Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Adora didn’t know how everything went so wrong.

She’d submitted the stupid dorm application. Before the due date, too! Sure, she’d rushed it a little bit, but forgetting to check off one stupid box shouldn’t mean her whole application was rejected. And they didn’t even tell her about it!

Well, okay, they did. Through an email that went to her spam folder. But that wasn’t Adora’s fault, that was Outlook’s fault. She would stand by that.

Bright Moon University wouldn’t accept that answer, though. It wasn’t their responsibility if their email had redirected to Adora’s spam folder. Now, she had to wait to find out if they could even find a bed for her. She was probably going to end up in some dive when she’d literally submitted her application early to get a good room.

In her entire breathless over the phone rant to Glimmer and Bow about it, they’d assured her she could stay with them for as long as she needed to. They’d all shared an apartment last year, but then Bow and Glimmer had gotten together. They never would’ve said it, but she knew they wanted to live together as a couple. Adora wouldn’t awkwardly third wheel and invade their personal space. She’d hate it, if it were her with a girlfriend, so she’d told them she’d just apply for on-campus housing.

“What could go wrong?” she’d laughed.

Apparently, a lot.

“Okay, we’ve got a space available in Fright Zone Hall that I can assign to you,” The receptionist at the housing director’s office smiled a little too brightly at her, probably because Fright Zone Hall was known for being a dump, since it was the oldest on campus residency. Just like Adora had expected. The woman behind the desk sensed her disappointment, because she threw in an enthusiastic, “You’ll have a private bathroom!” as if that made any of this better.

Actually. Private bathroom? That did make things a little bit better. She knew she should take what she could get. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Okay, I’ll get that all sorted out on here and then I’ll get your room number for you,” the woman was already tapping enthusiastically at her computer keyboard, “then you’ll just need to go to Fright Zone Hall and collect your keys from the reception desk there, and you can get yourself moved in.”

Adora thanked her again, the thought of the private bathroom cheering her up significantly. At least she wouldn’t have to share a bathroom with the entire hallway. She’d dealt with that in freshman year, and the amount of times she’d entered a puke-covered bathroom when she was trying to get ready for her early classes… basically the reason she’d lived off campus with Bow and Glimmer in sophomore year.

Thinking of her friends, Adora sent a text to the group chat to let them know she wasn’t going to be sleeping on their couch for the year.

Best Friend Squad!

Adora (12:06PM): GOOD NEWS!!! I don’t have to sleep in your lounge for the next year!!! They found me a room!!! In Fright Zone Hall!!! Can you tell I’m just SO excited to be living in such extravagant quarters!!!

Bow (12:07PM): nice positivity!

Adora (12:07PM): It was sarcasm

Bow (12:07PM): oh

Glimmer (12:08PM): we’ll meet you there and help you unpack and then we can all go for lunch!

Even attempting to turn down her friends’ help wouldn’t work, so Adora just texted back a confirmation and was about to ask where they were thinking for lunch when the receptionist spoke again.

“Okay, I’ve got all your documents here,” She handed Adora a bunch of papers she’d probably forget to look through, “You’re in room 307 and the receptionist there should be expecting you.”

“Thank you,” Adora said again, trying to sound at least a little bit as enthusiastic as the other woman, but her heart wasn’t in it when she remembered all of the unpacking she had to do. Her car was loaded to the brim with all of her things. Oh, well. At least she wouldn’t be unpacking everything into Bow and Glimmer’s lounge. Or worse, living out of her car.

She made her way out to the car and wedged herself into the driver’s seat. A couple of things teetered from the big stack in the back, and she carefully backed out of her parking space to make the quick drive to Fright Zone Hall. She slipped into the building behind another student and picked up her room and building keys, and by the time she’d done that, Bow and Glimmer were already waiting by her car.

They both pulled her in for a tight hug, and when they pulled away, Glimmer grimaced at the grey, drab building in front of them and said, “Hey, it’s better than sleeping on the couch for a year!”

Adora frowned at the building sceptically. “I’ll get back to you on that one.”

“Remember, positivity,” Bow nudged her arm and then opened up her car door to pull out the first of many boxes. “Let’s get you moved in and then we can grab lunch.”

“And some cocktails, please,” Adora added, because she was going to need a drink after this. “You take the keys, Glimmer.”

“What? You think I can’t carry your big boxes of crap or something?” Glimmer scowled at her, snatching the offered keys and picking up a big box just to prove her point. She stomped off towards the building, and Adora watched after her with Bow, just waiting to watch her attempt to unlock the front doors with a big box in her arms. Adora snorted with laughter as Glimmer fumbled with the box, nearly dropped it, and then dropped the keys. “Okay, a little help here?”

Bow had the courtesy to hold back his laughter as he rushed forward to help her, but Adora didn’t. She was snickering in amusement as Bow took the second box from Glimmer so the short girl could pick up the keys and unlock the door. As Adora passed her to walk inside, Glimmer spared her a glare.

“Don’t you dare say it.”

Adora smirked. “Told you so.”

“Okay, technically you didn’t, you just implied it,” Glimmer used the fact that Adora had a huge box in her arms to smack her shoulder lightly, knowing she couldn’t retaliate. “You don’t have a right to a told you so.”

“You’re the one who stormed ahead. One of us needs to be able to open the doors.” Adora shrugged, still feeling a little smug. They caught the elevator up to the third floor, and Adora reminded them of the room number. “307. Lead the way, Glimmer.”

“Do you think you’ll have a roommate?” Bow asked once they were making their way through the corridors. He was walking beside Adora, because he couldn’t see over the two stacked boxes in his arms. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and have a single.”

“When they were scrambling to find somewhere to put me, I doubt it,” Adora said, but she hadn’t really thought about the possibility of the whole roommate thing. “Guess I’ve just got to hope I don’t get stuck with a psycho.”

“Okay, we’re here!” Glimmer announced belatedly, and Bow bumped into her, one of the boxes teetering on top of the other. She helped him steady them and then unlocked the door, kicking it open. “Welcome to your new home!”

Bow put the boxes down, relieved, and Adora put her own down, surveying the room. The left bed was already made up with some comfortable looking black pillows and duvet, and the closet door was slightly ajar.

“Your roommate theory was right,” Adora said, looking over at the bed. She didn’t know if she was relieved that they weren’t there. “I guess I’ll meet them later.”

They made a few more trips in and out of the building, slowly bringing Adora’s boxes in from the car, and their lunch plans started to look a little bit more like dinner plans. At least it would be a more acceptable time for cocktails.

She’d just made her bed – just in case casual cocktails turned into first night back partying – when the door banged open behind them and an irritated, raspy voice bit out, “Um, no offence, but who the fuck are you people and what are you doing in my room?”

Adora whirled around mid-pillow-fluffing and surveyed the girl in the doorway. She was small, slender, messy brown hair falling in waves down her back. She was framed in the doorway, the golden sunlight from the window opposite shining on her and making her tanned skin glow beautifully. She’d maybe look like an angel, except she was glaring at Adora and her friends, her lip curled in disgust, and her arms folded over her chest defensively. Or maybe it was offensively.

“Oh,” Adora put on her hello I’m a nice person stranger smile and coupled it with an awkward wave. She wasn’t sure if it was awkward because the whole situation was awkward, or because this girl was… well, to put it simply, hot. “Hi. I’m Adora. I’m your roommate. These are my friends, Bow and Glimmer. They’re just helping me unpack. Hey, we’re going for dinner later, if you want to-”

“Yeah, I don’t think so, Adele, or whatever you said your name was,” The girl stepped a little bit closer, squinting at her judgementally with… whoa, one bright blue eye and one sparkling amber. “I don’t have a roommate. I applied for a single and I was told that I had one.”

Adora blinked and stopped drooling over sexy roommate girl’s equally sexy eyes. “Oh, well, uh, my application sort of went wrong, and I guess this was the only place they could put me.”

The girl’s judgemental squint turned into an outright glare, her hand clenching around the coffee cup held in it. Her gaze flicked between Adora and her friends and what she said next came out in a low, threatening growl. “Don’t get too comfortable. I’m going to the housing office and you’re going to be out of here before the sun goes down.”

She stomped away the way she’d came, and Adora, Bow and Glimmer stared after her in shock.

Bow broke the stunned silence. “So, uh… she seems nice.”

“Catra and nice shouldn’t even be in the same sentence.” Glimmer scoffed, a consoling hand resting on Adora’s shoulder. “I met her in a class last year. Remember that nightmarish, uncooperative partner I had for that project?”

“That was her?” Adora stared at the empty doorway where her roommate – Catra – had whirled from. “Yeah… I have to say that sleeping on your couch isn’t looking so bad anymore.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

“I’m sorry, but in emergency situations where a student needs housing, sometimes things have to be shuffled around. You’ll find that in the contract you signed, there’s a mention that single rooms that have a spare bed in may be reassigned to another student.” The receptionist stated, an overly-polite smile on her face. “There’s nothing I can do, I’m afraid.”

“So, you’re telling me that I’m stuck with some prissy blonde roommate for the rest of the year, when I paid the extra for a single room?” Catra scowled at the woman. “Fucking fantastic.”

“There’s no need for that kind of language,” the woman said, tapping at her computer and reading the screen, “According to your information here, you’re on a full ride scholarship. I will inform the school board, and the extra money will be credited back to you for another area of cost. I hope that is satisfactory.”

“Great. Just peachy.” Catra muttered, pushing away from the desk and stomping out of the housing office without another word. Stupid, fucking school. She bet if she was one of those prissy rich kids whose daddy paid for their single room, she wouldn’t have to deal with this ‘necessary reshuffle’.

No, of course the girl who actually worked her ass off to be here would get stuck with the stupid blonde. Of course. Catra was already aware that the universe hated her, but this was just a joke.

She kicked a loose pebble on the sidewalk and watched as it bounced off her scuffed black boot, rolling to a stop a few feet away from her. She glanced back at the housing office and pushed a guilty sigh out; she’d never go back and apologise, but she did feel bad for snapping at the receptionist. It wasn’t her fault that the university was stupid, and the rules were stupider.

Maybe she should’ve just caved and gotten an off-campus apartment with Scorpia and Entrapta. It wouldn’t have been covered by her scholarship, but she’d saved up a lot over summer, and she worked during the school year. It would’ve been tight, but she could afford it. No, I think I need to just get a single on campus. Peace and quiet so I can keep my grades up.

Too late now. She’d signed the idiotic contract and now she was stuck with the even more idiotic blonde. And from the looks of it, her friends, that Glitter girl and her boy-toy. No chance for peace and quiet there.

Catra was ready to give the girl – and her inane friends – a piece of her mind, but when she got back to the room, it was empty. Adele – or whatever her name was – had unpacked all of her things, and even her bedsheets were annoying. A flowery, preppy eyesore. She’d gone ahead and stuck some stupid polaroid pictures to the wall, and Catra had the strongest temptation to pull them off and stick them in the shredder.

Whatever. If the tack left marks on the walls, that one was on her. Catra had taken photographs of every single nook and cranny of the room the moment she arrived, and any scrapes and damages would be accounted to her lackwit roommate. Catra wouldn’t be charged for her mess. The blonde could get mommy and daddy to pay for it.

She flopped onto her bed with a long sigh and stared up at the ceiling. “God, this is going to be a long year.”

Adora sipped on her blue lagoon, only picking at the slice of pizza. She wasn’t feeling too optimistic about her living situation for the next year after all of Glimmer’s horror stories from her paired project with Catra. Apparently, she’d been ridiculously stubborn and completely ignored most of Glimmer’s ideas. As well as just being rude and refusing to call her anything other than ‘Sparkles’.

“Do you really think she could get me kicked out of the room?” Adora asked, well after the conversational topic had moved on. “I don’t like the sound of living with her, but I really don’t want to pack everything up again.”

“I doubt it,” Bow said after a mouthful of pizza, “this kind of thing happens all the time, and I’m pretty sure the school has like, a legal duty to house you if you need it.”

“She’ll probably just be the typical jerkface roommate,” Glimmer said like that was supposed to make her feel better. “Which would’ve been inevitable, because Catra is a jerk.”

“Ugh, first day back and my roommate already hates me,” Adora groaned, resting her head on the table and banging her forehead on the edge of the pizza plate by accident. She sat up and rubbed it. “Ouch. And now I’m going to have a bruise.”

“Look at the positives,” Bow said, always the cheerleader between the three of them, “at least we’re back here, and you can come over to our place any time. And classes don’t start for another week, so we’ve got the whole week to meet up with our friends and relax. You’ll probably barely see her.”

That last point was… valid. Adora thought about her usually busy schedule – classes, library time, practice for soccer, spending time with friends – and smiled. The only time she’d be in the room with ‘jerkface Catra’ as Glimmer liked to call her, would be to sleep. They wouldn’t have to interact with each other. It wouldn’t be like freshman year, when she was randomly assigned to Glimmer and they hit it off instantly, but that was okay. Not everybody got lucky like that.

“Alright, yeah,” Adora nodded, “you’ve got a point, actually. I’ll probably barely see her.”

“You’d better hope you barely see her,” Glimmer muttered, and when Bow elbowed her, she held her hands up in defence. “What? I’m speaking from experience here. She was a nightmare.”

Bow shook his head. “Do you not get that we’re trying to make our best friend feel better here?”

“Oh, yeah,” Glimmer cringed, “Okay, she wasn’t so bad. When she wasn’t talking.”

“Thanks, Glim, that really makes me feel better,” Adora deadpanned, grabbing another slice of pizza. “I think I’m going to need at least three more drinks to be able to face her again. And maybe a nice nap overnight on your new couch. Just to test it out, you know?”

She saw the way Bow and Glimmer exchanged a glance, and quickly added, “Joking, joking,” before they could give her some speech about facing up to her problems, or whatever.

Bow smiled. “If she’s really that bad, you can always crash with us, but…”

But. The worst word ever. Nothing good came after but. People always started with the positive, and then but came along to pack the negative punch.

“But you need to at least brave your room tonight,” he continued, flashing that ‘everything will work out in the end’ smile of his. Bow was always the optimist. “Maybe if you guys get to know each other, you could end up getting along.”

Glimmer’s facial expression revealed she thought that was impossible, but she forced a smile and agreed with Bow. “Yeah. “

“Ugh, I hate that you’re right,” Adora sighed, and promised herself she wouldn’t talk about it anymore tonight. She searched for a subject change, and the best she could think of was, “So, have you guys checked your schedules yet? Anything we share?”

As they all logged onto the university’s website to compare class schedules, Adora shoved any thoughts of her hot, scary roommate out of her head. No, that was something she’d deal with later. Maybe Bow and Glimmer would be right, and she and Catra would laugh the whole thing off and become good friends.

Maybe.

Adora had the three drinks she’d vowed to have before facing Catra again, but they hadn’t had much of an effect after all of the pizza she’d eaten with her friends. She walked back to Fright Zone Hall by herself, had a little scare that she’d forgotten her keys, only to realise that they were in her back pocket when she was halfway back to Glimmer and Bow’s place to ask if Glimmer still had them.

She looked a little bit like a disaster as she made her way into the building and straightened herself out – hah – before fumbling with her keys outside room 307. She looked at the blank whiteboard hanging on the front of the door and made a mental note to buy a marker to write their names on it. She had a feeling Catra wouldn’t.

She pushed open the door quietly, because it was 10pm, and she didn’t know if Catra went to bed early. Maybe that would be a point of discussion, bedtime and quiet hours. She closed the door unobtrusively, and when she heard it click shut, turned around to see those gorgeous eyes glaring back at her from the left bed.

Adora managed an awkward smile. “Uh, hi. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Catra ignored her question completely and didn’t bother even attempting to return her smile. “The main office said that in certain circumstances, things like this can happen, and that you have to stay here.”

“Oh,” Secretly, Adora was a little relieved, “well, that’s-”

“Here’s how things are going to be, princess,” Catra interrupted, scowling at her. It made her look a lot less beautiful. “You’re going to keep quiet, stay out of my way, and I swear, if you invite Sparkles and her boy-toy over, I will make you hate living here so much that you’ll move out willingly. And don’t touch any of my shit. The mini-fridge is off limits to you and your buddies.”

Adora glared at her. Pretty or not, she wouldn’t put up with someone so rude. Like, how hard was it to talk things out like a normal adult? Clearly, neither was happy about this situation, that much was obvious. “You don’t have to be such a bitch about things. It’s not my fault that this was the only place available.”

“Uh, yeah, it was,” Catra retorted, putting on some stupid happy-go-lucky, high pitched voice as she imitated Adora, “My application went wrong, and this was the only place they could put me. How hard is it to fill out a simple form? They make them extra simple for all the knuckleheads like you who probably won’t even graduate.”

“Knucklehead?” Adora scoffed, because was this girl for real? “First, it was a simple mistake, and second, you don’t know anything about me, Catra.”

“I don’t recall telling you my name,” Catra was still glaring, and Adora matched it with her own fury. She wouldn’t back down to her. “Just stay out of my way, princess.”

“Bold of you to assume I want to be in your way,” Adora snapped, and in a show of defiance, she stretched out on her bed, made herself comfortable. At home. “And you can forget your stupid rules. This is my room too, and I’ll be as loud as I want, go where I want, and invite whoever I want to join me.”

She swore that Catra’s chest rumbled with an honest to god growl. “I’m sure even an idiot like you has figured out that I’m not particularly happy about this situation, and you really don’t want to piss me off more than you already have.”

“What are you going to do? Spit on my toothbrush? Replace my shampoo with hair removal cream?” Adora stopped after those two examples, because maybe she shouldn’t give her horrible roommate tips on how to be even more horrible. “Bring it. I’ll report you, and then I’ll be the one with the single room.”

That had shut her up. Catra didn’t stop glaring at her, and her hand clenched around the book she was holding, but she didn’t respond. Adora took that as a win, and flashed a sickly-sweet smile her roommate’s way before grabbing her earphones and sticking them in. She almost considered blasting loud pop music – Catra seemed the type to act like she was too cool for pop music – but decided that being inconsiderate to her neighbours was worse than pushing her bitchy roommate’s buttons.

As she was choosing her song, she heard Catra’s loud ugh, and Adora watched her get up from her bed and stomp out of the room with a scowl on her face.

“I don’t like her.”

“Well, statistically, you never usually like anyone when you first meet them,” Entrapta didn’t look up from the game of Mario Kart she was (embarrassingly) kicking Catra’s ass at. “So really, this is nothing new.”

“I don’t like her especially,” Catra retorted, throwing her green shell. It nearly hit Entrapta, who always insisted on playing as Princess Peach, but Entrapta threw a stupid banana back and blocked it. “How the fuck are you so good at this game?”

“Practice,” Entrapta shrugged, “how do you know you don’t like her especially, then?”

“She’s just… ugh. Irritating. All preppy and blonde. I bet she was a cheerleader in high school,” Catra scoffed, “and she had the nerve to talk back to me when I told her to keep quiet. Like I’m the one inconveniencing her.”

Catra threw her bomb back at the NPCs (and Scorpia, who was coming twelfth and frowning with intense concentration) and pretended that Luigi, who flipped over in the blast, was her roommate.

“What did you say her name was again?” Scorpia asked, smiling brightly when she got Bullet Bill in her next item box. “I might know her.”

Catra didn’t doubt it, because Scorpia was basically friends with everyone. “I don’t know, Adele or something. I wasn’t listening because I was too busy wondering why the fuck some strange girl was in my room. She hangs out with Sparkles and her boyfriend.”

“Oh, Adora!” Scorpia exclaimed, and Catra made a mental note of that. Not because she cared. Actually, she cared so little she’d probably call the girl Adele anyway, just to annoy her. “I know her. She’s on the soccer team with me. A little bit of a show-off, but she’s nice enough.”

“Great!” Catra flashed a sarcastic smile in Scorpia’s direction as she crossed the finish line of the race seconds behind Entrapta. “Do you want to live with her, then?”

Scorpia laughed, completely giving up on the race all together because she was a lap behind everyone else. “Come on, wildcat, it won’t be so bad. She’ll probably be out of the room a lot anyway. I bet you’ll barely even see each other.”

“She’d better be out of the room a lot,” Catra muttered, grabbing her wine glass and taking a long drink. “I really want to stumble in drunk with some girl just to bug her. Actually, she gave me some pretty good ideas earlier. Remind me to pick up some hair removal cream on my way back.”

“That sounds like scholarship-loss level trouble right there,” Scorpia looked at her pointedly, and Catra frowned. She was right, and Catra knew that. There was no way she’d ever let stupid Adora jeopardise her scholarship, as satisfying as it would be to mess with her. “Just ignore her, alright? Messing with her isn’t worth it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Catra sighed, waving her off, but the tiny smile on her face spoke the words in her head. Thanks, Scorpia. “Come on, next race. I just thought of a new Entrapta-beating strategy.”

“Considering I’ve taken into account most of the variables, I highly doubt it,” Entrapta said, pressing the A button to start the next race, “but as you say, bring it on.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Catra smirked as she grabbed her controller. “I will.”

Adora recounted her total badass victory over her horrible roommate to her friends the next day.

And again the day after, when she met up with Perfuma and Mermista for lunch.

And the day after that, while she was a little drunk at a welcome back party.

She could tell that Bow and Glimmer were getting a little bit annoyed with her. Adora understood that. Hearing the same story over and over must be tiring. Much like telling the same story over and over was, but Adora wasn’t the confrontational type. A confrontational victory with a rude person? She had to tell that story, if not to take pride in her own confidence.

It had been a crushing defeat for Catra, obviously. Since that first night, she’d barely seen her, and when she had, Catra mostly just ignored her. Aside from a few snide comments, but Adora ignored those. Weeks had passed, and even though the times they were stuck in the room together were awkward and strained, at least they weren’t fighting. Which Adora credited to her own badassery.

She recounted the story to every single one of her friends and acquaintances over the first few weeks of the semester. Maybe the more she told it, the more she exaggerated her own hardcore-ness, but whatever. Every story ended up embellished over time. At some point, the story became badass Adora laying down the law, and wimpy Catra accepting it. Maybe that was how it actually happened. Memories always warped with time.

She was just about to tell some guy who was probably trying to hit on her at the party she was at when Glimmer quickly sandwiched herself between them and said, “Adora. Haven’t you told this story enough?”

“The story of me being a badass? There’s no limit on how many times I could tell that,” Adora rolled her eyes and knocked back the rest of her drink. “Duh. Let me tell this guy.”

“It’s been three weeks. Let it go.” Glimmer snorted and looked at the guy with a polite smile. “So, this might be an awkward question, but are you hitting on her right now?”

The guy – Adora couldn’t remember his name – stammered a little and mumbled, “I- uh, yeah?”

“Sorry, she’s gay,” Glimmer told him, and even though it was basically common knowledge, Adora blurted out a half-hearted comment about outing. “Save yourself from the inevitably embellished retelling of Adora calling her roommate a bitch.”

“What’d you do that for?” Adora said as the guy awkwardly backed away and disappeared into the crowd. “I was just talking to him. Lesbians are allowed to talk to men occasionally, in a friendly way, you know.”

“He was talking to you because he wanted to hook up with you. Not because he cares about your fight with your jerkface roommate.” Glimmer pointed out, frowning at the empty cup in Adora’s hand. “How much have you had?”

“I don’t know,” Adora waved her off, because that wasn’t important. Who cared if the room was spinning? It was the weekend, and it wasn’t like she had any assignments yet. Getting drunk at least once was the whole point of the weekend. “Where’s Bow?”

“Waiting outside, because we’re taking your drunk ass home,” Glimmer said, and when Adora wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, she scoffed. “Not like that, stupid. Come on.”

Adora pulled back, conveniently in the direction of the drinks. Or at least what she thought was the direction of the drinks. Every frat house looked the same. “Ugh, what? It’s too early.”

“It’s 3am,” Glimmer waved her phone screen in front of Adora’s face. “Come on. Home time for you.”

“Party pooper,” Adora pouted at her, sighing dramatically as her friend dragged her through the crowds of people, out onto the equally crowded frat house lawn. Bow was talking to a guy by Glimmer’s car – she’d drawn the short straw that night and was designated driver – and he waved enthusiastically when he saw them. “Glimmer. You’re not really going to make me go back and endure Catra’s company, are you?”

“It’s three in the morning, your grumpy roommate will be asleep,” Glimmer pointed out, and Adora knew she’d have a point, but she didn’t want to face Catra’s wrath if she woke her up. Drunk Adora wasn’t exactly known for her agility. Nor was regular Adora. “Now get in the car. Come on.”

Adora let Glimmer push her into the backseat of the car. She blew a raspberry in her friend’s face, just to show how not okay with this she was and was zero help when it came to buckling her own seatbelt.

“Honestly,” Glimmer muttered as she corralled Bow into the passenger seat, “it’s like babysitting with you two.”

Adora watched as her friend got into the driver’s side and started the car. She thought of Catra again and didn’t bother questioning why. That wasn’t important. “Hey, guys. My roommate’s a bitch.”

“We know, Adora,” Glimmer sighed dramatically, “You tell us every five minutes.”

“Yeah, why exactly do you talk about her all the time if you don’t like her?” Bow asked, “If you don’t like her, you don’t think about her, you know?”

“I don’t know, Bow, I’m not a psychiatrist,” Adora retorted, flopping over to one side when Glimmer made a sharp turn around one corner. “Hey! Drive better.”

“Do you want to try?” Glimmer countered, and Adora laughed at the glimpse she caught of her frown in the rear-view mirror. “Okay, maybe not, since you’re in your sassy drunk phase, which means you’re like a bottle of wine in.”

“Aw, you know me too well,” Adora clapped a hand to her heart and pouted, “Means a lot.”

“Is that a good thing? I can’t decide,” Glimmer said, and turned up the radio when Shake it Off started blaring. Probably to make sure Adora didn’t fall asleep in the back of the car. She crashed hard after drinking.

They had a mini dance party in the car to the music coming on the radio, singing at the top of their lungs as Glimmer drove. They probably sounded like a group of wailing cats, but that didn’t matter. They were having fun, and that was the point.

Adora was still singing when the car pulled up outside of Fright Zone Hall and the radio cut off with the engine. Shake it Off was around four songs ago, but she was shouting out, “Shake it off, shake it off!” as Glimmer helped her out of the car, told Bow to wait there, and half carried Adora towards the door.

“Oh no, I don’t think I have my keys.”

The realisation was enough to take her from dance party happy to I’m going to have to sleep outside sad.

“You don’t,” Glimmer said, and she produced them from her own purse, “I do. Because I know you’re an idiot when you’re drunk.”

“Oh. Thanks,” Adora said, and then realised what Glimmer had said and added, “not for calling me an idiot. For having my keys. You’re mean for calling me an idiot.”

She watched, swaying a little bit, as Glimmer unlocked the building’s front door and helped her over to the elevator, pressing the button to call it. The doors slid open creakily, and Adora shushed them pointlessly, poking all of the buttons for all of the floors before Glimmer could stop her, making loud beeping noises as she did it.

“Oh my god, shush,” Glimmer clamped a hand over her mouth, and Adora poked a tongue out to lick it. “You know, I’m almost regretting bringing you back here, but at least if you wake Catra up, she’ll give you the ass kicking you deserve.”

“I can’t believe you’d side with my mean roommate.” Adora cringed as Glimmer wiped the hand she’d licked on Adora’s dress. “Hey. That’s gross.”

“What’s gross is you licking my hand in the first place,” Glimmer laughed, waiting as the doors opened on floor two, waited, then closed again, thanks to Adora’s button pushing. “Moron.”

“You’re a moron.”

“Which one of us can walk properly right now?”

“…Shut up.”

Catra’s eyes blinked open at the sound of a loud bang on her bedroom door. She stretched and rolled over, ignoring the muffled voices outside in favour of checking the time.

3:26AM. Fucking perfect.

Any attempt she might’ve made at getting back to sleep was completely ruined by her bedroom door swinging open, the light from the hallway spilling inside. Catra cringed away from it, watching as Adora’s tall, lumbering shadow blocked the light, blurted way too loudly that she’d be fine to her friend – probably Sparkles or something – and closed the door again.

The room plunged back into darkness, and she heard Adora stumbling around. She banged into something, and something else hit the floor. Or maybe Adora did. Either way, there was a loud thud.

“God, could you be any louder?” Catra asked, reaching over to flick her light on. Adora stumbled in surprise, and at least had the decency to mumble a sorry. “Yeah, whatever.”

Catra kicked her sheets off and stretched again. She didn’t know if she was being stupid, or… actually, she was probably just being stupid, but she went over and steadied Adora, walking her over to her bed. She went into the closet and grabbed some of the other girl’s pyjamas, tossing them over at her and not bothering to hide her laugh when they hit the side of her head and flopped onto the bed.

“Sharp reflexes,” Catra’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but she was surprising herself when it came out in the fond way she spoke around Scorpia and Entrapta. “I’m not going to help you get dressed. Get in your pyjamas and go to sleep.”

Adora stared at her, big blue eyes blinking in surprise. “You’re not going to yell at me for waking you up?”

“I’m too tired to yell,” Catra pulled Adora up and walked her over to their attached bathroom. She kicked the door open and pulled the light on, tossing Adora’s pyjamas in there with her. “Get changed, brush your teeth.”

She shut the door behind the blonde, rolling her eyes. Ducking down, she opened the door to her mini-fridge and pulled out a fresh bottle of water, taking it over to Adora’s side of the room and placing it on her nightstand. Reminding herself that she couldn’t care less about the blonde, and that she was just doing it because it was the right thing to do, Catra popped two painkillers out of the pack she kept in her drawer – for essay induced headaches – and placed them next to the water bottle. Adora could take them in the morning, and that would be that. Their mutual avoidance policy would fall back into place.

A loud thud sounded from the bathroom, and begrudgingly, Catra knocked on the door. “You okay in there, princess?”

“Uh, yeah, I just… tripped. Over my own feet.” Adora called back through the door. “Or maybe over my pyjamas, actually. Can’t tell.”

Catra rolled her eyes. Idiot. “Idiot.”

She could hear her conscience – or as she liked to call it, internal Scorpia – telling her not to vocalise that, but she couldn’t help herself. Adora probably wouldn’t even remember that in the morning.

“Jerk,” was Adora’s muffled reply from the bathroom, and Catra didn’t bother stifling her laugh.

She heard the faucet turn on, and the distinct sound of someone brushing their teeth. Catra found herself yawning, and she looked back at her bed longingly, but she couldn’t go there yet. She didn’t want to get blamed for the sudden death of her roommate if drunk Adora decided to go do something stupid.

Slowly, the bathroom door creaked open, and Adora peeked her head out. Cloudy blue eyes looked Catra up and down, and she said with a weird wonderment, “You’re still here.”

“It is my room, knucklehead,” Catra rolled her eyes and held out the second water bottle she’d taken from the mini fridge. “Drink that now. Don’t chug it, go slow. I don’t want you puking all over the place.”

Adora stared at the outstretched water bottle but didn’t take it. “Why are you helping me?”

“I’m only doing it so I don’t wake up to your dead body in the morning because you choked on your own puke,” Catra shoved the water bottle towards her with a scoff. “Not because I like you.”

Those stupid blue eyes squinted, and Adora’s pretty pink lips quirked up in a smirk. “Sure.”

“I don’t,” Catra turned away from her with a scowl, “drink the stupid water and then go to bed. There’s more water there if you need it and some painkillers. Goodnight.”

She went to move towards her bed, and she jumped embarrassingly when a gentle hand clasped around her wrist. “Hey, Catra. Thanks. For helping. You had every right to yell at me for coming in loud and waking you up.”

“Just don’t do it again,” Catra pulled her wrist from Adora’s grasp and turned back towards her bed, bundling herself under her covers. She told herself that it didn’t mean anything when she waited for Adora to stagger over to her bed and collapse into it before switching her lamp off. Because it didn’t.

It meant nothing.

When Adora woke up, her head was pounding and her mouth was so dry it felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. She blinked, expecting to cringe away from the light in the room, but it was still dark. The curtains were drawn, and Adora wondered what time it was. She glanced over to Catra’s bed, expecting to see the tiny lump that indicated the girl was in bed, but she wasn’t there. The room was empty.

Adora pushed herself up onto her elbow and had the sudden urge to hurl. The room was spinning at an alarming pace, but she pulled through to grab her phone and check the time or whatever else.

2:07PM. Okay, so definitely not the middle of the night. More like the middle of the afternoon.

She had three texts from Glimmer, double checking that she was alright, two from Bow asking the same, and one from her grandmother, Razz, with zero spacing, punctuation or capital letters. Thankfully, she was only checking in and asking how college was; Razz’s longer texts took Adora at least fifteen minutes at full brainpower to decipher. Razz hadn’t mastered technology yet.

Adora texted her back quickly, then sent a less wordy text to her group chat with Bow and Glimmer, just so they knew she hadn’t died in the middle of the night. Judging by her headache, maybe she went a little overboard.

She switched her position, sitting up, and the room distorted and blurred. Braving it, Adora reached over and switched her lamp on, cringing at the bright light. She looked over to Catra’s bed again, but she definitely wasn’t there. It had been hard to tell in the dark, because Catra was already quite small and Adora had picked up on how she slept all curled up in one corner of her bed.

Not that she watched her roommate sleep or anything. It was just something she’d noticed.

Thinking of Catra gave her a flash back to last night, and she cringed when she’d remembered how loud she’d been. But then… Catra had looked after her. A little begrudgingly, but she’d still done it.

She looked over to her nightstand. A fresh, unopened water bottle was there, right next to her lamp, along with two pills she assumed were painkillers. Ordinarily, Adora wouldn’t take strange pills she found on her nightstand, but as much as she knew Catra didn’t like her, she didn’t think she’d go as far as to poison her.

Well, at least she’d get a nicer roommate if this one attempted murder.

She took the painkillers and drank some of the water. Slowly, because her stomach felt a little weird. She didn’t want to tempt fate and end up being sick all over the place. She finished the bottle, one sip at a time, and slowly got up, wanting to brush her teeth. Her mouth tasted like stale booze, which was the furthest thing from nice.

Adora was shaky on her legs when she stood – an after effect from all the alcohol – and she half stumbled to the bathroom, turning the light on and grabbing her toothbrush. Her hands shook as she squeezed a lump of toothpaste out of the tube. As she brushed her teeth, she glanced up at herself in the mirror and cringed. She’d definitely looked better. Her hair was a mess, more on one side than the other because of how she’d been sleeping. The whites of her eyes were red and bloodshot, and she’d turned so pale she looked a little bit like a vampire. But not a sexy vampire, like the Twilight ones were supposed to be. An honest to god reanimated corpse.

She finished up in the bathroom, and just as she blundered back to bed, the room door swung open. The sheer brightness of the sunlight in the hallway was enough to make her cringe – it was harsh compared to the soft light from her lamp – but it was soon blocked by Catra sauntering through, kicking the door shut behind her.

Obviously because she had zero sympathy, Catra flicked the main light on and let Adora suffer. With that judgemental stare, Catra looked her up and down and snorted. “You look like shit.”

“Wow, thanks for always being so positive,” Adora deadpanned, lying back down onto her bed and wrapping her comforter around herself like a big warm burrito. “I really appreciate it.”

“Just being honest.” Catra shrugged and flashed her that irritating smirk. It was irritating because it was so attractive. Not that Adora thought she was attractive, just… objectively. “So, how was dying and rising again, corpse bride?”

“Ha ha,” Adora rolled her eyes just to make sure Catra knew she was being sarcastic. “Did you come back here just to get on my nerves or something?”

“You really are that full of yourself, hm? Newsflash, princess,” Catra’s smirk turned into that condemnatory glare as she sat down on her bed and grabbed her laptop, “the world doesn’t revolve around you.”

Adora scoffed. There she went. Of course Catra wasn’t nice. Adora couldn’t believe she’d even considered it. There had to be some kind of ulterior motive to her kindness last night, or something. “Okay, so, I’m going to assume that you were possessed by the spirit of an actually nice person last night, because surprise surprise, you’re still a raging bitch.”

“You’re saying you wouldn’t be pissed when your already annoying roommate bursts in at three in the morning being even more annoying?” Catra snapped, and okay, maybe she had a little bit of a point. But whatever. Adora had tried to be quiet. “Unlike you, some people actually have jobs they need to be up for.”

Adora’s jaw worked, trying to form some kind of response. A pathetic, “You could’ve said that,” came out, but she knew Catra had a right to be annoyed. Adora would be, if the roles were reversed. She’d maybe go about telling her roommate how much of a jerk she was in a kinder way, but still. “I’m sorry for waking you up last night. Maybe we could both pin copies of our schedules to the notice board so we know… you know, when not to go out and get really drunk. Or when to crash with friends.”

“I’ll do anything if it means I don’t have to talk to you,” Catra said, and she didn’t look up from whatever she was doing on her laptop. She grabbed a pair of earphones and plugged them into the jack, putting both in her ears, an unspoken sign that the conversation was over.

Adora sighed, rolling over to get at least a little bit of darkness back, but she didn’t have it in her to sleep anymore. After lying on her side and waiting for the room to stop spinning, plus scrolling through random social media feeds, she decided to go to the dining hall. Food might make her feel better, and even if it didn’t, at least it couldn’t make her feel worse.

She grabbed a pair of sweats and a hoodie and changed in the bathroom, brushing her hair and tying it back. She still looked hungover, but it was the weekend and she was a college student, so that was basically a given.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she waved to get Catra’s attention. Just to offer an olive branch. Catra met her gaze disdainfully, slowly pulling out one earphone like it was a chore. “What?”

“I’m going to the dining hall to get something to eat,” Adora said, and when Catra looked even more annoyed, she added, “Do you want to come?”

“Pass.” Admittedly, Adora had expected that response, but she rolled her eyes anyway. So much for civility, huh?

“Fine,” Adora answered, maybe more than a little curtly, but she had a right to be annoyed. Catra was being an ass. She pulled her jacket on and made her way out of the room, leaving her grumpy roommate behind. It was obvious that Catra was just a bitch. Even when she was being nice last night, she was rude about it. And Adora couldn’t say she hadn’t tried.

No, the mutual avoidance policy they had in place was for the best, clearly. No point in trying to befriend someone as horrible and abrasive as her.

Adora was done with that.

Chapter Text

Catra was avoiding her irritating roommate, and she was fairly certain said irritating roommate was doing the same thing.

That was fine by her, obviously. Actually, it suited her quite well. Any time she went back into the room, Adora was never there. Except to sleep, but she wasn’t quite as irritating when she was asleep. She camped out at Scorpia and Entrapta’s place more than she liked to admit though, even sleeping over a couple of nights when she really didn’t want to deal with Adora. But mostly, things were fine. She and Adora had come to a silent understanding that a) they didn’t like each other, and b) they should keep out of the other’s way. It was a suitable arrangement.

The semester wore on, and between school, work and studying, Catra barely had time to spare anything a passing thought, let alone her stupid roommate. She was busy with picking up extra shifts at the coffee shop she worked at, making sure all of her schoolwork was to a high standard – she had to meet certain expectations to keep her scholarship – and spending the occasional night hanging out with her friends, drinking a little wine and playing whatever new video game Entrapta was on that week. Plus trying and failing to beat her at Mario Kart. Everything was perfectly mundane and as it should be.

Until it wasn’t.

Catra took the back exit out of her last lecture of the day. It was less congested, so a quicker escape route, and closer to the library, where she intended to go to finish up a little bit of work.

Key word: intended.

She was just out of the building and rounding the corner when she heard it. A quiet mewling coming from the dumpsters behind the building. Catra paused, backed up, and not caring what any passers-by would think about her rooting around in the trash, flipped open the dumpster lid and tried to identify the sound.

She spotted the eyes first. Big and bright blue, staring up at her warily. They belonged to a little black cat, who was way too adorable. Catra had always been an animal person, but cats in particular had her heart. She supposed that was fitting. Slowly, she leaned into the dumpster and gently lifted the cat out. It was freezing cold, and so thin and malnourished. There was no collar, nothing to indicate that it was anything more than a stray, but when she put it down on the ground, it didn’t run away.

The cat blinked at her, and rubbed against her leg, and Catra sighed. “I guess I should get you some food, huh? Come on, little buddy.”

It was mildly surprising that the cat actually followed her, all the way back to Fright Zone Hall. She paused outside the door, because she knew animals were strictly forbidden, but… Catra had a soft spot for strays.

After all, she kind of was one.

“Okay, you’re not going to like this,” She unzipped her backpack, placing it on the floor, and then gently putting the little cat inside. It meowed in protest, and she just smiled, zipping the backpack three quarters of the way so it had some air. She carried the bag in her arms, rather than pulling it back onto her back, feeling the little cat scratching around inside. Catra really wasn’t looking forward to the scratches on her laptop, but oh well. Some things were worth it, and a few scratches didn’t make something lesser.

She made her way inside, taking the stairs rather than the elevator for speed’s purpose, and then hastily unlocked her bedroom door. She peered around inside; annoying Adora wasn’t there, which was good. She seemed the goody-two-shoes, telltale type. She probably wouldn’t hesitate to tell on Catra if she knew she was breaking a rule.

Quickly, she unzipped her bag, letting the cat out. It bolted out and bounced onto her bed, sniffing around its new surroundings curiously. Catra had another fleeting that’s adorable thought, but she pushed it from her mind and went to the mini fridge. She wondered if it was fate that she’d made a quick tuna salad yesterday, and only used half the can. The remaining half was in a little Tupperware container than she placed on the floor for the little cat.

“Here, buddy,” Catra waved it to get the cat’s attention, “food.”

The little cat jumped down from her bed and started eating greedily. Catra made a mental note to buy some cat food, and then muttered to herself, “Stupid, you can’t keep it.”

But then the cat finished eating and rubbed against her leg affectionately, and she groaned. Catra fell back onto her bed, and the cat jumped up too. It clambered up to lie down on her stomach, curling up and falling to sleep, its little affectionate purrs rumbling against her.

“Oh my god,” Catra groaned again, “I’m fucked.”

As September became October and the semester really started to get underway, between classes, library time, soccer, hanging out with her friends, and maybe taking a photograph of Catra’s schedule on the noticeboard to know for sure when she’d be in the room and making sure that she wasn’t there at those times, Adora barely saw Catra.

It was peaceful. No sarcastic comments, no disdainful ‘princess’ muttered from across the room. Adora could fool herself into thinking that Catra was a nice person when the only time she ever saw her, she was asleep in her bed. She could tolerate a sleeping Catra.

She was finding her living situation to be manageable, which is more than she’d thought it would be at the start of the school year. When she left her class, she triple-checked the photograph she’d taken of Catra’s schedule, and she knew the room was empty right now, so instead of going to the library, she decided to utilise that time.

Adora was in a good mood – though, she was most of the time – as she made her way across campus in the general direction of Fright Zone Hall. She decided to stop at a coffee house on her way back. Caffeine was always a good idea when she had homework ahead of her, so she ducked into the first place she saw and joined the line.

The good mood disappeared completely when she reached the counter and saw her horrible, jerkface roommate smirking at her. Clearly, Catra had a lovely effect on people.  

Before thinking about it, Adora asked, “What are you doing here?”

“You really are dumber than you look,” Catra scoffed, “I know it’s a wild concept for you, princess, but some of us actually have to work.”

Adora wouldn’t let her snide comments bother her. “Pretty sure you’re not supposed to talk to customers like that.”

“Pretty sure I can do what I want when it’s my asshole roommate, but whatever,” Catra rolled her eyes, “What do you want, then?” Adora opened her mouth to respond, and Catra snorted with laughter. “Actually, let me guess. Pumpkin spice latte?”

The answer had been yes, but Adora wouldn’t give Catra the satisfaction of being right. She scoffed and hoped the blush on her cheeks wasn’t giving her away. “No. Just a regular latte.”

Catra raised her irritatingly perfect eyebrows – seriously, who let someone so rude be so attractive? – and with a snorted laugh, said, “One pumpkin spice latte for Adele, coming up.”

She didn’t dispute the order, but as she paid, she muttered, “You know my name.”

“Yeah, sorry, Addison, won’t happen again,” Catra smirked at her, and before Adora could retort, she said, “hurry up and move your ass to the collection point, you’re holding up my line.”

“Jerk,” Adora muttered, and she knew Catra heard her from the snicker she let out. At least she got the drink she wanted, even if it was tainted with Catra’s bitterness. And at least Catra wasn’t the one making the drinks, just taking the orders; a purple haired girl was whizzing around behind the counter, making everyone’s drinks. Otherwise, she’d be afraid of a certain someone spitting in her coffee.

Since Adora was the only one waiting, the purple haired girl merely shouted, “Pumpkin spice!” and slid the drink across the counter at her. Adora rolled her eyes when the name on the side of the cup read knucklehead in Catra’s stupid pretty handwriting, along with a little doodle of what she assumed was Catra, sticking her tongue out mockingly. Even in doodle form, she was annoying.

“Of course,” Adora muttered to herself, sending Catra a passing scowl as she made her way out of the coffee house, “I don’t know what I expected, honestly.”

She made her way back to Fright Zone hall, sipping on her coffee. She rolled her eyes at the thought of her irritating roommate, but at least she wouldn’t be back for a while. Adora could get some peace and quiet, get an assignment polished off, and then get out for dinner before Catra came back. Since it was a Friday, she, Bow and Glimmer were going to grab a bite to eat and then find a party to go to.

When Adora was back in their room, she flopped down on the bed and got herself comfortable. She pulled her laptop from her backpack, found the relevant textbook, and got to work on the essay she needed to finish. It was due on the upcoming Tuesday, and even though it was mostly done, it had kind of been a bitch to focus on.

One thing it has in common with Catra, Adora thought with an eye roll, but she didn’t need to be thinking about that. She’d made an effort, and Catra had rejected it. Adora didn’t go around chasing friendship when people were clearly not interested.

She was making good progress with it when there was a knock on the bedroom door, and she forced herself to get up and answer it. It was probably Bow or Glimmer or one of her other friends stopping by to see if she wanted to grab a late lunch.

The door opened to the enthusiastic smile of the goalie on her soccer team, Scorpia. “Oh, hey, Scorpia.”

“Hi, Adora,” Scorpia surprised her completely when she peered behind her into the room, looked at Catra’s empty bed and frowned. “Is Catra not here?”

Incredulously, Adora asked, “You’re friends with Catra?” She couldn’t believe that. Scorpia was probably the nicest person she’d ever met, and like, genuinely nice too. It was impossible, that someone as genuine as Scorpia would waste the time of day on Catra. That didn’t add up in her head.

“Oh, yeah, she’s my best friend,” Scorpia beamed, leaning against the door frame, brown eyes sparkling with something. “Yup, two peas in a pod, since freshman year. Or, well, three peas in a pod, because Entrapta is the third member of the Super Pal Trio. I came up with that. Me and my two introverts.”

“I… what? But she’s so… bitchy,” Adora blinked when she realised what she’d said, quickly waving her hands apologetically, “Not that I’m calling your best friend a bitch – well, I am, but… it’s just- you don’t seem like you’d get along. That’s all.”

“Eh, she can be a little grumpy sometimes, but she’s got a good heart. That’s what matters. You’ve just got to be patient with her.” Scorpia shrugged, pushing off from the door frame. “You don’t know where she’ll be, do you? She’s not answering her texts.”

“She was working about an hour ago,” Adora didn’t mention how much of a jerk she’d been, because apparently it was okay to be a jerk if you had a good heart. Yeah, she didn’t believe that. “Since she’s not here, I guess she’s still there.”

“Ah, okay,” Scorpia nodded, and as she made her way down the hall, she called back with a bright smile, “Thanks, Adora. See you at practice!”

Adora watched as Scorpia disappeared down the hallway, and her brain still couldn’t compute the information that Catra was friends with someone so nice. Whatever. She didn’t care about Catra and she needed to focus on her assignment.

She closed the door behind her and leaned back onto her bed, stifling a bored yawn. She managed to get two sentences written when she heard a… weird noise. From Catra’s closet, of all places.

She looked up, squinting at it. The door was slightly ajar, and there was a weird scratching noise coming from inside. Slowly, she pushed her laptop aside and stood up, taking deliberate, quiet steps towards the wardrobe. She didn’t know what she was going to find – it was Catra, though, so she was expecting some kind of horror. Her hand wrapped around the closet door handle. Adora took two deep breaths in and out, and then counted to three. Whatever skeletons Catra was keeping in her closet, Adora could take it. Especially if it was making weird noises.

Swiftly, she tugged the door open, and looked the closet up and down. Her jaw dropped open in surprise when she saw it. In amongst all the clothes, curled up at the bottom of the wardrobe, was a little black cat. It stared up at her with a pair of big blue eyes from where it was snuggled on a pile of blankets.

For a moment, Adora wondered if Catra knew there was a cat in her closet, but then she saw the water bowl in the other corner and realised that obviously, she put it there. Adora smirked; this was definitely against the rules. She knew that if it were Adora keeping a secret pet in her wardrobe, Catra wouldn’t hesitate to rat on her. If Adora were on Catra’s level, she’d use it as a way to keep her horrible roommate in check. Oh, you want to be a bitch? Okay, how about I go tell the RA about the cat hiding in your closet.

She was considering her options when the bedroom door swung open and she heard Catra mutter a quiet, “Fuck.” Her usual confidence was back when she spoke again, but it seemed feigned as she quickly shut the door behind her. “I thought I told you not to go through my shit.”

The cat purred happily, slipping past Adora and running over to Catra, rubbing itself against her leg. Adora stared at her, eyebrows raised, as Catra kneeled down on the floor to pet the cat.

“I didn’t realise your shit included a cat,” Adora retorted, looking between the girl and the cat. It made an adorable sight, admittedly, the way Catra looked down at the little animal softly. “You do realise this is against like, every single rule, right?”

“Look, I… I found it in a dumpster behind my lecture theatre a couple of days ago, and it was so small and cold and scrawny. It looked like it hadn’t eaten for days and I couldn’t just leave it there.” Catra’s nails scratched gently behind the cat’s ears, and it purred loudly in response. “You can’t tell anyone.”

