Chapter Text
The first time it happens is pretty early on in their quest to spread magic like herpes across the whole stupid universe.
They’re on a relatively small planet only about half a day’s journey from Etheria, not even outside of the solar system. The planet’s heart isn’t anything to write home about, and the effort to unshackle it is frankly a little disappointing. After a week of not doing anything (except Adora), and then a few weeks of doing everything (except Adora), Catra had honestly been spoiling for a fight. But they arrive, and Darla very quickly triangulates the heart’s location, and they hike out to it, and then Adora does her little She-ra song and dance and it’s just… over.
The locals throw them a party. This will become a recurring theme in their quest to share the good news with the rest of the literally infinite universe. There is always a party. There are always drinks, and weird foods, and of course dancing, although Catra quite likes that last bit.
What she doesn’t like is that there’s also always someone who just doesn’t get that Adora is taken.
“Hey, Catra!” She’s hovering over the canapes when Glimmer stumbles up to her, Bow hot on her heels, and bends over for a second to catch her breath. “You might wanna go rescue your girl.”
Alarmed, Catra spins on her heel to look in the direction Glimmer’s pointing. She rolls her eyes when she sees what she’s pointing at.
The suitor of the day is an admittedly quite handsome feline-variant hybrid, and that’s probably not helping the sudden rush of possessiveness that floods Catra from toe to tail-tip. They’re almost a whole head taller than Adora, covered entirely in shimmering silver fur, with obscenely long canines that jut out suggestively over their full lips. They’ve got gorgeous bright purple eyes, both the same color, and Catra hates them on sight.
She should probably stop long enough to be intimidated but before Catra can think twice about it she’s already brushing up from behind Adora, rubbing her cheek roughly against her bare shoulder and wrapping her tail around her waist. Adora looks breathtaking in the glittery, off-white ball gown that she packed for some reason. She’s got her hair teased back into a half-up, half-down style that Catra will never get over and the pretty little red gemstone that Catra gave her for her last birthday hangs from a thin gold chain, nestled in the hollow of her beautiful throat.
“Hey, Adora,” she purrs, looking pointedly at the hybrid. They’re leaning against the wall next to her, a combination of casual and familiar that immediately raises Catra’s ruff. “Care to introduce me to your new friend?”
“Catra!” Adora shoots her a lazy smile and drapes an arm heavily over her shoulders, unintentionally smushing her shirt collar down onto her hackles and pulling her into her side. The effect is annoyingly soothing. “This is Squall. Squall, this is Catra.”
“Her girlfriend, Catra,” she corrects, and holds out a clawed hand for Squall. They take it gingerly between both of theirs, unsure what to do with it.
“Hello, Girlfriend Catra,” Squall says haltingly.
Catra takes her hand back and places it on Adora’s hip in a totally normal, not possessive way. There’s a little bit of a flush on Adora’s cheeks and she looks more relaxed than she’s been in weeks. Catra glances down at the empty glass in her hand. Ah. This should be fun.
Adora slurs out, “We were just talking about… hmm… What were we just talking about, Squall?”
The hybrid quirks an eyebrow and drawls out, amused, “I believe we were discussing how strong you are.” They tap a clawed finger lightly on Adora’s exposed bicep and Catra feels the quietest growl start to bubble up in the back of her throat. “You made freeing our magic look so easy.” They take a half-step closer, even though Catra is literally right there and visibly choking on her own rage.
She hooks a finger into Adora’s thin belt and yanks her back behind her so that she is now standing between her beautiful, kind of drunk girlfriend and this also beautiful-but-in-an-obnoxious-way pickup artist. She grits out, “Do you not know what a girlfriend is, pal?” and points a claw threatening at one of their disgustingly pretty eyes.
Squall blinks a couple of times and steps back, raising a hand in supplication. They look with some concern at huge, snarling Melog, who has materialized suddenly at Catra’s side, bright red and vibrating. “I do not.”
Catra bristles. “It means she’s fucking mine, and I’m not sharing.”
