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Shifting her head a little, Catra sleepily opened her eyes, being careful not to blind herself in the mid-morning light streaming through her open curtains. Groaning in protest, she wriggled further into her bed, not wanting to get out of the warmth. She began to drift off to when her arm met cold empty space behind her.
Praying her eye open again, she turned her head. The space behind her was definitely empty. Rolling her eyes, she threw the bed cover off of her, hissing as the cold air met her bronze skin. Sitting up, she stretched her arms out needing her joints to crack. Sighing as she felt that familiar pop, she threw her legs off the side of the bed, her feet searched for the slippers that are always there. Somewhere.
Standing up, Catra adjusted her pajama top before shuffling over to the bedrooms’ ensuite to start her daily morning routine.
Finally feeling refreshed, Catra shuffled over to the bedrooms only desk, sitting underneath the window. Her burgundy slippers muffling her steps on the wooden floor. Popping her joints one more time, she pulled the chair out from the desk and sat down hunched over.
Running her manicured hand through her curls, her fingers catching on knots, wincing at the tug on her scalp. After a few run-throughs Catra deemed her hair as untangled enough, she started her makeup routine. A little concealer, a dusting of eye shadow, a fierce cat eyeliner and a swipe of lip balm. Giving herself the once over in the desk mirror, she reached for the small wooden box on the desk. Using one hand to open the box, Catra used her other to remove her nose stud. After quickly cleaning the stud, she places it in the box’s soft interior and reached for her favorite nose ring. Pushing the box back with her elbow, she focused her eyes on the mirror, carefully inserting the nose ring.
Clearing the desk, Catra stood up, using her foot to push the chair back under the desk. She strolled over to the wardrobe, grabbing the first thing she saw before changing.
Throwing her dirty clothes in the clothes hamper, Catra makes her way downstairs. Her golden brown curls bounced with every step. Hearing an upbeat tune, she furrowed her brow.
Reaching the kitchen, she froze, her hand stretching her navel fell limp at the site before her.
Standing at the kitchen counter, with her back to Catra was her best friend of 10 years and girlfriend of 2, shaking her hips to the beat of the music that was playing from the kitchens radio. She was quietly rapping the lyrics of the song.
As stealthy as she could, Catra sneaked up to the kitchens island, leaning her elbows on the cold marble surface, her head resting on her hand. A wide grin on her face as she spoke.
“Hey Adora”
Started, Adore let out a screech as she jumped, arms flailing. A wooden spoon, that seemed to be covered in a type of batter, slipped from Adora's grasp and clattered to the ground.
“Catra! W-what are doing here?” Adora stuttered, her voice rising in pitch. She shifted her body, hiding whatever she was doing, fiddling with her fingers.
Biting her lip, Catra eyed Adora's appearance. Her burgundy sweater was cover in what was most likely to be flour and cocoa powder, her left cheek had a smudge of batter.
Ignoring Adora's question Catra leaned over the counter, curious as to what Adora was hiding.
“Whatcha doing?” She asked, her nails tapping on the surface of the counter as she watched Adora.
“Nothing” Adora insisted, moving to lean opposite Catra. She took Catras hand in hers, lifting it to her lips. She places a gentle kiss to Catras knuckle, chuckling as a soft blush appeared on her girlfriend's cheeks.
Opening her mouth to complain, Catra was quickly interrupted by a sudden bang of what was most likely their front door and a loud yell of “We’re here!”
Feeling a headache forming, Catra groaned. It’s not like she didn’t like Bow or Glimmer, they’re okay just draining and loud and annoying. Well the majority of her friends were, she only got along with Entrapta and strangely enough, Mermista. At first, they both avoided each other like the plague, not really wanting to engage in any small talk but after they both committed (complained) about certain events and people.
“What is up party people!”
“Shut up Bow!”
With the interruption she lost her train of thought, Catra peered over her shoulder to see the rest of the so-called ‘Best Friend Squad’ walking into her kitchen carrying 2 shopping bags. Dropping both bags onto the off white tiled floor, Bow shuffled over to the fridge, grabbing a can in cola before facing the three girls.
Being nonchalant about it all, Glimmer placed her bags onto the counter next to the couple. She shot a genre smile at Catra before heaving both of Bows bags next to hers.
Letting her curiosity fuel her, Catra quickly glanced at the closest bag. From what she could see the bag was filled with chocolate fudge frosting and vanilla buttercream frosting. Strange, why would the dork duo need that much frosting? Maybe it has something to do with the batter Adora is making?
Noticing that Catra was starting to place the metaphorical pieces together, Adora was quick to kick Catra out of the kitchen, giving her a kiss on the lips before telling her that she was gonna be late meeting Scorpia and Entrapta for their weekly coffee, handing her a $20 for breakfast.
“Well that not suspicious at all.”
***
Entering the diner, stripped her coat off. The diner was always warm no matter the season. It was her favorite place to eat out, the atmosphere was always lively but friendly, plus the music they play over the radio was Catras favorite station. So she may be biased but the food is to die for. Waving to the staff behind the till Catra continued to her usual booth where she could see where her friends were.
