Work Text:
Adora's phone buzzes at exactly 12:02 her time, which is actually 1:02 Catra's time. She stares at the neon green of the digital clock on her dresser. Tipping her head back, she waits for sleep. She gets a couple more buzzes instead. Finally, she surrenders and opens the messanger.
Clawsnotballs:
Hey
Clawsnotballs:
Hey bitch
Adora clicks out of that one and onto another, equally awkward contact. Her finger shake as she types, praying that she won't wake the very naked girl next to her in bed.
Swordsaregayculture: Scorpia, your girlfriend is texting me again.
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Again? Thanks
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Also please stop texting me.
Swordsaregayculture: Srry
Adora set the phone aside and tried to sleep. Depression was like that- some days she couldn't imagine stopping, while still others finding rest was like trying to trap air. She dozed off for perhaps an hour or two, only for her phone to buzz again and wake her. Adora groaned.
Clawsnotballs: hey, not fair
Clawsnotballs: now I have to sleep in the car
Swordsaregayculture: it's been a year catra
Clawsnotballs: tell that to the shit you left in my bedroom
Clawsnotballs: I found ur necklace
Adora hates how hard it is to breathe.
Swordsaregayculture: bullshit
Swordsaregayculture: I only let you keep this contact in case of emergency
Swordsaregayculture: NOT to try and drag me back
Clawsnotballs: fuck you two, bitch
Swordsaregayculture: *too
Clawsnotballs: whatever
Clawsnotballs: happy birthday or some shit
Adora hits her home button before the picture loads. The darkness that slips in after feels cold and empty. The sigh that leaves her is more mandatory than it is voluntary as her arms flopped to the side. Her phone dribbled against the wood as it settled in on the corner of her dresser.
It's just her luck that this is what makes Glimmer shift and crawl up a bit, leaning her elbow on the pillow. Her eyes are shut tight. "Wassat?"
"Nothing. Just frustrated."
Glimmer waves her hand a smidgen too close to Adora's face. "Well, stop that. You've got work in the morning."
Something hot and heavy settled in her chest at the reminder. God, she had work. How was she supposed to get up there and be happy and smiley with this sitting on her conscience? "Maybe I should just skip."
"Ha."
"No. Seriously."
Glimmer cracks an eyelid. "Okay, who are you and what happened to Adora?"
Adora pointed uselessly at her phone. "Take a wild guess."
"You okay?"
She shrugged. "You wanna read my messages?"
"Why would I wanna do that?"
"I dunno. Ca-"
"Catra was an overly possessive bitch," Glimmer answered without even stopping to consider how it'd come across this time of night. She let out a long sigh. "Is she texting you again?"
"She sent me a photo."
"A nude?"
"No idea. I'm kind of scared to open it and look."
"Alright," said Glimmer. "Then don't."
The sweet, simple concept of choice continued to baffle Adora. She'd never had it before coming out here. "It's probably just a pic of her tattoo, honestly. I just... seeing it, you know?" Adora sighed, shifted her legs, and came to a decision. "I'm gonna look."
Glimmer inch-wormed her way over to rest her head on her shoulder as she carefully unlocked the phone. She whistled. "Whoa. That is... a lot of freckles."
Oh thank god, Adora thought, it's not a tit pic.
Catra was seated on that old blue couch that they'd grown up on, covered in mustard stains and peppered with fallen crayons, with her shirt pulled up. The dark edge of a sports bra peered out from under a red jersey- which, now that Adora thought about it, was probably hers. Over her ribs, plain as day, was Adora's name, written in cursive and colored by that ugly cement gray that seemed to make up so many of their memories.
"Lemme see?" Glimmer asked. Adora was still learning that was a request, handing it over without a thought to her own privacy. The girl flipped into camera mode and took an admittedly terrible photo in their dark room. Adora could just barely make out a peace sign in the darkness, as well as two bumps she recognized (clinically, not because she was, like, looking) as her breasts. Adora's lanky form paled next to her shock of purple hair, dyed in a fit of rebellion.
Glimmer sent it.
Swordsaregayculture: send me a comeback when you get some actual boobs, hater.
"I'm just telling the truth, Bow!" Adora exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Huntara could raw me in front of the entire student body and I'd thank her."
Bow, hands firmly clasped over his ears, let out a low groan. "What did I just say about kink negotiation?"
