with a tiny squeak that made Catra giggle into her neck. A few seconds passed and the cube was now a rectangular frame that held a picture.

Tears sprung to Adora’s eyes as she absorbed the image before her. Catra held her tighter and spoke into her ear gently. “I love you, Adora. I have always loved you.”

Adora leaned back into her embrace as her hand traced the picture. The picture was a candid shot of when their friend group went on a hike back in October prior to Catra’s 18th birthday recently. Both girls sat facing each other on a large rock that overlooked a canyon. Their foreheads were pressed together as either of them donned a beaming smile. Adora remembers this moment and the peace she felt in it as the two talked about a future together. Planning to make it perfect and everything they wanted. Tears flowed harder and Catra licked them up.

“Catra, I…” Adora turned so she could Catra and cupped her cheeks and looked her in the eyes. “I have always loved you, too. There was never a time I wasn’t in love with you. Amazing; you’re amazing.” Both girls met with a teary eyed kiss that had them gasping for breath when they pulled apart.

“I do it all for you.” Catra cups her cheeks and straddles Adora’s hips. They make out until midnight strikes, fireworks go off, and the campfire is burned down to embers. Even then, they haven’t stopped kissing when they’ve gone into their tent for bed.

That following morning, they packed up their stuff and loaded the truck and hit the road back home. It was bittersweet leaving Halfmoon, but Catra and Adora both had a feeling they would be back one day.

They exchanged who drove since Adora didn’t have major pitstops planned this time around thanks to her budget and time crunch to get back home. Rather than stopping to camp, they drove the whole way back in one go. Adora is thankful her truck lasted the trip.

When they got back to Catra’s place, she was reluctant to let her girl go. Even after several days of alone time, she still wanted her near. But, after a long make out session, they parted ways and Adora went home to a family eager to hear all about their trip and see the art and trinkets they got in Halfmoon.

School started back up and Adora’s 18th birthday hit her like a tidal wave. She was 18. Almost done with highschool. Preparing for college. And she had been dating Catra for over a year now. Holy sh*t. Panic began to cake her body but her phone pinged as she prepared to walk out the door and out to her truck to head to school. It was a text from Catra telling her she was outfront.

That’s right, Catra was picking her up. The air felt lighter and the world seemed a bit less terrifying knowing her girl friend would be there. Adora had a pep in her step as she got into the passenger seat and found a gift in the seat.

“Oh, a gift!” Adora exclaims with a wide smile. She picked up the gift and set it in her lap as she sat down, giving Catra a deep kiss in the process.

“Happy birthday, princess.” As they drive off for school Adora opens her gift and her eyes nearly bulge out of her head as she sputters to find words before just deciding to say her love’s name.

“Catra.”

“Mhm?” she hums smugly.

“This is a First One’s atlas.” Adora absorbed the beauty before her. The ancient sea routes and trade paths used across Etheria centuries ago. How was Catra so good at giving priceless gifts?

“Oh, is it really?” Catra toys her and Adora squeals.

“Yes! You brat! Do you know how rare these things are?”

Catra furrowed her brow. “Honestly? Not really. But Entrapta said some big word babble when I showed it to her.”

“Catra… this is unreal. I love it, so, so much,” she told her as she gently held the map and examined its contents. “Where did you find this?”

“...Bow’s dads had it. It took a lot of convincing but they eventually gave me one of their duplicates when I told them about your passion about maps. And they kinda consider you family so they gave up trying to argue with me after, like, 15 minutes.”

Catra pulled into the parking lot and Adora surged to kiss her when she put the car in park.

Adora leaned back and looked her in the eyes. “You bantered with Bow’s dads for one of their collections and you won?” She kissed her again, deeper this time, feeling safe and secure and so in love. “You’re the best girlfriend in the entire world.”

“Damn right I am.”

Prime was still off the radar and prom was coming up. It all sent her senses into overdrive of hypotheticals and strategy. But...maybe, as long as Adora had Catra, everything would be okay.

Chapter 19: you dont have to be david to fight a goliath

Chapter Text

Adora is in complete, and utter shock. She cannot believe what she is hearing.

Razz and Abuela are going fabric shopping together.

To make Adora and Catra’s matching outfits for prom in a couple months.

Breathing is a f*cking gift and she has never been happier to be alive to witness how sexy Catra is going to be in a dark red suit and bow tie. Everything about Prime and the stress of school and her family's oddities is pressed to the back of her mind as her brain wanders back to Catra in a suit. The idea of prom always made her nervous, but now she is elated and bouncing.

Adora is wearing a dress. She has never worn a formal dress before. At every homecoming she stuck to less revealing outfits that had blazers and pants and closed toe shoes. On top of that, she always went without a date and stuck to her group of friend’s to enjoy the scene.

Originally she wasn’t even sure if Catra wanted to go to prom.

Her and Catra skipped homecoming this senior year and decided to be smitten and go catch a movie and dinner that night and slow-danced when they got back to Catra’s house. It was perfect. As it turned out, Catra hadn’t been to a single school dance, which Adora noticed since she sought her out at every single event, but why?

“Did Catra even want to go to prom?” She had thought.

Asking someone to prom was supposed to be extravagant and memorable. But Adora new Catra hated that kind of attention and there was the chance she would say no.

She needed to ask or she would feel like a crummy partner. She wanted to ask in case Catra was too scared to ask her. Adora decided to get help.

Glimmer answered after two rings. “Adoraaaaaa!”

“Glimmaaaahhh,” Adora mimicked back and the two laughed.

“What’s up?”

Adora took a deep breath. “Do you have a moment to chat? I have a serious question and need your help.”

Clatter on the other side of the phone and the sound of a door shutting filled Adora’s ears, then they were flooded with an urgent and anxious Glimmer. “Are you okay? Do I need to teleport my ass over there?”

“No! No, I’m fine! It’s just I need your help with prom?” she asked with a nervous chuckle.

A loud, long groan. “Seriously, Adora? Stars, you had me grabbing my combat boots!” Glimmer then sighed and sounded more relaxed. “What about prom?”

“Do you… do you think Catra would want to go to it? Like, she’s never been to any of the school dances or-or events unless it was mandatory or for art or soccer. She has never even brought it up before and when we had homecoming this year we just went to the movies and ate chinese food! Like-lik-Glimmer, help me!”

“Did you even breathe in the last two minutes?” Adora groaned into her hands before fiddling with her hair, anxiously. “Adora, take some deep breaths for me real quick.” A few moments of Glimmer listening closely to make sure Adora was doing her exercises, she spoke again. “Catra never went to those dances because she was so caught up with school and sports and even when she did date that one chick for like 2 months, they didn’t even go to homecoming and broke up a week later!”

