Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tears filled my eyes. My love for her had blinded me for too long. And it had backfired on me.

I was laying on the ground now, scratched and bruised, and I still missed her. I still wanted her to cradle me in her arms, to whisper the sweet words she had once said to me.

But none of that would happen. After three years, I should have seen this coming. All of our arguments when after I came home from classes, all of the jealousy she held after I came home from studying with a friend. Why didn't I see this coming?

Why did she have to be so charming? Why did she have to make me fall in love with her?

Maybe it was all my fault, maybe I was the one to blame. If I just went to class and came straight home, if I hadn't been asking for help from the girl sitting next to me, maybe none of this would have happened.

But it did. And I wasn't sure who to blame. And it didn't matter anymore. It didn't matter as sirens blared throughout the neighborhood. It didn't matter as the paramedics bathed into our apartment. And it definitely didn't matter as I was rolled onto a stretcher, bringing me far away from her.

I didn't want to go. She was my life, she was the only one that would ever love me. I knew that. She kept reminding me of that. We both knew that no one could love me. She was the only one. Ever since we grew up together, no families to love us, it was clear that she was the only one that I needed.

I didn't need to go. I was perfectly okay. She just got mad. It happened sometimes. But I couldn't tell them to leave me. My voice had been lost in my pain. My tears were mixing with the blood on my face, my blood, stinging the wounds that Catra had put there.