The story was surprising; to be honest, Adora had assumed that Catra would be the first person to just leave it. She was never kind to other people, so why should she be kind to animals?

“What? About the cat, or that you actually have a soul?” Adora snorted with laughter at her own joke, but when Catra didn’t make a snarky comment or roll her eyes, she softened. Looking at the girl and her cat in her lap, she sighed. “Fine. I won’t tell anyone.”

And then Catra did something that Adora would never let her live down. She smiled down at the cat, kissed the top of its head, and said, “You hear that, Melog? You get to stay. Maybe you can actually get the run of the room, now.”

Adora raised an eyebrow and held back the snicker of laughter. “You named it?”

Catra’s smile obviously wasn’t for her, because she scowled up at Adora and snarled out, “What? What’s so funny about that?”

“Nothing, nothing, I didn’t say anything,” Adora bit down on her bottom lip in an attempt to hide her smile. It didn’t work. “It’s just… cute.”

“I am not cute,” Catra muttered, nudging the cat, Melog, off of her lap. She leaned under her bed and pulled a litter tray out, carrying it over to the bathroom. “I guess I don’t have to hide this anymore.”

Adora watched as she placed the litter tray in the bathroom. She was still surprised, but the fact that she’d just casually bought a litter tray for a cat she’d found a couple of days ago made her laugh again. “Well, I guess it’s fitting that you’re a cat person. It would be awkward if you were a dog person and your name was Catra.”

“You’re not funny,” Catra rolled her eyes, and when she sat down on her bed and Melog jumped up to drape across her lap again, she asked quietly, “You’re really not going to tell anyone?”

“Even though I know you probably wouldn’t hesitate to stab me in the back if the roles were reversed, no,” Adora shook her head, looking at the little cat curled up in Catra’s lap. “Melog would end up in a shelter, and… well, you know what happens at most of those.”

“Yeah,” Catra murmured, looking down at the cat so softly that Adora wondered if she’d been possessed. And when she looked back up at Adora, she wasn’t scowling. Yeah, definitely possessed. “Thanks. And I’ll… I’ll take the fall if someone finds out.”

She hadn’t expected that at all, but she didn’t get a chance to comment on it, to say that she’d share the blame because she’s just as guilty for keeping it secret. Catra gently nudged Melog from her lap again and watched as the little cat curled up against the pillows on her bed. “I’m going to go back out. Scorpia’s waiting. I only came back to check on Melog, so… yeah. Bye.”

Adora watched as Catra whirled out of the room again, slamming the door behind her. She stared after her, maybe understanding that friendship a little bit more. She’s got a good heart, Scorpia had said.

And maybe, deep down, hiding under all of that jerkiness, Catra did.

Catra didn’t know if she was being an idiot, trusting that Adora wouldn’t tell anybody about Melog. It could’ve all been a façade to get her out of the room, and when Catra got home later, the RA would be there, taking Melog away and getting the school to revoke her scholarship.

For some reason, that seemed unlikely. Adora had seemed genuine. Catra never trusted so easily, so she made a mental note to stay on guard, but… it felt like she didn’t have to. Whatever. Catra didn’t care if things went wrong.

Whatever happened, she wouldn’t abandon Melog.

“Everything okay, wildcat?” Scorpia asked, flashing her that you can talk to me about anything smile over the table they were sat at in the dining hall. “You’re being quiet, even for you.”

Oh, well, my annoying roommate who doesn’t like me just found out about my secret pet cat and now has leverage. That was what she was thinking. But what she said was, “You said you know my roommate, right?”

Scorpia nodded, taking a sip of her drink before answering. “She’s on my soccer team.”

“Is she…” Catra paused, figuring out how to word it. Eventually, all she could settle on was, “Trustworthy?”

Scorpia grinned knowingly, reaching across the table and ruffling Catra’s hair affectionately. “Thinking of making a new friend?”

“Get off me,” Catra tensed and batted her hand away, scowling. “No, I still don’t like her. She just found something out and I don’t know if I can trust her not to tell.”

“Oh,” Scorpia paused, hummed, and eventually just shrugged, “I don’t think she’s the gossipy type, if that means anything. If she said she wouldn’t tell, then I don’t think she will. What was it she found out?”

“Nothing really big, just… a rule I broke,” Catra answered, ignoring the fact that no pets in dorms was a pretty big rule. Scorpia would probably tell her that if she admitted the truth. “I think it’ll be fine. Maybe. I guess time will tell.”

Scorpia frowned, like she was questioning whether or not to ask which rule she broke. Eventually, she must’ve decided on not, because she smiled and asked, “So, did you finish that paper you wouldn’t stop complaining about?”

Instead of launching into a rant about just how sucky the paper was, Catra just nodded. She had too much on her mind for long talks. Scorpia sometimes didn’t get that – usually the person she hung out with when she didn’t want to talk was Entrapta – but today seemed to be one of the rare occasions where she picked up on it.

Instead of pushing her to talk, her friend just spoke casually about the new plays and tactics the team had been trying out in soccer practice, and Catra acknowledged it all with a grateful smile.

“So… you’re telling us that you and the roommate you don’t like are now raising a cat together?”

“Well, obviously it sounds weird when you put it like that,” Adora shoved Bow lightly and leaned back against the couch. “No. I’m telling you that I found out my roommate has a secret cat, and now we’re like… bonding over it. If you could even call it bonding. She’s basically just calling me by the right name (mostly) and rolling her eyes a little bit less. But still… progress, right?”

“That’s more progress than anyone else has ever made with her,” Glimmer commented, sitting back down next to Adora and offering the wine bottle. Adora held her glass out for a refill. “Still, I guess she had no choice but to tell you. How else was she going to hide a cat for a year?”

“I don’t know, Melog was there for two days and I never noticed,” Adora cringed at how oblivious she’d been, but then she’d basically been avoiding the room for everything except sleeping. It was nice, to not have to do that anymore. While Catra wasn’t exactly being friendly, at least they were no longer openly hostile with each other. “I don’t get her. She can be the rudest person on the planet, and gets all snappy about the most trivial stuff, but then… then she rescues a cat from a dumpster and looks after me when I’m drunk. Her bedside manner left something to be desired, but she still did it.”

Perhaps Scorpia had been right. Maybe Catra really did have a good heart, somewhere underneath all that snark.

Adora had to admit, the way she curled up with Melog every night was kind of adorable. More than kind of – it was incredibly adorable. They were like two peas in a pod, the little black cat and the abrasive girl. Both of them snarled at the people they didn’t like but were softer with the ones they did. Adora had seen Catra with Scorpia and the purple-haired girl from the coffee shop, smiling and laughing in the quad. She’d found herself smiling too, but when she recalled that Catra had called her knucklehead that morning when she left, it had fallen away. They still weren’t friends. Adora knew that much.

Just… maybe now she wanted to be.

It was easy to give up on pursuing a friendship with someone when they acted like an insufferable jerk all the time. But when they were maybe secretly a softie underneath it all… it could be worth trying.

There was no use talking about that with her friends, though. Bow would just say his usual positive reinforcement and Glimmer would roll her eyes and call Catra a jerkface.

Adora elected to change the subject. “Okay, so, Halloween is coming up. What are we going as?”

The three of them had coordinated costumes in freshman and sophomore year. She assumed they’d be continuing the tradition this year, but when Bow and Glimmer exchanged an awkward glance, she realised it would be different.

“Uh, actually, Adora,” Glimmer smiled sheepishly, “we were thinking about doing a couple’s costume this year…”

Bow quickly jumped in, “But that doesn’t matter. We can totally all coordinate!”

“Yeah, like a Harry, Ron, Hermione thing,” Glimmer suggested, and quickly added, “Dibs on Hermione!”

“No, no,” Adora waved them off before Bow could jump in and claim Harry, even though he was totally a Ron. “It’s fine, I get it. You guys are a couple now. I know some stuff is going to be different.”

Adora held back the sigh, drinking more wine to avoid the awkward topic. She hadn’t really felt like much of a third wheel since Bow and Glimmer had gotten together at the start of last year. At first, she hadn’t even thought about it, she was just happy for her friends. Then they’d told her they wanted to live together this year, and she’d understood that too.

It was stupid, but the Halloween thing had finally made her feel it. It had been their thing, since the start of college. Dressing up as some famous trio and going out partying all night. It was their routine, and now it was being broken.

Adora knew it was dumb to be upset about it. They were her best friends, and she was happy that they were happy together. Maybe part of it was that she was lonely. She hadn’t dated since freshman year, but it wasn’t like she was looking for anybody. She didn’t even like anyone, and the only person she’d found even slightly attractive in the last year was Catra, who… to put it lightly, her personality didn’t exactly match up.

Adora tried to cheer up, but by the time they were heading out to the party they’d planned on going to, she was a little bit tipsy, but not in the bouncy, excitable way that she usually was. More of a mopey kind of tipsy.

As she climbed into the backseat of Bow’s car, she said, “Hey, could you guys drop me off on your way? I’m not really feeling it tonight.”

They exchanged a glance, and Glimmer twisted around in her seat to smile comfortingly. “Are you sure? You might feel better once we get there.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Adora made herself smile, even though she knew it probably didn’t look the most genuine. “I kind of just want to laze in bed with some Netflix.”

Bow frowned and looked back at her in the rear-view mirror. “You really want to spend your Friday night with Catra?”

“She won’t even be there,” Adora waved that off, even though she had no idea where Catra would be. She was sure she’d have better things to do on a Friday night than hang out in their room, though. “I’m just not feeling the whole party scene tonight. Maybe we can go somewhere tomorrow.”

Her friends looked a little concerned, and if anything, it made Adora feel worse. She didn’t want to make them feel bad just because she was feeling like a third wheel. She forced the smile even more and had to assure them both that she was alright about fifty times before they agreed to drop her off.

The smile dropped when she was sure they’d driven away, and she stumbled a little bit, that last bit of wine hitting her at the wrong time. She knew she was straddling the line of tipsy and wandering into drunk territory, so it was probably a good thing that she’d skipped out on the party. She didn’t want to wake Catra up again; pissing her off didn’t seem like the best idea when they were actually starting to be civil with one another.

She unlocked the front door and made her way over to the elevator, calling it and waiting for the doors to creak open. Honestly, she wasn’t sure this thing was safe – Fright Zone Hall was the oldest out of all the student dorms on campus, and not even the temptation of private bathrooms could get most people to even consider signing up for it. She wondered if Catra had only chosen to live there because she’d been promised a single and felt a little bit guilty if that had been the case. She wouldn’t ask, though. Seemed like a question that might break the temporary truce that Melog had brought.

Adora stepped into the creaky elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. She felt a little guilty for being a bit of a party pooper. The realisation that things would never be the same as they were before had hit her suddenly, and it was pretty hard to process. She still didn’t get why it had hit her now, and not way back when Bow and Glimmer had first gotten together. Or even when they told her they wanted to live together.

She was so far in her own head that she didn’t even notice Catra when she walked into their room and sat down on her bed. When Adora zoned out, she zoned out hard, and she jumped about fifty feet in the air when Catra said casually, “Well, you look like you just saw a ghost.”

“Jesus Christ, Catra,” Adora jumped, ignoring the way the other girl’s musical laugh made something in her stomach twist. “Warn a girl next time.”

“Warn you?” Catra repeated, looking at her like she was an idiot. Which didn’t differ at all from any other times Catra looked at her. “You walked in, saw me on my bed, and I spoke at a normal human volume. But sure, next time I’ll just throw my dirty socks at you first.”

Usually, Adora would entertain that with some kind of shut up remark, or an eye roll, or matching Catra’s sarcasm with her own. But Adora found that she didn’t quite have it in her.

She just sighed, shrugged, and murmured, “I guess you have a point,” before lying back against her pillows and staring up at the ceiling.

Adora could feel Catra’s gaze burning holes in the side of her head, but for once it didn’t bother her. She was more bothered about why she was bothered. She zoned out again and jumped when a soft weight landed on her stomach. Melog mewed quietly, and Adora scratched behind the little cat’s ears.

What she didn’t expect was another weight on the end of the bed, and Catra asking, “Are you okay?”

Adora stared at her. The shock of that question was enough to snap her out of her confused thoughts. It just gave her other confused thoughts. “You’re asking me if I’m okay?”

“Not because I like you or anything,” Catra scoffed, and Adora felt herself smiling involuntarily, “Just… I don’t know, you look like you just saw someone drop dead or something.”

“It’s nothing serious. I’m just… a little tipsy, and had a couple of weird realisations,” Adora muttered and focused on petting Melog. “You’ll probably just make some comment about first world problems, but my best friends and I usually do like, coordinated Halloween costumes-”

“Dorks,” Catra snorted, but when Adora looked up and met her gaze, something in her softened. “Is what I would’ve said if I wasn’t taking on the concerned roommate thing. Go on.”

Adora bit down on her bottom lip to prevent the unconscious smile. It showed anyway when she spoke. “Yeah, so, we pick a trio, and then dress up as them and go partying. But earlier, we were pregaming, and I mentioned it, and they said they wanted to do a couple’s costume, because they’re together now.”

“They’ve been together for like, nearly a year, so I didn’t get why thinking about it made me feel so weird. Maybe it’s because I’m tipsy.” Adora shrugged, and Melog seemed to sense her melancholy, because the little cat nuzzled against her happily in an effort to cheer her up. “Maybe it was the sudden realisation that nothing is going to be the same. Like, if they stay together or break up. And I’m not saying I’m not happy for them, I am, but… it used to be us. The Best Friend Squad. Now they’re a couple and I’m the side piece.”

“Side piece? Are you fucking one of them on the side, or do you just not know what that means?” Catra said, and Adora laughed when she realised how that sounded. “And Best Friend Squad? What are you, five?”

Adora really was laughing then. “Uh, okay, coming from one third of the Super Pal Trio.”

Catra blushed, and it was probably the most adorable thing Adora had ever seen. And she saw the way she cuddled with Melog, so that was saying something. Pink spread along tanned cheeks and made those cute little freckles of hers stand out even more.

“Okay, that’s all Scorpia,” Catra scoffed, “and Entrapta encouraging her. Nothing to do with me.”

Adora couldn’t stop laughing at how genuinely offended she looked. “Sure, sure. I totally believe you.”

“God, you’re so annoying,” Catra rolled her eyes, standing up and stalking back over to her own bed, “I try to make you feel better and this is the thanks I get?”

She almost apologised. Like, opened her mouth and almost started to speak. But then she saw the little smile tilting up the corner of Catra’s mouth as she sat back down, and Adora couldn’t help but grin. “Hey, you should appreciate it. I’m protecting you from hypocrisy. Nothing wrong with having a fun group chat name, don’t act like you’re too cool for it.”

Catra scoffed. “Whatever. Are you going to fuck off to that party you were pregaming for, then? Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

“Unfortunately for you,” Adora paused to sit up properly, gently nudging Melog off her stomach and onto her bedsheets, “I’m staying home for the night. Netflix and chill, you know.”

“Okay, I can’t tell if you’re actually that stupid and you really don’t know what that means,” Catra said dryly, “but if you’re being serious, you can go Netflix and chill somewhere else. I’m not leaving.”

“I know what it means, but I didn’t mean it in that way. I’m not into exhibitionism.” Adora said, and then cringed. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I just made a joke about exhibitionism of all things, like I said, I’m tipsy, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, and I know all this rambling is making me sound like I am into exhibitionism-”

“Adora,” Catra cut her off, and Adora snapped her mouth shut, blushing embarrassedly, “if you say the word exhibitionism one more time, I’m literally going to push you out of the window.”

“Right,” Adora blushed, inwardly scolding herself for being a rambling idiot, “sorry.”

She made a mental note to never hang around Catra when she’d had a bit of alcohol. Or just any pretty girl, not specifically Catra. She was bad enough around girls as it was. Not that she was flirting with Catra, or even interested in Catra, it was just...

Okay, now she was even rambling to herself.

“Well, I was actually just about to start The Haunting of Bly Manor, if you want to join me,” Catra masked the obvious olive branch behind a mocking, “but I bet you’re too scared.”

Adora scoffed, even though any TV show with the word haunting in the title would never be an immediate pick for her. Any time she watched horror movies she generally hid behind a pillow. “Me? Scared? Never. I bet you just asked me to watch it with you because you’re scared.”

“Fine, sit by yourself being emo all night,” Catra retorted, grabbing her earphones, “Melog, come here.”

Melog, the little traitor, jumped from Adora’s bed and went right on over to Catra’s, curling up next to her. Catra smirked triumphantly, scratching behind the cat’s ears and eliciting a loud purr. Melog is her cat, Adora reasoned, but she still glared at both of the traitors. Melog for ditching her, and Catra for… being a grump. But when Catra grabbed her earphones and went to go plug them in, Adora put her pride aside.

“Can I watch with you?” Adora asked, so quietly that she hoped Catra wouldn’t hear it.

But she did. She shuffled over on her bed, putting her laptop in the middle, and nodding at the empty space on the left side of it. “Come on, then. Bring your ugly flowery pillows, though. You’re not using mine. And switch the lights off.”

Great, so not only were they watching a scary show, they were watching a scary show with the lights off. But as much as it would be her worst nightmare, when Adora finally settled down, she wasn’t afraid. She actually felt a lot better than she had when she came in.

“Hey, Catra?” Adora said before Catra could start the first episode. She decided to quite literally take a shot in the dark, and distracted herself by petting Melog, who was settled in front of the laptop and between Catra and Adora. “Thanks for being a friend.”

She expected Catra to laugh it off, say they weren’t friends, or make some other derogatory, rude comment. But instead, Catra just said, “Yeah, yeah. Don’t make a big deal about it,” and pressed play.

Chapter Text

Friends.

Catra thought about the word for most of the week following her little binge-watching session with Adora.

At first, when the perky, irritating blonde had barged into her life, Catra couldn’t imagine tolerating her, let alone liking her. Which she’d still deny, if anyone asked. Admitting it to herself was one thing, but admitting it to other people? No way.

But really, that was it. Adora wasn’t actually that bad.

She hadn’t ratted on her about Melog. She’d even bought a few cans of cat food, and a big bag of litter. She was a decent roommate, considering she hadn’t wanted one at all. A little bit messy, but she kept her mess to her side of the room. She double-checked with Catra when she was going to invite Sparkles and her boyfriend over, now that they’d exchanged numbers. Occasionally she’d send some stupid meme that Catra would roll her eyes at.

It was nice, having another friend. Different, too, to what she had with Scorpia and Entrapta. She didn’t really know how. Truth was, Catra had never been good at the whole friends thing. She lashed out to keep people at arm’s length and kept to herself. Better to have nobody than to have someone leave. Admittedly, she was wary of Adora. Wary that she had the power to make her smile or laugh, because that meant she held the power for the alternative.

Whatever. She wouldn’t get attached. After all, it would suck to spend a whole year at her roommate’s throat. Casual friendship was beneficial for the both of them.

It was incredibly hard to tell herself that when she woke up on the morning of October 28^th, the day that just so happened to be her 21^st birthday, to Adora holding a cupcake with one lit candle shoved in the middle. She was singing an overly enthusiastic rendition of happy birthday as Catra tried to wake up properly.

“Blow out your candle,” Adora announced once she’d finished her performance, “it’s not gross because you’re the only one who’s going to eat the cupcake.”

Wiping the sleep out of her eyes, Catra blew the candle out with what was half a yawn. “How did you know it was my birthday?”

Because really, she didn’t remember telling her. Much like she never remembered telling Adora her name.

“Scorpia mentioned that you guys would be celebrating today at last practice, and I asked why, and she said it was your 21^st birthday,” Adora shrugged, “so, happy birthday!”

“Thanks, stalker,” Catra replied, and Adora just smiled brightly. It was jarring, the way she was just… so open and kind with everyone. Adora was one of those people who walked around smiling at strangers and babies and puppies and everything else. She reminded Catra of a golden retriever. “When’s your birthday?”

“January 19^th, and I like chocolate cake,” Adora grinned, flopping back on her bed, “sucks that your birthday is on a weekday, though.”

“Friday is only half a weekday at best,” Catra pushed herself up to sit, petting a sleepy Melog. Normally she would object to the idea of cake for breakfast, but it was her birthday. 21 was a big deal, apparently. She plucked the candle from the cupcake and had her makeshift breakfast in bed, wondering why Adora had done something so nice. Nobody did nice things for her without ulterior motives. “So… why the cake?”

“Because it’s your twenty-first birthday and that’s like, a big deal,” Adora said like it was obvious, but she looked a little shifty, like there was something else she wasn’t admitting to. She hid it behind a joke. “Besides, unlike you, I’m actually nice.”

Catra used her first scowl of the day. “Just for that, I’m going to get you a raisin cupcake on your birthday. You’ll think it’s chocolate chip and then bam. Life ruined.”

When Adora snorted with laughter, Catra had a fleeting thought that she quickly pushed away. No need to be thinking of things like that. Nope.

“There you go, proving my point,” Adora said, and she glanced over to the noticeboard where both of their schedules – and Catra’s work schedule – were pinned up. “I know you don’t have class until eleven, but do you want to grab breakfast?”

Catra raised her eyebrows. “Did you persuade the dining hall chefs to make all my favourites with your obvious flirtatious charm?”

“Not the dining hall. I know somewhere nice.” Adora said, and if anything, Catra frowned more. “Don’t look so grumpy. Not using one of your meals won’t kill you. Besides, Scorpia said you’re on a scholarship, so you’re not losing money. The school is. Say a big fuck you to capitalism and come to breakfast with me.”

“Did you like, interrogate her about me or something?” Catra questioned, because she was genuinely curious. She knew that Scorpia talked a lot, but… “Am I going to find out later that you waterboarded her for information?”

She could’ve sworn that Adora was blushing as she turned away to fix that silly little blonde hair poof in the mirror. “We just… casually ended up on the topic after practice. When she mentioned it was your birthday.”

“Right,” Catra answered, a little disbelievingly, but she’d let that topic rest for now. Figuring that Adora had a point about the scholarship money, she pushed her covers off and stretched. “Let me get ready and then we’ll go to this nice place you know.”

“Oh,” Adora looked surprised, “I thought it’d take more convincing. I made a list.”

Of course she did. That seemed like the most Adora thing to do, lists with all of the important points of her argument so she could badger Catra into doing things.

Catra laughed. “With all of the other top-secret info you squeezed out of Scorpia?”

“…Shut up and go get ready.”

“You should get a cocktail with breakfast,” Adora commented, pretending to look through the menu when she was really looking over it at Catra, “you know, since you’re legal and everything.”

“I’m not going to wander into my class drunk,” Catra glanced over the top of her own menu and caught her looking, surveying her with those beautiful eyes. Adora really liked her eyes, ice blue and warm amber. “Though I wouldn’t put it past you to do that.”

“I really…” no, don’t tell her she has pretty eyes, Adora scolded herself. Catra was her roommate. Even if Adora liked her like that – which she didn’t – they could never date. Imagine the effect a bad breakup would have on their living situation. “Never mind.”

Catra raised an eyebrow but looked back at her menu. “You really what?”

Oh, forget it. It’s just a compliment from a friend. “I just… think you’re really pretty.”

Most of her face was hidden behind her menu, but Adora could tell she was smiling from the look in her eyes. “Thanks, Adora.”

“So,” Adora decided it was best to quickly move on from that, “got any other plans today? You know, besides classes and hanging out with your friends later. Calling home, maybe?”

The smile dropped as Catra put her menu back in the holder, and Adora wondered if she’d hit a nerve. “Nope. Just school then booze. You picked your solo Halloween costume yet?”

It was a quick change of subject, and now Adora was actively assuming she’d hit a nerve.

“I was actually thinking about staying in,” Adora admitted, leaning back against the comfortable padding in their diner booth. “What do you have planned?”

“Scorpia wants the Super Pal Trio,” Catra paused to roll her eyes, “to dress up like the PowerPuff Girls. She says I’d be the perfect Buttercup.”

Adora laughed before she could help it. Half at the mental image, but mostly at how accurate that description was. “You would be the perfect Buttercup.”

“Yeah, well, not going to happen,” Catra said, and after a few moments of just… looking at Adora, she said, “You know, if you’re not doing anything tonight, you can hang with us. I know you’re probably at some party with Sparkles and her boyfriend, but if you’re not…”

Adora tried not to read into it when she conveniently forgot about the meal she had planned with Bow and Glimmer. Whatever, meals were more of a couple thing, anyway. They’d probably appreciate her cancelling. “Yeah. I’d like that, actually. Even though Super Pal Quartet doesn’t have as good of a ring to it.”

“Do not say that in front of Scorpia,” Catra warned her, “because she’d probably accept it. We started as Super Pal Duo, then we met Entrapta, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she switched it up for you.”

“Alright, my lips are sealed,” Adora said, “so, you know what you want?”

“Ham and cheese omelette.” Catra said, her eyes darting towards the menu again. “I’m still pretty full from the cake.”

Adora acknowledged that with a quick nod, slid out of the booth and headed over to the counter to order, paying even though she had a feeling Catra would complain. But it was her birthday, so she had to suck it up and deal with it. She glanced back at the table to see Catra scrolling through her phone. That messy ponytail look really suited her, Adora had to say. It was the first thought she’d had when Catra had stated she was ready to go. Any look would suit her, though. Catra was just one of those beautiful people who could pull anything off. Like right now, where the sunlight in the window was framing her perfectly, she looked angelic.

Adora ignored that feeling. She’d always known Catra was attractive. It was the first thought she’d had when she’d stomped through their bedroom door two months ago. But like she’d reminded herself before – they were roommates. She couldn’t complicate things.

And she didn’t even know if Catra liked girls. Not that it mattered, because Adora didn’t like her like that.

Obviously.

Once she’d paid, she walked back over to their table and slid back into the booth opposite Catra. “Shouldn’t take too long. They’re usually pretty quick with service here.”

Catra finished typing something out on her phone and then placed the device on the table, screen down. “How’d you find this place?”

The diner she’d brought Catra to was a quiet establishment on the outskirts of Etheria, the city Bright Moon University was located in. Even though it wasn’t a very interesting story, Adora told her anyway. “I was having a bad day, way back in freshman year. Failed this test that I’d studied all week for because I panicked and my brain shut down. I took She-Ra out and went for a drive to clear my head.”

Catra snorted. “Of course you named your car.”

“Do you want me to answer your question or not?” Adora lightly nudged her leg under the table. “Anyway, I was on a drive, and got really hungry, and pulled up outside the first place I saw. Tried the food, had an actual holy experience, pinned the location in my phone maps and the rest is history. It’s been my little secret for the last two years.”

Adora ignored the fact that she’d never brought anyone here before. Not even Bow and Glimmer. Ignored that she’d considered this diner her special place in Etheria, the one she always came to when she felt stressed or sad or… whatever.

“Holy experience?” Catra questioned, glancing over at the counter. “Alright. I’ve got high expectations now.”

“So… by your usual standards,” Adora had to ask, “is this beating the normal birthdays, or about the same level?”

“That all depends on the omelette,” Catra said, and Adora almost thought she was serious, but her gaze softened. Catra’s fingers tapped against the edge of the table as she admitted. “I think it’s winning so far. But I’ve got to say, nobody has ever woken me up with cake before.”

“Oh, really?” Adora said, frowning at her. Even though she considered Catra a friend, she didn’t really know that much about her life. Where she went over the holidays, what her childhood and adolescence were like. Maybe it was weird and invasive and prying, but Adora wanted to know those things. In the hope that one day, Catra would share something with her, Adora admitted, “It’s kind of a family tradition for me. I never knew my dad – he passed away when I was a little kid – but my mom would always wake me up on my birthday with a cake and make me blow out the candles.”

Catra didn’t look up. She was looking at her own hands, watching the patterns her fingers were making as they tapped against the table. Adora didn’t push her to talk. She had a feeling that wouldn’t go well.

When Catra finally looked at her, the sun from the window turned her amber eye to flaming gold. “That’s cute. She sounds nice.”

“She was,” Adora said. Her mother had died nearly seven years ago, and it still didn’t hurt any less. “When she passed away, my grandma kept the tradition going. At least until I came to college, because my birthday is usually right in the middle of the first week back after winter break. I got lucky in high school a couple of times and had it off, but no such luck here.”

“Huh,” Catra looked back at her hands, her finger tracing along the edge of the table. Her nails looked freshly painted, a glossy black colour. “Sorry.”

Adora raised an eyebrow. “What are you apologising for?”

“I guess I had you pegged as one of those trust fund babies,” Catra admitted, and Adora’s eyebrows basically merged with her hairline, they shot up that high in surprise. “You know, one of the ones whose mommy and daddy pays for everything. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

Technically they did; Adora was using her inheritance to pay for college. But she didn’t say that, just shrugged. “It’s okay. Everyone makes assumptions. Like I thought you were a raging bitch.”

Catra snorted. “What part of that is an assumption?”

“Oh, shut up, you’re not so bad,” Adora nudged her foot with her own under the table, “A raging bitch wouldn’t take in a stray cat and help her annoying drunk roommate, would she?”

Catra let out a long breath of air, and when she looked up at Adora, a soft smile was tugging up the corners of her mouth. She was about to say something, and Adora got the impression that it was something important, but she was interrupted by the damn waiter.

“Ham and cheese omelette?” He placed the plate in front of Catra when she answered with an uncharacteristically polite here, please. “And the deluxe breakfast burger. Enjoy, ladies.”

Catra stared at Adora’s meal with an amused smirk on her face. “Hungry, then?”

“I’m an athlete, I’m allowed to eat as much as I want,” Adora answered indignantly, digging right in and waiting anxiously for Catra to do the same. She quickly swallowed her own bite as Catra took the first taste and asked, “So? Lived up to the hype?”

She watched as Catra chewed, tasted and swallowed her bite. The older girl feigned deep thought. She even went as far as to tap her chin in a thinking motion. Finally, after making Adora wait more than necessary, she grinned and announced, “We’re so coming here again.”

Adora blamed the flutter in her stomach on being hungry.

“Hey,” Adora nudged Glimmer once their lecture finished. “I’m going to have to cancel on dinner tonight.”

Glimmer looked at her like she’d just casually admitted to murdering her first-born child. “What? You can’t! Friday nights are always Best Friend Squad hangout nights.”

“I just can’t tonight,” Adora shrugged, packing her textbook and laptop away in her backpack. “I thought you’d be okay with it. You know, you and Bow can have a nice romantic dinner. Everyone’s happy.”

“Don’t tell me you’re still being weird,” Glimmer badgered her as she followed Adora out of the lecture theatre, “We’re still the Best Friend Squad. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Adora turned around to flash her a smile. It was a genuine one, too. “Honestly, Glim, something just came up. That’s all. You and Bow go out, have a good time.”

Adora had a strong feeling that Glimmer wouldn’t take too kindly to being cancelled on for Catra, so she kept that little detail to her chest. But it was Catra’s birthday. Her twenty-first birthday, too. That only happened once.

(Well, every birthday only happened once, but still. Twenty-one was a big deal.)

Hazel eyes gave Adora a full body scan, as if Glimmer was trying to detect any sense of falsehood. Finally, Glimmer just sighed. “Alright. But you’re coming out next Friday, and we’re going to make it extra epic, just because you missed this week.”

“You got a deal,” Adora said, and as a peace offering, “maybe we could go to lunch right now, if you’re not doing anything.”

The way Glimmer cringed showed that she was doing something. And Adora had a fairly good idea what it was. “Bow and I had a study date planned for that French class we’re taking, but we could-”

“No, that’s fine. I’m done for the day now anyway,” Adora said, an uneasy feeling rolling in the pit of her stomach. She’d tried to pick her classes so she’d get Fridays free, but she had one annoying compulsory module that screwed all of that up for her. “I don’t even know why I asked to go to lunch, I’m still really full from my breakfast.”

It was true, that breakfast burger – and maybe a little bit of Catra’s omelette – had stuffed her to the brim. She would’ve eaten a sandwich or something, if only to spend time with her friends. But they had a class together that they needed to study for. That was cool. She was cool with that.

“You went hard in the dining hall, huh?” Glimmer joked, dodging past a guy who bolted up the stairs, probably late for his class. “Well, if one person is going to take advantage of the all you can eat stuff, it’s you.”

“Yeah,” Adora’s laugh was maybe a little forced, but Glimmer didn’t seem to notice. She had her phone out of her pocket and was typing something in a text chat. Adora already assumed it was to Bow. Once they were out of Thaymor building and into the chilly October air, Adora made her escape. “I think I’m going to head this way and get a coffee before going back to my room. I’ll see you later, Glimmer.”

She heard Glimmer’s quick, “Wait, what?” because Adora was quite literally walking in the wrong direction for Fright Zone Hall, but she just felt like being alone. She power-walked off, pulling her backpack tight around her shoulders.

Admittedly, the further she walked, the worse she felt. Maybe about being so tense with Glimmer. After all, she was going to see her and Bow tonight, and Adora had cancelled on them, not the other way around. It wasn’t their fault that they’d planned a couple’s thing and then their dumb friend cancelled on them. They’d probably planned lunch specifically because they knew they’d be doing dinner as a trio. It wasn’t their fault, the problem laid with Adora.

She hated that she felt so weird about it lately. She wanted to be happy for her friends. She was happy for them! She was happy they were happy, so what was with the weird feeling in her gut any time they did a couple’s thing? Was it just that she was lonely? Feeling left out? Looking at them and wishing she had that?

Well, who wouldn’t? Falling in love with your best friend was like, the ultimate goal. It was probably number one on the list of ‘most romantic things that could happen’. It was natural for her to be jealous. But she wasn’t about to jump into a relationship just because she looked at what her friends had and thought I want that.

Besides, she wasn’t even interested in anybody.

After reassuring herself that it was just simple envy, and she wasn’t a bad person for feeling it, because she was really happy for Bow and Glimmer, she felt better. Lighter. Happier. A walk had cleared her head, just like she hoped it would.

She circled back around campus in the general direction of Fright Zone Hall and checked the time. Catra had classes until three, so it would just be Adora and Melog for the next hour and a half. Maybe she could watch an old show, for a little bit of a nostalgia kick. That would pass the time. Oddly, Wizards of Waverly Place always reminded her of her mom. She would always joke that it was the only one of Adora’s shows she liked, and she’d sit and watch the new episodes with her, cuddling together on the couch.

(The night the Wizards movie had premiered on Disney Channel had been a big night in Adora’s house.)

She made it back to her dorm in good time and looked at her pyjamas longingly. Usually she’d change back into them, just to be comfortable until she headed over to Bow and Glimmer’s for predrinking, but she didn’t know what time Catra would want to leave. She’d mentioned something about hanging out at Scorpia and Entrapta’s place, because parties (quote) “aren’t my thing anymore, knucklehead.”

Adora was fairly certain it was people that weren’t Catra’s thing, but whatever.

She swapped her jeans for her sweatpants, at least, and petted Melog when the little cat came creeping out from under Catra’s bed. She laughed when Melog swatted at her hand when she pulled it away to grab her laptop from her bag. Obviously, that meant don’t stop scratching my ears.

“Sorry, sorry,” Adora apologised once her laptop was out of her bag. She scooped the cat up in her arms, and for once, Melog didn’t writhe to get away. Usually, Catra was the only one with picking-up privileges. Adora had the scratches to prove it. “Come on, let’s get comfy. You ever watched Wizards of Waverly Place?”

Melog meowed in reply, and Adora laughed. “Thought not. Let’s watch the first episode together, yeah?”

Classes dragged.

They almost always dragged, but at least every other day, they weren’t dragging on her birthday. Not that Catra was anything more than indifferent on the whole birthday thing. Because she was.

Usually.

Today felt weird, though. Like she’d admitted to Adora over breakfast, this birthday felt better than the usual standard. Most of Catra’s birthdays went like this;

• She woke up, probably to her alarm on a weekday, or at any random time on a weekend.
• Remembered the whole ‘birthday’ thing and responded to the two texts in her phone, the standard ‘happy birthday’ from Entrapta and the long essay about how great she was from Scorpia. As well as liked the Instagram post Scorpia had made, because she always did that.
• Opened the two presents from said friends.
• Gone about her day like it was any other, maybe treating herself to a cupcake on her way home.

All pretty mundane. And that was just the schedule for the college birthdays. 0-18 had been even less remarkable. This year, she’d already been thrown off kilter by the… strangely pleasant wakeup call from her strangely pleasant roommate.

It felt weird. Catra felt weird. She blamed the classes dragging on the weirdness.

She was relieved when the clock finally reached three and she could escape, putting her headphones in for the walk back to Fright Zone Hall. She almost paused outside of work – she pretty regularly used her break as an opportunity to eat as many white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes as she could – but Adora had covered the cake for her that morning. With a candle, too. Weird.

She was humming along quietly to ICU by Phoebe Bridgers to distract from the concerning sounds the elevator made – seriously, she should’ve just taken the stairs – but pulled her earphones out when she was out of that death trap and making her way down the hall. The room door was unlocked, because Adora was home, but she clearly didn’t hear Catra enter.

Adora had her own earphones in, and she was singing the Wizards of Waverly Place theme song at the top of her lungs. Catra snickered with laughter, leaning against the door and just watching her as she bopped her head up and down to the beat.

Melog was the first to notice her, jumping from the comfortable looking position across Adora’s chest. Comfortable for a cat, duh. Adora frowned, her finger tapping the space bar to pause the really mature show she was watching, and her gaze followed Melog’s course over to Catra, her head slowly turning until she noticed her.

Catra smirked. “Hey, Adora.”

Adora’s face turned beet red, and she pulled her headphones out, asking embarrassedly, “Uh… how long have you been standing there, exactly?”

“Longer than you’re hoping,” Catra relished in the way Adora blushed even deeper. Not for any specific reason. It was just fun to annoy her. “Is this what you do when you have the room to yourself? Just… sit around watching Disney Channel?”

“Pfft, I- I don’t… I watch other shows too.” Adora said lamely, turning back to her computer screen and exiting out of the video tab. If anything, that just exposed her more, because it went back to the Disney Plus home screen. Naturally, she’d have a subscription. Catra didn’t know what she expected.

“Like Hannah Montana?”

“I- shut up,” Adora threw a pillow in Catra’s direction, but she dodged it easily. Melog hissed at her, and Adora pouted at the little cat. “Traitor. Don’t act like you weren’t all snuggled up to me five minutes ago.”

“The hiss was for your off-key singing,” Catra teased her, flopping down onto her bed, “Melog didn’t want to say anything before.”

“I was not off-key,” Adora said, and like it proved her point, stated proudly, “I once got a standing ovation at karaoke night down at Mystacor, you know that club on campus?”

Catra laughed even more. “Standing ovations from drunk people who were probably already standing don’t count.”

“Oh, whatever, like you’re Beyoncé,” Adora scoffed, then made grabby hands in her direction, “Give me my pillow back.”

The pillow in question was in the middle of the floor, near the doorway. Even though it was maybe angled a little further towards Catra’s side of the room, there was no way she was getting back up. “Get it yourself. You’re the one who tried to murder me with it.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Adora said, but when Catra purposely ignored her, she let out a loud ugh. Catra bit down on her bottom lip to contain the laughter that was shaking her chest. Why was annoying her so much fun?

“Oh my god,” Adora grabbed her other pillow and threw it at Catra with an indignant outcry of her name, but then she realised the logistical error she’d made as her second pillow flopped on the floor just shy of Catra’s bed. “Oh. Why the hell did I throw that?”

“You’re such an idiot,” Catra didn’t have enough willpower to stop herself from laughing, and because it was close, she reached down and grabbed Adora’s other pillow, tossing it back. It landed perfectly on the foot of Adora’s bed. “You can get the other one.”

“Fine,” Adora rolled her eyes and complained as she got up, but Catra saw the light of a smile in those beautiful ocean eyes, and Adora wasn’t even trying to conceal the way the left corner of her mouth was turned up in a tiny smile. “Only because it’s your birthday. Wouldn’t want the birthday girl doing manual labour.”

“Right, not because you cave easily or anything,” Catra said. She ignored Adora’s indignant mutterings about how stubborn she was as she threw her pillow back to her bed, and asked, “So, any reason why you’re hanging out here watching Disney Channel in the middle of the day? I thought you’d be skipping around merrily with your friends.”

“They’re studying for a class I don’t take,” Adora’s smile faltered as she sat back down on her bed, and Catra nudged Melog over in that direction. Cats always made things better. “Which is fine, you know. So what time are we going out?”

It was an obvious change of subject, but Catra didn’t push her. She hated it when people pried. “I don’t know. Six? We’re going to order Mexican, take shots and lose to Entrapta at whatever video game she picks. Scorpia is going to pick us up at some point.”

“Really detailed plans there,” Adora said, grabbing her laptop again and untangling her headphones, “Want to watch Wizards of Waverly Place with me? It’s a good episode. It’s the one where they magic themselves into a horror movie.”

Catra realised the offer was totally serious, but she just smirked and asked, “It’s my twenty-first birthday, and you’re asking me if I want to watch a show targeted at ten year olds?”

“Uh,” Adora swung one of her earphones around in a loop on the wire and smiled, “yeah.”

“…fine,” Catra pushed herself up from her bed and sat down on Adora’s, taking the offered earphone, “but if you tell anyone about this, I’ll use your toothbrush to unclog the shower drain.”

Scorpia and Entrapta lived in the same apartment block as Bow and Glimmer.

It felt different, going to floor seven instead of floor five on a Friday night. Not a bad weird, just… new. Adora didn’t mind it. Change wasn’t always a bad thing.

The elevator there was a lot less creaky and terrifying than the one in Fright Zone Hall, and it was nice not to fear for her life for the entire journey up to the right floor. But she had Fright Zone Hall to thank for one thing. One thing that was looking at her amusedly as she chatted happily with Scorpia (or more like ranted excitedly at Scorpia) about the new plays they’d been practicing, and how they were going to kick some serious ass at their next game.

“Okay, what,” Adora finished talking about the amazing tackle that had basically won them the last game, because why was Catra looking at her like that? “What’s so funny about my incredible soccer talent?”

Catra breezed past her into Scorpia and Entrapta’s place with a smirk. That fucking smirk. “Nothing’s funny.”

Adora’s rebuttal of well you sure look amused was cut off by the purple-haired girl who worked at the coffee shop with Catra. By process of elimination, Adora guessed she was Entrapta. She jumped up from the couch, looked her up and down and said, “I don’t know you.”

“I’m Adora,” she introduced herself, and then realised that didn’t contextualise things at all, “Catra’s roommate.”

Entrapta squinted at her, and then looked over at Catra, who was already in the little kitchenette area, pouring out tequila shots. “I thought you didn’t like your roommate.”

Catra snorted. “I don’t.”

Scorpia patted Adora on the back and gazed sternly over at Catra. “Ignore her.”

“If you don’t like her, why did you invite her?” Entrapta asked, already turned towards the TV screen. She had a Nintendo Switch controller in her hands, and Mario Kart was already loading on the screen. “That seems… illogical.”

“She invited me because she likes me and she’s just too stubborn to admit it,” Adora said, smirking over at Catra, who just rolled her eyes in response.

“Whatever,” Catra scoffed, holding out a shot glass. “Take this. If you want.”

Her fingers brushed against Catra’s as she took the glass, and she blamed the weird sparks on static electricity. Adora didn’t hesitate to knock back the shot, and Catra did the same with her own, before sliding what looked like a takeout menu over the counter to her.

Adora picked it up. She was right, it was a takeout menu for a nearby Mexican place. “This is where we’re ordering from?”

“No, I just thought I’d give you a present,” Catra rolled her eyes, already refilling her shot glass from the tequila bottle, “yes, dumbass.”

“I’ll have the enchiladas,” Adora slid the menu back in Catra’s direction, watching as she took the second shot, relayed Adora’s order to Scorpia, and started filling up a third. “Damn, go easy. You’re going to be drunk before you know it.”

Catra let out an offended scoff. “Do I look like a lightweight to you?”

“Well, yeah, actually,” Adora answered, because she did. She was short and slender and looked like it’d only take two or three shots to get her tipsy. “You’re all little.”

“I- you, psh,” Catra gaped at her, and if she’d been feigning offence before, it actually looked genuine now. “I am not little.”

“Yeah, you are,” Adora laughed, because there was no way she could deny it. If she tried hard enough, Adora could probably carry her over her shoulder. “What are you, like, 5’2?”

“I’m 5’4, if you must know,” Catra shoved past her towards the living room, muttering, “We’re not all freakishly tall like you.”

“I’m 5’8!” Adora let out her own offended psh and murmured, “Freakish? You’re freakish,” but Catra didn’t hear. She’d already flopped down onto one of the couches. There were two, one facing the television, which Entrapta was sat right in the middle of, and one adjacent to it. That was the one that Catra had gotten herself comfortable on, tequila bottle one hand and Switch controller in the other.

Adora brought her empty shot glass with her and sat down on the couch with Catra. She’d placed the tequila bottle on the table and was talking to Entrapta about some new strategy she had to win, and she looked so… happy. Not just happy, but comfortable. Adora had seen flashes of it a few times, but here, Catra seemed more open. There was still some hesitance about her, but it was the most open she’d ever seen her.

Scorpia came back into the room as cheerful as ever. “Food is ordered! It’ll be here around seven.”

Neither Entrapta nor Catra acknowledged it – they’d already started a grand prix and race one had begun – so Adora said, “Thanks, Scorpia.”

“Oh, they zone out completely when they play that,” Scorpia said, understanding Adora’s apologetic smile. She sat down on the same couch that Catra and Adora were sitting on, and Adora scooted over to Catra’s side to make room for her.

Her thigh brushed against the smaller girl’s, and when she looked back at the screen, Dry Bones – Catra’s character – skidded on a banana. Catra’s gaze wasn’t on the TV, she was staring down at her lap, where Adora’s thigh was pressed against hers.

“Catra, you’re driving into a wall.”

Entrapta’s voice seemed to startle her out of whatever that was, because she jumped, looked up at the screen, and muttered a quiet, “Fuck.”

Adora’s stomach churned when Catra shifted away from her. She was pressed up against the couch’s armrest, and Adora chewed on her bottom lip with a frown. Was she really that desperate to get away from her?

They’d never really touched before, Adora realised. Not for more than a few seconds, anyway. Even if they were sat on one of their little beds in the room, usually Melog and a laptop were there as a barrier. She wondered if Catra did that on purpose.

Did Catra even like her?

Like, she said she didn’t, but Adora thought that was a joke.

No, she wouldn’t have invited her here if she didn’t.

But then why was she so weird about Adora just sitting a little closer? It couldn’t be a touch thing; Catra had hugged Scorpia when she’d arrived to pick them up. Well, it was more like Scorpia had hugged Catra, and Catra just sort of… waited for it to end. But she was always cuddling Melog.

Wait, why was she so bothered about it? It wasn’t a big deal if Catra just moved out of the way. Maybe she’d just gotten a little warm. It wasn’t like Adora wanted to touch her, anyway.

In a totally platonic way, of course. Like, hugs. Adora liked hugs.

God, even my internal monologue rambles, Adora thought to herself. She jumped in surprise when Catra let out a loud, frustrated, “Ugh! Fuck you.” Adora looked at the TV screen – Entrapta had won that race, and Catra had come third. Probably because she drove into a wall for a solid thirty seconds.

And why had she done that?

Nope, Adora stopped herself, leaning forward to grab the tequila bottle and pour herself a shot. Don’t start questioning things. Just… go with the flow.

A second shot glass was nudged next to hers, and she looked up to see Catra gazing at her expectantly. Catra smirked, the left corner of her mouth tilting up, blue and amber eyes sparkling like pretty gemstones hitting the light. “If you’re going to drink all of my tequila, I at least want a shot out of there.”

Adora’s stupid, idiotic worries dissipated. Obviously, Catra liked her. They were friends. She’d probably just taken her by surprise before. She smiled, pouring her the shot, and passing her the glass, “Here,” she nodded at the TV, “now get your head in the game.”

“You’ve been watching High School Musical, too?” Catra snorted, taking the shot and slamming the glass onto the table, swiping her controller up again. “I don’t know what I expected.”

“You’re the one who made it a High School Musical reference, so…” Adora smiled when that irritated scowl showed. Catra’s brow furrowed, and her nose crinkled, making those cute freckles on her cheeks even cuter. Objectively, of course.

When she turned to grab her shot glass, she saw possibly the weirdest thing she’d ever seen. Scorpia was frowning. Not at anything in particular, just to herself. Since Catra and Entrapta were back racing, both of them giving the game their completely undivided attention, Adora attempted a joke. “Whoa, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you frown before. What’s up?”

Scorpia blinked, and Adora realised she was probably as deep in her own thoughts as Adora had been. She smiled, but it was a little bit forced and awkward. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Do we know who the championship game is going to be up against? Or have any ideas?”

It was a quick subject change, but any talk about soccer, Adora would take. “Well, we’re not going to know for definite until we kick some ass and secure our rightful place there, but it’s looking like Horde Academy again. Which is good, because we know how they play. And I guess it’s bad because they know how we play, but at least we’ve been working on some new strategies. I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully Glimmer and Bow will be able to make it to watch. Did Catra and Entrapta come last year?”

“Entrapta did. Catra had a lecture thing she had to go to.” Scorpia’s gaze unfocused on Adora, because she was looking at Catra, who was still staring at the television as she played. Adora didn’t even think she’d blinked. “But that was alright. Maybe she’ll be able to make it this year.”

On the TV, Dry Bones overtook Princess Peach, and Catra let out a loud, “Oh my god, hell yes!” Her eyes were sparkling again, wide on the TV, and she leaned forwards in her seat as if that would force the car on screen to go faster.

But then Entrapta grinned. “Blue shell!”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Catra yelped, drifting around the corner. The finish line was up ahead, and she could maybe, maybe make it, but the blue shell in question had caught up and was circling her car. It exploded when she was inches away from crossing the finish line and winning the race, and Entrapta cackled in a manner reminiscent of an evil witch when she zoomed past Catra to steal the win.

Just to rub salt in the wound, a random computer cart whizzed past Catra when she’d just gotten her car back in motion to crawl over the finish line, placing her in third.

