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She was pacing around the room, slowly, trying to compare it to that place in her memory, the place where she spent so much time with her girlfriend, the place where she left her behind.
Is she still my girlfriend? Adora wondered.
Last time she saw Catra, they had a huge fight, and instead of sticking around and telling her favorite person that she was sorry, Adora got on Mara’s ship with Bow and Glimmer, and vanished for 6 months.
She regretted it every day since, especially knowing how Catra felt about the concept of her leaving.
What made matters worse is that she childishly didn’t tell Catra of her plans to fly away on a deadly mission. Catra had to find out from Glimmer at the very last minute.
“I didn’t think you’d care!” Adora spat back then, when Catra showed up at Mara’s ship moments before they took off, asking Adora what the fuck she was doing.
“Why wouldn’t I care that the person I love more than anything is headed on a deadly mission?” Catra stared at her in disbelief.
“Well I haven’t seen you in months, so why would I think you’d start caring now!”
It was a low blow and Adora knew it. She promised Catra when Catra left Brightmoon that she wasn’t mad, that she understood where Catra was coming from, and she really wanted that to be true, but despite her best efforts, she still resented Catra.
“Adora...” Catra tried weakly. “You know damn well I haven’t stopped caring. We spoke every day. I told you everything that was going on in my life. I thought it made us closer than ever. I left so I could become better. For you.”
Adora didn’t say a word. She wasn’t particularly proud of the way she felt.
“Were you actually going to leave without telling me? Possibly die without telling me?” Catra’s voice cracked, and Adora couldn’t tell if Catra was mad, sad, or a heartbreaking combination of the two.
“Will you come with me now that you do know?” she challenged. After almost a year, she just didn’t want them do be apart any longer, couldn’t fathom why Catra did.
“Adora, I’m not done. I still have things I need to do.”
“Well, travelling through space with us used to be good enough for you for two years. What changed?”
Catra sighed.
“I haven’t changed enough.” Catra insisted. They spent two years in space together, over the moon in love, then they came back home, and after a year in Brightmoon, Catra just felt like there was so much more apologizing for her to do, so much more healing.
“You had your chance to go on your own, and grow as a person,” Catra reminded. “You told me for the longest time that you leaving the Horde had nothing to do with me and how you felt about me. Why is it so hard for you to accept that I need to do this?”
Adora swallowed hard but remained quiet. Even back then she knew deep down she was wrong about this. Everyone around her told her, but she was just afraid that the Catra who’d come back to Brightmoon would be too different from the one who left.
Catra saw Adora was at a loss of words, so she kept talking.
“You know, it’s quite the mind fuck, seeing you for years as the thing that kept me from getting everything I ever wanted, and finally admitting that you are everything I ever wanted.”
“And you have me!” So please, just come with me.
“But what am I aside from that, Adora?”
“You are a whole lot,” this time Adora’s voice cracked.
“We were in space for two years, we were in our little bubble. I’ve done whatever I could to make it up to you...”
“And you did!” Adora argued.
“But then we came back, and I had an entire planet to make it up to!” Catra tried to get through to her.
Adora realized that aside from an ultimatum, there was nothing she could say to change Catra’s mind. And she wasn’t far gone enough to use a tool that indicate a complete lack of trust, of love. She turned around, climbing on the ship’s air lock ramp.
“Hey,” Catra called after her, making her turn. She knew the argument was lost. There was no stopping her stubborn girlfriend from leaving. “I love you, please be safe.” She couldn’t let Adora fly away on some suicide mission on another planet without telling her she loved her, no matter what transpired right before.
“I love you too,” Adora said, hesitating for a second before she resumed her walk. Both had tears in their eyes. Not that they could see the other.
“Go with them,” Catra told Melog who then rushed through the thinning crack of the airlock without a second thought. She needs you more right now.
She watched the ship take off.
It was no longer about being angry at Adora for not staying, it was about remaining hopeful that she’d come back. It was about having faith that she’ll experience whatever it is that she needed to experience, and then return to Catra. Because no matter what, she was hers.
Remembering that goodbye now, Adora knew she had a lot to make up for.
“God, I’m such an idiot.” The sentiment felt true and strong today as it felt every day since they took off, 6 months prior.
The truth was, they rushed home. It was Catra’s birthday. A random, approximate date that she and Adora chose together once Bow and Glimmer explained to them what birthdays were. Adora wasn’t going to miss it, space travel be damned.
She looked at the box she placed on the ground, full of little mementoes from every star they visited in this most recent expedition, hoping it’ll serve as a first token, a peace offering.
