Archive of Our Own

The bridge is jammed. Cars are all that Catra has seen in the last hour. She wishes she could turn around, drive back home and maybe even cry a little. The sun is out. Today is a beautiful day. Catra can't believe that she is wasting it on… well a funeral. She looks outside, sees a group of kids walking by. They're eating ice cream. Catra could have done that today. If the damn funeral hadn't come up then god… she would have gotten ice cream. Maybe invited Scorpia and Entrapta. But she can't invite Scorpia because they're in a fight right now. And she can't invite Entrapta because she's seeing her at the very same funeral. And she can't fucking get ice cream because she has to go to the stupid funeral.

The song that was playing changes and she picks up her phone to skip the sad, mellow ballad that's about to come up. While she already has her phone in her hand she decides to check her messages. No new messages. She frowns. Scorpia seems to still be mad. She scrolls through her messages, down to the archived ones. One chat. The golden hour profile pic, perfect as ever. Blonde, soft falling hair and incredible blue eyes.

"She's dead. Last night, her heart. Lonnie will send u the details for the funeral." That's it. Short, snappy and condensed. Like every conversation they've had since they were sixteen. Catra sighs. She closes the message and puts her phone back on her lap. Finally the cars in front of her start moving. At least a little bit. It's a shame really. Today is such a nice day.

She arrives at the church a little late. Parking was a nightmare. But apparently she still made it in time since nobody seems to have taken a seat yet. People are standing around in small groups. In the front row Catra spots Lonnie and Kyle and a guy she has never seen before holding the hands of both of them. Interesting. A row behind them Hordak and Entrapta. Catra didn't actually expect her to come, Entrapta lacks empathy at times, but she's Hordaks best friend so she wanted to be there for him.

Other attendees seem to be made up of people around Catras age, probably other foster kids taken in by the old lady, and an odd amount of people in robes and heavy jewelry. Yeah, she can't quite put a finger on who they are yet. Catras eyes scan over the crowd and she's trying to tell herself that this is all alright but when they land on a particular person she feels a panic begin to brew in her stomach.

Adora is wearing a black pantsuit. It fits too perfectly to be bought from an H&M so it must be custom-made. Like always seeing Adora is like a hit in the gut. She is talking to a couple. The man is one of the robed and heavily jeweled people. The woman next to him is beautiful. Slim, tall, with long red hair that seems to have a pinkish hue to it. Her exquisitely fitting dress has a royal purple undertone to the black.

They seem quite lost in the conversation but then Adoras eyes flicker right to the back of the church. Right where Catra is standing in the only black, not cheap-looking outfit she has. It's a black loose hanging suit that Scorpia bought her for an event once. Adoras eyes flicker back to the couple, then back to Catra and then they stay on her. They look at each other for a couple of seconds, then someone walks past Catra and the eye contact breaks. Thinking that's about it Catra gathers herself. Breathing in, breathing out.

Until she looks up again and sees Adora giving a nod to the couple and then moving through the room in her direction. Shit. Catra quickly shakes off the panic. Breathing in, breathing out. By the time Adora has made her way through the pews she almost feels okay again.

"Hey Adora." Yeah, if she wasn't stuck inside her own body Catra would believe herself to be sane. "Catra.", Adora says and it sounds… almost happy. "Sorry I didn't come over earlier but I didn't see you." So professional, so Adora. "It's okay. I just came in five minutes ago. Shouldn't the service have started by now?" Catra plays it cool. "Yeah, we're having some delays but we'll start in a couple minutes.", Adora answers.

An awkward silence starts to break out between the two of them and Catra says the first thing that comes to her head: "So I saw you talking to that couple over there…", she doesn't finish her sentence. "Oh yeah… those are Micah and Angella. They used to be in a sort of convent with Light.", Adora stops for a second. Catra gets why. It's uncomfortable using her real name. When they were still friends they had a nickname they used for her. But she realises the mean-spirited nature of the nickname would make it awkward to say at her funeral.

"And you know them?", Catra asks to keep the conversation rolling. "Yeah… they're the parents of my best friend. Unsurprisingly everybody knows each other in this town. So they were friends with…", this time Adora doesn't finish her sentence. And again the awkward silence starts. "So did you see Lonnie and Kyle?", Adora asks. "Of course. Do you think there's something going on between them and their friend over there?", Catra says and yes… even she can hear the gossipy undertone in her voice. "Oh yeah definitely.", Adora answers grinning at her, "Good for them, they look somewhat… happy." Catra grins back immediately, only to frown just a second later. What is going on with her?

