Work Text:
4 months ago…
“Hey Finn, would you come sit here please?” Catra prompted from the small breakfast nook in the personal kitchen of the Royal Residential Wing. Adora sat beside her, ringing her hands like she always did when she was nervous. Finn sat in a chair opposite their guardians, clearly apprehensive.
“You guys are scaring me, what is it?” they questioned. Adora let out a nervous chuckle and continued wringing her hands. Catra tried to prompt her to speak, but she was like a deer in headlights. Catra rolled her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking.
“Adora and I wanted to talk to you about something. You’re not in trouble, it’s just really important,” Catra started. Finn only became more apprehensive. “We know you’ve been here for a little over a month, and wanted to talk about adopting you.”
“Adopting?” Finn didn’t quite understand. What did that mean?
“If Adora and I adopted you, we’d officially be your parents. Not just you live with us, but you’d be our kid. What do you think?” Catra finished. Finn took a moment to think about it. They’d never had parents, not ones they knew. What if Adora and Catra turned out to be not what they seemed? What if they left? No, you can’t think like that, they’ve been so good to you they scolded themselves.
“You don’t have to decide now, you don’t ever need to decide. Whatever your decision, you’ll always be welcome with us and we’ll always take care of you. This is a big decision, so take some time to think about it,” Adora elaborated. Finn slumped in their chair and blew out a deep breath.
“Yeah, I don’t know if I want that. I’ll think about it,” they decided. Catra reached out and placed a hand on top of theirs.
“Take all the time you need. There’s breakfast on the counter when you want it,” Catra assured. Finn sent her an appreciative smile. She and Adora stood and left the kitchen, declaring they were going back to their suite to get ready for the day.
They’d be my parents…
~
Present
“Aunt Glimmer! I need your help!” Finn shouted into the queen’s personal office. Their Uncle Bow had said Glimmer was working, but this was important. They ran past the shelves of books in the study, looking for Glimmer. They only just barely managed not to run into her as Glimmer rounded the corner.
“What do you need?” Glimmer asked in an exasperated tone, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
“I need help with something for Catra and Adora for mother’s day,” they answered, bouncing on their heels. Glimmer’s annoyed expression faded away at that.
“No problem, what do you need?” Glimmer implored. Finn stood nervously for a moment, looking down at the floor. “Come on, you can tell me.”
“Well a few months ago, Adora and Catra talked to me about adopting me. They said to take time to think about it, and I have. I want them to be my moms,” Finn professed. Glimmer gasped softly and covered her mouth with her hands.
“They’ll be so thrilled!” Glimmer squealed. Finn beamed at their aunt. Hopefully .
“So you’ll help?” they verified.
“Of course! Anything for my favorite nibling,” Glimmer cooed as she ruffled a hand through their hair. Finn laughed at the affection.
“I’m your only nibling. I want it to be a surprise, so don’t tell them please?” Finn pleaded. Glimmer nodded and her face set with determination.
“It’ll be a surprise alright. We have 2 weeks to get this together. Can I tell Uncle Bow so he can help?” Glimmer continued. Finn thought it over.
“Yeah, but make sure he doesn’t tell anyone else. We all know he’s bad at secrets,” Finn decided. Glimmer stood still for only a moment before squealing once again and lifting Finn off the ground in a crushing hug. Finn pushed against their aunt, protesting, but their laughter betrayed how happy they really were.
~
“Why are there so many papers for adoption?” Finn whined. They sat in the queen's office, spinning around on her office chair. They’d been in there for the past hour, at Glimmer’s insistence. Filling out forms and answering questions was the most boring thing a 7 year old could do.
“Because we have a complex legal system that ensures the safety and wellbeing of our citizens…” Glimmer started but was interrupted by Finn groaning loudly.
“You’re the queen, can’t you just skip all that?” Finn complained. Glimmer rolled her eyes, ah the wonders of childhood .
“I could, but I won't. I want to do this right for my best friends. Go play with Azura, she should be outside with Micah,” Glimmer dismissed. Finn slithered out of their seat, landing on their bottom. They mumbled, okay before trudging off.
As Glimmer said, Azura was in the West Yard. She was taking a magic lesson from Micah, it seemed. Being careful to remain quiet, Finn tiptoed towards their friend. Once within range, they set their feet and sprung into a pounce. Before they could tackle Azura though, she vanished in a cloud of Sparkles. Finn landed on the grass, just managing not to land on their face.
Azura teleported back to where she was only to lean over and stick her tongue out at Finn. They stuck their tongue out right back. Micah called from beside that one.
“You’re getting good at those dodges, Azzie!” Azura beamed at the praise and Finn rolled their eyes.
“Only because I kept catching her,” Finn grumbled.
“Not anymore! You’re gonna have to get better at being sneaky before you land a pounce on me ever again,” Azura teased. Finn leaped at her in retaliation, only to have Azura teleport away.