I hope the cake would help too, she thought. She made it herself earlier that morning when the best friend squad arrived at the former Fright Zone. Scorpia kindly assigned Catra to all sorts of random tasks around the kingdom, so that the gang could prepare a surprise party for her.
Adora spotted Catra’s old bed, hardly ever used as Catra slept at the foot of Adora’s bed most nights. It wasn’t in use now, either, since Catra chose to sleep in Adora’s old bed.
Of course she did, Adora huffed.
“Why would she ever choose to sleep in that room when you have a literal palace now?” she asked Scorpia earlier that day.
“She said she needs to reclaim the space,” Scorpia shrugged. “Create new good memories to replace the old, bad ones. I’m just happy she let me and Perfuma decorate it.”
Adora felt a pang of pain at the words. Those old memories are our beginning.
She laid down in her old bed, Catra’s scent all over the pillow, serving as a very vivid reminder of what she’s been missing. Her eyes found the old carvings of Catra and herslf next to Catra’s old bed.
She noticed the scratch marks across the face of her wall doppelganger.
“Oh.”
Then, she noticed Catra carved small hearts around that same face.
“Aww.”
She wondered what came first, the clearly angry scratches, or the hearts, but then she remembered Scorpia’s words and she finally understood.
Create good new memories to replace the bad ones.
The door flew open, making Adora jump and turn.
“Adora?” a familiar, beloved voice engulfed her. She missed it.
She noticed Catra’s hair first. It was tied up in a ponytail. It got so long.
“Adora!” A second later Catra jumped into bed to join her, wrapping her hands around Adora’s chest and her legs around Adora’s hips, pulling her closer, hugging her like she’s holding on for dear life.
“Your hair.” It was all Adora managed to say. “It’s so pretty.” Too pretty, she thought. It threw her back to a time when someone looked down at her and told her she had no future.
But Catra was oblivious. She let go of Adora so she could look at her, then she laughed lightly and leaned in to kiss her.
It was such a soft, tender kiss, that it reaffirmed to Adora that at the very least, she was still oh so loved.
Catra pulled away, moving a lock of hair that was blocking Adora’s eyes, and leaned in for another quick peck.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she bit her lip, caressing Adora’s cheek. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s your birthday,” Adora stated simply.
“You’re amazing you know that? We’re in the middle of a fight and you rush across the galaxy for my made-up birthday.”
An unpleasant feeling spread through Adora’s stomach at the mention of their fight.
“We were in the middle of a fight and you didn’t let me leave without saying that you love me,” Adora reminded.
“Well, you said it back,” Catra leaned in to kiss her forehead.
Adora grabbed Catra’s wrist, preventing her from taking her hand off Adora’s cheek.
“I’m so sorry, Catra. I really fucked up. I should’ve told you how I felt about you leaving Brightmoon a long time ago instead of letting it boil inside.”
“Why didn’t you?” Catra inquired, no trait of bitterness in her voice.
“I wanted to be supportive. You deserved that. But after you left I thought that this journey of self-discovery will make you discover you don’t want me anymore. I thought you’d change enough to realize you might not need me anymore.”
“You idiot. I’m always going to need you.” Catra put her hand on Adora’s chest, where the failsafe left its mark years ago. “You’re my heart.”
Adora looked down.
“And…” Catra’s voice became much lower now, she put a finger under Adora’s chin and made her look up. “I will always want you,” she rolled them over, now lying on top of Adora.
“In fact,” she lowered her head to speak right into Adora’s ear, “I spent many nights these last few months, right here in this bed, pleasuring myself thinking about you.”
Adora swallowed hard, but she shook her head, not done talking about this. She had to make sure they were truly okay. Not just a quick fix.
“How are you not more mad about this?” she demanded.
“I have some experience with rage. You never gave up on me. It’s nice to balance the scales a little bit...”
“Catra,” Adora groaned, she didn’t want them to keep score. She didn’t want this fight to be over just because Catra felt like she owed it to her.
“You said you’re sorry,” Catra smiled softly, “and we’re going to keep working on it, together. We have all the time in the world. I have some experience with working on things, too.”
“You do look more carefree,” Adora smiled. “I’m glad you have that. I am sorry I stood in the way of that.”
“You didn’t stand in the way of it. You may have not understood, but you still let me go. And I wanted to change, but I was also lucky that I was surrounded by people who were so open to forgiveness. I want to be that way, too.”
Adora didn’t say a thing, still not entirely convinced. There was more guilt there, and Catra recognized it immediately. It was an old friend of hers.