Adora watched in amusement as Catra slowly placed the controller on the coffee table and stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go jump off the roof.”

Adora’s hand shot up automatically, wrapping around Catra’s wrist and pulling her back. “Please don’t.”

She let go when she realised what she was doing, but Catra didn’t seem bothered at all. Instead, she sat down with a long, dramatic sigh, and announced, “Pour me another shot. I’m too miserable to do it myself. Like, just losing sucks, but thinking you’re going to win and then losing? That’s the worst. You couldn’t have let me have it, huh?”

Entrapta cackled evilly again. “You’ll never beat me. It’s better for you if you just give up now.”

“That’s fighting talk,” Catra said, but she grabbed the controller again and passed it to Adora when Adora held out a shot glass. “Avenge me.”

Adora looked at the outstretched controller with raised eyebrows. Scorpia leaned around, “I’ll avenge you if you want, wildcat.”

“Scorpia, you literally come twelfth in every race,” Catra deadpanned and poked Adora with the controller. “Come on. If you completely flop, it’ll at least make me feel better for that embarrassing display.”

“Alright,” Adora took the controller after a little bit of thought, keeping the teeny-tiny secret that she maybe went through a massive Mario Kart phase with Bow last year. “Let’s do this.”

Five minutes later, when Adora crossed the finish line first, she expected applause. Or at least some kind of congratulations or thanks from Catra for so-called ‘avenging her’.

Entrapta looked horrified, staring at the 2^nd - Princess Peach displayed on the screen. Scorpia looked mildly irritated, for some reason Adora didn’t understand. And Catra was quite hilariously stunned.

“Wow. Okay. Yeah.” Catra looked at the TV screen, then back at Adora, then back at the TV. “I hate you.”

Adora just laughed.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you don’t want to come out tonight?”

“For the fiftieth time, yeah.”

“But Adora…”

“But Glimmer,” Adora wondered suddenly if Catra was rubbing off on her when that response came out of her mouth. “I’m not coming out tonight. Besides, I don’t even have a costume.”

“There are always places with costumes left for all the last-minute people like you,” Glimmer pointed out, “Come on, it’s Halloween.”

“It’s also Monday,” Adora reminded her, and Tuesdays were her worst days for classes. She had an 8AM and regretted choosing it ever since her alarm went off that first Tuesday of the semester. “Besides, we hung out last night, and we’re going out on Friday. We can celebrate Halloween belatedly.”

“Ugh,” Glimmer groaned, “fine. I’m not letting you out of that. I don’t care if something happens and you’re on your deathbed. We’re hanging out on Friday. You should sleep over. We’re long overdue a Best Friend Squad sleepover.”

Adora hummed in thought. That might be nice, actually, and she was sure that Catra would enjoy having the room to herself for a night. Weirdly, since getting closer to her, Adora felt less like she was third wheeling her friends. “Yeah, okay.”

“Yes! Bow, perfect timing,” Glimmer called as he stepped out of the building they were waiting in front of. They were getting lunch together, and Adora maybe suggested the coffee shop that Catra worked at. Only because she liked the latte she’d gotten. “Adora’s sleeping over on Friday.”

“Hell yeah,” Bow threw an arm around both of their shoulders as they walked, “the band is back together! We should totally start a band. You know I’m learning guitar and I’m getting pretty damn good.”

“He’s not,” Glimmer retorted, and before he could argue with her, asked Adora, “so, how are things with you?”

“Better, right?” Bow asked. “You haven’t ranted about the jerkface roommate for a while. Then again, maybe that means it’s worse and you’re just suffering in silence because you know we’ll rescue you and make you sleep on the couch for a year.”

“She’s not- it’s fine now,” Adora said, ducking out from under Bow’s arm and turning off around the corner. Her friends followed, both of them looking a little surprised. And they looked extremely surprised when she admitted, “Actually, Catra and I are friends now. I guess sheltering an illegal cat together will do that.”

“You’re friends with Catra?” Glimmer repeated, staring at her incredulously. “Like, your roommate, Catra? Not some other Catra we don’t know?”

“Yes, my roommate, Catra,” Adora said flatly. She sighed, aware of the little smile tugging up the corners of her mouth when she admitted, “She’s actually really sweet under all of the snark.”

Glimmer laughed. “Yeah, great joke, Adora.”

“I think she’s serious,” Bow said, and he flashed his usual bright smile, “Well, hey, that’s good. Good you guys are on the same page.”

“Uh-huh, yeah,” Adora answered. As they rounded the corner to the coffee shop, she glanced through the windows and over at the counter. Catra was there, taking some guy’s order, and she could see Entrapta whizzing around behind the counter making drinks, along with a slightly terrified looking blond guy who was wearing an I’m new tag.

The bell rang as Adora pushed open the door, and she held it open for Bow and Glimmer. Adora joined the back of the line and nodded over to a table for four with the big sofa chairs, right by the fireplace. “One of you go get that table.”

“I’m on it,” Glimmer said, pulling away from Bow with a smile, “Bow knows what I want.”

Once she was out of earshot, however, Bow looked at Adora. His brown eyes were wide with horror, and Adora wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him look so terrified. Not even when they went to that haunted house in freshman year, and he ran out screaming when he thought something grabbed him, but it was actually just Glimmer’s bag brushing his thigh. “Oh my god. Adora. I don’t know what she wants.”

Adora laughed. “Caramel mocha and a cinnamon roll.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Bow said. “Like, seriously. I just saw my life flash before my eyes.”

“I would say you owe me one, but I’m a good friend, so I won’t.” Adora answered, stepping forwards as the person at the front of the line went over to the collection point.

The big frat guy who was ahead of them in the line stepped up to the counter, and Adora could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke to Catra. “Medium black coffee and your phone number, please.”

Adora didn’t realise she was glaring daggers at the back of the guy’s head until Bow nudged her and asked what was wrong.

“Sure, that’s 123 you’re an asshole,” Catra snapped, and Adora had to stifle her laughter, “and $2.75 for your coffee, dick.”

“Jesus,” the guy muttered, dropping the change on the counter and trudging off to the collection point, “just trying to be nice.”

Catra rolled her eyes, and when Adora stepped up to the counter, she joked, “I’d ask for your number, but I’d rather not have asshole written on my cup.”

Catra frowned in surprise. She looked up and saw her, and the corners of her mouth tilted up in a slight smile. She grabbed a fresh cup and had her pen at the ready. “That’s a great idea, actually.”

She tossed the cup with asshole now emblazoned on it in big capital letters over to the timid looking blonde guy, then leaned forwards on the counter with a smirk. “So… pumpkin spice latte for Adele?”

Adora chuckled lightly but shook her head. “Nah. I’ll take a ham and cheese pastry and… surprise me on the drink. Just as long as it’s a hot drink.”

Catra raised her eyebrows, but she punched something into the till, “To go?”

“No, we’re staying in,” Adora gestured behind her towards Bow, who awkwardly waved, “How much?”

 “It’s on me,” Catra said, and before Adora could even attempt to argue, she kept talking, “Don’t bother with the collection point, I’ll get Kyle to bring over your stuff.”

Adora stared at her in surprise, because what. “Catra, I’m not letting you pay.”

“Yeah, you are,” Catra answered, and when Adora opened her mouth to insist, she laughed, “It’s seven bucks, Adora. Chill. You do realise they pay me to be here, right? Now go away, you’re holding up the line.”

She was, and Bow gave her a light shove over to the table Glimmer was at. Adora made sure to flash a stern look Catra’s way, so she knew they weren’t done talking about this. Or, more like so she knew Adora would slip seven dollars in her backpack at some point.

Adora half-stomped over to the table and flopped down on the couch opposite Glimmer. It was hard to be annoyed when she was so comfy.

“Whoa,” Glimmer laughed, “What got your panties in a twist?”

“Catra,” Adora glared over at the counter, where Catra was taking Bow’s order, “she wouldn’t let me pay for my stuff.”

Glimmer looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “You’re complaining about free things?”

“Yes!” Adora exclaimed, and then realised how that sounded. “Not in like, a bad way. Just… I don’t know, I don’t like freeloading.”

“Your annoying roommate buying you a coffee isn’t freeloading.” Glimmer pointed out. “Just return the favour at some point. We do it all the time.”

Okay. So… Glimmer maybe had a point. Because Adora, Glimmer and Bow had always done that kind of thing. One of them would buy lunch for all three, then another day, one of the others would do it, rather than constantly transferring money back and forth between bank accounts. It just felt different with Catra, even though Adora had literally bought her breakfast on her birthday. And Catra had complained about that, too.

Ah. That was it. This was Catra’s revenge. Or… maybe repayment was a lighter way to put it.

The nervous looking blond guy – Kyle – came over with a coffee mug and her pastry on a tray. “Adora?”

“Tell Catra she’s annoying.” Adora said as Kyle placed her mug and pastry on the table in front of her.

Kyle paled. “Um, if it’s okay, I’d rather not. She’s kind of scary.”

He scurried away before she could say anything to that, and Bow sat down next to Glimmer, putting his tray in front of them. Glimmer grinned, taking her cinnamon roll and drink, “Aw, you actually did know what I wanted.”

Bow exchanged a look with Adora and smiled sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. So, Adora, want to tell me why you were flirting with your roommate?”

Adora nearly choked on her bite of pastry, and she had to waste the first taste of whatever weird drink Catra had given her when she used it to clear her airways. She could dwell on the flavours later.

“Uh, what? I was not.”

“I’d ask for your number, but I’d rather not have ‘asshole’ written on my cup.” Bow quoted her in an oddly seductive voice, and Adora started at him, trying to figure out exactly how that was flirting. “And she didn’t even make you pay.”

“That’s not flirting. It was just a joke about how badly that guy’s flirting attempt went.” Adora pointed out. “Catra is my friend. I don’t even like her like that. And she didn’t make me pay because she’s probably getting me back for buying her breakfast the other day.”

“Does she know you’re not flirting?”

“Yeah,” Glimmer admitted after a bite of cinnamon roll, “that sounds pretty flirty, Adora.”

“Okay, a) it’s not flirting, and b) she’s probably straight,” Adora pointed out, quickly scrambling to tack onto the end, “and c) I don’t like her like that. Also, d) even if I did, and she was somehow gay, dating your roommate is a big no-no.”

Bow frowned, gesturing between himself and Glimmer. “I dated my roommate and I’d say that’s working out pretty well. Why is it a no-no?”

“Okay, the only reason I’m entertaining this question is because you’re dating your roommate, not because I want to date mine,” Adora answered, because she didn’t. “If you break up, it would make for the most awkward living situation ever.”

“Why are you assuming you’d break up?” Glimmer asked. “You can’t not go for things because you’re afraid of getting hurt. Otherwise, you’d never be really happy.”

That was one of Glimmer’s rare wise moments. But that didn’t matter when, “I don’t want to date Catra.”

She glanced over at the counter, where Catra was taking a girl’s order. Was Catra beautiful? Yes. Was Catra smart? Yes. Was Catra funny? Yes. But they were friends. You could think those things about someone in a friendly way. She thought Glimmer was pretty, smart and funny. That didn’t mean she wanted to date her. And she definitely didn’t want to date her probably straight roommate.

Bow and Glimmer exchanged that look. She knew which one. It was the ‘our best friend is an idiot’ look. And then Bow smiled, a little too cheerfully. “Alright then. Whatever you say.”

“I don’t.” Adora glared at them, and then picked up her coffee again. It was time for the real taste test, now that she wasn’t choking on pastry. She took another sip and tried to identify the sweet flavours in relation to the menu, but she couldn’t place anything specific. Definitely white chocolate in there, but also a hint of something fruity, like some kind of berry. She pulled her phone from her pocket to send a sneaky text.

dumbass roommate 🐶 (1:23PM): Whoa what is this drink I swear it’s not on the menu

dumbass roommate 🐶 (1:23PM): It’s really nice tho!!

Adora pocketed her phone – obviously Catra wouldn’t respond while she was working – and tuned back into Bow and Glimmer’s conversation now that they weren’t accusing her of crushing on her roommate. That they’d even landed on that conclusion was ridiculous.

Two seconds later, her phone buzzed, and she glanced over at the counter to see Catra flashing her a smirk before the next customer stepped forward to order. Okay, so… she was apparently really good at covert texting.

Bratra 😼 (1:24PM): my own secret recipe

Bratra 😼 (1:24PM): no i won’t tell you

Of course. Her contact name wasn’t Bratra for no reason.

dumbass roommate 🐶 (1:25PM): I’ll get it out of you eventually

“And who are you texting with that goofy smile on your face?”

Adora stuffed her phone back in her pocket at Glimmer’s teasing tone. “Nobody. I was just checking Twitter.”

“Sure,” Glimmer smirked, and her gaze quite obviously flicked over to the counter where Catra was working. “Okay.”

“Oh my god, for the last time, I do not have a crush on my roommate.”

Catra was basically a zombie after working seven until two, then running straight to class. She was pretty sure Adora would be out tonight with her Best Friend Squad, and she was one hundred percent ready to collapse into bed when she was ambushed outside her lecture theatre.

“Wildcat!” Scorpia pulled her in for a hug, and Catra awkwardly twisted out of it. It wasn’t that she didn’t like hugs, or any kind of affectionate physical contact. She actually really did. She just… wasn’t used to it. And definitely wasn’t used to it happening unexpectedly. “Happy Halloween!”

“Yeah, not really,” Catra yawned. God, she was daydreaming about her bed. Warm blankets and Melog curled up next to her. She started walking in the direction of Fright Zone Hall. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Well, you know Entrapta doesn’t like to party because she hates the loud noise, and I know you’re not super big on it either, but sometimes you do, so…” Scorpia looked weirdly nervous, and Catra just yawned again, “Do you want to go to a party tonight? I figured you probably didn’t have a costume, so I-”

“I’m literally about to fall asleep walking right now, so… going to have to pass,” Catra said, yawning for the third time. “But hey, I’m pretty sure Adora’s going out with Sparkles and her boyfriend, you could always tag along with them.”

“Uh… no. I kind of thought it could be like…” Scorpia trailed off, and whatever she thought it was, Catra was too tired to figure out. “So… you and Adora get along pretty well now, then.”

“Hm… yeah. I guess.” Catra shrugged. “She didn’t-” yawn, “tell on me. With Melog. And she’s actually kind of cool.”

“Oh. That’s interesting.” Scorpia commented, and Catra didn’t know if she was supposed to hear it when she murmured, “Took you a while to think I was cool.”

The words surprised her, but she knew what that was about. It had taken about five months of persistence on Scorpia’s end for Catra to stop being stubborn and give into friendship. It wasn’t Scorpia’s fault, it was all on her, but still.

“Are you, like, jealous? Relax, Scorpia. You’re my best friend,” Catra said, “always will be.”

Catra didn’t say it that often; there was something about that vulnerability in telling people how you felt about them that made her want to balk. But she did care about Scorpia a lot. Entrapta, too. They were her best friends, the first two people she’d ever had a genuinely positive human connection with.

There was something off about Scorpia’s smile when she replied with, “Yeah. I know.”

In a tired attempt at cheering her up, Catra said, “I’ll let Adora know you’re thinking about partying tonight. Apparently, you live in the same apartment building as her annoying friends, so they can pick you up.”

“No, that’s okay. I think I might stay in too.” Scorpia answered, and quietly added, “You could come over for a movie night? You know Entrapta likes the scary stuff. Mostly so she can ramble on about the tech behind the special effects.”

“Nah, I’m way too tired,” Catra said, and she was still daydreaming about her bed when they stopped outside of Fright Zone Hall. “I’m probably just going to sleep for the rest of the night. I’ll see you later, Scorpia.”

Scorpia was still quiet when she said, “Bye, wildcat,” and maybe she was being a little bit of a bad friend when she didn’t question it, but Catra was seriously about to drop. She was so tired that she even decided to take the death trap elevator instead of the stairs.

Catra expected an empty room when she came in; it was half past six, which was usually the time Adora headed off to her friends’ place for predrinks. But instead, Adora was lounging on her bed in her pyjamas, scratching Melog behind the ears and watching Hocus Pocus on her laptop.

She didn’t have headphones in, and when she heard the door open, she paused her movie and turned around, flashing a smile. “Hey. Good day?”

“Nope. You wouldn’t believe the annoying customer I got at work today,” Catra kicked her shoes off and dumped her backpack by the door. “This dumbass blonde girl practically demanded that I make a non-existent drink for her. And then, if that wasn’t enough, she forced me to pay for it.”

“Very funny,” Adora rolled her eyes and nodded over to Catra’s nightstand. “I put seven dollars there.”

“Great.” Catra scooped up the money and dumped it right back on Adora’s nightstand. “I don’t want it. I told you, it was on me.”

“You’re so stubborn,” Adora commented, but at least she didn’t get up and put the money back. Catra was too tired for a back and forth. As she grabbed her pyjamas and walked over to the bathroom to change, Adora asked, “Want to watch Hocus Pocus? I’m only ten minutes in, I can skip back to the start.”

She should say no. She was planning on saying no, because she wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. But then she reasoned with herself. It would be a bad idea to sleep so early. She’d wake up in the middle of the night wide awake. A movie was only an hour and a half, which would take her to eight o’clock. A much more acceptable time to go to sleep.

“Okay,” Catra finally answered, “just give me a minute to get changed.”

Catra changed in the bathroom, and when she went back out to the room, Adora was still ready and waiting. The movie was up on her laptop, skipped back to the start, and she’d done the usual setup – laptop placed in the centre of the bed, Melog curled up right in front of it. The cat purred happily when Catra sat down and scratched that spot behind the ears with one hand, rubbing at her own tired eyes with the other.

“How come you’re not out with your best friend squad?”

“It’s a Monday night, and I really don’t want to be hungover at my 8AM class tomorrow,” Adora shrugged, “sorry if you were expecting to have the room to yourself.”

She was, but Catra found that she didn’t mind. “No, it’s okay. You’re actually pretty tolerable.”

Adora snorted with laughter. “Okay, wow. I’ll take that as the highest compliment coming from you.”

“As you should,” Catra said, and because Adora wasn’t doing it, she reached forwards to play the movie, “now shh. No talking in the theatre.”

Catra was sleeping on her shoulder.

The movie was still playing, the Sanderson Sisters were hanging out at Satan’s house, and Catra was sleeping on Adora’s shoulder.

It had happened slowly. Despite Catra’s initial rule of no talking while they were watching something, inevitably, Adora made little comments. At first, Catra answered with her own snarky commentary. Then, slowly, it became a quiet hm or a single yeah in response.

A few minutes after that, Catra’s head had fallen on Adora’s shoulder, and now it had been an hour. An hour that Adora spent wondering what the hell she was supposed to do, and why the hell she wanted to pull her closer.

It wasn’t because she liked her. Because Adora didn’t, not like that. She didn’t get feelings like that for her friends. And there was the simple fact that she could get coherent sentences out around Catra – when Adora liked a girl, she forgot pretty much every word in the English language. Maybe it was just the urge to protect, or something. Catra was small, but she looked even smaller when she slept. Adora just wanted to scoop her up and cuddle her tight, but in a totally platonic way. She looked like she didn’t get many hugs.

After fretting about it for what felt like a stupid amount of time, slowly, Adora’s arm found its way around Catra’s shoulder. Just because Catra looked unbalanced, and if she fell, what’s to say she wouldn’t wake up? Really, Adora was just helping her out. Her hand gently gripped Catra’s bicep as she slumped closer to Adora in her sleep, steadying her. She was so warm, and so soft, and just having another person there felt nice. Adora tried not to move. She didn’t want to wake her. That was the whole point.

(Especially because she didn’t want Catra to wake up, think she was some kind of freak, cuss her out and then end their newly formed friendship.)

Whatever. Adora tried not to worry, for once in her life. She yawned. This was actually really comfortable. The gentle heat radiating from Catra was like a nice warm blanket. Adora’s eyes fell shut shortly after, and she promised herself she’d just rest her eyes for ten minutes.

She woke up six hours later to Catra asleep in her own bed across the room, Adora’s laptop closed and left on her bedside table, and the sound of Melog’s gentle snores.

They didn’t talk about it.

In fact, Adora was starting to wonder if she’d just imagined the whole thing. Catra falling asleep on her, Adora holding her closer and falling asleep herself. Maybe it had just been a dream.

Catra didn’t mention it, and Adora followed her lead. It wasn’t like things were awkward, either. Everything was the same. Like it had never happened. She saw Catra a little less, but midterms were coming up, so she assumed it was just because of that.

Adora didn’t think anything of it when she took to studying in the coffee shop Catra worked at. It was just the comfy chairs, and the quick access to caffeine and snacks, Adora reasoned. It definitely wasn’t the way Catra would bring her random drinks she’d invented when things were slow and she was bored, or the way Catra would use Adora’s flash cards to quiz her on her breaks.

Even with the new, rather enjoyable study arrangement, when midterms finished, Adora was relieved. She’d always floundered with examinations. There was something about the whole this is your one shot to show everything you’ve learned pressure that made her brain stop. She announced exactly that to Catra when she came back to their room after her final midterm, with the full intention of packing everything she needed for Thanksgiving break to give her something to look forward to. Well, most of the things she needed, anyway. She didn’t leave until Friday, and she wasn’t going to pack her toothbrush in advance.

Adora expected Catra to laugh, or call her a dumbass, but she just shrugged, casually petting Melog as she flipped the page in her textbook she was reading. “I get that. Exams don’t really test intelligence, just memory. Different people are smart in different ways.”

“Huh, I didn’t think you’d agree,” Adora commented, grabbing her big overnight bag from the bottom of her wardrobe. As she started to stuff it with clothes, she asked, “Got any Thanksgiving plans?”

“Nope.”

“Wait, what?” Adora whirled around in surprise. “You don’t?”

“That’s generally what nope means,” Catra said, gently scratching a nail down Melog’s back. Melog purred loudly, and Catra glanced up when Adora was still silent. “Why are you looking at me like I just kicked a puppy?”

Adora tried to make her face look less oh my god and more… inviting. “You can’t just stay here by yourself.”

“I’ve done it the last two years, so I don’t think doing it again is going to kill me.” Catra shrugged, and she was looking at Melog when she said, “Besides, I’ve got a kitty to look after now. Can’t leave Melog behind, even if I did have plans.”

Adora admitted that she was basically the most curious person on the planet. But as much as she wanted to ask, she bit back the why are you staying here alone that was balanced on the tip of her tongue.

“Come with me, then,” Adora blurted out instead. When Catra frowned at her, she figured she’d made her bed and might as well sleep in it. “I’ve got like a four-hour drive to get home, and we can take Melog in the car, and… I’d really like the company. And my grandma makes enough food for like twenty people, so that’s not a problem either.”

Catra stared at her, and Adora felt like she was being microscopically analysed under her gaze. Like Catra could see every single thought running through her head. Catra’s hand didn’t stop gently petting Melog, and for a moment Adora had a rather hilarious image of a cartoon villain petting their cat while spilling all of their evil plans.

“I don’t know what it is,” Catra finally said, “but it’s like I can’t say no to you.”

Adora grinned when she realised that was a vague confirmation. “Is that a yes?”

Catra sighed dramatically, but she was smiling. It was a subdued and quiet smile, but only because it was a big one Catra was trying to conceal. “It’s a yes.”

“Okay, get up. I’m going to hug you.” Adora stated, but then she remembered that whole thing with their thighs touching and the way Catra never mentioned the accidentally sleeping together thing, and almost took it back.

But Catra gently nudged Melog off of her and stood up, dramatically spreading her arms out and waiting. “Come on. I’m not going to stand like this all day.”

Adora really grinned then; the beam that she usually reserved for soccer victories and really really good news. She stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around Catra’s waist, pulling her in for a tight hug, and… wow. Catra was a really good hugger. Her arms enveloped Adora’s shoulders, her face snuggled into her neck, and it was so jarring coming from the girl who had practically had an anxiety attack when Adora’s leg had brushed against hers.

Adora counted to five, and then pulled away. Any longer and it would’ve been drawn out way too much. “I honestly thought you’d say no to the hug, so that’s cool.”

A sharp breath of air came out of Catra’s nose as she sat back down on her bed. She looked like she was debating telling her something, and eventually she just revealed, “I don’t really like unexpected contact with most people. But hugs with a fair warning are nice.”

Adora vowed to keep that in mind. “So… if you’re not Scorpia and Entrapta, ask first?”

Catra cringed. “Um, even they’re kind of… I mean, Entrapta isn’t really a hugger anyway, and Scorpia’s just… forgetful in that aspect. I’ve talked to her about it a few times, but I get that it’s hard to just like, unlearn the way you interact with people naturally.”

Adora knew from experience that Scorpia was a hugger. Almost every practice, when she saw someone, Scorpia would envelop them in a big hug. Or she used to, Adora realised. That hadn’t exactly happened for a while, at least with her. Eh, probably just her talks with Catra sinking in.

“I guess so, but I’ll try my best,” Adora flashed an earnest smile and returned to her packing, “So, when is your last midterm? I was going to set off on Friday morning, but if you’ve got an exam, I can wait.”

“Tomorrow morning, so Friday morning is all good,” Catra said, closing her textbook and starting to make a list from memory of whatever it was she was studying. “Are you sure your grandma is going to be cool with me coming with? And Melog.”

“Oh, yeah, she gets super excited when I bring people over,” Adora said, remembering the time she’d introduced Razz to Bow and Glimmer. She’d practically rolled out the red carpet, excited to meet Adora’s BFFs. “I’ll call her later, if I recall correctly, she’s at bingo right now. And don’t worry about Melog, she’s a cat person.”

Catra hummed in reply, and for once, she didn’t argue. Probably more focused on her studying. “Alright then.”

It wasn’t until five minutes later that it really sunk in. She was going to spend Thanksgiving with Catra. Catra was going to be in her childhood home. In her childhood bedroom.

Adora’s stomach fluttered like she’d just taken the big dip on a rollercoaster. She pushed it aside. It was just pre-emptive nerves for her midterm results. That was all.

On a spontaneous whim, they set off on Thursday afternoon instead. Adora had to stifle her laughter, watching Catra struggle with her bag that was packed for the ten days they’d be away, as well as smuggling Melog out of the building under her shirt. It wasn’t the most subtle thing – there was a big lump under Catra’s t-shirt that kept thrashing and writhing, and Catra kept cursing the whole walk to Adora’s car.

“You could’ve helped,” Catra glowered at her when they were in the relative safety of Adora’s car. Once the doors were closed, Melog jumped out from under Catra’s shirt with a loud hiss.

“I could’ve,” Adora agreed with a smirk, “but it was much more fun to watch.”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Ass.”

“Oh, like you would’ve helped me,” Adora answered sarcastically as she plugged her phone into the aux cord. She didn’t know what kind of music Catra liked… well, she had a feeling that she was probably into angsty punk rock stuff, but she didn’t want to assume based on looks. She shuffled her big party playlist that was titled ‘songs everyone knows’ and started to drive. It was mostly just cheesy pop songs. A lot of stuff like One Direction, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, ABBA.

She had a feeling that Catra didn’t approve with the way her nose turned up at the opening notes of What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction, but by the second verse, she was begrudgingly singing along with Adora, who was yelling the lyrics at the top of her lungs.

Yep. Songs everyone knows. Worked like a charm.

One very long, loud, cheesy pop music dominated road trip later, Catra found herself standing in front of Adora’s childhood home. She still didn’t entirely know what had possessed her to say yes to this. She was fine spending holidays alone; it wasn’t like they ever had any sentimental meaning to her growing up. She’d had no problem turning down Scorpia when she asked her about five hundred times to go back to her parents’ house with her.

Like she’d regrettably admitted… there was something about Adora that Catra couldn’t say no to.

The place Adora called home was a little village called Eternia. Catra got the vibe that it was one of those places where everybody knew everybody, which always felt a little creepy and invasive to her, but whatever. The place they’d parked up outside of was a little ranch, with actual stables out the back and long, sloping fields going off into the distance. The house was a little stone cottage with smoke rising from the chimney, and it looked so homey and welcoming that Catra almost felt… uncomfortable. She’d never been in a place like this before. She imagined if it snowed, it would look like the back of a Christmas card.

She didn’t say that, though. Just kept an eye on Melog, watching as the cat sniffed at the new surroundings curiously. She was more than a little honoured when Melog didn’t stray too far from her side. “Stables? I knew I got horse girl vibes from you.”

“Oh, shut up,” Adora rolled her eyes, “just for that, you don’t get to meet Swift Wind.”

“Swift Wind?” Catra repeated. This time, the teasing smirk was genuine. “And how old were you when you picked that name?”

Adora let out a cough that sounded a whole lot like seventeen and then loudly announced, “Okay! Bags! Yes!” and whirled around to the trunk of the car.

Catra bit down on her bottom lip, but it didn’t do much to hide her smile. She’s cute, her brain decided to announce, and Catra pushed that thought aside. It didn’t mean anything.

She walked around to grab her bag from the trunk, Melog trailing behind her. That was cute, that the little cat wouldn’t leave her side or wander off. Even with all of the fresh air and new smells.

“Oh, Razz is going to be so surprised that I’m here early,” Adora grinned, shouldering her own bag and picking up the one with Melog’s stuff – the cleaned out litter tray, a bag of litter and some food cans – before Catra could grab it. “I’ll be pretty mad if she’s out with her gal pals. She’s literally got a better social life than I do.”

Pretty much everyone had a better social life than Catra these days, so she didn’t comment on that. Just joked, “Bingo gets pretty wild, then?”

“For sure,” Adora laughed, leading the way over to the front door of the cottage and knocking a couple of times. “If she doesn’t answer, I’ve got my keys somewhere in my bag.”

Thankfully, they didn’t have to rifle around Adora’s bag for her keys, which would have probably ended up being right at the bottom. The front door swung open, and a tiny little old lady moved way too fast for someone of her age, pulling Adora in for a tight hug. “Oh, what a wonderful surprise! A whole day early!”

“Hi, grandma,” Adora hugged the woman tightly and explained, “Catra and I were both done with midterms so we figured there was no point in hanging around. Might as well get the drive over with.”

“Yes, yes,” Razz pulled away from Adora, and Catra braced herself for the possibility of a hug, or handshake, or whatever. But the old woman just smiled kindly, and Catra had a feeling Adora had warned her about the touch-aversion thing. “You must be Catra! I’m Razz, her grandmother. It’s always so nice to meet Adora’s friends. Come in, come in!”

Adora led the way inside, then Catra and Melog followed. The cottage was just as homey on the inside as it looked on the outside. It even smelled homey, like freshly baked cookies, and it was such a weird feeling. Cross-stitching hung on the cream-coloured walls, as well as photographs of a young, gap-toothed Adora. There was a particularly adorable one where she was standing with her thumbs-up, smiling wide, one hand petting a brown horse’s mane. It just added to the strange, comfortable feeling. Everything was unfamiliar, and not in the obvious way.

Catra had been in a lot of houses, but she’d never been in a home before.

“…and I don’t really have that much in for dinner,” Razz was saying when Catra tuned back in, “I was planning on going shopping tonight.”

“We can order from Rogelio’s tonight because I’m really craving their pizza,” Adora said, “and then Catra and I can do the shopping tomorrow. It’ll give us something to do,” she was talking to Catra now, “you probably noticed, but there’s not much to do around here. Maybe I should’ve warned you about that.”

Adora was like summer. One look from those bright sapphire eyes melted Catra’s icy walls like a beam of warm sunlight. Catra found herself smiling and saying, “Eh, I don’t mind. In case you haven’t noticed, I like the quiet.”

“Good point,” Adora was smiling back, and there was something about it that just… hit her. It was the sudden realisation that Catra had never felt so comfortable around someone before. “Okay, follow me, we can put our bags away and get all of Melog’s stuff sorted. Someone looks hungry.”

“I’ll let you two get settled,” Razz said, and she smiled at Catra warmly. God, she was tiny. Even Catra towered over her. “And then I want to get to know you! Adora mentioned you were roommates.”

Normally, the phrase I want to get to know you would strike fear into Catra’s heart. She didn’t like people prying. But with Adora smiling at her like that, all Catra could do was smile herself and say, “There’s not much to know, but it’s not hard to get information out of me when you’re offering me pizza.”

“Oh, you couldn’t have told me that back at the start of the school year?” Adora joked, nodding down the hallway in an unspoken follow me. “And shut up. There’s plenty to know. Like, I just realised I don’t even know what you’re studying.”

Catra shrugged. She didn’t really like to talk about herself. Somehow, people always ended up on the heavy topics, but that wasn’t exactly hard when ‘family’ was one of the first things people thought to ask about. “It’s boring, but I’m studying law.”

“Whoa. You really are smart.” Adora commented, pausing to point to a door, “That’s the bathroom, by the way.”

Catra tried not to be offended by the tone of surprise. “Well, they didn’t just give me valedictorian in high school because they liked me.”

“Whoa,” Adora repeated, pausing outside of the door at the end of the hallway, “I wouldn’t expect that from you. Like, I know you’re smart and everything, but valedictorian screams goody-two-shoes, and you’re…”

Catra waited for the end of that sentence, and when it didn’t come, she smirked. “I’m what, exactly?”

“I don’t know, you just seem like you’ve got the whole rebel against authority thing going on,” Adora said, “like, stick it to the man and all that. Like you’d have been a rulebreaker. In school. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, obviously, I just-”

Catra cut off that long rambling mess before it could happen. She laughed and said, “Breaking the rules and having the best grades are mutually exclusive now, are they? I wasn’t aware. Besides, it’s only bad to break rules if you get caught.”

“Oh, whatever,” Adora rolled her eyes, “It’s just impressive, okay? Stop making fun of me, I was trying to compliment you.”

“Took you a while to get there, but I’ll take it.” Catra grinned and nodded at the closed door in front of her. “So, are we going in there or what?”

“Right, yeah,” Adora realised, turning the handle and pushing the door open. Melog slipped in before both of them, and Adora flicked the light on to reveal her childhood bedroom. “Welcome to my bedroom. You don’t know how grateful I am that we redecorated a couple of summers ago, because I know you never would’ve let me live down the horse wallpaper.”

“I’m still not going to let you live it down,” Catra said, but really, she thought it was cute. Presently, Adora’s walls were painted a calm light blue. She had a comfortable looking king sized bed pushed up against one wall that Melog had already gotten comfortable on, a TV screen and some video games console, and like in their dorm room, there were polaroid pictures on one wall, but here, they were covering the entirety of it. There was a mahogany acoustic guitar propped up in the corner by Adora’s dresser, and Catra raised an eyebrow. “You play guitar?”

Adora followed her gaze and shook her head. “Oh, no. It was my mom’s, she played. I was going to learn at one point, but I never really got around to it. Do you play anything?”

Catra chuckled lightly. “Guitar, actually. Electric. It’s been gathering dust in my closet the last couple of months, though. Life gets in the way sometimes.”

Adora hummed. “Yeah. Anyway, um, feel free to put your bag wherever. I’m going to head down to the basement and get the air mattress. You’re taking the bed.”

“Um, what? No.” Catra blocked the door with her arm. “I’m not kicking you out of your own bed. Or making you sleep on the floor for ten days. I’ll take the air mattress.”

“You’re the guest,” Adora said simply, “no you won’t.”

“Fine, be prepared to share it, then,” Catra folded her arms across her chest, because if there was one thing she was good at, it was being stubborn. “Because I’m not taking the bed.”

Adora raised an eyebrow, and she looked way too amused for a girl who was about to lose this argument. Adora surveyed her with a grin. “What do you weigh, like, fifty pounds? I’m sure I could just pick you up and move you if I have to.”

“Okay, first, I’m not small,” Catra scowled at her, “and second, I’d just move back.”

Adora smirked. “So, you admit I could pick you up with relative ease. Nice. Now move out of my way before I move you.”

“Hey! That’s not- I did not say that.” Catra reached out and shoved her lightly. “You’re an asshole.”

Adora’s whole body was shaking with laughter. Blue eyes were squinted shut, her hands were rested on her stomach, and her laugh was so sweet and bright and musical and Catra couldn’t even be mad at her. Her stupid body decided to betray her in the form of a little smile tilting up her mouth.

“You really-” Adora cut herself off with another string of giggles, “You really walked into that one.”

“Fuck off,” Catra said, but there was no bite to it, “You’re still not taking the air mattress, though.”

“Okay, okay,” Adora paused, and blue eyes darted over to the bed. Melog was curled up right in the middle of it. “It’s a king size. And I meant it when I said you’re not sleeping on the floor. But I guess it’s big enough for the both of us. Only if you’re comfortable with that, though.”

Even though she’d never mentioned it, because she thought that the conversation would end up excruciatingly awkward, Catra shrugged easily and said, “It’s not like we haven’t done it before,” as though she hadn’t spent a whole week thinking about what it was like to wake up with Adora’s arm wrapped around her.

(Not because it meant something. Just because… because it was weird that Catra wasn’t uncomfortable. Yeah.)

“That… that’s true,” Adora hesitated, and when she met Catra’s gaze again, she smiled. “Okay. Cool. Honestly, I’m kind of glad, because I’m eighty percent sure the pump broke when Bow and Glimmer were here over summer, and I don’t think I have the lung capacity to manually blow up an air mattress.”

Catra couldn’t help but laugh.

Adora could tell that Catra was nervous at first, even if she was trying to hide it.

She understood, kind of. Adora always felt awkward when she went to friends’ houses for the first time, and meeting the family was always an experience. She’d given Razz a fair forewarning in the shape of a text, telling her the basics. Like not to just grab Catra and hug her, like she usually would with anyone else. And not to pry. Catra hadn’t really said anything on that, but Adora had a feeling.

Things went well, though. Razz asked her about school and her casual interests and avoided the more personal topics. Family was one Adora had said to avoid. She didn’t know anything about Catra’s family or her upbringing at all herself, but spending the holidays alone was enough of a red flag. Adora could be a little oblivious sometimes, but even she knew not to ask. If Catra wanted to tell her one day, she would.

After a few days, though, Catra seemed to settle. Get used to the new surroundings. One morning when Adora woke up late, she found her in the kitchen cooking pancakes for breakfast and recounting to Razz about the first time she’d tried to make pancakes as a teenager, forgotten to butter the pan, and never understood why they kept sticking and breaking. Another evening, Adora learned that Catra hated socks, but had been putting up with them so she wouldn’t come off as ‘rude’.

(Adora bought a pair of fluffy cat slippers at the store for her the next day, just because.)

It was wonderful, how easily Catra slotted into Adora’s home life. Like she was a fixture that had always been missing.

Thanksgiving dinner was the best. Razz pulled out all the stops when it came to her cooking, and Adora hadn’t been lying when she said she made enough for twenty people. Like, on what planet would three people and a cat need two whole pumpkin pies? Melog ate like a king, or a queen; they still hadn’t taken the little cat to the vet to find out age, or sex, or anything, but Adora didn’t think neither she nor Catra cared that much. Melog was just Melog.

By the time the sun had set on Thanksgiving, Adora had eaten enough for at least four people and ended up lying down on her bed in the appropriate food coma. “I think I’m going to explode.”

“You ate half a pumpkin pie all to yourself,” Catra laughed, leaning against the door frame. She was smirking, her eyes shining in amusement. Those goddamn eyes. “What did you expect?”

“It’s my weakness, okay?” Adora retorted, patting the bed next to her. She liked sharing a bed with Catra more than she’d like to admit. “Ugh, I’m so tired. I already don’t want to drive back to school on Sunday.”

“I’ll drive, if you’re really that dramatic about it,” Catra said, flopping down in the spot next to her and yawning. She was so cute when she yawned. Objectively, of course. Her nose crinkled and her eyes squeezed shut and her little freckles were just right there looking so kissable and—

Wait, what?

No.

Not kissable.

Well, Adora supposed, they could be. If that was what you were into. Which Adora wasn’t, because Catra was her friend.

Her pretty friend, yes. But still her friend. Just her friend.

Right?

“Do you want to come here for Christmas?”

Adora didn’t realise she’d said the words until they tumbled out of her mouth. Yes, she’d been thinking about that. And yes, she knew Razz would be okay with it, because it was obvious that she liked Catra just as much as Adora did. Well... maybe not just as much. But she hadn’t planned on actually asking.

Thanksgiving was one thing. Christmas was something else. Catra probably already had plans. She was probably going to spend it with Scorpia or Entrapta. Her best friends. Not her weird roommate.

Adora realised that Catra hadn’t spoken. Naturally, the rambling kicked in. “You know, if you want to. I don’t want you to feel like you have to, duh, because obviously you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I just thought, you know, if you didn’t have any plans, I’d put that out there. Just so you know you’re welcome here. Because you are. As my friend and everything, you know. Not that you have to be my friend just because we’re roommates – I mean, I know you joke that you don’t like me and everything but-”

“Oh my god, Adora, breathe.”

Adora’s head whipped around to look at Catra. She was lying right there on the bed next to her, Melog curled up on her stomach, smirking at her in amusement.

“I just… thought I’d ask,” Adora shrugged, and she felt the heat creeping up her neck. God, don’t blush, idiot. “Do you? Want to come here, I mean.”

Catra’s teasing smirk softened into that genuine smile. Adora had seen it fighting to be shown a lot over the last week, but Catra was weird like that. She hid her smiles, even though they were the most beautiful thing Adora had ever seen.

“Yeah,” Catra answered finally, “that would be really great, actually.”

Adora’s stomach dipped hopefully and her mind whirred at a hundred miles an hour. “It would?”

“Yeah, knucklehead,” Catra elbowed her lightly, and Adora laughed, “just as long as Melog is invited. We’re a package deal.”

“Of course,” Adora looked at the little cat curled up on Catra’s stomach, “you’re both always welcome here.”

When she looked back up at Catra, she was already watching her, and everything in Adora just… stopped. Like Catra’s sheer beauty had stunned her into a standstill. Catra was smiling. Really, genuinely smiling, not even attempting to hold it back. It lit up her whole face, made her glow, and Adora wondered if Catra even knew how beautiful she was. Her eyes were sparkling, like precious gemstones in a museum. The contrasting colours only made her more stunning, and Adora couldn’t decide if she liked blue or amber more before realising she liked both just the same. Either way, Adora was lost in her kaleidoscope eyes, and when she found herself in them, saw the way she was smiling right back at Catra, the realisation hit her like a ton of bricks.

Oh. No. 

Chapter Text

So, it was one hundred percent possible that Adora maybe had a teensy, tiny crush on Catra.

But that didn’t mean anything.

Okay, well, it meant something. But Catra never had to know about it.

Adora liked Catra. They were friends, and that friendship meant something to her. She hadn’t connected with anyone like this in years, not since she first met Bow and Glimmer. The way she felt so comfortable around Catra meant a lot to her. She wasn’t going to screw it up with some stupid unrequited feelings. Besides, it was still complicated. Catra was her roommate. Her probably straight roommate too. She wasn’t going to mess it all up because of some silly little crush.

Because that was all it was. A little crush that wouldn’t go anywhere, probably brought on by that connection Adora felt with her coupled with the loneliness she’d been feeling now that her two best friends had gotten together. That was all. She would process it, get over it, and that would be that. She’d probably laugh about it in a year or so.

That’s what she kept telling herself any time Catra looked at her. Hopefully, at some point, she’d start believing it.

In the meantime, she’d been using a couple of petty excuses to stay out of the room once classes and everything started back up. Soccer practices, social life, studying. Adora was busy, and sometimes she didn’t get back to the room until late. The separation was doing nothing to rid her of the butterflies in her tummy when Catra looked up from her bed sleepily every time she came back with a, “Hey, Adora.”

She hadn’t realised how much thinking about it was affecting her until she messed up a tackle at soccer practice and fell flat on her face in the middle of the pitch. Fantastic.

“Adora!” Hands were on her shoulders, helping her up, and she looked up to see Perfuma smiling at her comfortingly. She was the ‘mom’ of the team. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Adora groaned a little, because she’d hit the ground pretty hard. She rubbed at her shoulder where she’d slammed into the ground and cringed. That would be a bruise. “Yeah, I think so. Thanks, Perfuma.”

“Maybe we should cut practice short,” Perfuma suggested encouragingly, “You don’t seem like you’re in the best… mindset.”

“I guess I’m just a little distracted, that’s all,” Adora said. A little distracted was barely the tip of the iceberg, but still. “I think you’re right, though. I could use some sleep.”

Perfuma looked at her knowingly, and for a split second, her gaze flicked over to Scorpia in the goal. Adora almost thought she’d imagined it. “Whoever it is that’s on your mind, I’m sure things will work out with them. But right now, you look like you need a little rest.”

Rest. In my room. Where Catra is. Maybe not sleep, then. Maybe… a walk to clear her head. Yeah. That sounded like a plan.

She watched in a little bit of a daze as Perfuma passed on the message to the rest of the team, and slowly trudged to the locker rooms to grab her things. She’d shower off back at the room.

Adora sat down on the cold bench to swap her soccer shoes for her usual boots, sighing to herself. She needed to talk to Glimmer and Bow about this. As much as she wanted to just keep things to herself and wait for the feelings to pass, maybe it would feel better to get things out. Her best friends were always her cheerleaders. At the back of her mind, she wondered if maybe she did have a chance with Catra, and she just wasn’t realising it because she was a stupid, oblivious idiot. Bow and Glimmer could help her realise it, if it was a possibility.

Adora wasn’t exactly the smoothest with girls, but if she knew there was a chance, she could stop with all of this avoidance. She could make an attempt at flirting. See if Catra was interested. But presently, she didn’t even know if Catra liked girls.

She was tying her laces when Scorpia walked past, her gym bag on her shoulder. Scorpia. Catra’s best friend. If anyone was going to let her know once and for all if she had a chance with Catra, it was Scorpia. She just had to be… subtle about it.

Not subtly at all, she called out, “Scorpia! Wait! Can I ask you something?”

Scorpia paused and turned around. She didn’t look so happy to see Adora, but maybe she just had stuff going on. After all, Adora had been walking around like a zoned-out weirdo since getting back from home last week. “What’s up?”

“It’s about Catra,” Adora prefaced. This could be casual interest. Curiosity. Scorpia didn’t have to know that she liked Catra. “Does she… like, you know. Does she like girls?”

Scorpia stared back at her blankly. For a moment, Adora wondered if she’d heard her. But then she could see the wheels turning in Scorpia’s head, and she hoped desperately that she hadn’t figured out why Adora wanted to know.

Finally, Scorpia spoke. A quick, blurted, “No.”

Scorpia turned on her heel and walked away, and Adora stared after her, her jaw working. If she’d intended to say something back, she didn’t know what it was. Adora felt numb.

No need to talk to Bow and Glimmer, then. It hurt to hear. Adora had already suspected that she had no chance, but to hear it confirmed just… stung. Right in her chest. Like the word ‘no’ had just singlehandedly snuffed out all the butterflies in her tummy.

She shouldered her gym bag and dejectedly trudged from the locker room. Why was she such an idiot? Seriously, how dumb was she? Getting a crush on a straight girl was like, the one thing you were never supposed to do. She knew how much it hurt, because she’d been stupid enough to do it before, back in high school. And she wasn’t even friends with that girl, just crushing from afar and living with the pain of knowing it would never happen. This was worse. Catra was her roommate. Adora didn’t know how to fix this. She wished she’d never become conscious of the feelings in the first place.

Maybe, just… amplifying the distance plan a little bit. It was just a temporary solution, but she could easily excuse it by telling Catra she was just really busy. That way, her crush would go away, and nobody would get hurt.

Yeah. Distance.

How hard could it be?

Catra rolled out of bed at the sound of a knock on the door, an amused smirk already toying at the corners of her mouth. She wasn’t expecting anybody, and Adora’s soccer practice was finished round about now, which made it easy to deduce who was on the other side of the door; Adora, having forgotten her keys. She did that sometimes.

(At first, Catra found it immeasurably annoying. Now she just thought it was cute.)

Except… when she opened the door, it was Scorpia smiling down at her. Catra had about 0.2 seconds of warning before big arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. “Hey, wildcat.”

“Hey,” Catra’s voice was muffled by Scorpia’s soccer jersey; her friend smelled like sweat and Axe body spray, which she wouldn’t stop using even though Catra told her it made her smell like a fuckboy. She wriggled out of the hug and was still a little bit tense when she asked, “What’re you doing here?”

“Want to grab dinner?” Scorpia asked. She looked a little jumpy and Catra couldn’t figure out why. “Super Pal Duo needs some proper catch-up time. I’ve barely seen you since before break.”

“Yeah, well, classes are hard and I didn’t do as well on my contract law midterm as I wanted to,” Catra shrugged. She hadn’t done badly – an A instead of her usual A+ - but it meant that she’d have to work a little harder for the final. “But sure, I’ve got some time. Dinner sounds good. If we wait a little while, I think Adora should be on her way back…”

“She mentioned something about hanging out with Perfuma and Mermista after practice,” Scorpia answered quickly, “so you might be waiting a while.”

“Oh, okay. Let’s just go,” Catra grabbed her jacket, and to her complete mortification, almost walked out of her room wearing the big fluffy cat slippers Adora had bought for her. She threw them across the room, and yelled, “Melog, no,” when the cat dove for them, and then pulled on a pair of sneakers and grabbed her meal card. “Dining hall?”

Scorpia nodded, and they took the stairs down; the elevator was obviously occupied because it was letting out some loud and ominous wheezing noises. It was cold outside, and Catra stuffed her hands in her pockets as she walked, jumping when Scorpia nudged her. “So, how was your break? I hope you didn’t get too lonely, but I guess you had Melog for company.”

“Actually, I went to Adora’s with her,” Catra said, her brow furrowing when Scorpia frowned. She assumed why. “Don’t worry, we drove, so I took Melog. Obviously. I’m a good parent.”

“You spent Thanksgiving with Adora,” Scorpia repeated slowly, and her usually bright tone was wavering a little bit when she commented, “So… you two have gotten close, then.”

Close was another thing entirely. Catra wasn’t close with anybody. Not even Scorpia or Entrapta, despite what they might think. There were things she kept to herself. Things she’d never felt comfortable talking about, because she’d never felt comfortable enough around another person to talk about it.

