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“I’m not drunk…” stammers Adora, her head lolling against her shoulder.
Catra kicks their bedroom closed behind them, struggling to do so while also attempting to keep a limp Adora from slipping out of her arms. “You know, if you keep telling yourself that, it’s never gonna come true,” comments Catra, trying to keep her voice down somewhat.
Blue rays of moonlight shine between the floor to ceiling curtains, casting shadows that envelope them within the dark room.
“I’m n-not!” Adora insists, though the way she nearly mispronounces her words says otherwise.
“You are,” Catra grins, still enjoying the sarcastic bickering they’ve managed to keep up between each other all night.
After the activity of Glimmer’s celebration ball had finally died down and the four of them decided to call it a night, Bow and Glimmer had offered to help Catra get Adora to bed. She’d politely declined, letting them know that she had it all under control, at least much more than before.
Adora had been pretty out of it for the second half of the ball, not like she hadn’t been for the first half too. After all the drinks she’d managed to inhale, Adora pretty much just ended up snoozing against Catra’s shoulder while Catra sat and talked to other people for the rest of the event.
“I’m just sleepy,” Adora defends as Catra slowly walks her towards the bed, her eyelids heavy.
That’s an understatement. Gently, Catra lowers the disoriented girl onto her back. “I know, Princess,” she agrees knowingly, her voice soft within the peacefully quiet room.
It’s definitely well past midnight by now. Catra figures Bow and Glimmer are probably already passed out cold in the next rooms over, and after the pretty crazy night they just had, they should both be asleep too.
When it’s decided that Adora most likely isn’t going to fall off the bed, Catra turns to walk away before Adora clutches her wrist, stopping her.
“Wait…” Adora says weakly. “Don’t leave.”
Catra scoffs softly, amused by the fact that she currently sounds like she’s dying on her deathbed. “I’m not, I just wanna take these… stupid shoes off,” Catra awkwardly attempts to kick them off her feet while also having one of her arms held hostage by Adora.
Adora yanks the other girl’s arm impatiently and Catra stumbles onto the bed. She props herself up on her hands so she doesn’t collapse, one on either side of Adora’s head.
“Or you could keep them on…” suggests Adora in a sly tone, a register that Catra doesn’t get to hear often in her voice.
A blush rises to Catra’s cheeks. Wow. Yeah, Catra really can’t complain having her girlfriend obsessively fawn over her all night, like… even more than usual. “As tempting as that sounds, I’m still never wearing heels again in my entire life,” she promises.
“Not even for me?” asks Adora, her eyes shimmering in the moonlight.
Catra lets out of a breath of laughter. “Especially not for you,” she assures teasingly before successfully crawling off the bed. She rests a hand on the nearby wall to prevent herself from falling while she fiddles with the complex straps around her ankles. “Seriously, I don’t know how you people actually wear these things. My feet feel like they’re about to fall off.”
Adora giggles to herself from the bed, still practically immobile where Catra had left her in her drunken state. Her head sways and her limbs are numb to the fingertips.
Catra admits she feels slightly dizzy herself, but not to the same extent as Adora.
Catra sighs with relief, grateful for finally getting those stupid things off. She carelessly lets the shoes fall on the ground, slightly limping from her aching feet as she makes her way back to Adora.
Feeling much better now, Catra crawls overtop of Adora once more, leaning down to plant a delicate kiss on her lips.
Adora hums faintly afterwards, her eyes falling closed and the corners of her lips tugging into a warm grin.
Catra lets the silence envelope them as she watches her for a moment, figuring that the blonde is probably going to fall asleep any second here.
Noticing that she’s still wearing the black jumpsuit she had worn to the ball, Catra decides she should probably get dressed and take off whatever makeup Adora had plastered on her face before they left. Makeup is another thing that Catra had never worn in her life before but had ultimately decided to allow, after much convincing from Adora, Bow, and Glimmer. There’s really no arguing with the three of them combined.
She considers helping Adora change out of her dress too, but assumes the girl is clearly too tired right now and probably doesn’t care if she ends up sleeping in it.
