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It had been weeks. Restless and agonizing weeks since they watched Scopria break the disc that infected She Ra. Adora was always one to overthink things, but this was taking it to a whole new level. Normally sleep was her sweet reprieve from all of the worrying, all of the doubts. Not anymore though. Night after night, she found herself reliving those moments. Going after Glimmer, going after Catra. It was terrifying, especially for the girl who always had to be in control. The thought that there was something that could make her just completely and utterly trapped within herself though, trapped and helpless in She Ra, made her sick.
Sure, they had watched Scorpia break the disc. As they were slowly learning though, First One’s tech was far more plentiful than they ever could have imagined. That meant that there could be others like it, and nobody knew just how many there could be. It was enough to keep Adora in a panic about the endless possibilities.
The worst part of Infected She Ra was that once the tipsiness went away, Adora remembered it all. The terror in Glimmer’s eyes as she tried to talk her out of it, the utter betrayal on Catra’s face. The fear when she realized just what she had done, that She Ra wouldn’t stop. Not even for her. It was all too much, and Adora was determined to never let it happen again. She just needed to make a plan. Making good plans were hard without sleep though.
To be honest, she had been dragging her friends and Swift Wind ragged. Bow was working on something to try and detect corrupted First One’s tech, while Glimmer went in nightly to ensure Adora didn’t transform in her sleep can hurt herself.
“Adora, you really need to see someone. You can go to the infirmary. They can give you something to help you sleep.” Bow told her, truly hoping it got through to her this time. Beside him was a sleepy-looking Glimmer, and the other side a baggy-eyed Adora.
“I have. Nothing they have given me does anything.” Adora sighed.
“That’s not true. That middle one had you out like a log.” Glimmer corrected with a yawn, Adora shivering slightly afterward.
“It put me to sleep. Out like a light, and stuck in the nightmares.” Adora groaned. “I’m sorry. I know it makes us weaker, and I’m trying my best-”
“We know you are. Nobody is blaming you, Adora. We’ll come up with something, together.” Bow assured her.
**
“Whoa there, Wildcat!” Scorpia called, using a claw to keep Catra from walking away. “If you think you are going to training this morning, you are sorely mistaken. You look like-”
“What?” Catra huffed, crossing her arms. “I look like what? Go on, say it?”
Scorpia shifted uncomfortably, looking down and letting her arm fall back to her side. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Catra began down the hall again towards the training room.
“I’m just saying you could head back to bed. I’ll cover morning training.” she called after her, running to catch up. Catra was quick though, even when tired.
Nothing could get Catra to admit she was sleep deprived. Then she would have to explain why, and she had no intention of that. It was one of the only perks of having a bit more privacy as a force captain, her nightmares were kept to herself. It was no use to tell anyone anyway. The one person who had ever been able to stop them was who the nightmares were about.
That wasn’t entirely fair though. She Ra and Adora weren’t necessarily the same person, right? That’s what she needed to tell herself anyway, to believe that Adora would never hurt her. That night, it threw everything she thought she knew into the garbage. Her one and only guarantee was gone. It terrified her. The only way Catra knew how to deal on her own was to focus on training, so that’s exactly what she did, despite Scorpia’s attempts to get her to take it easy.
**
It was yet another night of Adora tossing and turning, crying out in her sleep. Glimmer had already teleported in a few times to try and soothe her. As soon as Adora was awake though, she sent the pink-haired princess away every time. She hated being so vulnerable in front of anyone. More than that, she didn’t want to have to talk about it. Especially with Glimmer, who didn’t understand why she was still so hung up on Catra and trying to protect her. After all, it was her own fault that a raging She Ra almost had her head.
Once Adora did manage to get back to sleep, the nightmares quickly followed suit again. This time Adora choked out cries, shaking uncontrollably.
“I can’t...can’t stop it.” she mumbled, “Don’t want this.”
Glimmer teleported in again with a sigh, but stopped when she saw an unfamiliar shadow on the ground. Looking over, she saw Catra perched on the balcony. Her eyes got wide, but she noticed the girl hadn’t made any sort of advances. No snarky comments as she normally would. Just stayed there, sadly watching Adora. Glimmer looked between the two, running her fingers through her hair. Hesitantly, she approached.
“What are you doing here?” Glimmer whispered, trying to sound as unaccusing as possible. It wasn’t easy with the enemy though. Not after everything. “You know you have no right to come visit her like this. No right to be here.”
Catra sunk back a bit, nodding. Normally, she wouldn’t have backed down, but she did not want to cause any more issues for Adora.
“I- I know. I just- I haven’t been sleeping either. I had to see her, and it looks like she needs to see me as well.” With that being said, she was bold enough to move forward towards Adora.
“She doesn’t need anything from you. I have got this under control.” Glimmer argued, standing her ground.
“Right...that’s why she’s sent you away twice tonight and is still having nightmares.” Catra scoffed, slinking past Glimmer and over towards Adora.
Glimmer crossed her arms, staying silent. Just how long had the girl been there, watching? It made her uncomfortable, but a sob from the still sleeping Adora made it clear there weren’t many other options. With a groan, the princess stepped back against the wall.
Catra smirked, moving to crouch bedside Adora, running her fingers through her ponytail.
“Adora, I’m fine. You didn’t do it, you have full control.” she cooed gently. She only had ever used this voice with her best friend, leaning in to press their foreheads together.
Adora let her eyes flutter open, still breathing heavily. Her hand reached out to touch Catra, to see if she was really there. When she truly felt her under her hand, a small and sleep smile crossed her lips. It only made Catra soften, even more, climbing up beside her on the bed.
“You definitely shouldn’t be here.” Adora mumbled, looking up to see Catra’s smile. “How did you even-”
“You should know nothing can keep me from where I want to be. I- I had to come see you. The infected She Ra thing had me kinda freaked. So I figured that meant you were even more freaked.” Catra said, trying desperately to sound more concerned for Adora than scared herself. It was definitely a fifty-fifty thing.
Adora sat up, pulling Catra into a hug. It had her hair standing on edge for a moment, but then she relaxed into it. This was her Adora, the one she knew and loved. She let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding in, and pulled back.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t- I couldn’t even think straight. It’s like I wasn’t there, just watching from a distance.” Adora murmured.
“It was my fault, you can’t blame yourself. You didn’t have any say, and I know that’s probably what scares you most. I did that though, so don’t feel bad about anything that happened afterward. Just put it on me, yeah?” Catra assured Adora, who just clung onto her tighter.
With a gentle kiss to the head, Catra laid Adora back down. “It’s time for you to get some real sleep, yeah?” Catra smiled gently, making Adora nod slowly.
“Yeah..okay.” Adora answered, closing her eyes. She knew when she woke up, Catra would be gone. She had the closure she needed though, knowing Catra didn’t blame her. Wasn’t scared of her.
“I don’t blame you..” was the last thing Adora said before she was out like a light, a peaceful smile on her face.
Glimmer opened her mouth to speak, but Catra waved her off.
“I know, I know. I have to go, don’t come back. Yadda yadda yadda.” Catra chuckled, taking one more look at Adora before she moved back towards the balcony. “I did what I came here for.”
When she got to the ledge, she jumped up, then looked back to the disgruntled Glimmer. “Glitter, when she wakes up, will you tell her I’m working on it too? I don’t want those discs out there. I’ll never make her feel like that again.”
With that, the horde soldier disappeared into the night. She knew they would both sleep well after this. Nightmare free.