Adora was… weird. Catra felt this weird connection with her, in some way she couldn’t explain. No, they weren’t close. But maybe they could be, one day.

What she said to Scorpia was, “Well, I guess living together will do that. It’s bizarre, but I never actually thought I’d be grateful to have a roommate. I thought she’d just be some minor inconvenience I’d have to deal with for a year.”

“Wildcat… I know I don’t normally pry,” Scorpia started, and Catra almost had to hold back a laugh, because that was the biggest lie she’d ever heard, “but I have to ask… do you like her? You know… in that way?”

That question distracted totally from Catra’s amusement at Scorpia acting like she never pried. Catra blinked in surprise, spluttering, “What? How- why would you even think that? She’s my roommate.”

That wasn’t a ‘no’.

The thought whispered in the back of her head, but she pushed it away. Catra didn’t like people. Silly, schoolgirl crushes weren’t a thing she partook in. Sex was easy to get, if you looked in the right places. You didn’t need a relationship for that, and even if she did want one, nobody would want her.

To love someone meant bearing your soul for them to see. Every single part of it, right down to the darkest corner. Love was messy and ugly yet tidy and beautiful at the same time. It was the good parts and the bad parts, between two healthy, trusting, happy people. People who were good enough for each other. People who weren’t distrustful and scared and stupid and broken.

Catra was too broken to love.

Too broken for Adora to love.

“So… that’s a no?” Scorpia asked her, and before Catra could say anything, she added, “I only asked because… because Entrapta and I haven’t had any of your hookups call either of us asking about you… not since summer. Since you met her.”

“I’ve just been busy,” Catra answered curtly, ducking under Scorpia’s arm as she held the dining hall door open, hoping that her friend didn’t see the way she frowned. Catra hadn’t even noticed, but she hadn’t thought about hooking up with anyone for a while. Not since… the end of August. But she was sure that had nothing to do with meeting Adora. It was the start of the school year. Life got in the way of things. “Girls are complicated, anyway. You know that.”

Scorpia sighed, and there was something that looked a whole lot like guilt on her face. “Yeah. I do.”

“So, how’s that art class you were taking?” Catra asked as she grabbed a tray and joined the back of the line. In an attempt at a joke, she asked, “Have you guys done the human anatomy yet? Let me know if they need a model for the nude portraiture. I’m available and they’re not going to do much better.”

Scorpia laughed, a little half-heartedly. “It’s going okay. It’s not as fun as I thought it would be, though. You get told what you have to draw, and I like to just… do it.”

Catra couldn’t really relate. She wasn’t much of an artist, unless you considered randomly doodling on customers’ coffee cups art. “Well, they’ve got to teach you the techniques and stuff. I was actually thinking about doing a music elective next semester. It would make me play my guitar more.”

“You should do it,” Scorpia said, grabbing a burger from the counter and putting it on her tray. Catra opted for pasta and a bowl of French fries. Healthy. “One creative elective isn’t going to make Harvard law school turn you down.”

“You never know, they’ve all probably got giant sticks shoved up their asses,” Catra shrugged, “I don’t mind whatever law school I end up going to, though. I’ll go wherever they’ll give me a scholarship. Basically why I’m here.”

Well, it was quite literally why she was there, but she said it jokingly. She didn’t regret her choice of university, because she’d met some amazing people (Catra ignored the flash of pretty blue eyes in her head) and the professors were good, and it wasn’t costing her a dime.

Dinner that night was a strange affair. A usually talkative Scorpia seemed a little subdued. Guilty, even. Catra didn’t know what that was about, but if Scorpia wanted to talk about it, she would’ve. She looked like she was trying to a couple of times – opening her mouth with an apologetic look on her face and then closing it again. It was odd for her. Scorpia usually just went right ahead and opened up if there was something on her mind. It was one thing Catra admired about her, her ability to be such an open book.

Catra was a closed book. With all the pages superglued together.

After a quiet dinner, Scorpia walked her back to Fright Zone Hall. Adora was in the room when she returned, hair wet from showering and already in her pyjamas. She wasn’t doing anything; her laptop was open, Netflix home page right there, but she was just staring at it, in her own little world.

Catra shut the door behind her and said, “Hey, Adora.”

Adora physically jumped, and Catra snickered a little bit, petting Melog as the little cat rubbed against her leg. “Oh. Catra. Hi. Didn’t hear you come in.”

“Are you okay?” Catra asked, pulling at the laces of her shoes and tossing them aside, swapping them for the fluffy cat slippers. They were stupid and she’d rolled her eyes at them, but goddamn were they comfy. “You look all… spaced.”

“What?” Adora asked, blinking expressionlessly. “Oh. Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.”

Catra opened her mouth to ask if she wanted to watch a movie. It was a weeknight, but they had time. But Adora shoved her headphones in, pressed play on some Netflix show, and rolled over in her bed to face the wall. Catra frowned.

What was with everyone today?

Catra wasn’t a genius – well, actually, she was – but she was fairly certain Adora was avoiding her. Only fairly certain, which meant she couldn’t ask her about it, because Adora had always had a busy schedule. She didn’t want to look like that insecure weirdo who didn’t know where she stood with people if she really wasn’t avoiding her. Catra had a perfectly moulded shell of apathy that she wore as armour. She wouldn’t let some girl see the cracks.

She could test things, though. Carefully. Subtly. Adora never noticed subtleties.

She started easily. A school night, six o’clock. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

Adora looked up like a deer caught in headlights. “Oh, uh… actually, I was going out for dinner with Mermista and Perfuma.”

Not long after that, Adora made a hasty exit from their room. But she could’ve been telling the truth, and Catra wasn’t about to go as far as to follow her. That was creepy.

For most of the following week, Adora slept somewhere else. Catra didn’t know where, but her bed stayed unoccupied and even Melog, the little traitor, decided to ditch her, curling up on the big open space that Adora had left.

A few nights after that, on the rare occasion that Adora was actually in the room, Catra mentioned, just casually, that she’d invented another drink at work and that maybe Adora could come by tomorrow to try it out. Usually, Adora jumped at the chance to study at the coffee shop, because Catra brought her the result of whatever brainwave she’d had. Sometimes they ended up tasting super gross, but at least it was funny.

“Actually, I can’t, I’ve got a really big test I’ve got to study for.”

Catra noticed the slip up, probably before Adora did, and implemented test three. “Well, that’s fine. You always study while I’m working.”

Again, Adora had that stupid deer in headlights look. It was stupid because Catra thought it was cute. “Yeah, I know, but I kind of need the quiet of the library to help things sink in.”

“Right,” It came out a little sharp and tense. Exactly like the stab of hurt in her chest. Catra scowled. “Whatever, then. I won’t bother anymore.”

Three tests. Zero outliers. Catra wasn’t an idiot.

Adora was avoiding her.

Catra grabbed her jacket and left the room with a glare. A sickly feeling rolled in her stomach as she made her way up the stairwell, right the way to the top. She kicked the doors to the roof open, maybe a little aggressively, and stomped over to the edge. She sat down on the edge of the roof, legs hanging out into open air, and looked out at the starry night sky.

Being out here always calmed her down. She knew she needed it, because she could feel that rage burning in her chest. Whatever the fuck it was that she’d done, Catra at least had enough self-worth to know she didn’t deserve this treatment.

She spotted Venus. It did nothing to help her relax. All she could think of was how there was no way she was going to be the one to grow up and resolve whatever was going on.

Adora had a problem? Fine. So be it. Catra didn’t need her.

Adora could go ahead and leave. Catra would be fine without her.

There had been a weird shift lately.

Even though Adora had been avoiding Catra, trying not to hang out with her even though she so desperately wanted to, she’d still seen her. It was impossible not to, when they lived together. But a few days ago, Catra just… disappeared. She wasn’t in the room, ever. Her bed looked like it hadn’t been touched in days. And worse; Melog was gone.

Adora worried that maybe something had happened. Maybe an RA had seen Melog and reported the obvious rule breaking to the university. Maybe Catra was in trouble. She’d texted, to ask if everything was okay, but the message had remained unanswered.

“Maybe she noticed,” Adora said to herself, pacing back and forth in the room that had felt so much like home. Now she was realising why.

Catra had sounded a little irritated last time she saw her, and she’d looked more than a little irritated when she’d stomped out of the room to god knows where. She was working right now, maybe Adora should go down there and talk things over. Not everything, because she wasn’t going to have the awkward nightmare of a conversation that was admitting she had a crush on her straight roommate, but at least show her she cared. Make casual conversation.

It seemed like the best idea, so Adora pulled her shoes on, made sure she was bundled up nice and warm with her coat, scarf and gloves, and then headed down. She didn’t take the elevator, because she only ever took that thing when she was going up and feeling lazy. It was a nice, but cold walk onto campus, and Adora definitely appreciated the warmth of the coffee shop when she arrived.

Catra was at the counter, taking another customer’s order. There was one other person in front of her, and Adora waited her turn anxiously. Anxious because the butterflies in her stomach hadn’t died down at all, even though she’d barely seen Catra over the last two weeks. If she’d gone to all of that effort and put herself through all of that heartache just for more heartache… Adora was going to be pretty pissed off. Not at Catra, just the universe in general.

She stepped up to the counter when it was her turn, and when Catra saw her, she glared. She looked exactly like she had when she’d walked into their room that first day and discovered, much to her chagrin, that she had a roommate.

Adora tried not to let it faze her. She attempted a smile, but she knew it came off a little guiltily. “Hi.”

There was no smirk. No teasing ‘hey, Adora’. Just more glaring and a bitter “what are you doing here?”

“Well, I…” Adora’s stomach churned at the obvious anger in Catra’s eyes, “I came to see you.”

Catra scoffed. She just looked angrier. “That’s fucking rich.”

Oh. She’d noticed, then. Adora flashed another sheepish smile and went to apologise. She could fix this. She’d gotten through to Catra before. “I… I know I’ve been a little distant lately but-”

“But nothing. I tried, but you made everything perfectly clear. Message sent. Leave me the fuck alone.” Catra snapped. There wasn’t just anger in her eyes now. Sorrow was there too. Underneath that rage and apathy, Catra was upset. But she didn’t let Adora make amends. She didn’t even let her try. “Lonnie,” she snapped at one of the girls making the drinks, “switch with me. I’m done taking orders.”

“Catra, please,” Adora called hopelessly, her heart pulling as she stormed away. God, why was she such an idiot? She should’ve known that distance was a bad idea. All she wanted to do was keep Catra’s friendship and not deal with the pain of a straight girl crush, and she went and messed it all up anyway.

“Uh, you okay?” The new girl behind the counter, Lonnie, asked. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Um, just a hot chocolate to go, please,” Adora mumbled, never taking her eyes off of Catra. “The name for the order is Adora.”

She threw a five-dollar bill Lonnie’s way and traipsed over to the collection point. Catra wouldn’t look at her. Wouldn’t even acknowledge her. Somehow, that hurt more than rage.

Adora hadn’t wanted to drive Catra way because she liked her too much. Yet she’d gone ahead and done just that.

“Hot chocolate for Adora,” Entrapta said like she was one of those AI robots programmed to do a job. Then she snapped out of it, looked up, and said, “Oh, hi, Adora,” she saw the look on her face and then looked back at Catra, sending an uncharacteristically comforting smile that reminded her more of Scorpia. “Don’t worry, she’ll come around. Statistically, she’s only ever mad for a few weeks. I know, because one time I shrunk her favourite shirt in an experiment with the washer and she didn’t talk to me for exactly two weeks and four days.”

Adora sighed and took a sip of her drink. The warm, chocolatey liquid did nothing to warm the cold sensation at the pit of her stomach. The dread that she’d messed everything up. “I think I messed up worse than shrinking her shirt, Entrapta.”

Entrapta just shrugged. “Data never lies. She’ll come around.”

Adora looked past her at Catra. Her back was turned, her hands clenched around an empty coffee cup. Adora’s heart wrenched. “I don’t think she will.”

Adora dealt with another four days of radio silence before she snapped.

She turned up on Glimmer and Bow’s doorstep on a weeknight, a bottle of rum clenched in her fist. “I’m coming in, I’m drinking this, and then we’re going to go to a party and you’re going to find me a nice girl who will love me forever.”

She slipped in past Glimmer before she could say anything, heading straight for the kitchen and grabbing a shot glass. The apartment was exactly the same layout as Scorpia and Entrapta’s, and she remembered the last time she’d taken shots in a kitchenette like this, teasing Catra about how small she was.

Her heart clenched again, and she knocked back the first shot she poured.

“Whoa, hold on, there,” Bow put his hand over the second shot glass before she could knock that back too. She looked up at concerned brown eyes and he asked, “What’s going on?”

Adora scowled down at the counter, refilled the first shot glass and took it before Bow could stop her. “Catra.”

“Alright, what did she do?” Glimmer folded her arms over her chest and scowled. “I’ll fight her. Don’t doubt it.”

“It’s not even her,” Adora scooped up her empty shot glasses once Bow let go of glass number two and she took it. She stomped over to the lounge and flopped down on the sofa with a loud ugh. “I’m just stupid. I thought it would make things better, but it just made it worse.”

Bow and Glimmer exchanged a look, and Bow asked, “Okay, you know that was the vaguest thing you’ve ever said, right?”

“I just need to know if I’m fighting her or not,” Glimmer announced, sitting down on Adora’s right as Bow situated himself on her left. “I have a lot of pent-up rage left over from that project last year.”

Adora ughed again and took another shot. Not that rum would make her any more articulate, but still. “You two were right. I like her. But she’s straight.”

Bow rubbed comforting circles into her back, but Glimmer asked, “Wait, are you sure? I swear she hooked up with this girl from my dance class at the gym.”

“I’m sure. Scorpia told me and she’s one of Catra’s best friends,” Adora lamented, leaning into Bow’s hug. The alcohol was already starting to affect her, and all it did was make her more emotional. “I like her and she’s straight and I’m an idiot because I tried avoiding her so the stupid feelings would go away, because I like her as friend too! But now she doesn’t even like me as a friend because I avoided her and she’s mad. But I can’t tell her why I avoided her; she’ll get all uncomfortable with me. I wouldn’t want my weird gay roommate crushing on me.”

Glimmer wrapped her arm around Adora, like a big hug sandwich with Adora as the filling and her best friends as the bread. But when Glimmer laughed and said, “Isn’t your whole problem here that your weird roommate isn’t gay and isn’t crushing on you?” Adora glared at her and pulled away into a normal two-person hug with Bow.

“Sorry, sorry!” Glimmer apologised and sandwiched her in again. “Just kidding!”

Adora sighed, pulling away from them both and pouring yet another shot. “Forget the party and finding a girl who loves me. I just want to drink and listen to sad songs.”

“You can drink,” Bow said, reaching for the TV remote, “because you’re in a responsible environment and we’ll get you home safe. But no sad songs. We’ll cheer you up.”

“Yeah,” Glimmer agreed with him, already reaching for one of the Switch Joy-Cons. Glimmer and Bow’s gaming collection literally just consisted of Mario Kart, Just Dance and some weird karaoke game that always ended up with the neighbours knocking on the door to tell them to shut up. “We can play games and have a good time and by the end of the night, you won’t even be thinking about Catra.”

At the sound of her name, Adora reached for the shot she’d poured and took it. What was that? Her fourth? Fifth? She wasn’t even sure.

“Honestly, Bow?” She mumbled, already slurring, “I don’t know if that’s possible.”

“Ugh, I just can’t believe her,” Catra scoffed from the couch, fingernails trailing gently down Melog’s back. “Like, she had the fucking nerve to show up where I work, when she’s the one who started ignoring me for no reason rather than talking to me about whatever it was I did like a fucking grown up.”

“But then, aren’t you doing the exact same thing you’re complaining about?” Entrapta said, not looking up from her laptop as she typed something else to the Hordak guy she’d been messaging with. “Ignoring her rather than talking to her about what’s bothering you like a grown up?”

“I…” Catra scowled at her, because why did she have to go and make sense now? “Shut up, I’m trying to angry rant right now.”

“I’m just saying, you’re doing the exact same thing you’re mad about.” Entrapta shrugged. “Ignoring her for no reason.”

“Uh, I have a reason,” Catra rolled her eyes, “because she’s ignoring me.”

She heard exactly how childish that sounded when the words came out, but it didn’t change the fact that she was annoyed. Yes, it was a childish reason, but whatever. At least she had one. Adora just suddenly decided one day that Catra wasn’t good enough to talk to.

But that was how it always went. Catra was never, ever good enough.

“Stupid, worthless little runt.”

“How someone as unmotivated as you managed to get those grades, I’ll never know.”

She shook their voices from her head and stared down at Melog. Bright blue eyes looked back at her, and she hated that they reminded her of Adora’s.

Scorpia, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, asked, “You don’t know why she started avoiding you?”

“No! She just decided one day that she was too good for me. Who does that?” Catra frowned, the pain slowly creeping in when she thought about Thanksgiving break. “I thought we had a good time over Thanksgiving. She literally invited me to spend Christmas with her. And then we get back here, and everything’s fine, until one day it isn’t. I don’t even…” Catra let out a long breath, and instead of sounding angry, she just sounded hurt, “I don’t even know what I did to screw it up.”

“Hey, no,” Scorpia said with a sudden determination, “you did not screw it up, wildcat. This is not your fault.”

“You don’t just avoid someone for no reason,” Catra sighed, and buried her face into Melog’s fur when she mumbled, “and I hate that I can’t even be mad at her. Not really mad, anyway. I just want- I just want her to be my friend again.”

She hated how weak that sounded. How vulnerable. It was like Adora had opened some door with that weird connection thing they’d had going on, and she hadn’t quite closed it on her way out.

Scorpia sighed. “Catra, listen, I think I might know-”

“Why don’t you just tell her that you miss her and ask her why she avoided you?” Entrapta asked, finally looking up from her computer. “Then you’ll know, and you can be friends again. You don’t have to complicate things just because. That’s stupid. Anyway, she looked really sad when you were mean to her the other day, even when I told her you’re usually only mad for a few weeks. Two weeks and four days is the average. I think she wants to talk to you now, though, so maybe don’t wait that long.”

“If she wants to talk to me so bad, then why did she stop doing it in the first place?” Catra asked aloud, glancing over at the clock. She had to go and pick up more clothes tonight, but she really didn’t feel like facing Adora. The last time had been emotionally taxing enough. It was eleven, which was usually the time Adora went to sleep on a weeknight. She’d hopefully be okay to sneak back, grab some clothes and get back here before midnight. “Alright. I’m ordering an Uber. Mission fresh clothes is a go.”

Catra pretended to watch TV as she waited for her Uber to arrive, but she was really just thinking about Adora. Adora, with her stupid blue eyes and that dumb hair poof thing she always did, and the way she smiled and laughed and teased her. Catra missed her. Why did she have to go and mess it up? She should’ve known the whole thing was too good to be true. She should’ve known she wouldn’t be good enough for her.

When she got the notification that her Uber was two minutes away, she dragged out of the apartment and over to the elevator, pushing the button for the ground floor. She was dreading this. She hoped to god that Adora was asleep. She really didn’t need any more emotional turmoil tonight.

The elevator stopped on the way down, the doors sliding open on the fifth floor. And because the universe hated her, of course it was Adora, being basically carried by the rest of her best friend squad.

Adora looked up, and holy shit, she was drunk. She smiled a weird, dopey smile and pointed at Catra. “Hey, I know you.”

Catra’s mouth worked, and she looked at her two friends. Glimmer was glaring at her and Bow just smiled awkwardly. “You’re not all drunk, are you?”

“No, just her,” Bow explained, carrying Adora into the elevator and pushing the button to close the door. Glimmer was still glaring at her. “She was a little… emotional.”

Adora reached out and pushed all the buttons on the elevator with loud, “Beep, boop,” noises, and Catra felt the corner of her mouth turning up into a smile.

The smile died when Sparkles said what was on her mind. “This is your fault, you know.”

“My fault?” Catra repeated incredulously. God, even her friends were thick-skulled idiots. “Did I pick up the bottle of liquor and force it down her throat? I don’t think so.”

Adora looked up again, blue eyes searching Catra’s face. Then she mumbled, “Catra,” and made weird grabby motions towards her while Bow held her back. “Catra, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please be my friend again.”

Catra’s stomach twisted, because what the fuck was she supposed to say to that? Mostly, she just ignored it, but an indirect answer came when they managed to get outside and she said, “Look, I’ve got an Uber waiting, and we’re going to the same place, so… I can take her from here.”

Bow and Glimmer looked sceptical, and Adora just blurted out a quiet, “Catra, I miss you.”

There was no way she was about to admit that she missed Adora too in front of her weird, preppy friends. Instead, she just said, “Seriously, I’ve got her. Hurry up, I don’t want the late fee.”

Reluctantly, Bow transferred Adora to her, and Catra managed to steady her. She was lighter than she looked. “Take care of her,” Glimmer said sternly, and Catra rolled her eyes, “That’s the plan, Sparkles.”

Adora’s face was in her shoulder as Catra hauled her in the direction of the parked Uber, and it was so hard to concentrate. Her hands were wrapped around Catra’s waist as they walked, and Adora let out a throaty laugh, one hand moving to rest on the top of Catra’s head. “Hah, Catra’s little. I should call you Kittenra instead of Catra.”

“Do you want me to drop you?” Catra rolled her eyes as Adora laughed at her own joke, but when Adora pouted and mumbled please don’t, she softened. “Come on. You know I’m joking.”

“Be my friend again,” Adora said as Catra half helped, half pushed her into the backseat of the Uber. At the loss of contact, Adora whined. “Catra.”

“I’m coming, give me five seconds,” Catra answered dryly, trying to act like this wasn’t completely destroying her already crumbling willpower. She should be mad at her. She should be so mad. But one look into those blue eyes, and she was a fucking goner. “I’ll be your friend again. Now stop wriggling around, I need to do your seatbelt.”

She reached over and buckled Adora’s seatbelt, and then buckled her own. That didn’t stop Adora from wriggling around. She giggled again, and announced to the Uber driver, “This is Catra, she’s my best friend.”

“Hold up, I never agreed to be your best friend.”

Adora ignored that. Apparently, the driver was more interesting company. “I like her. I like her a lot. She makes me happy. I was a bad friend, though. And I promise I’m never going to be a bad friend ever again. No matter how much it hurts.”

Catra wondered what that was supposed to mean. She supposed Adora wouldn’t remember much of this in the morning, but in a way, she didn’t have to. Catra had already forgiven her.

(She blamed those eyes.)

“Good for you, kid,” the driver commented, and his lacklustre response apparently meant that Catra was the centre of attention again.

Adora smiled that dopey drunk smile. “Catra. Where are we going?”

“Home,” Catra said, “we’re going home.”

“Oh. Okay!” Adora said, and then proceeded to sing at the top of her lungs to the Ariana Grande song playing on the radio. Not smiling was the hardest thing Catra had ever done.

She made sure to tip the driver extra for dealing with her messy roommate, and getting her up and out of the car was a tricky task. As they made their way over to the doors, Adora said, “Catra,” and stopped walking.

“Yeah?” Catra answered, slowly moving her along once she’d used that golden opportunity to get her keys out. “What’s on your alcohol-soaked mind?”

“Do you forgive me?”

The question took her off guard, and she almost dropped her keys. Thank god she didn’t. She waited until she’d unlocked the front doors and ushered Adora inside to answer.

“Yeah. I do.” Catra said, and that delighted grin on Adora’s face made something in her start. And even though it was so hard for her to do, she sucked up her pride and her inherent stubbornness and said, “and I hope you forgive me too. For being mean the other day.”

“I wasn’t even mad,” Adora stumbled a little bit, and Catra quickly steadied her. The death trap elevator seemed like the smartest choice here, so she called it quickly. “You’re always going to be my friend, Catra.”

Catra didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t know what to say to herself. Didn’t know if she was stupid for believing her.

After managing to shepherd Adora into their room, help her get changed with lots of averted eyes, walk into the bathroom to brush her teeth, and making her drink a decent amount of water – which Adora dubbed ‘spicy’ water because of the toothpaste aftertaste – Catra couldn’t even remember feeling mad at her. Hurt, yes, but mad? At Adora? Never.

“Alright, bedtime, loser,” Catra said, stepping back in surprise when Adora had a sudden burst of energy that she used to run in a very wiggly line over to Catra’s bed. She got herself comfortable under the covers and rested her head on the pillow. “Uh. Wrong bed, idiot.”

“Right bed,” Adora lifted up the sheets, “come on. Slumber party. It’s a girl’s night in!”

Catra should say no. She knew that. But like she’d said when Adora asked her to Thanksgiving… for some reason, she couldn’t. Quickly slipping into her own pyjamas, she slid under the covers next to Adora, and waited for her to fall asleep. She could go and sleep in Adora’s bed once she’d knocked out. They laid there quietly in that cramped little bed, not touching, just next to each other, and Catra was so aware of the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears. She wondered if Adora could hear it.

“Catra?” Adora whispered, her nose poking against the top of Catra’s head as she sort of… headbutted her for attention. “Are you awake?”

“Wide awake, knucklehead,” Catra murmured fondly in reply. Adora was lit in the faint glow of those fairy lights she’d hung up in the window and put on a timer, the ones Catra had laughed at but actually loved. “What’s up?”

“Can I put my hand on your waist?”

If she’d expected any question, it wasn’t that. No, not at all. Catra sort of choked in surprise, and her heart clenched at the realisation that even drunk Adora was more respectful of her boundaries than anyone else had ever been. Maybe it was that, or just plain idiocy that possessed Catra to mumble a quiet, “Yeah, I guess. If you want.”

Adora’s hand was soft and gentle as it slipped just up her t-shirt to rest on her waist. She was warm, and Catra leaned into the heat, craving it but so afraid of it at the same time. It had always confused her, how she loved and hated touch at the same time. Touch had always had negative, painful connotations, and had always come with a lack of consent on her part. But whenever Catra thought about the softer side of it, the gentle touches and the warm hugs and the sweet kisses, her heart pulled. She wanted it. She wanted it so badly.

Right now, she let herself give into it.

Adora shifted, and Catra could feel her own heart pounding in her chest as blue eyes stared directly into hers and the tips of their noses brushed together.

For a moment – one exhilarating moment – Catra thought Adora was going to kiss her.

Instead, a breath of minty air blew against her face, and Adora mumbled, “You’re like the universe.”

Catra didn’t articulate a response. She couldn’t if she tried.

“Like… like this,” Adora’s other fingers, the ones that weren’t under the sheets and curled around Catra’s waist, reached up to gently poke her cheek, tracing the lines between the freckles there that Catra had always hated, “they’re like the stars and constellations. And your eyes…” thankfully, Adora didn’t try to poke those, “they’re like the galaxies. All different colours. So beautiful.”

Another breath, and blue eyes fluttered closed. Catra almost thought she’d fallen asleep, but Adora’s hand squeezed her waist and she murmured, “You’re the universe, Catra.”

Okay. So maybe, Catra did do silly, schoolgirl crushes after all.

There was a painful throbbing in her skull when she woke.

Adora cringed. God, she’d had a lot of rum. Probably a dangerous amount. No wonder her head was killing.

Her mouth was dry and tasted like stale booze and she knew if she opened her eyes the room would be warped and spinning. She felt disgusting, but also… really warm?

It took Adora a moment to register the person next to her. Her hand was rested on their waist, holding them in place, and their face was snuggled into her shoulder. A hand was gripping the fabric of her t-shirt, and she could feel soft breaths against her skin.

For a moment, her heart was pounding. Had she ended up going out and sleeping with someone? Adora had never really been one for drunken hookups, but when she was drunk and heartbroken over a girl, she wouldn’t put it past her drunk self to jump into bed with a different girl. She wracked her brain and tried to remember what she’d done last night. Adora had never been blackout drunk before, and she wasn’t going to start now.

(Then again, she’d also never had an almost lethal amount of rum before.)

She’d been over at Glimmer and Bow’s. Drinking, crying about Catra, then trying to cheer up while they played Just Dance. She’d fallen over during Rasputin, she remembered that. They’d cut her off at some point, and then—oh.

They ran into Catra.

Catra had taken her home.

Some of the things Adora had said to her were blurry and scrambled, but she knew she’d embarrassed herself. That was mortifying, but… but Catra had been smiling. She could’ve just been entertaining her drunk roommate and being kind by taking her home, but she hadn’t seemed angry with her. And then… Adora remembered something even more mortifying.

She’d gone ahead and clambered into Catra’s bed and cuddled her. She’d crossed about a million boundaries, and Catra was already upset with her. Adora had made things fifty times worse, and—

Wait, but why was she still…?

The thought popped into her head when she realised there was still a really warm body curled up next to her, a hand gripping her t-shirt. Adora braved the wobbly, spinning world, cracking open one eye and confirming the suspicion. Catra was still there. She was still cuddling with her.

It wasn’t like the time before, when they’d both fallen asleep watching a movie. That was accidental, and also pretty tame, just Catra’s head on her shoulder and Adora’s arm around her. This felt a lot more intimate.

For one thing, Adora’s hand was touching Catra’s waist under her shirt. She could feel soft skin, the heat radiating off of her, the slow rise and fall of her body as she breathed. Catra was clinging onto her too, a clump of Adora’s t-shirt gripped in her fist, and she was so close that Adora could feel her lips brushing lightly against the curve between her neck and shoulder.

This was not good for the whole ‘get rid of crush on straight roommate’ thing, but Adora couldn’t find it in her to care. Catra was there, and Adora just savoured it.

She was so thirsty, and her head still hurt, and she could see the bottle of water and painkillers on the bedside table. But moving would wake Catra up. It would mean the end of whatever this was, and she couldn’t find the willpower to move. She’d deal with the headache.

When Catra shifted and yawned, Adora shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. If they were going to talk things out, Adora didn’t think she could do it lying in bed with her. She knew she was awake, because Catra’s hand let go of her shirt, and to Adora’s chagrin, she slowly slipped out of the bed.

The loss of warmth was astounding, and Adora felt herself shiver involuntarily. Her heart pulled, but she just listened, pretending to be asleep, as the bathroom door opened and closed again. She was probably leaving. Getting showered and dressed and going off before Adora knew what had happened. She should’ve known that Catra would still be mad.

Five minutes later, Adora’s entire heart felt full to bursting when Catra slowly slipped back into bed and laid down next to her again.

“You came back.”

She said it out loud before she realised, and she heard the sharp breath that Catra took in. Adora tried to reassure herself that it was just surprise.

“Uh… yeah,” Catra slowly answered, and when Adora opened her eyes, she looked a little bit sheepish, like a little kid caught sneaking candy before dinner. “Is that okay?”

“Really okay,” Adora confirmed. She wanted to put her hand back on Catra’s waist, but she didn’t want to overstep. She had to go carefully here. “So, um… I’m sorry for being drunk and embarrassing last night. Things are a little bit blurry, but I know what I’m like when I’m drunk, so I can only imagine how annoyed you were.”

Catra’s expression didn’t give away any of her thoughts. She looked totally blank, those eyes bearing into Adora’s soul. You’re like the universe, Adora remembered, and she was. “I wasn’t annoyed.”

“Oh,” Adora frowned, because that was a first. Usually when people dealt with drunk Adora, they ended up annoyed. It was worse than babysitting a toddler, Glimmer had told her once. She’d assumed it would only be even more annoying if the person was already mad at her. “Well. Um, I’m sorry for… everything else, too. For being an idiot and avoiding you. And I want you to know that it wasn’t you. It was all on me; I overthink and I just… I messed it up. And I’m sorry.”

It was a vague explanation, and Adora knew that Catra deserved more. But she couldn’t physically make the words I have a crush on you but you’re straight so I avoided you but really that just made everything worse come out of her mouth. Not to Catra’s face.

Catra looked at her, obviously thinking quite hard. She wished she could explain it in the way Catra deserved. But apparently, she didn’t need to. The corner of Catra’s mouth quirked up into a small smile, and Catra just said, “You’re such an idiot.”

It was said so fondly that Adora’s stomach flipped. God, it must be some kind of testament to how much she liked this girl, when she got butterflies from being called an idiot.

Adora laughed. “Yeah, I know.”

Catra was quiet, and she shifted, turning over to lie on her back. She was staring up at the ceiling when she said, “I’m sorry too. For being an asshole when you came into the coffee shop the other day. And for taking Melog and hiding out at Scorpia and Entrapta’s. I was just… hurt.”

Adora blinked in surprise, because that was oddly vulnerable for Catra. But she took it as a good sign and said, “It’s okay. You had a right to be upset.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have the right to be a dick,” Catra said, turning to the side to look at Adora again. The covers shifted, and Catra brought her arm out, holding her hand out. That was even more surprising. Physical contact, initiated by Catra? “Okay. Promise that if something’s bugging you, you’ll actually talk to me about it. And I’ll do the same thing.”

Adora didn’t even hesitate to take her hand. “Promise.”

Her heart stuttered when Catra squeezed her hand gently and didn’t let go.

Chapter Text

“You look like you’re thinking really hard.”

Catra laughed at the way Adora jumped in surprise, looking up from her laptop screen. She was sitting on one of the big comfy couches in the coffee shop, the one right by the fire that Adora had basically claimed as her own.

“Oh, because I am. I’ve got one more final and it’s in this stupid Latin elective I took,” Adora rolled her eyes at her computer screen. “I don’t even know why I picked it. It’s a dead language, I literally will never need it in my life. Should’ve picked French.”

There was another big couch opposite her, the table in the middle, but Catra didn’t even think about sitting on it. She sat down on the couch next to Adora, maybe a little closer than she should so her leg was pressed up against the blonde’s.

She put two coffee mugs down on the table and said, “Express delivery of caffeine. And I can help you if you want, I did Latin in high school.”

Catra didn’t know how much of it she remembered, but still. She’d do what she could for Adora.

Adora raised her eyebrows but shook her head. “That’s okay. You’re on your break, the whole point is that you’re supposed to relax. Not help me figure out a stupid dead language. Besides, you do enough just by giving me all of these free drinks, which I will pay you back for one day.”

That was one frustrating thing when it came to flirting with an idiot; Adora didn’t get that Catra was giving her free drinks for a reason.

Then again, she could just be straight and uninterested. But Catra doubted the straight part, because the girl played soccer. You don’t get gayer than that.

(Actually, maybe if you played softball. Or golf. Or both.)

“For the millionth time, you don’t need to pay me back, knucklehead,” Catra rolled her eyes, grabbing one of the many sheets of paper splayed out on the table. “Give me a look at this Latin thing, then.”

Adora looked like she was going to argue the definition of a break, but after a stubborn glare from Catra, she sighed. “Okay, well, this is just practice for the final. We get a passage from a book and we have to translate it into Latin. There’s a couple of other multiple-choice questions and stuff, but the translation is the part I’m having trouble with, and it’s like 50% of the final.”

Catra looked at the text passage on Adora’s laptop screen, and the three words she’d written in Latin on her notebook page. One had a question mark next to it. “Why don’t you try picking out the words you know from the whole passage, and then working around them to figure out the others based on what makes sense in English? You know, instead of doing each word as it comes.”

Adora looked at Catra, and then looked back at the computer screen, looking over the big passage of text. Then she looked back at Catra, big blue eyes shining in amazement. “I’m going to hug you. If that’s okay.”

“You…” something lurched in Catra’s stomach, and she didn’t know what it was. She didn’t understand why she liked Adora so much, why she felt so connected with her. She really didn’t know why she felt like she could trust her. There was just… something there. “You can always hug me. You don’t have to ask.”

Adora’s arms wrapped around her, and Catra leaned into her. She was new to the whole crush thing, so was it weird to like the way someone smelled? Catra could smell her strawberry shampoo and that sweet-smelling perfume she always wore, but it was more Adora’s natural scent that she liked. Catra didn’t know how to describe it other than home.

“You’re so smart,” Adora said as she pulled out of the hug, smacking herself lightly on the forehead, “Why didn’t I think of that? Working around the stuff I know. Duh.”

“I don’t call you knucklehead for no reason,” Catra teased her, and she surprised herself when she didn’t automatically tense or feel uncomfortable when Adora reached out and shoved her lightly.

Catra knew she should be afraid of the way Adora made her feel. This girl had the power to break her even more, and Catra was willingly giving that to her. She was finding it hard to convince herself not to, because even if there was a slim chance that Adora wanted her now… if she knew just how messed up Catra was, she wouldn’t after that. Nobody wanted someone broken, and the thought broke her a little bit more.

But then Adora smiled at her, so softly and beautifully, and Catra felt herself smiling back. Even if this meant the end of her, Catra thought she’d be alright with that. Adora was special. Adora saw something in her. That was what counted.

“Hey,” Adora looked up from translating another word – she’d made a lot more progress after picking out the ones she knew – and asked, “so, I don’t know what your schedule looks like for next semester, but I was wondering if you wanted to pick a class together. You know, like, an elective.”

And… should she read into that? Or was that just like, a normal thing people asked their friends? Yeah, it probably was – Scorpia had once asked her to do the same class before.

“Depends on what you’re thinking,” Catra said, “no English stuff, I have enough reading to do. We could do beginner’s Spanish together and I’ll just pretend like I’m not fluent. Easy A.”

“You’re…” Adora trailed off, and she rolled her eyes, “of course you’re fluent in another language. Show off.”

“I taught myself mostly, because the language department at my high school was pretty terrible. I’m learning Portuguese too,” Catra smirked at her, dropping her voice seductively, “You like smart girls, hm, Adora?”

“I- shut up,” Adora was definitely blushing. That much was certain. “Do you want to do a class together or not?”

“Sure, dummy,” Catra laughed, “seriously, what kind of class are you thinking?”

“I don’t know, I figured we could pick together,” Adora shrugged, “that’s if you definitely want to do it, anyway. We can have a look at the module catalogue over winter break.”

“Sounds good,” Catra said, but Adora could’ve asked her to go out and murder someone with her, and she’d probably have the same response. “Try your coffee. It’s going cold. I put a lot of thought into this one.”

Adora scribbled down another Latin phrase and picked up her mug, taking a long drink. She paused, an interested frown on her face as she tasted it, and then she grinned. “Ooh, I love this. Tastes like an Almond Joy.”

“That’s what I was going for. Sweet almond milk, chocolate and coconut flavourings.” Catra said, because she’d had the idea when Adora mentioned in passing that her favourite candy was an Almond Joy. “You said it was your favourite, so...”

“Aw, you remembered that?” Adora looked at her with so much surprise, and there was something shining in those bright blue eyes. Catra almost just said fuck it and kissed her, but she snapped out of that idiocy. Then Adora started teasing her, and Catra began questioning why she liked someone so annoying. “You go around pretending you’re all broody and apathetic, but you’re actually just so cute. I can’t believe the whole time you’re rolling your eyes and calling me a knucklehead, you’re actually thinking of ways to make my favourite candy in coffee form.”

“Eh, whatever,” Catra rolled her eyes and elbowed her lightly, “don’t make a big deal about it.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you like me,” Adora grinned, nudging against her playfully, “that is so embarrassing for you.”

“Pfft, shut up,” Catra scoffed, and she hoped it really wasn’t obvious that she was blushing, “It’s not because I like you. Your bad taste in candy just gave me an idea.”

Adora laughed, still wearing that cocky grin that might actually be a little hot, but Catra wasn’t going to tell her that. “Right. Sure. I totally believe that.”

Catra couldn’t hide her smile, but she didn’t want to. Especially when Adora’s face dipped into a frown and she asked, offended, “Wait, bad taste in candy?”

Catra had taken the aux for the drive back to Eternia, because (quote) “if you make me listen to One Direction again, I’ll actually stick needles in my ears.”

Naturally, Adora had teased her about it over all of her angsty indie music. “If I recall correctly, you knew all of the words to What Makes You Beautiful.”

“Everyone on the planet knows all of the lyrics to that,” Catra had rolled her eyes, scratching Melog behind the ears, “that doesn’t count.”

“Hah, I bet you had posters on your bedroom wall and everything,” Adora had laughed even more at the way Catra scowled at her, “Did you kiss the Harry Styles picture goodnight?”

Catra had snorted. “Okay, just because you kissed your horse posters goodnight does not mean everyone on the planet is as weird as you.”

“What? I did not,” Adora had scoffed, but 8-year-old Adora was maybe a little guilty of giving Gabriella from High School Musical a couple of kisses. Maybe. “Shut up.”

Adora would be lying if she said she didn’t like the way she and Catra had that constant back and forth, teasing each other about everything. She thought that the little bunched up offended look that Catra got any time Adora poked fun at her for anything was adorable.

The warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest was kind of terrifying, and Adora didn’t know what she was supposed to do about it. She knew she quite literally had no chance with Catra, because she was straight, but no matter how many times she reminded herself of that depressing little fact, she couldn’t shake the way she felt. Especially because sometimes, Catra did little things that could be interpreted as flirting. Adora would’ve interpreted it as flirting, if she didn’t already know her feelings couldn’t be reciprocated.

“You like smart girls, hm, Adora?”

It had been so flirty. Even her tone of voice. If Adora didn’t know it was just casual joking between friends, she would’ve kissed the smirk right off Catra’s face.

There was another stab of hurt like that when they arrived back at Adora’s house. Razz welcomed them both in, and a stupid it’s almost like she’s my girlfriend popped into Adora’s head when she watched the way Razz greeted Catra like family.

When they took the bags through to Adora’s room, feeling guilty about the way she was imagining all of these dumb romantic implications, Adora said, “so, I’m going to need your help to blow up the air mattress for me-”

“Uh, what?” Catra laughed at her. “Don’t be an idiot. We’re sharing your bed.”

She felt so guilty. Adora had always had a fear of coming off as predatory, ever since she realised she’d liked girls. Innocent crushes back in school had always come with an overwhelming sense of guilt, and it took her a long time to get over that. Maybe she never fully had. She just never wanted to make anybody uncomfortable, and she knew that if Catra knew how she was feeling, that would be the case. But she couldn’t say that without admitting her feelings and making her uncomfortable anyway.

“Okay,” Adora sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed where Catra had sprawled out with Melog. She could at least give her some space. It was a big bed. “So, um, do you want to decorate the tree? Razz left it for us to do because she’s small and can’t get to the top. I guess you won’t be much help with that, but…”

“Stop it with the short jokes,” Catra scowled at her, and it was worth poking fun just for that. “But okay. Sounds like fun.”

“Great!” Adora used that as her excuse to jump up off the bed and rifle around in her cupboard. “You’ve got a Christmas sweater, right? The rules are that you have to wear a Christmas sweater to decorate the tree.”

Catra snickered from the bed, and when Adora turned around, her pretty eyes widened. “Oh, you’re serious. What about me implies I’d own a Christmas sweater?”

Maybe Adora was crossing a line. The guilt swimming at the pit of her stomach inferred that she was. But she smiled easily and said, “That’s fine, I’ve got three. Take your pick.”

She pulled open her closet doors and grabbed the three sweaters from where they were all hanging in the left corner, taking them over to the bed and spreading them out next to Catra, who stared at her, eyebrow raised in amusement. She was smirking, and Adora wanted to kiss it right off.

“You want me to borrow your sweater?” Catra questioned, smirking even more. “Should I read into this?”

Adora blushed, and her answer was rushed and rambled. “Uh, what? Of course not. Just friendly festive sharing. Because the holidays are the best time to share things. That’s what Jesus was all about, right?”

“Sure,” Catra hummed, sitting up and looking at all three sweaters. “They’re all ugly.”

“That’s the point,” Adora said, and because she was so shameless, she picked the red and white one that was decorated with the little reindeers and said, “You’d look cute in this one.”

Ignoring Catra’s default response of I’m not cute, Adora picked the one decorated like the front of an elf’s outfit with stripy candy cane sleeves for herself and put the other back in her closet. She changed into it quickly, and when she looked back at Catra, Adora’s stomach flipped.

She didn’t think she’d actually wear it, but Catra had changed into the sweater, and it was… adorable on her. Because Adora was taller, and Catra really was quite tiny, the sweater had an adorable oversized look, the sleeves coming down past her hands.

“Oh my god,” Adora scrambled to grab her polaroid camera and snap a picture before Catra could protest. “This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I am not cute,” Catra scowled at her, and that just made her cuter. “You’re annoying, though.”

“Oh my god,” Adora said again as the picture developed. “Adorable.”

Catra was looking down at Melog, who was curled up in her lap, and she looked so warm and cuddly and cute. Adora quickly peeled one of the thousands of photos of herself, Bow and Glimmer off her full polaroid wall to stick that picture up instead.

When she turned around to look at Catra again, she expected some kind of protest or a rant about how not cute she was. But instead, Catra just looked a little taken aback.

Adora blinked, and then followed her gaze back to the picture she’d just stuck onto her wall. “Oh. Did you not-”

“You… want pictures of me on your wall?” Catra frowned, looking at the big wall of photographs. Most of them were Adora, Bow and Glimmer, and a few were with some of her friends from soccer, both in college and high school. She made a mental note to get a lot more with Catra. “Why?”

“Because you…” Adora paused, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She scratched at the back of her neck nervously and admitted, “You mean a lot to me.”

“Oh. I… huh,” Catra seemed a little stunned, and her usual sarcasm wasn’t at its maximum when she said, “Are you sure it’s not because you want to kiss my picture goodnight? You can be honest, I won’t judge.”

Adora couldn’t laugh at that. She definitely wanted to kiss Catra goodnight, but not her picture. “Um, anyway, let’s go decorate the tree.”

She made an awkward exit from the room, hurrying down the hallway, and almost slamming right into Razz when she came out of the bathroom. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean- god, I’m a mess.”

Razz patted her arm comfortingly, and Adora cursed her perceptiveness when she said, “If there’s something upsetting you, Adora, you know you can always talk to me about it.”

Adora sighed. There was no way she was going to talk about anything with the danger of Catra walking in at any moment. Adora had no chance with her – there was no point in talking about it when nothing could come of it. She just needed to get over it.

She mumbled a quiet, “Okay,” to Razz, and went into the lounge to look at the bare tree. She’d have to go down to the basement to get the ornaments – she was just glad that Razz hadn’t attempted to decorate by herself. She was getting too old for that.

A lump formed in her throat when she heard that teasing, “Hey, Adora,” and turned around to see Catra leaning casually against the living room door. In Adora’s sweater, wild hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, bangs framing her pretty face. She’d never looked more kissable, and she was smirking at Adora like she wanted her to. If she didn’t know better…

“Um, I need to go to the basement and get the baubles and stuff,” Adora said, attempting to slip past her, “Be right back.”

“Wait,” Catra grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her, and Adora’s heart did that thing in her chest when Catra’s hand trailed down her wrist to hold her hand instead. “I usually don’t ask because if people wanted to talk about it, they would, but… are you okay? You keep getting kind of jumpy.”

Adora looked at her, and it was one of those rare moments when Catra wasn’t putting up any kind of front. She looked genuine, a soft smile on her face, her eyes lit up like sparkling gemstones, and Adora blurted out, “You have pretty eyes,” before she could help herself.

Then she realised that she’d said that out loud and cringed. So much for not making things uncomfortable.

But Catra didn’t look uncomfortable. She didn’t let go of her hand, either. She just smiled and said, “Well, that doesn’t answer my question at all, but thanks. I actually got made fun of about that in elementary school, so that means a lot.”

“What?” Adora frowned, because why would people bully her for that? “But they’re so pretty.”

“It’s stupid, and looking back at it is kind of hilarious, but kids are always horrible when something is different, so some idiotic classmates made fun of me because I have two different coloured eyes,” Catra rolled said eyes, and then let out a soft laugh. “Like I said, stupid. When I got a little older, I always just thought it was funny. Like, great joke, universe, giving the gay kid heterochromia.”

The last part of that didn’t sink in for a few moments, and Adora realised she’d done quite a comical double take.

Giving the gay kid heterochromia.

She’s… what?

“Wait, what?” Adora questioned, trying to process that revelation. But Scorpia had said she didn’t like girls when Adora asked. Not liking girls meant straight. “You- what?”

“You… didn’t know that?” Catra frowned at her, and she looked like she was thinking things over. Adora didn’t know what she had to think over, because she was the one who was told by Catra’s best friend that she was straight. Catra just shrugged casually. “Huh, I thought I’d mentioned it. It’s not- it doesn’t, like, bother you, right?”

“No, I’m pretty much the biggest lesbian on the planet, so…” Adora said, finishing with a confused shrug. She didn’t notice the flicker of a smirk on Catra’s face. She was much too busy thinking back to what Scorpia had said. She’d definitely conveyed to Adora that Catra was straight. Adora had said does Catra like girls, and Scorpia said no. “Are you, like, in the closet, or…?”

“No,” Catra frowned at her, “Why would you think that?”

“So, it’s like, public knowledge?” Adora tried to confirm. “And if someone asked you, you’d just tell them?”

“Um… yes,” Catra was looking at her like she’d lost her mind. But she still hadn’t let go of her hand. Should she take that as a sign? Wait, no. Adora needed to focus on one thing at a time here. Thinking about why Catra was holding her hand was something she could do later. “Adora, are you seriously that shocked?

“I wouldn’t have been,” Adora said, because she couldn’t figure this out, “but Scorpia said you were straight.”

“She said what?” Catra scowled. “I can’t believe she’d insult me like that behind my back.”

“But why would she say that?” Adora questioned out loud, because Catra was smart. She’d figure out why Adora had been walking around for the last month thinking she’d never have a chance with her. She’d know why Adora had nearly lost her because she thought she was crushing on a straight girl and avoided her.

“It was probably just a joke. She’s weird like that.” Catra shrugged, apparently already over this massive revelation. “Are we going to go get these ornaments, then? Your Christmas tree looks depressing. Or naked.”

“How could that have been a joke?” Adora said, thinking aloud. “I asked does Catra like girls, and she said no and walked away. There was no joking happening. It was a one-word response.”

Catra smirked. “You asked Scorpia if I liked girls?”

“What?” Adora’s eyes widened and she realised what she’d just admitted. She let go of Catra’s hand and shoved her lightly. “That’s not the point. Stop laughing at me! Ugh, I’m going to get the damn ornaments.”

