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Adora was on auto-pilot as she led Catra through the streets and subway stations that would take the pair to her apartment. Her muscles ached, each step causing her legs to whine in pain from pushing that massive bus, but having Catra’s head resting against her shoulder, their fingers intertwined, made everything she had gone through in the past few days worth it.
Normally Adora would be able to zone out on the subway home, letting the hum of metal wheels on iron tracks take her mind to places that she couldn’t normally go. Despite its public setting, somehow this was the only place she could stop being hypervigilant outside of her tiny apartment.
Catra pressed her head further into Adora’s shoulder and started to purr. It took all of Adora’s willpower not to ask Catra to be her girlfriend then and there, so instead she settled for carding her fingers through Catra’s coarse hair. Having her against her like this felt like a blessing from the stars, some intrinsic part of Adora that she had been missing her whole life and had finally found. The train jolted to a stop, and Adora knew she would have to disturb Catra, even if she didn’t want to.
“Hey sleepyhead, we’re almost there but you have to get up,” Adora whispered into her ear, only to be greeted by Catra grumbling something about ‘five more minutes’. Her heart soared; Catra was always at her cutest when she was sleepy, from the way her lisp came out ever so slightly to how desperately she clung to Adora’s jacket. She really hated doing this, but Adora had no choice and jostled Catra awake, just enough for her to get the memo.
As the train finally ceased its movement, Adora stood up and threw her backpack over her shoulders before collecting her duffle bag. Catra took her time getting up, stretching her arms as far over her head as she could before cradling her own leather backpack between her arms. Adora, on instinct, took Catra’s backpack and threw it over her other shoulder before walking Catra from the cabin and up the stairs to the street above.
Brightmoon’s true beauty only came out at night, the lights of the skyrises dancing alongside the stars in the sky. It gave the city an almost ephemeral feel, more like a place from one of Mara’s fantasy novels than somewhere that could actually exist. Her apartment was only a few blocks from here, closer to the outskirts of the city, so taking Catra’s hand, she guided her newfound companion back home.
Despite the beauty of the city, the streets seemed to fall away from her, becoming nothing more than background static to the wondrous warm feeling of Catra’s hand in hers. Adora was fully in her own world by that point, only barely aware enough to make sure she didn’t miss her apartment building. Tightening her grip, she led Catra inside one of the buildings, guiding her through the carpeted halls and towards her home.
With a click of the lock, the door to Adora’s apartment opened just enough to let them through. Catra had woken up on the walk there, at some point interlocking her fingers with Adora’s, like holding hands was some kind of universal truth; like the sun rising tomorrow or the beating of their hearts in tandem. It was a feeling neither of them chose to investigate, something that could very much be looked into tomorrow and over the coming days, weeks, and Adora hoped, months, but for now, they both chose to revel.
Adora’s apartment was small, at least compared to Glimmer and Bow’s, but that had never bothered her. She was used to living in something far smaller while she was staying in the woods, so to her all this space was almost nauseating. Catra swayed back and forth, clearly fighting off a wave of poorly hidden exhaustion. Adora felt a smile grow on her face so large it threatened to crack the sky wide open.
“Want something to drink? Tea? Decaf coffee? Hot Chocolate?” Catra’s ears perked up at the last suggestion and that was all the inclination Adora needed that hot chocolate was the correct choice. “Feel free to make yourself at home!” she added as she crossed into the kitchenette.
Wait, was that a weird thing to say? Was Catra going to think Adora was asking her to live with her? Not that she would mind! It’s just too early for that! Or, is it? It has to be, she’s known Catra for like a week at most, asking her to move in would be extreme.
It was a nice thought though.
Adora was ripped from her thoughts when she heard Catra’s concerned voice call from the living area. “Adora! You need to come look at this!” Her voice was filled with more than concern, though. There was almost a hint of… amazement? Resignation? It was hard to place, until Adora rounded the corner, both mugs in hand and saw a massive, purple cat just sitting on her couch.
Adora started scanning the room, looking for broken windows or open doors, only to find none. It was like Melog had just manifested in her apartment at some point. Or they had used the front door and locked it again. “How- how did they get in here?”
Catra didn’t seem to hear her, though, as she slowly approached the massive beast. Dropping to one knee, Catra reached a hand out and ran her fingers through the short fur on Melog’s snout. A deep rumble of a purr filled the room, closer to the sound of distant thunder than any actual purr Adora had heard. Melog seemed… smaller, compared to when they had first encountered them a few days ago. They were closer to the size of a big dog now, as opposed to an actual lion. Adora had heard stories about Melogs being able to manipulate their shape, but she’d never really bought into it.
Then again, she’d never bought into love at first sight either until she met Catra.
Setting the mugs down between them, Adora joined Catra on the floor and began to pet Melog. Their fur was silky and soft, feeling closer to fleece than anything else. Adora took a sip of her hot chocolate, which she had made sure to put in her favorite mug-
“That mug is ridiculous.”
“We’re petting a semi-mythological animal after pushing a bus a quarter kilometer that had been set on fire twice, and my mug is what you choose to bully? Rude.” Adora hid her smile behind another sip of her mug, though a quick glance at Catra disarmed her completely. There was something behind those amber and sapphire eyes that Adora wanted to protect, even if she couldn’t place it.
“‘The only straight thing about me is my sword?’ You can’t tell me that isn’t ridiculous, princess.” Catra chuckled a little as she talked, the sleep deprivation and exhaustion clearly getting to her. With Melog on the couch like this, either they were going to be sharing Adora’s bed, or one of them would be sleeping on the floor.
“It’s true! The only straight thing about me is my Eternian longsword,” Adora prodded back, nodding her head to the back wall where the gorgeous steel and gold blade hung, letting more than a little bit of pride make a home in her voice.