The awkward silence breaks out again and wow this time it's crushing. But it's interrupted by the priest walking in and giving Adora a little hand-sign. "Ah looks like we're about to start. I've got to go… but maybe we'll talk after the service?", Adora looks hopeful and Catra hates it. "Yeah… maybe.", she says quietly. Adora starts making her way to the priest but then she quickly turns around again. "Hey, Catra.", she says in a hushed voice. "Yeah?", Catra answers in the same hushed tone. "Did you know Shadow-Weaver was in a convent?" Catra feels a small smile break out on her face.

The service is beautiful. People cry but that may just be because it's a funeral. Catra doesn't cry but she feels the gut-wrenching urge to. Afterwards everybody walks along with the coffin to the grave. The priest says his last words, then he encourages people to step up and say their last goodbyes to Shadow-Wea- Light Spinner. Lonnie surprisingly steps up, Hordak, the guy that Adora said was called Micah and then Adora. Catra considers but then she doesn't. They lower the coffin, they fill the hole up with dirt, they place a little cross on the grave, soon to be replaced by an actual headstone. And then they leave. Most of them anyway.

Catra is the last one at the grave. She stands there for a long time looking at the lot. The place where the woman who raised her for ten years of her childhood will rest forever. She tries to say a proper goodbye, she really tries. But there's just no words that would ever be enough to make her feel better. She can't say goodbye because she's not done with Shadow-Weaver yet. She hasn't said everything she wants to say. She hasn't screamed out all the grief this woman gave her yet. It's still a part of her. Looking down at this pile of dirt, she realises it always will be. It will lay on her soul for the rest of her life and she just has to go on with it. There's nothing she can do.

A couple of tears finally come out. They drop on her only black, not so cheap-looking outfit. She wipes off the tears in her eyes with her sleeve. Breathing in, breathing out. She composes herself, turns her back and leaves the graveyard.

Catra walks back to her car, only to be greeted with a tall, blonde surprise. Adora is leaning against the hood, somewhat busy on her phone. When she hears Catra footsteps coming she looks up. "So I was right. This is your car." She pushes away from the red Mazda that Catra bought with her first paycheck. "Yep, you were correct. Now can I get in?", she doesn't mean for it to sound so blunt and rude but she can't deal with Adora right now. "Catra…", Adora says and she sounds sad. "Please I just need to go. Get away from here.", Catra responds sounding desperate. Adora nods. "How about a drink? At my place?"

This stops Catra in her tracks. In her head she ponders the question. Pro? A drink. Con? At Adoras place. Pro? No two hour drive back home. Con? Adora probably wants to have a drink together. Pro? Alcohol. "Sure.", Catra answers. Adora looks surprised. "Really?" Catra sighs. "I just need to get this day out of my system. Please." Adora nods. "Okay… Just follow me with your car." Adora walks over to a sleek, white BMW parked just a couple parking spaces down. Catra slightly rolls her eyes. Of course she would have a BMW.

They arrive just twenty minutes later at the other side of town. It's a bit of a sheltered neighborhood. Pretty, little cottages stand side by side and both Adora and Catra pull into the driveway of a white one that's been overgrown by ivy. It's beautiful. They enter and Catra experiences a bit of a culture shock in the matter of seconds. The house inside is much modern than the exterior lets on. There's a little entryway that opens up the living room, right next to which, through a big wooden door, is what Catra presumes to be the kitchen. But the eye-catcher is the glass front at the back which lets you see the garden that's filled with flowers and a cherry tree.

"Wow the only thing missing is the maid.", Catra murmurs. "Oh she only comes by on Tuesdays.", Adora says. Catra turns her head, her eyes widened. "I'm kidding.", Adora laughs. "I take care of this house all by myself." She looks proud of herself. Catra can't help but feel jealous over that. Adora has this incredible life. She has this incredible house. All Catra has is a shitty one-bedroom apartment and her old Mazda.

And then there's the little part in her mind that is going 'Why did she even invite me here? Adora doesn't need me.' but Catra quickly shuts it down. It's fine, she's fine.

"Just make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back.", Adora says. She walks up a flight of stairs that Catra didn't notice when they walked in. The space above is open and she can see the bed and a table with office supplies up there. Adora quickly walks past that and then disappears somewhere. While Catra is alone she sneaks around the living room. Every little thing gets inspected. Adora has modern art hanging up on her walls. Something that Catra thinks is ugly and redundant. She has magazines neatly laid out on her coffee table, obviously for visitors to read. Between the room, that Catra now confirms as the kitchen, and the living room is a small window and a little counter. On top of it there's a jar filled with change. And next to it…

Catra can't make it out from where she's standing so she moves a little closer. But just then Adora comes back down. She's wearing a light white blouse now and black pants. When she sees what Catra is staring at she quickly moves over the room and hides whatever it was behind the jar of change. Then she turns around and smiles "So what's your poison?"