“What?” The blonde muttered as she soaked in the information. “But we didn’t even go to homecoming together this year, how is that any different,” she pointed out.

“Adora. The theme for that event was full of strobe lights. Catra has very sensitive eyes and it would have triggered her migraines!”

Adora pouted at that. “Why didn’t she tell me that?” she asked and pet Swifty for comfort.

“Because she is defensive and weakness is a vulnerability she has a hard time accepting that it is normal and okay,” her friend explained plainly. “Plus, she mentioned she wanted you all to herself,” she added on smugly and Adora knew she was lewdly gesturing her eyebrows.

A bit of weight came off her shoulders. “I really am unobservant, huh?” Glimmer agreed and Adora wanted to shove her but then asked again, “But does she want to go to prom?”

“Hmmm, well, she is whipped for you-” Adora blushed, “but, you will have to ask her yourself. I know that isn’t an answer, but you guys dance all the time and are both up for prom royalty! There is no way Catra would miss the chance to see you in a crown and sash.” Glimmer’s voice became more sincere as she spoke. “And… she doesn’t shove her feelings down anymore since you guys started dating. I don’t know how she could say no, especially with those puppy dog eyes of yours.”

And that was how Adora ended up at Catra’s window that night and asked her to prom in spanish with a carefully constructed bouquet of candy. Catra was initially shocked but her face quickly turned into something amused and love stricken. She rolled her eyes as she chuckled and opened the window to pull Adora inside.

Catra pulled her in for a soft kiss that Adora happily accepted. When they pulled apart Adora raised her brows in expectancy of Catra’s answer with big eyes and not so innocent smile.

“So? Was that a yes?” she asked slyly with a wandering hand drawing circles in her lovers fur.

The magicat rolled her eyes again. “Si, dulzura de mi vida,” she answered before kissing her senseless, then pulled out a box that was filled with candles, streamers, a rolled up poster board with paint supplies. She was going to ask Adora that next week when she would come over for their date as a surprise. Her ears were down turned at the admissions.

“I know how much you like to go all out on things, so I was going to make it special for you,” she said shyly and Adora felt her eyes sting. Catra was prepared to make herself uncomfortable just for her sake. She couldn’t help but kiss her again.

And now, their grandmother’s were hanging out and probably sharing embarrassing childhood stories. But if anybody was going to make the most gorgeous prom outfits, it would be those two.

The closer prom got, the more suspicious her friend group became of what Prime could be up to. Huntara has been partnering with Perfuma and Entrapta to figure out what Prime could be attacking them with. They think that drawing each other's blood and comparing antibodies to an unaffected person could show results. But, so far, nothing has been promising, nothing is coming up on the radar. Without knowing what the serum is, they don't know how to battle it.

And they have no idea if there is an antidote, which Perfuma and Entrapta are sweating over with some insight from their parents, telling them it’s for a science fair. As much as they want their parents to help them with this, but there isn’t much they can do without wanting to get authorities involved or just killing their morale. Their parents have all had their own fair share of bullsh*t crises to deal with from corruption across the globe and this group of friend’s want to prove something to their new generation of etherians.

Hordak has been doing what he can to give them any information he gained while at Prime’s side. It is unclear whether Prime has taken his supply or not. If he has, then it’s possible he is immune and knows the antidote. If he hasn’t then that could mean he doesn’t want to be affected or isn’t immune. Or he took the serum and had an antidote. After all, Prime has resources and connections across the country, or so they sadler assume, and most likely has had this plotted out.

But for how long? Is his father involved? The father is a massive enigma that is a lot like Prime and seems fine to let his son take the wheel with decisions. Adora decides that they stay on high alert and not discuss these things over the phone.

But Adora and her friends do their best to not let the anxiety surrounding this consume them too much. It’s their senior year and the big dance is coming up. Many of them are still waiting to hear back and see what colleges they are going to get into.

Most of Adora and her friend’s plot to go to the same university. It’s not the top, but it is above average and is well known for it’s growing art school and focus on politics. It has a wide selection of majors and minors, and is one of the largest colleges in Etheria.

Thaymore University.

They were all pushing to get in and Catra finally got Weaver to change her stubborn mind. It was a shocking moment since Adora came with Catra as moral support to help her confront and demand Weaver stop being unfair. Adora was prepared to record the whole thing and show Principal Grizzlor evidence of Weaver’s wrong doings with Catra’s grades.

But when Catra walked up to her desk, mouth beginning to open for a battle of words, Weaver handed her a file and said, “You’re welcome.” It was unreal and left a bad taste in their mouth. They left without a word except a stern nod from Catra as she fought back her emotions. It was over and the tension eased between teacher and student, once and for all.

The recommendation letter was well written and held nothing back when it came to praising Catra. Adora cradled Catra as she cried at what she always wanted to hear from the person she hated the most.

Then. Finally. It’s the night of prom. Neither Catra or Adora have seen one another’s outfits, per their grandmother’s request. Everyone dresses at Glimmer’s house-- the couples split between rooms so they can’t see one another’s date. They all agreed that a surprise would be fun and exciting.

Adora cannot wait to see Catra. She’s shaking with want and need for her girlfriend in such a new and intimate space that comes with such elegant formalities. Glimmer is helping Adora with some simple makeup to brighten her eyes and lips. Adora refuses the foundation because Catra would want to scent mark her the second she smells it and rub it off in the process.

To switch it up, Adora does a side sweep of her hair and gently curls it to add some volume with some help from Perfuma as Seahawk adjusts her dress's zipper and Adora does the same for his dress as well.

Once the zipper is up, Adora steps to look at herself in the mirror. it’s red, a beautiful, deep red that just skirts the ground and cinches her waist just loose enough that she doesn’t feel constricted or pained. Her arms are exposed but she doesn’t feel insecure like she expected. Rather, she feels empowered and royal. As a final touch, Glimmer gives her a simple gold ring and bracelet that Adora is glad to have for fidgeting through the night.

It’s perfect. Everything feels perfect and seamless to her form. Her smile almost breaks her face and takes in the dashing friends in the bedroom.

“Let’s make some lover’s speechless,” Adora declares and they head for the living room downstairs where their partners await.

Not wanting to wait a moment longer to see Catra, Adora leaves the room and heads for the stairs and makes her way down. Carefully, Adora descends the stairs as her head swivels for her magicat to spot her having a drink with their other waiting friend’s. Her breath catches and sound mutes. Catra is f*cking handsome.

Her mane is up in a ponytail that allows her bangs to caress her gentle face. Her suit is a lovely maroon and crimson combination that makes Adora feel dizzy. Catra turns to the sound of the door closing upstairs and Adora is given a full frontal view of the perfect tailoring of Catra’s vest, shirt, jacket, and pants. Her slender figure struts the suit expertly. Around her neck, her bowtie is undone and it makes Adora feel hot for some reason. It’s so sexy and so Catra.

