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"Look, Catra!" Adora said, beaming with her entire face. "You-cake!"
Catra looked.
She looked at the rather expertly crated creamy replica of herself, large enough to feed an entire squadron of soldiers for a day.
She looked at her beaming girlfriend, with the equally beaming Bow standing in full support.
She looked back at the cake.
She tried, she really tried.
A flippant 'I'm not that sweet', a saucy 'care for my taste, do you?' or just a simple eye-roll, it all would have been sufficient.
But...
"FUCK YOU!" Catra snarled at the surprised Adora. "Do you think this is fucking FUNNY?"
And without staying to listen to Adora's stammering attempt at an apology, without looking at Bow's concerned expression, and most importantly without giving the confectionery abomination another look, she scampered off, through the corridors of the stupid, shiny castle, through a window and up to one of the many secret spots she had found among the roofs for when she needed to be alone.
She pounded the (stupidly shiny) roofing tiles. She snarled in rage. and then, she curled up with her arms hugging her knees and hid her face, hiding the tears.
'You-cake'.
Fuck Adora.
Fuck Bow.
Fuck this entire fucking city.
"Scoot over, furry-butt," Glimmer said matter-of-factly and plopped down next to Catra.
For a moment, Catra's muscles tensed.
Then she relaxed.
She moved slightly, scuffled about until she and Glimmer could sit with their back to each other.
They sat there for a little while, listening to each other's breaths.
"Well, bring it on, Sparkles," Catra muttered eventually.
"Bring on what?" Glimmer said with level voice.
"Tell me I should be happy and grateful and that I'm a bitch for running away," Catra muttered.
Glimmer scoffed.
"Happy? Grateful? Give me a break. You're totally a bitch, though, but not for running away. Just, you know, a general bitch."
Catra chuckled.
"Really, Sparkles? No speech?"
"I'm getting there," Glimmer said loftily. "Just wanted to take the opportunity to call you a bitch first."
"Well, help yourself," Catra muttered. "Bitch."
"Bitch," Glimmer answered.
"Bitch," Catra shot back.
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
Catra snaked her tail around Glimmer's waist.
It felt a bit better.
Or at least a bit less bad.
"What the fuck did she think?" Catra muttered eventually.
"That she loves you and wanted to do something nice for her wonderful girlfriend," Glimmer said with sarcastic voice.
"Cake," Catra said with flat voice. "Me-cake. ME-cake?"
"Yeah."
"She's an idiot," Catra muttered.
"Yeah," Glimmer affirmed.
"And you didn't' stop her?" Catra asked, some heat in her voice.
"I'm not here to coddle you," Glimmer shrugged.
"Well, thanks a ton," Catra muttered. "Bitch."
"Bitch."
They sat in silence a bit longer. The sounds of celebrations filtering up from the court yard.
"She doesn't get it," Catra muttered.
"Well, yeah, but what else is new?" Glimmer asked.
Catra chuckled at that.
"Bow doesn't get it either," Glimmer said after a little while. "He's all 'water under the bridge'.
Catra snorted.
"Are they stupid or something?"
"Something," Glimmer said. "They believe in us."
"Sounds like 'stupid' to me," Catra muttered.
"Yeah," Glimmer agreed.
"Fucking 'Me-Cake'," Catra sighed again. "Like I fucking deserve cake."
Glimmer put a hand on Catra's tail. She squeezed slightly but she didn't say anything.
"I nearly killed her," Catra whispered. "I nearly killed you." (Glimmer snorted, a non-verbal 'as if'). "I nearly destroyed this whole fucking, sparkling city. I DID destroy the whole WORLD, and got their queen killed trying to fix it."
"Yeah," Glimmer said, voice carefully kept free from emotions.
"And they make me a fucking cake," Catra snarled. "I don't deserve cake."
"No," Glimmer said matter-of-factly. "But they do."
"So why didn't they make another She-Ra-cake, then?" Catra snarled. "Or your boy-toy? Or Juliette? She's cool. Or you? You'd fit as a cake"
"Me?" Glimmer scoffed.
"You look like a cake," Catra muttered. "They could just as well make you one."
"They did," Glimmer said, voice flat. "Queen-cake. Threw me a parade. A three-day-party. Lots of speeches about how great I am. They're talking about a new stained-glass-window. You missed most of it because you and Adora holed up immediately after she defeated prime, but you must have heard some of it."
"Some," Catra agreed. She turned and gave Glimmer a raised eyebrow. "How the fuck did they manage to make that image of you into a firework?"
"That was dad," Glimmer sighed. "Fortunately Castaspella managed to talk him into not using a baby picture."
"Shame, that would have been cute," Catra mocked.
"I suppose," Glimmer said. "If you celebrate a monster, you can just as well pick a cute one."
Catra gave her a level look.
"Really, Sparkles."
"You destroyed the world, and my mom paid the price," Glimmer said, an edge to her words. "Well, I tried my hardest to do the same thing, and everyone paid the price when I brought Horde Prime here."
"I'm not sure you can the the whole responsibility for..." Catra begun.
"How many people were killed during the first hours of the invasion?" Glimmer snarled. "He cracked the walls of Brightmoon open like if it had been an egg. Bots everywhere. Clones. Those fucking spires."
She gave Catra a hard look.
"Do you know what a princess is, Catra, to the people who live here?"
"I get the distinct feeling you aren't going to tell me about cake," Catra said, somewhat taken aback.
"The princess - I - am the last line of defence. I'm the one who channels the power of the rune-stone. When danger approaches, when no other has the answers, the princess can protect you."
"Didn't quite work out like that," Catra said with low voice.