Three glasses of wine in Adora is nothing more than a blubbering mess. "Do you remember that day we stole Shadow-Weavers amulet? God she was mad.", she's slurring the words a bit but Catra can still make out most of them. "Yeah I remember that.", she says. She's keeping her voice low, trying to downplay how uncomfortable she is. She takes another sip from the big wine glass. Glasses honestly aren't her style, neither is wine. Usually she and Scorpia buy a bottle of tequila and take shots from the bottle until one of them passes out.

God, suddenly Catra remembers Scorpia, the fight. She didn't think about that all day. But now that she's got some quiet again it all comes back to her. "Do you remember…", Adora starts again but Catra cuts her off. "Listen Adora. I'm gonna go. This was nice but I need to head back home, preferably while I'm still under the drink-drive limit." She sounds harsh but is there really any other way to sound when you're leaving a person who makes you feel the way Adora makes Catra feel?

"No. Don't go." Adora says and this time the words are clear and not slurred. "I have to go really.", Catra sighs. Adora looks sad. "Please stay.", she says quietly. "Listen…", there's no other way to say it, "I just want to go and get this damned day over with because tonight I'm going to go to bed and hate myself." She takes her bag and her coat which she has neatly laid on the couch. And then she hears Adora answer. And it makes her stop in her tracks and turn around. "Then don't go. Stay. Stay the night. We will drink until tomorrow and the whole night will pass and you won't have time to hate yourself." Adora's face is serious. She looks serious. And beautiful but mostly serious.

"So I will just hate myself tomorrow.", Catra answers in an attempt to not say yes. Adora thinks for a while and then says: "Maybe… but you won't hate yourself tonight." And Catra knows that this is stupid and temporary and won't fix anything long-term. But it's also tempting. So she says: "Okay but please get me something better to drink." Adoras lips curve into a smile. "And turn on some music while you're at it."

They listen to House which Adora seems to have downloaded on her phone. A surprising aspect that Catra never would have expected from someone like Adora. They've made themselves some cocktails with whatever Adora had in her kitchen and have taken a seat on Adoras couch. It's pretty comfortable and if Catra wasn't Catra she'd probably feel right at home here. "So…", Adora breaks the silence that has been there for a while now, "...did it ever work out with that restaurant job you applied for?"

Catra sighs. She knew that eventually they would have to get around to the smalltalk. "Yeah it did actually.", she answers and hopes that that's enough. "Really? So how is it?", Adora asks and she genuinely sounds curious. "It was okay for a while. I worked myself up in the kitchen, got pretty good at my job there actually. I was a sous-chef for a while. And then they fired me.", Catras voice sounds monotone because she can't and won't let her words mean anything. "Oh…", Adora looks embarrassed. Like she stepped into something that she didn't mean to. "It's okay though. Me and my friend opened up our own restaurant and it's going okay I would say." Until she and her best friend had a huge fight of course, but Catra isn't going to tell Adora about that.

"Wow Catra. That sounds amazing. You'll have to tell me the name. I want to come by sometime.", Adora genuinely sounds like she means it. Catra turns red. "No you don't have to.", she says and looks the other way so that Adora won't see the blush on her face. "No, I really want to." Catra almost smiles but then she catches herself. "So what about you? What have you been up to?" Yeah, now it's Adoras time to suffer through the smalltalk. "Oh, I'm a therapist now.", Adora answers. "A therapist, wow. Are you any good?", Catra asks. "I wouldn't know. You'd have to ask my patients. But I think so." Catra is just going to assume that she is because how else would Adora be able to pay for this incredible house.

"Kids or adults?", Catra says. She's gonna keep on this subject as long as she can just to avoid talking about herself. "Kids, sometimes teenagers.", Adora answers. "And you like it?" It takes some time before Adora answers. She seems to genuinely think about the question in depth. Then she says: "I love the job. Helping others. I think it's what I was supposed to do. But I don't think I like every aspect of it." She sounds so serious and Catra looks over to her again. She has a small frown on her face. "Such as?", Catra asks. "I don't know… it's hard. All these kids, they've gone through so much hardship already and they're still so young. It weighs on your soul a bit and yet all I can do is try my best to listen to them and give them the advice they need.", Adora looks down at her glass then up at Catra and smiles a bit. "They're kids like us, you know?" Catra does know." Kids like us… ", She repeats.