When their eyes finally meet, Catra looks as if she has seen a god. Her mouth is slightly agape and her eyes are initially wide before relaxing and glazing over with love. Absentmindedly Catra sets her glass down and scans Adora with her eyes, over and over as she slowly makes her way to Adora with a swaying tail and growing grin.

Adora is just as speechless and would love to make fun of Catra’s stupor but she is no better off and decides to relish in it. Adora never wants Catra to stop looking at her that way. There is no one else in the room as their hands finally meet and Adora’s eyes squint with a soft, eager smile that Catra returns with half lidded eyes and lightly turned down ears-- a sign of her relaxation and openness in the moment of space they are sharing.

After a few moments of awesome silence, Adora can’t help but giggle with happiness to which Catra returns with her tail curling around Adora’ waist. Everything feels so unreal that Adora doesn’t know how to think or trust herself.

She strokes Catra’s cheek. “Can I kiss you?” It feels important to ask despite their relationship being more than okay with surprise kisses. But today is reverent in beauty and decor and Adora feels lost.

Catra runs her claws up Adora’s exposed arms to ground her and Ador ashivers gratefully. “Come here, dummy,” Catra instructs her softly and pulls her neck down to slot their lips together. Distantly, Adora remembers she is wearing lipstick but since Catra hasn’t pulled back, she won’t either.

They pull away and finally, as if the kiss powered them awake, they shower each other in compliments and soft touches. Adora gently rubs the lipstick off Catra’s mouth, which Catra sighs gratefully. Once it’s wiped off and her natural lip color returns, Adora wants to kiss her all over again. Adora wipes her lipstick off with a napkin and claims her paramour’s mouth, and is happy for full contact that they both moan into.

Eventually, Angella and Micah take their photos and Adora finds herself having a hard time looking at the camera lens with Catra looking so hot and purring next to her.

They skip the limo shtick and instead have Glimmer teleport them there. Everyone is a bit on edge about Prime possibly interrupting their prom, so they stay on their toes while trying to enjoy their night. Huntara and her date, along with Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio show up a bit later. Whereas, Double Trouble has been there since the doors opened since they helped set up some of the spots for photos and catering.

After greeting one another and more photo’s and lots of delicious food, they hit the dance floor and Adora makes sure to never let go of Catra. They dance and laugh and kiss until their feet hurt and sit down. It’s about an hour later when the token slow song finally fills the room and everyone who was sitting is up on their feet. Adora pulls Catra to the floor and instinctually puts her arms around Catra’s neck as Catra grabs her hips and rubs circles there.

Catra hasn’t stopped smiling all night and Adora’s face is sore from just the same expression. Gently, smoothly, they begin to sway to the song and Adora brings her forehead to Catra’s where she hums with her purr.

With these hands, I will cling to you

I'm yours forever and a day

Adora thinks about the first time she ever laid eyes on Catra. Is it cliche to say it was love at first sight? Either way, Adora doesn’t care because she knows it was. She can’t think of a day she will ever stop falling in love with Catra.

With these hands, I will bring to you

A tender love as warm as May

Catra scent marks her neck for the hundredth time that night and peppers soft kisses along her jaw and lips. Her protective instincts have been on high alert all day but Adora’s scent calms her like nothing else. Her tail comes up to curl around Adora’s calf. She will do whatever it takes to watch after her blonde, to keep her safe and happy and loved beyond infinite.

With this heart, I will sing to you

Long after stars have lost their glow

And with these hands, I'll provide for you

Her blue eyes burn with love at Catra’s purr when she scratches behind her ears. Somehow, they both lean in closer and Adora grazes her lips across Catra’s fuzzy face. Catra nuzzles into her. And Adora wants to build a life with this woman. The thought is sudden and it makes a tear run down her cheek that Catra kisses away, like she knows it’s a happy tear that doesn’t need words to console.

Catra rubs Adora’s back from her sudden display of emotion. She isn’t trembling, simply feeling too much like she always does. And Catra feels the same. Catra will move f*cking mountains and carve new rivers if it made Adora happy and more complete. She never wants to spend a day in her life without Adora.

Should there be a stormy sea

I'll turn the tide for you, and I'll never

No, I'll never let you go

Without the need for words, the two cup one another’s face and slide their mouths together like glaciers gliding together in an endless sea. They both wonder if the other wants the same thing, an eternity together. The kiss is answer enough.

The music ends and both can feel a growth in their relationship. Idle touches, soft kisses to one another’s cheek as they chat with their friends, the way their hands are always slowly roaming each other like waves shifting from gravity. It all feels so natural and easy and perfect.

Prime never makes an appearance that night, and they are all tankful. But what is the most eventful the night gets, is Double Trouble winning prom royalty. They make a huge show of elegance and ego with their crown, scepter, and sash. It’s amazing and the school goes nuts for it, even Catra and Adora.

But Prime does make a move while they aren’t at home and distracted with prom.

That following day when Entrapta and Perfuma meet up to check on the antidote they have been working on so they can begin administering it, their supply is gone. All that is left is a note that says ‘I’m through with them’.

On the floor, Double Trouble gives them a meek, but guilty smile and wave. DT was Prime’s dad all along. Prime is wealthier than they thought. To make up for their betrayal, DT tells them everything they can about the insider info they obtained. It turns out, Prime is a ward of the state and has no direct guardian aside from the government funding he receives, but made all of his money by fooling people with some made up father figure. With him paying DT, who knows who was truly listening in on all of their personal conversations and meetings.

It is wildly infuriating and makes Adora want to vomit with disgust and rage at someone so arrogant and cruel towards the idea of privacy and consent. That someone can be as evil as Prime to spy on people and manipulate them with seeds of doubt and violence. Some argue they target him now, while Adora and Catra insist that they need a plan, to which their friend’s reluctantly agree.

The time has come. Everyone got into the colleges they wanted and graduation is today. It’s all slapping Adora in the face like a wet fish.

Not because of her fear of the future, moving away from her mothers, not getting to see all of her friend group everyday.

No.

It’s the fact that graduation is a perfect place for Prime to make his move, or so DT says. An event such as this will have the whole senior class together, along with their families, friends, teachers, and other staff members all in one massive building. Adora’s stomach won't stop flipping over and inside out.

Adora wishes Catra had the same last name so she could be right next to her in the sea of seated students. In the back of the blonde’s mind, she realizes that could happen with marriage and she blushes with wide eyes at the thought.

