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“Twenty-one!” Adora grunts with the effort, sweat glistening on her brow, “Twenty-two! ”
A group of admirers sigh dreamily from the bench, near where the oblivious hero is bench-pressing at least one-hundred pounds.
“Come on, Adora, you can do it!” Bow spurs his friend on from beside her.
“Bow- Twenty-four- I’m just- Twenty-five- getting started- Twenty-six! ”
One of the women swoons, “Wow… even when she’s not She-Ra she’s so-“
“Hunky!” another finishes. They giggle in unison before they spot Bow giving them a curious look.
“Looks like your fan club is here.”
“Thirty-two! Huh?”
“You seriously haven’t noticed?”
“Noticed what? Thirty-four! ”
“Come on, Adora, you know what I mean! Pretty much all of Etheria’s in love with you.”
“Pft, not everyone! Thirty-nine! Forty!”
“Well, I’m glad I’m not you, that’s for sure. Glimmer would sparkle bomb the heck out of anyone who’d dare look at me with goo-goo eyes. I don’t know how Catra can stand it. She’s just as possessive as Glimmer if not more!”
“She is not! Forty-seven! She trusts me, okay. Forty-eight! I’m crazy about her and only her- Forty-nine! Fifty! ” Adora argues.
“Oh, please, she practically growled at Huntara when she saw the way you were salivating over her muscles at the last Crimson Waste catch-up meeting,”
“That’s different, okay! Huntara’s like twice my age. Catra and I agreed that thirsting over milfs doesn't count.”
Bow bursts out laughing at that, “You guys have rules? ”
“You don’t? ”
“Adora, aren’t you supposed to be taking a minute of rest every twelve reps or something?” he asks, changing the subject.
“Oof!” she puts the heavy barbell down, panting and stretching out her arms, “Sorry, I just get carried away sometimes. I just forget I’m not in the Horde anymore, even though it’s been so many years.”
“You don’t need to apologize, Adora,” he says softly, putting a reassuring hand on his friend’s toned shoulder, “Maybe you should give that a rest for now. Maybe our girlfriends are done with their shopping by now?”
The Best Friend Quad had originally intended to spend their time at the Bright Moon Shopping Center together, but upon seeing the gym, Bow and Adora couldn’t refuse. They were already dressed for the occasion, almost like they had known that it would be there.
Glimmer and Catra had simply rolled their eyes and bid them adieu before Glimmer had dragged Catra kicking and screaming into a sparkly pink beauty store. Adora promised to meet them at the food court for lunch.
“You’re right. I’m gonna go hit the showers. Race you to the food court after!” Adora was gone before Bow could even blink.
“How does she still have the energy to run after all that!?” he wondered in awe.
---
“Those assholes are late,” Catra huffs, “We agreed to meet at one. As punishment I’m eating Bow’s cheese fries,”
“Hey! Eat your own partner’s cheese fries!”
“Well, if I eat Adora’s cheese fries she might not let me feel her abs, so Bow is the safest bet,”
“Fine, then I’m drinking Adora’s boba.”
“Like hell you are, Sparkles! I got her the one with the little star shaped fruit gels in it and she loves that shit.”
Glimmer sighs, “I didn’t save the world for this kind of treatment.”
“None of us did. You learn to live with it.”
“You are such a bitch sometimes.”
“Aw, you love me.” Catra teases with a shit eating grin.
“Don’t make me regret it, you pain in the ass.”
“If you weren’t my best non-lover friend I wouldn’t have let you do this shit to my face.”
Glimmer truly pulled out all the stops in the makeup store. She did make Catra look absolutely gorgeous, even if it resulted in scratches up her arm. Totally worth it in her opinion.
“Just wait ‘til Adora sees you. I truly performed a miracle in there.”
“Sure you did. I don’t see what’s so wrong with my usual black eye liner and Chap Stick.”
“Everyone else can, trust me.”
“On second thought, maybe I like Bow more.”
“You won’t be saying that after you smell how sweaty he is. Here they come now!”
Bow jogs over and gives Glimmer a peck on the cheek, “For your information, I took a shower.”
“Really?” she kisses him on the lips, “Couldn’t tell. Maybe I should get a little closer...” she cuddles enthusiastically into his chest as he takes a seat in the booth.