Half an hour into their blatant day drinking there's a ring at the door. Adora looks up confused. "I wasn't expecting company.", she says and gets up. Catra stays on the couch. She hears the door opening and then someone speaking. Then she doesn't hear anything for a while except some slight murmurs.

Curious what's going on, she gets up and walks to the door. A woman around her age, very small, especially in comparison to Adora. She has a cute, short haircut and everything about her screams adorable. She's holding a wicker basket in her arms filled with fruit. Also she reminds Catra of someone but she can't quite put her finger on it. "Ahem…", Adora clears her throat after an uncomfortable amount of time during which none of them speak. "Catra, this is Glimmer."

The uncomfortable way in which they are introduced almost makes Catra wonder if Glimmer is Adoras girlfriend but then she clarifies: "She's my best friend. The daughter of Micah and Angella." Ah, the puzzle pieces fall into place. "Hi.", the girl says and Catra nods in response. "I was just dropping something off.", she points to the wicker basket in her arms with her chin. Adora holds out her hand and takes the wicker basket. "Now that that's done…", she says but Glimmer interrupts her: "How about I come in for a drink.", she says all cheerily. Adora looks to Catra who just shrugs her shoulders. "Yeah sure.", she then says.

Glimmer seems nice enough. Just like everything about her she even has a sparkly personality. That's exactly what she's been denoted to in Catras head. Sparkles. Catra feels weird hanging out with Adora and Sparkles. Like she's intruding on something. Like she's a college kid who's stumbled into a party that she wasn't invited to. Which is odd because she remembers being here first. In every sense of that logic she was first. But still she feels like the odd one out.

"So Catra what do you do?" Not this spiel again. "I'm a chef.", she just answers. "Really, where do you work?", Glimmer aks. Catra is starting to wonder if they put anything in the drinking water here. Everyone seems to be an attentive listener, genuinely curious and overly chatty. She hates it. "It's called Perfumas Place. We bought it from someone else and decided to keep the name. New sign would have been to expensive. Though it worked out because the former owner is now my business partners girlfriend." Glimmer nods, showing that she is listening to every word."Perfumas Place… I think I know it.", she says but Catra just shrugs it off. She probably doesn't. She's just trying to keep the conversation pleasant.

They keep talking, though Catra keeps out of most of the stuff. Until fifteen minutes later when Glimmer suddenly says: "No, I remember. Perfumas Place- that's where Scorpia works." Catra is surprised to say the least. No offense but Glimmer does not seem like someone Scorpia would hang out with. "You know Scorpia?", she asks. "Yeah her parents are on the PHPP committee with mine." Catra really can't follow. "The what?", she asks dumbly. Adora sighs. "Princesses helping princesses program. It's a thing our community does.", she says and for once she doesn't sound excited over something.

Almost like she's waiting for Catra to make fun of it. And god, is she right. "Princesses helping princesses? Can't believe you're that far in Adora.", she says teasingly. "I know it sounds ridiculous.", Adora says. Catra snorts. "Yeah it does." Small giggles are breaking out of her. "It's actually a really cool thing okay? We help girls in our town with schoolwork, hobbies and even to get into colleges.", Adora snarls and she sounds genuinely annoyed. Catra sighs. "Yeah it sounds cool… whatever." Glimmer is looking between them and she has a small frown on her face. Like she's a queen that's just been insulted by a servant.

She clears her throat. "So how is Scorpia doing?", she asks. Immediately Catra stops laughing. "I don't know… we haven't talked in a while.", she tries to sound unbothered but it doesn't work. She is bothered. "You haven't talked to your business partner in a while?", Glimmer asks sceptically. "Yeah… we had sort of a…", Catra doesn't finish her sentence, "... Also we're not just business partners, we're best friends." She sounds snarky. Even she can hear it. Adora awkwardly sighs.

"Glimmer… it's been good having you over but I think it's time to go now.", she tries to salvage the mood. Glimmer nods. Adora and her get up and go to the door together. Catra awkwardly says her goodbyes. She feels miserable.

Adora comes back into the living room and takes a seat next to Catra." So… what was that?", she asks sternly. Catra looks at her, eyebrows furrowed, desperate not to answer. "Adora.", is all she can whisper. All that comes out of her mouth. Adora shakes her head lightly. "Come on. Please. We used to be able to talk. What happened to us?" Catra knows what happened. But she can't let herself go back there. Not right now. So she lets herself go somewhere else. "We had a fight. Me and Scorpia, we had a fight."

Adora looks surprised that Catra answered. "So what? Everybody fights once in a while ." Catra could laugh at that. Yeah… everybody does probably but it's not the same. "God I am way too sober for this.", she says instead of answering. Adora looks at her, gets up and goes to the kitchen. She comes back with a bottle of Vodka. "Fine… We've been avoiding the complete state of drunkenness all day. Let's go for it."