The ceremony begins with their classes Valedictorian, Bow. He has always had a way with words and motivating people or helping navigate issues with alternate solutions, so he is utterly perfect for this moment.

It’s an emotional and empowering speech that has the whole whooping and hollering. But above everyone else, you can clearly hear Glimmer shout, “That’s my amazing boyfriend!”

Shortly after that, they are called up to walk across the stage, shake hands, and take a picture with their diplomas. Adora makes sure to spot her family in the crowd and give them a shining smile before she strides the stage with her head held high and hears a long, high whistle that most definitely just came from her girlfriend. Adora blushes the whole way back to her seat with a winning grin.

Everytime a friend crossed the stage, Adora cheered. But when it was Catra’s turn, she was thankful to be in the front row by the stage. This way she knew Catra would easily hear her praising her as she walked. What Adora didn’t expect was for Catra to deviate from the line to plant a wet kiss on her lips before she zoomed back to her seat when a teacher got on to her.

Then it’s to throw their caps in the air, but Adora’s reaches the sky all by itself. The ground rumbles as she brings her sight back down to see that everyone around her, everyone, has hit the ground in a heap of paralyzation.

A voice booms with poison through the speakers in the auditorium.

“Greetings, Adora.”

Prime.

There is a wave of confusion over his face but he flashes it away quickly.

Adora’s breathing is rapid and shallow as her skin sticks to her gown with sweat. But she must remain calm and strong. There was a chance Prime would make his move today and they plotted as many contingencies that they could. This man has been tormenting their lives for years, he has been spying on their personal lives and hurting her mother’s and threatening Catra. She will no longer stand for this. She has to be brave and protect everyone.

“Finally done hiding it seems?” she throws back with a strong of a smirk she can muster from her shaking muscles. Prime simply tilts his head at that. Did Prime not infect her on purpose? Is she immune? Why would she be immune if she was?

“Not hiding, just building my empire.” Hundreds of people walk into the building, surrounding her. They all seem initially startled but Prime snaps his fingers and they straighten their backs.

Adora concludes, she is immune. Is it because of First One’s blood? She-Ra? Adora sweeps her face to see her mother slightly stirring. First One’s are protected. The thought gives her hope. Searching for her friends she sees none of them are moving.

“You are all alone, Adora,” Prime pulls her attention back with a sneer. “I’m far too powerful for you to handle, always have been.”

Adora wants to call his bluff. “Then why do you have back up? Scared or something?”

Prime’s eyebrow twitches. He speaks into the mic with a deep voice. “They are the clean up crew. You see,” he struts the stage to the stairs and steps over bodies until he is face to face with Adora. “I am eliminating some waste, garbage, really. It is time we move forward with greater things.”

Muscles strain beneath her gown. She wants to sock him in the jaw but she needs a plan first. Behind, she hears shuffling.

“It is time for a new beginning!” Prime beams with mania. “A new era is here, of my will, we will find new peace.”

“What do you mean?” Adora asks with a strained, worried voice. “What are you hoping to accomplish?”

Prime steps back and simply smiles, as if he is looking out over a gorgeous landscape. Mimicking him, but keeping him within her peripheral, Adora takes a closer look around the room. Bodies begin to shuffle. Quickly, she notes that Bow, Catra, and Seahawk are now standing on shaky legs.

“Adora?” They all murmur in confusion. Adora abandon’s her post to group with her friend’s. Stronger together, she reminds herself. Why aren’t the others waking up? Why is Glimmer, Perfuma, and everyone else any different?

When she reaches Catra, she examines her well being and deems her to be okay, just drowsy. Keeping a steady hand on her friends, Adora turns back to Prime to see he has returned back to the podium but doesn’t seem the least bit surprised that some people are waking up.

“My children, you have all been chosen for a greater calling, a new purpose. From here on, the world will be rid of magic!” he shouts into the mic and it makes Adora’s blood run cold. “All magical users have been rendered unconscious and my people will quickly do away with them. Then we can get on to reconstructing Etheria for a greater goal.”

No one is going to die today. Not a single one.

“Get ready,” Bow mutters, as if reading her mind. Adora nods.

“Seahawk and Bow can you take care of his- uh- henchmen? Catra? Can you wake Mara and clue in Huntara? I think mom is immune, like me. We could use both of their help. I’ll handle Prime while you guys work.”

“Adventure!” Seahawk yowls and begins pulling out torches and spray cans. everyone takes that as the signal to disperse.

That special glow engulfs Adora as she transforms, but it flickers out. What? She can hear Prime laughing. Adora tries again, but fails. Panic floods her nervous system and she has to switch gears. She sprints up to Prime, tearing off her gown, stepping around sleeping bodies, as she leaps onto the platform and gets into her boxer’s defense stance.

Prime’s grin is feral as he unsheathed his clawed fingers which drip with green serum. “You are nothing without She-Ra. How long can you hold on as the serum works through eating every last drop of your mana?”

Adora is fine as Adora. “We will see about that.” She lunges with a straight jab but he swiftly dodges and cuts her forearm with his claws. She can feel the burn of the serum. Thinking fast, she bounces out of his reach and realizes she will have to put him on the defensive with rapid punches. Going for his legs is tricky since it will leave his arms free for a strike.

His height advantage adds to his benefit but is also how she can slip around him. Reapproaching him, Adora does a series of quick punches to his forearms to weaken his block until he bends left, making an opening for Adora to send a left hook into his right rib cage.

As her fist makes contact, another slash grates her cheek and wrist. She ducks and tries for his groin but only gets the inside of his thigh and he scoots back to avoid the crippling blow.

“Adora!” Mara yells across the room and it brings Adora’s hearing back to the fights happening. She can hear yelling, sparks of explosives, and grunts of exertion. Then she can smell the smoke and see the lucid students trying to help Bow and Seahawk. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio are teamed up with Huntara as they take on several enemies.

Mara and Catra sprint to Adora’s side but she commands them to stop. “Wait, just heal who you can! First One’s magic is immune to the virus! I’ll keep him busy until Frosta can gather the guards!”

“NO!” Prime growls and strikes Adora while she is distracted. He claws across her stomach, making her hunch over with a weak defense as he swings his leg up to knock her to the ground. Her head is throbbing from where his shin connected with her temple and feels hot pain strike up her back when he makes another attack along her spine.

Fatigue and dizziness sets in from the overwhelming amount of serum her body is failing to fight off.

“Adora!” people are shouting her name. She sees Prime take a step back to admire the defeated blonde.

“So predictable. To think your boxing technique hasn’t changed since you started a couple years ago. Such a lack of imagination.”

His words piss Adora off and a new surge of need to clock him on his ass blinds her. With everything she can, she stands and throws all of her weight on him, bringing them to the ground in a heap. He makes more swipes for her flesh but she doesn’t care at this point, the virus only grows stronger and eats her magic. She has to stop him now.

