Work Text:
Tan and rosy cheeks flashed in his memory, small calloused hands and shining pink eyes.
“Entrapta betrayed you,”
But she didn’t, did she? And she was in danger and he was sitting there stewing in anger and self hatred while she was fighting for her life.
“MmmmmmmaaHAHHHAHA, I’ll be right back!”
“Too much stimulation, the green light is different from the orange one, warmer colors are more mentally stimulating,”
“Ooh! I know I have that piece in that THING~! I’ll get it out of the
thing
and then I can make a brand NEW one!”
The slight breeze coming from her side of the room as she rambled and spun in her chair. Working in orange light was too stimulating but spinning in a chair while speaking and taking apart an invention with a small drill?
Her maniacal laughter, the way her eyes shimmer when she’s excited, the way her eyes trail away from any non-tech task when something interesting catches her attention, how excited she got when he understood what she was talking about without explanation.
“Hordak? Is this…ok?”
Small fingers trailing down his chest, long lashes against his shoulders, bony knees she couldn’t remember to keep out of his side while they were sleeping.
“Entrapta…”
He was embarrassed how quickly she’d broken him down and made him vulnerable.
“Fright Zone Log 48- I think something big is going to happen soon. I’m excited to see what happens and the way the tech reacts to it! I want to see everything in action and it wouldn’t hurt to get some field data! But… I also feel, something else. I think something bad is going to happen. I don’t know how I know that, but Catra says something will always go wrong. But that’s ok! We always adapt after things change… but… I don’t want things to change too much? I like…. How things are now. I like having friends, and the research I’m doing with Hordak, and the amazing tech I’ve got my hands on here-
Entrapta!
Oh, Catras’s calling! End Log 48!”
“Remember! Your imperfections are beautiful!”
Perhaps Catra couldn’t have anticipated how he’d react when he found out, maybe she hadn’t considered it in the heat of the moment. She didn’t know about the stolen glances, the hesitant touches, the brush of soft lips against artificial ones.
“It’s okay Hordak, it’s okay,”
Catra didn’t know the comfort of Entrapta’s shoulder, didn’t know the warmth of her tiny soups, didn’t know the way the callouses on her hands felt against her skin. She didn’t know how he broke down realizing he didn’t need to put in a new order for an exorbitant amount of batteries. She didn’t know he’d missed days of sleep, no one allowed into the sanctum to drag him away from his work.
“Hordak!”
Catra glanced over from Adora’s side, where she’d been glued to for the past few hours. It wasn’t in Hordak’s nature to forgive, but the same way Catra had refused to leave Adora’s side, Entrapta had been latched to his arm from the moment she had the chance. Hordak glanced back, the campfire between them.
It wasn’t in Hordak’s nature to forgive, but with the look they shared, he knew Catra finally understood. None of this was new, leaning on Adora’s shoulder, fingers interlaced between them, soft whispers shared between them.
Nothing was unfamiliar, Entrapta’s arms wrapped around the crook of his elbow, his ears twitching at the slightest lilt in her voice during her constant stream of chatter. For the first time in what felt like years, Hordak rested.
The camping mat wasn’t all that comfortable, but it wasn’t that different from the bunks on the Prime ship. Entrapta radiated warmth at his side, still rambling quietly under her breath as her mouth slowed down and her brain slowly followed.
“Oh… I missed you,”
Hordak pressed his cheek to her shoulder, her scent surrounding him.
“I missed you too,”