They take turns drinking and eventually they start a game. Everytime someone takes a shot the other one has two tell two truths and a lie. The other one has to guess what the lie was. "I have a friend who's a marine biologist, I love my friends very much and I have a tattoo of a pegasus somewhere on my body.", Adora says when it's her turn again. Catra laughs. "Oh come on, you have to take it seriously.", she says. Adora grins at her. "Guess which one is the lie.", she laughs. "Fine, it's the tattoo one… obviously.", Catra answers. "Actually…", Adora snickers in between sentences, "My friend isn't a marine biologist. She's a maritime lawyer."

Catras eyes go wide. "Well now you have to show me." Adora smiles and pulls back her white blouse. Right there on her shoulder is the outline of a pegasus. It's actually quite tastefully done, with little vines and flowers tattooed around it. But Catra can't help but laugh. "I can't believe this. On the one hand it's a tattoo and that's so not you but on the other hand it's a Pegasus and that's… just… wow." She takes a shot just so she will stop laughing.

Promptly she chokes on it. Adora gets into a frenzy over this and starts hitting her lightly on the back. When her throat finally clears up again they're both hysterically laughing. Adora falls from the couch because she can't stop and Catra just let's herself roll down and fall on top of her. It's easy when she let's it be easy. Now that the alcohol has actually had the desired effect it's easy. She gets comfortable on top of Adora, putting her legs on the shoulders and planting her butt right on the stomach. Then she lays back so she's looking up at the ceiling.

"I crashed her car by the way.", Catra murmurs. "What?", Adora asks, she sounds like she's just been pulled out of a daydream. "My best friend… I crashed her car. That's what the fight was about." Adora doesn't answer for a while. "On purpose?", she then continues and it sounds careful. Like she doesn't want to step into a metaphorical mine. "No.", Catra says first but then she thinks it over, "Kind of.", she quietly admits.

Adora sits up, leaning on her arms. Catras feet slide down to the ground. Adora's looking all serious. "Why did you do that?" Catra sits up as well, puts her legs into a cross-legged position and thinks about the question for a second. "She knew about Shadow-Weaver and the sickness and all. I told her when Lonnie first texted me about it. And then when I got your message about her death…", Catra stops talking. It's just so much. But she can do this. "When I got your message I went a little crazy. More than I would like to admit. And Scorpia… She was so supportive through all of it. We were sitting in her car on the way to her apartment. I was driving. She kept asking me if I wanted to talk about it. And I said no but she kept asking." This is the hardest part. "I don't know what happened. I just didn't know what to do. So I drove off to the side and then we hit a tree." Catra feels a lump in her throat. It's getting harder to talk. Harder to feel okay.

"So what happened afterwards?", Adora says, still sounding serious. "I don't really know actually. The car was mostly okay, we weren't hurt. I just got out of the car and ran away. And that's it. I haven't heard from Scorpia since. That was three days ago." Catra feels miserable.

Horrible. She's a horrible person. She hates herself. And Adora laughs. “What? What?", Catra can't believe it. "I'm sorry.", Adora says, "Oh god… I'm so sorry but…" She's still laughing. "Catra you didn't have a fight. You had a panicked reaction and then you ran away." Catras eyes go huge. "Of course we had a fight. I crashed her car. That was a fight." Adora pushes out a few last giggles. Then she gets ahold of herself and says, very seriously: "Catra… She's your friend. If you explain to Scorpia what happened I'm sure it'll be okay." Catra let's that sit in the open for a second. Then all she manages is a dumbfounded little: "Oh.", and then, "But she hasn't talked to me since then?", she phrases it like a question. "She was probably giving you space.", Adora answers. "That does sound like Scorpia.", Catra admits. Adora nods. "Talk to her tomorrow. It will be fine, believe me." Catra decides that Adora is a good therapist. The kids must love her.

They drink some more. A lot more actually. The parts of Catra that felt soft and light before now feel like they're spinning. Actually everything is spinning. "Okay…", Adora says slurring her words, "We've let ourselves get a bit carried away. But as a responsible adult I'm shutting it down now." Catra laughs. "Responsible adult? From the woman with the pegasus tattoo." Adora giggles in response. "Hey, I got that when I was eighteen okay?" Catra grins. "That's what you did when you were eighteen?", she asks teasingly. "Yeah and I'm damn proud of it okay?", Adora rebuts. "What did you do when you were eighteen?"