Prime throws her off of him and gets back to his feet. Nausea grips Adora’s stomach and cold sweats rattle her bruised body. How much more can her body take before it actually quits? Can this serum actually kill her?

Secure arms wrap around her and pull her head to their chest. “Adora? Baby? Stay with me, look at me.” She flutters her eyes open to see the love of her life. “There we go. Glimmer!”

Next thing she knows, they are being teleported next to Mara, Hope, and Razz. “But-but Prime,” she weakly argues. “We...stop him…”

Catra cups her cheeks. “Trust us to handle it, okay?” Then kisses her forehead. “Mami and Papi are here, too. We got you, we are going to take care of everything. You’re safe now.” Adora struggles to keep her eyes open to see Carmen and Miro shielding them from debris on their flank. Mara crawls towards her as Razz throws things at nearby enemies as Hope shuffles chairs to further defend them as she does her best to blast magic from her palms.

Mara dumps every last ounce of her magic into Adora to fight off the virus. It’s only when Mara collapses does Adora get a grip on reality again. Her mother has just expunged all of her magic for her, and the sight of her mother looking so pale and tired sends a shock to her system as she feels strength coming back to her body.

“Mara? Are you okay?” she asks and Hope is there to hug them both in a strong embrace.

With a weak smile, Mara looks to her family. “I’ll be fine, just a little tired.”

Hope strokes Mara’s cheek before pulling Adora in for a kiss on her forehead. “Your mother is strong, Adora, don’t worry. I have some magic of my own that I can share with her.” And then Hope is glowing with geometric shapes as they skim across her body into Mara’s.

Mara’s breathing evens out as the tiny bit of the magic transferred to her helps clear her head. “Thank you, Hope. That’s all I needed.”

She releases Mara and Hope to lean back into Catra’s embrace as she turns to find Prime amongst the chaos. To her left she sees Frosta and Perfuma constrict as many enemies as they can while Scorpia stings them and Mermista flushes them out of the auditorium. The more she searches, she comes to spot Entrapta who is looking for the antidote while Hordak does his best to hold off Prime from calling more reinforcements, but it’s obvious he won’t last much longer.

Just off to Hordak’s right, Bow launches his last few arrows to distract Prime. Adora looks to Catra, who is still holding her tight.

“Catra.”

“I know. Rest a bit more, I’ll hold him off,” Catra tells her quickly, kisses her, then sprints off before Adora and their families can even yell after her. It makes her panic, she can’t let Prime hurt anyone else, even if she knows Catra can handle herself.

Adora crawls after her girlfriend. She can’t sit here and do nothing, she can regain her strength as she crawls, dammit.

She can hear Miro and Carmen calling after her-- feel Mara trying to pull in her leg-- but she commands they stay back to look after the other injured people. To fight this virus, they need a First One, and it has to be Adora now that Mara is out of commission.

Adora is halfway there when Catra gets kicked, high into the air, and clumsily lands on her shaky feet with ragged breaths. Adora can see green mixing with the magicat’s blood on Prime’s hands. Prime is hurting Catra. He is hurting everyone I love, Adora thinks vehemently.

She scrambles to her feet just as Catra makes swipes for Prime’s legs, making him cry out and snarl to which he swirls around and lands another kick to her weakening body.

“Catra!” Adora cries out and feels her bones expand. Her light fills the room when Catra doesn’t move. A sword materializes into her hand as Prime goes to kick her again. It’s so much like her nightmares. She charges after him.

But she doesn’t make it.

Frosta does. Frosta does with a massive, steaming fist caked in jagged mountainous layers of ice that collide into Prime’s cheek, slashing it open and crushing him hard enough that he soars across the room.

“Take that, f*cker!” Frosta roars and goes after him again to make sure he stays down while Perfuma ties him up. When restrained, Huntara interrogates him before Scorpia stings him three times to seal the deal.

Seeing Prime tied away and now paralyzed, nearly asleep, is a relief, but all of her focus is on Catra, who still hasn’t moved where she lays crumpled on the ground, bleeding.

“Catra?” Adora whispers, brokenly as she checks her pulse and rests her girlfriend’s head in her lap. “Everything is going to be okay. You’ll be okay, stay with me. Stay with me,” she pleads and Catra’s pulse weakens. “We are going to build the perfect life together, we are going to grow old together, we are going to have everything we have ever wanted.”

Adora’s heart beats so fast it might explode and her magic glows and shines in time with it’s rhythm. She refuses to have a future without Catra. Without anyone that she loves.

Something clicks and her magic is now pouring out into the room, into the dirt and roots that flow beneath them. She can feel Etheria drinking up her energy and sending it outwards to heal everyone infected by Prime. Her body feels like a nuclear engine, spinning and releasing power in every direction.

Several moments pass and she finally opens her eyes to see Catra breathing more evenly now.

“Catra?” Her ear twitches ever so slightly. Adora calls her again. “My love? Can you open your eyes for me? I’m here, I’m here.”

With grunting force, Catra prys her heavy lids open and exhales a cough. “Hey, Adora. Did we get him?”

Adora shifts back to herself with a sob and pulls Catra’s lips to hers. “We got him. We’re safe.”

“Good riddance.”

The two slowly get to their feet and walk over to a dazed Prime who keeps muttering, “Impossible, not possible, how did this happen?”

To which Adora replies, with what he told her so long ago about underestimating someone’s power, “You miscalculated.” The words only make him struggle uselessly against his binds.

Angella and Micah appear from what Adora learns was that they were busy evacuating the injured out of the battle and arrive to help whisk Prime into custody to a set of royal guards from Frosta’s closest family. They are the only guards that can be trusted to handle and sentence Prime properly. The whole time, Catra and Adora never let go of each other, even as they embrace their friends and family.

Entrapta and Perfuma construct a backup antidote in case some people still have lingering effects of fatigue, vertigo, and withering magic. Adora’s power did most of the work, but she also wasn’t at 100%, so the extra antidote is appreciated to help truly fix everything Prime has caused.

Mara’s shingles fade as she gets her magic and energy back, thanks to the antidote. Hope becomes more present and put together now that the virus has left her system as well.

Frosta gloats non stop, she has every right too, since she kicked Prime’s ass. Everyone is hanging out at Frosta’s as a celebration; even Huntara and all the parents come. They can all finally relax now that the terror is over. With all the kids upstairs eating, talking about the fight, their plans for the future, sharing their nightmares and battle scars, there are two lovebirds curled around each other.

Adora is in a leather recliner with Catra curled in her lap as she brushes her mane and Catra kneads her stomach with a loud purr she doesn’t bother to bite down on.