“Alright, alright. That’s enough. Azura, we should get back to our lesson, your Mom wants you to be able to do basic illusions by next week,” Micah declared. Azura teleported back to Micah’s side.
“Ok! Finn, want to join us?” Azura invited. Finn shook their head.
“I can’t do magic,” they reasoned.
“Nonsense. I’m the best sorcerer there is and I can tell you’re full of magic,” Micah corrected. Finn looked at the man with hope in their eyes.
“Really?” they asked.
“Really. I think it’d be good for you to learn magic. You want to be a great fighter like your moms right?” Micah encouraged.
“They’re not my moms yet, but they will be soon. Yeah, teach me magic!” Finn called.
~
Finn sprinted through the halls of the West Wing headed directly for the royal chambers. It was already 7:30 and Adora said she would sleep in until 8 today. Catra said that wasn’t sleeping in, but given that Adora woke up at 5:30 every day Finn thought that was pretty generous.
Arriving at the large doors to the living room of the Royal Suite, Finn knocked impatiently. After several seconds of no answer, Finn threw open the door.
“Aunt Glimmer! Glimmer!” They stage whispered. Seeing she wasn’t in the living room, they ventured to her and Bow’s bedroom. They knocked on the door, which was answered with a sleepy, frustrated groan.
“It’s mother’s day, this’d better be good,” Glimmer grumbled as she walked to the door. She opened it to find a small magicat waiting for her with wide eyes.
“Morning Auntie! Do you have it?” Finn chirped. Glimmer rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Yeah, yeah,” she sighed. She disappeared into the room for a moment and returned with a stack of papers. Finn took them from her with wide eyes.
“Can you wrap it for me? I want to give it to them like a present,” Finn requested. Glimmer sighed fondly. She focused her energy on the stack of papers and summoned a wrapping of paper and ribbons with pink magic.
“There you go. Now I’m going back to sleep because it’s still mother’s day,” Glimmer dismissed. Finn smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t wait. Thanks so much for helping me,” they said, wrapping their arms around Gimmer’s middle. She gave him a small squeeze. The two said their goodbyes, and Finn went sprinting down the hallway again.
~
Adora awoke to the sound of distant clinking and the pattering on stone floors. Catra stirred beside her, her ears flicking towards the sounds. She rose to her arms with a groan.
"What time is it?" Catra mumbled. Adora glanced at the clock on their bedside table.
"Almost 8, my alarm was about to go off anyway," Adora answered. Catra groaned. "Come on love, I think Finn has a surprise for us."
"Yes, I can hear them. Just give me a few more minutes," Catra grumbled, falling back onto a pillow. Adora sat up and chuckled sleepily.
It was at that moment their bedroom door burst open and an excited magicat jumped onto their bed.
"Morning! I have breakfast and presents!" Finn chimed, jumping in circles on the mattress.
"Stop jumping, you'll fall," Catra chided, not lifting her head. Finn decided to then hop on her back to try to annoy her out of bed.
"Come on! It's a special day and I've been up for hours!" They faux-whined. Catra reached back and swatted Finn off her back, sending them rolling into Adora in a fit of laughter.
"It's a very special day, which is why I would like to sleep in," Catra retorted. Adora rolled her eyes playfully and flicked Catra's temple.
"Oh shush, you've slept plenty. Cone on, don't you want to see what Finn has for us?" Adora encouraged. Catra rolled over to show her face.
"Ok, fine. I get to take a nap this afternoon though," Catra decided.
"Whatever you want, just come on!" Finn exclaimed, hopping on the bed and landing almost silently on the floor. Adora stood and came around to the other side to drag Catra out of bed. Really she was already awake, just being dramatic.
Finn bounced on their heels as they waited for Catra and Adora to make their way to the sitting area. There was a small table with 3 chairs near a back window where they had set all of their caretaker's favorite pastries and Catra's already-made morning tea. (A habit she'd picked up from Perfuma)
"Well isn't this quite the spread," Catra commented as she pulled out her chair. Finn simply beamed at her.
"I hope you got that tea from the kitchen staff, you know you're not allowed to use the kettle unsupervised," Adora warned. Finn rolled their eyes.
"Yeah, I know. I got it from the dining hall kitchens," they assured. Adora smiled softly. A smile of fondness.
"Love, look. They got us your favorite, those Plumarian tea cakes," Catra chimed. Adora's eyes widened in delight before she immediately grabbed to stuff in her mouth.
"Principles of Adora: best way to shut her up is give her food," Catra teased. Adora glared at her as she bit into her tea cake slowly. "I tease," she giggled.
"Best way to shut Catra up is to say she's cute," Adora retorted once she was done chewing. Catra just shoved her face and blushed. 8 years and the word cute never grew on her.