“Hey,” she cupped Adora’s cheek. “I never thought, not for a second, that you won’t be coming back, or that we won’t make it. I knew we would. I just wanted you to come back safe.”
“You have so much faith,” Adora noted, slightly jealous. She used to be like that, full of convictions, and she lost it a little bit.
“Yeah,”Catra confirmed simply. “Faith in you, faith in us. Don’t you get it? I want to spend my entire life with you.”
“You do?”
“Ugh Adora. How can someone so smart be so clueless? Of course I do. I always did. I just wanted to be a better me for all of that.”
Adora gave her such an intense look, that she thought she might combust.
“Ugh, stop it,” Catra laughed.
“How did you become so sure of everything? I’m frankly jealous,” Adora admitted.
“Meditation,” Catra deeadpenned. “Case in point. And long walks, and some light baking. And look,” she pointed at a basket on her vanity. “I still wrote to you every day.”
Adora completely missed it when she was scanning the room earlier. She quickly wiggled her way from under Catra and walked towards the vanity.
“Hey!” Catra protested.
Adora grabbed the basket and brought it back to the bed, noticing that indeed, it was full of letters, all addressed to her.
“Are these love letters?” She inquired smugly.
“Yes,” Catra replied simply.
“Wait, really? All of them?”
“I love you, so by default they’re all love letters,” Catra smirked. She knew Adora would get flushed. Her girlfriend always did at these unexpected displays of romance.
“Okay, fine” Adora put the basket on the nightstand. “But enough is enough, Catra. No more being apart. I have no intention of ever being away from you, ever again.”
“I can live with that. I don’t think this journey will ever be over for me,” she admitted, “but we can walk the rest of it together.”
“I’d really, really like that.”
“Good,” Catra hummed and flipped Adora back on the bed. “Now, how do you feel about making some good memories in this room?” She quirked an eyebrow.
“You mean…?”
“I mean.”
Adora looked at the clock over Catra’s shoulder. They had time. And besides, the gang was counting on her to stall.
“If we must, for the sake of healing, then we must.”
As far as long awaited, dramatic reunions go, it was a pretty good one.
“I can’t believe how much you guys turned this place around,” Adora admitted in awe. “It’s unrecognizable.” They were walking down the hallways of what used to be Horror Hall, but one could never guess that.
“I know, I’m actually quite proud of it,” Catra shared.
“You should be. It’s beautiful. And I’m proud of you,” she offered Catra a soft smile, bringing their joint hands to her lips so she could kiss Catra’s hand.
“Well, you know, while Perfuma did do a lot of the floral styling, this place was full on blossoming when we got here. I think you had something to do with it, Savior of the Universe,” Catra pulled Adora towards her, bringing their foreheads together, swaying slowly.
The flowers were nice, sure, but Scorpia, Catra and co. broke so many walls apart, created windows, big lit spaces. Everything about the place was warm and inviting.
“You really like it here, don’t you?” Adora asked.
Catra hummed in content, not stopping their sway, basking in the fact that she was holding her lover close after such a long time.
“I can stay here with you,” Adora offered. “And reclaim the space some more, or whatever.”
Catra chuckled and pulled back. “We kinda just did,” she smirked, making Adora laugh.
“And that’s it? You’re done reclaiming?” she asked.
“I’m ready to go home, Adora,” she took a step back and brought their joint hands above their heads, indicating for Adora to do a little twirl, which she did. “And besides,” Catra continued, “we can just have sex in every corner of this place before we leave.”
Adora burst into a big hearty laugh. “That will do it,” she agreed, then realized something.
“Shit, you keep distracting me and we’ll be late to your surprise party,” she pulled Catra down the hall.
“A surprise party?”
“Yep! Remember when Bow explained what it was?”
“Yeah, I do, but Adora…”
“ I wanted to do it ever since,” Adora admitted, still pulling her towards the great hall.
“You did? For me?”
“Yep!”
“Okay but Adora?”
“Yeah?” they stopped right by the entrance of the hall.
“I’m not sure you fully understood the concept.”
“What do you mean?” she asked as she opened the door, and before Catra even had a chance to explain, a huge group of people yelled “surprise!” at her.
She looked at her girlfriend in disbelief. These moments just made her love Adora more. And besides, the great hall looked amazing.
“Oh, wow guys!” she entered the room, holding Adora’s hands. “This is incredible, thank you so much.” She made sure her pitch was higher. Luckily, she was a much better pretender than Adora. She spent a lifetime pretending she wasn’t madly in love with her best friend.