Catra pauses her kneading to look Adora in the eyes. She whispers, “Let’s move in together for college. Skip the dorms and get a place, our own place just for us.”

Adora smiles wide with wet eyes and cups her fuzzy cheek. “Yes. I would love that so much.”

Catra kisses her. “I love you, princess.”

“I love you, too.”

Everything is going to be okay, just like they always promised.

Chapter 20: epilogue: the things we dreamed of

Chapter Text

It's times like these you learn to live again

It's times like these you give and give again

It's times like these you learn to love again

College is better than any of them expected. With Catra and Adora successfully finding a dingy, cheap apartment, they were able to both hold jobs, go to school, and maintain the monthly payments while their parents helped pay off their cars. The apartment has its issues but it doesn’t matter because it’s all theirs and no one else's. It was a small studio with a simple bathroom and niche kitchen. It was perfect.

Everynight they go to bed together and always make sure to give one another a good morning kiss before they head out to work or school.

There are moments when the two lovers can hardly hold a conversation because they are stressed about work and school, or are stressed for their partner. Some of the time, most of the time, they struggle with PTSD from the fight with Prime and everything he did to them.

He may be arrested and locked away for good in a place very far away, but there is a lingering paranoia and doubt that remains. They both have night terrors. So do their friend’s, but they work through it together. Most go to therapy and take up meditative hobbies to conquer it.

But it seems Adora is still on the edge about it.

The two lovers are in their living room sitting on the couch, facing each other with serious, sad expressions. Catra is holding Adora’s trembling hands as she rubs her knuckles with her thumbs.

“Adora, please, you aren’t sleeping. Please stop hiding from me. We talked about this, remember? I’m here for you. We do this together. We are so f*cking strong when we work together,” Catra pleads through emotion in her tightening throat. She can’t stand to see Adora this way.

So drained. Easily irritated. Not eating or sleeping. Headaches and sore joints from lack of rest and nutrition. Adora shakes with an uneasy breath as more tears roll down her face. “But how can we do this together if you aren’t there with me?”

It was hard to admit, but Catra had to say it. “Baby, you can’t rely on one person to fix everything. It’s just… not possible. And, f*ck, I wish I could, Adora, I really wish I could heal all this pain. It kills me to see you this way,” her voice cracks and fresh tears fall. “But, seeing a professional doesn’t make you weak, or mean you are broken, or any less valuable of a person. It’s going to help you be the better version that is being held back by all this pain.”

“H-how do I-I know, it-it will w-work?” the trembling blonde stutters out between sniffles. Two hands cup her cheeks and turn her face until she is locked on to two soft blue and gold eyes. She immediately feels safer in their gaze. Knowing she is being looked after and protected by Catra.

“Because it worked for me. I am living proof that therapy, counseling, medication- all of that stuff works. Before I met you, I was in screaming matches with my parents and teammates all the time. I would hurt people and close them off. But when we got closer,” Catra tells her as she wipes some of her tears away, “I wanted to get better. I did it for you.” She smiles softly when Adora’s eyes widen. “Once I started going, I started to want to do it for myself. I still do. I want to be the best person I can be for me.”

“You did it… for yourself?” She questions in awe. As if the idea is nonsensical.

Catra nods her head a few times. “Yes. I wanted- I got tired of being so angry all the time. I thought I deserved all that pain- that people should hate me because I’m not worth it. Then I realized that that was no way to live. That was no way to ever find happiness. Adora,” Catra brushes their lips together, like speaking the words against her lips will make it more powerful. “You have to let yourself be loved by your own self. You are worthy of love, too.”

A week and a half later, Adora is in the waiting room of her Therapist. Initially, Adora wants Catra in the room with her when she spills her guts out. But when they call her name, she decides to go it alone, to which Catra rewards her a deep kiss before sending her down the hall.

She cries a lot. She knew she would. But it all comes out and feels a lot better afterwards. The therapist is kind and patient and directs Adora to some Psychiatrist’s that can get her prescribed the proper medication. It all feels weird, but when she walks out of the office and into Catra’s arms, she is grounded again.

She tells Mara and Hope about it in person when she sees them that next weekend. The whole family felt collective relief and praised Adora for doing something so strong and brave.

Their freshman year goes a lot more smoothly now that they are both getting help. They see their friend’s more often and go on more dates when they finally have the time. Catra works in an art gallery while selling and showing her works on the side as she learns to do magicat wood engraving in school like they saw in Halfmoon.

Adora does end up taking Cartography as a degree with a minor in Etherian world history. For work, Adora does security in the local parks where she can hang out with the wildlife while also getting to help people.

The two have their struggles with school and work, as well as each other because of stress. But one thing is for sure, they always go to bed in each other’s arms. They get even better at communicating and setting boundaries where necessary and don’t bottle up their emotions.

I, I'm a new day rising

I'm a brand new sky

To hang the stars upon tonight

It’s about a year after they are both done with college that they think about marriage.

It was never something on the table for them to think about because of how busy they were, but they always knew what they had was an end game. Perfuma and Scorpia married their sophom*ore year of college. Bow and Glimmer plan on tying the knot a bit later down the road, and Mermista and Seahawk have had 3 separate engagements because of fire related incidents.

Adora is afraid to ask Catra to marry her. She knows she will say yes, but she doesn't want Catra to feel trapped in it. Getting in her head about it, Catra notices the far away look in her eyes and brings it up at dinner one night when they are both home from work; now in a much nicer apartment. They both make a lot more money thanks to their degrees.

“You got that look in your eye again, princess.”

Adora blinks hard. “Huh?”

Catra snickers and rolls her eyes. “You’re thinking. A lot, it seems.” Adora tenses up. She doesn’t think Catra wants to hear this right now. Not with her struggles to sell more art and issues with canvas shipments. She reaches a free hand across the table and interlaces their fingers. “Talk to me.”

The words give Adora a mission, a task to complete. sh*t, Adora hates how well Catra knows her brain. “Um…” she squeezes Adora’s hand. “It’s a more serious thing that I don’t know if you want to get in to right now.”

Catra watches her closely, making the blonde blush. “If it’s making you wake up in the night, then I want to know. I always want to know. I can handle it, Adora. Tell me?” Catra asks with such sincerity that Adora falls in love all over again.

Do I stay or run away

And leave it all behind?

Adora lets out a big breath. “Do you… want to get married? To me?” Even after nearly 7 years of dating, Adora still holds doubts.

Ears shooting straight up in excitement, Catra trills and waves her tail happily. “I-Adora-yes I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, dummy. I…” Adora’s brain is spiraling with joy but it halts when Catra blushes and looks away for a moment.

