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The thick, grey walls of this old First One’s spaceship were constricting at best.
The common areas of the ship were terrible in plenty of ways. There was nothing to do but pace the empty halls, unless you happened to be Entrapta and you’re some tech-wizard. There was nothing to look at besides the endless void of space— and that didn’t look to be reassuring anybody any time soon. The only thing that made it tolerable was the sounds. If you listened carefully, you could pinpoint who was walking around by their footsteps. If you mingled with the crowds, you could hear each and every distinguishable laugh, and maybe a few jokes. It didn’t matter if they were good. What did matter, though? The fact that some people onboard cared enough to even try.. And that some people didn’t even have the patience to listen.
See, the Best Friend Squad was out on one final road trip. Now that Etheria was safe from pretty much all threats and celebratory preparations had seized the forefront of every citizen’s mind, there was nothing stopping them from flying off in a huge spaceship and exploring the galaxy. Literally. Of course, they didn’t want to leave any princesses behind, but some simply didn’t want to come. Mermista and Seahawk, very reasonably, planned on sticking to the sea. Spinerella and Netossa were insistent on watching over Etheria.
To be fair, hopping in a spaceship made absolute eons who and leaving behind the planet they’d fought for for so long, just so they could travel into a literal void filled with the unknown, didn’t sound so wonderful. Or maybe that was just Catra.
She was found pacing back and forth in a relatively small bedroom, her eyes consistently scanning what little was laid out. It looked much different from the first time she’d resided on the ship. In fact, most of the place had been spruced up with extra furniture from Bright Moon to make it more bearable. A fluffy ‘bed’, that was essentially just a huge circle of blankets and pillows, had replaced the previous mattress on the floor, and beside it was a small nightstand that doubled as a bookshelf. On it, Adora had plopped down a picture of her and Catra that’d been taken a few days before they left Etheria. It seemed that every time Catra was in the room her eyes were drawn to it, and this was no different. She walked toward it and slowly picked it up, finding solace by simply staring at it. Who gave Adora permission to look so pretty? She thought. Who gave her eyes like that?
The person that’d just entered the room surely wasn’t the answer to whatever questions Catra was asking herself, however. It was just Glimmer. The Queen smiled warmly at the sight before her, knocking on the already opened door to gain the feline’s attention— only to be met with bristled fur and an alarmed hiss.
“Woah, woah!” Glimmer laughed, taking a step back. “Chill out. I’m just here to check on you. Per Adora’s orders.”
“Ugh, she worries too much.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Figuring she was welcomed by the growing grin on Catra’s face, Glimmer took a few steps forward. “Your walls are so barren.” She says, hands on her hips. “Maybe you should hang that picture up, or something. We can’t paint the walls until Entrapta tells us about the circuit board, or.. whatever.”
Catra turns with a snicker. “You plan to paint the walls in the middle of space?”
“Uh, yeah! Do you see this place? It’s so gloomy!”
Their shared and, albeit quiet, laughter was cut short almost as fast as it began. Catra’s eyes had trailed back down to the picture. Something was almost melancholy about it. They looked like they were little kids again; so bright and full of life. Adora had been busy from the moment the world was saved. She’d been making speeches, directing the princesses, cleaning up broken kingdoms— it all happened so fast. Catra hadn’t really seen her. Not really. They’d only been in space a day, and getting everybody settled was Adora’s main priority.
“Oh, stop looking so sad.” Glimmer said, footsteps echoing about the room. “The war is over, remember? She’ll talk with you eventually.”
“Stop acting like you know everything, Sparkles.”
“I don’t know everything..! Just, more than you think.”
There’s just a bit of silence before Glimmer continues on, her arms moving to cross in front of her chest. Catra does feel a bit intimidated, though she’d never admit it. This Queen looks like she’s about to spew something she’ll regret, and Catra doesn’t want to be around to hear it. But she’s here already, so it’s not like that matters.
“Look, I’ve known Adora for a long while now. Not as long as you, but you get my point.” She states. “I’ve never seen her look at somebody the way she looks at you.”
“Eugh. Save the tree sap for Bow, will you?”
Glimmer continues, practically ignoring Catra. “What about that little moment you had with her? After it was all over? Do cats normally just press their heads against things? ..What happened at the heart? Something happened at the heart, didn’t it? If you don’t tell me, I’ll just go to Adora and—“
“Fine, fine.” Catra growls with a playful roll of her eyes. “I’ll tell you later. Now get out, will you? I’d like to brood in peace.”
