Archive of Our Own

The interior of the church is decorated beautifully, with blue bows tied to the ends of each dark wooden pew, with sparkly gold glitter decorating the ends of each ribbon. Vases with beautiful bouquets of yellow roses sit in each window, warmed by the light of the evening sun. This light refracts a rainbow of colors throughout the chapel from detailed stained glass window panes. 

“We bond these souls together in holy matrimony-” The ancient-looking priest says.

‘ Mawwiage is what bwings us togeva.’ Catra has to clench her jaw to keep herself from laughing. Princess Bride was one of her and Adora's favorite movies growing up. She looks around the church packed full of her family and friends smiling back at her, blissfully ignoring the priest's wedding speech in favor of her childhood memories.

Catra directs her attention to her best…person? The term isn’t really important right now. What is important, is the way Scorpia smiles at her. She looks very pretty in the light blue suit her girlfriend Perfuma, helped pick out. Her brown eyes shine with pride with a few tears filling them. Catra knows that Scorpia is a big sap and literally cried last week over two birds that had apparently kissed after their baby birds hatched but the sentiment is still very sweet. 

Catra herself is adorned in a crisp new white suit with a light blue tie, and a bright rose pinned to her lapel. She did her best this morning to tame her curly hair back into a low bun at the nape of her neck. She swears Scorpia had sprayed the damn thing at least seven times before the ceremony. But after her busy day, a few stray hairs still fell out, gently framing the sides of her face. 

‘ Eh, it's too late to fix it now.’ She thinks to herself.

She glances over where Glimmer and Bow are sitting on her side of the aisle and is greeted with a murderous glare. At least from Glimmer, Bow is annoyingly too nice for that and is giving her more of a pained grimace. The pair look embarrassed to be caught and change their expressions into small smiles that are more appropriate for the event.

Catra narrows her eyes at them and looks over at her bride's side, slightly larger than hers but still very nice. Her future mother and father-in-law are hard to miss, sitting in the front row, giving the soon-to-be couple cheerful smiles. 

But Catra knows that her bride is only doing this because her parents are guilting her into it. They never gave her an ultimatum, but they just kept asking and asking about it. Since the two had been friends for a while, Catra volunteered herself and the two came to a secret agreement. 

She may not love her bride, but some pretty good tax benefits come with the deal so she’s not going to complain. Catra can live with her for a few years to get her family off her back, then they can peacefully divorce in their thirties.

 Unlike her best friend, Catra will happily be seen as a bitch to an entire family, and to top it all off. Her future in-laws are so excited, they paid for the entire wedding, reception, and honeymoon to Mystacor’s finest resort/spa! Who is Catra to turn down a fancy party, plus a free vacation? 

The rest of the bride's family and friends are all smiles except for the man in the second row with shaggy blonde hair. He looks like he’s about to throw up, his eyes wide and chewing his bottom lip. A nervous habit that he shares with his twin sister. Catra can see Adam’s parents' side-eyeing him and kicking him under the pew to keep him quiet. Catra wasn’t completely sure of her suspicions before today but Adam's pained look seals the deal. Catra feels a twinge of guilt from her late realization and looks back to her bride. 

She is very pretty in her white gown. Her long red hair pulled up in some sort of half up half down style. Looking like blazing flames under the warm light of the evening sun. Her dress is a simple a-line with small pearls decorating the detailed bodice and skirt. A thin gold bracelet bumps the tips of Catra’s fingers from where their hands meet. 

Teela looks at her with a polite and friendly smile, just like her family does. Though, every so often Catra can see the guilt that she has for the whole situation in her ocean blue eyes. 

‘Shouldn’t a bride be smiling because she’s genuinely happy? Not the fake smile that’s used for awkward conversations and business meetings?‘ Catra asks herself.

Catra risks a glance at Teela’s maid of honor. Teela had met her in college in their sorority before the two swiftly quit and joined a fencing club. The two women had become fast friends, bonded together over the love of hitting things. 

“ Dorks,” Catra thinks to herself. 

Catra would have had Teela’s maid of honor as her own best man…woman…whatever, if Teela hadn’t asked her “sorority sister”- Yes Teela actually used the quotations- to be hers first. 

Her maid of honor was actually the one who brought the couple standing at the altar together. Though, Catra’s history with the other woman goes back much further than it does with Teela. 

She has been Catra’s best friend for as long as she can remember. They met back in kindergarten when the girl scraped her knee playing kickball. Catra gave the young girl half of a cookie her mom had packed to cheer her up. It seemed like food was the way to her heart because the two were inseparable ever since. Always the best of friends because Catra was too much of a coward to ever ask her out. So instead of taking the big step and asking out the girl she loves, she is marrying her ‘sister’ instead. 

‘That sounds a lot worse than it actually is.’ She sarcastically tells herself. This whole situation is so fucked. 

After reminding herself that she is standing in a decades-old church, Catra quickly looks up at the vaulted ceiling, ‘Sorry Jesus. ’ She looks back down at her best friend. 

Adora is absolutely stunning. The sun shining in from the window directly behind her makes her hair look like pure gold. It’s braided up into an intricate bun, though Catra prefers it down in its soft waves. Catra’s never been religious but the woman standing in front of her looks like an angel. Adora is staring down at the carpeted floor and playing with the stems from her bouquet of yellow roses. 