"No it didn't," Glimmer snarled. "Because I fucked it up. Because I let my pride and my insecurities and my rage get the better of me, and because I desperately wanted to win, no matter the cost."
She sighed.
"I nearly destroyed the world, and I brought Horde Prime here. I failed them." She laughed, a bitter laugh. "And they made speeches about how great I am. They made fireworks. They made cake."
She glared at Catra.
"So yeah, I get it. Bitch."
"Bitch," Catra muttered automatically, but her heart wasn't in it.
"OK," she said then, having thought it over for a few moments. "But it's not the same thing?"
"Isn't it?" Glimmer asked.
"No it isn't," Catra said. "You are their princess. Even if you feel like a fuckup, you're still the boss. I'm... I'm just a monster."
"And I'm not?" Glimmer said with a raised eyebrow. "And doesn't the fact that I'm queen just make it worse?"
"It means you're on the hook," Catra countered. "But why would they drag me into this mess."
Glimmer watched her for a few moments.
"You know who the cake was for, right?" she said then.
"Yeah," Catra said. "You told me. For them."
"Do you get what I mean with that?" Glimmer asked.
"Some friendship bullshit, probably," Catra muttered.
"It's a tribute," Glimmer said with level voice. "Thanks for services given, hope for a future good relationship."
"What?" Catra snorted. "Give the big bad cat enough cake so she won't start eating children?"
"No," Glimmer said. "Give her enough recognition and celebration that she'll want to stay."
"Why would they ever do that?" Catra exclaimed. "Are they stupid."
"Far from it," Glimmer said. "They know exactly what you are, Catra. That's why they want you around."
Catra stared at her.
"What?" she managed.
"You think you're a monster," Glimmer explained. "Well, so do they. They think you are their monster. You were the big bad cat by the gate, the full might of the Horde in your hands. They thought you would raze their city to the ground. But then... then their queen - their last line of defence - was lost in space, you were the one thing that stood between her - me - and Horde fucking Prime. You were the one who saved their queen, saved me. When She-Ra went to unlock the magic stolen away by the first ones, you were the one who walked with her. You were the one who gave her the strength she needed to save this world. Even now - with strange stars staring at them from above, they know that whatever monsters from unknown space might be coming for them, the mighty, terrifying Catra is standing between them and the shadows. The big bad cat by the gate. Heroes may fail and princesses may loose their way, but no fucking Hordak knockoff will ever slip past as long as you are here."
Glimmer looked Catra in the eyes.
"So they made you a celebration. They made you a cake. Because you are their monster, and you better get down there and eat the fucking cake and smile and nod and let them see you do it."
Her voice grew more gentle.
"And if you feel like throwing up, if you feel like screaming and crying and lashing out because you don't feel you deserve any of it, then I'll be here for you, whenever you need it."
Catra hugged Glimmer tighter with her tail.
"Wow," she said eventually.
"Yeah," Glimmer said.
"How do you do it?" Catra whispered. "How do you stand it, day after day after fucking day?"
"It helps that there is someone I can vent to," Glimmer said and patted Catra's tail. "Someone who gets it."
She and Catra shared a long smile.
"And Adora?" Catra said slowly.
Glimmer sighed.
"You know what Bow told me, back when we were still up in space?"
"Something soppy, I assume," Catra muttered.
"Unbelievably soppy," Glimmer agreed. "He said that no matter how bad things I have done, there would always be atonement and forgiveness. a way back. He said that he didn't see me as a monster, that he never would."
She took a deep breath.
"He told me I had never stopped being worthy of love. That I never would, no matter what."
Glimmer sighed.
Catra turned around slightly so she could grab Glimmer's hand. She held it gently.
"They really believe that, huh?" she asked after haven given Glimmer enough time to blink away the tears.
"They do," Glimmer sighed. "Both of them."
"They are idiots," Catra muttered.
"They are our idiots," Glimmer corrected her.
"Yeah..." Catra sighed.
"Yeah," Glimmer said.
"I wonder what it would be like," Catra silently said, "to be the people they imagine us to be."
"Painful, I imagine," Glimmer answered. "Having done all the bad stuff we have done, but still knowing, deep down, that we are capable of redemption. Having to work each and every day to keep ourselves in check, to play nice, to be just a bit less of a monster."
Catra snorted.
"Have I mentioned how incredibly annoying you are?"
"Frequently," Glimmer smiled.
"Fine," Catra sighed. "I'll eat the stupid cake."
"It will make her happy," Glimmer said with a smug little smile.
"You know, you make me all tingly when you go all 'Evil Queen' like that," Catra muttered, blushing slightly.
Glimmer laughed, a pearly laughter.
"We will have to do something about that, won't we," she purred, causing Catra to blush harder. "Tell you what. If you manage an hour of cake and celebration, we'll sneak away to do some sparring."
"Deal," Catra said. "I'll kick your sparkly butt all the way back to the party."
"Hah! You can dream," Glimmer scoffed. "I'll tie you up in your tail. We can have you as a pinata."
Catra laughed.
"You can try, bitch."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
They stood up. Glimmer held out her arms, and after a moment of hesitation Catra gave her a tight hug.
"Thanks," Catra whispered.
"Any time," Glimmer answered with heartfelt voice.
"And for the record," Catra said. "If you ever get your royal ass kidnapped by another space-jerk, I will fucking eviscerate them."
"I know," Glimmer said. "And so do the people of Brightmoon. That's why they made you a cake."
Catra took a deep breath and let go of Glimmer. She rubbed at her face.
"Right," she said. "Let's do this."
"I'll be with you," Glimmer said, putting a hand on Catra's arm. "Always."
"I know you will," Catra smiled. "Come, let's have some me-cake."