She whirled around and stomped off to the basement steps embarrassedly, but she still didn’t understand something. Why would Catra’s best friend, who knew she was out, tell someone she was straight when they asked? It couldn’t have been because of privacy, because Scorpia would know that Catra was out. And it definitely wasn’t a joke.

She’d get to the bottom of this. One way or another.

Super Pal Trio

Catra (5:04PM): hey scorpia im gonna send you adora’s number bc idk if you have it

Catra (5:05PM): pls text her and tell her you were obviously joking when you told her i was some gross hetero because she won’t shut up about it and it’s driving me crazy

Catra (5:05PM): this is an urgent request

Catra (5:05PM): im serious it’s been TWO HOURS and she’s still talking about it

Entrapta (5:06PM): ‘Gross Hetero’…. What exactly are you trying to say here?

Catra (5:06PM): come on you know i’ve got heterophobia i can’t help it i was born this way

Entrapta (5:07PM): Actually, you have *heterochromia.

Catra (5:07PM): yeah that too

Catra (5:07PM): SCORPIA WHERE ARE YOU

“And it just doesn’t make any sense,” Adora rambled as she wrapped tinsel around the tree, “Why would she say that?”

“Adora, for the last time, it was a joke,” Catra groaned, hanging another bauble and rolling her eyes when Adora frowned at it and moved it a little bit to the left. She was one of those tree decorators, where everything had to be in a specific place. She’d moved literally every single ornament that Catra had hung on the tree.

Adora just scowled and moved yet another ornament. “It didn’t feel like a joke, though.”

“I just don’t get why you’re so hung up on this,” Catra said, but she hadn’t stopped thinking about the fact that Adora had asked Scorpia if she liked girls. Because she was interested? “I mean, it’s not like it matters to you whether I’m gay or not.”

Adora paused and then finished up with the tinsel, turning away to rifle through a box that was mostly just full of excess baubles and bubble wrap. “Okay. You have a point. It’s just… confusing. That’s all.”

“Well, confusing or not,” Catra tossed a bauble in the air and caught it, “let it go.”

Adora frowned. “Don’t throw the ornaments.”

Catra threw it again, just for that. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“You’re such a brat,” Adora rolled her eyes and caught the bauble before Catra could. She smirked and hung it on the tree. “My house, my rules.”

Catra snorted with laughter, but she was glad that Adora was off the whole Scorpia thing. With the way she’d described it, it had sounded a little bit weird, Catra would admit. But she wasn’t going to feed into Adora’s crazy when she knew that Scorpia was probably joking. “Actually, it’s Razz’s house.”

“I’m second in command, then,” Adora said, grabbing the angel for the top of the tree, “then Swift Wind, then Melog, then the spiders in the basement, then you.”

“Wow, thanks,” Catra deadpanned, swiping the angel from her, “I want to put that on. It’ll be the one thing you can’t move around.”

Adora blushed and smiled guiltily, but she just said, “Are you sure you can reach?”

“Oh my god, I’m not that short,” Catra scowled, and pushed herself up onto her tiptoes. And then realised that she actually couldn’t reach the top at all, because the tree was over six foot tall. She threw the angel back at a snickering Adora and growled, “Shut up.”

“What? I didn’t say anything,” Adora smirked, “I’d offer to give you a boost, but I think you might kill me.”

“You’re damn right I would,” Catra glowered, and watched as Adora pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and just managed to slot the angel on top of the tree. “Stupid tall person. I don’t like you.”

Adora just smiled. “Sure you don’t.”

“I don’t,” Catra said, but there was no bite behind it. Adora knew how Catra felt. Well… she knew a little bit of how she felt. “Seriously. Don’t delude yourself into thinking we’re friends. Because we’re not.”

“You’re right. We’re not friends.” Adora said. For a moment Catra was bewildered, because wait a minute, what? But then Adora gently wrapped her arms around Catra and said into her shoulder, “We’re best friends.”

Catra almost made some dumb joke, continuing the running gag that she didn’t like Adora. But instead, she just melted into Adora’s hold, snuggled her face into her shoulder, and agreed. “Yeah. We are.”

“I don’t know why you two are watching this when it’s not Christmassy,” Razz frowned at the TV screen, where She’s the Man was playing, as she passed two mugs of hot chocolate to Catra and Adora, “this is the one time of year where you get to watch Christmas movies, you should be taking advantage.”

“Apparently it’s a classic and it’s a crime against nature that I haven’t seen it,” Catra said, and from her tone Adora could guess she wasn’t convinced just yet, “but I think Adora just wants to watch it for the soccer.”

“Hey, it raises some good points about how undervalued women’s sports are, so shut up,” Adora said, sipping on her drink and cringing when it burned her tongue. “Ouch. That’s hot.”

“Idiot,” Catra laughed fondly, reaching out with her foot and lightly nudging Adora’s leg. They were lounging on the sofa in front of the living room TV, the curtains closed, the main lights off. The whole room was lit with Christmas lights instead, and Adora felt incredibly cosy, sat there with her mug clasped in her hands, with Catra lazing on the couch with her and Melog snoring by the fire.

She had an idea about something, but she wasn’t sure how to put it in motion. Especially with the movie already started. It was more of a pre-movie thing, but… it would get her closer to Catra. And it would only add to the cosy Christmas feel they had going on.

Once she was sure Razz was out of earshot, because this idea would be a big no from her, she asked, “Catra?”

“You know, normally when you ask someone to watch a movie with you, you actually watch it,” Catra said, because of course she had to add her usual snark to things. “What?”

Adora already expected the level of sarcasm her question would induce. “Do you want to make a pillow fort?”

“Are we five?” Catra said, but apparently they were, because she softened and added, “Sure. That sounds comfy.”

“Yes!” Adora jumped up, paused the movie and glanced towards the living room door. They had to be quick before Razz noticed and told her to move everything back. “Okay, put the drinks up on the mantel so we don’t spill anything. I don’t want Razz to murder me.”

Catra did as she asked, and Adora frowned, looking around the room and figuring out the logistics of this. She grabbed the blankets that they left stored behind one of the couches, bundled up all of the sofa pillows, and then said, “Help me move that couch over here, but so the back is facing towards the door. That way, we can put one of the blankets over both of them for a roof and then toss in the pillows. That should work.”

“You sound like you’ve had a lot of experience making pillow forts,” Catra smirked, walking around to the other side of the couch. Her voice was a little strained as she helped Adora move it. “Now I know what you do when you hang out with your friends.”

“They’re comfy, okay?” Adora unfolded the blanket and stretched it over the couches, grabbing the laundry rack and using that for a little extra support on the other side. She tossed the couch cushions inside the makeshift fort and smiled satisfactorily. The table was close enough for them to put their drinks on, they’d be able to see the TV perfectly, and it looked like a little bit of a tight squeeze. Which was totally not what she was going for. “Okay. All done.”

She settled herself inside against the pillows as Catra brought the drinks back, but then she quickly added, “Grab that other blanket!”

“What am I, your servant?” Catra rolled her eyes, but she went and grabbed it anyway, passing it to Adora and then flopping down onto the cushions. “There.”

Adora reached forwards and pressed play on the movie, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. She held one end open for Catra. “Want some blanket?”

Catra glanced at the open end and shuffled closer, wrapping it around herself. Her left side was pressed against Adora’s right, and Adora was pleased that her plan had been successful when…

“You know if you wanted to cuddle with me, you could’ve just asked, right?”

Adora blamed the heat on her face on her searing hot drink. “I- what? I didn’t want to- pfft. You’re out of your mind.”

Catra smiled like she didn’t believe her, but she just turned back to the movie and kept watching.

Moments like that made Adora wonder where Catra stood. Like, she had to know Adora was interested. Adora hadn’t exactly been subtle. Especially after idiotically admitting that she’d asked Scorpia if Catra liked girls. Why else would she be asking that, if not to find out if she had a chance?

Adora had sent plenty of clear signals. Catra had sent a lot of mixed ones. Surely, she knew. But aside from playful teasing, she hadn’t said anything.

Adora could say something. She was just… wary. She wasn’t exactly the relationship expert. She’d had one girlfriend before, back in freshman year, and the circumstances were different. Huntara had been friendly and but a stranger to then dating. There wasn’t that friendship there before, and when they broke up, being friends after never felt weird. Adora always wondered if they’d ever really liked each other romantically, or if it was just confused platonic feelings mixed with an initial mutual attraction. Catra meant a lot to her already, and those feelings were terrifying and exhilarating and new and Adora had never been that good with words.

Adora wanted Catra. She knew that much. She wanted all of her, the good and the bad, and she didn’t know how to say that without coming on too strong. Especially when Catra barely even opened up about her casual interests, let alone her feelings.

“Hey, um,” Adora nudged against her lightly, and she might be making the biggest mistake of her life, “can I ask you something?”

Catra frowned, and when Adora paused the movie again, she looked around. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, exactly, I just…” Adora sighed, occupying herself by looking at the buttons on the TV remote like they were the most interesting thing in the world. “You don’t have to answer. But I was just wondering why you don’t really like to talk about yourself.”

Catra was quiet. Almost too quiet. Adora nearly went to play the movie again, to forget she’d ever asked, but Catra’s hand slowly took hers, fingers sliding between Adora’s and locking there, like a tether.

“I’ve never really been allowed to.”

“Oh,” Adora frowned. She didn’t understand what she meant by that at all. “Well, I want you to know that… if you feel comfortable, I want to know all of that stuff. The good stuff. The bad. Even just the little things that make you tick, like the way you hate socks and how you’re a cat person and how you always have to sleep on your right side. I… I want to know you. All of you. Not just the easy, surface level things.”

Catra’s fingers flexed, gripping her hand tighter. When Adora looked at her, her eyes were closed, a frown wrinkling her eyebrows, and she let out a long, heavy breath.

“I learned a long time ago that I couldn’t trust anybody. People leave, people hurt, people manipulate. I don’t tell anybody more than what they need to know, and even then, I’m reluctant. I’ve never let anybody get too close. Anybody.” Catra said, answering Adora’s oncoming question of ‘not even your friends’ already. “But then… here you are. There’s something about you that’s different. I can’t describe it, but it makes me want to forget every single thing I’ve ever known and just lay everything bare for you.”

“You don’t have to,” Adora said quietly, because she never wanted Catra to feel forced to tell her things. “Just because I want to know stuff, it doesn’t mean you have to tell me.”

“I know that,” Catra answered. She was silent again, her hand warm in Adora’s. But then a sigh came out again, one that was half a resigned laugh. “I want to tell you. You’ll think I’m crazy, but it’s kind of like there’s some weird higher power that’s telling me you’re the one I’m supposed to open up to. Because thinking about telling you doesn’t make me want to run. It feels like it’s okay to trust you.”

Carefully, Adora put an arm around her, and Catra sighed into the touch. “Even that. You touching me. Anyone else touches me and I feel wrong, but you…”

Catra shook her head, and Adora didn’t think about what any of this meant in relation to Catra’s possible feelings for her. Any wonders about that had flown out of her head. She kept herself steady, there to take on whatever burdens Catra was going to lay out. Adora just wanted to be there for her.

“I grew up in the system. I never knew my parents. For the first nine years of my life, I lived in a children’s home, waiting, hoping that someone would pick me. That I’d find a family and get some stupid happy ever after. I’d watch all of the other kids get chosen and wonder what was wrong with me. The earliest memories I have are just… wondering why I was never good enough. Wondering why nobody wanted me.”

I want you, Adora thought, and her arm tightened around Catra. She felt Catra press up against her. Like she was making sure she was still there.

“When I was nine, I was fostered. I was still a stupid kid, still hopeful that things would be better now I was away from the children’s home. That I’d get adopted and have the family I wanted so badly.” Catra let out a bitter laugh. “It was a senseless, childlike dream. My foster mother wasn’t doing it out of kindness and wanting to give a home to a kid who needed it, she was doing it for the paycheck.”

“At first, she mostly just ignored me. Left me to my own devices, had fun with the foster money she was supposed to be using to take care of me. It was neglect, but I never knew anything different, and I learned quickly not to bother her for any attention because the most she would give me was a smack around the head.” Catra’s hand tightened on Adora’s, and Adora used her other arm to pull her closer, comfort her wordlessly. “When I was eleven, she met this guy, and that was when things took a turn for the worse. They would make me do everything around the house. Cook, clean, change the bedsheets, do the laundry. I was little more than their house slave. If I refused, I was guaranteed a smack with his belt or a kick from her boot.”

“I was never good enough for them, either. They made sure to let me know of all my inadequacies every day. I was lazy; I wasn’t smart enough; I wasn’t pretty enough. No matter what it was, I couldn’t please them. Oh, you’re valedictorian? Probably just because someone else declined it. I could’ve cured cancer and it wouldn’t have been good enough for them.”

A shaky breath left Catra’s nose, and Adora could see the way her eyes were shining with tears she wouldn’t let fall. She hugged her closer and let her talk. “It really messed me up, growing up being told I’d never be good enough. I still… I still feel like I’ll never be good enough, and when people try, I don’t understand it. I don’t know what they want from me, because nobody has ever just wanted me as I am. They’ve always wanted some idea of me that they’ve constructed in their head or wanted whatever it is I can do for them at the time just to leave me in the dirt later. My own parents didn’t even want me.”

“I learned to shut everyone out. If people couldn’t get close, if I didn’t get attached, then they couldn’t hurt me. When I started at Bright Moon… if you thought our first meeting was bitchy, you wouldn’t want to meet freshman Catra,” Catra cringed, “I was so angry about the hand life had dealt me. I couldn’t comprehend why I wasn’t good enough or deserving enough of the things everyone else had. I was my own worst enemy, though. Pushing anyone who tried away because I didn’t know what they wanted from me. I didn’t believe I was deserving of genuine kindness, so when people tried, I assumed it was some kind of trick.”

“I shared a class with Scorpia, and it was like no matter how mean I was, she wouldn’t give up. I didn’t understand it and didn’t understand why she wanted to be around me, because my whole entire life I’d been told I was never good enough. One day, though, I took it too far, and she stopped talking to me. I thought that was what I wanted, but it turned out it wasn’t. I still feel bad about how horrible I was, and I could’ve used her giving up as an excuse to push people away even more, but I realised that I wanted to try. I was sick of being so hurt and lonely. I wanted someone to care about me.”

“She shouldn’t have forgiven me for how I was. I still believe that. Because I still keep her and Entrapta at arm’s length. It’s stupid, because I know they’d both be there for me and wouldn’t pity me for all of it if I told them everything, but it’s like I can’t. Like there’s this mental block I can’t get past because I don’t want people to know I’m broken.” Catra frowned. “And then there’s you. You’re the one person I didn’t want to know how broken I was, and yet you’re the one person I was able to tell.”

“I think I know why.” Catra squeezed her hand tightly. “I’ve never had a home before. I’ve lived in houses and college dorms, but nothing ever felt like home. And then I walk into what I think is going to be my own damn room, and there’s this annoying blonde girl with her stupid friends and somehow a few months down the line she makes me feel it. She makes a little shoebox college dorm a home, and it’s like everything I ever wanted. I don’t want to keep you at a distance. Because even if I let you in and I end up hurt… I think you’d be worth it.”

There was a strangely comfortable silence when Catra finished, Adora processing everything she’d just said and Catra looking surprised she’d actually said it all.

“Okay, I just need to get one thing out first, because I need you to know,” Adora started, “you’re not broken. You’ve dealt with a lot of bad stuff, and maybe it made you scared to open up, but that doesn’t mean you’re broken. It just means that you’re wary, and that’s completely understandable.”

“I don’t know,” Catra sighed, and Adora tried not to act too surprised when she rested her head on her shoulder. “I don’t really know how to be a person. I don’t know the first thing about how to be a friend, or a girlfriend, or anything like that. I didn’t have any kind of positive interaction with another person until I was eighteen. That has to have messed me up in some kind of way.”

“I don’t believe that. You’ve looked after me twice when I was way too drunk for words, when you had zero obligation to. You took in a stray cat even though you knew if anyone found out you’d get into trouble. You help me study in your breaks at work even though you don’t have to. You bring me drinks when you think I need one and you never make me pay for them. You comforted me when I was feeling all third-wheely before we were even friends and I was just your annoying roommate.” Adora listed. “I could go on, but I think you get the point. It doesn’t matter that you’re still learning those things or if you make mistakes, because your heart is in the right place. That’s what counts.”

“You really think that?”

It pained her, how surprised Catra sounded. Like she couldn’t believe that someone actually thought positively of her.

“I really do,” Adora said, squeezing her gently around the shoulders, “and you’ll always be good enough to me.”

“That…” she felt Catra’s sigh into her shoulder, “that means more to me than you know.”

There was another comfortable silence, and then Adora thought of something else she wanted to know. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Catra chuckled lightly into her shoulder. “I think I’ve made it pretty obvious that you can ask me anything.”

“What’s your favourite colour?”

Warmth left her shoulder as Catra sat up, eyebrow raised, that irritatingly kissable smirk on her lips. “Don’t you think we’re a little past that?”

“Nope. I said I wanted to know everything, even the little trivial stuff.” Adora said. “Answer me.”

After a few quiet moments, Catra rested her head back on Adora’s shoulder and said, “Red. You?”

“I like red too,” Adora said, and her hand dropped from Catra’s shoulder to wrap around her waist instead. “Ooh, we should get matching red sweaters!”

“Great idea,” Catra said dryly, “I want mine to say I’m with stupid.”

The sarcastic teasing meant that she was feeling better, and Adora couldn’t help but smile. “With an arrow pointed in my direction?”

“Oh, definitely.”

For Catra, Christmas had always been just another day. She couldn’t think of any time she’d ever legitimately celebrated it the way a lot of people did.

Apparently, for Adora, it was a big deal.

She woke up on Christmas morning to Adora wriggling around in the bed next to her. They’d cuddled the last few nights, ever since Catra had told her everything, because if Adora knew all of that and wasn’t going to judge her and think she was broken, she wasn’t going to judge her for wanting to cuddle.

Catra felt better about things, weirdly. She thought she’d be uncomfortable, knowing that Adora knew, but she just felt light. Even if Adora didn’t want her how Catra wanted her to, she still wanted her, despite everything.

“You’ll always be good enough to me.”

She hadn’t stopped thinking about that.

“Are you awake?”

“Hard not to be with you moving around like that,” Catra murmured into her shoulder, the arm that was splayed across Adora’s stomach tightening around her. “Stop it.”

“But it’s Christmas,” Adora said like that mattered, “We have to get up and open presents and watch Christmas specials and eat our body weight in food. And maybe get a little wine drunk later.”

“You can do all of that a lot later,” Catra said, keeping her eyes closed, “It’s sleep time.”

Adora let out a long sigh, but Catra could hear the smile in her voice. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“I’m not cute,” Catra laughed, but it was a little half-hearted. “You’re cute.”

“Careful,” Adora warned her, “I might start to think you like me.”

Catra snorted. “In your dreams, knucklehead.”

They laid there for a little while longer, just dozing, Catra feeling warm and safe in Adora’s arms. She’d only told half the truth when she said Adora made their college dorm feel like home. Really, it was Adora who felt like home.

God, she was in deep with this stupid crush.

Eventually, the bedroom door swung open and Razz peered around the door, “Come on, up, up, you two lazy bones. It’s Christmas!”

“We should get up,” Adora said, sitting up. Catra knew she wouldn’t live it down, so she made sure Adora wasn’t looking when she pouted at the loss of warmth. “Seriously, one time I tried to sleep in back in high school and she poured water on me.”

Begrudgingly, because she was so comfortable before, Catra pushed herself up and petted Melog, who had claimed the side of the bed she and Adora hadn’t been bundled up on. “Merry Christmas, Melog.”

She took the quiet purr as a response and blinked in confusion when something landed on her lap. She looked down at the green stocking there, with the little Santa stitched onto it, and frowned. “Uh, what’s this?”

“Santa came,” Adora shrugged, but there was a knowing smile on her face. “Come on, of course I was going to do a stocking for you. And you call me a knucklehead.”

Catra didn’t make a move to see what was inside. “You shouldn’t have-”

“Don’t start that. I wanted you to have like, a real Christmas. With little traditions that we can keep going.” Adora shrugged, and Catra’s eyes widened, because that implied that she wanted to spend more Christmases with her. That definitely straddled the line of platonic. “So please, don’t put up a fight. Just… accept it. All of it. Okay?”

“Okay,” Catra didn’t hesitate, because she knew she couldn’t say no to Adora, “thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Adora smiled, nudging her with her shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Catra.”

“Yeah,” Catra felt that stupid flutter in her stomach. What the hell was this girl doing to her? “Merry Christmas, Adora.”

Adora thought that Catra was having a good Christmas.

It had upset her a little bit, to see how surprised Catra was to receive presents. She was still playing with the necklace Adora had given her, like she didn’t believe it was really there. Adora knew it was because she wasn’t used to this kind of thing – she got the impression that Catra had never had a real Christmas before – but it still made her sad. Because Catra deserved the whole world, and Adora wanted to give it to her.

There had been… a shift, since Catra had opened up to her about everything. For one, she wasn’t afraid of asking for cuddles. Since they’d arrived from school, they’d shared Adora’s bed, going to sleep separately and waking up tangled together. But the last few nights, Catra had just gotten into bed and snuggled up with her. Melog seemed to appreciate the extra space, and Adora was incredibly happy with the new development.

But things also felt less friendly. Not in a bad sense, just the way they were interacting felt more romantically coded. Adora didn’t know for certain if Catra liked her, but they were holding hands and sitting close to each other and the looks Catra gave her sometimes…

She almost wished she had some mistletoe. What did mistletoe even look like, anyway? Adora didn’t know if she’d ever actually seen it. But she wished she had some, just so she could pull it out of her pocket and dangle it over Catra’s head. They were in the perfect position right now, curled up in a blanket on the couch, sipping on mulled wine in the warm glow of the Christmas tree lights, It’s A Wonderful Life playing on the television.

Adora wanted to kiss her so badly. She had no reason not to. Catra liked girls. Catra maybe liked her. And she looked so kissable. She always did, but right now especially. Her eyes were glistening like the lights from the tree and her tanned skin was glowing in the dimmed light. It always looked so soft. Adora imagined her thumb caressing Catra’s cheek, her hand cupping that sharp jawline, pulling her in. Adora’s lips would capture Catra’s in her own, and they’d be so soft, and fit together so perfectly. Almost like they were meant to fit like that, like jigsaw pieces slotting together.

Just the thought was enough to give her butterflies.

She moved the hand that wasn’t holding Catra’s. To get her attention, or to just cup her jaw and guide her into a kiss, Adora didn’t know. She’d never know, because Razz came bustling into the lounge and exclaimed, “Oh, I love this movie!”

Adora’s hand fell back to her side. Maybe that interruption had been a message from the universe. Maybe it wasn’t the right time. Adora didn’t know. She just knew that she wanted Catra, and maybe, just maybe, Catra wanted her too.

Chapter Text

Catra didn’t think she’d be upset when winter break ended and they arrived back at Fright Zone Hall for the beginning of the new semester. Usually, she was waiting desperately for winter break to end, so she actually had something to do. Being alone and without classes or schoolwork to occupy her, she’d always been bored out of her mind.

But this year, end of winter break meant end of sharing a bed with Adora every night. End of being in their own little world over Christmas, in Adora’s little cottage in the village she grew up in, with her grandmother’s amazing cooking.

The first night back sucked. Royally sucked. As much as she loved Melog, cuddling with her cat just wasn’t the same. Her bed felt empty, and even though she knew Adora was quite literally five feet away from her, in her own bed, she missed her.

The second night back, Catra came back from the bathroom to find Adora already in her bed, squished up against the wall. “C’mere,” Adora had said, and patted the spot next to her. Catra didn’t even hesitate.

But the tiny single school beds, compared to Adora’s big king-sized bed at home, made for cramped and awkward sleeping conditions. Catra nearly fell out of the bed three times in the night, just because she overestimated how much space she had.

On the third night, Catra sucked up her pride, fully aware that it was probably the lamest question to ever come out of her mouth, and asked, “Do you want to just push the beds together?”

Adora grinned at her and threw her arms around her shoulders, murmuring, “You’re so smart,” into her ear.

And you’re so dumb, Catra thought to herself, because you haven’t kissed me yet.

Honestly, sometimes, Catra felt like she could wave a big neon sign with the words ‘kiss me’ flashing over and over, and Adora still wouldn’t get the hint. She had half a mind to just bite the bullet and do it herself, but part of her couldn’t let that happen.

She’d lain everything on the table for Adora. All of the painful memories, all of the insecurities and the hurt. She’d shown her, straight up, what she was, erased any idealised version of herself that Adora might’ve been carrying in her mind. The ball was in Adora’s court now.

Adora needed to know for sure that Catra was what she wanted. Catra was there and waiting, ready for whatever decision. But she needed Adora to be sure.

If Adora wanted her, Catra was ready.

But god, was she taking her damn time about it.

Adora didn’t know when her entire brain became dedicated to thinking about kissing Catra.

It was like it was the only thing she could think about. It didn’t matter what she was doing. Driving back to school for the new semester? Kissing. Picking out her new classes? Kissing. Checking her new timetable? Kissing. Kissing. Kissing.

Catra didn’t make it easy, either. Looking at her the way she did, eyelashes fluttering, beautiful eyes sparkling like diamonds, smirk toying at the corner of her mouth. Like she was daring Adora to do it.

She knew it was becoming a problem when Glimmer questioned her about it a week into the semester, when they were studying in the library. “Why are you looking at your notebook like you want to make out with it?”

She’d been picturing Catra, so the description wasn’t entirely inaccurate. “No reason.”

Glimmer laughed. “You’re thinking about your jerkface roommate, aren’t you?”

“Pfft, what? No, I…” when Glimmer smirked disbelievingly, Adora sighed. There was no way Glimmer would let her lie about this. “Yes, fine. And don’t call her a jerkface.”

“I got coffee at her work the other day and she’d written Sparkles on my cup, so I’ll call her what I like.” Glimmer said, but she smiled and asked, “Seriously, though. Talk to me.”

“It’s like the only thing I can think about is kissing her. Any time she looks at me, I just want to slam her into the wall and kiss the smirk right off her stupid face.” Adora groaned, resting her head on the table and ignoring the loud shush she got from one of her fellow students. She lowered her voice and added, “And I think she wants me to. Like… you can’t tell anyone this, okay?”

Glimmer shrugged. “You know I won’t. Spill.”

“We pushed our beds together.” Adora admitted quietly, blushing at the memory, how surprised she’d been when Catra had suggested it. “You don’t do that with your friend. And she holds my hand all the time and looks at me like she’s daring me to make a move. And she… over break, she opened up about a lot, and I think she did it so I’d know if… if I was sure I wanted her.”

“Do you?” Glimmer asked her, and Adora didn’t hesitate to nod. “Then kiss her. It’s pretty obvious she wants you to.”

“I don’t want to just stroll into our room and kiss her, though,” Adora said, because Catra deserved so much more than that. She deserved the perfect kiss at the perfect moment, one that showed her how much Adora wanted her, how she would always be good enough, and how that would never change. “She deserves more than that.”

“Wow,” Glimmer laughed, “You really are smitten, huh?”

Adora scowled, but it didn’t have any heart behind it. Mostly because Glimmer had hit the nail right on the head. “Shut up and get back to studying.”

They went back to working in silence – it was the library after all, so everything had to be communicated through hushed voices – but five minutes later, Glimmer nudged her.

“Are we still going out tomorrow for your birthday?”

Adora had completely forgotten that tomorrow was her birthday. Who even does that? She guessed hadn’t had much time to think about it, when every single brain cell was more bothered about Catra. Maybe she should be concerned.

“Yeah,” Adora said. They always celebrated their birthdays together, usually with a nice dinner out and then going out partying. “But book the table at the restaurant for four. I want Catra to come. If that’s okay.”

“It’s your birthday,” Glimmer said, “You can invite whoever you want.”

Adora looked her over, trying to detect any sense of falsehood, but she couldn’t. Glimmer looked genuine, but Adora still felt a little bad. She knew that Glimmer wasn’t too keen on Catra, and it was their tradition.

“I know, but it’s always been just us three,” Adora said, and her nose crinkled into a frown when she realised it, “and Catra might not even want to come.”

“Adora, she let you push your beds together,” Glimmer rolled her eyes and paused to scribble down a note from her textbook, “I think a birthday dinner is pretty tame compared to that.”

She knew that Glimmer had a point, but it wasn’t like Adora’s friends were there when she was curling up next to her. Catra had opened up to her, but only her. What’s to say she’d want to spend time with Bow and Glimmer?

“I’m craving some caffeine, so maybe we can stop by the coffee shop. She’s working until two.” And then she had classes until six, because Adora had already memorised Catra’s new schedule. Couldn’t remember anything from the first week of classes, but she’d gotten her crush’s schedule committed to memory. Obviously, Adora had a great sense of priorities. “I could ask her if she wants to come along then, and then you’ll know how many to book the table for.”

“Okay,” Glimmer shut her textbook with a smile. “I’ll take any excuse to get out of here. Libraries creep me out.”

“Only you would get creeped out by a library,” Adora packed her things away quickly and said, “Next time we should just study at the coffee shop. The seats are comfier and Catra brings me drinks.”

“Yeah, I’m sure the comfy seats and the drinks are the only reason you want to do that,” Glimmer laughed, “not your gigantic crush on her.”

“I… it’s just a nice environment, okay?” Adora pathetically excused. The comfy chairs were nice, and the drinks that Catra made up were nicer, but Glimmer was right. It was just another excuse to spend time with her. “And the drinks are free, so…”

Glimmer just smirked knowingly, because if anyone was good at detecting Adora’s bullshit, it was her. “I know I said it before, but you really are smitten. You like her more than free coffee. May as well just get down on one knee and propose. I’m sure she’d say yes.”

“Or she’d think I’d completely lost my mind and ghost me,” Adora didn’t hold the library doors open for her friend just to be petty. “Besides, what if it’s just like, infatuation for her? What if she’s not crushing on me, what if it’s just a wanting-to-get-in-my-pants situation?”

This is maybe a conversation she shouldn’t be having in public, but Adora didn’t care. Glimmer wasn’t fazed by it either, she just looked at Adora like she was an idiot.

“Okay, I’d maybe have believed that, because I’ve heard a few things from some girls I know, that’s why I was confused when you told me she was supposedly straight,” Glimmer said, and Adora was still wondering why Scorpia had said that. Catra didn’t seem bothered by it, but Adora wanted to know the reason. She’d always been curious (or nosey, as Razz liked to say). “But Adora, she gives you free drinks, you pushed your damn beds together, and you said it yourself that she opened up to you about a lot of stuff. I don’t think she’d do all of that if she was going to sleep with you and then ditch you.”

Adora sighed, staring at the coffee shop in the distance. She knew that Glimmer was right and knew that she needed to just woman up and do something about it. But do what? She had always been a perfectionist, and when Catra deserved the whole entire world, how was she supposed to deliver that? She had to make it perfect so Catra would know she was serious, so she’d know how much Adora wanted her. All of her.

“I guess you’re right,” Adora finally said, and Glimmer looked smug. Her friend held the coffee shop doors open for her and gestured inside, and Adora’s stomach did that automatic flipping thing it always did when she saw Catra. “God, she looks so good.”

Catra didn’t look any different as she did any other day, but the point was that she always looked good. Hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, that knowing smirk on her face, like she knew everything about everyone. She was taking somebody’s order, so she hadn’t noticed Adora walking in, and she just looked so pretty. Her beauty was striking, one that everyone could acknowledge, because it was impossible not to.

When the customer she was serving walked over to the collection point, Catra saw her in line, and that smirk turned into a soft smile. Adora heard Glimmer mutter “you’re both as bad as each other,” but she didn’t really register it. She was too busy imagining herself jumping over the counter and kissing the smile off Catra’s face.

She and Glimmer reached the counter, and Catra’s gaze never wavered from Adora. She leaned forwards on the counter, casual as ever, still smiling that softer smile. “Hey, Adora.”

“Catra,” Adora answered, her own smile a permanent fixture on her face. “Hi.”

“What can I get for you?” Catra asked, “Or is it a surprise?”

“Glimmer will have a caramel mocha and probably a cinnamon roll,” Adora said, because she had her best friends’ orders memorised. Bow always went for a strawberry Frappuccino and a giant cookie. “And I’ll have that almond joy thing you came up with. If it’s not too much trouble. Oh, and a croissant.”

“It’s never too much trouble for you,” Catra said casually, like she hadn’t just made Adora’s whole heart clench. She rang up the order and said, “Nothing for you, $5.75 for Sparkles.”

“Always the charmer, Catra,” Glimmer said dryly, rolling her eyes.

Catra snorted. “Be less irritating, maybe then you’ll get a free drink.”

“Actually, I’m getting it all, what did you say again?” Adora quickly said before Glimmer could say something equally snarky back. “$5.75?”

“No, you don’t pay here.” Catra scowled at her, but it was more playful than anything. “Fuck off to your table before I change my mind.”

Glimmer laughed. “Someone’s whipped.”

“Do you want me to ban you, Sparkles?”

“Okay!” Adora grabbed Glimmer by the arm and hauled her over to her usual table, “We’ll be over here, thanks Catra.”

“You know, the whole time you were talking about your crush in the library, I forgot you were talking about Catra,” Glimmer rolled her eyes as she sat down on the couch opposite Adora, at her favourite table by the fire. She cast a glance over at the counter, but Catra had moved to make the drinks and that nervous blond guy was taking the orders. “Why do you like her again?”

Adora laughed quietly. This conversation oddly mirrored the one she’d had with Scorpia early last semester, when she couldn’t believe she and Catra were friends. She gave Glimmer the same answer. “She’s got a good heart.”

They took out their books to go back to studying, and Adora was just about to start that essay practice she’d been intending to do – but imagining kissing Catra instead – when the object of her affections came over with two coffee cups plus the croissant and cinnamon roll on a tray.

“Here,” Catra leaned over her quite obviously to put the tray down, and there was that little smirk on her face again. She knew what she was doing. “Enjoy.”

With that, she breezed back over to the counter, Adora’s heart stuttering in her chest. When she picked up her coffee cup a little while later to take a drink, she noticed the name scrawled on the side.

Knucklehead was written there, with a little heart scrawled next to it.

“You know what, I take it back,” Adora said, trying and failing to hold back her smile, “I have no idea why I like her.”

Classes until six should be a crime against nature, Catra decided as she dragged herself back to Fright Zone Hall after what felt like the longest day ever.

The one saving grace had been Adora turning up at work to study. Even though she had Sparkles in tow, and she’d somehow managed to trick Catra into giving her free stuff too. Whipped. Maybe Sparkles had a point.

When she arrived back to their dorm room, Catra was well and truly done. She changed into her pyjamas and collapsed into bed next to Adora, who was watching some YouTuber doing a try not to laugh challenge. Catra had never really gotten the whole YouTuber thing, but whatever. Some of the videos they were reacting to were funny.

Adora put an arm around her, and Catra curled up next to her. Neither of them said a word. Catra just snuggled into Adora’s shoulder as she watched her video, and Adora’s finger traced little patterns against Catra’s upper arm. Melog was purring happily at the foot of the bed, and if Catra could purr, she had a feeling she’d be doing exactly that. She felt so relaxed, and she was just drifting off to sleep when Adora’s YouTube video finished.

“Anything you want to watch?” Adora asked, and Catra just shook her head against her. “Okay. I have something to ask you. I meant to ask you when I came to the coffee shop earlier, but I forgot when I was trying to diffuse the potential fight to the death between you and Glimmer.”

Suddenly, Catra was feeling much more alert. Was she going to ask her out? Had Adora finally gotten the message?

“It’s my birthday tomorrow, and I know you don’t really like my friends and everything,” Adora started, and Catra let out a sigh of disappointment. Okay. Maybe not. “But it would mean a lot to me if you’d come to my birthday dinner.”

“Of course I’ll go, dummy,” Catra murmured into her shoulder, “even if it means tolerating your annoying friends.”

Adora laughed. “I’m starting to think Glimmer had a point when she called you whipped.”

“Do you want me to ban you from the coffee shop too?” Catra threatened, even though she never would, because stupid Sparkles wasn’t exactly wrong. “Because I will. Don’t push me.”

“I don’t believe you,” Adora’s chest rumbled with laughter, and Catra loved the feeling of it against her, the way Adora’s whole body seemed to come alive with it. Even if she was laughing at her expense, Catra didn’t mind.

God, this was starting to go beyond just some silly crush. This was turning into a yearning, longing kind of falling, and Catra didn’t know if she could stop. She didn’t think she wanted to. She didn’t know if she’d hit the bottom with a crash or if Adora would be there to catch her, but she didn’t mind. Adora was worth the risk.

“So, how was class?”

It took a few minutes for Catra to register the question, because Adora’s fingers decided to run through her hair. “It was snooze. Even Scorpia was a bore. She barely talked. It was weird.”

She was a little bit concerned about that, but Catra knew what it was like to have people push. She told herself she’d ask what was up if the behaviour persisted, because bad days were normal. Bad weeks were not.

Adora hummed, and Catra knew what was coming. “I’m still confused as to why she decided to tell me you were straight.”

“Maybe I did something to piss her off and she felt the need to insult me,” Catra answered, rolling her eyes, “Be like Elsa and let it go, Adora. It was probably just a weird attempt at a joke.”

“Okay, I’m not going to let you live down the fact that you just made a Frozen reference,” Adora laughed, “and you make fun of me for watching Wizards of Waverly Place.”

“I could be making fun of you right now for watching some obnoxious YouTuber,” Catra said, “but note how I’m not.”

“Out of the goodness of your heart, or just because you’re tired and wanting to cuddle?” Adora teased, and they both knew it was the latter. Catra could make all sorts of jokes, but really she just wanted to cuddle. What was happening to her? How had Adora turned her into some cuddly pile of mush? “But okay. I’ll lay off too. Just because you’re cute when you’re sleepy.”

“So… I’m not cute the rest of the time? Wow, thanks.”

“Only you would turn it around like that.” Adora snorted. “You can’t just take the compliment, can you?”

“Why would I make it easy for you?” Catra said into her shoulder. “There’d be no fun in that.”

“Wow,” Adora laughed, and Catra wondered if she knew what she was doing when her hand trailed down her spine, slipping under her shirt to gently wrap around her waist. It was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, to not give her a reaction. “That’s low, even for you.”

“Oh, you know nothing’s too low for me,” Two could play at that game, so Catra’s hand found its way up Adora’s pyjama shirt to rest on her stomach. Jesus, she was toned from all of that soccer, but Catra savoured the ragged breath she caused. She let her fingers trace little patterns on her skin, and that did it again.

She almost spelled out kiss me on Adora’s stomach. She was just about to trace the k when Melog pounced. Catra jumped, and Adora gasped when Melog settled on Adora’s stomach, right where Catra’s hand had been.

Snaky little… Catra glared, but then realised she couldn’t be mad at Melog for a second. Still, the mood had been completely ruined. She sighed and pushed herself up, yawning. “I need to eat.”

She dragged herself over to the mini fridge, already missing Adora’s warmth, her gentle touch. “Want anything?”

Adora startled again. She looked like she’d been thinking hard. She let out a strained laugh. “Thought the mini fridge was off limits to me and my buddies?”

“Your buddies, yes. You, no. You can take anything you want.” Catra yawned again, selecting a random premade sandwich she’d stocked up on. Ham and cheese. She’d take it. “Do you want a sandwich?”

“Okay,” Adora said, and Catra tossed another random one over to her. She couldn’t be bothered with the dining hall today. “Thanks. And I already fed Melog, so ignore any pleading eyes.”

Catra ate at her desk and Adora seemed to get the message and stood up, dragging her own desk chair over to join her. Even though she was annoyed about the interruption, she still gave Melog a few pieces of crust. She couldn’t resist those eyes. Melog and Adora had that in common. Pretty blue eyes that looked at Catra and had her at their mercy.

“I’m really glad,” Adora broke the comfortable silence they were eating in, “that you said you’d come to my birthday dinner.”

“Obviously I was going to,” Catra said, and maybe she was being a little too obvious when she added, “If you want something from me, all you have to do is ask. You mean a lot to me.”

“I… okay. Thank you. You mean a lot to me too.” Adora said, and she looked like she was thinking hard again. Her mouth worked, opening and closing twice, like she wanted to say something but was second guessing it. Eventually, the words spilled out, whether by choice or accidentally, Catra didn’t know. “And I know… I know you probably didn’t mean it like that, but I just… I…”

“I do mean it like that,” Catra murmured, looking up to meet surprised, but so, so beautiful blue eyes. “The way you’re thinking. I mean it exactly like that.”

She didn’t know if she’d said it because she was so tired and wasn’t thinking clearly. Wasn’t thinking about the consequences.

But Adora’s hand came to rest on top of hers, and she questioned softly, “You do?”

Catra managed a nod, and Adora’s fingers slotted between hers. Like they were supposed to be there.

“Me too,” Adora admitted, and her forehead came to rest against Catra’s. For a moment, they just looked into each other’s eyes. Catra had never really understood the obsession with eye colour, why people liked one better than the other. Not until she saw Adora’s eyes. They were so blue, like burning sapphires, but it wasn’t just that. Adora’s eyes looked at Catra and saw something good. Something worth caring about. In Adora’s eyes, Catra would always be good enough.

Adora’s eyes slowly fluttered closed, and a soft smile stretched across her face. It would be so easy for Catra to lean in and kiss her, but instead, she just closed her eyes too. Felt her there. Whatever else happened, it didn’t matter.

For now, this was enough.

Adora woke up on her 21^st birthday to Catra, holding out a chocolate cupcake with a candle stuck in and singing happy birthday.

Of course she can sing, was Adora’s first thought, closely followed by, and she remembered the tradition.

When Catra finished, and Adora leaned over to blow the candle out, she didn’t comment on how sweet and considerate it was that Catra had remembered. She knew what she was like, she’d either make some sarcastic comment about how it wasn’t because she liked her or go all quiet and embarrassed that someone had witnessed her doing something nice.

Adora just took the cupcake with a knowing smile and asked, “Should I be bracing myself for raisins?”

Catra frowned, but then clearly remembered the raisin cupcake threat she’d made back on her own birthday and laughed. “Oh, no. I decided to be nice to you today.”

“How very out of character for you,” Adora teased her, digging into the cake. She hadn’t been lucky enough to get her birthday off – a Thursday of all days – but she might already be planning on skipping her classes tomorrow depending on how hungover she felt in the morning.

Adora checked the time. It was nine, and she didn’t have class until twelve. At least it was one of her easier days; Thursday, she had two classes, so she’d be free by three. Catra shared that second class with her, because it was the women’s studies elective they’d chosen together.

“You woke me up early,” Adora observed once she’d finished her cake, aiming the wrapper at the trash can and grinning when it landed right in. “Any reason?”

Catra was looking at her so softly, and Adora’s stomach dipped. I do mean it like that. The way you’re thinking. I mean it exactly like that. The words wouldn’t stop spinning around in her head.

“Figured we could go to that diner you love so much for breakfast,” Catra said, “my treat, before you try to fight me on that.”

Adora was too cheerful to argue. I do mean it like that. Instead, she just smiled and pushed herself up out of bed, scratching Melog behind the ears on her way up. “Okay. Just let me shower and get ready.”

“Huh, I thought you’d put up more of a fight,” Catra commented, stretching out in the warm space on the bed that Adora had just vacated. Melog clambered onto her stomach and purred happily.

“I’m too happy to argue,” Adora said simply, pausing in the bathroom doorway. I do mean it like that. The way you’re thinking. “Hard not to be, when I’m starting my birthday on a breakfast date with you.”

The word choice was plainly intentional, and she knew that Catra knew from the way she smiled. “Hurry your ass up, then. You’re not supposed to keep a lady waiting.”

“I don’t think proper ladies say ass.”

“Just shut up and get in the shower, knucklehead.”

Adora did order a breakfast cocktail, and Catra wasn’t at all surprised. She raised her eyebrows as the drink came over. “Taking advantage of being legal?”

“Definitely,” Adora said, sipping the drink through the straw that Catra was kind of wishing she was. “It’s just one drink, I’ll be good for class later.”

“Alright, party girl.”

“Hey, I’m hardly a party girl,” Adora rolled her eyes, nudging Catra under the table with her foot, “I’m celebrating my birthday by going out for a nice fancy meal with my best friends and my… my… you. That’s classy.”

Adora clearly didn’t want her to comment on how she didn’t know what to call Catra, but she couldn’t help herself. “I don’t count as a best friend? Damn, okay. You can pay for your own gigantic breakfast burger. Come on, fork it over.”

She held her hand out jokingly, and she really didn’t expect it when Adora reached out and took it, holding it tight and murmuring, “You know you’re more to me than just a friend.”

Hearing that out loud improved Catra’s already amazing mood rather markedly. She couldn’t even find it in her to get out some sarcastic comment. She just smiled and mumbled, “Yeah. I know.”

Adora squeezed her hand gently and didn’t let go. She looked so beautiful, the bright sunlight from the window turning blonde hair into a bright halo. It didn’t surprise her; Adora was the closest thing to an angel on earth.

Adora ruined it (not really) when she laughed and said, “Hey, how does it feel knowing that one of the first things you ever said to me was that I was a knucklehead who probably wouldn’t graduate?”

“Was I wrong?” Catra retorted, and Adora just laughed. “I mean, you probably will graduate, I’ll take that part back. But you’re a total knucklehead.”

Adora grinned, her thumb stroking gently over Catra’s. “But you like it, if the heart you drew on my coffee cup yesterday was any indication.”

Well, even though Adora wasn’t the master of subtlety, at least she’d noticed that. “If you think I don’t like you, you’re even more of an idiot than I thought.”

“Wow, okay, I think that’s the best birthday present you could’ve given me,” Adora nudged her foot under the table, “I can’t believe you finally admitted that you like me.”

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Catra smirked at her, but she squeezed Adora’s hand. There was no way she was letting go of it until she had to. Adora just smiled, her thumb still stroking tenderly over Catra’s hand. “Speaking of presents, though…”

She took the little box out of her jacket pocket and slid it across the table towards Adora. Pretty blue eyes widened in surprise, because Adora could clearly tell what it was just from the outside.

“Catra…” Adora’s hand gripped hers tightly, the other holding the box, “You didn’t need to-”

“I wanted to,” Catra interrupted her, her own free hand toying with the little charm on the necklace Adora had given her for Christmas. “Open it, dumbass.”

Slowly, Adora let go of her hand to open the little box. She stared down at the sleek silver ring, jewelled with a little star shaped diamond, her jaw working. Finally, she managed to mumble, “You shouldn’t have spent so much money on me.”

Catra ignored that. “I like the stars. I don’t know what it is about the night sky, but it’s just… comforting, you know? It’s the same kind of comfort I get from you. The ring… I mean, I was going to tell you how I felt about you when I gave it to you, but I kind of went ahead and did that already,” Adora let out a tiny laugh, still stunned, “You’re just… you mean a lot to me, Adora. I wanted to get something for you that showed that, so…”

Adora let that small, surprised laugh sound out again. “Sounds romantic.”

“It is.”

Adora’s cheeks flushed with pink, and looked down at the ring, and then held the box out. “Put it on me?”

It felt intimate, and really really right, taking the ring out of the box and sliding it onto Adora’s finger. Adora took her hand again, the diamond star glinting in the sunlight, and when Catra met her gaze, she looked like she was about to cry.

“Catra…” Adora squeezed her hand gently, “thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, knucklehead,” Catra squeezed her hand back, “So, what time do we have to meet up with Dumb and Dumber tonight?”

Adora took a few moments to compose herself before replying.

“The table is booked for six. And remember, dress fancy.” Catra had one default ‘nice’ outfit that she always recycled for any important occasions, so she already knew what she was going to wear. “And I don’t know how you feel about parties, but we’re probably going to go out after, once we’ve changed into casual clothes again.”

“I’ll pass on that,” Catra said, “I’ve been to my share of college parties. Over it. But I’ll be staying up to hold your hair back for you when you inevitably come back drunk.”

Adora at least had the grace to look sheepish. “It’s not inevitable that I’ll come back drunk.”

“Yeah, it is. But I get it.” Catra shrugged. “It’s your twenty-first birthday. I think you have the right to party the night away.”

When their food came, Catra was a little disappointed, because she had to let go of Adora’s hand to eat her breakfast burrito. But it was okay when Adora kept flashing her those cute little smiles across the table and she could see her ring glinting on Adora’s finger. Catra kept thinking about what Adora had said this morning. Breakfast date. Date. They were on a date.

Whose birthday was it again?

Adora was pacing their bedroom. To the window, then back to the front door. Front door, back to the window.

Window.

Door.

Window.

Door.

Where the hell was Catra?

Their reservations were in half an hour and Bow and Glimmer would be arriving to pick them up in ten minutes. Catra was nowhere to be found. She’d made it obvious that she would come, they’d even talked about it at breakfast, and yet she wasn’t here.

Inwardly – or, actually, outwardly – Adora was freaking out. What if she was hurt? What if something had happened to her? She twisted Catra’s ring anxiously as Melog looked at her like she was crazy.

Catra would let her know if something happened, right?

She’d just reached the door phase of her pacing when there was a knock on it. She turned to the clock on the wall. Bow and Glimmer probably decided to come early. What was she going to say to them? Would she say that Catra had mysteriously vanished?

She pulled the door open and all of the panicked questioning died. Really, every single bodily function stopped, replaced with one word.

Wow.

Catra was smirking at her, leaning against the door frame casually like her absence hadn’t been giving Adora a whole aneurysm. But that wasn’t the thing to knock her right off her feet. No.

Catra was wearing a suit.

Catra had her shirt and jacket sleeves rolled up, hands stuffed in her pants pockets, and maybe one more button than she should loose on the dress shirt. Not that Adora was complaining. The suit had obviously been tailored to Catra’s every curve, and the pants were tight in all the right places. An untied bow tie was slung around her neck, and her hair was still so wild and messy in the way that Adora loved so much, and Adora knew she was basically drooling because it – no pun intended – suited her so well. She should’ve known Catra wasn’t a dress person.

