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There were no chains, no metal bars, no grim-faced guards, but nonetheless this garden was her prison. She’d had no choice but to surrender, to throw herself on the mercy of stupid Adora and her new, stupid friends. Her position here sucked, too big to walk faster than a crawl, constantly watched by brightly-dressed weirdos, but even so it was infinitely preferable to what would have happened to her and her unborn kittens if anyone in the horde had found out her secret. Pregnant. Pregnant with a Princess’s babies. Why did stupid Adora have to go and become a Princess, anyway?
Catra flinched as one of the kittens inside her kicked especially hard. Soon. Soon they’d be born, another week at most. She thought she felt five kittens, but she couldn’t be sure, not quite. This for sure wasn’t what she’d thought her life would end up like. She wasn’t into guys, never had been, and while she’d heard vague rumours that Princesses had magic that made it possible for a girl to impregnate another girl, there’d been no reason to expect she’d ever get pregnant. It was all stupid Adora’s fault anyway. First she had to turn into a Princess, and to top it off stupid, stupid Adora had to be a hot Princess. She-Ra was tall, strong, all the things she loved about Adora turned up to eleven. How was a girl supposed to resist?
It was supposed to be just hate-sex, a distraction. She’d meant to distract Adora while her soldiers dealt with the rest of the Rebellion, but somehow Catra had ended up pressed against the rough stone, She-Ra crowding into her personal space. The kiss had been more teeth than anything else, aggression, anger, but all of that, the betrayal of Adora leaving her behind, had become unimportant. The heat, the wandering hands, the shocking pleasure, the glowing sword… And three months later, Catra had found out she was pregnant. If it hadn’t been for Scorpia, brave, loyal Scorpia, she would never have been able to escape from the Fright Zone. Soldiers and Force Captains on active duty were not supposed to get pregnant, and the punishments were draconian. There was a reason why a majority of force cadets were orphans, after all. Rubbing her round, pregnant belly, Catra suppressed the memories of executions she’d witnessed during her childhood.
The sound of foodsteps coming closer pulled her from her memories. Adora, carrying a tray of fresh fruits. “Hi, Princess,” she mocked.
Adora set the tray down and leaned down for a quick kiss. “Hi.” Anyone else would have gotten scratched, but Adora was allowed to place her hand flat on Catra’s big belly to feel the unborn kittens writhe and kick. Every time Adora had to leave, be it for an hour or a week, she always touched Catra’s belly as soon as she returned, clearly needing to be reassured that everything was fine, that the kittens were growing and healthy.
Her tail flicking impatiently, Catra waited for Adora to tell her about the latest raid. She was a prisoner, sure, but since everyone knew that she could never return to the Horde, there was no reason for Adora to keep secrets from her. They hadn’t talked about the future yet, but Catra was pretty sure Adora knew as well as she did that there was only one option. Catra had to join the rebellion. Because there was no way, no way in hell, that she’d risk Shadow Weaver ever getting her manipulative shadow hands on the babies. If she had to cooperate with annoying Princesses to make sure of that, so be it. A sudden cramp made her hiss. Claws digging into the armrests, Catra ground her teeth and tried not to scream.
“Catra? Catra! What’s wrong? Is it the babies?” Adora asked, the panic in her voice somehow serving to calm Catra’s nerves.
“It’s fine,” she gasped out between contractions. “My nest. Bring me inside. Now!”
With practiced movements, Adora slid one arm behind Catra’s back, the other under her legs, and lifted her up like that. Wrapping her arms around Adora’s neck, Catra held on, willing her body to slow down, to delay until she was safely inside, in the comfortable birthing bed in the room she shared with Adora. She barely paid attention to the murmurs of conversation in the halls. Why should she care what any of these people thought? Adora went fast, almost at a run, but even though Catra could already feel wetness between her legs by the time Adora laid her down on her bed.
Luckily Adora had helped her dress and undress for the past five weeks, ever since she got too big to bend or put on her own pants, so she didn’t have to ask. The rest of the day went in a blur, contractions and fits of temper and Adora’s worried face all that she remembered later. The first of the kittens was born close to midnight, the rest following after at a rate of one an hour. When the sun rose in the morning, they were proud parents to no less than seven kittens. Three of the kittens had blonde fur, clearly taking after Adora, and Catra was glad of it. Until now she hadn’t allowed herself to worry about it, but there had been just the tiniest shadow of a doubt in the back of her mind. What if Shadow Weaver had impregnated her and stolen the memory? But now that she knew for sure that Adora, or rather She-Ra was the other parent, all the worry faded away.
Relaxing against the pillows, Catra groomed and petted her babies, hugging each close in turn. The little ones mewed and wiggled, cried for milk and snored softly. For now, Catra was too contend to be snarky. She even let Glimmer, that evil friend-stealer, hold her kittens, though she told herself that was only for today, because post-birth she was too weak to fight anyone, even a sparkly Princess. Adora was napping next to her, covered in kittens and with a ridiculous happy grin on her face.
With a big yawn, Catra rested her head on Adora’s shoulder and drifted off to sleep, her kittens all asleep and safe.