Of course, Catra only knows now how Adora feels about her. 

They are best friends who know all of each other's micro-expressions …and Adora is a shitty liar. Catra saw how confused and lost the blonde was at the engagement party. She has also noticed Adora’s short temper when talking about anything relating to the wedding. Catra may have played into the flirting and touching part of her fake relationship just a little too much. Just to see if her suspicions were right, and they were! 

But is it really worth it?

She knows that Adora is doing that thing she does when she is happy for others but is actually dying on the inside to spare their feelings. She feels awful about Adora getting dragged into this mess. But Catra knows she would have felt worse if Adora had no part in the wedding at all. 

It’s almost like Adora can feel Catra’s gaze on her because she looks right back up at the ceremony. 

Catra locks eyes with her best friend. Her eyes are teary like Scorpia’s but without the happiness filling them. Usually, her bright blue eyes would match her bridesmaid's dress perfectly but right now they look dim and gray. She is chewing her bottom lip like her brother in the crowd does, but instead of looking like she is about to puke, she just looks miserable. 

‘What the hell am I doing?’ Catra asks herself. 

“-Speak now or forever hold your peace.” The ancient priest says. 

“I do,” Teela whispers, looking down at the floor. Catra squeezes her bride's hands in hers, bringing Teela’s attention back up to her. Her eyes are tearing up, a silent apology is shared from the woman.

Catra nods at her “Me too.” She murmurs. 

The priest standing between them laughs, “Not yet.” he tells them. A confused laugh rumbles through the brides’ families.

“No I-“ Teela begins to say, turning her full attention towards the priest. 

“I object.” A voice comes from the crowd, much louder than theirs, echoing through the church. The two womens’ families gasp at the objection. Drawing everyone's attention to him, Adam stands up. 

Teela drops Catra’s hands, “Adam what are you do-” 

Adam makes his way from his pew to the altar where the two brides are standing. “Teela, I love you.” He softly smiles at her. “I have known I loved you since the first time I saw you in that little diner near campus. I love your smile, I love how absolutely brilliant you are, I even love how you can kick my ass when sparring.” 

As he says this, Catra slips away from the center of the room and over to Adora. She is standing stock still, eyes wide, pink lips slightly parted, taking in the scene before her. Catra locks eyes with Scorpia and crooks her head toward the crowd, gesturing for her to sit down then directs her attention back to Adam. 

“Most of all, I love how caring you are for your family and friends. That you would be willing to put yourself through all of this trouble just for your family.” Adam grabs her hands gently and looks at the woman with nothing but pure adoration in his eyes. 

Catra sees Teela’s eyebrows shoot up and hope fill her eyes as she looks at him. “But Tee, you don't need to do that, and if I’m right, -which I really hope I am or else this will quite frankly be the most embarrassing experience of my life-” He rambles, gaining a smile from the woman of his dreams. “-You want to marry me too.”

Catra watches Adora look back at her, concern in her eyes, silently asking if she is ok. Catra rolls her eyes and nods at the blonde. That seems to satisfy her for now, Adora turns her head back to her brother and friend. There is no doubt in Catra’s mind that Adora will want to talk about this later. 

Teela giggles, a sound that Catra is not used to hearing from the usually serious woman, “Of course I do Adam.” She tells him and goes in for a kiss. The families in the crowd are utterly confused but Catra and Adora go nuts. Their friends quickly catch on and then there's a whole group of twenty-something-year-olds whooping, and cheering for the new couple. 

The couple's lips part and Adam clears his throat, cheeks turning bright red, realizing Teela’s family is staring at them, probably very confused. Teela laughs again and rests their foreheads together, “It would be a shame to waste a perfectly good wedding.” 

Adam's eyes go wide for a moment, “Yup, a shame.” his voice an octave higher realizing what Teela is suggesting. 

Catra walks up to her best friend's brother, who she treats like her own, and wraps an arm around his shoulders, tipping the man down to her height. “I guess you’ll need a best man.” she ponders.

“Are you sure-” he starts.

Catra rolls her eyes, taking her boutonniere out of her lapel and pinning it to Adam's navy blue suit. “It's the least you can do for stealing my fiance,” she says with a smirk. Oh, Catra is going to be giving him shit about this for as long as they both shall live. 

It’s Adora who speaks next “I guess we’ll be real sisters now.” She says with a grin, coming up to Teela’s left side and bumping her with her shoulder. 

The group of four look at each other then back to the ancient priest, who looks like he's about to have a stroke, eyes wide and mouth agape. Teela takes Adam's hands back in hers and nods at the shocked man to continue from where he left off. 

The rest of the ceremony is just what anyone would want from their wedding. The couple stumbles through their vows, which were made up on the spot, but are still able to laugh and smile at each other like this is how it was always meant to be.

To be honest, Catra was relieved to see Teela marrying someone else. Plus she had someone else, maybe a certain blonde, in mind. She wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but the couple on the altar, looking at each other with pure adoration in their eyes, left a few stray tears in her eyes. 

Their families were confused at first but grew to be fine with it since they can clearly see how much the couple in front of them loves each other. 

—

It had been a rough six months for the Greyskulls. After the news came out that Teela and Catra were getting married, the twins were inconsolable. Apparently, Adam has been in love with Teela since college, and Adora… Adora was a mess. 