Their waitress, Mermista, paused in handing them their usual soda. "Who the fuck is Huntara?"
"A hot biker lady on Insta."
"Oh, god," said Mermista, rolling her eyes.
Adora flipped her phone around.
"Oh, god," said Mermista, in an entirely different way. "Touché."
Glimmer looked up from her milkshake long enough to whistle. "Goddamn. I'd pay actual money to see that."
"Kink negotiation!" Bow repeated sternly.
"Sorry, Bow, I'll stop." Adora set her phone down. It buzzed. She ignored it. "So. Gonna be making a quick hop back home next week."
All pretense of humor dropped like rain from a gutter. She squirmed, hating that more than she did anything else. She was used to Catra's barrage of messages. She was used to getting the odd call from Weaver. She wasn't used to people staring at her with concern and that kind of protective twinkle that instinctively made her want to hide.
Bow raised his hand.
"No, you can't come."
Bow lowered his hand.
Glimmer scowled. "Why would you want to go back?"
Adora shrugged. "Never said I wanted to. But... Catra found an old necklace of mine."
"You don't have any proof she did! She could be lying."
She shook her head. Adora unlocked her phone and went into her Facebook messages, finding the chat that Catra had started that morning. It only contained a picture of the necklace- a simple leather rope with a silver sword at the end. She showed it to them. "She knows I wouldn't come without proof."
Glimmer grumbled and went back to loudly slurping on her shake.
Bow's eyes darted between them. "Uh, guys? Is there something I should know about?"
"Nope."
The purple-haired girl slammed her hand down on the table. "She sent Adora a nude!"
"It wasn't a nude! It was a picture of her tattoo."
"On your birthday!"
"I'm honestly still shocked she didn't show up on my doorstep again."
Bow, sensing Glimmer's growing irritation, edged his chair closer to her side. "Adora, you know I support your choices-"
"You literally always say that before trying to get me to rethink my choices."
"But Catra has always been a bit... intense. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Oh, absolutely not," she answered honestly. "But that necklace means a lot to me." Adora slunk down in her chair, hating how vulnerable she felt. "I... really want it back."
The scowl left Glimmer's face in increments as she finished her drink. She scrubbed her face down while groaning loud enough to draw the attention of the table next to it. "I just hate that she does this stuff to you, you know? Holding stuff you love hostage so you'll visit."
"It's not my favorite thing either." Adora picked up her soda with a shrug.
"Can I come with?"
She swallowed some bubbles wrong and took a minute to cough them out. "Jesus, why would you want to? All that's there is a bunch of brick houses, snow, and all of the worst people I have in my life."
"I'm a person in your life, Adora! I wanna know those parts too."
"Big same," added Bow.
"Sorry, Bow, but only one friend trauma per visit." Adora wasn't exactly smiling, but she wasn't frowning, either. "You'll just hide in my trunk if I say no, so I might as well."
"I call half the CDs!"
"If you must, m'lady."
Mermista passed by, bumping her hip against Glimmer's shoulder. "Dang, girl. Did you taste any of that drink?"
"I did," she said with a shit-eating grin. "It tasted like victory."
She squinted into the glass suspiciously. "Musta been something in the ice cream. I'll get Sea Hawk to clean the machine later."
Swordsaregayculture: I'm stopping by for my necklace next Wednesday
Clawsnotballs: who the fuck capitalizes their days
Clawsnotballs: also why are u telling me this
Swordsaregayculture: A.) it's your apartment
Swordsaregayculture: B.) if I disappear it'll be in my messages
Swordsaregayculture: C.) I'm hoping you'll take the hint to leave for the day so we don't have to get into it again
Clawsnotballs: wow, assuming much
Clawsnotballs: maybe I'LL call the cops on ur ass for trespassing
Swordsaregayculture: are u salty about the boob thing
Swordsaregayculture: bc you don't
Swordsaregayculture: and this is coming from me
Clawsnotballs: biiiiiitttccccch I've got great tits
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: why are you having boob arguments with my girlfriend
Swordsaregayculture: my buddy sent a picture to her after she sent me a photo
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Ah
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Yes
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: The Photo
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: That I was completely aware of her sending you.
Swordsaregayculture: it was of her tattoo, that's all
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Oh thank god
Swordsaregayculture: do you want me to screenshot it for you so you have proof, or...