Sliding into the empty side of the booth, Catra placed her coat beside her, taking her purse out of the pocket to place on the table. Before she could address both her friends, to colorful gift bags were shoved into her face. She blinks once, twice. Confused as to why they are giving her these.
“Don’t give me your rubbish, do I look like a garbage man?” She hissed, pushing the bags back to the other girls.
“Huh?”
It’s not rubbish silly! It’s your gift.”
Now that just confused her even more. Gifts? Christmas was two months away and her birthday was until a few more weeks.
“Gifts for what?” Her voice filled with confusion. Entrapta and Scorpia shared a look before facing Catra.
“It’s October 28th, your birthday, you dummy!” Scorpia teased, swaying side to side. Her ice tinted hair following her every move.
Wait today was the 28th? She was certain it was at least a week away! No wonder Adora let her sleep in today. Facepalming, Catra grumbled in embarrassment. How could she forget her own birthday?
Seeming to sense her distress, Entrapta spoke up, her eyes never leaving the tiny square robot in her hands.
“No need to feel embarrassed, we all forget things, for instance, I forgot the safety code for a robot and they ended up almost destroying my house.”
Not knowing how to respond to that, Catra blinked while Scorpia looked at her in horror. Opening her mouth to respond, Entraptas head shot up, her ruby eyes glittering in the artificial lighting of the diner.
“Anyway,” Entrapta giggled, “Open your gifts! I wanna see if you like them.” Nodding her head in agreement, Scorpia slid the gift bags back to Catra.
Biting her lip, Catra reaches for the lilac bag. Using her nail to cut the tap closing the top, she peered into the bag, eyes widening at the content. Inside was a picture frame, dark in color, pulling it out she gasped. The picture was of the three of them plus Adora at the start of their first year of college. Both Catra and Adora had their arms around each other, Catras head was leaning on Adora's shoulder, her dark golden coils a contrast to Adoras tied up pale blonde locks. Both had giant grins on their faces and affection in their eyes. Scorpia was stood towering behind them her head tilted back, arms in the air. Entrapta was squatting in front, a large remote in her hands and a look of pure happiness on her faces. Catra gently placed the picture back into the bag, glancing up at Entrapta.
“‘Trapta, thank you so much for this! I love it, can’t wait to show Adora.”
Flushed, Entrapta just smiled before going back to her robot.
Grasping the last bag, a deep red, Catra once again cut the tap with her nail, looking in she felt her eye twitch. Reaching in, Catra removed the bags content and placed it all in the table. A variety of cat toys now littered the diners' table, ranging from a simple ball of yarn to a small soft toy sashimi. A few cat treats also lay on the table as well as one purple cat collar.
“If you brought this because my name is Catra then I will kill you.” Catra glowered, irritation visible in her mismatched eyes.
Putting her hands up Scorpia stuttered, “No that’s not the reason,” She took a sip of her drink before continuing, “Its a joint gift with Adora, I swear.”
Huffing, Catra hummed, not really believing it as Adora would have told her something. Yet again Adora didn’t even wish her a happy birthday. Excusing herself, Catra stood to go and order her late breakfast early lunch.
After they all finished their food and leaving a tip, the three girls left the diner, strolling down the street back to Catra’s.
***
As the trio reached their destination, Catra whipped her phone out, sending a quick text to Adora, letting her know that she back. Taking notice of the cars outside, Catra had a feeling she knew what was gonna happen and cursed under her breath. It all made sense, Adora baking, the dork duo with their carrier bags, Catra being kicked out of her own house. Adora was planning a surprise party. How could she have been so clueless?
"Merda" Catra mumbled.
Opening the door, Catra was greeted with a cheer of “Happy Birthday” from many familiar faces, all of them Adora's friends, who then become hers, in a way. Glancing around the room she spotted a few faces that she hasn’t spoken to in a while. She really needed to catch up with Spinerella and Netossa. Though they hardly spoke, they were the few that Catra actually liked and made an effort to be nice too. To her surprise, Perfuma was also here. The two could never see eye to eye as Catra couldn’t give a crap about plants and flowers while Perfuma, who owns her own florist, loved them. Either way, Catra was happy to see everyone.
Scorpia and Entrapta captured Catra in a hug, chanting ‘Happy Birthday’ softly as the familiar sting of tears came. How did she ever get this lucky?
Her best friends let her go as Adora tugged her into the living room. As they entered the room, Catra gasped, in the center of the living room was a pure white kitten being held by Bow, their tiny meows filling the room. So Scorpia was telling the truth.
Turning to face Adora, Catra placed her hands on Adoras cheeks before dragging her down, capturing their lips in a soft but passionate kiss. She could feel Adora's arms wrap around her waist. Tears of happiness finally cascaded down her bronze cheeks.
A cough interrupted their moment, wide-eyed they both turn to Mermista. The girl was picking dirt from her nails as she spoke.
“Like it’s great that you like, love each other but we all wanna try the cake so can you finish this later?” Her eyes finally meet both of theirs, amusement flashed in them. Grinning Adora nodded, dragging Catra behind.
Catra really had the best partner and friends ever. She couldn’t imagine her life without these people.