“Get some sleep,” murmurs Catra. Considering how late it is, she isn’t really tired. Adora is always the one to fall asleep first anyway, and Catra intends to join her in just a few minutes.
However, before she can get up, Adora pulls Catra down onto the mattress once more, albeit much more forceful than before.
“Catraaaaaaa…” whines Adora.
She falls completely on top of her this time, resisting a teasing eyeroll from the fact that Adora clearly isn’t going to let her escape right now.
“Whaaaaat?” she imitates playfully, their chests now pressing against one another’s.
Without another word in response, Adora cups Catra’s face in her hands and pulls her down into a heavy kiss.
Despite her surprise, Catra doesn’t try to escape her this time. It couldn’t be clearer why Adora is being so needy right now. With Adora’s arms wrapped desperately around the other girl’s neck, Catra only finds herself falling deeper and deeper into the warmth of the girl laying beneath her.
After a moment, Catra pulls away to flash her a teasing smirk. Breathless, her voice rasps just above a whisper. “You’re so annoying, you know that?”
Adora ignores her typical judgement. “Shut up,” she breathes, before pressing her lips against Catra’s once more.
In the morning, Catra opens her eyes to the familiar sight of messy gold hair. Loose strands tickle her nose and she resists the urge to sneeze. As she blinks back into full consciousness, bright rays of yellow light shine through the opaque curtains, the room entirely silent apart from Adora’s soft breathing next to her.
Catra sprawls onto her back, smiling faintly to herself while reflecting on the events of the night before. Trying to keep Adora alive had been pretty exhausting but fun nonetheless, and the surreal experience of waking up next to her in Bright Moon is just another thing she has yet to have gotten used to.
After a while, Adora moans gently next to her, rolling over to face the other girl.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Catra murmurs once Adora’s eyelids begin to flicker. She resists the temptation of laughing at how absolutely dead Adora looks right now, at least more than she usually does in the morning.
Adora squints painfully, the action appearing to be the most difficult thing in the world. Her limbs still feel slightly numb and her entire body seems like it weighs a ton, just sinking endlessly into the mattress. Adora stares at her for a few seconds, then dismissively rolls away from Catra once more while groaning dramatically into her pillow.
Despite how awful the other girl must be feeling, Catra can’t help but scoff at Adora’s obvious annoyance with her. Even when she’s mad, she’s adorable.
Adora curls herself further into a ball, then utters in that squeaky voice that makes it sound like she’s crying but she’s not. “My head hurts.”
“Yeah, that’s what alcohol does to you, dummy,” smirks Catra, aimlessly staring up at the vast ceiling.
“I’m never drinking anything ever again,” Adora promises.
“Yeah, suuure you’re not,” remarks Catra, not believing that for a second. “I should record you saying that for future evidence.”
“Why did you let me do this to myself?” Adora continues to fake-sob, face remaining buried in the pillow.
Rolling closer, Catra props herself up on her elbow to snake an arm around Adora’s waist. “I mean, you’re pretty stubborn when it comes to listening to people. But sure, I’ll take the blame.”
They lay still for a while, with Adora enjoying keeping her eyes closed and Catra breathing in the scent of the blonde’s loose hair. Catra nearly falls asleep again before there’s a startling knock at the bedroom door.
“It’s us! Can we come in?” calls Glimmer’s familiar voice from the other side.
Adora grumbles, wanting nothing more than to just sleep peacefully and bury herself in darkness for the rest of the day.
“It’s almost nine!” adds Bow when they hear no response.
Well, at least the moment was nice while it lasted. Despite the interruption and the fact that the four of them do this to each other quite often, Catra still wouldn’t trade it for the world. “Come in,” she calls, assuming Adora isn’t going to say anything comprehensible any time soon.
At least, she can appreciate the fact that they knocked first. Bow and Glimmer used to just barge in here unannounced until That Thing happened that no one wants to talk about, and now they know better. They somehow didn’t realize that the implications of Adora having a new roommate would end up changing some of the rules.