Now this is awkward. 'Miss you.', Catra thinks but doesn't say it out loud for obvious reasons. "I got my car I guess. I worked for it for two years." Adora looks up at her. "I remember that.",she smiles. "You wanted that car so badly." She lets out an awkward chuckle. "Yeah…", Catra answers and it sounds lame. For a while they sit in silence and Catra can't make out if it's awkward or nice. Even at her age, even after all this time, she never quite knows where she stands with people. It's like she's close and then far away. Always changing. While she's staring off, at some object in the room that's starting to blur before her eyes, Adora scoots closer to her on the couch. Catra doesn't notice it until they're almost shoulder to shoulder. Adora's head lands on her shoulder.

Confused Catra looks down at her. Adora looks back: "Is this okay? I'm sorry… my head was heavy." Catra laughs. "Yeah it's okay." They keep on sitting in silence. Adora closes her eyes and then, every couple of minutes, they flutter open again. "I missed you Catra.", she says, "So much. Ever since we parted ways… I have missed you." It's like a hit to her head. Immediately Catra is alert. She has to choose her next words carefully. She doesn't want to step into a mine.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Not so carefully chosen, her words sound defensive. "It's supposed to mean what it means. I missed you.", Adora says it exactly like she said it the first time. Like it's something that she doesn't have to think about. Catra wants to stay calm. She really does. But suddenly her head is filled with thoughts that she usually shuts out. 'Then why didn't you contact me? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did we end the way we ended? I hate you. I missed you too. I missed you too. I missed you too.'

Fuck. She's been silent for too long now. She should answer. Anything would probably be okay. She could just try to steer the conversation into another direction, she could answer and just let it be, she could say anything. But she doesn't. Instead her throat almost closes up. She feels like she isn't getting any air. Breathe. She needs to breathe. Shakily she breathes in and then out. Adora takes her head off her shoulder and looks at her. Fuck she's noticed. "Catra?", she asks and she almost sounds shy. "I…", Catra stops herself but the words are coming up, she can feel it. "I missed you too.", she says finally. She sounds disappointed. It's like Catra doesn't know herself. Why does she sound disappointed? "You did?", Adora sounds surprised. Catra nods and looks away. "Hey…", she hears Adora say and it sounds kind and soft. It's forgiving. Like Catra has nothing to be ashamed of. But Catra is ashamed of herself. "Hey." Again.

Catra turns her head back. Their eyes meet and for a while they just stare at each other. Adora's eyes were always kind. Like she could look through you and see what you're thinking. Like she could make it all go away. They look into each other's eyes and then Adora leans forward. Slowly, like she's afraid Catra will pull away. Catra doesn't. She's not afraid. Or maybe a little. Maybe that's the exciting part. Adora leans forward, their eye contact breaks, instead her eyes scoot down to Catras lips. Catra doesn't move, because she knows that even if she will regret it later right now there's nothing she could want more. Adora stops just a few millimeters away from her face. It's like she's asking 'Is this okay? Do you want this?' Catra answers. Their lips meet. It's not pleasant and nice. It's hungry and desperate. It's perfect. Their lips meet and Catra thinks: 'At least I'm not going to hate myself until tomorrow.'

Crimson, burgundy, raspberry, vermillion. All of Catras' clothes are red. It's everywhere all throughout her life. The house is red, decorations in the house are red, Adora is red and so is Shadow Weaver. Adora and Catra have been hiding underneath the bed for two and a half hours now. The bedding is red also.

Adora is holding Catras hand and in the past hour she has started squeezing it. Catra feels the pain every time Adora squeezes again. It's rhythmic. A two second squeeze, then she let's go, then a two second squeeze, she let's go, then a three second squeeze and then she let's go. When she looked down at her hand she could see her hand turning red. Red. An angry yell, far away (maybe downstairs in the kitchen?) breaks through the silence that has made itself comfortable under the bed. "Where are you, you little brat?"

Catras breath quickens. Adora's eyes land on her. "It will be okay.", she whispers, "It will be okay. Breathe in, breathe out. It will be okay." Breathing in, breathing out. "I'm going down there… ", Adora starts her sentence. Catra shakes her head. She pulls the little car model that she's been holding in her other hand, the one that isn't being squeezed to death, a bit closer to her. The car is red. Again an angry yell. "When I find you…", the rest is muffled. 'When she finds me it's over for me.', Catra thinks. Breathing in, breathing out. Catra looks over to Adora.

Her eyes are now plastered to the wood frame of the bed. Adora is terrified. Catra can tell. Adora is terrified and it's Catras fault. She has to force herself to look away. Just like Adora she focuses on the wood frame. There's a pattern inside the wood, that makes it look like an eye staring back at her.