Bow and Glimmer ran towards her. They haven’t seen her in months, too. Bow wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. She hated how much she loved it.
“Bow Bow,” she teased lovingly, hugging him right back.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he said. “No one around was snarky enough.”
“Yeah,” Glimmer chimed in, “everyone was nice to him. He was sooo miserable. Excuse me,” she tapped Bow’s shoulder. “Share the love please.”
He gave her an opening and they both squeezed Catra in a sandwich.
“Hey, Horde Scum.”
“Thank god our resident teleporter is back,” Catra said, completely squished. “Transportation has been a nightmare!”
“As long as something made you miss me,” Glimmer smiled and squeezed harder.
“Did you have any trouble getting her here?” Glimmer let go of Catra and turned to Adora.
“Nope!” Adora stated and left them, heading towards the food table.
“No trouble at all,” Catra agreed. “Adora was a great distraction.”
“I bet she was,” Glimmer smirked. “You guys seem pretty solid. She looks like she’s at about an 8 on the Excited Adora scale.”
“Well, yeah, we talked, and then we…”
“Talked some more?” Glimmer offered, innocently.
“Right, and then she wanted us to go look at Perfuma’s Bonsai garden, and she brought me here instead.”
“She told you about the party, didn’t she?” Bow shook his head.
“She totally did, bless her heart,” Catra confirmed.
Glimmer stepped in front of her and grabbed both her hands. “Hey, we’ve been waiting to tell you something.”
“What is it? Should I be scared?”
“Only if you’re scared of amazingly good news!” Bow declared.
“Well? What is it?” she was getting impatient.
Bow and Glimmer smiled at one another and then turned to her, removing hair that was covering their ears, so she could see their matching earrings.
“You got new jewelry in space?” she scoffed. But she knew damn well what it meant, and she was over the moon happy for them.
“Catra!” Glimmer whined.
“I’m kidding! I’m so happy for you. Happy enough to allow for another Best Friends’ Squad sandwich.”
“Really?” Bow melted, immediately taking her up on her offer.
“Sure,” Catra confirmed as Glimmer assumed her place on Catra’s other side. “It’s not every day that your two best friends get engaged.”
“Hey,” Adora came back, holding a box in her hand.
“What’s in the box, Adora?” Catra flirted.
“Be kind,” Bow whispered in Catra’s ear. “She worked really hard on this all morning.”
“I made you a cake!” Adora announced excitedly. She opened the lid. “It’s nothing fancy, but…”
It really wasn’t, but the gesture took Catra completely by surprise.
“You made this?”
“I did,” Adora admited sheepishly.
“How?”
“Entrapta’s baker helped!” she explained.
“Then I’m surprised it’s not a mini cake,” Catra pointed out, making Adora blush. “Hey, it’s perfect, thank you.” She kissed Adora.
“Look, pink frosting! Your favorite!” Adora noted.
“I can see that,” Catra chuckled. She liked pink now. Too much time spent around princesses.
“I forgot the knife,” Adora realized. “No worried!” she extended her hand forward. “For the honor of…”
“Adora, no!” Perfuma came from behind and stopped her. “We do not turn into SheRa to cut cakes with swords!”
Adora pouted, but when Catra burst into laughter she couldn’t help but smile at her. Catra grabbed her closer, bringing her into a hug, letting the others deal with the cake. “You’re my favorite person, you know that?”
“And you’re a surprisingly good smooth talker, you know that?” Adora countered.
“Come on,” Catra pulled her away. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to show you.”
“But we just got here. Isn’t that rude?” Adora gestured at their friends. “It’s your party after all.”
“Meh, rude is my brand,” Catra shrugged. “This is very, very important.”
“Where are we going?” Adora laughed as Catra almost yanked her hand.
“You’ll see, come on!”
But as the minutes passed, Adora recognized the way they were headed.
Eventually, they stood below a platform. Their platform. Catra hopped right up, looking down at her girlfriend. “You coming?” she asked.
Adora pushed down another thought about the creature who told her she had no future. She forced herself to smile up at Catra and started climbing. She didn’t need a rope or anything, as the once unreachable platform now had a nice ramp leading to it, made of flowers and vegetation.
She got to the top and joined her girlfriend who stood by the rails.
“I asked Scorpia to not tear this down,” Catra explained. “This place is ours.”
Adora laced their fingers. “The view is breathtaking now that the pollution is gone.”
“I know. I thought it’d be nice to watch the actual sunset from here,” Catra added.
“Have you done that before?”
“Not the sunset part. I was waiting.”
“I’m sorry it took so long,” Adora looked away.