“Yuck, get a room.” Catra mutters.
“You’re one to talk!” Glimmer scoffs.
Indeed, Catra was now sitting fully on Adora’s lap, one hand groping at her stomach to feel her abs.
“’You’re one to talk’ blah blah blah!” she mimics, grumpily sitting back down, her hand never quite leaving the space below Adora’s sleeveless cropped hoodie. Bow had laughed his ass off that morning when they met up and saw that they all decided to wear crop-tops. He pretended to be insulted that they’d “stolen his signature brand” but couldn’t keep up the act and just ended up rolling in laughter again.
“Adora! ” Catra whines, “You took so long, baby, I missed youuu!”
“We were only five minutes late because somebody took too long in the showers.” She throws a pointed look at Bow.
“What? They had cupcake scented soap! In a mall’s gym! That’s like striking gold. I needed enough time to appreciate it.”
“You could have appreciated me instead.” Glimmer says with a pouty face.
“In a way I was appreciating you, because I knew you would like the scent of the body wash. You’re welcome!”
“I mean, true, but you could have just asked me to buy some-”
“This is boring. You’re boring me. Non-sapphic couples bore me. Adora, make me not bored.” complains Catra.
“I lifted weights!” Adora says brightly, lifting her arms and flexing.
“Ooh!” Catra cheers, immediately massaging them.
“Wait, something looks… different about you, babe. Good different.”
“Told ya’ so~” Glimmer teases under her breath.
Adora cups her face and Catra nearly faints from gayness every time.
“Your facial features are so… highlighted! Your lips look a shade different. Better kiss you to be sure.”
Adora can taste the cherry gloss on her lips and deepens the kiss almost immediately.
“Eww, stoppp.” Glimmer whines sarcastically, paying her back for earlier. Catra only holds up a hand and kisses Adora harder. When she finally comes up for air she turns to Glimmer.
“Nobody likes a cock-block.”
“One: We’re in public, and two: you do the same thing to us all the time!”
“Adora and I were separated for three years and it took another two years before our relationship was stable enough for us to take the next step after that initial kiss on the battlefield. You have no room to complain.”
“Our relationship hasn’t been all sunshine and roses either!”
“Guys, it’s not a competition to see which relationship has had it more rough-” Adora butts in.
“But if it was we’d totally win,” Catra interrupts.
“Catra!”
“Adora, what happened to your cheek, I forgot to ask?” Bow chimes in, changing the subject.
“Oh, this?” her fingers brush over the bandage. “I-”
“I scratched her during some super rough sex.” Catra says looking directly at Glimmer in challenge.
“Actually, ” Adora kicks Catra’s shins from under the table, “I cut myself with that new sword the Bright Moon royal guard gave me. I’m still getting the hang of it. I’ve been through like twelve in the past few years, but none of them quite feel like…”
Like the Sword of Protection.
She doesn’t need to say the rest.
“Anyways,” she took a sip of her boba. Strawberry with fruit stars, just the way she likes it, “why didn’t you make up my face like Catra’s for Princesses Prom, Glimmer?”
“You look better in nude tones. Especially with that dress!”
“Mention the word ‘nude’ and my girlfriend in the same sentence again, I dare you.” Catra flashes a sharp fang at the other woman.
“Ugh, you’re impossible! Nude tones are tones that match your skin color, dummy!”
“Whatever…” she grumbles, nuzzling her head under Adora’s chin.
When they all finished eating their junk food Bow recommended they go see a movie at the cinema. They had to explain to Catra and Adora a couple years back that a movie was like a recorded play that they could watch on a screen.
Catra and Glimmer argue over seeing the new spy thriller (Glimmer’s choice) and a gruesome horror film (Catra’s choice). For the sake of Bow getting a good night’s sleep they compromised on an action film with buff women on motorcycles. Adora may have had some influence in picking that one.
The day was so perfect that they could hardly believe that things weren’t like this once. They weren’t always the Best Friend Quad. They’ve overcome some very difficult and painful hardships to get where they were today and they wouldn’t trade that for the world.
That night after Adora was fast asleep, Catra snuck up to the roof to watch the night-time moons. She thought about how a long, long time ago the two of them had watched those very same moons from a very different place…