Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hordak wanted nothing more than to work. He knew he could work alone, he had done that many times. So, what if Entrapta wasn't with him anymore? He'd been on his own for years before he met her, he would find a way to focus, eventually.
Now, however... now he couldn't think straight, he couldn't think about his project.
He'd been looking at the upper left corner of the same blueprint for half an hour. It wasn't even the most relevant corner of the blueprint, he'd just picked that one because looking that way made his neck hurt less.
He sighed. He just had to build the weapon and see if it worked.

He placed on his desk all the pieces he needed, and then he started assembling them.
After a few minutes, he was hit with the irritating realization that he'd got a measure wrong. Hordak huffed, spinning a gear around his finger, without thinking.
"Entrapta would have enjoyed this," he realized, abruptly stopping. He hated that he knew that. He hated remembering her mannerisms. He wished he'd never met that horrible traitor. Oh, his revenge was going to be something the princesses would remember forever.
The familiar sound of rustling metal shook him out of his rage.
Instinctively, he looked up, just as Imp flew out of the vent. Nobody else used them, nowadays. Imp shouldn't use them either.
"Don't-" Hordak couldn't finish the sentence. A sob escaped his throat.
No, no, no. Good Horde soldiers don't cry on the blueprint they spent the last few days working on. Imp just stared at him, for once he was speechless too.
Hordak tried to take a deep breath, to calm down, but he was already crying. The tears didn't stop, he couldn't stop them.
He couldn't work like this.

Chapter Text

Entrapta looked at the dark sea once again.
"This island seems to have its own weather," she said to no one, for no reason. She wished she still had her recorder.
She was surrounded by free tech. Building things was not going to be a problem.
Yeah, she should have been looking for a way to leave the island, it was doing something to her... but this place was so interesting, she could use this opportunity to do some research.
If she thought about the island long enough, she could figure out how it worked. She loved figuring out how stuff worked! Nothing was sweeter than the feeling of everything clicking into place.
(Well, sharing that with someone who understood made the whole experience better...)

Entrapta hummed. She was going to make a friend soon. Or build a friend, it had the same result while being much easier. Her mind didn't work that well when it came to how people worked.
She didn't know if she'd done anything wrong to Scorpia, yet she'd let Catra send her here. Entrapta had thought she at least understood Hordak, but she wasn't sure now.
She wanted to see him again, but... Did he want to see her? The portal had been built and activated, he had to prepare for Horde Prime's arrival. He probably didn't have time to wonder where she was. She shook her head.
There was something pulling her worst thoughts to the surface of her mind. She usually managed to keep them in check, but it was getting harder.

She no longer had her data with her, but she remembered the results: Hordak liked having her around. She liked being around him, too.
But then... why? Was he okay with her being here? Why hadn't he sent her a message?

Chapter Text

Hordak stared at the screen and wiped sweat away from his brow. This was going to be long. 
The princess alliance had decided that it was his responsibility to rebuild Salineas, and he'd accepted their request.
He had become Entrapta's guest, since the Horde's territory now belonged to Scorpia. Despite the fact he'd almost let her die with his gullibility, Entrapta had still welcomed him in her castle. She didn't resent him.
She'd invited Imp, too. She was one of the few Etherians he got along with, so he'd never whined about having to come.

All of them were now in Entrapta's lab, trying to figure out how to best rebuild Salineas. Entrapta didn't have to help him, but she'd volunteered anyway. 
Princess Mermista had sent them several pictures of the damage he'd caused, so that they could figure out how to fix it. 
Entrapta stood on her hair, looking over his shoulder, gently leaning onto him as he went through the pictures on her computer.
Imp sat on top of the monitor, enjoying the heat that it produced.

"What did you do to that place?" Entrapta interrupted the silence, grabbing his elbow, curiosity painting her face. Imp looked down, too, he hated being left out of the conversation. "This does not look like damage from my EKS," she said, while pointing at a picture of a mark in the ground he'd made during the attack.
He remembered this was the first time she'd seen Salineas after the war. There were some things they still hadn't talked about.
"I blasted the ground with an arm cannon."
He sighed. He did still like his weapon, but now that he knew that the anger and hurt that had fueled him during that battle were so misguided... it was embarrassing.
"You went there yourself? But you dislike field combat."
Hordak nodded. It was true, although he had no idea when he told her that.
"I couldn't stay in my sanctum anymore." In those months, he'd become more and more unable to focus when he was there.
Entrapta just nodded. It was Imp, the little mischievous thing he was, who broke the heavy silence.
He'd recorded everything that happened during the months Hordak and Entrapta hadn't been together, that was his nature. He'd now decided to embarrass him, because that was what he liked to do.
Imp had a full repertoire of sentences Hordak had said while moping around, all alone.
The time he'd asked for her recordings just because he wanted to hear her voice again.
The "I wish she was here" he'd whispered under his breath when he couldn't figure out the solution of a complex problem.
Once he'd even shed angry tears about Entrapta leaving him, and Imp had recorded that, too.
Hordak's face was on fire. He could feel her staring at him.
"You missed me!" Entrapta squeaked, after a few seconds of silence.
"... I missed you," he admitted, turning away from her. Not that he would have told her that when he believed she'd betrayed him. He'd always wanted to see her again.
Entrapta took a step back. "The portal was ready. You thought I had betrayed you. You had no reason to miss me," she said, tears in her eyes. "And you still did."
He shook his head. "There's nothing you can do that would make me not miss you." He caressed her teary cheek with his hand. She leaned into his touch, smiling.
"I missed you, too!" she said, throwing herself at him, enveloping him in a purple, hairy hug.
He wanted to stay like this forever.