“What is it?” Adora prods and reaches for Catra’s other hand.

“I got you a ring, already,” she admits with a shrug. “You beat me to the question once again, princess. Honestly, I was scared you would reject it because you weren’t ready or didn’t think you were, like, deserving of it.”

Adora gets up from her seat and straddles a startled, purring Catra. She wraps her arms around that furry neck and kisses her, and kisses her, and kisses her. Finally, she pulls back, breathing heavy and teary eyed. “I’ve wanted to have our eternity together since we slow danced at prom. I want to marry you, be your wife, be yours until the end, and after that.”

The feline laughs softly with happy tears and scratches along Adora’s thighs. “I swore to myself to never push you away at that dance too. I want to marry you, be a family, and be yours too, Adora.”

In the corner, their new pet cat, Melog, is purring and trilling for them.

Their wedding isn’t perfect. It’s a small venue on a rainy day with the power going out due to the electrical storm. But all the candles make for a lovely atmosphere that warms the room and keeps the space intimate and memorable. Both are wearing stunning white and gold outfits for their wedding. Adora doesn’t bother with the veil, she wants to see her future wife as clear as day in that handsome f*cking suit.

They both cry through their vows.

Sharing anecdotes, making jabs at each other, and explaining what words cannot describe as complete and utter devotion to the love of their life before them. Catra says her vows in spanish while Adora signs as she speaks for everyone to feel included at the wedding.

When they finally kiss, it’s electric and pure and feels like a shift in gravity. It’s as perfect as the first one.

Their honeymoon is a night they never forget as they enjoy their time alone in a cabin out in Halfmoon in the forest where the stars are seen so clearly.

No matter what we face

We must face the moment of truth baby

It’s two years later when Adora is pregnant with their first child. It initially scares her since they didn’t prepare for it yet. So prepping their new house is a scramble that leaves them both exhausted at the end of every day. But their family and friends help with the money and get them the furniture and supplies they need to have the house ready when the day comes.

Adora is a bit of a mess with her hormones so high and trying to plan for the baby while still wanting to work out before her ankles are too swollen and her back hurts too much to move. Through everything, Catra is there taking care of her, being as attentive and gentle as Adora has ever come to know her to be.

Each night, Adora lies in bed as Catra holds her growing belly and kisses her stomach so softly as she murmurs sweet words for their future child. Everytime the kid thumps and thrashes, they both get teary eyed and Catra swears she can sense they will be strong and incredible. Each kick tells Adora they will be a warrior for sure.

Nobody's invincible, no plan is foolproof

We all must meet our moment of truth

Soon, the baby is here and they are perfect in every way.

Adora was in labor for nearly 15 hours and Catra’s hand almost shatters from Adora’s death grip around it. But Catra never pulls away and holds her wife ever closer as she pushes their child into the world. They are so scared they will be terrible parents, but when Adora sees Finn for the first time, she knows she will do whatever it takes to be the best mama in the universe.

And when Catra holds Finn for the first time, Adora sees a whole new side of her. Catra purrs as she softly bounces them where she is seated next to an exhausted Adora on the hospital bed. Catra licks their fuzzy face as Finn holds onto her sheathed finger. Adora leans into her side and lets the feeling of that gentle purr lull her to sleep, knowing Catra will protect them.

When she wakes to breastfeed, Adora feels magic coursing through her when Finn latches. It’s a whole new connection. To give life and nourishment to this little person she and Catra created together. Adora doesn’t realize she is glowing until she hears Catra’s gasp of awe. Catra may not be able to nurse their child, but Adora can feel her energy adding to She-Ra’s like ribbons twining into endless braids of DNA.

Another year passes and they decide to adopt two magicats from Halfmoon. There were so many in need of homes from a massive storm that overtook that part of the world. They found two kids who only had each other after they lost their parents and other siblings.

So, with two more kids in the house, Finn now had two more siblings who were named Murphy and Callan. Murphy’s name translated to ‘sea warrior’ while Callan’s meant ‘battle’. Both kids grew up together in the system and survived a raging storm that they definitely earned their names for. And there was no way Adora and Catra could split them up. Besides, they took to Finn within seconds, sniffing and trilling as they greeted each other as well as Melog.

It’s Christmas and Mara, Hope, Razz, Miro, and Carmen are visiting for the holidays. The kids adore their grandparents and adore Swift Wind even more.

It’s a fantastic Christmas eve having the whole house full of such love. The kids typically snuggle up in Catra and Adora’s king size bed since they are still young and small. But on the special days that their grandparents visit, they sleep with them. Making sure to scent mark their family from the outside world due to their travels.

Adora misses having her kids in bed with her so she can be surrounded by all the happy purrs and kneading magicats. But she knows her family loves it just as much and cherishes these nights. Mara and Hope were afraid they wouldn’t be loved as much as Miro or Carmen because of their species. But they couldn’t have been more wrong.

Their kids took to them just as fast and climbed all over them. Mara and Adora would transform into their warrior forms so the kids can treat them like a jungle gym. Even Catra will straddle Adora in that form. It’s hard to resist someone built like a tree. Hope loves how soft they all are and the kids will lay in her lap while she stims and relaxes at the softness of their fur and mane.

Miro’s humor always makes the kids laugh while Carmen plays chase with them with Catra. Razz never stops baking for everyone when she comes. The kids have an appetite that rivals Adora’s and the house is always lively.

Eventually, the whole friend group meets the kids. It takes time and it doesn’t happen all at the same time for a big reunion, but they share a massive group message to coordinate when they can see one another.

It’s a beautiful moment every time their children get to meet and connect with their lifelong friends who are all now called ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’ or ‘god parent’. Each time, Adora feels her heart grow bigger and it explodes in size when all of their children play together and get along.

The kids are in grade school now and asleep in their own bedrooms. Adora and Catra are getting ready for bed. As she leaves the bathroom, Adora walks out to see Catra in their bed sketching. And when she sits down in the bed next to her wife, she sees that Catra has been drawing Adora who was brushing her teeth in the bathroom just moments before.

It reminds her of the first time she posed for Catra on that date so many years ago. Her drawing style has changed over the years but it’s still so Catra. The simple drawing brings tears to Adora’s eyes. How is Catra so good at making the mundane so beautiful?

“Stars, I love you,” Adora tells her a bit breathlessly. Catra hears the emotion in her voice and puts her sketch pad down to face her properly.

“A simple composition of lines making you emotional, baby?” Catra joked but with affection as she cupped her wifes cheeks and kisses her face. “And I love you. I love my beautiful girl so much. So, tell me, what’s on your mind.”

Catra asks so, so tenderly and with gentle earnestness that Adora melts into her arms. She melts so much she thinks she might actually become a part of Catra. Be within her, finally, for all eternity. Just like she always wanted.