The next squeeze on her hand lasts particularly long. Catra counts along in her head. Six seconds. A break in the pattern. Adora has made up her mind. If Catra wants to do anything about it she has to act fast. So before Adora can get out from under the bed Catra rolls on top of her. "What do you think you're doing?", Adora hisses quietly. Catra doesn't answer. She takes the object Adora has been holding for the past two and a half hours. "No.", Adora exclaims. It's not quiet, not whispered. But it doesn't matter anymore now. Adora has made up her mind, so has Catra. And Catra is going to win this one.

She puts the little red car in Adoras hand that is still trying to get back what has been taken from her. As soon as Adoras hand touches the car, she stops squirming underneath Catras body. Her eyes… her soft, kind eyes fill with tears. Catra smiles. She rolls off of Adora, gets out from under the bed, she runs through the room and when she leaves she closes the door and locks it. 'Just for now.',she thinks. Today Adora can't save her. The wallpaper in the hallway is crimson red.

They have made their way up to the bed. Even though Catra should be focused on something else right now she can't help herself. The curiosity of what Adoras life is like is too much. The bedding is yellow and has a flower pattern printed on top. The walls are plastered with pictures of Adora and her friends. There's a pot of sunflowers on her dresser. Catras takes it all in.

When she feels fingers softly tracing something on her back she turns around. Adora is looking at her intently. They don't speak. Instead Adora starts pulling up her blouse and reveals a white lace bra underneath. Catra starts working on getting the pants off. They fall to the floor and reveal a matching pair of underwear. Now it's Catras turn but instead of moving she just stands still and takes in Adoras body for a second. She has a wide frame, incredible muscles, she must work-out a lot. She has a couple of freckles on her shoulders and tan lines on the lower half of her body but not the upper. Adora places her hand on Catras shoulders and Catra realizes what's about to happen. She'll have to do this now. But instead Adora just stands like that for a while.

"Is this… is this okay?", she asks, "Do you still want this?" Catra's surprised and then again not really. Of course Adora would ask. She thinks about it for a second and then she nods. Adora kisses her again and it's not like the first kiss downstairs. It's nice and soft. So careful, like Catra is a fragile vase. Catra kisses her back, softly her tongue searches for Adoras. Then Adoras hands move from her shoulders to the buttons of Catras suit. It's almost agonizing how impossibly slow Adora opens it. Catra can feel her body growing warm with anticipation. Then her jacket and blouse land on the floor just like Adoras clothes. Adora pulls away from their kiss and starts to unzip Catras pants. Then she takes her by the hand and leads her to the bed.

They lay down next to each other which is a bit awkward but then Adora rolls on top of Catra and locks their lips again. Soft, nice, careful. While they make out Catra softly pulls out the scrunchie that has held Adoras hair in a tight ponytail for most of the day. Golden strands of hair. Catra let's herself run her fingers through and smiles. Then suddenly Adora starts kissing down her neck, keeps on going past her collarbone, down to her breasts and past her belly button until she's right above Catras underwear. Catras breathing grows heavier. Adora's fingers linger on the seam of the red lace. She looks up. Catra smiles. Adora responds.

When the hand hits her cheek Catra weirdly doesn't recognize the pain. No matter how often it happens Catra never gets used to it. Everytime it's a new feeling she has to get acquainted with. When the hand hits her cheek she goes down and falls to her knees. She wants to cry but she also doesn't want to give Shadow Weaver the satisfaction. Instead she shakily breathes in and out again until her heart rate slows down again. "Don't you ever dare go into my room again.", the woman sneers. Catra nods her head.

They don't speak for a while. Catra instead stays on the floor, Shadow Weaver looking down on her. Then the tall woman gets on her knees. She puts two fingers under Catras chin and pulls up her face so they're looking into each other's eyes. "Do you hear me?", Shadow Weaver asks again and her voice has gone from ice cold to warm. 'It's a trap.', Catra thinks. Shadow Weaver is never warm to anyone. Except Adora. Shadow Weaver looks at her questiongly. Like she doesn't understand Catra. Of course she doesn't. She pushes back a couple of stray hairs that have loosened from Catras braid. Then she puts them behind her ears. "You'll be okay.", Shadow Weaver says firmly. Then she gets up again and leaves the dining room.

Catra stays behind for a while. She stares at the flooring. It's a linoleum floor, patterned to look like marble. Every tile has a tiny unique difference. On the one two tiles to the left from Catra there's a stain of some sort. It has been there for weeks now and no one has tried to remove it yet. One tile to the right there's an indentation where Kyle dropped the knife while helping with the cooking. Three tiles away from that one there's a tiny little smiley face drawn on the floor. It's almost invisible, worn down by the years, people have walked over it. Catra remembers when her and Adora were ten and drew it on there. Hoping that the next generation of kids like them would find it.