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Nonononononono
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: I trust Catra okay
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: This isn't like how it was with you
Swordsaregayculture: Tru
Swordsaregayculture: I hope anyway
Swordsaregayculture: Just take my advice on this; don't get matching tattoos with someone
Swordsaregayculture: Doesn't matter who u are
Swordsaregayculture: How drunk u are
Swordsaregayculture: Just don't do it
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Of course not
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: I just told you- it's different with her and I than it was with you and her.
Swordsaregayculture: she didn't tell you I had one too did she
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: No
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Maybe
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: I probably just forgot
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Leave me alone
Swordsaregayculture: Srry
There's not a sensation quite like waking up early in the morning. The dingy gray sky was like a smokescreen, settling nicely against Adora's skin as she threw her overnight bag in the back of her old beat-up car. Then went Glimmer's computer bag. Then a third bag that, honestly, Adora didn't remember what it held. She stretched her arms over her head, brain torn somewhere between man it's only six a.m. and jesus fucking christ it's six already.
Glimmer shuffled out of the apartment in hot pink shorts and an undershirt. She groaned. "Every second I breathe is another second I suffer."
"I wanted to get up earlier."
"You aren't human," she decided. Glimmer gestured to her old gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. "Why are you all bundled up?"
Adora snorted. "This isn't 'bundled up' where we're going, Glim."
"Am I going to see a blizzard?"
"It's fall."
"I stand by my question."
She laughed. "We'll be seeing a lot less tropical storms, that's for sure."
Driving is something Adora is good at. She's been doing it a long time now- since fourteen, give or take. Weaver had always wanted a drive after a long night (every night), and Adora learned young that it was easier to offer to help than deal with the sickeningly fast turns and the near-misses as she tried to decide if tonight was the night they'd plummet over the edge of the old bridge near their house. Once, on her birthday, Weaver drove her to an ice cream joint and left her alone for a few hours. She met some local bikers. It wasn't all bad. She only got a little nippy without the heater.
And, hey. Catra always thought it was pretty cool.
Glimmer, however, isn't good at being a passenger. She argues with the GPS. She argues with other cars. She argues with her dead tape deck. She fidgets and rolls back and forth, trying to find that sweet spot in the seat that's comfortable but also doesn't require you to turn into jello. Adora lets her loose on the old mini-speaker in the arm rest, only to pick and play the same five or so songs on repeat.
They stop at a gas station to stretch their legs. Adora finds a somewhat-decent bathroom stall and plops down, opening her phone while taking a whizz.
Clawsnotballs: told scorpia ur coming
Clawsnotballs: byam I think she's like. Uber Pissed.
Swordsaregayculture: shocker
Swordsaregayculture: if it helps any i'm bringing a buddy
Clawsnotballs: is this the tit pic girl
Swordsaregayculture: ye
No response. Adora pockets her phone, washes her hands, and continues on the trail to what will undoubtedly be her newest dumb mistake.
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: so I dont like u at all
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: but if I promise to be nice could I get ur girlfriend's handle
Swordsaregayculture: catra asked you to ask didn't she
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: can I or not
Swordsaregayculture: she's not my girlfriend
Swordsaregayculture: it's complicated
Swordsaregayculture: if it's that big of a deal I can come alone
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: good enough for me!
"Home" is a bit of a stretch, honestly, and it's not much to look at, either. The upper Midwest is flat lands and corn fields, with the odd horse-drawn buggy for flavor. The sky always seems to hold a perpetually gray tint to it, especially through the windshield of their car.
It also means a hotel, because Adora will be damned if she ever stays in her mother's house again. Adora quietly watches TV while Glimmer showers and changes into pajamas. She switches it off and slips under the covers next to her. She doesn't sleep. She waits until Glimmer does.
It's a relatively warm night out, but compared to the higher temps of college it's practically freezing. Adora keeps her hands in her pockets as she walks. There's so many memories here, in the smallest of things- that gravel lot Adora lost a tooth in at five, that fence she and Catra had jumped at twelve to avoid getting caught with illegal fireworks, that patch of woods where they got high and made out at fifteen. There's others, more detailed. Catra's in a lot of them. Catra used to mean a lot to her.
She still does, honestly.
Adora follows the smell of cigarettes up to the porch of what had once been their complex. Catra has one half-smoked and dangling from her teeth as she approaches and sits down.