But wait, I've been through a whole lot of other sh*t, before

So I oughta be able, to withstand some more

“I never thought I could have a life like this. Being with a wife so amazing, having a family so healthy and happy. I never thought I deserved it, but you, you make me believe it is worth it. Because of how much you love me helps me love myself. And seeing the kids smile, you smile, our parents and friends smile… it’s all so perfect.” Adora is sobbing with disbelief by the end of her little speech, and so is Catra.

Catra pulls her close and kisses along her neck, jaw, eyes- everywhere to pour the magic that is her love into her Adora. “You’re not alone in those thoughts,” Catra admits. “I always saw myself as bad and not qualified to ever live a good life. Everyday I wake up to you and our kids and it still blows my mind. Even after all these years. Baby, Adora, I’m so glad I met you. It’s all perfect because it’s with you.”

They hold each other tight, lying down and facing each other as their mouths move slowly against each other. There is a small knock at their bedroom door. The wives wipe the tears off their faces and make themselves decent and Catra goes to open the door while Adora blows her nose. Behind the door is Callan who looks up at Catra with a scowl and down turned ears, his tail wrapped around his waist in shame. Catra kneels down and rubs his shoulders.

“What’s wrong Cal?” she asks him. He scowls even harder and growls a little bit but doesn’t pull away from his mom. Finn and Murphy peep their heads out of their bedroom to see what’s going on as they rub the sleep from their eyes.

“It’s okay, you can tell me, big man. No one will know but us,” she presses him gently. That’s when Callan releases a big breath and sniffles as he scoots into his mother’s embrace and Catra starts to purr to comfort him.

“Nightmare. Can… can I sleep with you guys?” he asks where his mouth is muffled against Catra’s neck.

Catra kisses his ears and rubs his back. “Of course you can, sweetheart. Come here,” she says and leads him to the bed while holding his hand. He gingerly settles between his two mama’s and Adora scratches his back.

Adora sees the other kids come to their door. She waves at Finn and Murphy. “Do you guys want to join us?” The two nod. Adora turns to her son. “Is that okay Callan?” she asks her son who is snuggling into her side.

“Yeah, they can come in too,” he replies with a blush. Adora knows it will make him feel safer if his siblings are there too.

Finn and Murphy’s ears shoot up and they smile widely as they run on all fours and leap onto the bed, making everyone laugh. Callan doesn’t move from where he is tucked into Adora’s side where he kneads and purrs as she strokes his short dark brown mane. Finn circles at their shins until they are comfortable and lays their tail across their mother’s legs.

“You guys have the best bed in the whole house,” Finn tells them through a yawn that makes the wives giggle.

Meanwhile, Murphy slowly crawls on top of Catra and nuzzles into Catra’s collarbone with a happy sway of her striped tail. “Is this okay, mom? Are you comfy?”

“I’m perfect, baby girl,” Catra tells her.

There is just enough space for the two wives to lean their heads together and entwine their fingers. Adora looks to Catra and Catra looks to her with glowing eyes as the lamp turns off.

Adora stares into those ocean and sun eyes until she falls asleep as Catra runs her claws through her hair. Her hand only stops when sleep takes her as well.

It’s two Christmases later when Adora gets the most surprising gift from Catra. A train with hundreds of feet worth of track. It’s so out of the blue but yet so on the nose when it comes to Adora. The kids all want to play with it and Adora lets them set up the tracks while she and Catra put the train itself together and get it functioning.

“A train huh?” Adora nudges her wife with her elbow, eliciting a giggle and shove back.

“I’m an amazing gift giver. I have trophies to prove it.” Adora wishes that were a lie. Really, she does.

Adora starts connecting the train cars to each other. “You are. So, oh wise gift giver, why did you get me this gift?”

“Easy, you’re a dork for lines.”

“Lines?” Adora sputters and the two giggle.

Catra tosses the instructions to Adora, giving up on trying to figure it out and deciding to use her own wit. “Yeah! You love maps, trails, constellations, timelines, and all that good sh*t you’re so passionate about. Seeing movement and the inner structure of something on a larger scale is what fascinates you. So, why not trains?”

Adora is stunned, to say the least. All she can do is gape at her lover who is now raising a challenging brow at her. Catra has a point. And she has a way of seeing things Adora skims over, like how she had a love for Cartography without even knowing it. Adora has always found trains to be incredible forms of transportation. A vehicle with incredible force that some magic cannot even rival, a vehicle that carries so much across such long distances without even a hiccup. It’s paramount and often reminds Adora of the First Ones.

Later that night, with the help of the kids, their house was now covered in train tracks. The kids were so excited to see the train up and running as they chased it across the rooms and down the hallways and through the chairs of the living room.

Adora would set up the tracks to swap at certain time intervals so she could add another train or two to the tracks without any of the cars colliding. Every lead railroad car had a whistle and bubble emitter to represent smoke. All the magicats, Adora included, would squeal, trill, and flick their tails every time the train went ‘choo choo’ through the home.

It was a morning Adora let Catra sleep in. The kids were all watching TV as they ate breakfast together. The train tracks still ran through the house and the train sat at Adora’s feet while she tied a little something to it. When the train was prepped, Adora sent it on its way to her and Catra’s bedroom.

Catra could hear the sounds of the train making its way across the tracks. The sound made her smile and cracked her eye open to see it press their bedroom door open. She watched the little train roll right up to her nightstand and give out a low whistle. (They had to lower the volume on it for their family’s sensitive ears).

Giggling, Catra leans down to undo the note tied to the front car of the train. She opens it up and it reads.

Hey baby, just wanted to say good morning! And that I love you!

and behind the note it says ‘and breakfast is ready! I miss you!’

Catra is smiling like a love struck idiot for how excessive her dork of a wife is with exclamation marks. She writes a note back that she will be down shortly and sends the train on its way.

When she gets downstairs, Adora has breakfast warmed up and readied the table for two.

“You haven’t eaten yet, princess?” Catra asks as she chooses to plop down in Adora’s lap rather than a chair.

Adora snorts and holds her tight. “I wanted to wait for you.”

The words make Catra fall in love all over again. Adora is so beautiful, sincere, and devoted and just so full of love that Catra widens her heart to make room for every drop of it. She wants everything Adora can give her and more.

Catra would tease, but she’s so blissed out that she can’t find the will to do so. Instead, kisses Adora’s ear and says, “Can we get married again?”

Adora beams and kisses her on the lips. “I don’t see why not.”

Behind them, on the windosill above the kitchen sink, sat the framed Rubik’s Cube picture Catra got her for their first year anniversary, the picture of them plotting their life together.