“I brought you guys some water!” beams Glimmer as she races into the room. “Apparently you’re supposed to stay super hydrated when you’re hungover, so, drink up!” She places two full glasses on the bedside table.
Her sudden energetic voice is a huge contrast from the peace and quiet Adora and Catra had just been basking in moments before. Still, it’s typical of Glimmer to just waltz into a room without reading the atmosphere first.
Meanwhile, Bow wastes no time in dramatically whipping the curtains open in one swift motion, the room instantly becoming a thousand times brighter.
Adora and Catra both groan in irritation from practically being blinded, writhing next to each other beneath the blankets.
Bow winces. “Oh…” he glances hesitantly at Glimmer, lowering his voice. “Should I not have done that?” He guesses he should’ve expected such a reaction.
God, sometimes Catra really hates morning people. Also… just energetic people in general.
Glimmer rolls her eyes at Bow, shifting her attention back to the two sleeping figures. “Adoraaaa…” she teases, attempting to get the unresponsive girl’s attention.
Realizing she isn’t going to get another wink of sleep anymore, Catra shifts to sit up, still adjusting to the bright light. “Someone had a little too much fun last night,” she informs the two in a soft voice, referring to the sleepy figure by her side.
Glimmer crosses her arms across her chest. “Yeah, we heard. Thank you for that, by the way,” Glimmer points out sarcastically with a hard stare.
Immediately, Catra’s face flushes with heat. “Uh…” All she can do is chuckle nervously while scratching her short hair. God, she wishes her and Adora didn’t have to share a wall with Glimmer.
Thankfully, Adora saves her from having to think of a defense. “Can you guys please be quieter?” she begs, her voice muffled from underneath the thick blankets.
“How are you guys dressed already?” Catra stammers, quick to change the subject. She realizes they look like they’ve been up for hours and didn’t just roll out of bed.
“Not all of us drank as much as someone did. Plus, you always sleep in late, Catra,” reminds Bow smugly, moving to join Glimmer at the foot of the bed.
“I do not!” she argues. Nine O’clock isn’t even that late.
“Catra’s always late,” mumbles Adora.
“Oh, you’re one to talk!” Okay, Catra would smack her over the head with a pillow right now if she weren’t so hungover.
“So, are you guys getting out of bed or what? After all, we have a very big day ahead of us!” chirps Bow.
“What are you talking about?” asks Catra. As far as she knew, their plan was to probably just lounge in bed for the rest of the day.
“Um… you know, that very important meeting all the Princesses are supposed to have with my dad today?” answers Glimmer, as if the answer were obvious.
Suddenly, Adora shoots up into a sitting position. “Wait, that’s today?!” Immediately afterwards, she holds a hand to her throbbing head. “Ow…” She lowers herself back down, regretting getting up so fast.
“Uh… yeah. Why do you think we’re in here?” says Bow.
“You didn’t say that was today,” defends Adora. She recalls scheduling an assembly with King Micah about a week ago for all the Princesses to discuss their next plan of action in regard to restoring magic to Etheria, but no one actually reminded her about it until now. She really needs to get a calendar or something.
“Sorry, we thought you knew!” admits Glimmer, genuinely feeling bad about the situation. She firmly plants her hands on he her hips. “We told you to go easy on the drinks, Adora, but did you listen?”
The timing for this really couldn’t have been worse. “Whyyyy did your dad have to schedule an important meeting the day after your celebration ball?” whines Adora.
“It was meant for casual drinking!” stresses Glimmer. “I’m sure he didn’t expect anyone would be that hungover today.” Besides, with having a kingdom to run, they really don’t have that much spare time.
Adora points a limp finger above her head, her eyes tiredly closed. “Five more minutes…”
Ultimately, the three of them decide to let Adora sleep in just a little bit longer, much to Catra’s convincing. There’s still a few hours before the meeting actually starts, and they figure it’s better that she has less time to get ready and more time to sleep as opposed to the other way around. They wouldn’t want her passing out cold in the middle of an important assembly, especially being the example that She-Ra herself is supposed to represent and all.