"Hey, bitch," Catra says. She holds the box up. "Want one?"
Adora takes one. "I thought you were quitting."
"Meh. The rot's already in my lungs. Might as well speed it up."
They smoke in relative peace. Adora's always hated this part the most- the fighting, the screaming fits, the jealousy, none of it compared to this. This tiny, insignificant moment where they quietly fill themselves with nicotine before facing facts. It's hard because it's so calm, knowing that this was the kind of comradery she would never have with her again.
Knowing Catra, she probably does it on purpose.
Catra finishes up and lights another one. That's when things get iffy.
"You're so goddamn needy, you know that? You drove, like, two days for a shitty ass necklace. And you know why?"
"Because it means a lot to me," Adora said, coming to terms with that.
"Yeah. And you know why it does?" Catra flicks some cooling ash with a sharp nail. "Because I gave it to you. So you can back to Summerville with miss tits and her ugly bob if you want, but we both know the real score here."
She held her hands up. "Why do I have to keep saying this? Of course you matter to me, Catra. You mean the world to me. But things are different now. You've got Scorpia, and I'm... busy."
"Fucking other girls, I assume."
"I'm trying to pull a decent GPA, thank you very much."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
"Catra," called what Adora could only describe as a solid dose of reality. Scorpia barreled through the door with a painfully wide smile across her features. The woman is undoubtedly beautiful. Her short white hair was curly on the fringes, curling over the shaved side. Her eyes were large and shiny and red. She was tall and muscular and honestly Adora didn't know why Catra kept bothering her when she'd managed to catch a twenty when Adora was barely a four. "You'll never believe this, but I found the honey in the freezer! Chicken strip breakfast is still on, baby!" Scorpia caught sight of Adora and all life seemed to vanish from her face. "Oh. It's you."
"Hi," Adora said. "Your girlfriend is trying to get me addicted to nicotine again."
"Oh," repeated Scorpia, who looked torn between relief and anger. "I see."
"D'ya mind grabbing that necklace? I'll wait right here."
"Sounds like a plan."
Catra hardly seemed to glance at her significant other, tugging at Adora's shirt. "Come inside," she urged. "Scorpia just hung up this huge ass pride flag. It's dope."
"I don't think that would be a good idea. For any of us."
Scorpia bobbed her head so hard Adora thought it might fall off. "Good plan! How's about... Catra and I go inside, find your necklace, and I bring it out to you. And you can wait in the cold snow."
Adora sent her an awkward finger gun. "It's your house."
Catra attempts to not-so-subtly wrap an arm around her shoulder. Adora side-steps, almost falling off the steps entirely, and ends up in a rock and hard place with the hard gravel to one side and a sharp-nailed touch to her elbow on the other.
"I'll wait with you," Catra said. It wasn't an offer.
Scorpia's grin faltered. "Catra-"
"She knows how to wire shit, babe. Don't want her taking the scorpion-mobile, do we?"
Scorpia tries to formulate a response to that while Adora tries to come up with a proper defense. But, honestly, what can she say? She's the ex. The scorpion-mobile had been catwoman's clit in high school, and where she lost her virginity (and, stars, she hoped Scorpia wasn't aware of that). This apartment was hers, once. It was only logical that, if she were willing to come so far for an object from a quarter bandit, she might be desperate enough for other belongings, too.
"I'll be right back," Scorpia said, and slammed the door shut.
Adora's phone buzzed.
~glitteremoji~: WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU
Swordsaregayculture: catra and scorpia's apartment
Swordsaregayculture: I left a note
~glitteremoji~: Adora are u fucking kidding me
~glitteremoji~: WE'RE IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STATE AND YOU LEFT ME
Swordsaregayculture: srry srry
~glitteremoji~: don't fucking text speak me, i'm pissed
~glitteremoji~: I thoguth u were over her
Swordsaregayculture: I AM
~glitteremoji~: But she can wave a necklace u haven't worn in OVER A YEAR in your face and you'll come right back to her?
~glitteremoji~: In the middle of the night?
~glitteremoji~: leaving my hot ass alone in a goddamn MURDER HOTEL!?
~glitteremoji~: tell me the truth- why is that cheap ass shit so important to you?
