Work Text:
Being creative was something cathartic for Catra. For most of her life, all she had known was destruction, usually at her own hands. Cities had fallen in her name, blood had been on her hands. So with the war over and Catra having redeemed herself, the catgirl wanted to give something back to the world rather than take something away.
So that was why she was currently trying to write a novel, a children's novel of all things. She'd expressed her creative spark in many outputs over the years. Painting, Sculpting, helping Entrapta and Bow with their inventions, as well as designing new structures to help rebuild the kingdoms she'd destroyed.
And now her latest endeavour was writing. Catra had learned she'd had a knack for storytelling. Double Trouble had encouraged her to try it out and already, Catra felt she was showing promise. Adora had also loved Catra's writing a lot, having been gripped by a horror short story she'd written.
Knowing that her wife was proud of her made Catra feel warm inside.
Though it was probably unusual that Catra wanted to write a novel aimed at children of all things but Catra had good reasons for it. For one, she'd never had a chance to grow up reading as a normal child would have. The few books she had read as a kid were usually just contraband confiscated by Horde troops after taking a settlement.
And second, she wasn't a fan of the current state of children's literature in recent years. Most novels seemed to be very dumbed down in terms of their subject matter. Cutesy, happy stories about love and friendship. While Catra knew such stories were comforting, her own happily ever after with Adora being one such tale, she knew that kids shouldn't be talked down to.
There were no books that dealt with any kind of darker themes or issues in a way that kids would understand. Where were the stories telling them that it was okay for friendships to not be perfect? That sometimes things were bad and it wasn’t their fault?
Part of Catra wondered if the war had been the reason for this shift in storytelling. Most of the parents of these children would likely have been caught up in the war in some way and as such, may not have wanted to share such reminders with the next generation.
But Catra knew that children weren't stupid. She was a mother herself and regularly babysat for her other friends in the Princess Alliance and the kids she looked after weren't all that bothered when she told them about her days in the Horde, even when Catra didn't deliberately sugarcoat it for them.
Hence why she was writing this particular novel, based loosely on her own experiences as a child during the war, but in a way that children would still understand. But while she was still heavily invested in this novel, tonight she was feeling the dreaded writer's block coming over her.
She stared at the words on the holographic screen before her, eyes straining from the light before her. She'd tried to write this chapter over a dozen times at this point and still, she wasn't satisfied.
She removed her reading glasses and massaged her tired eyes, the glare from the screen bothering them. “This shouldn’t be so hard,” she told herself as she put her glasses back on the bridge of her nose. “Just write the damn story, and get it out there. It shouldn’t be so hard.”
She then looked at the screen again, trying desperately to form the words… but it was no use. Nothing was coming to her. “So why the hell is this turning out so much harder than it has to be?” she groaned.
Watching from the door frame, Adora let out a tired sigh. Usually, she loved watching her wife write out her stories, and was often the first one to point out any errors or make suggestions. But to watch Catra struggle so much with her writing was really painful to her.
“Mama,” a small voice cooed as something pulled on Adora’s night dress, catching her attention. Looking down, she smiled at the toddler looking up at her. She bent down to pick them up, making sure they didn't drop their favourite stuffed toy on the way.
“I know, Finn,” she said softly. “it’s almost bedtime. But Mama can’t sleep while Mommy is stuck on her big project.” Turning back to Catra, Adora let out a deep sigh. “This could be her greatest work yet, but Mommy’s too tired to do anything. I’d try to get her to go to bed, but you know how stubborn Mommy gets.”
Giggling, she looked down at Finn. “I guess you can’t sleep without Mommy either.”
Finn shook their little head and Adora then scooped them up into her arms. The tiny cub clung to their mother tightly and she stroked their little head of blonde fur, making the little one feel safe.
“You know, Finn,” Adora then said. “You’re partially the reason she’s doing all this. She wants you to know what she went through when she was little, in the hopes that you’d never have to go through it.”
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. “And you know what? Let’s remind Mommy exactly why she’s doing this.”
She gently rubbed her nose against her child’s, letting loose an adorable infant giggle before carrying herself and Finn into the office. As they entered, Catra was still
Catra rubbed her head as she groaned at the desk, not noticing Adora walk up to her. Planting Finn down on the desk next to Catra, the blonde leaned in close to her wife, smiling lovingly at her.