When Catra returns to their room alone an hour later with her hair brushed and presentable attire on, she briefly thinks that Adora might have actually gotten herself out of bed when she doesn’t spot her sleeping figure right away. However, when she takes a closer look, Catra notices the tufts of blonde hair poking out from underneath the blanket.
“Adora…” She gingerly approaches the bed, maintaining a soft voice. When there’s no response, she crosses her arms across her chest. “Adora!”
“She’s asleep,” mutters Adora, entirely unamused.
“Come on, you have to get ready. We let you sleep in for an extra hour.” As much as Catra hates disrupting how peaceful she looks right now, she really doesn’t have another choice.
“Hm?” Adora lifts her head off the pillow, peering confused around the room. “Okay… okay.” She rolls onto her back, stretching out her limbs.
Catra sighs softly, sitting next to her on the bed. Propped up on one elbow, her fingers absentmindedly weave through Adora’s hair. She wishes she wore it down more often. “Look, if you’re not feeling well, I’m sure we can—"
“No. No, I’m getting up,” interrupts Adora. It looks as if she’s about to do just that, but remains unmoving instead. “Just… one more minute.”
Catra lets her head fall back against the bedframe with an exasperated sigh. She twists her mouth for a second, aimlessly looking around the room in thought. If Adora wants to insist that she’s getting up, then so will Catra.
“Adora, I didn’t wanna have to do this, but you leave me no choice,” she warns, then gets up to stand at the foot of the bed.
Momentarily, she stares down in disappointment at the hopeless girl in front of her, then grabs Adora’s ankles and pulls.
“Nooooo!” cries Adora, clutching desperately onto the pillar of the bedframe.
Determined, Catra continues her attempt to yank her off the bed, squeezing her eyes shut and grunting from the strained effort. Adora only holds on tighter while fake-screaming at the same time, refusing to let go.
God, she’s such a baby.
After what feels like an eternal game of tug-of-war between Catra and the bedframe, Catra finally lets Adora plop back down onto the bed with a frustrated groan. “Ugh, forget it!” she throws her hands in the air, shouting hopelessly before storming out of the room in defeat.
The next time Adora’s door opens, it’s another half an hour later and Bow and Glimmer are cautiously peeking their heads through the small opening. The sound of Adora snoring loudly can be heard even from the other side of the door. They glance at Adora, then at each other, then back at Adora in fear.
Catra had stomped downstairs earlier, claiming she had given up and that it was their turn to try and get her out of bed. After much contemplation, the two of them had opted to attempt a much more… gentle approach than Catra.
Clearing his throat, Bow enters the room with a tray in his hands, Glimmer warily following behind.
“Adoraaaa…” he says in a lively sing-song tone. “We made breakfast for youuuu.”
Adora blinks into consciousness at the sound of his voice, rolling over and letting one of her arms hang limply over the side of the mattress. “Please, I don’t even wanna think about eating anything right now.” The smell of whatever food they had brought for her is already beginning to make her stomach turn.
Bow sits on the side of the bed. “We know you don’t want to, but it’ll make you feel better! It’s not good to leave your stomach empty for so long.”
“Whyyyy did I have to become She-Ra?” complains Adora, really wishing she didn’t have to go to this meeting. “Why am I so important all the time?”
Bow and Glimmer exchange a glance. This definitely isn’t the first time they’ve heard her say that before.
“Adora, I can just tell my dad that you’re sick and can’t make it. I’m sure he’ll understand,” suggests Glimmer gently, resting a reassuring hand on Adora’s shoulder.
“No! No, I can do it,” she objects without much thought. “I’m She… She-Ra.”
Of course, Bow and Glimmer both know that whenever Adora insists she can do something by pulling the She-Ra card, they almost always end up getting into trouble. Classic, stubborn Adora.
“Well, at least have one bite, okay? That’s all we’re asking,” advises Bow. “Please?”