Swordsaregayculture: it's complicated
Swordsaregayculture: i'll tell u when I get back
"Who the fuck are you texting?"
Adora felt a wave of something familiar and ugly roar inside her. Anger. Fear. Nervousness. Maybe a bit of embarrassment. It felt natural to look at Catra with lips pursued to ask for forgiveness, to be halfway through the motion of handing her the phone before she even considered it.
But then she stopped.
And she thought about it.
And she drew back a little.
"I'm texting Glimmer," she replied, firm and practical.
Catra's eyebrows flicked up a little, surprised. Adora honestly couldn't tell if it was because she hadn't handed the phone over or because she'd answered so candidly. "Tit pic girl?"
"She's more than just her tits, you know. She's got a great personality. And hair."
"I thought you weren't dating her."
"I'm not. It's... complicated."
Catra snorted. "No, it's not. You're either dating or you're not." Sharp nails were in her jacket, gently pulling her closer, and there was heat and the smell of camel blue 100s as what was once Adora's life pressed their chests together, lips temptingly close. "Since you've come running to me, I'm guessing not."
"I found it!" cheered Scorpia, and the door began to swing open.
Adora shoved Catra.
Or maybe it was more accurate to say she pushed off of her, throwing herself solidly into the snowy sidewalk. She rolled, stood, and ran, back and eyes stinging, as Catra flung curses after her like frisbees.
Swordsaregayculture: i'm sorry I'm sorry i'm sorry
Swordsaregayculture: i'm such a piece of shit
Swordsaregayculture: it's all my fault
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Just... Stop, okay?
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Stop messaging me
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Stop messaging my girlfriend
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: Stop making this your business.
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: It's only hurting everyone
Swordsaregayculture: I'm so sorry Scorpia
Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective!: I know.
-Tailwhip!It'sSuperEffective! can no longer receive messages from you-
"Really? Sitting and sulking on a swing set? What level of anime are you on right now?"
Adora looked up from her phone. Her fingers were red and stiff from a lack of gloves. "I can sit on it sideways, if you want me to bump it up a notch."
Glimmer shimmied her way into the swing next to her, wincing at the cold steel of the wings. She'd nicked Adora's sweatshirt, but had made the fatal error of coming out in old tennis shoes and shorts. Goosebumps lined her legs as she stared resolutely ahead into the dishwater gray of the world around them. She looked positively miserable.
"I'm sorry," Adora said. "I'm a terrible human being."
"Adora," she sighed. "You're not a terrible person. You're an absolute fucking trainwreck, but you're not terrible."
"I shouldn't have left you."
"No shit, sherlock. I about had a heart attack." Glimmer paused; and, in her own anime move, reached out to shove her shoulder. "But, hey. I know you're still learning about boundaries. And so am I! We're both shitty with that kind of thing."
"I'm sorry."
"I know. I'm sorry too." She dug around in her pockets, pulling out a handful of cheap chain- where had the leather gone?- with a little sword on top. "Scorpia called me up and gave it to me. Gotta say, it's a bit weird to know that your ex and her girlfriend know me as 'the tit pic girl'."
Adora took it with shaking fingers. The child in her wished- hoped?- that all might become right now, that the snow would stop and the sun would come out, and Catra would call and apologize. But it wouldn't. Some days are just bad days, and nothing ever quite made them good.
"Want help putting it on?" Glimmer asked, suddenly shy.
"I shouldn't," Adora answered, with no conviction whatsoever. "It was a gift from her."
"I figured."
"An engagement present," she extrapolated, feeling her eyes water all over again. "She, um. She proposed with it. When we were... you know."
A cold hand touched her shoulder, fingertips red and skin just a little cracked. "I know I can be a little pushy. About you moving on. But..." Glimmer carefully wound the necklace around her throat. "It's okay to miss her, you know."
The necklace fit perfectly; just as it had then, and just as it would continue for many years yet. And Adora, cold and loved and yet feeling very alone, curled a leg up to her face to cry into.
"Let's go back to the hotel," Glimmer urged, the cold getting to her. "And then, when you're rested, we can go home."
Adora snrrked back some snot and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds... home sounds great right now."
Glimmer held out her hand. Adora took it. The snow had long soaked through the rear of their pants, but Adora hardly noticed the chill as she stood up, squeezing tight.
Somehow, just somehow, she was beginning to feel a bit better.