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"Ow!" Catra cried out. "Stop pulling so hard!" she hissed, glaring at Adora.
"I'm sorry!" Adora apologised as she hastily put away the hairbrush, hoping she hadn't hurt Catra too badly.
Catra groaned, rubbing the back of her head. "Ugh, how do you and sparkles deal with this? I'm surprised you haven't torn all your hair out."
"Look, if you're staying in Brightmoon, you need to be more hygienic, " Adora stated. "It's bad enough you stink like hell and your shedding gets everywhere."
"I'm already taking baths, what more do you want!" Catra groaned.
"Licking yourself does not count as 'taking a bath'" Adora stated as she applied hair conditioner to her hands. When she had a good enough dollop in her palms, she applied the conditioner to Catra's head, massaging her scalp. There was a noticeable difference as Catra relaxed right away as Adora rubbed the soap into her hair."
Catra purred as Adora massaged her. "Mmmmm," she moaned softly, before saying "you don't complain when I give you a 'bath'."
Adora blushed deeply, doubling her speed as she massaged her girlfriend's head. She could already see Catra smirking at her over that.
"Okay," she said, "I think your hair's conditioned enough now. Now, lean back gently so I can wash it out."
Catra did as she was told, leaning her head back slightly to allow Adora the room to wash the conditioner out. She relaxed as she felt the warm water run through her now shoulder-length hair. It almost felt like a shame to her to ask her girlfriend to cut it.
Granted, she missed the long, wild mane of hair she had in their youth, and before really wanted back to the way it was. But, the more she thought about it, the more ashamed of it she felt. She kept her hair long and wild while she was a part of the Horde, back when she and Adora were enemies.
Of course, when Horde Prime brainwashed her, her hair was pretty much butchered, leaving it so much shorter than she was comfortable with. At first, she hated it, but over time people began to compliment her new look, saying that it suited her. Even Adora said she liked it.
So, when it started growing back, she felt confused. She was happy to have it back to how it was before, but at the same time, she didn't want any reminders of who she was back then. Of course, having it be so short reminded her of what Prime did to her.
Fortunately, Adora, sweet loving Adora, the woman she loved with all her heart, told her that no matter how she looked, she'd still love her and as such, Catra decided she wanted her hair cut short again.
Once the conditioner was all washed out, Adora summoned her sword, transforming it into a pair of scissors. She hadn't had much experience with this, but she knew she was the only one who could cut Catra's hair.
If they took Catra to the royal barbers, there would no doubt be a lot of screaming and clawing and probably a lot of blood. Fortunately, Adora knew Catra trusted her and she trusted herself to trim her lover's hair. In her head, she was giving herself a mental pep talk.
You can do this, Adora, She said in her thoughts. Just be nice and gentle with her.
As she started cutting, Catra yelped.
"Too hard!" She exclaimed.
"Sorry, sorry," Adora apologised again quickly, chiding herself in her thoughts. That wasn't gentle, you idiot. God, you can hold your sword easier than this.
She trimmed more around the edges, the hair falling off onto the floor of their bathroom, Adora making sure she was gentle and careful. Slowly but surely, Catra's hair returned to the length that it was when she had joined the rebellion, when she'd saved the world with Adora.
When it was all done, Catra looked in the mirror, seeing her hair returned to its short length, feeling much more comfortable. She sighed in relief at the familiar sight, thankful that Adora had done a good job. She reached up, feeling the fluff behind her ears.
"Bet your ears feel cold now," Adora teased.
Catra chuckled. Adora did know how to make her smile. "I'm sure you can warm them up, babe." She looked at herself. "Not a bad job if I say so myself."
"You think so?" Adora wondered. "Because this is only the third time in my life I gave someone a haircut."
"What happened the first two times?"
"Uhhhh... let's just say Bow looks better with hair than without hair," Adora remarked, blushing awkwardly.
Catra laughed, imagining the thought of a screaming Bow with Adora having accidentally shaved off all his hair. Yes, it was a rather mean spirited thought... but it was cheering her up. Then she thought about the same thing happening to Glimmer, which made her laugh even more.
Adora smiled. She loved the sound of Catra's laughing, how she mainly only did it when she felt relaxed or at peace. It made her feel glad that she'd been able to help Catra feel comfortable with her appearance again. But something just wasn't right.
"Hey, mind if I trim it a bit more?" Adora suggested. "I'm not exactly satisfied."
"Oh uh, sure, " Catra replied. "Just make sure I still have hair when you're done."
For the while, all that could be heard between the two was the snipping of Adora's scissors. She was much more careful this time, as to not hurt Catra. She was especially careful around her girlfriend's ears since they were one of her more sensitive parts. There were a few close calls when an ear gave an occasional twitch, but fortunately, she didn't cut into either of them.
Taking a step back, she took a moment to admire her handiwork. Even with a few more trims, Adora still wasn't satisfied with it, even after Catra had told her she'd done well. It was times like this that Adora hated being a perfectionist. "Does it feel alright?" she asked. "Not too light or too heavy?"
"It feels fine, don't worry," Catra replied, grinning. She stroked the hair behind her ears, relieved it hadn't all been cut off.
Adora nodded before standing before her girlfriend. Kneeling down to Catra's eye level, she smiled at the catgirl before her. "You know," she said, "I've always loved your hair."
Catra scoffed. "Don't get all sappy on me," she stated.
"But it's the truth," Adora said. "I've always admired how your hair seemed to be a part of you."
"It was," Catra said, "I mean, it was, and still is, attached to my scalp after all."
"That's not what I meant," Adora said. "What I meant was how your hair seems to fit your character. Before, you were this proud wild animal who would never be tamed. But now, when I see you with it so short," she leaned in close, their foreheads touching, "I see the wild woman I'm madly in love with. The woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, and maybe, have a family with. I still see that animal in you, but now, it's not so much tamed as it is comfortable in its new home. I love seeing that animal inside you, and I love you Catra."
Tearing up, Catra tried so hard to keep a cool front. But the words of the woman she loved easily tore them down. "I love you too," she replied before leaning forward and kissing Adora.
Tenderly, Adora returned the kiss, letting Catra know that whatever she looked like, long or short hair, it didn't matter to her. So long as Catra was Catra, she would love her until the day she dies. Breaking the kiss, she leans back a little to look into the mismatched gold and blue eyes that was her lover's.
"You know," she said, "if we let your hair grow out a little, maybe we could try styling it. I think you'd look cute in a ponytail."
Catra paused, trying to figure out if Adora was serious about styling her hair. While the image of Catra's hair matching her girlfriend's hair did flash before her eyes, she quickly dismissed it. "Or we could chop your's off to match mine," she retorted.
Adora quickly grabbed her ponytail in defence. "On second thought, the short hairstyle suits you!" she quickly says.
Catra laughed. "That's what I thought you said, dummy."
xXx
Author's Note: Wrote this fluff a while ago with my friend Manplays. Hope you enjoy it!