Chapter Text
It starts, like most things, with a shootout.
Which in complete reality, it really started 45 minutes ago, when Glimmer roped her into yet another robbery. Sure, Glimmer had scouted out the place for a couple of days in advance, and this town's sheriff was out of the town handling business elsewhere, but honestly, with their luck, they should have known better. Hell, Adora even knew better, but all it took was Bow giving her his sweet, innocent puppy eyes and Glimmer promising to feed Swifty for a couple of days, which is her way of saying "I love you", and Adora knew she was a goner.
Who wouldn't be though, someone else offering to get up at the rise of dawn for a couple for a couple of days to feed an overgrown, hooved loser?
Besides the point. While forms of bribery are involved, Adora's decisions are Adora's own, and if she were being completely honest with herself, this isn't even the worst thing she's dealt with before. Weaver, training Swifty, the swift rake of Catra's claws against her back, yeah. This was nothing compared to her memories of the past. But, while Adora admits, things could have been worse, she would have really liked to have things be better than they are now.
She feels the fast clip of a bullet against the top of her left ear, which means her time spent hiding behind this useless barrel is up. It really sucks too, as she feels the hot, warm blood run down her neck, because she's already missing a portion of her right ear, she kind of wanted to keep her left one intact as much as possible. With a roll across the wooden floor of the bank, she's up and sprinting before whoever busted their mission can reload their gun. Adora hops over the broken window of the bank and keeps sprinting until she can make out Bow's form in front of her.
"Gee, thanks for waiting", as Adora slams into Bow, effectively making him stumble a bit as he runs. Serves him right. "Sorry 'dora", he puffs, " I saw my chance to run open up faster than I could tell you. Won't happen again. Did you grab anything besides a busted ear?"
They skid a bit as their boots hit the ground of an alleyway, making sharps turns trying to escape the yelling and shouting that's rapidly becoming closer. "A couple of pouches of silver coins, but they came far too quick for me to grab anything greater."
"Hm. We'll talk about it later with Glimmer once we find her. Deal?"
"Deal"
Adora sees the check in point, the bar on the edge of the road that was packed to the swinging doors. Hopefully it's so packed that whoever is chasing them gives up, but that's only hoping for the best. Honestly, Adora didn't even steal that much for this big fuss to be made, and she didn't even pull her gun out either. She runs up the stairs, skipping a step as she goes, and forcefully shoves her way into the bar, praying that Bow will have the mind to separate himself from her to draw less attention.
Ah. That's why it's packed. The saloon girls are doing their show tonight, prancing around and dragging whoever is unfortunate enough back into their room for a "good time". In reality, the blindfold you and rob whatever's in your pockets, and if Adora could stand the sight of man more, she'd probably would be doing that, but here she is, a busted ear, some dumbasses following her, and in the middle of a hot, sweaty, cramped bar. Adora keeps shoving her way through, until she finds a booth hidden perfectly in the corner, the lowlight of the sunset hitting it enough to be the perfect, in sight, cover. With a few, final more shoves, and a stick of her spur against some overgrown man child ogling some blonde, she finally is able to sit down.
Sliding into the booth, Adora checks her injuries- her ear has stopped bleeding, the ankle she broke a couple of years ago feels like it'll start a flare up soon, and as always, the scars on her back burn. Overall, Adora is pretty good shape considering this is not how she wanted to spend her Friday evening. Next, her surroundings. Adora's eyes scan the place, Mermista at the bar flying out orders left and right, Seahawk putting yet another fire out. No sign of Glimmer or Bow yet, but that's to be expected, and no sign of her followers as well. She lets herself relax a bit, her shoulders slump the tinniest amount, she can almost hear Weavers cooing voice in her ear, "Adora darling, I need my girls to have the best posture if-
"Jesus. What the fuck did you do to your ear?"
Adora freezes. Its humiliating almost how immediate the sound of her voice sooths and angers her. If Adora was a better person, she would have looked away, gotten up, forgotten about her stupid fucking ear and stupid fucking Catra and her low, raspy voice. But Adora really isn't that great of a person, and like clockwork, the scars on her back burn hotter as to prove her point. Adora turns in the booth, and sure enough Catra is sitting right across from her, with a blank look on her face, accessing Adora as much as Adora is accessing her. She runs her eyes over her, and she looks good, as always. Short, tight curls resting atop her head, curling around ears, both artfully decorated with jewels and piercings. High cheekbones, beautiful different colored eyes, full lips and freckles splattered across her face, she's even more gorgeous with the notion that she's not Adora's, not anymore. She's even dressed similar to Adora, with a linen long sleeve that looks a lot like the one Adora lost a few years back, and trousers, easier to run and ride a horse in. Where is Melog anyway? Adora thought she would have spotted him earlier, but she was also busy and-
"Adora."