Eventually, everything got to be too much. I couldn't hold on any longer. I could feel myself slipping away, whether to death or to sleep I wasn't quite sure. But none of that mattered when I closed my eyes, turning both my vision black, and my mind blank.

~~~

It was hard to open my eyes. It felt unfamiliar. I felt unfamiliar. This place I was in, the bed I was in, they weren't anywhere I knew.

The room was bright. Maybe a little too bright. It definitely wasn't like our dimly lit apartment. The walls were white, everything was white.

It was clear as to where I was, and I didn't want to be there.

I bolted out of the bed, held back by the IV tubes and my own current weakness. Sighing, I tapped the tubes coming out of my arms, wondering if I should pull them out or just cooperate with whatever the doctors in this place were doing to me.

And, speaking of the devils that heal, a doctor with flowing purple locks of hair waltzed in. I would guess that she must have been an elf, or at least partially. She looked at me before grabbing the clipboard at the end of my bed.

"Glad to see that you're awake," the doctor articulated, flipping a few pages to take note of what the machines said. "How do you feel?"

As much as I didn't want to answer that question, I felt as if I had no choice, especially if I wanted to get out of here to see Catra again. "I'm alright. Everything kind of hurts, but I'll be okay to go home."

The doctor shook her head. "You have three broken ribs, Ms. Adora. Plus, according to the police officers, we are not allowed to release you until further questioning. I'm not sure quite what they would be questioning for, but I'd cooperate with them, Adora." The doctor smiled down at her. "By the way, my name is Dr. Angella. I'm your doctor for your current stay. If you need anything, you can call a nurse with the red button at your bedside. And feel free to watch the TV, the remote is attached to your bed frame so that you don't lose it." She spoke with a slight accent, not a British accent or anything, but a knowing accent, like the kind of accent smart people have.

I nodded, kind of angry that I couldn't leave, but there was something else. Relief. Some small part of me was relieved that I couldn't go home yet, that I couldn't go back to Catra. It was all my fault anyway. If I hadn't gone out to that coffee shop to study, none of this would have happened.

With a few more tests and checking to make sure all of my vitals were in order, the doctor smiled and took her leave.

I sighed and looked at my arms, feeling completely useless at this point. I could hear talking coming from outside, but I was unable to comprehend any of the words.

I didn't want to put on the TV. It was too loud. Also, I didn't want to hear any news or anything I didn't really want to hear. I knew that something could come onto the news, something I didn't want to hear, about me, about Catra.

And so, I sat in silence. I sat and waited for something to happen. I sat and waited for my girlfriend to come visit me, but it seemed like that wouldn't be likely, going off of what the doctor had said.

Eventually, I started drifting, going in and out of sleep, the voices from outside of my door coming and going; sometimes they were louder and sometimes they were so soft that I could barely hear them.

Eventually, I woke up, just a sudden jolt of energy where I couldn't sleep, with three people in the room. I recognized one of them as Dr. Angella, and the other two must have been police officers, or I assumed that they were from the navy uniforms they were wearing.

Dr. Angella was the first to notice that I was awake, grabbing the clipboard that was hanging off the side of the bed.

"Good morning, Adora. How are you feeling today?"

I was confused. I didn't realize how time was moving. I didn't know how long I had been in the hospital, I didn't know how much time I had been sleeping. At least now I knew it was morning.

"Could be better... M jus' sleepy..." I let out a yawn, my eyes scrunching up, trying to focus on everything else in the room.

The doctor nodded. "No pain, good. We can lower the dosage of morphine in your system, and hopefully pretty soon, you will be pain free and healthy."

I just ignored what the doctor was saying, looking past her at the two officers. From what I could tell, one of them was human, like me, and the other a kobold.

The two of them came up to the bed, the green kobold holding his notebook in his hands while the human looked down at me, scanning me with her eyes.

"Hello, Ms. Reed. I'm Officer Lonnie Ortega and this is my colleague, Officer Rogelio Algeria. If you're feeling up for it, we would like to ask you a few questions." The human officer looked at me, showing no emotion that I could read in her eyes. I looked over at Officer Algeria, finding what I was hoping for-concern encasing all of his features.

I looked back at the human officer, giving a slight nod in response to her previous question.

She nodded back, her brown eyes landing back on my blue ones. "Can you tell us what exactly happened? How you broke your ribs and how you received these deep gashes all over your body? Especially on your back?"

Her eyes shifted to Officer Algeria's, his green showing an intensity of emotion compared to her non-emotional ones.

I had to lie. Catra would find out if I told them. And Catra would hate me forever. And I'd never be healed and-

I was cut off. "There's no use in lying to protect anyone. We're able to match the claw marks on your skin to some sort of hybrid, most likely a cat, which would also explain the minimal traces, and with that information we can look into your living files, where we found you, and all of that, to find out which hybrids you've come into contact with." The Officer looked back into my eyes, the brown filling with some form of anger, some form of aggression. "Really, you'll be saving us time, and you'll also be saving people that can have the same fate as you. And you'd be saving whoever did this to you."

My eyes widened. I could save Catra. That's exactly what I was trying to do, I wanted to protect her, Procter her so that she would keep loving me, loving me forever. "C-Catra..."

It came out as a whisper. I was defeated by love. "Catra Romano... Please, save her. Don't hurt her. Tell her I love her."

The two officers nodded at me, before thanking me and taking their leave.

I barely noticed the tears streaming down my face, looking up at the elvish-looking doctor. Now that I had more time to think, I couldn't quite understand what she was.

I spoke without thinking after that. It was rude, most people would be offended if you asked their race. The doctor just laughed, a lighthearted laugh that made me feel oddly happier.

"I'm an angel. There might not be too many of us anymore, but I'm surprised you couldn't tell."

I really hadn't noticed the two wings coming from her back, wings made out of light. My eyes were messed up. Maybe it wasn't my fault for not noticing any of this. Hell, I could only open one of my eyes, really.

I blushed and looked down, embarrassed from my inquiry.

"The police will move you tomorrow, and they will place you in a new university program, place you in a dormitory, pay your expenses." She turned to face me. "Or at least, that's what I'm gathering. They were speaking as I was running medical diagnostic tests on you, checking to see when exactly you could be discharged. I really do hope everything will work out for you, Adora."

She nodded at me before taking her leave, sliding the clipboard back into its slot on the end of my bed.

I laid down, my sore back relaxing into the mattress.

I felt good. I felt safe, I felt free. I felt relieved that they would be going to help Catra. They would be saving her, helping her. And maybe she would never hit me again.

I smiled at the thought. Everything would be okay now. Everything would be just the way it was intended to be, and I would be in a happy relationship.

I was now comfortable enough to turn on the television, since the black screen had been haunting me.

The lights behind the screen clicked on, and I watched as the news covered a story about a lost puppy, finding her way back home to her mom and dad after being separated for a year due to the war.

At this point, I thought nothing would be able to ruin my good mood, but I was definitely wrong.