Her feelings became ten times harder to keep down when Teela had asked her to be her maid of honor. Not only was her friend marrying the woman she's been in love with since she doesn't even know how long, but she was also breaking her brother's heart. She had ranted about this many times to Adam, Bow, and Glimmer. With them telling her just to tell Catra about her feelings. But luckily, everything worked out in the end and she didn't have to open up to anyone …yay.

Adora was glad that her and Teela’s families were already close through their parents' business alliances and the girls being friends. If it weren't for that, half of her and Adam's family wouldn’t have attended his wedding. Catra’s family is still a little confused, but those who know Adam, and especially know how close he and Teela are, stay for the reception. 

The reception is beautiful. Teela’s family rented out a fancy restaurant overlooking the ocean. It started out as an uptight dinner, similar to those Adora’s parents used to bring her and Adam along to, to show off their family to business partners. But as the night went on, and the business friends found an acceptable time to leave, the partying began. 

Adora herself is confused as to how Catra feels about this whole situation. During planning, she had seemed excited, especially for the honeymoon. 

Adora would never admit this out loud, aside from late-night calls complaining to Bow and Glimmer, but this whole ordeal made her extremely jealous. She should have been happy that two of her best friends were getting married. Like she was at Glimmer and Bow’s wedding, but now all she felt was guilt, relief, and more guilt for feeling relief. 

But right now she has to focus on Adam and Teela’s reception. More importantly, make sure that she keeps her emotions and everything else in check so that the bride and groom can have a good time. 

A familiar voice started blaring from the speakers, breaking Adora from her thoughts. Ugh, every single, adult woman's worst nightmare at a wedding reception. 

All the Single Ladies

“All right, you guys know the drill. All the single ladies, put your hands up and move out to the dance floor for the bouquet toss!” The DJ announced. 

Adora almost groaned aloud, begrudgingly moving from her spot at the head table out to the crowded dance floor. Slipping her way through the middle and towards the back. The bouquet never makes it back this far. 

Suddenly, she bumps into someone, “Oh! I’m sor-“

“Mara Dearie!”

“-ry…” She finishes her sentence. “Grandma Razz, what are you doing?”

“Shaking my groove thing!” She yells over the loud music, shaking a broom, and her rump, in perfect time with Beyoncé. Adora has to admit that for an old woman, she is a pretty good dancer. 

“This move is how I met your grandpa!” Razz shouts again, nearly hitting Teela’s flower girl in the face with her broom. 

“You’re going to poke someone’s eye out with that thing!” Adora shouts back. Wanting to fight the old woman harder but also not wanting to make a scene. Of course this makes Razz lift the broom over her head, and push Adora away with her wrinkled right hand. 

The crowd of women packs tighter around the two and begins to count down from 10. Normally, Adora wouldn’t mind being surrounded by a crowd of single women in fancy clothes, but right now it’s slightly overwhelming. 

“For an old woman, you are weirdly strong,” Adora grumbles to herself, struggling as she continues to push towards the broom. 

“Get away!” Razz yells like a child. 

When Adora reaches her arm up towards the broom this time, a pretty bouquet of yellow and white flowers, tied together with a blue satin ribbon, falls right into her hand. 

She stares at it in shock, as cheers erupt around her. Somehow, no one had remembered just how strong Teela is, throwing her bouquet to the very back of the crowd. 

Then she’s pushed to the front of the crowd for the photographers to take pictures. When she gets up there, Teela is clutching her stomach, laughing her ass off. Adora’s face flushes with embarrassment and starts laughing along with her new sister-in-law. 

Once the photographers got the pictures they wanted, Adora gives back the bouquet and walks over to her friend's table where Glimmer is nearly in tears from cackling so hard.

“The look on your face !” She wheezes between breaths. 

“I wonder who your bride will be?” Glimmer says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Adora rubs the back of her neck and scans the large round dining table, full at the beginning of the reception but now sitting empty aside from the couple in front of her. 

“Where is everyone?” She asks, deflecting the question.

“Perfuma and Scorpia left to go walk on the beach” Bow explains, ignoring Glimmer's fake gagging motion.

“Spinnerella and Netossa are at the bar, and Mermista is trying to keep Seahawk, who is already drunk, from embarrassing her on the dance floor.” He finishes. 

“And Catra?”

Glimmer smirks at Adora while Bow scans the room for the short woman “Oh, I’m actually not sure where she went.” He tells her.

“Knowing her, she’s probably at the bar. That’s where I would be after this shit show of a day.” Glimmer says, standing up and grabbing her best friend's hands, “Now come on! Let’s go dance!” She exclaims.

The Best Friend Squad, sans Catra, has a blast on the dance floor. Adora finally relaxes and almost completely forgets about how she was feeling this morning…almost. 

She really should go check up on Catra. 

When the crowdedness of the dance floor starts to get a little too overwhelming, Adora excuses herself to go find the bathroom, but really she just wanders the empty parts of the restaurant.  Adora finds a long plain hallway, decorated with green leafy carpet from two decades ago and pictures of the ocean hung on the walls. At the end of the hallway is a dark narrow staircase leading up.

‘This place has a second floor?’ She mentally asks herself while carefully climbing the narrow stairway.