The queen dipped her head and took a few steps back, as if to walk out of the room.. Before simply leaning against the nearest wall and narrowing her eyes on the heterochromic cat before her. It was a wordless exchange, but it was a meaningful one. She wasn’t leaving until Catra explained what was going on. This kicked the feline into full panic mode. Her tail swatted back and forth in the open air. Her ears slowly began to lower. She was out of things to say, and it was obvious.
“Something is bothering you! Spit it out!”
Catra felt her pulse begin to race. She could feel her blood boiling. That is, if blood could do that. Could blood do that? She didn’t know. All she knew was Glimmer had her down cold, and there was no way she could play it off like nothing had happened now. This was it. She had to tell somebody. She had to openly talk about the one thing that’d been driving her literally insane. And to who? The single person who’d run around and tell literally the whole world of Catra’s news. So— there went nothing. “We kissed.”
“ ..and?”
“It was—“ She paused, inhaling a sharp breath. “This isn’t your business..! But it, was.. Nice.”
Within literal minutes, Glimmer had raced out of the bedroom and run about like a crazy person, looking to tell literally anybody she knew about this magical news. And honestly? While a part of Catra was very reasonably annoyed, another part of her kinda liked the sudden outburst of the queen. It would remind her kingdoms that she, too, was just a human, and could act like a maniac just as much as the next citizen. Not to mention that now, word had gotten out of Catra and Adora’s relationship status, which made things a tad easier. Straightforward, you might say. Even if there was actually very little there when it came down to the official aspect. But that honestly didn’t matter, because now, Catra didn’t have to pace back and forth and try to think of a way to tell a mass crowd of people how much she cared for somebody. Or, hell, it saved her the burden of making up a rumor and telling somebody to pass it on— just as Glimmer was doing. It was all so simple now.
That is, until the goddess herself heard it.
And suddenly, Adora was standing at Catra’s door, knocking away. Catra couldn’t see her there, but she knew who it was. She didn’t need a wake-up call. There’d never been a discussion about keeping anything a secret, but that was because there’d never been any discussions at all. This was entirely new to both of them. Of course, they’d felt this way almost their whole lives— but that didn’t stop the butterflies in their stomachs or the clenched, tense feeling in their gut.
They were just lucky to be with each other.
It was unfortunate that Catra only realized such a thing as the door was opened and Adora walked in. Adora. God, what a pretty name. It fit her so well, Catra thought, and she’d never know it. Her blonde hair poofed in such a cute, innocent way. Her eyes were the direct contrast to that; deep pools Catra could practically swim in, and if she stared long enough, she felt as if she could see the girl’s soul. Her literal being. Surely that was what she was feeling now as the two locked gazes, Catra sitting on the bed and Adora simply standing there. Somebody had to break the silence, didn’t they?
“Well, uh..” Adora started, rubbing her neck. “How are you holding up?”
“I told her.”
It took Catra a few moments to realize what she’d blurted out, but maybe it was for the better. She didn’t want to tip-toe around the issue any longer. Their feelings weren’t to be ignored when they were so wonderful.
“I told Sparkles.” She carried on. “And she just.. took it upon herself to tell everybody. But you probably came to that conclusion already.”
“Catra—“
“What?”
Adora’s voice was soft. Almost velvety. Her eyes softened as she walked forward, sitting down next to Catra on the fluffed-up bed and pulling over the nearest blanket. In her mind, there was no reason to be upset. They could get through this. They’d gotten through everything the world had put in front of them thus far, hadn’t they? “Why are you so worked up?”
“Because I thought you’d be mad.”
“And why would I be mad?”
“You’re always the one to.. Tell people stuff, or whatever..!” Catra grumbled, her arms crossing. “You always make the speeches, and you like the formality. Back in the Horde, rumors were.. like.. you’re worst enemy. Besides me, of course.”
In one swift movement, Catra’s head was pulled to Adora’s chest.
“I can’t be mad at you.” She whispered.
And all at once, the two’s fears just.. crumbled away. The silence grew comfortable. Catra felt the fur on the back of her neck slowly lower and settle, her tail desperately swishing back in forth in the air as she searched for Adora’s leg. Or her hand. Just— something to hold onto. Adora pulled her closer as they laid back on the bed, curled up in the cozy blankets, Catra using Adora’s chest as a pillow. It was pure bliss, simply lying there. It was everything they’d wanted. This was it. This was the calm, the peace that they’d been striving for. And now, they had it. The war was over. They were far from enemies. They could lie there, just like that, for as long as they desired.
And in the middle of an old First One’s ship, in the middle of literal space, that was pretty damn nice.