“Hey,” Catra turned and put a hand on Adora’s waist. “You know, that ramp you just used?”
“It’s really, really beautiful,” Adora noted.
“It is. It wasn’t Perfuma’s doing. It was already here when we arrived.”
Adora looked at her in shock. “Are you saying… I did this?”
“You did,” Catra confirmed.
“But how? This looks so intentional.”
“Who knows, Princess. Every now and then we still discover new things about your powers. But somehow, you did, and every time I came here, you were with me,” she leaned in and kissed Adora deeply, making her groan.
She broke away and Adora let her disappointment be known.
“I do actually want to see the sunset with you,” Catra chuckled.
“Fine, fine. Ruin the moment,” Adora teased.
“For the sake of creating another! Come here,” she brought Adora closer, and placed herself behind her, wrapping her hands around Adora’s abdomen and letting her head rest on Adora’s shoulder. Adora leaned into her.
“Did Bow and Glimmer tell you the big news?” she asked.
“That they’re getting married? Yes,” Catra confirmed.
“I wanted to tell you, but I thought it was theirs to tell.”
“It is,” Catra agreed, and Adora turned in her arms to face her.
“So… should we get married?”
“Obviously.” Catra didn’t miss a beat.
“Yeah?”
“I loved you the wrong way my whole life. Nothing will make me happier than spending the rest of my life loving you the right way.”
“I wish you’d have said such nice things back when we were cadets,” Adora rolled her eyes.
“Please, you would’ve never let me live it down,” Catra teased.
“That’s very true.” Adora put her fingers in Catra’s hair. It felt so nice. “There’s also the chance that kid me would’ve combusted if you ever let me know how you really felt. Present me can hardly handle it.”
“You’re very hung up on the hair, aren’t you?” Catra smirked, making Adora drop her hand instantly.
She pushed away from the rails, creating some distance between Catra and herself.
“Adora? What’s wrong?”
Adora wrapped her hands around herself. Catra saw that she was shivering.
“Hey, what is it?” Catra was by her side in a second, wrapping herself around Adora, hoping the touch will sooth her.
“I had a vision of you, a dream,” Adora finally said, looking up at Catra, “When we were down at the Heart. After I lost consciousness.”
“You never told me that.”
“We were getting ready for Scorpia’s first Princes Prom. You walked into the room, trying to escape Glimmer. She was trying to brush your hair.”
“Ew.”
But Adora didn’t hear her. For years she kept these words inside. She was finally breaking free. “And your hair, it was so long, so so pretty, like now.”
“Is this why you’re so worked up about the hair?” Catra asked softly.
“You were wearing my belt pin,” Adora added. “We Were married.”
“That all sounds very nice Adora, I don’t understand...”
“You offered me your hand, and when I tried to take it, my hand fell right through yours.”
Catra didn’t like where this was going. She sat herself down, pulling Adora into her lap, so she can hold her close.
“And then you turned into him. And he said that I had no future. And then I died.”
Catra gasped. She cupped Adora’s face.“I’m so sorry, I wish I’d known, that you’ve been carrying this all this time.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Adora started tearing. “Sometimes I felt like I might still be stuck there with him, and I was afraid I’ll sound crazy.”
“You never need to be worried about that with me,” Catra promised. “I still hear his laughter in my head sometimes.” She admitted.
“You do? Even now?” Adora asked weakly. “After all the mediation? All the healing?” It broke Adora’s heart.
“Yes. I think his laughter will never go away. But he is gone. And we’re the ones who got the last laugh. The predictable, emotional Ethrians, who saved the universe with our emotions. We beat him. You and I. We can do anything when we’re together.” She believed that wholeheartedly. She needed Adora to believe it to.
“There were times on the ship these past few months, that I thought he was right. That we have no future together and that it was my doing.”
“You beautiful fool,” Catra’s voice cracked. “You’re never getting rid of me now. Do you hear me?” She grabbed Adora’s neck and pulled her head down for a kiss that was a promise, a reminder.
When they pulled away they kept their foreheads touching.
“I was dead,” Adora stated. “You brought me back.”
Catra sighed, and put a caressing hand on Adora’s cheek. “Thank you for sharing this with me,” she said, slightly breathless.
“Thank you for making me feel safe,” Adora replied.
Catra managed to maneuver and carry them both to the edge of the platform. They both turned to look, just in time for the sunset. They sat there in silence for 15 minutes, relishing in the feeling of each other, and the view.
“Hey,” Catra started once the sun was almost gone. “Did it ever occur to you, Ms. Magical Princess, that maybe it wasn’t a dream. Maybe it was foresight?”