Before Adora can reach the final few steps, one of her heels gets caught in the thin fabric of her dress, falling forward, she slams her hands onto the walls beside her, making a big thud. 

‘Ugh, glad Glimmer and Bow weren’t here to see that.’ Adora breathes out her nose, silently laughing to herself. She picks up her skirt and climbs the final few steps. 

“Hey, Adora.” Catra is sitting with her legs through the small balconies railing bars, overlooking the crowd.

“How’d you know it was me?” Adora incredulously asks the back of the woman’s head. 

Catra snorts, her shoulders shaking with semi-contained laughter, “You’re not exactly quiet.” 

She feels her face go hot with embarrassment. 

Adora makes her way over to the other woman and plops down next to her, also taking in the crowd from this bird's eye view. 

“Nice catch by the way.” The woman next to her smugly says, taking a sip of the drink sitting next to her. 

“Ughhh, shut up.” Adora groans, leaning forward, bumping her head against the rail. Her reaction makes Catra laugh, the cute squeaky one she only uses when she’s relaxed. Adora finds her heart beating faster at the sound.

The two sit in comfortable silence for a few hours, only breaking it when they see Sea Hawk chanting to sing a shanty dedicated to the newlyweds, then going back to silence. 

Adora doesn’t know how but this time it’s uncomfortable. She chews on her lip, trying to figure out why it’s different now. But Catra, having known her forever, immediately notices her on-edge behavior.

Her eyebrows furrow together as she leans towards Adora’s face, “What’s wrong?”

“Why did you want to marry Teela?” Adora blurts out, instantly feeling the same guilt that she felt leading up to the ceremony. She locks eyes with Catra, the other woman’s face quickly transforming from concern to emotionless. Adora can see the drawbridge being pulled up, blocking out any outside forces. 

Adora rubs her sweaty palms on her skirt “Uh, I mean- You were so cool about Adam marrying Teela when it was supposed to be you and Teela. You two have been planning for months and he just kinda swooped in and stole your big day. It was kind of a whirlwind romance if you ask me but I also don’t really know much about relationships. Didn’t you love her? How was she able to just drag you along like that if she was in love with Adam the whole time? It doesn’t make any sense!”

“Adora, you’re rambling.” Catra cautiously reminds her. She doesn’t look sad which is good.

The blonde takes a deep breath and sighs, putting her head in her hands, “I’m just trying to piece it all together.”

The two are plunged into awkward silence once more. Adora notices the crowd is significantly smaller now. “ How long have we been up here?”

She assumes Catra is trying to find the right words to either explain the whole situation or to tell Adora to fuck off. If Catra really did want Teela, what kind of friend is Adora for frustratedly rambling about it to her? Catra showed up to the reception which means she wasn’t hurt too badly. Unless it was guilt to support Adam, who she has known as long as she’s known Adora, and Teela, one of her best friends. Adora would have done the same thing.

Hell. Adora did do the same thing just by accepting to be Teela’s maid of honor. 

“Remember those few months before Teela and I announced our engagement, right after the holidays? When Teela was annoyed by her family all month because she wasn’t married?” Catra asks her.

Adora turns her full attention to the woman next to her. “Yeah…” Adora’s not really sure where she is going with this. 

She remembers many phone calls from Teela, complaining about her family. Adora just assumed Catra saw the opportunity in the situation and made herself tell Teela about her true feelings. Even though, as her best friend who normally would be told everything about Catra’s life. Adora had either not heard anything or had not paid attention to conversations about Teela.

“Well I finally cracked and-“ 

‘Here it comes’ She dreadfully thinks to herself.

“-made a deal with her.” 

Adora’s eyebrows shoot up in shock “What? What do you mean by deal .”

“Yeah…”Catra pauses, taking a breath, thinking of her next words. “I was going to marry Teela to help her get her family off her back. In return I would get a rich wife for a few years to pay for whatever I want, who was also my friend.” She half-heartedly jokes.

Adora lets out a small laugh, “If that’s what you really wanted this whole time, we could have gotten married years ago.” Catra doesn’t respond, mismatched eyes wide, looking down at the crowd. 

‘Why did I say that? ’ Adora internally cringes, cheeks burning red. 

After the longest ten seconds of her entire life, she tries to smooth over her awkward encounter “Heh, sorry, that was stup-“ 

“Do you want to get married?” Catra blurts out.

Adora pauses “Are you drunk?” She hesitantly asks, her heart rate quickening.

“Maybe a little.” She chuckles to herself. “It doesn't matter, just answer the question dummy.” She takes a sip from the glass next to her.

“Uhh…” Adora has to restart her brain for a moment. If Catra hadn’t noticed her burning cheeks, she definitely sees them now, despite the dim lighting of the ballroom. 

“To you, right now? Or eventually?” She finally squeaks out. 

Catra laughs at Adora’s sudden nerves. Rolling her eyes, she says “Eventually, dumbass.” Her expression settles on a comfortable smile, a soft unguarded look in her eyes. 

“Umm… yes?” She takes a deep breath. “I think so. If it’s to the right girl.” She answers. Catra makes a pleased humming sound in response. 

“Whew, that was a close one.” Adora breathes a sigh in relief. The two sit in silence once more. 

“ Right now? ” The brunette mocks, in a high-pitched voice. Laughing to herself. 

