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In hindsight, she should have known.
Adora and Catra; that's how it always has been, from the very second Adora had found her inside a box full of disposable cloths. It was always Catra sharing Adora's bunk, always Catra having Adora's undivided attention during meals, always Catra whispering and giggling with Adora in the middle of the night, as if no one else could hear them.
It was always Catra beating Lonnie.
When Catra had defected a bit after Adora found She-Ra's sword, becoming the most powerful she's ever been and climbing the ranks quicker than anyone ever had before, she thought it would finally be over. That it could finally be Adora and Lonnie. And they had been. Lonnie could still remember the glint in Adora's eyes and her proud smile when she had promoted her to force captain. They'd spent more time together during drills, talking more, teasing each other while sparring, planning their next attacks against the rebellion, and executing them.
Catra was always there on the other side and, in a way, it was like nothing had actually changed.
Even on the battlefield, it was Adora and Catra.
But things did change. Lonnie knew it, she felt it and had made sure to say as such while fighting Catra, who had infiltrated the fright zone to rescue her new princess friends, after their successful capture during the kingdom of Snows attack.
Lonnie's words burned like acid for Catra- how better everything was that she had run away, how more powerful Adora had become without her distracting her, as Shadow Weaver always said. How Adora didn't need her anymore now that she had them. Now that she had her. Lonnie knew how her words burnt, which was the exact reason why she had said them. Catra had never been slick about her feelings for Adora.
So then why...
"Take them and run," Adora had said, voice dripping with an emotion Lonnie couldn't quite place. From the looks of it, Catra couldn't either.
"Adora-"
"Just... Get out of here."
And just like that Catra and her new rebel friends had escaped.
Adora had let them escape, making all of their efforts to capture them in the first place for naught.
Lonnie felt anger boil inside of her, making her heart pound and her head ache. Did she think no one would see? Did she even think? How could Adora not see the absolute betrayal that was to the horde? To her?
They were supposed to be a team and yet...
Before she knew what she was doing, Lonnie stormed off to where Adora stood, staring blankly at where Catra and her friend had run off, before turning towards her, her face confused and almost vulnerable, before setting into her usual exterior when she noticed it was Lonnie.
It made her sick how easy it was for her heart to fall all the way to her stomach.
"What was that?" Lonnie demanded, her hand tugging on Adora's jacket before she could think better of it.
Adora stared at her coldly.
"What was what?"
Lonnie hadn't realized how tightly she was gritting her teeth until she opened her mouth to speak, hissing her words.
"You let them escape! Shadow weaver could have found out everything about how to take the rebellion down! And you let them go?" Lonnie asked incredulously, the shaking of her hand, wrinkling Adora's jacket further.
"I have been clear, on more than one occasion about what I think of Shadow Weaver's methods," Adora said, grabbing her arm and tossing it aside, walking ahead of her.
"Don't lie to yourself. You'd have loved it if she'd forgotten everything!"
Because that way, she'd have her back. It would be Adora and Catra again.
Lonnie bit her tongue before she could say it, though. It was still enough for Adora's footsteps to come to a stop. She decided, against herself, to dig further.
"Unless you were scared, she'd off Catra with her weird magic."
Before Lonnie could even blink, the tip of She-ra's sword was against her neck, only a couple of millimeters separating the two. A shiver run down Lonnie's spine as she looked at Adora wide-eyed; all the things she had wanted to say were now nothing but a lump in her throat.
"I will be giving up my sword before I let her forget what she did to me."
Adora's hand clenched against the hilt of the sword and the wording and immediate reaction didn't escape Lonnie, no matter how much she wished it did.
"We will exit this room and you will speak nothing of what happened," Adora said and, for a brief second, Lonnie had to wonder if this was still the girl she grew up with.
The sword was still against Lonnie's neck, making her gulp nervously. Adora's eyes were cold, staring her down, unblinking.
"Was that clear, force captain?"
The last time she had heard those words fall from Adora's lips, they sounded teasing and almost proud. They were followed by an enticing smirk and the crossing of strong arms before she exited the room to deem their latest raid a success.
It couldn't have been days since then, yet it feels ages ago.
"Yes, commander."
She wonders when she'll hear them that way again.