“That would be really nice, wouldn’t it?” Adora smiled.
“It would,” Catra agreed, but she could tell Adora didn’t really believe it. That the vision was a reminder of the dark turn things could’ve taken.
“Come on. My fiancée made me a cake and I’d really like to try it,” she stood up, offering Adora her hand. Once they were both standing, Catra started walking towards the ramp.
“Hey,” Adora called, making Catra turn around. She closed the distance between them. She took her belt pin off, and put it in Catra’s palm.
After everything Catra just heard, the gravity of the moment wasn’t lost on her. But she tried to lighten up the mood, for Adora’s sake.
“You know that once Bow sees this he’ll demand a Best Friends
Squad wedding, right?”
“No,” Adora shook her head. “We can share a lot, but not this. I want to only celebrate you. And us.”
“That’s fine by me.”
They walked back into the great hall to find that the party was still in full swing.
“Where were you?” Glimmer demanded. “We wanted to open presents!”
“I’m sorry, Sparkles, I took my fiancée to watch the sunset. Is that allowed on a girl’s birthday?” Catra wrapped her hand around Adora’s waist possessively. The movement directed Glimmer’s attention to the pin, now attached to Catra’s shirt.
Bow was giving them the heart eyes, and Adora gave Catra a dazzling smile.
“Couldn’t wait a second, could you?” she teased.
“No way am I keeping my mouth shut about marrying you,” Catra shrugged and kissed her cheek.
“I’m sorry,” Glimmer started, “so you were gone for what? An hour? And you’re now engaged? Um, stealing the thunder much?” But there was no bite behind her words.
“Permission for the third Best Friends’ Squad sandwich of the day!” Bow stood straight.
“Permission not granted,” Catra refused. But he just started slowly walking towards her, hands in the air, ready for a hug. “Bow…” she warned.
“What? It’s not every day that your two best friends get engaged.” He reminded.
“Fell right into that one, didn’t I?” Catra huffed.
“You sure did!” he came over and wrapped his hands around both Catra and Adora.
“Ugh, not fair, my arms are too short,” Glimmer whined, coming from the other side but only managing to hug Adora.
“I can’t believe this morning Adora was still moping on the ship and now look at her,” Bow noted. “You really do know how to turn things around, Carta.” He squeezed her harder.
Catra felt something rub against her leg and when she looked down she saw Melog.
“Melog!” she broke the hug and wrapped her hands around Melog’s body instead. “Where have you been? I missed you so much.”
“Seriously?” Glimmer snorted. “I don’t even think she hugged me that lovingly.”
“Believe me, I feel the same,” Adora noted.
“Somehow I doubt that,” Glimmer added softly, taking Adora’s hand in hers.
It was nice to watch Catra and Melog play together.
“Did you take good care of her?” Catra asked them.
“All she wanted to do was talk about you,” Melog replied. Catra looked up at Adora, sending a knowing smile her way.
Adora blushed, realizing they were talking about her, but completely oblivious as to what was said. “Not fair. Where’s Swifty?”
“I think he’s getting ready for his number,” Bow provided.
“Catra is gonna hate it. Excellent,” Adora narrowed her eyes. A little bit of torture wasn’t a bad thing. And a whole original song about Catra being sung by a flying horse was exactly that.
“So,” Bow spoke once Catra re-joined them. “Best Friends’ Squad wedding?” His face was full of excitement.
“No, I don’t think so,” Glimmer intervened, noticing the exchange between Catra and Adora. “I think each one of us deserves their own moment in the spotlight.” She leaned into him for emphasis.
Adora sent a grateful smile her way.
“You. Guys!” Scorpia ran towards them, a huge grin on her face. “Did you hear? The Princess Council just announced that I’ll be hosting the Next Princess Prom in 4 years. Can you believe it?”
Catra and Adora exchanged looks, and when Adora seemed to be getting anxious, Catra squeezed her hand.
“Of course we heard, Scorpia, the Princess Council was waiting for us to come back so I could vote,” Glimmer pointed out.
“You voted for me?” she was on the verge of tears.
“We all did. It was unanimous.”
“It was?”
“Well, almost. But considering all members are your friends, one of us is your girlfriend, and you’re also a voting member, that was to be expected.”
“I voted for Perfuma,” Scorpia admitted.
“Yeah, we figured,” Glimmer provided and they all started laughing.
“It will be so. Much. Fun. You just wait. It’ll be the best Princess Prom ever!”
“Just maybe don’t let Frosta hear you say that,” Bow suggested.