Adora feels her ears burning, her heart speeding up with embarrassment. “It was a valid question.” She says, crossing her arms, attempting to defend herself. Breathing hard from laughing so much, Catra tiredly sighs and rests her head on Adora’s shoulder “You're so stupid.” she laughs. “I love you.” 

‘ Holy shit.’ Adora gasps . 

‘She meant it as a friend, idiot.’ She reminds herself, quietly laughing at herself for jumping to conclusions.

“Thank you for being with me today, even though it’s different than what you expected.” She drowsily says before slipping off to sleep. The pair sit up on that balcony for a little while longer, just watching the party finally wind down. “Do you need a ride home?” Adora asks the woman resting on her shoulder. 

Catra tiredly nods in response. “Carry me?” She asks in a raspy voice. 

Adora’s heart melts. 

She puts an arm on Catra’s lower back and under her knees, very carefully picking the woman up in an attempt not to disturb her. Catra tucks her head into the spot where Adora’s neck meets her shoulder. Her soft lips trace over her skin and leave a light kiss there. Adora swears she can feel her soul leaving her body for a moment, her heart rate quickening and temperature rising. She then carefully makes her way back down the steep stairs, hoping that she doesn’t trip over her skirt again. 

“Hey, we’re headed out.” She informs a sleepy Bow and a smug Glimmer, making their way out to their car.

“M’kay, goodnight.” Bow acknowledges, standing behind Glimmer with his arms around her torso, a sleepy smile on his face. Glimmer’s eyes are practically sparkling with the sight in front of her. 

“I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow.” Adora quickly says, swiftly making her way towards the exit. Avoiding any teasing remarks while the person Glimmer is teasing her for, is snuggled up in her arms. 

—

When Adora tries to detangle Catra to get her in the passenger seat, the woman lets out the cutest little grumble, fingers clenching the smooth fabric of Adora’s dress in an attempt to drag her down with her. 

Adora giggles to herself. “You have to let go if you want to go home.” She tells her.

Catra grumbles again “No.” she sleepily responds.

“Come on, your big comfy bed and your soft pajamas are waiting. And- I’m sure Melog will really want some cuddles when you get home.” She attempts to bargain. Catra’s tight grip loosens at the mention of her cat and she slumps down into the seat.

 That gray, fluffy, monster at home is her baby. Of course, she pretends they’re a brat in front of people, but on the inside, she would kill for them.

On the drive home, Adora nearly jumps out of her skin. She finally decided it was safe enough to turn on the radio but to her surprise, it was on full blast, reminiscent of her victory tune singalong on the way over to the reception. Her hand shoots to the knob and quickly turns it down. She looks over to Catra who is surprisingly still asleep. The moonlight bathes the woman in its soft glow, making the freckles across her nose apparent, and highlighting the soft curls spilling out of her bun. 

‘Beautiful’ Adora thinks to herself.

When they pull up to Catra’s driveway it is almost two in the morning. Adora can see a dark little lump sitting in the front window, waiting for their mom to come home. She makes her way out into the chilly night air and around to her passenger side. 

“Can you walk or do you need me to carry you again.” She says, gently shaking the woman awake.

Catra lets out a grumble then reluctantly opens her eyes. “I can do it by myself.”

She slowly gets out of the car, swaying back and forth when she’s on her feet. “Ugh… maybe not.” She admits.

Adora puts an arm under her shoulders and guides Catra towards her front door. She fumbles one-handed with her keychain. “I’m glad I have this.” She tells her friend, finally finding the spare key, letting them into Catra’s house. Once inside, Adora is met with a small mew and a fluffy gray cat rubbing against her legs.

“Aww hi baby,” she coos.

Catra happily hums and tucks her head into Adora’s shoulder. “I need to get your mama into bed, then you can get some scratchies.” Adora informs the cat before getting back to her task. The pair slowly make their way up the staircase leading to Catra’s room.

Catra mumbles something unintelligible.

“What did you say?”

She pulls her heavy head off of Adora’s shoulder. “I’m mommy” she lazily says, pointing a finger to herself “ You’re mama” Catra informs her, poking Adora in the chest. 

Adora’s dumb gay little heart flutters at the thought of being a part of Catra’s family.

“If we ever split up I want my share of custody.” 

“Hah! You wanna try taking a lawyer to court? Good fucking luck.” The brunette retorts as the two finally make it to the top of the steps. 

Catra stumbles a few feet down the hallway, to the door to her room. She snorts to herself “I thought I’d be carried to my room on my wedding night.”

Adora awkwardly laughs, following her into the room. She squints at the dark clock hanging above Catra’s dresser, making out the small numbers and ticking hands. It's late. When she turns to speak to Catra again, she is in the middle of pulling her button-down off. 

“I should probably go...” she says, quickly turning away, feeling her face get warm. 

“What? Why?” She whines. 

Adora can almost see the pout on Catra’s face. Her bottom lip poked out, her heterochromatic eyes sad. She’s a sucker for that face. Any time Catra uses it, joking or not, Adora can’t help but give in to the woman's wishes. 

“I’ll come by tomorrow I promise.” She says gently smiling to herself, trying not to give in. 