"The police has found the person suspected of injuring her 20 year old lover, creating an abusive act of domestic violence. The 21 year old will be kept in custody in the local prison until her trial." I watched the screen, the announcer standing outside of the apartment building I had been living in with Catra. In the background, I saw two kobold officers placing a woman with messy brown hair and dark ears, sprouting above her head. A tail swayed behind her as Catra screamed, shouting words just loud enough for the microphone to pick up.

"Fuck you, Adora! I fucking hate you! I'll kill you!"

I turned the TV off and screamed, sobs escaping my lips and tears making their way out of my eyes, dripping onto the medical equipment that was currently keeping me healthy and sane.

I'll never be able to go back to Catra. My life will never be like it used to be. I just lost my best friend and my lover, and there was no going back.

Chapter Text

I woke up, scared. Scared that I was leaving the place I felt safe in, the place where Dr. Angella was taking care of me.

Officer Ortega came by to debrief me on what was going on. I had to change my name, or at least my last name. I would be going to a different school, a private university on the nicer side of town, as opposed to my old community college I'd been stuck at.

I'd be living in a dorm room there, a room with a roommate. The program would help me get my room set up, and they would pay for my books, as well as compensate for a good portion of my tuition. I would also be getting a meal card, good for unlimited meals throughout each and every day.

When I lived with Catra, we always had the bare minimum. We had a shitty little studio apartment, eating ramen or Mac and cheese. Sometimes, we were able to afford chicken or tuna if it was on sale. We ate once a day, only drinking water from the tap. We had one torn up bed, barely big enough to fit the both of us on, and Catra's shitty laptop that usually just sat on the counter. Neither of us had a lot of clothes, so we were able to fit them all in a small closet.

Thankfully, the police would also help me find some new clothes, as long as I would use them to get a job. They would also help me write a resume, which would be very helpful to me in the future, at least that's what they said.

So, with one final test, Dr. Angella unhooked me from my IVs, placing small bandages over the small punctures they had caused me.

It felt good to be free. Free from the IVs. Free from the hospital. Free from my past. Free from Catra. It felt amazing to stand up for more than just a minute to use the bathroom. And I didn't even have to drag my fluids with me anymore. I felt like someone who had just gotten out of rehab after doing heroin for ten years, fully cured and dead set on not relapsing. Thankfully, for me, there was no relapsing. I'd never see Catra again, and I'd never see that old shitty apartment where she consistently beat me again.

I signed the paperwork so that I could be released. A form here, a form there. Wait, this form needs you to sign twice, for insurance purposes, of course. They also gave me a prescription of pain meds, just to be sure I wouldn't be in too much pain due to the broken bones in my body.

Before I left, I put the clothes I came in on. It was a simple white long sleeve under armor shirt, one where you could just barely see the hint of a tattoo I had gotten. And of course, a pair of grey leggings. My shoes were ratted and ugly, and if there was anything I really hoped the protection program would get me, it would be a new pair of shoes. The red rip-off converse that I had just weren't helping me anymore.

Maybe I needed to go clothing shopping anyway, as I really didn't have anything back home.

So, as soon as they let me out of the hospital, papers being signed by me, Dr. Angella and the head of the investigation team assigned to my case file, I was able to go and get some new clothes, escorted by Officer Ortega, who was, thankfully, both human and around my age, so we wouldn't raise suspicions.

I could barely walk without feeling pain shooting up my entire body, but that was okay. These wounds will heal given time. I would just have to bear the pain caused by myself-no, caused by Catra. The officers had kept saying that none of this was my fault, that it was all Catra's fault and she had no right to have done this to me, but she had every right. I deserved it.

The officer helped me choose a nice navy button down and long black slacks, perfect for a job interview. I was grateful for Officer Ortega. I was a walking fashion disaster, and she could at least help me out a little.

We had gotten various shirts, mostly athletic and graphic shirts, and a couple pairs of leggings and jeans, skinny of course. She also helped me choose a new pair of shoes, a pair of red Supras.

We were just about to head to the checkout line. I had everything I would need now, thanks to the police and everyone who decided to help. And so, Officer Ortega, or as she had insisted to call her by her first name, Lonnie, and I headed towards the check out line.

That is, until I stopped dead in my tracks, eyes wide at the beautiful item, an item on the clearance rack as well. It was a gorgeous, red varsity jacket, one of the ones that was gender neutral but would make you instantly badass as soon as you put it on.

I had to have it.

Luckily, it didn't take too much begging to get Lonnie to get it for me, as she just rolled her eyes and grabbed it off of the rack, throwing it in the cart and finally finding her place in line.

Next, I'll get to find out where I'll be going to school, and I'll get to meet my new roommate.

I insisted that I could room alone, as I had practically been the one taking care of both myself and Catra, but they refused. The officers had all agreed in the statement that even if I could handle and take care of myself, it would raise suspicions for a seemingly random transfer student, who was on a scholarship as far as anyone knew, was able to afford her own room.

Thankfully, the summer semester was ending soon, the fall starting in about a month. It wouldn't look weird if I moved in early by any means, and my meal plan would be activated.

So, we collected all of my stuff, also grabbing some dorm room accessories, decorations and bedsheets and such, as well as a lamp and a new laptop, and headed off to the school.

I would've thought I'd look lame, riding around town in a police car. But it was cool.

Lonnie has gotten one of the under cover cars, one she could use for the witness protection program. It was just a simple silver car on the outside, but on the inside it had all of the police controls, like the locks on the back door and the gate between the front and the back seats. It also had seat warmers! What fancy cars have seat warmers!

It wasn't awkward when we pulled up to the university. Lonnie and I walked into the administration office, paperwork in hand. She had filled it all out for me, so I didn't have to worry too much about it.

I was thankful for all of the help I was receiving. It was more than I could afford, and I was still going to be drowning in student loans when I got out of school, but this would be helping me a lot. They had applied to scholarships and whatnot for me, assuring me that I wold get them, telling me that I was surprisingly smart with m good grades at the community college. I was never told I was smart, so it came as a surprise. Apparently, my grades were even good enough to get me into this school with quite a few scholarships with the school as well.

We moved on to where I would be living from now on. A small dormitory just east of the campus's quad. It was going to be a long move, and it wold take me ages to get used to it, to get used to life without Catra by my side, but I think I would be able to do it.

I took my new key in hand, Lonnie walking with me with a good portion of my new stuff, the rest now laying on the floor beside me or in the backpack on my shoulders.

This was it. It was time to start my life anew.

With a turn of the key, I opened the door to see my new room, a plain room with two beds, two desks, and two closets, with two small dressers.

It was time to get to work to make it look like I belonged here. It was time to say goodbye to Adora Blankenship, and say hello to Adora Black.