A wide grin splits Squall’s face and they back up even further. “Ahhh,” they sigh out. “That’s good to know. Thank you for telling me, I wouldn’t have guessed! Neither of you are wearing your pact braids.”
Adora tugs Catra back to her side. “Oh, we’re not actually at that stage yet. It’s suuuuuper interesting, Etheria has so many fun little customs around relationships.”
Catra relaxes now that Squall seems to have taken the hint and backed off, and Melog cools to a medium-purple and settles into a sit on one of her feet. Squall exclaims, “Oh, a cultural difference, how exciting!” and then Catra gets to lean into her girlfriend’s side and watch Adora animatedly explain all of the intricate Etherian mating rituals that Catra has pointedly ignored.
-----
“Hey, Adora?”
Outside the ship Catra knows that the party rages on, but the sound is unable to penetrate Darla’s thick hull. She’s sat on their little bed in their huge bedroom, propped up against the wall that is currently serving as their headboard. The room is spartan, possessed only of their cot and a chest of drawers. Before leaving Etheria they installed a couple of shelves along the wall to act as bedside tables but there hadn’t been enough time to make too many more modifications. Honestly Catra’s just happy that Entrapta was able to set it up so the door would open for her and Adora, rather than only for Adora’s buff alter ego.
Cool light floods their immense and mostly empty bedroom so that there are almost no shadows. Catra adds “install a dimmer switch” to her to-do list.
Adora is cuddled up in Catra’s lap, half-asleep and already starting to drool. Catra pokes her lightly in the cheek and she snorts a little and stirs, looking up at her attacker. Before she can move to prop herself up Catra starts running her fingers through her hair, picking out the few remaining stays that helped keep it in place all night. She relaxes back into the gentle touch.
“Mm… you need something?” she slurs out against Catra’s thigh.
She’s already starting to drift off again but this feels kind of important so Catra clears her throat and asks, “What’s, uh, what’s ‘marriage’?” She tastes the way the unfamiliar word sits on her tongue. It’s weird.
Adora rolls over so that the back of her head is nestled in Catra’s lap and reaches a sleepy hand up to tweak her ear. “Good to know you weren’t paying attention at all earlier,” she says with a soft smile.
Catra scowls. “You mean when you were flirting with that dumb, hot hybrid?” she snarks.
Adora gasps. “Wh-- Catra! Were you-- you were jealous!”
“Adoraaa…” she whines. “Just answer my damn question.”
“What was your question again?”
“Ugh, nevermind, I’ll just--”
“No no, I’m sorry, I’ll be serious.” Adora shifts up on the bed to sit beside her, takes and holds both of her hands, and sucks in a deep breath. “You see, Catra, when two people love each other very much--”
Catra takes back her hands and uses one to flick Adora on the nose. “You’re the worst,” she says, and then she smushes Adora’s face down onto the bed, flopping herself bonelessly on top of her. She bites her shoulder a little. “I will find someone else to explain it to me, and I’ll make sure it’s the worst possible person, like Entrapta or Mermista.”
Horror twists Adora’s features and she moans out, “Oh jeez, no.” Genuine seriousness settles over her. Catra’s ears prick forward with interest. “Okay, fine, listen, marriage is… Well it always sounded really complicated to me but I guess it’s just a ceremony you can have with someone you love where you both promise to love each other forever--”
“Didn’t we kind of already do that in the Heart of Etheria?” Catra interrupts.
Adora gives her the absolute sappiest smile she’s ever received in her entire life. “Gosh, I love you so much,” she says, “but not quite. There’s a legal part too, and you need witnesses and paperwork to make it official.”
“Blegh,” says Catra.
They lapse into comfortable silence for a while, then Catra asks in a voice that only cracks the tiniest amount, “Is that… something that you want?”
Adora hums quietly and squeezes Catra tight to her chest. “Ask me again when I’m sober.”
Catra huffs out a sigh and snuggles deeper into Adora’s embrace. They fall asleep just like that, clothes and all.