“Hey, Adora.”

That had no right to be as seductive as it was. Catra breezed past her, shutting the bedroom door behind her, and Adora managed to get out a strained, “Where have you been?”

“I got ready at Scorpia and Entrapta’s place. They weren’t there, but I’ve got a key.” Catra shrugged. She was still smirking, like she knew the effect she was having on Adora. Who was she kidding? She totally knew. “Figured I should pick you up for your fancy birthday meal.”

Adora smoothed out her red dress nervously. There was no denying it. That was romantic, but she just had to check. “Oh. As…” she mustered up all of her courage to get the words out, “as my date?”

The smirk faded into that softer smile, and Catra nodded. Her hand reached up, scratching the back of her neck in a nervous manner, a blush creeping onto freckled cheeks. “Yeah. If you… if you want.”

“You know I do.” Adora murmured, and Catra met her gaze with a smile. Adora stepped a little bit closer, hand reaching up to play with the untied tie. “You forgot to tie your tie.”

“I don’t actually know how,” Catra didn’t bother to look down at the tie, those gorgeous eyes practically bearing into Adora’s soul. “Do you?”

No. But she wasn’t going to say that. Her fingers toyed with the tie and suddenly Catra was a lot closer and Adora wasn’t looking at the tie anymore, she was looking at Catra’s lips. Fingers grazed against Adora’s waist, and Catra’s hand pulled her closer, so Adora’s front was pressed up against hers. She wondered if Catra could feel the way her heart was racing. They were so close now. If she just turned her head a fraction down, they would be kissing.

Adora’s hand dropped the end of the tie and slowly reached up to cup Catra’s jaw. Her thumb traced across a soft cheek, and she was so close to her now that she could count every single one of Catra’s freckles. Her gaze flicked up, and Catra was already looking at her. There was something there. Maybe it was anticipation. Adora didn’t know, but she felt it too. That pull to just do it.

Their lips were almost touching when there was a loud bang on the bedroom door and they jolted apart.

Bow’s voice sounded from outside, “Happy birthday, Adora!”

Then Glimmer began a chorus of happy birthday, and Catra groaned, flopping down onto their bed. “Ugh, I’m going to kill your friends.”

Even though Adora felt a lot like doing that too, she forced a laugh and a half-hearted, “Please don’t,” before moving towards the door and answering it. Bow and Glimmer barrelled in and pulled her in for a tight hug, chanting, “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks, guys,” Adora said once she’d pried her friends off her. She was very aware of Catra watching the whole display from the bed. Very aware that she’d almost kissed her. Would’ve kissed her, if her best friends hadn’t chosen the worst possible moment to show up.

When would she get another chance to do it? She wasn’t going to kiss Catra for the first time in front of her friends, for one thing. And she wouldn’t get another moment alone with her until she came back to the room later, when she’d probably be drunk. Their first kiss wasn’t going to be a drunk kiss. No. Catra deserved more. Catra deserved so much.

She was so busy thinking about it that she didn’t hear Glimmer say, “Let’s go!” until her friends were already walking out of the door. Adora blinked, snapping back into reality as Catra slid past her and paused in the doorway.

Catra turned and smiled at her. There was a hint of the same disappointment and longing Adora felt there as she held her hand out. “You coming?”

Adora reached out and took her hand, tangling their fingers together.

Dinner was awkward, to say the least.

At least for Catra, anyway. Adora and her friends seemed to have a good time, chatting away about things. Apparently, they were going to Sparkles’ mother’s beach house in Cancun for Spring break. Catra wasn’t looking forward to sleeping alone for the week, but she hoped that Adora had a good time.

It was inevitable that she was going to be quiet for most of it. She didn’t know or particularly like Sparkles and her boyfriend, plus she was more than a little pissed off that they’d interrupted earlier. Adora was going to kiss her. Finally. And then they’d had to bang on the door like the idiots they were.

She passed on the partying because two hours was enough time spent in Adora’s friends’ company and watched as Adora got into Bow’s car and drove away. She didn’t see her again until two in the morning, when she came barging into the room, a little bit drunk and a lot tired, and as much as Catra wanted to kiss her, she’d like it if Adora was actually aware of it happening.

“I wish you came to the party,” Adora mumbled as Catra helped her into the bed, “I missed you.”

“Someone’s got to stay sober and put you to bed, dummy,” Catra rolled her eyes, clambering into bed herself, “now go to sleep.”

Adora’s hand pulled her closer by the waist, and Catra curled into her the way they did every night. “Hey, Catra?”

“Did I not just tell you to go to sleep?” Catra questioned, her heart fluttering at the way Adora’s fingers traced little patterns against her waist. “What is it?”

“Just…” Adora paused and allowed a long breath out of her nose, “you know I really want to kiss you, right?”

It was a question sober Adora would be too awkward to ask, and because of that, Catra laughed. As annoying as it had been to miss out on the moment earlier, at least another one would come. She already had an idea for it. “Yeah. I know. Get to sleep, okay?”

“Hm… okay,” Adora yawned and squeezed her around the waist, “We can kiss in the morning, maybe.”

“When you’re hungover and looking like you just rose from the dead? No thanks.”

Adora scoffed, quite clearly offended. “Hey!”

“You know I’m joking, idiot,” Catra laughed, “now sleep.”

“Okay,” Adora said, but a few moments later, she mumbled, “Hey, Catra?”

“Oh my god,” Catra snorted, “What is it now?”

“Goodnight.”

“Night, knucklehead.”

Adora spent her first proper day as a twenty-one-year-old completely hungover, but that basically felt like a rite of passage. Only problem was a hangover wasn’t exactly the most romantic of things, and Adora had a feeling that Catra’s no thanks from the night before hadn’t entirely been in jest.

But after one day spent (mostly) lying in bed with a pounding headache, she bounced back quickly. When Saturday rolled around, she woke up feeling refreshed, with Catra curled up next to her.

Catra was adorable when she slept. Well, she was adorable the rest of the time too, but Adora couldn’t tell her that, because she’d just complain about how not adorable she was. But it was true. She curled right into Adora, her head buried in her shoulder. As she breathed, she let out the cutest little snores. Light, quiet ones; at first, Adora had thought it was Melog. Her nose crinkled in her sleep sometimes, depending on what she was dreaming about, and she was always so warm.

Today would be the day. Adora was determined enough for that. She would kiss Catra.

Catra woke up slowly. At first, she shifted in Adora’s arms, sort of nuzzled against her like she was fighting against waking up. Then her eyes would blink open, and for a moment, it would be like she didn’t remember where she was, that one moment between sleep and awake where your brain is just a blank slate. But then everything would come back, and Catra would smile and mumble a tired, “Good morning.”

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Adora said as Catra closed her eyes again. She always did that, too. Try to get five more minutes. “Are you busy today?”

“Working,” Catra murmured tiredly, “I start at twelve. Finish at six. I hate doing closing shifts. But I’m not doing anything tonight, and if I’m quick with all the cleanup stuff I don’t have to stay until six.”

Okay. Adora could work with that. She could definitely work with that.

She watched Catra head off to work at eleven forty-five, her mind swarming with ideas. How she was going to do it. What kind of romantic adventure she was going to sweep Catra away on at six. There were so many possibilities. So many ideas.

None of them seemed good enough.

Adora tried to research by way of watching some cheesy teen movies. Didn’t work. She flipped through Catra’s books, seeing if any of them were romance novels. Unfortunately, most of them were horror stories, and she didn’t think sneaking up on Catra with an axe would be the most romantic gesture she could make.

She went out for a walk to clear her head and thought about it all through her quiet lunch at the dining hall. Maybe she should just do something simple. Classic. Take Catra out for dinner and kiss her outside their room when the date was over. A tale as old as time.

(She even went as far as to text her friends about it, who basically both told her to just do it.)

When it got closer to five – when the coffee shop closed – Adora made her way there with zero romantic ideas. It was like anything that came to her wasn’t good enough. Not good enough for Catra, anyway.

She walked in through the front doors at exactly 4:59PM. It was already dusk, and the streetlights flicked on as she walked in. The sun was basically set, and even the dim lights inside the coffee shop made her squint as her eyes adjusted.

The girl cleaning the counter – Lonnie, Adora was fairly certain her name was – quickly said, “We’re closed.”

Catra came out of a door marked private at just the right time. “She’s with me.”

Even though Catra didn’t mean it in that way – yet – it still made Adora’s heart stutter. “Yeah.”

“Actually, Lonnie, you can go,” Catra said quickly, and Adora could tell it wasn’t a thing that happened all that often from the way Lonnie frowned. “I’ve got the rest of the cleanup.”

Lonnie looked like she was waiting for the punchline, but when it didn’t come, she frowned. “Wait, really?”

“Get out of here before I change my mind.”

That sounded a lot more like Catra, and Lonnie made a hasty exit with her things. Catra watched after her, that amused smirk on her face, as she crossed the room and fixed the bolts on the front door.

“So,” Catra prefaced once the door was locked, looking at Adora with that same smirk. It was just… a little bit softer. Adora had noticed that more since Christmas. When they were alone, Catra softened. Like she wasn’t afraid to let her guard down. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Thought I’d walk you home,” Adora shrugged, “You said you didn’t have to stay until six if you were quick with all the cleaning.”

Catra nodded. She looked so pretty in the dim lighting, and Adora nearly just asked her on the stupid, basic dinner date. But then Catra tossed a cloth over at her and said, “I’ll be quicker if you help.”

Adora fumbled and dropped the cloth, and Catra laughed when it flopped onto the floor. She went back to cleaning the counter Lonnie had been working on, and Adora went and cleaned a couple of tables, scrubbing along to the low hum of the stereo speakers. A soft acoustic song was playing, and it was actually quite calming as she stared out of the windows at the darkening sky, watching as the stars came out. At least she wasn’t stressing out because she had zero sense of romanticism.

She didn’t even notice Catra coming up next to her until their arms brushed and she felt sparks.

“You missed a spot.”

“Are you the health inspector now?”

“No, but I am the one who’s going to get yelled at for your incompetency,” Catra said, but there was no bite behind the insult. There never was. It was just fond teasing, and Adora wondered what it was that made even Catra’s insults cute.

Adora laughed. “I don’t think your manager will care about this when you get away with writing mean things on people’s cups.”

“Eh, she’s a feminist,” Catra shrugged. “She likes it when I insult the douchebag frat guys that try to hit on me.”

Adora smirked. “What if I complained about being branded a knucklehead?”

“Well, that’s just the truth, so she can’t punish me for that one.” Catra answered easily, and her hand lightly grazed Adora’s as she pulled the cloth from between her fingers. Slowly, she pulled Adora’s hand from the table and guided it to her waist. “Come on. Time to go.”

Catra’s hand was giving her an obvious invitation. Pull me closer. Kiss me. But Adora didn’t realise it until they were already outside and Catra was locking up the back exit. Maybe Catra was right. Maybe she actually was a knucklehead.

The sun was already starting to set, and Catra took her hand as they walked. “Have you eaten dinner yet?”

She was asking because there was no point in them going back to the room just to drag back out to the dining hall, Adora realised. “Not yet.”

Catra smirked. “Perfect.”

“Wha…?” Adora managed to get out just as Catra tugged her in the complete opposite direction to the dining hall. No, they were headed back to Fright Zone Hall, Adora realised, just as they rounded the corner, “Why aren’t we going to the dining hall? I thought you wanted dinner.”

“I do, but I’ve got an idea,” Catra said, her keys already unlocking the front door. She gestured Adora inside, and she went in confusedly, following Catra up the stairs. And then Catra confused her even more by nudging her aside, slipping inside their room, and casually locking her out.

Adora knocked on the door and shook the handle as if that would magically unlock it. “Um. I’m still out here.”

“I realised,” Catra called from inside, “just wait a minute. Don’t come in.”

Adora looked down at the keys she’d just fished out of her pocket sheepishly. She tucked them back away and pressed an ear to the door instead. She heard Catra rustling around, heard Melog’s light, happy purrs. Nothing to give away why exactly she was locked out. She frowned, straining to hear more, but then the door swung open and Adora lost her balance.

“Whoa,” Catra was apparently stronger than she looked, because steadied her and smirked. “That’s what you get for listening in. Come on.”

Catra held her hand out. There was a big duffel bag slung over her shoulder. “What’s in the bag?”

“A dead body, you’re helping me bury it,” Catra retorted with an eye roll, “Dinner, Adora. Honestly.”

“Right,” Adora drew out the word to show she wasn’t any less confused as Catra grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairwell. And then they started going up instead of down. “Okay, seriously, where are we going?”

Catra laughed. “The roof.”

“The…” Adora frowned as Catra tugged her up the stairs, right to the very top. At the end was a heavy looking door that read fire exit, alarm will trigger if opened. “We’re not going out there, are we?”

“No, I just thought a run up the stairs would be fun,” Catra said, and she was really on a roll with the sarcasm tonight. She pushed the doors open, and Adora waited for the blare of the alarm, but nothing came. Catra seemed to read her mind as she used a brick to wedge the door open. “It’s not connected to anything; the sign is just to scare people off. You know this building is old as fuck. Come on.”

Catra held out her hand again, and this time, Adora took it. She let Catra pull her out onto the rooftop. They weren’t up too high, but they were high enough to have the view of a lot of the campus. Adora stood and looked out, spotting the darkened coffee shop, the dimly lit library, all the buildings where her classes were held. If she really squinted, she could see the lights in the windows of Bow and Glimmer’s apartment building.

“Good, keep doing that while I set things up,” Catra said, slowly letting go of her hand. When Adora looked around to see what she was doing, she glared. “No. Turn around. Stare out at the view. I’ll tell you when you can look.”

Reluctantly, Adora turned around like she’d been told, listening to Catra moving around. She couldn’t stop her from asking questions. “Did you plan this?”

“No, I’m just winging it,” Catra answered, again with the sarcasm. “Yeah, I planned it yesterday while you were practically comatose. Wasn’t hard to sneak everything into the room that I needed and even though you know it’s okay, you never touch the minifridge.”

“Oh,” Adora acknowledged with a frown. All day, she’d been fretting over romantic things to do, the perfect way to lead into that perfect kiss, and here Catra was, sweeping the rug right out from under her. “You planned… this.”

Catra didn’t answer her. There was a little more rustling. The pop of what sounded like the cork from a champagne bottle. The tinkle of glasses touching. The click of a lighter.

Then, finally, Catra spoke.

“Okay, you can turn around.”

Slowly, Adora looked away from the bright lights of Etheria to see the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, stood in front of a picnic blanket. There were a couple of candles lit off to the side, and the duffel bag had clearly been carrying the food she’d laid out. Sandwiches, fruit, cookies, and a lot more that Adora wasn’t too bothered about identifying. Plus, two glasses of champagne already poured out.

Catra had prepared a moonlight picnic.

“You…” Adora started, blinking a few times just to make sure this wasn’t a mirage, and she wasn’t going to disappear. “You did this for me?”

“I did,” Catra didn’t hold her gaze. She looked up to the sky, at the bright stars shining there. “Sometimes, when I’m stressed out, I come up here and look at the sky. At the moon and the stars. Like I told you the other day, the night sky is comforting to me, so this is like my special place.”

Adora stared at her, repeating. “Your special place?”

“Yeah,” Catra said, and Adora could see the corners of her mouth tilted up in a fond smile as she looked up at the stars. “There’s so much out there that we don’t know about. Worlds that are out there, waiting to be discovered. And the stars… some shine brighter than others, but even the duller ones look like supernovas to the right pair of eyes. The same can be said of people. Just because not everybody notices you, it doesn’t mean… it doesn’t mean you’re not worth being noticed. Or not worth being cared about.”

“That’s how you make me feel, Adora.” Catra looked back at her, her beautiful eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “You make me feel like I’m worth it.”

The words made her heart stutter. Adora didn’t overthink it. She took the five steps that separated her from Catra, cupped her jaw and pulled her in for a kiss.

It was everything Adora had wanted it to be. The perfect first kiss. At first, Catra seemed a little bit surprised. Maybe because Adora had missed so many moments before, and she didn’t expect it. But her arms slowly wrapped around Adora’s waist as she pulled her closer, kissing her back. Adora’s fingers tangled through Catra’s hair and she used the little whine that Catra let out as an excuse to deepen the kiss, fingers curling at the nape of Catra’s neck. Catra smelled like fresh coffee grounds and cinnamon buns and her lips tasted sweet like those white chocolate muffins she loved so much. Adora was starting to love them too.

Catra pulled back slowly, but Adora chased her lips and drew her back again. Her fingernails raked against Adora’s back and tugged her closer, if that was even possible. Adora didn’t know. All she knew was that she never ever wanted to stop kissing Catra.

Unfortunately, she did. Catra pulled back slightly, resting her forehead against Adora’s. Slowly, Adora’s eyes flickered open, and Catra was looking right at her already. She smiled. “Hey, Adora.”

“Catra,” Adora murmured. Her hand was still rested at the nape of Catra’s neck, and slowly, her fingers traced back and forth over her skin, feeling the bump of a scar she never knew was there. There were so many things still unknown to her about Catra that Adora couldn’t wait to discover. She wanted to know every inch of her as well as she knew herself.

“I was starting to wonder if you’d ever get around to doing that,” Catra admitted with a quiet laugh, “I’ve been waiting for it since winter break. Well, actually… a little while before that, but still.”

“I nearly did it then,” Adora admitted, still a little annoyed that Razz had walked in, “wait, why didn’t you do it?”

Catra hummed. “I needed to know if you wanted me enough to do something about it.”

“I definitely want you. There’s no question.” Adora pulled back a little bit more. Not by much, because their bodies were still pressed against each other, so close that Adora could feel Catra’s heart beating fast in her chest. She wondered if Catra could feel hers too. “So… I guess this is our first real date, huh?”

“I guess so,” Catra quietly agreed. Her hand found Adora’s and she tangled their fingers together, pulling her over to the picnic blanket. They sat down, so close to one another, and Adora definitely wasn’t going to let go of her hand any time soon. The ring Catra had given her shone like a real star in the moonlight.

Adora laughed. “You know I’m totally going to tell everyone you planned a whole romantic moonlight picnic for me, right? Everyone is going to know you like me. How embarrassing.”

Catra rolled her eyes and elbowed her lightly. “I don’t care if people know I like you, dummy. You’re relatively tolerable, so…”

“Wow, I think that’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.” Adora teased her. “You’re relatively tolerable. You really have a way with words, Catra.”

Catra sighed dramatically, but that cute little smile was threatening to show. “Do you always have to tease me?”

“Mhm,” Adora confirmed with a grin, “can’t let you live down being a secret softie.”

Catra scoffed, but she didn’t deny it. She didn’t have to. “Okay, remind me why I like you again?”

Adora smirked, bumping against her playfully. “Because I’m relatively tolerable.”

“Hm, yeah. I take that back.” Catra said, but her head fell to rest on Adora’s shoulder and her fingers flexed and tightened around her hand. “You’re entirely intolerable.”

“Your mouth says words but then you cuddle up to me like this,” Adora reached out and grabbed a strawberry from the pack out on the picnic blanket and held it in front of Catra’s lips. Catra didn’t even hesitate to bite into it and Adora’s stomach fluttered. “I’ve got to say, though. This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“I just thought like, the way you talked about the diner is the same way I feel about being up here. A place that helps you calm down when you’re stressed or anxious or whatever. You shared your place with me, and I wanted to do the same thing. I want to share things with you.” Catra said quietly, pausing to eat when Adora offered her another strawberry. “When I was younger, I used to climb out of my bedroom window and onto the roof. It made it easier to look at the stars and being high up like that made everything below look so small and insignificant. It reminded me that whatever it was I was worrying about, it would feel so unimportant the further I was away from it. That whatever my foster mother or her stupid boyfriend did to me, one day I’d be far away from it all. One day, I would be happy.”

It always surprised Adora when Catra opened up. Probably because she was so closed off for so long. She squeezed Catra’s hand gently and offered her another strawberry. “Thank you for bringing me here. I’m guessing nobody else has ever been invited to your little rooftop adventures.”

“Nope,” Catra answered, pausing to take a sip of her champagne, “you’re the first. If I was going to share this with anybody, it was going to be you.”

“I’m honoured,” Adora bumped up against her softly. And because she couldn’t resist, when Catra leaned forwards to put down her glass, she pressed a soft kiss to her freckled cheek. “Hey, do you know the constellations and stuff?”

Catra glanced up at the starry sky and hummed in affirmative. “I do.”

“Point them out and tell me about them?” Adora asked, squeezing her hand. When Catra frowned, she flashed a soft smile. “I like listening to you talk. And you were right.”

Catra raised her eyebrows and leaned back against her. “About what?”

“I do like smart girls.”

Chapter Text

Everything was perfect.

It was the first time in her life that Catra could actually say that. But genuinely, everything was perfect.

It gave her a weird sense of foreboding, like something was bound to go wrong, because that’s just the way her life worked. But as the days went by, and things with Adora remained perfect, she started to let her guard down a little bit. There was this weird bubbly feeling at the pit of her stomach whenever she thought about her, and this stupid dopey smile on her face came along with it. She knew, because she’d seen the same dopey smile on Adora’s face for the last two weeks, since their picnic date.

They hadn’t been on any other proper dates yet, with midterms and essay deadlines coming up and both needing to study. But there had been a lot of kissing. A lot of kissing. Like, any time they were in their room. It was a large factor in Catra’s sudden fabulous mood. Even annoying customers at work were getting smiles out of her because she’d just picture Adora.

When she finally had a free day, but Adora didn’t, she decided to go see her friends. There was a weird part of her that was practically vibrating with the need to just talk about Adora all the time. Tell her friends everything, ramble on about how much she liked her. How much she liked kissing her.

Kissing on the roof. Kissing on their bed. Kissing. Kissing. Kissing.

God, she felt like such an idiot. Going to her best friend’s house to gossip about her crush. Ew.

Catra knocked on the apartment door and waited for it to open. When it did, she slipped past Scorpia and collapsed onto the couch, that stupid, dopey smile on her face. She knew it was, because she was picturing Adora.

“Is Entrapta here?”

“No. But, um, now’s not really a good time, wildcat,” Scorpia said, but she was in her pyjamas, so Catra knew it was a lie. Plus, Scorpia was looking at her all shiftily, like she’d done something wrong.

Which was weird, because she never did anything wrong.

“What’s going on with you?” Catra asked. She didn’t move from where she’d reclined on the sofa. “You’ve been acting weird since winter break.”

“It’s nothing,” Scorpia brushed off, and Catra didn’t believe it in the slightest. “Why did you come over?”

Catra stared at her, evaluating. The question felt like a distraction, but she had come over for a reason. Maybe to distract herself, stop herself from being so stupid over a girl. Maybe if she got it all out, she’d go back to normal. Or at least a happier version of her normal. “I needed to talk to you.”

“Oh,” Scorpia looked surprised, but not in that usual enthusiastic way she did whenever Catra opened up slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Everything is actually really right.” Catra said quickly. Things were the complete opposite of wrong. Everything was quite literally textbook definition perfect. “It’s Adora. We kissed-”

Scorpia flushed, waving her hands in front of her dismissively, “I’m not sure I’m the best person to talk to about that, wildcat.”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” Catra questioned. Scorpia always wanted to talk. “You’re my best friend.”

“It’s just…” Scorpia bit down on her bottom lip like she was trying to prevent something from coming out. Eventually, a long sigh came out, and she collapsed onto the couch with a loud, “Oh, god, I’m so sorry.”

Catra frowned. Scorpia rested her head in her hands and looked through her fingers so guiltily. For what, though? Catra had no idea.

“Wait, what are you sorry for?” Catra asked warily. Because she felt like something was really off. Maybe she’d felt foreboding for a reason. “You didn’t do anything.”

“I did! You said- you said you thought I’d been acting weird since winter break.” Scorpia stated, and Catra tried to search for some kind of explanation. She came up blank. “You know what I did.”

Catra shook her head. “I have to say I really don’t.”

“I nearly messed things up for you. I was so selfish and I never should’ve done it and I feel so bad because I’m not supposed to do bad things, that’s my whole thing,” Scorpia said, and that didn’t narrow things down. Not until she said, “I’m so sorry, wildcat. It was just- she asked, and I thought she might be asking because she liked you… and I said no.”

It took a few moments of thought for Catra to realise what she meant. “Are you talking about Adora asking you if I liked girls? Because I know you were just joking around.”

Scorpia continued like she hadn’t spoken at all. “But then she started avoiding you and I think it was because she thought you were straight and wanted to get rid of any feelings. And you thought it was your fault and you were so upset and I wanted to tell you then, but then you guys made up and I thought it would all be okay, but god, I can’t live with this guilt.”

“Wait,” Catra held up a hand before Scorpia could launch into another long, rambled explanation, “so… you weren’t joking when you told her I didn’t like girls?”

“No,” Scorpia looked apologetic, and incredibly guilty, “I wasn’t.”

“And you told her that because you thought she might like me,” Catra repeated, unable to place the feeling bubbling at the pit of her stomach. It was a bad feeling, like hurt, and a little bit of anger all mixed together, “And then she avoided me because of it. Because of you.”

Scorpia reached a hand across to her, “Catra-”

“No,” Catra pulled her hand away. Betrayal. That was what it was. It hurt even more because it was Scorpia. “I thought it was my fault. I thought I’d messed it all up and you didn’t tell me then. Why did you even care if Adora liked me? Don’t- don’t you want me to be happy? Why does it matter to you who likes me?”

She stood up, driven by the hurt at the pit of her stomach. Why would Scorpia do that? Why would she lie to prevent a girl from liking her? She was supposed to be her best friend, and yet she was the reason Adora avoided her. And all of those times Catra talked to her about it, she didn’t think to tell her why. She just let her wonder what she’d done wrong.

She’d let her think she wasn’t good enough.

“Wildcat, please-”

“No,” Catra snapped, whirling around in the apartment doorway, “no. We’re done. Don’t talk to me again.”

She took the stairs two at a time on her way down them in her desperation to get away. God, she knew nothing would stay perfect. One good thing happens to her, and a whole cavalry of bad comes storming up the hill. That was just the way it was for her. Always had been. Why would Scorpia do something like that to her? She was supposed to be loyal, that was her whole thing. She was still asking herself the question when she barrelled right into Entrapta and nearly made her drop whatever weird tech thing she was carrying.

“Oh,” Entrapta looked her over with a frown, “You look distressed.”

“Uh, yeah, I just found out that one of my best friends betrayed me,” Catra snapped, then let a breath out through her nose. It wasn’t Entrapta’s fault. She got enough of a hold on her anger to mutter out, “She lied to Adora to stop her from liking me. She was the reason Adora avoided me, and she just let me think it was my fault. She tried to mess with my relationships and- and what for? What’s the point? Because she liked Adora, she was friends with her…”

“Well, it’s obvious that you like Adora, even I know that. We both talked about it on your birthday when you brought her over.” Entrapta said casually, shrugging, “She probably just didn’t want things to develop between you two and acted selfishly.”

“What?” Catra shook her head, because that didn’t explain anything. “That can’t be it. Why would it matter to her if Adora and I liked each other?”

“Because Scorpia has a crush on you,” Entrapta said, tilting her head to the side in confusion. “Didn’t you know that?”

With the way Catra’s jaw dropped, Entrapta surmised, “Oh, I guess you didn’t.”

“No,” Catra finally managed to force out, “no, I really didn’t.”

Adora jumped when the bedroom door slammed. Even Melog seemed to startle with fright.

Catra collapsed against the closed door. There was a conflicted frown on her face, and she was staring off into space like she hadn’t even noticed Adora.

“Catra?”

Her gaze flicked up, identified Adora, and then flicked back down to the floor. She looked catatonic. Slowly, Adora stood up and approached her. She didn’t think hugging her would be the best idea. She kept a little bit of a distance and asked, “Did something happen?”

“You were right.”

Adora frowned. That didn’t narrow all that much down. “About?”

“Scorpia. That whole thing where she said I didn’t like girls. She said it because she thought you liked me and wanted to stop anything happening between us.” Catra said, like the revelation truly hadn’t sunk in. Adora just listened, because I told you so didn’t seem fitting. “She said she thought you were avoiding me because of it, and even though she knew how upset I was about it, she just let me think it was my fault. She let me think I messed things up with you when I didn’t. She nearly wrecked it. And apparently, she did it all because she likes me.”

Catra stepped forwards and buried her face into Adora’s shoulder in a hug. Slowly, Adora wrapped her arms around her waist, one hand tracing slow patterns through her shirt. She wasn’t always the best with words, but she tried her best to make Catra feel better, and to see things rationally. Obviously, Catra wasn’t.

“Okay. Well, yes, that was why I avoided you. I didn’t want to come off as creepy or predatory, you know. And straight girl crushes are infamously painful.” Adora said, and she felt Catra’s grip tighten on her. “But I don’t think you should be mad at Scorpia.”

“Wait, what?” Catra pulled back, frowning at her incredulously. “Are you serious? She betrayed my trust just because she didn’t want someone else to like me. She manipulated you. She nearly ruined this.”

“Okay, think about it this way,” Adora said, trying not to cringe at Catra’s accusatory tone. “Imagine your feelings for me were unreciprocated. Would you just be okay with watching me and some girl? Scorpia acted irrationally, but feelings like jealousy can make you act selfishly in the heat of the moment. She made a mistake, and the fact that she told you the truth shows she knew it was wrong and felt guilty about it. And she couldn’t have known I’d react the way I did, either.”

Catra’s expression dropped into a scowl. Uh-oh. “Why are you defending her? She nearly wrecked things, and you were the one who kept going on about it and wondering why she told you that in the first place.”

“Did I not just say feelings make you act irrationally? They made me act irrationally by avoiding you, and that nearly wrecked things. Me being a scared idiot. And I kept talking about it because I was confused and nosey, not because I was mad.” Adora tried a smile, but Catra was still scowling. “Besides, she’s your best friend, and I can tell she cares about you a lot. One mistake doesn’t change that, you know? People aren’t perfect, and they mess things up sometimes. Even the ones that seem like they’re the best friends ever can sometimes make mistakes. Yeah, what she did was wrong, but she wasn’t thinking straight, and she owned up to it in the end, even when she didn’t have to. She could’ve gone the rest of her life never having to tell you anything, but she did anyway.”

Catra seemed to take her words in, but the scowl on her face didn’t go away. After a few moments, she buried her head in Adora’s shoulder again and muttered, “I still don’t want to talk to her.”

Adora expected that. Catra didn’t seem like she’d get over something like this quickly. Adora had experienced Catra being mad at her, and that silent treatment felt like it would last forever.

“I get that you’re hurt too. I’m not trying to invalidate that. Just… showing you what things are like from her perspective,” Adora quickly assured. She was on Catra’s side; being her… non-platonic friend… meant that. But she wasn’t mad at Scorpia. Adora knew what unrequited feelings were like. For a while, she thought her feelings for Catra were unrequited. Both she and Scorpia had freaked out in different ways because of their unrequited feelings. “You’re allowed to be upset with her. But don’t just completely ice her out forever, okay?”

“You’re too forgiving.” Catra said into her shoulder. “You shouldn’t be.”

“Some things are unforgivable, but I don’t think giving into your emotions is one of them.” Adora shrugged, squeezing Catra around the middle. “I know it’s different for you, because it’s so hard for you to trust, but Scorpia wasn’t trying to hurt you. Did she even know you liked me?”

Catra tensed a little bit in her arms, and after a few moments of quiet, she muttered out, “No. I told her I didn’t when she asked.”

“There you go, then,” Adora said, “I’m sure if she knew you liked me too, she wouldn’t have done what she did. And it wasn’t her fault that I freaked out and distanced myself. That was on me. She couldn’t have known I’d do that.”

“Probably wanted you to.” Catra muttered bitterly. She pulled away from Adora completely and sighed. “I think I just need to go think for a while.”

That meant I’m going up to the roof, Adora realised. And it also probably translated into I want to be alone, but Adora felt like she had to check. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No. I need to be alone.” Catra said, but after a few moments, added, “Thank you, though. For what you said. It’s just… sometimes I feel like I’m not allowed to be mad at Scorpia, you know?”

Adora really didn’t know what she meant by that. “Why not?”

“Because… I mean, I said a lot of horrible things to her when I was trying to push her away, and she never held any of that against me. She was too forgiving, too.” Catra said. She was frowning to herself, hugging her arms to her side with her hands. “Even though she hurt me, and I feel really betrayed that she went behind my back, I feel like I’m not allowed to be mad at her because she forgave me so easily for a lot worse.”

“You’re always allowed to feel whatever it is you’re feeling,” Adora said, but she understood what Catra meant. She nudged her towards the door. “Go have your alone time. Think things over. I’ll be down here if you need me. And Melog and I are both on standby for emergency cuddles.”

Catra sighed. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Adora. You’re… secretly really smart, under the whole dopey puppy thing you’ve got going on.”

“Well, you know, I’m secretly a genius. And you know I’m always here for you,” Adora smiled, and before Catra left, she pulled her in for a quick kiss. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

“Didn’t want you to resist,” Catra said, but it had none of the usual playfulness. She just sounded resigned. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

Adora watched her as she trudged out of the room, hoping she’d helped at least a little bit.

Catra didn’t talk about it with her again. She spent an hour out of the room, and came back quiet and contemplative, but at least a little bit livelier. 

Adora knew not to push her with things; Catra would talk when she wanted to talk, not a moment before or after. She went about everything as usual. Or the new usual, which involved kissing Catra at any possible opportunity.

Even though it was pretty obvious that Catra was the romantic one between them – nobody was more surprised by that than Adora – she finally bit the bullet and asked Catra on a second date. Specifically on Valentine’s Day. Neither of them had acknowledged it because it wasn’t like they were actually in a relationship, and despite being good with the romantic gestures, Catra seemed the type to turn her nose up at the day. But Adora forced herself to ask.

“Do you want to go on a date tonight?”

“When you’re all sweaty and disgusting post-practice?” Catra crinkled her nose in disgust. “No thanks.”

Adora rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. We could do dinner later, after I’ve showered long enough to meet your high standards.”

The faux disgust disappeared from Catra’s face and was replaced with a small smile. “Okay. Dinner date. Sounds good.”

“Yeah?” Adora asked, and when Catra nodded, she beamed. “Okay. Good. I’ve got to go but… I’ll see you later. For our date. Official date two.”

“Have fun doing your sports, knucklehead.”

Adora would never know how a girl calling her knucklehead could give her butterflies, but whatever. She was smiling for her entire walk-through campus to the soccer field, and as she was cramming her bag into her tiny locker, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was wearing the same smile Catra always wore lately, all bright eyed and soft.

I just need to make her my girlfriend already, Adora thought to herself. The smile grew at the thought.

As she was walking towards the doors to the pitch, she heard her.

“Adora! Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Scorpia,” Adora said, turning around. “What’s up?”

Adora knew what was up. Obviously. But she waited for Scorpia to start. “Okay, so, I know Catra probably talked to you, and I know you’re also probably extremely mad at me, but I just- can you please tell her I’m really sorry, and that I really want to talk things out with her? I know I shouldn’t have lied, and I felt so bad about it right after I did it, but-”

“Okay, wait,” Adora quickly stopped her, because she knew what the beginnings of a ramble looked like. She was a professional rambler, after all. “I’m not mad at you. I understand why you did what you did, it’s obvious you feel bad about it and know it was wrong, and it wasn’t all your fault either. I went ahead and tried to push Catra away. You might’ve been the catalyst, but I still made a stupid decision, so I’m not mad. I’d be a hypocrite to be mad at you for doing something stupid because of feelings when I did exactly the same thing.”

“You’re…” Scorpia’s eyes widened, “You’re not mad?”

“Feelings can make you selfish. I won’t get down on you for that.” Adora said. Unrequited feelings sucked. “And Catra… she’ll come around. She cares about you, I know she does. Once she’s stopped hurting, I’m sure you can talk it out, it’s just that she needs time right now. What was it that Entrapta said? Two weeks or something?”

“Oh,” Scorpia didn’t laugh at her joke, a loud sigh echoing through the locker room. “Now I feel even worse. I thought you’d be mad too. Not… not trying to see my side of things.”

“It takes a lot to get me mad, and it’s not like it permanently ruined things between Catra and I. We had a little blip because of it, but like I said, that was on me for avoiding her.” Adora said. “I get that it hurts to have unrequited feelings, and it hurts even more to see the person you like with someone else. I don’t blame you for acting irrationally.”

Adora let out a quiet whoa when Scorpia pulled her in for a tight hug. She quickly let her go and murmured, “Sorry. I’m a hugger. I do want Catra to be happy, even if that’s not… you know, with me. It was easier to handle when she never seemed interested in anybody and I just panicked. Do you really think she’d forgive me?”

“Yeah. She’s not as unaffected as she likes to think she is, and I know she misses you.” Adora said, “Like I said, I think she just needs time to get over the hurt, and then you can talk things out.”

“I hope you’re right,” Scorpia answered. Adora could see how bad she felt written plainly on her face. Even though she’d already known it, it was clear that Scorpia had never had any malicious intent. Adora didn’t think she had a malicious bone in her body. “I think… I think you’re good for her.”

“Well, I’m glad I’ve got the approval of the Super Pal Trio,” Adora smiled. She nodded towards the doors to the pitch. “Come on, everyone’s waiting.”

As they walked out of the locker rooms together, Adora caught Perfuma looking at Scorpia and had a genius idea. Seriously, if Catra was there, she would’ve been proud.

“Hey, have you ever hung out with Perfuma before?”

“This pizza is nowhere near as good as Rogelio’s.”

Catra watched as Adora continued to shovel the food into her mouth anyway. She held out her hand. “Give me a slice. I’ll test it.”

“No way, I need all the calories I can get after I just burned them all off playing soccer,” Adora used her regular excuse. Really, she just wanted it all for herself, Catra knew. She had zero problem trying Catra’s food, though.

“I’ll trade you some pasta,” Catra offered, and Adora looked tempted. “Come on, that’s a good deal.”

“Fine,” Adora passed over a slice of pizza, and Catra scraped some of her pasta onto her plate. She scooped some up with her fork and tried it. “Oh, that’s good. If you get full, I’ll finish it off for you.”

“I expected that anyway,” Catra said, trying the pizza. Adora was right. “Definitely not as good. But it’s still nice, anyway. Like all of this. Was there any reason you wanted to go out tonight?”

“I figured you could use a pick-me-up,” Adora said, and she wasn’t wrong. Catra hadn’t exactly been feeling the best over the last week since that thing happened with Scorpia that she wasn’t going to think about. “Plus, you know. Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh,” Catra realised suddenly. She’d never bothered with Valentine’s Day before, considering she’d never actually been in a legitimate relationship, and casual hookups didn’t warrant cards and flowers. Adora wasn’t a casual hookup, but they weren’t a couple yet. “I didn’t realise.”

“I didn’t know if you’d be the type to celebrate it, but… you know. I wanted to at least take you to dinner.” Adora shrugged. Her cheeks were tinted pink with a blush, and Catra decided to get her flowers on the way back to Fright Zone Hall. She deserved that much, at least. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“You’re my valentine, huh?” Catra smiled properly then. She hadn’t felt so happy since before… the thing she’d be pushing out of her mind. Again. “I like the sound of that.”

“How about girlfriend?”

Catra blinked in surprise. Adora looked a little surprised too, like she couldn’t believe the words had come out of her.

Blushing even more, Adora murmured quietly, “Do you like the sound of that? Girlfriend?”

“I do. I like the sound of that a lot,” Catra admitted, her hand creeping across the table to rest on top of Adora’s. “But ask me tomorrow. There’s something about a Valentine’s Day anniversary that makes me want to hurl.”

Adora laughed. “Okay. Maybe you have a point.”

They finished dinner, and as she’d promised herself, Catra picked up a bouquet of flowers on the way home and presented them to Adora. Because her valentine and her future girlfriend was worth it, no matter how cheesy it made her feel.

When she said that to Adora, she only grinned. “I mean, you’re the one who prepared a whole rooftop picnic for me, so between us, I think you’re the cheesy one.”

She was right, but that didn’t stop Catra from scoffing and telling her to, “Shut up.”

Adora put the flowers aside when they arrived back to the room, pushing Catra gently against their closed bedroom door. Adora captured Catra’s bottom lip between her own, and Catra let out a soft hum into her mouth. She’d never get tired of this.

One thing she’d noticed was that Adora never rushed kisses. They were never meaningless. She always used them to show Catra exactly what she was feeling. Her heart was in them.

Catra had kissed a lot of people, but she’d never been kissed the way Adora kissed her.

She jumped when something curled around her ankle, and Adora laughed against her lips. Catra pulled back the few inches that she could and looked down to see Melog rubbing against her leg. “Jesus. I forgot we had a cat, for a minute.”

Adora’s laughter faded, and when Catra looked back at her, blue eyes were growing with happiness. “We?”

“Yeah. I mean, Melog’s your cat too.” Catra said, because that much was obvious. But Adora’s surprise made her realise that maybe it wasn’t. “You… you know that, right?”

“I didn’t,” Adora admitted quietly, “I just assumed, like… because you picked their name and you were the one that rescued-”

Catra cut the inevitable rambling off with a kiss. “Melog is ours. Not just mine.”

“Oh,” Adora blinked in surprise. “For real?”

“Duh,” Catra laughed, and squeezed Adora’s shoulders with her hands, “We both contribute for food and litter and all of that. We’re cat parents. Deal with it.”

“Oh,” Adora repeated, and as she thought about it, that smug smile crept onto her face. The one that always came up when she was about to tease Catra about something. “You’re not even my girlfriend yet and we already have a kid. Don’t you think we’re moving a little bit too fast?”

“Lesbians always move fast,” Catra nudged her, and slipped out from where Adora had her against the door to flop down onto her bed. Their bed. Whatever. “Haven’t you heard the U-Haul jokes?”

“Fair point,” Adora sat down next to her, her hand reaching to brush a few loose strands of hair from Catra’s face. She laughed again. “Wait, we literally did the whole U-Haul thing. We lived together before we were even friends, let alone dating. That’s like reverse U-Haul.”

“Reverse U-Haul would be moving out once we got together, so I’ll be all packed up tomorrow if you keep being so annoying,” Catra said, but there wasn’t much force behind her sarcasm. Instead, she’d rather be sincere. “Hey. You know I’m- I’m really glad you fucked up your housing form, right?”

“Yeah,” Adora smiled, inching closer. Her lips brushed against Catra’s as she murmured, “I am too.”

She kissed her again, slowly guiding Catra back against the pillows. Catra sighed happily against her lips and decided she could honestly do this forever and never get tired of it. She didn’t know how long they laid there for, Adora’s lips working against hers, Adora’s tongue in her mouth, Adora’s hands raking over her body.

Adora pulled away slowly. “You know what we should do?”

“Stop talking and keep kissing?”

Adora laughed. “No. Can’t believe I just said that, but… whatever. I have a game soon, and I would really love it if you came to watch.”

“Done,” Catra tugged her back in for another kiss, but Adora pulled back again. “Oh my god, what now?”

Adora was smiling at her. Her lips were swollen and her pupils were dilated and she looked at Catra with so much happiness it was almost overwhelming. “You don’t even know what day it’s on.”

“I’m sure you’ll remind me.” Catra said, her fingers tightening at the nape of Adora’s neck. “Now just… shut up and kiss me.”

“Wow, really polite way of asking,” Adora laughed, and she still wasn’t kissing her. “I was wondering if you’d wear my spare jersey. At the game, I mean. You don’t have to, because I know you’re not technically my girlfriend yet and it’s a pretty public, obvious statement. Wearing my jersey would pretty much announce it to the world, so it’s okay if you don’t-”

“I swear, you could win an award for being the biggest rambler,” Catra rolled her eyes, “of course I’ll wear your jersey, dummy.”

“You will?” Adora actually looked surprised. She rolled over, resting against the pillows next to Catra, who allowed herself a brief pout. Obviously, Adora wasn’t thinking about kissing anymore. “I didn’t think you would. I thought maybe you’d think it was lame.”

Catra bit back the sarcastic comment on the tip of her tongue. “I don’t think it’s lame.”

Adora smiled up at the ceiling, and when she turned her head to look at Catra, the smile only grew. “Okay. Cool. You’re coming to my game.”

Catra turned over onto her side, and the tip of her nose brushed Adora’s. “I am.”

Adora’s hand rested on her waist, slipping up the side of her t-shirt to touch skin. Her thumb did those soft little caresses that Catra loved. “It’s nearly midnight.”

Catra didn’t bother looking at the clock. She watched as Adora pulled her phone from her back pocket. “What are you doing?”

“Setting an alarm,” Adora slid her phone back into her jeans pocket. The hand that was on Catra’s waist moved out from under her shirt to cup her jaw again, but Adora didn’t kiss her again. Her thumb tenderly stroked Catra’s cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”

“You’re one to talk,” Catra said quietly. “Look at you.”

“Forget about me,” Adora said. “We’re talking about you.”

Catra rolled her eyes. “I want to talk about you.”

“Too bad,” Adora was clearly trying to conceal her grin. Her thumb stroked Catra’s cheek again and she said, “We’re talking about the most beautiful girl in the world right now.”

“So we are talking about you, got it.”

“Dammit, should’ve known you’d do that,” Adora laughed, “just shush and let me compliment you.”

Catra snorted. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Are we really arguing over who gets to compliment who right now?” Adora questioned aloud. Catra didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cringe at the complete sap that this girl had turned her into.

Adora’s alarm rang out and startled the both of them. Catra frowned in surprise, “You set your alarm for midnight?”

“I did, because now it’s officially not Valentine’s Day anymore,” Adora announced. Her thumb paused on Catra’s cheek and she smiled so softly that if Catra didn’t already know her answer to the question, she would’ve. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Of course I’ll be your girlfriend, knucklehead.”

Catra leaned forwards with a smile and closed the gap between them.

“Guys!” Adora announced as she burst into Bow and Glimmer’s apartment. She’d used the spare key they’d given her, even though this wasn’t technically an emergency. “Guess what?”

“Just guy today,” Bow said, turning around from where he was sat on the couch. The Simpsons was playing on TV, and he looked like he was paying more attention to that than the textbook open in front of him. “What’s up, Adora?”

“Where’s Glimmer? I have news,” Adora was practically bouncing as she made her way over to the couch. She pushed Bow’s neglected textbook aside with a grin. “Oh, forget it, I’ll tell her later. Catra is my girlfriend!”

“That’s great, Adora,” Bow smiled, and Adora found herself grateful that it was just him. Glimmer would’ve made some jerkface roommate joke. “I’m happy for you.”

“It’s only been a week, but… I’m just really happy,” Adora rambled on, “She makes me really happy. I really like her. I’m saying really a lot but it’s true. She’s just… she’s amazing. And she said she’d wear my jersey at my next game.”

She didn’t pause for breath for the next hour, and when Glimmer came back, she repeated the whole thing over again, recounting how Catra had prepared a cute picnic and they’d kissed for the first time under the stars. She knew she was possibly rambling on a little bit too much, but whatever. They deserved it for interrupting one of the times she’d almost kissed Catra.

After nearly two hours, when Adora finally took a pause for breath, Glimmer quickly said, “Hey, I’m really glad you’re happy, Adora. Do you want to invite her along for Spring break?”

Adora hadn’t expected that at all. Especially after her entire rant about how much she liked Catra. “Wait, really?”

“Well, yeah,” Glimmer said, and with a quiet laugh, “even though I’m not exactly Catra’s biggest fan, she’s your girlfriend. If you wanted to invite her along, that would be okay.”

“Yeah, we’d like to get to know her,” Bow added with a smile, “then again, with that whole rant before, it’s like we already have.”

Adora rolled her eyes. She didn’t know if Catra would come along for Spring break, but it was worth asking. She’d really like it. A week on the beach with her girlfriend sounded perfect. They just had to get through midterms first. “Are you guys sure?”

“We’re sure,” Glimmer retorted with a similar eye roll, “We’re your best friends. Even if she’s a total asshole, we want to get to know your girlfriend. Obviously, you like her for a reason.”

“Okay, first, don’t call her an asshole,” Adora said sternly, but she softened when Glimmer at least looked sheepish and mouthed a sorry, “and I’ll ask her about Spring break once we’re sure we can definitely get your parents’ beach house. I don’t know if she’d want to come, but… if I said it was important to me, I know she would.”

“You know, sometimes I wonder if the Catra you hang out with is like, a different Catra to the one I had that project with,” Glimmer joked, “like when you talk about her, I’m like… how is this the same girl that was so crazy controlling on that project? Like, jeez, she was basically a dictator.”

Adora paused, her mouth working. Surely, it wasn’t top-secret information that Catra was on a scholarship, right? She could tell her friends that. Or… maybe not? She wanted to respect Catra’s privacy.

Eventually, all she ended up saying was, “Well, it’s not like she and I are study buddies. But I do know she cares a lot about her grades, so that was probably why. She’s got a 4.0 average, if I had that, I wouldn’t want to risk it either.”

Adora was mostly a B student; school and tests never came easy to her, so a B was like Adora’s A. She wasn’t the most academic and had always preferred athletics. Part of it was because she put a lot of pressure on herself; she wanted to make her mother, wherever she was, proud.

Mara had never pushed her to get amazing grades. As long as Adora was passing all of her classes and trying her best, Mara was happy. She encouraged Adora to do the things she enjoyed and go out for the sports teams, but there was a part of Adora that wanted to get those amazing grades because Mara had been so amazing herself. Adora just wanted her mother to be proud of her.

But the pressure she put on herself always led to some panicked freak out, and that would make her lose focus and mess up the test. If she was being honest, she kind of envied the way academia came so easily to Catra.

“You know, for someone who just got a girlfriend, you seem kind of frowny,” Bow nudged her, “everything okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Adora snapped out of her thoughts and put on a smile. Because she was more than fine. She was ecstatic. Catra was her girlfriend. Grades and school pressure were irrelevant when she had an amazing girlfriend. “Actually… things couldn’t be better.”