“Yes, yes, good idea!” Scorpia agreed.
“Well it seems like we have a lot to celebrate, how about that cake? And I think it’s time I actually say hi to everyone… at my party,” Catra observed.
They all started walking to join the others around the food table.
Catra pulled Adora backwards, just to get a moment alone with her.
“I can’t believe I’m sleeping with a prophet,” she teased, kissing Adora’s temple.
“Yeah yeah. Well, when do you want to marry said prophet?” Adora smirked.
“As soon as catmanly possible.”
Today was bad. The whole week has been weighing heavily on Adora, but today was especially bad.
She let Glimmer pick her gown. Her friend loved styling, and she knew Adora so well. Adora trusted her taste completely. She also figured that the best way to avoid this day from unfolding in the way she feared so much, was to give the reigns to someone else.
But then, of course, Adora’s gown arrived earlier in the week, looking painfully familiar, and Adora chastised herself. You idiot. The only way to make sure you don’t pick up this dress, is to pick another one, yourself!
But now it was too late. Glimmer had already seen her in that gown, and was so pleased with her choice, that Adora couldn’t bear to disappoint her. She couldn’t do that anyway, without lying, or being forced to explain things that she didn’t want to explain.
She already shared that story with one person, and one person only, and said person was walking around all week, oblivious, totally overjoyed.
“I finally get to take you to Princess Prom, Princess. And not as an enemy, but as your wife.”
Yes, her stupid, beautiful wife was so, so excited. And why wouldn’t she be? They both loved a good party, especially since Scorpia, as the host, decided to grant Adora with a special award, honoring her for a decade of loyal service to Etheria, and frankly, the universe. Catra was walking around for weeks now, telling anyone and everyone that she’s married to the honoree of the upcoming Princess Prom, and she clearly wasn’t bothered by the details of a long forgotten conversation, 4 years prior, during an especially emotional sunset.
To make matters worse, Catra suit arrived two nights before. She put it on, and waltzed around their room, grabbing Adora for some imaginary dance, laughing, seeming abundantly happy.
“Ugh,” Adora groaned. She conjured her sword, trying to turn it into a little crown. Any crown, she thought. Any crown but that crown. But that stupid image from years ago was so ingrained in her brain that she couldn’t imagine anything else. And so, the crown too was identical.
For days now she told herself that she needed one miserable thing to be different. On tiny details and the whole thing falls apart. But time and time again the past caught up with her, making her feel as if she was about to lose everything.
When they woke up this morning, Catra slipped into her suit excitedly. She had a reason to. She looked so good.
“You’re beautiful,” Adora said to her, still in bed, under the covers. She thought that if she won’t get up, postpone the beginning of the day, maybe she can stop the whole thing.
“Thanks,” Catra turned to her from her stance by the mirror. “The best part about this suit is imagining you taking it off me later tonight,” she added nonchalantly, knowing full well the effect the words would have on her wife.
She took a hair tie and put her hair up in a ponytail.
Adora froze. “Is… is that how you’re doing your hair?”
“Yeah, why? I thought you liked it pulled up.”
“I love it,” Adora smiled warmly. Maybe there was just no stopping this.
“Don’t think I’m not drooling over your gown, too,” Catra winked at her. “You think Sparkles picked it for you? Sweet, innocent Adora,” she walked towards the bed, cupping Adora’s face from above. “She picked it for me. She knows that your exposed back drives me insane.” She leaned down, stealing a long kiss, one that insinuated that there was more to come. She broke the contact but kept her eyes locked with Adora’s, giving her a reassuring look.
“I’m going to get us some snacks,” she announced. “If we learned anything from our wedding is that by the time food is served we’ll be starving. I’ll be back soon,” she kissed Adora’s forehead and turned to leave.
Adora wanted to scream at her not to leave. She wanted to tell her that if she leaves this room, she’ll have to re-enter it later. And what if Glimmer intercepts her on the way and follows her into their room?
But Catra was out of the door before Adora had a chance to say anything, and Adora wondered if that was their final moment alone together.
She thought back to last night. They were both in bed. She dreaded falling asleep, letting Prom day come. She lad on her back, starring at the ceiling.
Catra could tell something was bothering her. She used her tail to turn Adora’s head so that Adora would face her. “Big day tomorrow,” she offered softly, placing a hand on Adora’s abdomen.
“Yeah,” Adora replied simply
“Nervous?” Catra asked.
Does she remember? “Yeah.” Adora confirmed.
“Don’t be, you deserve this. All of it, and I’ll be by your side the whole time.”