“Wait, you actually have a sword? Why?” Catra’s attention was fully taken from Melog now, the disbelief in her voice more than enough to clue Adora in to how she was feeling… which was weird, because Adora is normally terrible at reading people. But Catra? It was like they were speaking a language only they knew.
“Yeah, it’s one of the three things I actually enjoyed about high school. My parents made me learn how to duel, and I was really good at it. I still do it, now and again, but it’s harder to find the time.” She tried to keep the wistfulness out of her voice, but she couldn’t manage it. Her parents had had enormous expectations of her, ones that she had never been able to reach no matter how hard she tried. It was exhausting and hellish, but that was years ago and not something to dwell on while Catra was nearly in her lap.
Catra continued her crawl into Adora’s lap, pressing her face into Adora’s neck and letting her purr create a melody with Melog’s. It didn’t take a lot of convincing for Adora to wrap her arms around her cuddling partner, pressing their chests together as she shared her warmth. Catra wasn’t cold to the touch, but she was far from the space heater Adora knew herself to be. With her free hand, she scratched her fingers through Catra’s hair and up and down her neck.
This was easily the most comfortable Adora had felt around anyone. She didn’t shy away from intimacy—Bow and Glimmer were huggers after all—but this was different. She felt safe with Catra in her arms, like no matter what the world threw at her she would be able to handle it as long as she had Catra to come home to. There was no hurdle she couldn’t jump, no gap she couldn’t cross, no problem she couldn’t solve, as long as she had Catra by her side.
No matter how hard Adora had tried, she couldn’t prevent herself from falling in love after she realized that.
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she opened her eyes, and while the moon was still high in the sky, her hot chocolate was mostly just chocolate at this point. Catra had fallen asleep in her arms, her head nestled into the crook of Adora’s neck, right above her sternum. Adora took her time putting her mug, and Catra’s, back on the coffee table, before moving to get her feet under her. In a single, smooth motion, she stood up, holding Catra with a single arm as she walked to the bedroom. She didn’t need to hold Catra with one arm, but maybe she wanted to show off.
Catra stirred in her arms, mumbling something that Adora couldn’t make out but sounded very close to ‘show off’. Her voice was drenched with endearment, though, and Adora felt her start to knead into her shoulder and back muscles. Adora gave her a small kiss on the cheek, which only made Catra melt into her arms more.
Adora pushed open her bedroom door with her hip, and placed Catra on the bed with as much care as she could muster. In her tired state, Catra whined as Adora pulled away, though how much was the lack of body heat and how much of that was her leaving Adora didn’t know. She started to rifle through her dresser, pulling out two clean pairs of sleeping pants and two tank tops. She placed one set down on the bed next to Catra, and tucked the other under her arm as she moved to leave the room.
“Where are you going?” Catra was sitting up now, eyes half open, disappointment written on her face. Adora started to trace her knuckles with her thumb, anxiety and concern raging in her mind. She didn’t want to fuck this up. She couldn’t.
Adora looked everywhere but at Catra, trying to avoid matching her gaze, but she couldn’t avoid it. When she looked, she saw that Catra’s face wasn’t painted with anger or disappointment or any of the other negative emotions Adora was afraid of. It was longing that shown through her expression like a lighthouse on a foggy night. Even after all this time, Adora was still afraid she was overstepping, or that Catra didn’t want her. The look in her mismatched eyes completely melted that fear, though, turning it into nothing.
“I was going to change in the bathroom. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Which was true, Adora didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. What she didn’t say was that she wasn’t sure she could survive seeing Catra change.
Catra didn’t even try to suppress her laugh, instead pushing herself off the bed and placing both hands on Adora’s cheeks. Even in her dimly lit room, Adora still mapped out every detail of Catra’s face; her crooked smile, the sharp rise of the tip of her nose, the way her cheekbones transitioned perfectly into her jaw and finally towards her pointed chin, and, of course, the dueling tones of her eyes that seemed to hold Adora’s entire future in them. She watched in awe as Catra licked her lips, before biting the bottom one. Adora was stunned silent, her mind fully going blank as Catra leaned in to kiss her. Her only thought was to kiss Catra back.
So she did, and it was like all the stars in the sky lit up for the first time.
Adora pressed into the kiss, letting her clothes drop to the floor as she picked Catra up again. She poured every ounce of feeling she could into the gesture, hoping that Catra would be able to translate her thoughts back into words. ‘I don’t want you to ever leave’, ‘I want to spend my life with you’, ‘I know for a fact that I love you’, ‘I can’t see a future without you’ and so, so many more ideas that Adora had thought and pushed aside the past few days flowed from her heart and into the kiss, and she swore she felt the same thing coming from Catra. In that moment, they were connected, two beings turned to one, a single heartbeat serving as a cosmic beacon of love and understanding and joy in the universe for everyone to see.
Inevitably, the connection was sheared, leaving behind jagged edges inside Adora that only Catra could hope to weather down. Her breathing was ragged, her muscles were fatigued, and her mind was blank, but Adora had never felt more alive than in that moment. Her heartbeat had fully fallen into sync with Catra’s, beating against their ribs at the same moment, trying to break free from their cages so they could become one again. Adora was sure she was blushing down and past her shoulders, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was that Catra was here.
“Stay?”
It was a simple question, really. One Adora had asked hundreds of times in her life, but none of those carried the same weight. So many hopes and dreams were anchored to that single word, their only tether to potential existence. She wouldn’t blame Catra if she left tomorrow morning. It would make more sense if she did, honestly. So many other impossible things had happened this week, and while Adora hated asking the universe for one, final favor, she couldn’t help but hope to stretch her luck a little further.
“Okay.”