Suddenly she feels a weak grip on her wrist. She turns and looks at Catra, messy brown hair free from the bun, falling around her shoulders, drowning in an old sweatshirt from college. She sees a few tears escape her eyes and down her freckled cheeks.

“Catra?” She carefully asks, moving her other hand up to Catra’s shoulder. 

“Stay,” she weakly, desperately replies, staring down at the floor.

More tears escape from her eyes, her hand tightens its hold onto Adora’s wrist.

“Please?…For me?” 

‘She has to be super drunk. Sober Catra would never say any of this . At least not this bluntly. ’ She reasons with herself. 

“I’m sorry I lied about my relationship with Teela. I was scared because… because…” She is cut off by a sob, her whole body shaking. 

The dark-haired woman takes a moment to catch her breath, “You’re too good for me Adora.” She admits, then miserably laughs.

‘What? What the hell does that even mean?’

“I don’t care if you hate me, but please… just-,” She sighs, “just stay with me tonight. We can pretend it never happened in the morning, but please just give me tonight.”

Her grip loosens and she slowly slumps down onto her bed. 

“Ok” Adora ends up saying. Giving the woman a soft smile. Shes not sure how exactly to process all this right now. Maybe waiting until morning will give her time to think.  

“Really?” Catra asks, hope filling her teary eyes.

‘Was there really any other answer?’ 

“Yeah, I’ll stay.” She agrees, gently smiling down at her lifelong crush. 

Catra happily sighs and snuggles into her covers. Adora makes her way over to Catra’s closet, grabbing an old red t-shirt and some athletic shorts. They're kind of tight but they'll work to sleep in. She makes her way back over to the bed, crawling under the plush comforter with Catra. The two women face each other, sleepily smiling and enjoying one another's company. Catra reaches a hand over and begins pulling out the pins and clips holding Adora’s hair up in its complex style. 

“When you’re forty and bald, don't come crying to me.” A snuggly Catra says, the snark from normal Catra seeming to return. 

The two sit in a comfortable silence once more. Adora watches Catra’s face as she methodically pulls out the small pins. After she is finished taking out the final one and placing it on the nightstand with the rest, she massages Adora’s scalp, fingers working out any tangles, leaving it in soft curls. 

Adora closes her eyes and happily hums to herself. “Love you.” She sleepily says.

The fingers gently coming through her hair, freeze in place at the words. Catra quickly pulls her hands from Adora’s hair and flips around to face the other direction. “Goodnight.” She quickly says. 

Adora chews on her bottom lip. ‘ What was that about?’ She thinks to herself before retreating to her side of the bed and flipping around to look at the wall. ‘ I guess we’ll talk in the morning.’

—

Catra finds herself in her bed, blinking a bit tiredly after the previous day's events. It’s nearly six a.m. way too early to be up, especially after the night she just had. A failed wedding, Adam marrying Teela, and the real reason. She had one night of stress but for today she should just rest, she tells herself. 

She turns over to her other side. Mid-shift she bumps into a large warm mass. She is surprised to see Adora, soundly asleep right next to her. 

Her eyes go wide. ‘ What the fuck did I do?’ 

Catra lies on her back and tries to remember what happened. She was drunk, Adora helped her, she drove her home, and-

" Do you want to get married?"

"I love you"

The memories of the night before flash into her mind. She curses herself for allowing herself to get so drunk. 

Her thoughts are interrupted by Adora letting out a happy sigh, and shifting to lay on Catra’s shoulder. Catra melts on the inside. She moves an arm under the blonde's head to make her more comfortable. Allowing her to tuck closer into Catra’s body, wrapping an arm around her chest. She selfishly places a kiss on top of Adora’s head, imagining a world where every day would begin like this one. Adora sleepily tucks her head into Catra’s neck, and her heart soars from the movement. Catra can remember herself doing the same thing the night before. 

‘ Whatever the hell happened last night? That’s a problem for future Catra.’ Content in the warm embrace, Catra falls asleep again. 

—

The second time she wakes up that day, it is to cold sheets next to her, and an absence of a certain cozy blonde. Though, she is pleasantly surprised by the savory scent of bacon weaving its way throughout the house. This is a relaxing thought until she remembers that the last time Adora cooked, it was kind of edible but she had burnt her hand in the process. 

Catra quickly makes her way downstairs to her kitchen, her head throbbing with every step. As she makes her way down the narrow hallway to her kitchen, her foot catches on a box and she slams her shoulder into the wall. 

“Fuck” she takes a minute to check if her foot was injured and if she harmed the wall somehow. She didn’t. 

A giggle comes from the kitchen. “I’ve done that about 3 times already.” Catra looks up to see Adora is wearing one of her old shirts, leaning up against the doorframe. Her hair hangs messily around her shoulders. It’s a beautiful sight to see. 

“Why are there so many boxes anyways?” Adora asks.

Catra makes her way towards the delicious scent on the stove. The bacon is already sitting on a plate, surprisingly not burnt, and ready to be served. Adora’s moved on to pancakes, light brown and fluffy in the pan. “I was supposed to be moving in with Teela. Luckily I hadn’t made any plans to sell this place.” She says, taking over the pancakes.

The plan was for Catra to partially move into Teela’s apartment to keep up the act of the happily married couple. Once they got a divorce, Catra could just move back into her old space. That's why most of her stuff is still in its regular spots except for the few stray boxes. 