Will you? Or will you slip through my fingers in a matter of hours. “Thank you,” she smiled simply, but Catra knew something was wrong.
“Let me make you feel good,” Catra leaned in, kissing her.
“How about we make each other feel good?” Adora suggested, caressing the area behind Catra’s ear, making her wife purr.
If this is the last time she ever got to feel Catra like this, she needed it to convey everything she felt. She needed to lose herself in her wife.
It gotten more and more scary every day. They build a whole life together. This wasn’t like the fear of losing some distant, vague future. This was everything that she ever held dear.
“I love you, no matter what.” She needed Catra to know that. Just in case.
“Adora, do you trust me?”
“With my life.”
Catra put a hand on her wife’s neck. “So trust me now. Everything is going to be okay,” she closed the distance between them, and fulfilled Adora’s wish for the night.
She smiled at the memory, but the day dream was over, and she suddenly realized she was standing in front of the waterfall, staring at her own reflection. She gasped.
How did I get here? She panicked. I must have wandered thinking of Catra. Always Catra. Always the most delicious distraction.
The door behind her flew open and she turned, instinctively.
“Just let me brush it!” Glimmer was insisting, following her wife into the room, a brush in her hand.
No, no, no, Adora thought, it the exact same moment as her wife said “no!” in protest.
Before Adora could react, she was surrounded by her wife and her best friend, who were chasing each other, circling her.
“Don’t let her touch me. She’s gonna to torture me!” Catra claimed, laughing.
They stopped next to her, each by one side of her. Catra’s hand rested on her shoulder.
“Do you always have to be this dramatic?”
They look so happy, Adora observed, her heart wrenching.
“Come on guys,” it was Bow who now entered the room. “If we’re late to Scorpia’s first ball she’s gonna kill us.” He found his place by Glimmer’s side, and she leaned into him, lovingly.
“Fine!” she gave in and addressed Catra. “You’re off the hook. This time.”
Catra wasn’t impressed with the threat and stuck her tongue out over Adora’s shoulder.
Bow and Glimmer smiled at them and headed out of the room.
Catra came to stand in front of her and she felt her blood run cold.
And then Catra extended her hand for Adora, and said the words.
“You coming?”
And she looked so beautiful and hopeful at that moment, that Adora couldn’t help but smile at all that beauty. She just wanted to hang on to that image for as long as she could. But she also knew that while her magic could do many things, stopping time wasn’t one of them. She started to reach for Catra’s hand, but hesitated.
“This is it Adora, isn’t it? That moment?” Catra’s inquired softly, in understanding.
Adora looked at her in surprise. But there it was. The one little thing that was different, the moment after. What she never had before.
“Take my hand Adora,” Catra smiled. “Your hand won’t fall through it.”
Adora wanted to do that, more than anything.
“You promise?” she asked weakly.
“I promise.”
Catra asked her to trust her just the night before, so Adora did, and she gave Catra her hand, tearing up as Catra laced their fingers together, pulling her closer, wrapping her hand around Adora’s waist.
“I’ve got you,” she said, leaning their forehands together.
“You always do,” Adora sighed in relief.
Catra kissed her softly, understanding that Adora needed something physical, something real to anchor her. Once she did, she felt Adora’s body relax in her arms. “I guess it was foresight after all,” she swayed to the sound of some imaginary music again.
“You remembered,” Adora stated lovingly.
“Of course I did. But I wasn’t sure you’d want to talk about it. I tried to take your mind off it. I thought that if we’ll spend all this time together you will feel grounded, and real. I’m sorry. If there was something else you needed from me and I didn’t give it to you, I’m so sorry.”
“No, this isn’t on you. I don’t know if anything would’ve helped. But this? This is helping,” Adora admitted. Being on the other side, with her wife holding her like that? Yeah, that’s a good start.
“We’re past the threshold now,” Catra noted. “And we’re both still here. So… now what?”
“Are you… Are you asking me what I want?” Adora quirked her eyebrow.
“You know that I am,” Catra bit her lip.
“You may not be a prophet, but you know what I want. You’ve known for years,” Adora reminded.
“Good,” Catra said. “So how about we’ll go to this party, we’ll have an amazing time, you’ll get an award for being the absolute best, I’ll hold you close to me on the dance floor, my hair will drive you crazy all night, the skin of your back will make me lose my mind all night, we’ll finally eat something, and then we’ll come home and get each other out of these illegally gorgeous clothes so we can take care of a night-long sexual frustration?”
“Huh,” Adora smirked. “Foresight after all, indeed.”