“Okay, why does it look like a bomb made entirely of paper went off in here?”

Adora whirled around in surprise, and Catra almost laughed.

Almost.

Because then she saw how genuinely frazzled Adora looked, and all she felt was concern. “Whoa, are you okay?”

“No,” Adora frowned down at one of the many papers around the room, “we have that test tomorrow for women’s studies. Remember? The one on the waves of feminism where we’ve got to make that timeline? I can’t remember dates, Catra.”

“Okay,” Catra knew about the test, and she knew Adora knew too, because they’d both been studying for it. So this was a little surprising. She shut the bedroom door behind her and unceremoniously dumped some of the papers off the bed so she could sit down. “Calm down.”

“I can’t calm down, Catra,” Adora scoffed, “I’m not smart like you.”

Catra raised her eyebrows and blinked in surprise when Adora tossed her notebook on the floor. Melog meowed concernedly, and Catra gave them a few ear scratches to let them know she had this.

“Adora, look at me,” Catra said, and when Adora looked up, there were tears shining in those pretty blue eyes. Catra placed her hands gently on Adora’s shoulders and smiled. “You’ve totally got this. You just need to relax, okay? Look. I know I call you an idiot, and a knucklehead, and your name in my phone is literally dumbass girlfriend, but I don’t mean it in that way. I actually think you’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.”

Adora let out a bitter laugh. “Now I know you’re lying to me.”

“No, I’m not,” Catra’s thumb traced over Adora’s shoulder, just where the collar of her t-shirt ended, “People are smart in all kinds of different ways and academics aren’t for everyone. A stupid letter grade isn’t a measure of intelligence, so even if you did somehow flop out and bomb the test, it wouldn’t mean anything. But that’s not going to happen. And you know why?”

Blue eyes met hers then flitted away again. Adora sighed. “Why?”

“Because you’re prepared. You’ve been studying for this. This is just natural panic,” Catra said, because Adora had mentioned how she felt about exams way back last semester at midterms. “You’re freaking out because of the pressure of the whole ‘one shot’ thing. I get that too.”

Some of the focus seemed to come back to blue eyes. “You do?”

Catra nodded. “Of course I do.”

“But you- you’re so smart,” Adora said, “You know everything. You have a 4.0 GPA.”

“Yeah, and if it dropped to anything under 3.7, I would lose my scholarship and probably have to drop out,” Catra pointed out, “so if you think I don’t get exam pressure, you’re out of your mind. But you’ve studied. You’ve worked hard. As long as you keep your focus, you’ve got this. I believe in you.”

Adora rested her forehead against Catra’s and mumbled, “You believe in me.”

“Yeah,” Catra looked into pretty blue eyes with a smile, “I always will. Now, help me gather up these flash cards you dumped all over the place. I’ll quiz you.”

Adora’s hand came up to rest on top of Catra’s, and she let out another sigh. But this time, it was more relieved. “You don’t have to do that.”

Catra flashed her one last comforting smile before scooping up the pink flash cards that were all over the bed and the floor. “It’ll help me study too, and prove to you that you know this stuff. You’ve just got to stay calm.”

“I’ll think about you,” Adora said quietly, “You make me feel calm.”

Catra’s heart did that flip thing that it had taken to doing recently, and she knew there was a blush creeping onto her cheeks. She hid it behind the flash cards. “Okay. For every right answer, I’ll kiss you. Sound like a good incentive?”

Finally, Adora’s real smile broke through the test panic. She beamed, blue eyes lighting up like sapphires, and nodded. “Definitely.”

They spent the evening studying, and with each right answer, Adora’s confidence grew. It didn’t waver when they headed to class the next day, but Catra made sure to hold her hand tight and quiz her on the dates she apparently ‘couldn’t remember’ on the walk there.

And two weeks later, when the test results were posted, it turned out that Adora had aced it.

Adora stared at the letter on her paper, with the big smiley face drawn next to it in their professor’s handwriting. “I got an A.”

“I can see that,” Catra said when Adora waved the paper in front of her for the fiftieth time, as they walked in Fright Zone Hall’s general direction, “congratulations. I knew you could do it.”

“No, Catra, you don’t get it,” Adora grinned at the paper, “I’ve never gotten an A before.”

Catra had never gotten anything less than an A before, but she could tell it was a big deal to Adora. She squeezed her hand and pulled her in for a kiss, even though she’d never been a fan of PDA. “I’m proud of you. What do you want to do to celebrate?”

Adora’s grin was apparently a permanent fixture on her face. “I want to thank the most amazing girl in the world for believing in me.”

Catra just squeezed her hand and said, “Good to know you believe in yourself, then.”

When Adora woke up, she almost forgot what day it was.

Almost. The memory came back in an instant, and her heart gave an upset pang despite the good mood she’d been in for the last week, since getting her first ever A. Her arms tightened around Catra, who was still asleep, curled up next to her. Somehow, it didn’t make her feel better.

It was a Wednesday. She had a lot of classes today, but that didn’t matter. She was probably going to skip them.

Because today, March 1^st, marked seven years since her mother had died.

Adora felt that pang in her chest again. She wondered if one day she’d stop feeling it. It always hurt, when she thought about her mother. Something about the anniversary made that pain increase by tenfold. Seven years, and it still didn’t feel real. Seven years, and she still expected her mother every time she went home.

A soft pressure landed on her stomach, and she looked down to see Melog’s bright blue eyes staring back at her. She managed a shaky smile and scratched behind the little cat’s ears. Melog curled up against her, and Adora wondered if somehow, they’d sensed her feelings. Maybe. Cats were pretty smart, after all. Either way, she appreciated Melog’s effort to cheer her up. Her cat. It was still taking a while for that to sink in, that Catra considered Melog their cat. Not just her own. Adora focused on petting Melog, but everything still felt heavy. She supposed it always would on a day like this.

Catra’s phone alarm rang out, and Adora felt her waking up. She reached over and shut the alarm off for her, and Catra shifted in her arms, bleary eyes blinking open. She yawned and pushed herself up onto her elbows. “Hey, Adora.”

“Hi,” Adora stayed with her head against her pillows, fingers trailing through Melog’s soft fur. She knew Catra’s schedule today; one two-hour class at ten, and then another ninety minute one at twelve. Then she’d work from two until closing time.

Somehow, Catra noticed something was wrong, even though she’d only said one word. “Are you okay?”

Adora was more than a little astounded that she’d picked up on it that quickly, but instead of questioning how she’d known, she just sighed and shook her head. That heavy weight on her shoulders made it hard for her to do much else.

“Oh,” slowly, Catra took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s just… it’s-” Adora cut herself off with a guilty exhale. She felt weird talking to Catra about it, because at least Adora had fourteen years with her mother, who had loved her so much. She felt like she shouldn’t be complaining, because at least she had that time with her, when Catra had never known her own mother and had a less than loving foster mother. “It’s nothing.”

“Obviously it’s not nothing,” Catra said, “because you’re usually bouncing around like the hyperactive golden retriever you are. Talk to me. If you feel comfortable, you know.”

Adora squeezed her girlfriend’s hand and bit down on her bottom lip. She wanted to tell her, but she felt like she’d come off as ungrateful. But when Catra was looking at her like that, genuinely so concerned, she just mumbled, “My mom died seven years ago today. It’s not a big deal but I’m probably not going to go to class or anything. Don’t worry about it.”

Catra’s eyebrows furrowed into a frown, and Adora worried. But then Catra laid back down and snuggled back into her, murmuring into her shoulder, “Of course it’s a big deal. I’ll stay with you, if you want. Keep you company.”

And her offer made Adora’s heart clench. “Catra, you can’t, you’ve got classes and work.”

“And I’ve never missed a day of either, so they can’t complain if I’m too sick to go,” Catra answered easily. Her gaze softened and she added, “You’re more important. Besides, I can’t be the peppy one in this relationship. Got to get you back on track.”

Surprisingly, Adora managed a laugh. “Fair enough. Are you sure about missing class, though? I don’t want anything to mess with your scholarship…”

“Like I said, I’ve never missed class before. They can’t revoke my scholarship for one sick day,” Catra said. She sat up again but didn’t let go of Adora’s hand. “I’m going to call work and pull the best acting job of my life, and then I’ll email my professors. You’re stuck with me, knucklehead. We can watch whatever cheesy Disney show you want, and I’ll buy you the takeout of your choice for dinner.”

Adora pulled her in for a tight hug. Somehow, in that moment, it meant more than a kiss. “Thank you. I know it’s dumb because it’s been seven years and I should be over it-”

“It’s not dumb. You’re dumb for thinking it’s dumb,” Catra said, and Adora just hugged her tighter, “From what you’ve told me, I know you were really close with her. That kind of loss is going to stay with you, and if you think about it, it’s a good thing that you’re still feeling it. Means you really loved her.”

Adora snuggled her face into Catra’s shoulder. She was still so warm from sleeping, and Adora could smell the faint scent of that coconut shampoo she used in her messy, wild hair. “I know. It’s just… I guess I feel like I shouldn’t feel like this. Because I had her for fourteen years. Fourteen amazing years. I should be grateful for that, rather than moping around about the fact that she’s gone. Especially when… not everyone is as lucky as I was, you know?”

“You’re an idiot. A stupid, noble, and way too kind idiot,” Adora could feel Catra’s laugh against her, a gentle rumbling against her chest. “Honestly, Adora. It’s okay for you to be sad. Who cares if someone else might have it worse? Doesn’t change the fact that you’re upset about something that you have the total right to be upset about. It’s okay to put yourself first every once in a while. Idiot.”

“I don’t get how you can make me feel better and insult me at the same time,” Adora mumbled into Catra’s shoulder. She hadn’t actually insulted her, but she had made Adora feel a little better. “You mean the world to me, you know?”

She expected some sarcastic comment about how Catra didn’t feel the same, or a typical I don’t like you joke. But instead, Catra just squeezed her tighter. “I know. You mean the world to me too. And you can always talk to me about anything. Don’t let my tortured past stop you.”

Adora hummed. So she had realised what she was implying. She should’ve known she would. Catra was really smart. “I just didn’t want to upset you.”

“Yeah, because you’re an idiot who puts everyone else before herself. But this thing,” Catra pulled away and gestured between the two of them, “It goes both ways. I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine.”

Adora smiled, her fingers looping through Catra’s. Even though there was that gloomy weight in her chest, the one that would probably always be there on a day like today, she still felt okay. There wasn’t a sad hopelessness to it all. Even though she didn’t have her mother anymore, she still had Catra. She had Razz. She had Bow and Glimmer. She had her friends from soccer.

“I guess nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other.”

Catra smiled, and for a moment, they just looked at each other. And then Catra’s smile twisted into a grimace as Melog scratched her and yowled. “Jesus. Fucking cat. Alright, I’ll get you your damn breakfast. No need for violence.”

Adora let her go from the bed, watching as she sorted Melog’s breakfast out and then disappeared into the bathroom. Adora heard the sound of the shower turning on, and she leaned back against the pillows, surprised that she actually felt okay. Maybe it was the reassurance that she had people who cared about her. She had a girlfriend who was going to call in sick to work and skip her classes just to make sure she felt better. It gave her a little bit of motivation.

When Catra came out of the bathroom, Adora stood up and went in, kissing Catra’s cheek on her way past. Yes, she changed into fresh pyjamas after she’d showered, but she still made somewhat of an effort, which was uncharacteristic for her every March 1^st. Usually she just hid under her covers all day and cried into her pillow.

(As much as Catra liked walking around pretending she was immune to other people’s feelings, she was actually really good at comforting.)

When she sat back down on the bed, Catra was just coming back in from… somewhere. She was in grey sweats and one of Adora’s t-shirts, and on a normal day that would make her heart race.

Catra held up a paper bag. A McDonald’s paper bag. “Hey, I figured trashy food was a good move. I didn’t know what you liked so I just guessed.”

Adora took the bag and rifled through, pulling out the pancakes with a smile. “You guessed correctly. Have you called into work?”

“Mhm, and emailed my professors,” Catra sat down next to her and grabbed her laptop, already loading up Netflix. She took a bite of McDonald’s hash brown and then asked, “What do you want to watch?”

“Twilight,” Adora decided immediately, and she actually managed a laugh when Catra rolled her eyes. “How did I know you’d roll your eyes?”

Catra snorted. “Because it’s trashy as fuck. Kristen Stewart is hot though.”

“That’s why it’ll make me feel better. Point one – hot girls, because Anna Kendrick is there too. And point two – it’s so bad it’s good,” Adora bumped against her lightly, “and I already know your commentary is going to make me laugh.”

“No pressure, then,” Catra said, pulling the movie up on Netflix. She reached over and took Adora’s hand, and another rare moment of sincerity happened when she said, “Hey. If you feel like just snuggling up and not talking, that’s fine. But if you want to talk about her, I’m here.”

After a few bites of pancake, Adora nodded. She thought of her mother again and her teeth dragged along her bottom lip. “I really wish I could’ve introduced you to her. I came out to her when I was thirteen, and she was always so supportive. Maybe too supportive, because any time I even looked at a girl, she’d loudly announce ‘do you have a crush on her?’ which led to endless mortification on my part. She always talked about the day she was going to embarrass me and show my future girlfriend all of my baby pictures.”

For a moment, Adora felt that pang of guilt again. Talking about that made it feel like she was rubbing her relationship with her mother in Catra’s face. But then Catra laughed. “Remind me to ask Razz about these baby pictures next time I’m there. It’s what your mom would want.”

Adora bit down on her bottom lip again, but this time it was to contain the tiny smile that was threatening to show. “No way. Mom and dad both sucked at photography. They got all my worst angles.”

“Please, you have no bad angles,” Catra rolled her eyes, and stole a little bit of Adora’s pancake. “You’re basically a goddess.”

“You’re one to talk,” Adora answered and squeezed Catra’s hand, “She definitely would’ve loved the way you tease me. God, you two would’ve joined forces. I’d never have another moment of peace.”

Adora decided that she loved the sound of Catra’s laugh. It was the cutest laugh she’d ever heard. “Guess that means I’ve just got to work extra hard at it.”

“I don’t think it’s physically possible for you to tease me more than you already do,” Adora said, and she pulled Catra closer, just wanting to feel her there. After a few moments of comfortable silence, she sighed again. “It was always just me and mom. I don’t remember dad, I was too little when he died. Just me and her back home. We would look after the horses and go out riding and come home and watch Wizards of Waverly Place and drink hot chocolate. Razz didn’t live with us then; she moved in when mom died, because she thought it was best for me to stay in a familiar environment. Sometimes I forget, when I go home. I feel like I’m going to go running through the front door and mom will be there, horses ready and waiting to go out for a ride.”

“I miss her, Catra. I miss her so much.” Adora gripped Catra’s hand tighter. “You said earlier that I always put everyone else over myself, and I think that’s because she did. She was a firefighter. She died saving a child from a house fire. The kid got out, but she didn’t. She literally gave everything for other people, and I feel like… I feel like if I don’t follow in her footsteps, it’s like everything was wasted. Like she wouldn’t be proud of me if I… if I wasn’t perfect, you know? That’s kind of why I put a lot of pressure on myself with the whole grades thing, and then end up being my own worst enemy. I just want to be someone my mom would be proud of.”

“I know I didn’t know her, but it’s pretty obvious that she’d be proud of you no matter what,” Catra said, “and nobody’s perfect, okay? Everybody needs a little help sometimes. Your mom wouldn’t think you were some horrible selfish person for opening up and letting people help you for a change. And I know it’s pretty rich coming from me but opening up and asking for help is a good thing. I’ve started to realise that.”

“Oh, you have?” Adora looked up in surprise, and Catra didn’t look anything but sincere. “Really?”

“Mhm. A relationship… it’s a partnership, right? And when you’re partners, you help each other out. You have each other’s backs. It’s kind of the reason I’ve never been in one before, because I was too scared to open up and ask for help.” Catra said. “But I know you’ve got my back, and I’ve got yours too. Never hesitate to talk to me about anything you need help with, okay?”

“You look out for me, and I look out for you,” Adora murmured quietly. Catra hummed in reply, and after a few moments, Adora said, “I’m glad you’re starting to feel like you can open up more.”

“I mean, it’s terrifying, and I’m not saying I’m good at it yet,” Catra said, squeezing Adora’s hand, “but I want to thank you for that. For showing me how and making me feel like I could open up to you about everything. I know you’re the only person I’ve opened up to, but… it’s a start, right? You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, Adora, and I know your mom would be pretty damn proud of you. And if she’s looking down on you, I really hope she approves of me.”

“Catra… of course she would,” Adora smiled, “I mean, look at me. I’m smiling today of all days. That’s all you. You’re the best girlfriend I could ask for, and I know my mom would’ve loved you.”

Her hand touched Catra’s chin and pulled her in for a quick kiss. She felt the way Catra smiled against her mouth, and when she pulled away, Catra admitted, “I lied when I told you that you made the dorm room home. Really, it’s just you. You’re my home.”

Adora’s forehead bumped gently against Catra’s. “You’re my home too.”

Catra was in a strangely good mood, which was basically a sign from the universe that something was going to go wrong. She’d learned that much.

Naturally, she was right. When she left work, she quite literally ran into Scorpia.

“Oh,” Scorpia said, and Catra cast a scathing glance in her direction before ducking around her to stomp back to Fright Zone Hall. “Wildcat, wait!”

There was no way in hell she was going to listen to that, and Scorpia seemed to know it too. That didn’t stop her from following, but Catra kept her gaze forwards and pretended she wasn’t there. She ignored the pleas of her former best friend, listening to her say something about giving Catra space, which was fucking rich coming from the girl following her right now.

Then again, it has been a month, Catra’s brain decided to tell her. Intrusively, because when the fuck did she ask?

She had to stop to get her keys out and unlock the doors to Fright Zone Hall, which gave Scorpia enough time to catch up. She took a second to gather her breath, mumbling, “god, you’re fast,” and Catra didn’t give her another second. She pushed her way into the building, but Scorpia followed her in, “Catra, please, let me explain.”

Catra glanced between the stairs and the elevator. Scorpia could follow her up the stairs, but if she was quick, she could shut the elevator doors in time. Catra took her chance and bolted for the elevator, pushing the button to call it. The doors creaked open and she jumped in pushing the button to close the doors first and then the floor three button.

When the doors shut and Scorpia’s voice was cut off, Catra smirked to herself. Good riddance. But then the doors slowly creaked open again and Scorpia got in, because the old, stupid elevator didn’t set off fast enough.

“Catra,” Scorpia said as the doors shut again and the elevator set off shakily, “can we please just talk?”

“Usually, when someone ignores you, it’s a pretty big hint that they don’t want to talk,” Catra muttered, staring up at the ceiling, willing the elevator to go faster. She couldn’t shut Scorpia out of the elevator, but she could keep her out of her room.

“I know, but… I just miss you,” Scorpia said, “I know what I did was wrong, and I tried to give you space to think about it, but we need to talk about it.”

“What part of don’t talk to me again don’t you understand?” Catra scowled, but the expression slipped from her face for a moment when the elevator suddenly jolted to a stop with a loud groan. “What the fuck?”

The doors stayed firmly shut, even when Catra mashed the button. Scorpia stated the obvious, “I think it broke down.”

Of course it had broken down. Of course the universe decided that this was the sick joke it would play on her today. Sticking her in an elevator for god knows how long with the best friend that had gone behind her back. God. Catra was almost hoping the cord would snap and she’d plummet to her death right now.

She pressed the alarm button. Nothing. Because naturally, in this shitty building, nothing would work. She pulled out her phone. At least she had service. She sent a quick SOS text to Adora, who she knew was already in their room.

Bratra 😻❤️ (2:24PM): okay you can laugh all you want later but pls go to the housing maintenance people because i’m stuck in the goddamn elevator

Bratra 😻❤️ (2:24PM): with SCORPIA of all people so please for my sanity go get help

dumbass girlfriend 💕😘 (2:25PM): Omg what

dumbass girlfriend 💕😘 (2:25PM): I’m going now but omg

dumbass girlfriend 💕😘 (2:25PM): This is hilarious

Bratra 😻❤️ (2:25PM): don’t test me i will break up w you

dumbass girlfriend 💕😘 (2:25PM): You would never

She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and folded her arms across her chest. Scorpia smiled anxiously, and Catra turned away. No matter how long she was stuck in here, Catra could do the silent treatment. It wouldn’t be that hard. She was incredibly talented at holding a grudge.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Scorpia. For a second, Adora’s voice echoed in her head. I’m glad you’re starting to feel like you can open up more.

It’s terrifying, and I’m not saying I’m good at it yet, Catra remembered her own words, but pushed them aside. That didn’t matter. Opening up and forgiveness were two whole different things. Scorpia had betrayed her, plain and simple. Catra wasn’t just going to forget about that and go skipping merrily off into the sunset with her.

Her stubborn silence lasted an hour and ended around the same time her stomach rumbled. She groaned. Should’ve had that extra muffin before she left work. Maybe she should start keeping some granola bars in her bag, or something. Just for emergencies.

Her stomach rumbled again, and the thick tension in the silent elevator plus the idiotic thoughts of ‘opening up’ finally got to her.

“Ugh, this stupid fucking thing,” Catra kicked the elevator doors in a fruitless attempt to make them open. “I knew it was sketchy as fuck. And now I’m stuck in here with you.”

She slid down against the wall with a sigh, collapsing onto the ground. Scorpia looked even taller, but she smiled down at her, probably in an attempt to make things better. “Come on, wildcat, it’s-”

“Don’t call me that.” Catra snapped, scowling down at the ground. “You lost any right to call me that when you went behind my back and meddled with things that don’t concern you.”

“Catra, please. It was- it was in the heat of the moment,” Scorpia slowly lowered herself to the ground, back against the wall opposite. “I just panicked. You know I want you to be happy, and I’m glad that you and Adora have each other. I know that you’ve never really had crushes before, but it doesn’t make you think straight. And I’m sorry. I really am. I shouldn’t have let my feelings get in the way, and I should’ve told you the truth sooner than I did. I tried to, but then Entrapta interrupted and the next day you and Adora had made up, and I was happy for you.”

Catra didn’t give that an answer. Mostly because she thought it might be one of forgiveness.

I’m glad you’re starting to feel like you can open up more.

She’s your best friend, and I can tell she cares about you a lot. One mistake doesn’t change that, you know? People aren’t perfect, and they mess things up sometimes.

God, why did her girlfriend have to be so smart?

Scorpia sighed. “I always knew nothing would happen between you and me. It was just easier to live with when you weren’t interested in anyone, you know? You hooked up with people, but you never actually dated anyone. I thought that was just how you were, and that you didn’t bother with the whole dating thing. But then Adora came along, and it was so obvious from that first time I saw you together, on your birthday, that you liked her.”

Catra let out a breath that sounded a little bit like a laugh and mumbled, “Could’ve given me a heads up. I didn’t even know I liked her then.”

“When I asked you after Thanksgiving, you said you didn’t,” Scorpia said, “if I knew for sure that you liked her, I never would’ve gotten in the way of that. You have to believe me, Catra.”

“You just said it was obvious I did,” Catra felt her anger flaring again, drowning out internal-Adora and her reassurances that it was okay to keep her heart open. “Don’t fucking lie to cover your tracks.”

“I thought you might, with the way you were talking to her, but I didn’t know. And when I asked you, you said no.” Scorpia answered quickly. “It was just something stupid I did in a moment of jealousy and I felt guilty about it right after. I just knew… I knew if anyone was going to have a chance with you, it would be Adora. I know it wasn’t right, but it hurt. It took me nearly half a year to get through to you, and there you were, going to her childhood home for Thanksgiving after only knowing her for two months. It made me wonder what she had that I didn’t. Why I wasn’t good enough.”

Catra looked up in surprise at the words. Scorpia wasn’t looking at her. Instead, she was staring dejectedly at her lap, playing with her fingers.

Why I wasn’t good enough.

“Stupid, lazy, insolent child.”

“You will never amount to anything. If you think I would ever pay for your college, you are even more stupid than I thought.”

“I want you out of this house the moment you turn eighteen. I realised what a waste of space you were the day I took you in.”

Catra pushed that voice from her head, and it was replaced with another, one that gave her warmth and comfort and everything else.

“You’re not broken.”

“Your heart is in the right place. That’s what counts.”

“You’ll always be good enough to me.”

It was that voice that opened up her heart and let out the forgiveness inside.

“I never meant to make you feel like that, Scorpia,” The words came out, and there was no anger behind them. It was like all of her anger had been washed away by the realisation that she’d made someone feel the same way her foster mother and her asshole boyfriend had made her feel. Unintentionally, but she’d still done it. Someone who she really cared about, despite how angry she’d been. “I don’t feel the same way about you, but that doesn’t mean that you mean any less to me. Or that you matter any less. I know I don’t say it all that much because vulnerability is awkward, but I appreciate you. Don’t go around thinking you’re not good enough, because you are. And some day, your person is going to come around and you’re going to sweep her off her feet.”

Scorpia looked up and met Catra’s gaze, brown eyes shining with tears and… hope? “Do you really mean that?”

“Yeah,” Catra nodded. “I do.”

“Does that mean…” Scorpia trailed off, like she was debating even asking, “does that mean we’re okay?”

Catra let out a long sigh, but she nodded, and she couldn’t quite control the way the corner of her mouth was tugging up into a smile. “I know what it’s like to feel like you’ll never be good enough. It can make you do stupid stuff, and what you did… it’s nothing compared to some of the stuff I’ve done. It’s nothing compared to all of the stuff I said to you when I was trying to push you away. So… yeah. We’re okay.”

It was taking a lot of trust to forgive her, but Catra was starting to realise that trust wasn’t such a bad thing. Adora had been right. Even the best of people made mistakes sometimes, and Catra didn’t want wariness and fear of getting hurt to rule her life anymore. It was one way her foster mother still held control over her, and she wouldn’t let her have that anymore.

Even if it was hard, Catra wanted to open her heart to people.

“Oh, thank god,” Scorpia breathed out a sigh of relief and beamed, “I really thought you were never going to forgive me.”

“So did I. Don’t make me regret this.” Catra admitted. There were a few beats of silence, and she looked up at Scorpia. Then she spread her arms out. “Come on. I know you’re dying to.”

“Really?” Scorpia asked, and when Catra nodded, Scorpia moved over to her side of the elevator and wrapped her arms around her in one of her infamous bear hugs. “I missed you, wildcat.”

“Yeah, I missed you too,” Catra said, and after a few more seconds, added, “now get off me.”

It was mostly a joke, but Scorpia let go. Catra glanced over at the elevator doors again and wondered if it was actually a blessing in disguise from her shitty dorm building. Blessing or not, she was never getting in this thing again once she was out of here.

“I’m sorry too,” Catra quietly admitted, her throat a little dry. This opening up thing really wasn’t easy. “For holding a grudge.”

“It’s okay, wildcat,” Scorpia smiled, “really.”

“I just…” Catra paused, “you know I don’t really trust people, right?”

Scorpia hummed. “Yeah. I… I had noticed that. But that’s okay. You don’t need to tell me all of your deep dark secrets just to be my friend. I know I’m sometimes not good with the boundaries thing, but I wouldn’t push you on the serious stuff.”

Catra heard the words, but they didn’t entirely sink in after that first part. You don’t need to tell me all of your deep dark secrets just to be my friend. Scorpia had always been too patient. Too kind. And far too forgiving.

“I didn’t… I didn’t know what you wanted from me,” Catra said, and when Scorpia just looked confused, she sighed, “back in freshman year, when you kept trying to be my friend. I didn’t know what your angle was.”

“There wasn’t-”

“I know,” Catra interrupted, because if she didn’t tell her now, she never would, “I grew up in a pretty toxic household. My foster mother loved telling me all of the ways I’d never be good enough for anyone. It messed me up a lot. So when you started being so nice to me, I didn’t get it. Didn’t think I was good enough for genuine kindness and friendship after I’d grown up having it beaten into me that I wasn’t. So I thought… I thought you had to have some kind of horrible ulterior motive.”

“I know you didn’t, but that’s why I said all of those things to you. That’s why I lashed out and pushed you away, and why I reacted the way I did when I found out you’d lied to Adora. I never… I never told you that, but you deserve the truth,” Catra said. It was the shorter version of everything, but it was something. “I didn’t think I’d ever tell you. But…” she cut herself off with a sigh, “I’m trying, you know? To be more open.”

Scorpia was looking at her with wide, watery brown eyes, and for a moment, Catra thought she saw pity. But then Scorpia smiled, and for once, she wasn’t pounced on in a bone-crushing hug. “Thank you for telling me, wildcat.”

“Okay, uh,” Catra flushed slightly. Why was opening up so… embarrassingly awkward? “I think I need a quick subject change now.”

“Oh, alright, um,” Scorpia paused and searched for something to say, “you know you mentioned that ‘your person will come around’ thing? To be honest, I think she might’ve.”

Catra raised her eyebrows. “Really? Who?”

“Perfuma,” Scorpia said, and there was a smile on her face reminiscent of the one Catra always wore when she was thinking about Adora. “She’s centre midfield on the team. I’ve hung out with her a couple of times over the last month and she was amazing. I can’t believe I’ve never really noticed her before.”

“Good to know, I’m going to go tell her you’re straight.” Catra said, and when Scorpia cringed, she laughed. “Too soon?”

“Just a little,” Scorpia said quietly, “I’m really sorry, wildcat.”

“I know,” Catra bumped against her lightly, “but you can prove it to me by buying me a cupcake when we’re out of here.”

“You got it,” Scorpia said, and even though that was a joke, Catra wasn’t going to deny a free cupcake. “It’s actually thanks to Adora that I spent time with Perfuma. She suggested it.”

“You spoke to her?” Catra frowned. She guessed she shouldn’t be surprised, since they were on a sports team together. “When?”

“On Valentine’s Day. We had practice and I apologised to her. I thought she’d be mad at me too, but she wasn’t. She was weirdly understanding.” Scorpia said. “She said it takes a lot to get her mad, and that part of it was on her for trying to push you away when she thought there wasn’t a chance.”

“She’s just too good like that,” Catra said with a quiet laugh, “If we were in some like, alternate universe, I bet she’d be the really annoying, noble hero girl.”

“That’s… really true,” Scorpia laughed, “and who would you be?”

“Definitely the sexy supervillain that the hero is secretly into.”

“You’ve got too much heart to be a supervillain, wildcat,” Scorpia said, and when Catra turned to look at her, she was smiling earnestly. “You’d end up on the good side kissing the annoying noble hero girl.”

Catra hummed, but she didn’t get a chance to reply. The elevator jolted, and Catra jumped in surprise. She would’ve been embarrassed, but Scorpia had jumped too, looking around wildly. The thing creaked and groaned as it slowly made its way down, and when the doors finally dinged open, Catra sped out of there. Adora was waiting down on the ground floor, as well as a few other students and a mechanic. Catra jumped into her arms and muttered, “I’m never getting in that thing again.”

Adora laughed and squeezed her around the middle, smiling at Scorpia over her shoulder. “I don’t know. Seemed like a blessing in disguise, maybe.”

“Next time it’ll probably bless me by letting me plummet to my death, so I think I’ll pass on that,” Catra pressed a kiss to Adora’s shoulder. “Got a lot I want to stick around for.”

“That’s good to know,” Adora hummed, and when Catra pulled away, she was smiling that dopey smile that meant she liked her. She looked between Catra and Scorpia and said, “You guys must be hungry! Let’s go grab a bite to eat. You did make up, right? Because if you didn’t, then I’m going to put you both right back into that elevator until you sort out your problems. Or maybe lock you in a closet, just for the gay joke.”

Catra snorted and smirked over at Scorpia. “Definitely the annoying noble hero girl.”

Scorpia laughed, and Adora’s nose crinkled cutely in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing.”

“Catra!”

“It’s a Super Pal Duo inside joke, Adora, you wouldn’t get it.”

Chapter Text

“Please.”

“I don’t know how many times I have to say no for you to get the message.” Catra rolled her eyes and took another bite of her sandwich. It was an uncharacteristically sunny day for March, and they’d decided to eat lunch outside after their women’s studies class. Adora had apparently decided that it was the perfect time to badger Catra into spending time with her weird friends over Spring break.

It’s not that she didn’t want to. Actually, sunny beaches and spending time with Adora sounded like the perfect combination. She’d go just for that, but the annoying friends were a little bit of a sour clause in the deal. Mostly, she was just being stubborn for the sake of it. And because it was cute to see Adora all riled up.

“But I thought you couldn’t say no to me.” Adora pouted at her, probably an attempt to butter Catra up. “Come on. Please. Bow and Glimmer want to get to know you,” Catra interrupted that with a loud, sarcastic laugh, “and I want to spend Spring break with you.”

“Then you’ll be hanging out here, because I’m not going to Cancun with you and your annoying friends.” Catra said. She could use money as an excuse, but she had a lot saved after working the majority of her life, and Adora had been going on about how she’d only need to pay for the flight because they were staying at Glimmer’s family’s holiday home, which… of course Sparkles had a fucking holiday home.

“Catra,” Adora obviously decided that desperate times called for desperate measures, because she shuffled a little closer and pressed a kiss to Catra’s jaw, “Please.”

“I said no.”

Cheek kiss, this time. Really, now she was just rewarding the stubbornness. “Please.”

“Hm,” Catra pretended to think about it, “no.”

“Ugh, you’re so stubborn,” Adora scowled, and she reached over and stole one of Catra’s strawberries like that was some major punishment. “You’re a jerk.”

“You knew all of that when you asked me to be your girlfriend, so sorry, no refunds.”

“I just want to spend Spring break with you,” Adora had clearly decided to go back to the cuteness offensive. She grabbed Catra’s hand and brought it up to her lips, kissing the back of it and pairing it with the puppy dog eyes. That was hard not to cave to. “Come with me.”

Catra didn’t let that crack her resolve. “For the last time, no.”

For some reason, Adora grinned. “If that’s the last time you’re going to say no, then you have to say yes now. Come with me for Spring break.”

“Never.”

Adora scoffed. “That’s just cheating.”

“Can’t cheat if there aren’t any rules, knucklehead.” Catra nudged against her lightly. “Go have fun with your friends. I’m not going. We don’t need to spend every waking moment together.”

Adora rolled her eyes. “That excuse won’t work.”

“Excuse for what?”

Catra looked around to see Scorpia and Entrapta sitting down on the other side of the picnic bench. “The knucklehead is trying to persuade me to spend Spring break with her and her loud friends in Cancun.”

“That’s a bad thing?” Entrapta asked. “I thought vacations were something you liked. You have to update me when you change your mind about things so I can update my notes.”

Scorpia frowned, and for a moment, Catra thought she’d actually have some backup here. But no. “Yeah. You don’t want to go… why?”

“Exactly!” Adora emphasised, poking Catra in the arm. “Why?”

“Because a) your friends are annoying, and b)…” Catra paused to think of a second point, because she knew Adora wouldn’t take annoying friends as a valid excuse. And then it came to her. The perfect one. “Do you expect Melog to just hang out in our dorm alone for a week while we’re living it up in Mexico?”

Adora’s determined stare faltered. “Oh. Yeah.”

“There,” Catra smirked triumphantly, “couldn’t go even if I wanted to. I’ve got a cat to look after.”

“We can look after Melog for the week if you want, wildcat,” Scorpia offered, and Catra nearly revoked her former forgiveness. Adora was grinning again and she knew she wasn’t going to wriggle out of it now. “Entrapta and I are staying here to study, so we can have Melog for the week.”

“Ooh, that would be the perfect opportunity to conduct a social experiment,” Entrapta mused, “How cats react in a new environment without their owners… I’ll think of a better title later.”

“Okay, first, you’re not performing any kind of experiment on my cat, or I’ll take up dissection and use you as my subject,” Catra glared at her but it was only half real, “and second, Melog was supposed to be my out, idiots. Thanks a lot. Really. Thanks.”

Entrapta didn’t pick up on the sarcasm. “You’re welcome!”

“Oops,” Scorpia at least looked a little abashed, “sorry.”

“Thank you, guys,” Adora laughed and threw an arm around Catra’s shoulders, “now, let’s get your flight booked.”

“Maybe now is a bad time to admit it, but I’ve actually never been on a plane before.”

Adora blinked in surprise at the words Catra whispered in her ear the moment they sat down in their seats. Catra was in the window seat, staring out at the wing of the plane almost… nervously. It was all kinds of adorable.

“Oh. Wait, really?” Adora raised her eyebrows, and when Catra nodded, she carefully pried her hand from where it was locked around their shared arm rest and tangled their fingers together. “It’s not as scary as it seems.”

“Pfft, what?” Catra scoffed. “I’m not scared.”

But her fingers were clenched tightly around Adora’s, and she looked a little uncomfortable.

“Of course you aren’t,” Adora said, because disagreeing with her basically guaranteed a bad mood. Plus, she was already on thin ice for dragging Catra on this trip in the first place. “It’s a good thing you’re in the window seat though. You can look out and see everything get smaller and smaller.”

“Yeah, I’m not five,” Catra muttered, but when the plane took off her grip on Adora’s hand tightened and her gaze stayed fixated on the windows until they were up among the clouds.

If Catra had liked take-off and the main duration of the flight, which she mostly spent snuggled up to Adora, it was obvious that she didn’t like the landing. She cringed when the plane finally hit the ground, and Adora just kept tight hold of her hand and let her know it was always bumpy, that even she got a little tense around landing.

They breezed through baggage claim, and Catra was mostly quiet. Adora had expected it. Mostly because Catra wasn’t the most sociable person, but also because Adora knew she wasn’t exactly Bow and Glimmer’s biggest fan. They didn’t help that fact, when they wouldn’t stop teasing her.

Like when Catra sneezed in the cab, and Bow just had to say, “Aw, that’s your sneeze?”

Catra frowned, and Adora could see the defences going up. “What?”

“It’s just so…” Bow paused, grinning, “cute.”

Catra scoffed and glared at him, “It’s a normal sneeze!”

Adora laughed quietly, nudging her. “Relax, he’s just teasing you.”

Glimmer had to make her own comment when Catra was carrying was carrying their shared suitcase into the house. “You sure you can handle that?”

“That’s rich coming from you, Sparkles,” Catra glared at her, hauling the case inside. If anything, Glimmer’s words had made her determined to carry more things, and she swiped the backpack from Adora and stomped off to the room Adora always took when she pointed her in the right direction.

“Guys,” Adora paused in the hallway and lowered her voice, “relax on the teasing. It took me forever to convince her to come and you said you wanted to get to know her, not make fun of her.”

Bow held his hands up in defence, “It’s not my fault she has a cute sneeze!”

Catra did have a cute sneeze, but that was beside the point. “Just… lay off a little, okay? It means a lot to me that this goes well.”

Glimmer softened. “Fine. But I’m at least going to annoy her a little bit. Just as long as she keeps calling me Sparkles.”

It was a compromise, and Adora took it. “I’m sure she can live with that.”

She found Catra sprawled out on the bed in the guest room, and when she closed the door, Catra looked up at her with a frown and possibly the cutest pout to ever exist. “Adora. I miss Melog.”

“I’m sure your friends will send you all the photographic updates you want,” Adora said, and Catra just groaned dramatically and flopped against the pillows. “You know, for someone who is vacationing right now, you’re not in a very good mood.”

“Maybe because your friends are annoying, and I miss my cat,” Catra rolled her eyes, and Adora nudged her to make her move over and laid down on the bed next to her. Catra took her hand like it was an automatic reflex and groaned again. “I can’t believe you talked me into this.”

“I’m just lucky that Scorpia and Entrapta weren’t going anywhere and could look after Melog,” Adora leaned over and kissed Catra’s cheek, “I’d miss you too much if you weren’t here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Catra rolled her eyes, “You’re clingy, I get it.”

Adora laughed. “Sure, act like you wouldn’t miss me too.”

After a few more minutes of customary complaining and sarcasm from Catra, Adora managed to convince her to get changed so they could head down to the beach and start making the most of the sun.

Adora really hadn’t known what she was getting herself into, and she was the one being teased when Catra took off her t-shirt and shorts on the beach to reveal a skimpy black bikini.

Naturally, Catra smirked at her when she realised that Adora was basically drooling over her. “Hey, Adora.”

Bow laughed. “I think you broke her.”

“Well, if Adora was going to stop working,” Glimmer nudged her lightly, “it was always going to be because she was literally too gay to function.”

Catra snorted, and when Adora finally remembered how to breathe again, she smirked. It was that teasing smirk, the daring one, and she’d always used it when she was trying to get under Adora’s skin.

Catra held out a bottle of sunscreen and said, “Get my back for me?” her voice so silky and seductive and Adora almost jumped her right there.

Instead, she wordlessly took the sunscreen and squeezed a little onto her palms. Catra flipped her ponytail out of the way, and Adora rubbed the sunscreen in, her heart pounding in her chest, her mouth dry. When she finished, Catra smirked and took the bottle back, “Thanks, babe.”

It was said in that sultry voice, and Adora’s cheeks turned bright red, and definitely not from a sudden sunburn. She stared at Catra, wide eyed, as the older girl smirked, pulled her sunglasses over her eyes, and basked in the sun.

When they got back to the house later, Adora had a good idea of what she wanted to do. And what she thought Catra might want to do. But her friends had other ideas, and for once, Adora agreed with Catra’s annoying assessment of them.

“We should totally play board games!” Glimmer announced as she took a bottle of prosecco from the fridge. “We’ve got loads. It’ll be fun.”

Adora looked at Catra, because she was waiting for some sarcastic comment about how lame that was so they could make their escape. But Catra shrugged. “I like board games.”

Adora raised her eyebrows. “You do?”

“Yeah. Because I always win,” Catra smirked, looping her arm through Adora’s. “And thanks to me, you will too. Teammate. Have you guys got Scrabble?”

“Now I know I’ve got to beat you because you’re being so cocky,” Glimmer announced as she whirled past them to search in the coffee table drawers, prosecco forgotten on the kitchen counter. They definitely had Scrabble, because Adora had rather famously performed abysmally at it back in freshman year, on their first trip out here. Like, she probably held the world record for lowest Scrabble score ever. Glimmer pulled the box out and set it on the table. “I can’t wait to see your face when you lose.”

Catra snorted. “In your dreams, Sparkles.”

Glimmer laughed humourlessly as she took everything out of the box. “You do know I’m an English major, right?”

Catra rolled her eyes and mimicked her. “You do know I’m a genius, right?”

“Modest too, clearly.”

Adora exchanged a look with Bow as the realisation dawned on the both of them that one of them might have to hold someone back in a little while. Depending on who won and who lost. Adora was almost tempted to let it happen, because she wasn’t sure who would win in an actual fight between Catra and Glimmer. They were both short, though Glimmer was shorter, but then Glimmer had more weight on Catra. Adora had seriously considered seeing if she could pick Catra up and carry her over her shoulder, she was that small and slender, but she knew there was no way Catra would ever let that happen. Plus, Catra was fast. Really fast, actually. Probably faster than Adora, who had to be fast for soccer. Catra could wriggle her way out of anything.

Silently, Adora placed her bet on Catra, but then felt a little guilty because she should back Glimmer too, as her best friend. But then Catra was her girlfriend, and Bow would back Glimmer, so it’s not like nobody would be backing Glimmer.

Wait, why am I even thinking about this? Adora questioned as Glimmer tossed the tile bag over to Catra. I’m not about to watch my girlfriend and best friend fight. She shook the ‘who would win’ thought from her head and sat down on the floor by the coffee table to watch. Catra practically draped herself across Adora’s lap rather than sitting next to her like a normal person, and it vaguely reminded Adora of the way Melog sprawled out when they wanted attention.

“Catra, do you have to sit right there?”

“What?” Catra smirked up at her because she knew what she was doing. “I’m not doing anything. Just kicking Sparkles’ ass at Scrabble.”

“Okay, we haven’t even started yet.” Glimmer said as she drew a tile from the bag to determine who would go first. She grinned. “Hah, B, beat that.”

Catra scowled when she drew a T from the bag, and she tossed it back in rather irritably. But when she drew her seven tiles and spread them out, she looked pleased. Not noticeably pleased in a way that Glimmer would know she’d gotten good tiles, but in a way obvious to Adora. The left corner of her mouth curled up imperceptibly, her nostrils flared slightly, and there was a certain air of confidence about her.

Adora smiled to herself, especially when she felt Catra’s arm wrap around her shoulder. She still hadn’t moved from where she’d plopped down in Adora’s lap. Slowly, Adora’s arms snaked around Catra’s waist, and she rested her chin on her shoulder to see the board, and Catra’s letter tiles.

She’d already organised five of the seven tiles into one potential word, fleck, but when Glimmer laid down her first word, shine, Catra quickly reorganised her own tiles and used the e that Glimmer had laid to put down freckled, using all of her tiles at once and landing on two double letter scores for F and K, plus a double word tile.

Glimmer glared across the coffee table as Catra smirked triumphantly, and Bow put his hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder. “It’s just the first move. You got this.”

“Sure, lie to her,” Catra said as she got seven fresh tiles out, “that’ll make losing hurt even more.”

Eventually, Catra got so far ahead in points that there was no way Glimmer could catch up. Upon realising that, Glimmer flipped the board in frustration and stomped off, Bow chasing after her and assuring her that it’s “just a game.”

Catra watched them go with a smirk. “English major, huh? Don’t want to see her final results.”

“Don’t be a sore winner,” Adora laughed quietly, pressing a kiss to Catra’s shoulder, “or you won’t get your prize.”

Catra’s eyebrow arched, and Adora’s hands gripped her waist a little tighter. “My prize, huh? What’s that?”

Adora hummed, the tip of her nose brushing Catra’s as she leaned in. “Maybe you’ll have to wait and see.”

She closed the gap between them and captured Catra’s bottom lip between hers. In between kisses, Catra slipped off her lap and pulled Adora up by the hand, tugging her out of the lounge, through the kitchen, pausing to kiss her in the hallway.

“Maybe I don’t want to wait and see,” Catra murmured against her lips, “maybe I want my prize right now.”

Adora smirked and pulled back before Catra could kiss her again. “Maybe you’re not the one in charge here.”

Catra looked back at her, her eyes flicking down to Adora’s lips and back up to meet her gaze again. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Adora tugged her down the hallway and towards the bedroom, “and patience is a virtue.”

“Just shut up and kiss me.”

“Uh, what did I just say?” Adora questioned as she pulled Catra into their bedroom. She shut the door behind them and pushed Catra right up against it. She leaned in slowly, and her lips were brushing against Catra’s as she whispered, “You’re not the one in charge here.”

Her fingers twisted the lock on the door, and as she heard it click in place, the smirk on Catra’s face morphed into something different. Not a smile, but something softer.

“I…” Catra started, her fingers combing through Adora’s hair, “I’ve never- not with real feelings there, you know?”

Adora smiled. If she thought about it, she’d never slept with someone with actual feelings attached to it, either. “I know. Me neither.”

“I just want you to know,” Catra said quietly, looking right into her eyes, “You mean so much to me. More than you know.”

Adora knew if she thought about what that meant, she’d end up thinking about it for the rest of the night. Wondering if Catra meant the thing Adora felt or if she just meant that she really really really liked her. Instead, she answered by pulling her in for a kiss, her hand slipping up Catra’s t-shirt to touch her waist.

Gently, Adora pulled her away from the door and over to the bed, her lips barely leaving Catra’s as she kissed her. Adora guided her down, feeling Catra’s fingers playing with the hem of her t-shirt, and she just murmured, “Take it off.”

She pulled back as Catra pulled her shirt up and over her head, a question in her eyes as her own fingers toyed with Catra’s shirt. Catra nodded, and Adora pulled it up and tossed it aside. Her fingers ran through Catra’s wild, messy mane of hair, down to the nape of her neck, over the bump of a scar there, descending her spine to pause at her bra strap. She toyed with the clasp. “Can I?”

“Yeah,” Catra nodded, and there was so much trust in her eyes that it made Adora’s heart clench. “You can.”

Adora undid the clasp, the bra came away, and she realised she’d never seen anything so beautiful.

“You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” Adora said as she nudged Catra back against the pillows and kissed her again. When her teeth grazed over Catra’s bottom lip, she gasped in surprise, and Adora used that as her opening to slip her tongue into Catra’s mouth. Her hands wandered up Catra’s body, fingers running the length of her small, slender frame.

She straddled Catra’s waist, moving to kiss down her neck, her collarbone, her chest, her stomach, everywhere. She covered every single inch of her with kisses, just making sure that Catra could feel how much Adora cared about her.

It wouldn’t be either of their first times, but Adora would make sure it would be the first time it mattered.

They were still lying there together an hour later, covered only by the thick duvet, when there was a knock on the door. Catra’s face was snuggled into Adora’s neck, Adora’s hand was tracing up and down her spine, and neither of them moved an inch at the sound from the door.

“Uh… guys?” Bow asked through the door. “We were going to order pizza. Do you want anything? If you’re even awake…”

Adora glanced over at the clock. It was only 8pm, but they’d had a long day with all the travelling earlier. She traced a little heart on the small of Catra’s back and whispered, “Do you want anything?”

“Do I have to move to get it?”

She laughed quietly and pulled Catra a little closer. “Unfortunately, yes.”

Adora’s stomach growled at the wrong – or right – moment, and Catra hummed against her. “I guess I could go for a couple of pepperoni slices. Want to split one?”

“Yeah, okay,” Adora nodded, and she called out to Bow, “Get us a large pepperoni please! We’ll be out in a little while.”

Bow called back an, “Okay,” and Catra sighed against her. Her hand trailed across Adora’s stomach and she mumbled, “If you weren’t hungry, I would’ve said no. I hope you know that.”

Adora laughed. “I know.”

“Because this is the comfiest I’ve ever been in my entire life,” Catra continued like she hadn’t spoken and nuzzled her nose into Adora’s shoulder. “I never want to move.”

Adora had to agree with her. The duvet was warm and wrapped around them, their legs tangled together, Catra’s arm thrown over her stomach. Adora had known from the past few months that she was a cuddler, but this was different. This felt even more intimate, the skin-on-skin contact, the way Catra curled into her, gripped onto her like she was her lifeline. If she had the option to stay here forever, she would.