Shit, Adora was still staring at her. It burns to look at her, the want and grief burning in her heart, dripping out in the lines permanently in her back.
"Sorry, I-sorry. I just haven't seen you in a while, that's all."
"Yeah. Thats the point of no contact Adora.", she says, picking at her nails. "You never answered my question about your ear though."
Adora feels her face flush immediately. Catra's always known how to push her buttons, make her feel emotions she hasn't felt in a long time. This is no different. "I got caught up in something before this, you know how it is."
Catra's eyes give her a one over, looking for other injuries? Or looking for something else to make Adora feel self-conscious of. She puffs out a sigh, leaning further back into the booth, reaching up to run her hand through her hair. Adora is still mesmerized. She always has been.
There's silence now. Adora know she should look away, forget about the girl that breaks her heart, over and over again, but if Catra isn't looking away, why should she. Adora's wondered what Catra's been up to, they only parted ways about 10 months ago, but the fight had been messy and with too many emotions they both can't handle, and Adora can feel her chest tightening just thinking about it. Catra's hair is new. It used to be long and tangled with curls and Adora used to be able to run her hands through it- but not anymore. Looks like Catra took another thing away from her.
It's still silent.
"...I like your new haircut."
Catra's remains silent. There's something flashing in her eyes, making Adora feel like she's not apart of some joke. She probably is the joke. She's looking for something in Adora, scanning her eyes all over her face, sharp movements that make Adora feel nervous, and stuffy. Does Catra still hate her? She said so last time she saw her, but Catra has always been a liar, hiding herself behind sharp words and steel walls. Maybe that's why they didn't work out. Adora is too soft for all of Catra's sharp. Adora will smother and suffocate while Catra will tear everything to shreds. Even people.
Something flashes again in her eyes, a final decision perhaps? She used to be able to read Catra like an open book, know what her face looked like when they were young, what she liked in her tea in the morning, how her reflection scared her in the mirror, how she liked Adora to run her thumb over her knuckles when they held hands. She guesses she doesn't know anything about her anymore. It's a strange feeling, staring at something that used to be your everything.
She opens her mouth to say something, probably another snarky remark, when a shot blasts in the middle of the chatter of the bar. They both turn their heads, Adora remembering that she should have been looking for Bow and Glimmer, not staring at a ghost who doesn't love her, not anymore. There. Thats where the shot rang out, coming from a white-haired woman at the front of the bar. There's still smoke coming from the tip of her gun, a hole in the doorway...right next to Glimmer's head. Shit. Their followers found them.
Adora gets up from the booth, ready to run to Glimmer, when she feels a sharp pain in her upper arm. This hurts, worse than her ear and her ankle and everything before. There's chaos inside the bar now, people running everywhere, saloon girls running into the back rooms. She's shot. By who? She whips her head around. There was no one around her, and her followers haven't found her yet, the only person who she's next to is Catra, who-
Who has her gun pointed right at Adora, most likely with a bullet missing.
"You shot me?!" Adora gasps, holding her hand to her arm in shock. There's no way. Catra would never. Not even if she hated her with every part of her being, blaming Adora for something that doesn't exist. No. She couldn't have.
Catra's face goes from the blank stare she's held for their conversation to her signature smirk, her eyes hard. Adora has been on the receiving end of her smirk before, but never with malice. Catra really does hate her.
"You think you'd really be able to rob the place my team and I have been scouting for months?", she says, havoc still being raised in the bar. Adora needs to leave. Now. "Thanks to you, we won't be able to loot another place for a while, our only target that got ran down by a bunch of idiots who don't bother checking that someone else is spotting the same place they are. A dumb mistake Adora, Weaver taught you better."
She's right.
Adora stares at Catra, the blood oozing out of her arm. This is a warning. Catra could have easily shot her fatally, but she didn't. She doesn't know what burns more. Her arm, or the claw marks on her back.
They stare for a second more, and Adora turns and runs, catching eyes with Glimmer and Bow in the now near empty bar. Together, they sprint towards the back of the bar, where Swift Wind and Eternia are waiting patiently, as always. Glimmer scrambles onto Eternia, and Bow helps pull Adora onto Swift Wind. With a quick nip of her spur, they're off, leaving that damn town behind and the memories of people with it. Bow fastens a handkerchief around her arm, stopping the bleeding. They'll stop once it's safe to do so, and Adora's head is reeling.
Catra shot her. Not fully, but enough to tell Adora exactly what she needs to know. They're done, for good, Catra some unrecognizable woman in front of her, not the girl she grew up with and loved. Adora pushes down that god awful need for wanting Catra-Adora doesn't have time to want anything. Adora doesn't deserve to want anything, especially Catra. Besides, Catra doesn't want her, Catra hates her.
Maybe Adora should start hating her back. She has to.