"Hey honey," Adora whispered, kissing Catra's cheek.
Catra was stirred by the kiss and looked at Adora, before sighing dreamily. "Hey..."
"Writer's block?"
"Yeah..."
“How bad?” Adora asks as she looks over what Catra had written.
Catra groaned. “I’ve tried to write this chapter 8 times now,” she said. “But no matter how many times I try to finish, it just sounds wrong for some reason. Like the words are fighting me or something!” She growled in exasperation. “I’m starting to think this story is impossible.”
A small hand begins to pat Catra’s head reassuringly. Looking up, Catra smiles at the tiny kitten smiling at her.
“You can do it, Mommy,” Finn said, blue eyes glowing with innocence.
Taking her child into her arms, Catra sat Finn onto her lap and kissed the top of their head. “Thanks, sweetie,” she cooed softly.
Catra smiled. What she was writing was a little too much for Finn at this age, but when they were a little older, she hoped her child would love it, as she also hoped lots of Etheria’s children would one day.
Finn then noticed the title of the document, looking at Catra’s name. “Hey Mommy, this story isn't written by you. Did you steal it?”
Catra chuckled. “No, kiddo, when I publish this, it's going to be under a different name so people won't know I wrote it.”
“Why? Wouldn't you want to be really famous writing your stories?”
Catra sighed. “While I would love the fame honestly, lots of people still hate me for what I did during the war.”
“But you're a good guy now, Mommy,” Finn said, clinging tightly to Catra. “Why can't they see that?”
“Some people are just really stupid, Finn,” Catra replied regretfully.
“But,” Adora piped in, “a lot more people know that Mommy’s a good guy! Only a small number are stupid!”
“Like Aunt Sparkles?” Finn asked.
Catra laughed. “No, Aunt Sparkles is actually one of the smart ones. She’s stupid in her own way, though.” She let out a large yawn, the fatigue of her sitting at her writer’s desk finally catching up on her. Looking at a nearby clock, she saw that it was currently 2 in the morning. “Damn, talk about burning the midnight oil. I think it’s time for bed.”
“Well said, my love,” Adora said as she took Finn from Catra. “I’ll put Finn to bed, then meet you later,” she told her wife before leaning in close and kissing her sweetly. Breaking the kiss, Adora carried the kitten to their bedroom.
“Night-night, Mommy,” Finn said as they were carried away.
“Goodnight, Finn,” Catra replied. As Adora and Finn disappeared into Finn’s bedroom, Catra began to make her way to her own bedroom. As she left, she looked back at the holographic screen glowing brightly in the office. “Oh yeah, I keep forgetting to turn that thing off.”
Grumbling, Catra turned the computer off, the holographic screen fading. When all was said and done, Catra finally entered her bedroom. Giving another tired yawn and long stretch, she was soon crawling into bed.
Not even a minute later, Catra could feel the bed shift as another person climbed into it. With a small smile, Catra shifted herself closer to the other body, nuzzling into her wife’s warm embrace. Adora wrapped a protective arm around Catra’s torso, pulling her in closer.
“I’m really proud of your writing,” she cooed softly, stroking Catra's hair.
“Thanks,” Catra murmured sleepily, purring a little.
“And don’t worry about your new book,” Adora reassured her, gently petting her ears as they spooned. “I know it’ll be your best yet.”
Catra scoffed. “If I can finish the damn thing.”
“You will,” Adora said before kissing the back of Catra’s neck. “Just… stop trying to force it.”
“Easy for you to say,” Catra said before yawning again. “You’re not the one with writer’s block.”
“Maybe,” Adora agreed before tightening her grasp on her wife. “But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong, And when you do finish it, you can read it to Finn as many times as you want.”
“That does sound nice,” Catra murmured before falling into a peaceful sleep. “Goodnight, Adora…”
Adora giggled as she heard her wife’s deep breathing. Leaning in close, she softly laid a kiss on Catra’s cheek before joining her in peaceful sleep, keeping her arms wrapped around her tightly as they drifted off.