“Thanks for dragging me here,” Catra said into her shoulder, so quietly that Adora almost thought she’d imagined it. “And your friends… they’re not so bad.”

“Whoa, have you been possessed?” Adora laughed, her fingers running through the waves in Catra’s hair. “My loud, annoying, irritating friends aren’t that bad?”

“Clearly they get all of that from you.”

“There it is,” Adora said, “glad you’re okay. I was going to check your temperature if you didn’t have a sarcastic comment lined up. Shortly after I would’ve called an exorcist.”

Catra snickered into her shoulder, her body shaking against Adora’s. She could feel the rumble of Catra’s laughter against her, and it warmed her, made her feel whole.

“Okay, seriously, though,” Catra finally surfaced to flash a small smile, blue and amber eyes sparkling, “I’m glad you made me come.”

Adora smirked. “Good to know you weren’t faking it.”

“Oh my god, not like that, you ass,” Catra scoffed, rolling her eyes and flopping back against the pillows. “This is what I get when I try to be sincere, huh?”

“Okay, okay, no more jokes,” Adora held the hand that wasn’t curled around Catra’s waist up in surrender, “I promise. Why are you glad I dragged you here against your will?”

“Tell anyone and I’ll use your toothbrush to clean out the toilet,” Catra warned, and Adora already knew she was bluffing, “but I would’ve missed you too much. Being in the dorm would’ve felt weird without you.”

Adora swept dark hair out of the way and kissed Catra’s forehead. “I would’ve missed you too. That’s actually why I dragged you along with me. Like, yeah, I wanted to introduce my girlfriend to my friends, but I also just didn’t want to sleep without cuddling you.”

Catra snorted. “Clingy, much?”

“Oh, shut up, you’re just as clingy,” Adora said, squeezing Catra around the waist. She looked over at the clothes strewn around the room and sighed. “We should probably get up.”

Catra’s grip on her tightened and she buried her face back into Adora’s shoulder. “No.”

“There you go, proving my point,” Adora teased her, but her grip tightened too. As hungry as she was, and as wonderful as a pizza sounded, nothing could compare to this. Just holding Catra close. “Okay. Five more minutes.”

Five more minutes turned into twenty-five, and they ended up throwing on whatever clothes they could find when Glimmer yelled to say the pizza was there. Adora didn’t even realise that Catra was wearing her sweater until Glimmer pointed it out when they sat down.

“That’s Adora’s sweater,” she said, smirking, accusing finger pointed right at Catra’s chest, and Adora’s gaze followed it. Then, Glimmer looked at Catra’s extra messy hair, and how Adora’s was no longer in her usual ponytail. “Well, we know what you’ve been doing.”

“Just celebrating my victory, Sparkles,” Catra said as she flipped open the lid of the pizza box Bow offered them. She sat down on the couch and placed it on the coffee table, pulling out a slice of pepperoni.

Adora rolled her eyes as she grabbed her own slice of pizza, “Don’t be a sore winner.”

“Anyone want a glass of prosecco?” Bow called out as he came in with four empty glasses in one hand and the unopened bottle from before Glimmer and Catra’s Scrabble war. He didn’t even wait for a response as he popped it open and poured out three of the four glasses, because he knew that Adora and Glimmer would say yes.

Adora nudged Catra carefully as she took her glass from Bow. “Want some?”

She offered out the full glass she was holding, and when Catra finished her bite of pizza, she shrugged. “Eh, why not?”

Catra took the glass, and Bow filled up the last one and passed that to Adora too, who soon realised she’d definitely need it.

“So, you guys have known Adora since freshman year, right?” Catra questioned, and Adora squinted at her suspiciously. When Bow and Glimmer confirmed, she smirked. “Oh, perfect. Tell me all of the embarrassing stories.”

“Uh, nope, none of that,” Adora loudly protested as Glimmer opened her mouth to do just that, “You’re not telling her anything.”

“But Adora,” Bow pointed out, “We have to. Your friends are supposed to tell your significant other all of the embarrassing stories.”

“Exactly,” Glimmer backed him up, because of course she would, “it’s like a rite of passage.”

Adora turned her head to glare at her smirking girlfriend. “You just had to ask them, didn’t you?”

“I’m just expecting some cute, dumb jock moments,” Catra shrugged innocently, clearly offering the pizza box to her as a bribe or something, “No big deal.”

“Ugh, fine,” Adora groaned, grabbing another slice of pizza, “but we’re going to hang out with Scorpia and Entrapta when we get back and they’re going to do the same thing to you.”

“I don’t do embarrassing things,” Catra said dryly as she turned to Bow and Glimmer, “go quickly, before she can stop you.”

“Has she ever told you about her first – and only – job?” Bow asked, and Adora cringed. She pushed the pizza box aside, downed her glass of prosecco, and proceeded to hide her face in Catra’s shoulder, because they were really starting out strong with this one. “So, she’s always figured she’s a pretty good cook, right?”

Adora felt Catra turn her head to look at her, and she would’ve really liked the way Catra’s fingers wound through her hair if it hadn’t been for the situation. “Really? And yet you make Razz do all the cooking at home?”

Glimmer laughed. “We’re pretty sure that this story traumatised her away from the kitchen for life.”

“So, in freshman year, she gets this job in the kitchen at that pizza stand in the student union building, for experience,” Bow said, and Adora let out another loud groan into Catra’s shoulder, “and at first, things are going pretty well. They make all their pizzas fresh and the ingredients, stuff like pepperoni, comes whole rather than chopped. One day, she goes to work just like normal, she’d been there a couple of months at this point…”

“And then we get a phone call,” Glimmer said, “It’s probably still there, so have you ever noticed the scar at the bottom right side of her stomach?”

Adora felt Catra nod, “Yeah, I figured she just had her appendix out or something.”

“Nope,” Bow stifled a laugh, because it was funny now, even though back then both Bow and Glimmer had been in hysterics upon the phone call from her manager at work. “So, her and this guy she worked with were messing around, because that’s always a good idea to do around sharp knives. I think they were pretending they were in some kind of sword fight, because they’re idiots.”

“Oh, I see where this is going,” Catra caught on, snorting with laughter, “This guy stabbed you by accident when you were busy acting like children?”

“Nope,” Adora mumbled, still not surfacing from her hiding place of Catra’s shoulder. “Worse.”

“It was a pepperoni battle, apparently,” Glimmer said, “so they weren’t playing with the knives, they were hitting each other with the whole pepperonis. Sea Hawk said that Adora dropped hers, and he was pretending like he was the winner, and that he was mind controlling Adora to finish herself off. She picked up the knife instead of the pepperoni she’d dropped and stabbed herself.”

“I was caught up in the drama of pepperoni battle, okay?” Adora sat up and loudly defended herself. “We played it every shift we worked together, and nothing ever went wrong before, I just didn’t realise what I’d picked up in the middle of giving the best acting performance of my life.”

Catra was laughing at her. That adorable, soft, musical laugh of hers, and it almost made the embarrassment worth it. “You’re such an idiot.”

“Glimmer gets a phone call from Adora’s manager saying you might want to get to the hospital, because your roommate has been stabbed,” Bow quoted, looking at Adora with amused disappointment on his face, “We seriously thought that there’d been some kind of attack, and then we get there and she’s pretty much fine after getting patched up and telling us she thought she was stabbing herself with pepperoni, not a knife.”

“Needless to say, she quit the next day,” Glimmer finished, looking over to Adora with a smirk, “She still hasn’t recovered from the traumatic event, because she’s yet to get another job.”

“Way to make me sound like an idiot,” Adora glared at her friends, “I was going to tell her I got the scar in a heroic battle rescuing someone, if she ever asked.”

“No harm done, I already thought you were an idiot,” Catra looked at her so softly, before her eyes closed with laughter again, a soft smile tilting up the left side of her mouth, “Thought you were stabbing yourself with pepperoni. Knucklehead.”

Glimmer grinned. “Ooh, we should tell her about the time Adora decided to wear white pants, forgot about the fact that she was wearing white pants, and then sat in mud and looked like she’d crapped herself.”

“No, no,” Bow shook his head, “What about the time she wanted to teach us how to ride horses and then got knocked out by a horseshoe falling on her head?”

Catra snorted. “That would explain a lot.”

“Hey!” Adora shouted indignantly and shoved her, before pointing at her friends, “Shut up.”

“You said we could,” Glimmer smiled innocently, “Remember when you broke the bed at my house because you decided you really wanted to jump on it?”

“Or when you told my dads you were a triple major because you wanted to come off all intellectual?” Bow laughed, “And then immediately dropped one of the new artifacts they’d found and smashed it?”

Adora would be mad at them for opening their mouths about all of that, but Catra was laughing and having a good time with her friends, and that was exactly what she’d wanted. So she might’ve acted offended and indignant as her best friends kept dragging up all of the embarrassing slash clumsy slash stupid things she’d done over the last two years, but really she kind of loved it.

And at the end of the week when they were getting ready to head back to the airport, Bow nudged her and nodded over to Catra, who was sitting on their case to try and shut it. “You should bring her around more.”

Adora was even more surprised when Glimmer hummed in quiet agreement. “Yeah. You should.”

Just that was worth any kind of embarrassment.

“You’re definitely still coming, right?”

“No, I just decided to steal your spare jersey and I’m waiting by the door for no reason.”

Adora stared at her as she laced up her soccer shoes. “I don’t appreciate the sarcasm right now, Catra.”

Catra smirked at her from where she was crouched down by the door, petting Melog. “Yes, Adora, I’m coming to your game. I said I would, didn’t I?”

“Okay,” Adora said as she stood up. She looked at Catra there, in her spare jersey. It was slightly oversized on her, and when she moved past to place Melog on the bed, seeing her name and her number on the back made Adora’s heart skip. “You probably don’t know how much it means to me that you’re coming.”

Catra’s smirk softened, and she reached out to take Adora’s hand. “I think I do.”

“Yeah?” Adora rested her forehead against Catra’s, and after a few moments of looking into those beautiful eyes, she closed the small gap between them with a kiss. “Okay. Good. We should go, then.”

Catra hummed in reply, and she didn’t let go of Adora’s hand as they left Fright Zone Hall and started the walk to the pitch. “Do you ever get much practice during summer?”

“Not really. Sometimes I meet up with friends who I was on the high school soccer team with, but a lot of them don’t really bother going home since it’s such a small place and there isn’t really anything to do.” Adora shrugged and swung their hands as they walked. “Mostly it’s just me doing penalty shoots without a goalie. Sometimes the girl that lives a little while down the road from me shows up. I used to babysit Frosta, and she’s kind of a monster goalie even though she’s like, ten.”

Catra squeezed her hand. “That’s cute.”

“What about you?” Adora asked, and before Catra could make some sarcastic comment about how she didn’t play soccer, she quickly added, “In summer. What do you do?”

And do you have any plans? Adora thought to herself. She wanted to invite Catra back to Eternia with her but wasn’t sure if she’d want that. It was a nice place to spend a week for Thanksgiving or two weeks at Christmas, but a whole three months in summer? She might get bored of the sleepy little village.

“Work,” Catra shrugged, “not all that interesting.”

Adora frowned. “At the coffee shop? I didn’t know stuff like that on campus stayed open in summer.”

“It doesn’t, because literally everyone who works there goes home and even though there’s some summer classes and stuff, there’s not really the demand so it’s not worth opening,” Catra said, “I have a different job in summer that I go back to. Grocery store checkout. Real glamourous.”

“Have you…” Adora trailed off, and Catra raised an inquisitive eyebrow. She knew she should just ask, before Catra organised to go back there. If it wasn’t already too late. “Have you already told them you’re going back?”

Catra shook her head. “Nope, I was going to call in a couple of weeks. I was going to ask you what your plans were before I made any commitments.”

“Oh,” Adora brightened and she asked, “Well, I was just going to go home. I wanted to know if you’d come with me. You and Melog. I know Eternia is kind of a sleepy little village and everything, but we could find stuff to do. Maybe you could teach me to play some stuff on my mom’s old guitar. And I could teach you how to ride a horse! Might have to get a pony for you since you’re so tiny, but…”

It was a joke, and Catra scowled at her. “You know what? I think I’m going to call my boss at the grocery store instead. Just for that.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to accommodate for you,” Adora teased her, “I’d say we could go to a theme park too, but I don’t know if you’re tall enough for the big kid rides.”

“You are four inches taller than me. That’s nothing,” Catra elbowed her lightly, and Adora just laughed at how offended she was, “so stop calling me short.”

“I didn’t call you short, I called you tiny,” Adora corrected her, and when Catra glared, she held her hand up in surrender, “Okay, okay. I’ll lay off. But it’s cute how offended you get about it. Like, grow more if it bothers you that much.”

“Oh, yeah, because people can just do that,” Catra rolled her eyes, and as the soccer pitch came into view, she added, “I’m rooting for the other team.”

Adora laughed. “You’d never.”

Catra sighed and coupled it with another eye roll, and Adora gripped onto her hand tightly when she asked after a few moments, “Are you serious about wanting me to come home with you?”

“Deadly serious,” Adora said, pausing to wave at Perfuma and Scorpia, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know,” Catra said, and she was oddly melancholy when she quietly added, “Maybe seeing me every day for three months might make you get sick of me.”

“Catra, I’ve seen you every day for the last, like… nearly eight months, and for one of those we didn’t even like each other,” Adora said, not bothering to really figure out the mental mathematics of the end of August through to mid-April. “I don’t think three more is going to make me suddenly decide I don’t want you around.”

Catra looked contemplative, and Adora was fully aware of her coach trying to get her attention, but she just waited for Catra to speak.

“That’s… weird,” Catra finally let out, but then frowned to herself and added, “not in a bad way. I just… I’m not really used to people wanting to be around me so much. I guess part of me is waiting for the part where you don’t, you know?”

“There’s no part where I don’t,” Adora continued ignoring the way her coach was waving frantically, “Catra, I’ve never… I’ve never felt like this about anybody before. Trust me on that.”

Catra bit down on her bottom lip, and after a few moments, the look in her eyes brightened and she squeezed Adora’s hand. “I believe you. I don’t know why, but I do.” She paused, followed Adora’s gaze to her frantically gesturing coach, and laughed. “You better get going. You’ve got some ass to kick.”

“I do,” Adora smiled and cupped Catra’s jaw, pulling her in for a quick kiss. “I’ll see you after I win.”

“Would be really embarrassing for you if you lost after that,” Catra smirked, squeezed her hand, and pulled back towards the stands, “and no pressure, but you know I’ll never let you hear the end of it if you lose at the first game you invited me to.”

Adora just laughed and pointed towards the stands, where Entrapta was waving enthusiastically at Catra, her Nintendo Switch in one hand, “Go sit down and watch me win.”

The team did win, and Adora’s heart stuttered when they got home and Catra folded Adora’s spare jersey up and slipped it into her t-shirt drawer ‘for the next game’.

Catra stared down at the wall of legal jargon in her textbook. The thought of memorising that kind of made her want to launch herself off the nearest roof but whatever. It had to be done. Finals weren’t close, exactly, but they were close enough, and she had a lot riding on her grades. Maybe C’s got degrees for some people, but anything less than an A would lose her the scholarship she relied on.

She shook her head. She shouldn’t pressure herself. Pressure meant panic, and panic was the fast track to failure. She’d done extremely well on her midterms, and due to the weighting of the class she was studying for plus the coursework, she could get a B on the final and still finish the class with an A average.

Not that she would get a B, though. Catra had never gotten anything less than an A in her life. She didn’t plan on starting now.

But the massive wall of text wasn’t sinking in. She was fairly certain she’d read the same sentence four times. And it wasn’t like it was particularly uninteresting – it was for her gender and law class, which had been generally favourable all semester. Her brain just didn’t want to work today.

She was considering just packing everything up and going back to the room in the hopes that Adora was there for some much-needed cuddles when a shadow fell over the textbook. She looked up with a frown, and there were Adora’s dorky friends. Bow was smiling, but Catra didn’t think she’d ever seen him not smiling, and Glimmer wasn’t scowling at her, so she supposed that was an improvement on the usual.

“Mind if we sit here?” Bow asked and gestured to the table Catra was occupying.

Quickly, she surveyed the area. There were plenty of free picnic tables out on the lawn, despite the nice weather. She squinted suspiciously but nodded slowly. “Okay.”

She glanced back at her textbook but didn’t read the page that had been plaguing her. Her gaze flicked upwards, watching subtly as Bow and Glimmer slid onto the bench opposite her.

“Is Adora not with you?” Glimmer asked as she pulled her laptop from her bag and flipped open the lid.

Was that the only reason they’d sat with her? Because they thought Adora was around somewhere? “No. She’s probably at home watching Wizards of Waverly Place or something.”

“Don’t know what I expected. She’s pretty much allergic to studying, so…” Glimmer typed her password into her laptop and said, “We figured she’d be with you since she’s basically obsessed with you. I can’t imagine she’d let you get a moment alone.”

That would maybe be annoying if Catra wasn’t equally as obsessed. But she wouldn’t use that word. She liked spending time with Adora. Even if they were just in the room together, not talking, doing their own thing. Adora’s presence was comforting, like a warm hug or a gentle kiss. She felt like the most important presence in Catra’s life, and when she wasn’t with her, she always felt this little tug. Like she’d tied one of her heartstrings together with Adora’s and it was slowly pulling her back to her.

Catra loved her. She knew that much. She just didn’t know how to tell her that, and she certainly wasn’t going to say it to anyone else first. She’d never ever spoken those words to another person before. Not even in a platonic, friendly way. It was always I appreciate you or I care about you. The words I love you had never come out of Catra’s mouth. For the longest time, Catra wasn’t sure they ever would.

“Uh-oh,” Bow laughed, “you’ve got that same look on your face that she always does when she’s rambling on about whatever cute thing you did that day.”

Catra snapped out of that and scowled at him. “I’m not cute.”

“You can deny it all you want, doesn’t make it any less true,” He said, not fazed at all by the death glare she was shooting across the table. He hadn’t gotten any work out like Glimmer had – she looked like she was analysing a poem – and he reached out and grabbed one of the many papers that Catra had strewn across the table. “This looks long and boring.”

“That’s because it is,” Catra yawned at just the right moment, and he looked like he was about to call her cute again, and she quickly snapped, “That wasn’t cute.”

“The angrier you get, the cuter you are,” Bow teased her, and when she grumbled, even Glimmer was snickering. He grabbed another one of the papers and asked, “Want me to quiz you? I don’t have anything I need to study, so…”

Catra frowned. That was… oddly helpful. What did he want? “What? Why do you want to do that? What’s in it for you?”

Bow looked surprised. “Uh… nothing? Just helping out a friend.”

That was even more surprising, and embarrassingly, she blurted out, “We’re friends?” before she could help it.

“Yeah,” Bow said, but his smile faltered when he questioned, “Wait, did you not have a good time over Spring break? We thought you did! And Adora said you did too.”

“It was… fine,” Catra said, because she’d never admit that she had fun. Not to them, anyway. To Adora, maybe. “You know you don’t have to talk to me just because I’m dating your best friend, right?”

“It’s not just that. Thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius?” Glimmer looked up from her laptop screen and rolled her eyes. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re not actually as awful as I thought you were. Plus, it was nice to have some real Scrabble competition.”

“What Glimmer is trying to say,” Bow sent Glimmer a pointed look, “is that we like you. And we want to be friends. Not just because you and Adora are together.”

She could question them. Wonder why the hell they liked her, wonder what the ulterior motives were. She could lash out and push them away. She would’ve, if this conversation had happened this time last year. But then she thought about Adora. She’d opened up, let Adora in, and nothing bad had come from it. In fact, a whole lot of good had come instead. She thought about Scorpia. She’d forgiven her even though Catra had always cut people out after the first mistake, and now they were closer than ever.

As scary as it was, Catra was trying.

So instead of lashing out, or questioning their motives, Catra let out a quiet hum of consideration and then said, “Well, I guess your friend group needed someone with actual brain cells, so…”

Bow grinned. “Give me your number. I’m adding you to the Best Friend Squad group chat.”

Catra snorted and made no move to hand over her phone. “Uh, okay, I never agreed to that.”

“Adora will give us your number,” Glimmer said, “You know she will.”

“Adora can do whatever she wants,” Catra rolled her eyes, “I’m not joining your dorky group chat, though.”

Bow gasped and his eyes widened. He grinned like he’d just had the greatest idea ever. “Oh my god, we can go on Best Friend Squad double dates.”

Catra let out a dramatic groan, but there was no real negativity behind it. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

But when they laughed at her, Catra didn’t feel regret. Nope. All she felt was warmth.

“So,” Adora said as Catra typed furiously on her computer, trying to get the last paragraph of her essay out, “the housing forms were just released.”

The words barely sunk in. Mostly, they just sounded like garbled white noise, because the words in her head were the ones intended for her essay. Catra just hummed and hoped that a quick “cool,” was enough of a response.

The lid of her laptop flipped shut, almost trapping her fingers, and snapping her out of the essay induced trance she was in.

“Hey!” Catra went to open it again, but Adora put her hand on top, the ring Catra had given her shining in the light from her lamp. “Adora. I have a deadline.”

“In at least a week, probably, because you never leave any work until the last minute,” Adora rolled her eyes, “This is important. I need to ask you about something serious.”

Serious. Catra sighed, maybe a little dramatically, because she’d been on a roll with the essay. But if it was serious, the essay could wait. “Okay. Fine. What is it?”

“Like I said before when you weren’t listening,” Adora prefaced, pulling the two sheets of paper from behind her back, “the housing forms were just released.”

“And…” Catra frowned at her, not getting how that was serious. But then she remembered the whole reason she and Adora ended up as roommates in the first place, “You need my help filling it out, so you don’t make whatever dumbass mistake you made last time?”

“No, I…” Adora looked down at the papers, right at the little box where you could write the name of who you wanted to live with. “I wanted to know if we’re… you know. Doing this again next year.”

Catra realised she was maybe looking at her like she was legitimately the dumbest person on the planet, but in her defence, she’d kind of assumed that was a given. “Okay, do I need to get you a scan just to make sure there’s not just one brain cell bouncing around in there like a screensaver? Of course I want to live with you again, dummy.”

Had she not made that obvious? Especially with Adora being her girlfriend. Then again, Adora tended to miss the obvious. She knew that from all of the times she didn’t get the hint to kiss her.

“Oh,” Adora bit down on her bottom lip, but even that couldn’t contain her smile. “Really? I thought maybe since you didn’t get one this year, you’d want to apply for a single next year.”

“Not getting a single room was literally the best thing that ever happened to me, knucklehead,” Catra shoved her lightly, and when Adora didn’t say anything, just smiled at the housing forms, she leaned forwards and kissed her. She crumpled the corner of one of the forms, but that didn’t matter. Her hand cupped Adora’s jaw, and her thumb traced gently across a soft cheek as she said fondly, “if you didn’t get the memo, I kind of want to be your roommate forever.”

Adora laughed, her hand curling around Catra’s waist as she pulled her back in. Naturally, she couldn’t just have one kiss. Against Catra’s lips, she murmured, “Just my roommate?”

Catra rolled her eyes, “You know what I mean, idiot. I told you before; home is wherever I’m with you.”

Adora smiled, and it was worth the level of cheesy in that sentence. Catra watched as she pushed the housing forms, and her laptop aside, reaching out and grabbing her hand. She looked thoughtful, and Catra waited for the question. “Do you believe in like… fate and soulmates and stuff?”

“I never used to,” Catra admitted quietly. She’d always thought all of that was a load of garbage. Fictitious bullshit made up by sad, lonely people who wanted to assure themselves there was someone out there for them. Catra had been the more cynical type of sad and lonely, convincing herself that unconditional love didn’t exist because she didn’t think she was worthy of it.

Now, she thought differently. She had definitive proof. Maybe not on the fate thing, and maybe not even the soulmate thing. But unconditional love? Yeah. She knew that was real. She felt it.

“I do,” Adora said. She gathered up the laptop and the housing forms and placed them on the nightstand, shuffling closer on the bed to sit next to her, Catra’s hand still firmly gripped in hers. “I know I didn’t know my dad, but I’ve seen old home movies of the way he and mom were. If they weren’t soulmates, I don’t know what they were. And for the fate thing…” Catra watched as she glanced over at the housing forms, “well, if that wasn’t fate, I don’t know what it was.”

Usually, Catra would’ve responded with it was you being a dumbass. Or something along those lines. But instead, she just sat and felt. The feeling she had wasn’t just in her heart, like she thought it would be. It was everywhere. All over her body, in every single cell, felt in every last corner of her being. She wondered if Adora could feel it too, coursing through her veins. Catra thought she’d be afraid of it, but it was hard to be afraid when it felt so right.

She looked into bright blue eyes, saw the beautiful girl they belonged to. Because it was true. Adora was the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. Not just physically, but in every other aspect too. She had the most beautiful soul that Catra had ever encountered. Adora was the purest person – so genuine and kind and open with everyone she met. And somehow, she’d chosen Catra. She was looking at Catra with those bright blue eyes, the eyes that saw her like she was a supernova. Catra couldn’t stop the words she said next from coming out. Even if she wanted to.

“I love you.”

Adora blinked in surprise. She almost looked like she thought she’d imagined the words that came out of Catra’s mouth. “What?”

A fond laugh bubbled in Catra’s chest, and she rested her forehead against Adora’s, looking into her eyes as she said it again. “I love you, Adora.”

“You love me?” Adora’s voice was barely above a whisper, and her fingers tightened around Catra’s as she said, “I love you too.”

“I’ve never said those words before. To anybody. And I won’t say them to anyone else. From me, I love you… that belongs to you, and only you.” Catra said, and quietly mumbled, “I always felt a connection with you, even before we were together. Like something subconscious was telling me it was okay to open up to you. I’d never believed in soulmates or fate or any of that before, but I do now. Because you’re my soulmate, Adora. And I love you.”

Adora wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug and mumbled, “You’re my soulmate too,” into her shoulder. When she pulled back, blue eyes were shining with tears and there was that dopey smile on her face. “You need to stop beating me with all the romantic stuff.”

Catra couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s seriously what you’re concerned about here?”

“Yeah! I’ve been trying to figure out a romantic way to tell you I love you, and then you go ahead and just completely kick my ass with how secretly romantic you are,” Adora punctuated with an eye roll, “It was exactly the same when I was trying to think about the best possible first kiss, and then you came along with your moonlight picnic and completely pulled the rug out from under me. I’m telling you this now – I’m proposing. I don’t care if you get down on one knee in the most romantic situation ever, I’ll still say no.”

From anyone else, a joke like that would have Catra freaking out and pushing them away. But Adora made casual jokes about proposing one day, and all Catra felt was warm. “What if I just say no to you until I get to propose?”

“You said it yourself,” Adora grinned and put on some uber-seductive voice when she was mimicking her, “I don’t know what it is, but it’s like I can’t say no to you.”

“Okay, I don’t talk like that.”

“You totally do.”

It was weird, Adora decided, to see the room that had felt so much like home for the past school year cleaned out and emptied. Looking like any other room in the building. Adora and Catra’s important possessions were piled high in the backseat and trunk of Adora’s car, and the less important things were being stored at both Bow and Glimmer’s and Scorpia and Entrapta’s over the summer, since they were all keeping the same apartments for next year.

Arms wrapped around her waist, and Catra rested her chin on her shoulder. “Reminiscing?”

Adora brought a hand up to rest over Catra’s, where they were locked in place just above Adora’s bellybutton. She smiled, remembering the day she’d first met her, how she’d been so taken aback by the beautiful girl in the doorway. Only for said beautiful girl to threaten to get her kicked out.

“Yeah,” Adora let out in a laugh, “Your plan to get me out of there by sunset really worked out well, huh?”

Catra buried her face into Adora’s shoulder with a laugh. “Shut up.”

“Bet you never thought you’d be in love with me by the end of the school year,” Adora teased her, “You just thought I’d be some nuisance roommate.”

“What part of being in love with you cancels out how much of a nuisance you are?” Catra asked into her shoulder, and Adora laughed, squeezing her hand. “Come on. Time to go. Our cat is waiting with your dumbass friends. And my dumbass friends.”

Catra pulled away from her but kept their fingers locked tightly together. Adora took one last look at their cramped little room with a smile on her face. “You mean our friends.”

“I mean my friends and your friends,” Catra emphasised as Adora pulled the door to room 307 shut for the final time, “Just because Bow and Sparkles keep adding me to your stupid group chat, doesn’t mean we’re BFFs all of a sudden.”

“I know you like them,” Adora laughed, letting Catra lead her past that deathtrap elevator to the stairwell. She looked around at the chipped paint on the walls and the rusty metal stair rail and smiled. “I’m going to miss this place.”

Catra snorted. “I’m not. I’d rather not fear for my life every time I get in the elevator up to my room.”

Adora could tell she was lying; it was obvious on her. Catra was much too proud to admit something like a building had any sentimental meaning to her.

So Adora just smiled, nudged her, and said, “Bet I can beat you downstairs,” and sprinted off.

“Uh, that’s cheating!”

Adora laughed as she thundered down the stairs, jumping the last two of each flight, and let out an affronted scoff when Catra caught up and passed her. “Hey!”

“Can’t help it if I’m faster than you!” Catra called back as she burst through Fright Zone Hall’s front door. Adora put on a final burst of speed and caught up to her, wrapping her arms around Catra’s waist and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. She felt Catra’s laughter against her, and her heart fluttered in her chest when Catra said, “I love you. And I totally kicked your ass right there.”

“It’s because you’re so small, you can run faster,” Adora teased her, kissing her jaw, “I love you so much.”

“Get a room!”

Adora didn’t let go of Catra when Glimmer shouted at the two of them, but Catra pulled out of her grip when she saw the way Melog was squirming in Scorpia’s arms, trying to get to them. “Melog! Give me my cat.”

Adora followed her with a soft smile and watched as Catra scooped Melog into her arms and cuddled the little cat to her chest. “What Catra meant to say was thanks for watching Melog. And for helping us move our things out.”

Scorpia smiled and took Perfuma’s hand. “It’s okay. I think Melog thought you guys were leaving, though. They looked spooked.”

If Melog had been spooked before, they were relaxed entirely now that they were back in Catra’s arms. They had that in common with Adora, clearly.

Entrapta mumbled a note about cat behaviour into a voice recorder as Glimmer asked, “So, are you guys going straight away?”

“Yeah, Razz is expecting us for dinner,” Adora said. She was looking forward to getting home. Really looking forward to reintroducing Catra to Razz as her girlfriend. “But I’ll text the group chat when we get there. And re-add Catra even though she complains.”

Catra answered that with an eye roll, and Scorpia sent her a stern look. “You’d better let us know you got there safe too, wildcat.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Catra was obviously fighting to hide her smile, “if I remember.”

“I’ll make sure she does,” Adora nudged Catra lightly, “don’t worry.”

“Come on,” Bow held out his arms and Glimmer was already there hugging him, “Best Friend Squad hug.”

Adora let her friends envelop her in a tight hug, but Bow held another arm out for Catra. “You know I meant you too.”

Catra groaned, but Adora could tell she really liked it. She wasn’t that good at hiding how she really felt. Or maybe she just felt like she didn’t need to anymore. She passed a squirming Melog to Perfuma and joined the group hug, and when she pulled away from them, Scorpia ambushed her.

“There it is,” Catra wrapped her arms around her best friend and hugged her back, and Adora watched them with a smile as Entrapta jumped into the hug with a surprised, “Oh, we’re doing that, are we? Yes, I suppose a goodbye hug is fitting in this kind of social situation.”

Catra surprised Adora completely when she pulled out of the hug, took Melog back from Perfuma, and said, “Look after Scorpia, okay? She… she deserves the best.”

“And you promise to look after Adora too,” Perfuma smiled, “ooh, maybe we should all get together some time throughout the summer! My mom teaches this amazing yoga class, we should all go if you guys visit!”

Adora snorted at the mental image of Catra doing yoga. She knew she’d never have the patience for that. “Sounds like fun. I doubt we’ll spend the entire summer in Eternia, it can get kind of boring, so we can organise something later.”

Bow grinned. “Best Friend Squad road trip?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Adora sent Catra a sneaky grin, and Catra just rolled her eyes. With one last smile at her friends, she threw an arm around Catra’s shoulder and smiled. “Okay. Let’s hit the road!”

“Thanks for helping me bring everything in.”

“Half of this stuff is mine, idiot,” Catra rolled her eyes and leaned against the door frame of Adora’s childhood bedroom. Their bedroom for the summer. “I’m not going to make you carry it all in.”

“Yeah, but you know,” Adora shrugged as she placed the last big box down on the floor, “You’re the guest.”

“I’m also a considerate girlfriend,” Catra answered, flopping down on Adora’s big comfy bed. Melog curled up on her stomach and she ran her fingers through soft black fur. She stared up at the ceiling, and because she always opened up around Adora, she voiced her thoughts. “It’s going to be weird not spending the summer working. Good weird, because I’ve never actually had a stretch of time where I’ve been able to just… be. No commitments or anything.”

The bed sank under Adora’s weight, and Catra let herself be pulled close. “Not even when you were a kid?”

“A children’s home isn’t exactly the most carefree place,” Catra quietly answered. She didn’t particularly like thinking about the time before she came to college, but she knew that Adora – for some reason – wanted to know everything about her. Even the bad parts. “And I told you what my foster mother was like. Clean this. Cook that. It’s all you’re good for anyway. I started doing little jobs when I was twelve to stay out of the house. Mowing lawns, stuff like that. Building up money until I turned fourteen and I could get a real job. I worked two at once and lied about it because when you’re under sixteen, you can only work a certain number of hours. I knew she’d kick me out the moment I turned eighteen, so I saved as much as I could. I didn’t tell her I was working because I knew she’d take the money for herself.”

Adora squeezed her tighter, and Catra curled into her. Usually even the thought of her foster mother brought her torment, but in Adora’s arms, she felt safe enough to talk about it.

“I got the summer job – the one I usually go back to – after graduating high school and moving to Etheria and got the coffee shop job at the start of freshman year,” Catra said. “I’ve never not worked. But I guess this summer is kind of the last chance I’ll ever have to just be, you know? Before law school and grown-up jobs and all of that. And I’m really glad I get to spend it with you.”

Adora held her, uncharacteristically quiet. Catra almost went to ask her what was wrong, because Adora was never quiet. She was always rambling on, filling silences with stupid jokes and teasing comments. She opened her mouth to question the silence, but Adora finally spoke.

“You deserve so much more than what you’ve been given.”

The words took her so off guard that she sat up in surprise, and poor Melog flopped onto the bed with a startled hiss. “What?”

“You do. You deserve the whole entire world and all the happiness in it. I think that’s why I overthink all of the romantic stuff. I just…” Adora paused, and her cheeks were flushed pink when she admitted, “I just want to be what you deserve.”

It made her heart flutter because she knew Adora’s intentions were always so pure. She reached out to take her hand and tangled their fingers together, bringing Adora’s hand up to her lips to kiss the back of it.

“Hey,” Catra squeezed her hand, “I don’t want you to be anything other than yourself. In case you haven’t noticed, I actually really love you. Even if you are a total idiot.”

Adora let out a quiet little laugh. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Catra nudged her and repeated the words Adora had said to her, the ones that had meant so much, “You’re always going to be good enough to me.”

“Okay,” Adora smiled, and naturally, the adorable rambling kicked in, “I just really love you and I want to show you that by giving you everything you deserve, you know? And obviously like ‘deserve’ is a pretty broad term and most people would probably just consider being loved what you deserve but I just feel like I should give you more than that because I love you so much but it’s like, what’s more than love? Because that’s supposed to be the most powerful thing in the universe, and…”

Catra watched her with a small smile on her face, playing with Adora’s fingers as she listened to her ramble on about the power of love and how great it is until she eventually stopped for air.

“…and I realise I maybe talk a little bit too much but I just…” Adora paused and bright blue eyes met hers, “I just really, really love you, Catra.”

“Really? Wouldn’t have guessed from your ten-minute-long speech,” Catra teased her, loving the way Adora blushed and grinned, “I love you too, knucklehead.”

“So!” Adora exclaimed, letting go of Catra’s hands to clap her own together once, like she meant business. “Summer plans! We have an entire three months ahead of us to do whatever we want. Any suggestions?”

“Just one,” Catra cupped Adora’s jaw and let her thumb trace across a soft cheek, “kiss me.”

Adora smiled and bridged the gap between them. Her hand lightly squeezed Catra’s waist as she kissed her, and Catra melted into it. She’d never get tired of this.

But apparently Adora could, because she pulled away abruptly and blurted out, “You need to meet Razz!”

Catra stared at her, more than a little concerned. “Okay, I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, but I’ve met Razz. Multiple times.”

“No, I know that, duh,” Adora rolled her eyes and pulled Catra up off the bed. Melog watched them curiously as Adora tugged her over to the door, and Catra just shrugged at the cat because she was equally as confused. “You need to meet her as my girlfriend.”

Catra frowned. “You haven’t told her yet?”

“I’ve never brought anyone home before. I wanted to do it in person,” Adora shrugged easily as she tugged her towards the kitchen, “Felt like it would mean more that way.”

“Oh,” Catra’s stomach did a little flip and she laughed quietly, “and you say you’re not good with the romantic gestures.”

Adora paused in the hallway and when she looked around, her eyebrows were arched up in surprise. “Wait. That’s romantic?”

“Uh, yeah,” Catra rolled her eyes, “obviously.”

“Huh,” Adora turned back around with a soft smile, “maybe I just shouldn’t overthink things, then.”

“I mean, I always figured not thinking was your default, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Wow, okay,” Adora laughed, “should’ve known that was coming. Now come on!”

Adora squeezed her hand before tugging her into the kitchen, where Razz was rolling out pastry. Apparently, she was making apple pie. She turned around and smiled at them both. “Oh, were you two hungry? Dinner shouldn’t be too long, but I can make a second pie for dessert if-”

“No, no,” Adora quickly waved that away. Probably because she knew she’d eat it and end up in a food coma like the pumpkin pie disaster at Thanksgiving. “I just wanted to introduce you to Catra again. Because she’s my girlfriend now, and I really love her a lot, and I just… wanted to tell you.”

She finished with a sheepish smile which turned a little nervous when Razz looked between them with a frown. “Was she not already your girlfriend?”

Catra snorted with laughter at the comical double take Adora did. “Wait, what?”

“Well, you bring her home for holidays and you were always snuggling up under that one blanket at Christmas when we’ve got others. You look at her the way my Mara always looked at your dad,” Razz pointed out, “and you never bother with the air mattress when she’s here, but you do with your other friends. And you’re always holding her hand and hugging her even though you told me she doesn’t like it when people grab her.”

“So… you thought we were together this whole time?” Adora questioned, and Razz bobbed her head in a nod and returned to rolling out her pastry. Adora frowned indignantly. “Huh. You could’ve said something. Would’ve cleared things up for both of us a lot sooner.”

“I didn’t think you wanted to make a big song and dance about it,” Razz answered and held out her hand, “now be a dear and pass me that pie pan, would you?”

Catra laughed at the stunned expression on Adora’s face as she grabbed the pan in question and passed it to Razz. “You should see your face right now. You’re like ah, no, betrayal!”

“Uh, yeah, what else am I supposed to look like when I find out my own grandma snaked me out and didn’t tell me we both liked each other?” Adora grabbed Catra’s hand again and sent one last passing scowl to an oblivious Razz before tugging her out of the kitchen. “God. I can’t believe she knew. She should’ve told me at Thanksgiving and then I could’ve just asked you out then.”

“Oh my god, don’t hate on your grandma because you’re dumb,” Catra teased her, “at least we know where all the brain cells in your family are. Or maybe yours just fell out when you got bonked on the head by that horseshoe.”

Adora just grinned. “Speaking of horseshoes, remind me to find a little pony for you so we can go riding. Then again, even a pony might be too big for you. Maybe a large dog would work?”

Catra mock pouted at her. “And how much did it hurt to think of that insult?”

“Aw, did it upset you?” Adora shoved her lightly, “Feeling a little short-tempered?”

“No,” Catra shoved her back and Adora dramatically fake fell against her bedroom door before pushing it open, “I’m just impressed that you managed to come up with something actually clever. First time for everything, right?”

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you…” Adora said as she pulled Catra inside her room, and she didn’t hesitate to pounce on her and shove her back onto the bed. She leaned down, almost like she was going to kiss her, but then she just smirked. “How was your experience playing Grumpy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves? I imagine there wasn’t much acting needed.”

Catra didn’t even bother stifling the laugh that produced, but she shoved Adora over and pinned her down to the bed, smirking down at her triumphantly. Her fingers wound their way through Adora’s hair. “It’s fitting that you’re naturally blonde, since you’re naturally dumb too.”

Adora flipped them back over and straddled Catra’s waist, throwing her head back with a laugh. “I guess I should be careful about teasing you. Wouldn’t want you to punch me in the leg.”

“You know, I always thought you were the human embodiment of a golden retriever,” Catra smirked up at her, “but they’ve actually got a brain.”

Adora laughed and leaned down to kiss the tip of Catra’s nose. “I’ll give you some pointers for your next one. The key to writing good jokes? Keep them short.”

Catra’s hand gripped Adora’s waist and pulled her closer. “I’m surprised you can write at all.”

“That was a good one, I’ve got to hand it to you,” Adora smirked, kissing the corner of Catra’s mouth, “because it’s not like you can reach it for yourself, is it?”

Catra snorted with laughter. “That was low.”

“Now you’re just coming up with them for me,” Adora kissed her jaw and her breath tickled Catra’s neck when she added, “That was good, though. You can finally hold your head up high.”

Catra’s hand wound through Adora’s hair as she pulled her in for a real kiss, and when she pulled away, she smiled fondly.

“Knucklehead.”

“Garden gnome.”

“…I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Adora woke up early on their first real day of summer vacation.

She supposed it was natural – she was used to getting up early for school – but it felt like she’d woken up for a reason. Catra was still asleep, head buried in Adora’s shoulder, legs tangled together with hers, and a protective arm slung over Adora’s stomach. Adora could go back to sleep. She was so comfortable, in her own bed with Catra right there and little Melog snoozing at their feet, but there was something telling her to get up.

Carefully, so she didn’t wake her sleeping girlfriend, Adora slipped out of bed and stretched. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and checked the time; 7:34AM. The small convenience store a little way down the road would be opening at 8, so that gave her plenty of time to get showered and ready.

The house was quiet as she slipped out of her bedroom and crept down the hallway to the bathroom. Razz’s bedroom door was open, and there was the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen, but all old people woke up early, for whatever reason. She showered and brushed her teeth, going back to her room to get dressed for the day while Catra slept on, and before she left the room to head to the destination in her mind, she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her sleeping girlfriend’s forehead.

“I love you,” she whispered, fingers gently brushing through her girlfriend’s unruly hair, “so fucking much.”

Adora didn’t know if she was imagining things, or if corners of Catra’s mouth actually tilted up into a tiny smile.

She headed out into the cool morning air and got into her car, but not before bypassing the stables and giving Swift Wind a few pets. It took two minutes to get to the store – really, she could’ve walked that, but it was too early for that. She headed straight to the flowers and picked two bouquets, plus an Almond Joy and a packet of Sour Patch Kids.

Netossa was working the counter. She and her wife Spinnerella owned the store and had known Adora since she was tiny. Netossa smirked at the flowers. “Are these for the girl you keep bringing home?”

Adora didn’t answer the question, just rolled her eyes. “Weird, I don’t remember mentioning anything about any girl to you.”

“You two were in here at Christmas and you looked so in love that it almost made me want to barf,” Netossa said as she scanned Adora’s items, “plus, word travels fast in a little town like this. I just can’t believe that little Adora has a girlfriend now.”

Adora knew she was blushing, and she handed over the money to pay with a loud scoff. “Shut up.”

Netossa smirked. “Adora has a girlfriend.”

“Netossa, are you teasing Adora again?” Spinnerella called from the back, and Adora said yes at the exact same time Netossa said no. “Oh, give it a rest already.”

“Yeah, listen to your wife,” Adora said as she gathered up her items, “and stop being so annoying.”

Netossa just laughed as Adora headed out of the door. “Hope your girlfriend likes her flowers!”

Despite what Netossa thought, the flowers weren’t for Catra. The Sour Patch Kids were, but the flowers were for someone else. Adora got back into her car, and when her house came up on her left, she drove past it. She made the ten-minute drive to the cemetery in silence, the radio turned off and the flowers rested on the passenger seat.

She parked up and made the now familiar walk to her mother’s grave, organising the flowers in silence, getting rid of the old ones and making the grave look as beautiful as Mara deserved. Once she was finished, she sat cross-legged on the grass, the morning dew soaking through her jeans.

“Hi, mom,” Adora said, letting out a soft sigh along with it. “I know it’s been a while. School, and all that. Mother’s Day was last month, so I guess the flowers are a belated present for that. I just… woke up this morning and wanted to talk to you.

“I wish I could actually talk to you, but I know you’re listening. So… what’s new with me?” Adora hummed in thought. “Let’s see. A lot happened last semester. I got my first ever A on a test, and my work in the women’s studies class was so good that I might actually get an A average overall for that. I’ll come back and tell you when the results are posted. And we won the championship again in soccer.”

“And, uh, well,” Adora blushed at the mere thought of Catra, and she plucked up a few strands of grass nervously, “I have a girlfriend now. Her name is Catra. You would’ve loved her, mom, I just know it. She’s so amazing. She’s basically a genius and she loves me so much and she teases me just like you did and she’s pretty much the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. I’ve never… I’ve never been this serious about anyone before, mom. It’s like I look at her and I can see my future, you know? It’s crazy, because I haven’t even known her for a year, but it’s like I just know. Like there’s something there between us, this connection, and I know she feels it too.”

“I wish you could’ve met her. You’d know what I mean.” Adora smiled down at the grass. “I might bring her here sometime over summer, and then it’ll be kind of like you’re meeting her. And I know – even though she teases me – I know she wouldn’t think it was lame, that I come up here and talk to you. She’d never tease me on the important stuff. She understands the heavy things. I just… I feel like I found my person. And I know people always say there’s not one single person out there for you, but they must not have found theirs yet. Because with Catra… it’s like it was fated. I know that’s cheesy and dumb but it doesn’t seem to matter when it’s the girl I see myself marrying one day.”

“Because I do,” Adora said, and reached out to straighten one of the flowers on her mother’s grave, “I never really thought about any of that stuff until her. Like, marriage, and children and everything. It all seemed really adult and something I’d never do, but when I’m with Catra I want all of that stuff. I want to have a family with her one day, when she’s an amazingly successful genius lawyer and I’m a soccer star. I just love her so much, mom. And I know you would’ve loved her too.”

A light, warm breeze blew gently against Adora, and it was almost like her mother was responding. She laughed quietly. “I just know you’re telling me to get my ass back home and wake up my girlfriend with a cup of coffee and the Sour Patch Kids I bought for her. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll come back with more flowers next week and I can tell you if Razz has won big at bingo yet. Or maybe she already has and she’s just keeping all the money to herself. I wouldn’t put it past her.”

Adora pushed herself up off the ground, resting her hand on the gravestone with a small smile. She felt tears sting at the corner of her eyes, but they didn’t fall. “Bye, mom.”

She turned the radio up on the drive home and sang along, and when she parked her car in the driveway, she didn’t feel sad at all. Instead, she felt comforted. Almost like her mom was giving her a warm hug.

She kept the promise she’d made to her mom and made coffee for Catra, heading to her room to wake her up. She paused in the doorway, the mug warm in her hand. Catra was still sleeping. Adora leaned against the door and just… looked at Catra for a moment. Her messy dark hair was splayed back on the pillows, her arms wrapped gently around a sleeping Melog who had moved to take the space Adora left. Catra looked so beautiful all the time, but she was adorable when she slept. There was no trace of worry on her face, no wariness, no caution. She was totally relaxed, and totally open. And she was starting to look the same way when she was awake recently, too.

Realising that the coffee in her hands wasn’t going to stay warm forever, Adora pushed herself off the door and set the mug down on the bedside table, along with the pack of Sour Patch Kids. She let her fingers run through messy dark hair and leaned down to kiss Catra’s forehead. “Wake up, baby. It’s morning.”

Slowly, one eye opened. The bright blue one. Then it closed and Catra rolled over completely so her back was facing Adora. Melog yowled and startled at the sudden movement.

Adora scowled at her girlfriend’s back. “Hey! Don’t ignore me. I brought you coffee. Now get your ass out of bed.”

Catra snickered tiredly into the pillows. “Now that sounds more like you.”

“Shut up, I’m a perfectly loving girlfriend when you don’t purposely ignore me,” Adora poked her in the back. “Get up.”

Catra snorted. “Make me.”

Adora rolled her eyes, but there was a smile toying at the corner of her mouth. Because no matter how annoying Catra tried to be, Adora would never want to spend her mornings any other way.

She thought about the summer ahead and smiled to herself. Like Catra could read her mind, she flipped over and both eyes slowly blinked open. Catra smiled the most adorably sleepy smile. “First day of summer. What do you want to do for the next three months?”

Adora hummed in mock thought, leaning down and kissing Catra’s cheek. “Be with you.”

It was a brand-new school year and Catra walked into her new dorm room. Boxes were already all over the place, one of the beds had been pushed up against the other, and there was a blonde girl working on stuffing a pillow into the case while a little black cat napped on the unmade bed.

Catra leaned against the door frame with a smirk. “Um, no offence, but who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my room?”

Adora looked up, tossing the pillowcase aside with a grin. She played with the collar of the jacket Catra was wearing – Adora’s old letter jacket from high school that she’d claimed as her own over summer – and then her hands trailed up to cup Catra’s jaw. She kissed the tip of Catra’s nose and said, “Hi. I’m Adora. I’m your girlfriend, your soulmate, the love of your life, and I’m going to be your roommate for the next… forever.”

“Hey, Adora,” Catra smirked at her, “you know, I think I like the sound of that.”