Adora sighs at that, realizing that she hasn’t eaten anything since the ball. She eyes them suspiciously for a moment, letting those big pleading eyes ultimately get the better of her. Though, it’s mostly because she knows they aren’t going to leave her alone until she obliges.
“Fine,” she mutters, forcing herself to sit up. The blood finally rushes back down her body.
“Yay!” Glimmer claps excitedly.
Looking down at the tray Bow places in her lap, her eyes are met with a simple bowl of oatmeal, a variety of colorful fruit on the side, and another full glass of water.
They didn’t want to overwhelm her with too big a meal like they normally would, yet it still seems quite extravagant in Adora’s opinion. Still, that much is expected from her best friends.
She winces at the sight of it, her stomach churning. Every part of her conscience is telling her to not put anything in her body right now, but with the feeling of Bow and Glimmer’s intense eyes staring her down, she ultimately swallows her fear and raises the spoon to her mouth.
“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Glimmer asks in a tone that sounds as if she were speaking to a child.
Adora swallows the oatmeal, and everything seems okay for a moment. Glimmer’s right; it wasn’t that bad.
Then they notice Adora’s eyebrows press together and absolute regret washes over her face in an instant.
She cups a hand over her mouth before leaping out of bed and sprinting towards the bathroom.
Bow and Glimmer remain frozen, wide-eyed and silent as they listen to the distant sound of her retching her guts out.
Bow winces. “…maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, after all.”
Despite the fact that it was the worst feeling in the world and Adora still swears never to drink again, throwing up did actually make her feel slightly better. She still has a sickly feeling in her stomach and wishes she could die, but at least not as much as she did ten minutes ago.
Adora should’ve known that she wouldn’t be allowed to crawl back into bed again now that she’s officially on her feet, finally. So, in about another twenty minutes, with much help from Catra, Bow and Glimmer, they manage to make her appear as presentable as possible just in time for the assembly to start, despite the circumstances.
It takes Glimmer a lot more time than it should to brush out Adora’s tangled hair completely but still achieves her goal somewhat in the end.
With the dark shadows under her eyes, Bow had suggested Adora wear some kind of shades to hide the disturbingly dead look in her eyes, before Catra pointed out that it was a stupid idea and would make absolutely no sense.
So, just as the four of them walk out into the hallway together, all ready to go and supporting Adora in finally getting this thing over with, King Micah saunters past them in the doorway at the exact same time.
“Oh, hey, kids!” he greets pleasantly, slowing to a stop. “What are you all dressed up for?” he asks, noticing Adora’s gown specifically.
Adora shoots a sideways glance at her friends, confused. “Um… the meeting?”
Micah blinks twice, a grin still lingering on his face. “Meeting? What meeting?”
“The one with all the Princesses?” Glimmer reminds her dad with a hard, expectant stare. “To talk about further plans for Etheria and all that?”
For a moment, the King only stares absently at his daughter, then his eyes light up in sudden recognition. “Ohhh, that meeting!” he exclaims. “Yeah, that was cancelled a long time ago!”
Adora, Bow, Glimmer and Catra freeze in unison, staring wide-eyed at Micah.
He freezes too, wondering why they’re all suddenly staring at him like that.
Glimmer is the first to break the silence. “WHAT?” she fumes. “Are you KIDDING ME?!”
“Didn’t I tell you guys?” asks Micah, his voice significantly calmer. He scratches his head thoughtfully, trying to remember if he actually did tell them or not.
“NO!” the four of them shout at the same time.
“Yeah,” Micah chuckles lightly as if it is all a big funny joke, still not entirely catching on to the significance of their shocked reactions. “Figured things would just get too busy, what, with the celebration ball and all that.” He makes a dismissive motion with his hand before casually continuing his path down the hallway. “Anyways, have fun, kids!” he calls over his shoulder.
They gape at the clueless man with bewilderment, none of them even having the capacity to say anything anymore.
Slowly, they all turn to look at Adora.
After a tense moment, Adora collapses dramatically into Catra’s side. “UGGGGGHHH!”