"Alright you two, eat! I still have a present for you when we're done breakfast," Finn directed.
Their little family finished breakfast with chatter about their plans for the day and Finn's early morning adventures. (They'd been sure to leave out the part about their gift)
As they all cleared the various plates strewn across the table, Catra stacked them into a net pile to be given to some staff later on.
"Alright, breakfast's over where's the presents," Catra quipped.
"Catra! What she means is we'd love to see what you were so excited to give us," Adora corrected.
"Yeah, what she said,'' Catra joked. Finn laughed, half at the joke and half out of their rising nerves.
Finn took a deep breath and retrieved their wrapped gift from the coffee table in the nearby living area. They returned to the table.
"Ok, here it is," they hesitated. Catra took the parcel with a nervous look.
"You look a little nervous there buddy," Catra commented. They chuckled, a confirmation of their anxiety.
"First holiday nerves I guess," they dismissed. Catra looked at them with suspicion before setting the gift between her and her wife.
Adora carefully undid the ribbons around the center. They fell away and Finn's nerves grew. What if they didn't want to adopt them anymore? What if they didn't want it to be a surprise?
Adora folded back the gift wrap covering the present's contents and the parchment met the couple's eyes for the first time.
After just a few seconds, what it would take to read the title of the documents, Catra gasped.
She covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes filled with tears. Her ears plastered to the side of her head in shock and she let out a broken sob.
Adora was shocked still, her jaw dropped. She looked from the stack of papers, to Finn, then to Catra. Catra met her eyes and began to sob.
"Guys?" Finn prodded. They weren't sure if these were good reactions or not. Catra stood up from her chair with such force it fell to the floor. She raced to the other side of the table and wrapped her arms fully around Finn's small body.
Adora followed suit, though much less dramatically. She still operated with a sense of stillness, shock that was still being processed. She wrapped her arms around Finn and her wife.
Catra pulled away and held Finn's face in her hands. Her eyes overflowed with tears but a smile spread across her face. She ran her thumb along their cheek and Finn noticed a purr begin in her chest.
“Does this mean you want us to be your forever guardians?” Catra asked. Finn shook their head with a smile on their face.
“It means I want you to be my moms,” they corrected. Adora let out her first sob behind Finn and enveloped them in a crushing embrace. Catra laughed as tears streamed down her face.
Their small family stayed huddled together, embracing tightly for an immeasurable amount of time. It could’ve been seconds, it could have been hours, it felt as if time stood still. Finn resumed the clock by whispering an unsure question.
“Can I call you guys mom now?”
Adora let out a watery chuckle.
“We’ve been daydreaming about you calling us mom for months, of course you can,” Adora assured. Truly since the night Finn decided to stay with them, Catra and Adora had spent long nights wishing and what if -ing.
“Just for the sake of our sanity, we’d like me to be Mom and Adora to be Mama. It’s easier if we have separate names so we know who you’re talking about,” Catra explained. Finn turned it over in their head for a moment. Then they smiled brightly.
“Mom,” they said, looking into Catra’s mismatched eyes. “Mama,” they repeated with wonder, now looking at Adora.
“Stars, I love you so much,” Adora whispered, holding Finn tight once again.
“I love you too,” Finn answered. Then, just because they could now, they added, “Mama.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that,” she laughed. Catra looked at the two of them with fondness and pure love in her eyes. Finn turned their head and reached out a hand to her.
“Bring it back in, Mom,” Finn invited. The rest of the day was a blur in everyone’s memory, all they could think of was that their family was forever. Catra and Adora were moms. Finn had a home. They’d promised to take care of Finn, and they kept promising to do so forever.
Epilogue
“How’d it go?” Glimmer asked, incredibly impatient. The three of them watched as their respective kids played tela-tag in the yard. Catra and Adora beamed.
“I’m a Mom,” Catra marveled.
“I’m a Mama,” Adora echoed.
“And I’m a proud best friend. I’m so happy for you guys,” Glimmer declared.
“Thank you for helping them do this, I have no idea how they’re going to top this Mothers Day,” Adora continued.
“You’re welcome. I was happy to help you guys out, you deserve to have a family. And, they won’t.” Glimmer remarked.
“This has to be the 2nd best day of my life,” Adora exclaimed.
“What’s the first?” Catra asked, curious to know where she was going with this.
“The day we saved the universe, of course.”
“Not our wedding?” Catra accused.
“Nah, but that’s a close 3rd,” Adora assured, leaning in for a chaste kiss. They shared that moment of intimacy before giggling like they would’ve in their early days of being a couple.
“Ugh you guys are the worst. Not everyone saved the universe with their first kiss,” Glimmer remarked.
“I know, that’s why we’re better than everyone else,” Catra snarked. Adora laughed at the quip while simultaneously elbowing her in the side in disapproval.