“Oh.”

“Yup…” 

Catra can see Adora awkwardly shuffle out of the corner of her eye. Luckily Melog wanders in and distracts her. 

Catra is the first to break the silence. “You know, I’m surprised you didn’t burn the bacon. Do you have any injuries you’re hiding from me?” She smirks at her friend, looking her up and down for any burns.

Adora rolls her eyes “You’re just jealous that my cooking skills are better than yours.” She holds her head up high, clearly proud of her work. 

Catra laughs in her face “You really want to test your theory?” 

Adora drops her smug grin for a half-hearted glare. “Shut up.” She says, shoving Catra with her shoulder. Catra transfers the pancakes over to a plate for her and Adora, and the two sit at Catra’s breakfast nook. 

This is probably her favorite spot in the house, when she has the time to actually enjoy it. Usually, work has her coming in at early hours and leaving late, missing the sunshine. Right now the light streaming through her window makes her feel nothing but warmth from its rays… and from the company she has.

Catra chews on a strip of bacon. It is crispy, just how she likes it. She can’t tell if Adora had actually remembered that or if it was caused by her “cooking skills”. Either way, it’s really good. She hears the woman across from her pause her eating. 

‘Wow, I didn’t know she could do that.’ She attempts to joke with herself but realizes what’s coming.

“Are you sad about not marrying Teela?” Adora asks her.

“Didn’t we already have this conversation?”

“Yeah but I want to hear sober Catra’s answer.”

“No. I did not want to marry her.” Catra quickly says. 

“Don’t you want to take time to think it over? Perfuma always talks about giving yourself time to process your emotions before talking about them.” Adora says, confusion clear on her face. 

“I don’t need to think it over. I had a hunch that she had a crush on Adam.” 

“Hah, didn’t we all…wait. But why-“ she stumbles, scrunching her eyebrows together. “Then why didn’t you convince Adam to marry her? Or if he was too scared, why not me?” 

Even sitting in this sunny spot, filled up with warm food, could not stop the chill of her blood that came with that question. No. Oh, absolutely not. That would have broken both her and Adam’s hearts. Is this how Adora felt over these past few months? Catra doesn’t even let herself follow that train of thought. 

She rolls her eyes at her friend, attempting to hide her apprehension.“Because you always pull shit like this. You are always the one that has to do everything for everyone else. You’re always the selfless one, taking the fall for others. Maybe I wanted to do something good for someone this time.” 

“I-“ Adora sighs, looking out the window. “You hurt me. It hurt that my best friend had lied to me about a relationship with one of my other friends.”

“Ugh,” The woman across from Catra groans, putting her head in her hands. “Here I am again, making it about myself when I should be helping you process.” 

Catra reaches a hand over, lightly grabbing Adora’s wrist. “Hey,” she softly says, getting the blonde’s attention. “I don’t need help processing. I'm truly fine with my life. It’s just like how it was six months ago.” 

She pauses for a moment. “The only thing I need to process right now is what stupid crap I said when I was drunk.” Adora laughs at her dumb joke and looks back up at her with a gleaming smile. 

“I love you.” 

Catra’s world stops.

“What?” 

Adora laughs, “Drunk Catra said she loved me when we were at the reception,” she says with a teasing grin. Apparently, her friend can’t tell how much she is freaking out inside. She takes her silence for embarrassment. 

“It’s fine Catra, I love you too. You’re my best friend!” 

And doesn't that just make everything worse. Normally this is the part where Catra would tease Adora for liking her but for some reason, this morning she doesn’t have it in her. 

"Oh," she weakly replies, great, so that's how you think of me. A tear escapes from Catra's eyes. It doesn't take long to notice Adora said something she shouldn't have. This is exactly the reason she didn't ask because she knew this would happen. She planned on not doing this, telling herself she wouldn't break down.

But now it hurts a lot more than expected.

“Oh shit, Catra I’m so-“ 

If she told Adora she loved her she might as well follow through with it. What does she have to lose? 

“Don’t you understand that, that’s the problem?” She tells at the woman across from her. “I don’t want to be your friend! ” She looks down at the floor, attempting to hide the embarrassing tears on her face. 

“Oh…” That’s all Adora can say. 

“ Oh” Catra repeats, chuckling to herself at Adora’s eloquence. She’s terrified of losing her best friend but still falls back on her old coping mechanisms. The silence in the room is deafening. A few minutes pass by. Neither of the women knows what to do with Catra’s confession. 

Catra hears the woman across from her take a deep breath. “If that’s what you want,” Adora sounds like she is struggling to get the words out. “I guess I’ll go then…” She puts her dishes in the sink and makes her way to the front door, leaving Catra in the kitchen. 

Catra sits in silence, she realizes how her words must have sounded. Adora thinks she doesn't want her as a friend, or as anything now. 

She rushes to her door at the same time Adora is shutting it. She forcefully grabs the knob and pulls it open. Adora is stopped in her tracks on her driveway, with tears streaming down her face. 

“Catra?” She stomps towards the blonde.

“You’re such an idiot.” Catra grabs the sides of Adora’s face and pulls her in.

Her lips crash into Adora’s, desperate and hard. Adora makes a muffled sound of surprise and then leans in to her, her fingertips brushing against the base of Catra’s neck. She couldn’t pull her close enough, couldn't stand to have them even an inch apart.

They eventually have to break away for air, resting their heads together, breathing in and out together.

“…What just happened?” The blonde breathlessly asks, a soft smile on her face.

Catra rubs her fingers along Adora’s cheeks and looks her in the eyes, gaining her full attention. “I love you.” She smiles at the woman in front of her. The response is better than anything Catra has ever seen. 

Adora grins like an idiot. Her eyes sparkling like the morning sun. “Wow,” she sounds giddy. Her cheeks are pink from the loss of air.

“Anything you want to say back?” She teases. This brings Adora back to reality. There is still a small chance that Adora doesn’t want to bring this any further but Catra is done hiding her feelings. Adora leans into the hand on her cheek, blue eyes looking into Catra’s. “I love you too.” She gasps at herself before laughing. “I never thought I would be able to say that.” 

She continues. “The wedding made me realize that I was going to miss my chance to be with you. I knew I loved you before you and Teela ever announced your relationship, probably even before we ever graduated college.” 

She takes a deep breath. “But I was either too stupid to realize what I felt for you was more than platonic, or too scared to ever put our friendship in danger. I should have told you sooner and I am so sorry for that ” Adora rambles, staring down at her shoes like a kicked puppy.

“Don't apologize.” Catra pulls Adora’s chin up to look her in the eyes, “I should be the one apologizing to you. You were right earlier. You should be mad at me. I lied to you about my relationship and purposefully caused you pain through it. I wanted it to hurt you. I wanted you to finally realize what you were missing out on because I could never let you go and was too much of a coward to actually tell you.” 

She takes a breath. “I lied to myself through it too. I kept thinking that maybe if I had a fake relationship I would finally move on from how I feel.” She pauses. “But I don't think I could ever do that, willingly or not. I have loved you for as long as I can remember and I don’t think anything will ever change that.” 

“This sounds like a proposal,” Adora says.

“Buy me dinner first.” Catra quips back. 

“I'll take that as you want me to be your girlfriend?” The blonde smirks at her.

“Ehh…” Catra teases, scrunching up her nose. In what world would she ever say no to that question. 

“Asshole.” 

Catra dramatically sighs.“I guess you can be my girlfriend.” She smiles at the blonde. Adora leans towards her. Their lips meet again. It’s not as rushed as their last kiss. Instead, this one is slow and loving, and indescribably perfect.

“I love you too.” Adora kisses her on the nose. Catra rolls her eyes at her girlfriend's shenanigans … wow girlfriend! She could get used to that.

“Come on, let's go inside. Melog needs breakfast.” She grabs the woman's hand and the couple walk towards the house, swinging their hands and laughing. 

—

The morning sun shines brightly on the ceremony and fluffy white clouds move slowly through the sky. The botanical garden is decorated beautifully. White bows are tied to the backs of each seat, with sparkly gold glitter decorating the ends of each ribbon. An arch with beautiful bouquets of red and white roses, symbolizing unity, a fact Catra did not know until Perfuma mentioned it, sits at the end of the aisle. 

“We bond these souls together in holy matrimony-” Micah reads from a little book he brought.

‘ Mawwiage is what bwings us togeva.’ She thinks to herself.

Catra has to clench her jaw to keep herself from laughing. When she locks eyes with her bride it’s like they can read each other's minds. She squeezes her hands. Her bright blue eyes gleam as she looks at Catra. 

Adora is nothing short of stunning. Her golden hair is down around her shoulders for once. Her dress is white and poofy, with delicate lace decorating the bodice, making her look like a princess.

Catra never thought she would ever get a chance with Adora. Thinking she was straight during middle school. Watching her date other women through college. Then herself being the one to almost get married to someone else while still loving Adora. 

She never thought this day would actually come but it would be a lie to say she didn’t fantasize about it. There may be a diary at her old home in a box under her bed, filled with her deepest darkest secrets, wants, and plans, but that’s for her to know and to probably burn later. 

The pair had dated for two years before deciding to get married. They know everything about each other, moved in together after Adora’s lease was up, and have a cat together, who is looking very dapper in their bow tie. It was like they were married already, so they might as well just seal the deal. 

“If anyone has a reason as to why these two should not be married, please speak now or forever hold your peace.” Micah says. 

The two brides turn towards Adam, sitting in the front row next to Teela and a baby carrier. He puts his hand up to his mouth and makes the zipping lips motion. The two brides burst out in giggles and those who attended the previous Greyskull wedding follow. 

The two brides turn back to Micah who wears a toothy grin. “Do you Catra, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” 

She looks at her bride and smiles. “I do.”

Micah turns to Adora. “Do you Adora, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” There is no need for her to be nervous, both Adora and Catra already know the answer.

“I do.” She squeezes Catra’s hands. 

“I now pronounce you wives, you may now kiss your bride!” Catra sneaks an arm around Adora’s waist and pulls her closer. 

“And how are you this morning, Mrs. D’riluth?” the brunette smirks.

Adora scrunches up her nose. “Are you quoting-“ she pauses and cuts herself off.Adora grins, sliding a hand up around the back of Catra’s neck. She leans in, putting their foreheads against each other. “Completely, perfectly, and incandescently happy.” 

The couples lips meet in their first kiss of many as wives.