A couple of tears run down from Catras eyes. She can't hold them back anymore. She doesn't want to anymore. If she cries right now...it'll be better right? She will feel exhausted but better. For a while she cries, doesn't move from the spot and when she feels there are no more tears left in her she gets up.

She looks around the room and her eyes catch something moving behind the kitchen counter that separates the kitchen from the dining room. "Get out.", she hisses. Lonnie comes up from behind the counter. Her mouth is pressed into a thin line. "I'm sorry Catra.", she utters and then she runs out through the kitchen door. Catra looks up at the clock. Half an hour has gone by since she left Adora in the room upstairs. She wipes away the droplets that are still running down her face and leaves the kitchen. She can still feel the heat of pain on her cheek.

After they're done Adora falls asleep. She looks incredible even when she's sleeping and for some reason this annoys Catra. So she gets up from the bed and decides to take a look around.

First she looks at what's in the other room but it's just the bathroom. It's a contrast to the other rooms in the house. Not neatly kept like everything else. Instead there are clothes lying around, loose hairs in the sink, lipstick without a cap on the drawer. Catra chuckles. Adora isn't as perfect as she thought. She closes the bathroom door again and makes her way downstairs.

In the kitchen she gets herself a glass of water and looks at the petunias that are slowly wilting away in a vase. She leans against the counter and looks outside. It's still night. The sky is a nice indigo. Catras eyes scan through the kitchen, searching for something to keep her entertained until Adora wakes up. Then they land on the jar of change that she saw just a couple hours ago. She looks away and then right back. The thing she saw earlier, the one that Adora had hidden behind the jar, is now openly laying in front of her. And Catra doesn't trust her eyes.

She gets closer. It's a red, smallish object. It's a tiny model of a car. It's a tiny model of the car that Catra took to drive to Shadow Weavers funeral. Catras heart begins to pound. The last time she saw that miniature car was when she was sixteen. She picks it up and examines it. It's almost in perfect condition. The color has faded a bit but there aren't any chips in the paint. Both of the side-mirrors are still attached. She flips it and right there, on the bottom of the model, in scribbly lines it says "Catra" written in sharpie.

Shaking her head she puts it down again, right where she found it. She goes back to the other side of the room, takes her glass of water and finishes it in one gulp. The kitchen suddenly seems tiny, the walls are crawling closer. She gets out of there but the entire house seems to be shrinking. Eating her alive. Catra runs upstairs, throws on her clothes, then back down grabbing her bag, her jacket and her shoes. She makes her way out of the house, into her car and just starts driving. No looking back. After fifteen minutes of driving she finally feels okay again. She drives through the town, past the graveyard, away from Adora and finally over the bridge. Only once she's over the bridge does she slow down and take a final look in her rear view mirror.

It's 7 am which means that Scorpia definitely wasn't awake yet but when Catra rings the doorbell she still opens the door. "Catra?", she wonders and she sounds tired. "I'm sorry Scorpia.", Catra exclaims and between sorry and Scorpia her voice breaks a little, "I'll pay for all the damages. I'm so sorry." That's all she can say. Scorpia finally seems to have woken up but she looks confused. "What?", then it dawns on her, "Oh, Wildcat… no worries. It wasn't actually that bad. Are you okay though? Why are you awake this early?"

Now she sounds worried and Catra instantly regrets having come by this early. But she just needed someone to talk to. She needed her best friend to talk to. "Yeah… I'm alright.", she tries smiling to make it more believable. But Scorpia doesn't look convinced. "Why don't you come in? Hm?", she says and it sounds so kind, so forgiving. Almost as if Catra hadn't trashed her car just a couple days ago. "I don't know.", Catra answers and she can hear how insecure she sounds. Scorpia softly places her hands on Catras shoulders and then pulls her into a hug.

"Hey, whatever's going on… it'll be okay." Catra feels safe. If it was anyone else then she'd run away again. But it's Scorpia and Scorpia gives great hugs. Catra feels safe and incredibly exhausted. So incredibly exhausted.

When she finally gets in the apartment she immediately takes a seat on the couch. She's been awake all night and the alcohol she drank last night is giving her a headache. "Do you have any painkillers?", she asks but Scorpia is already coming from the kitchen with an Ibuprofen and a glass of water. She gives Catra a smile and Catra smiles back.

"What happened, Wildcat?" Catra shakes head: "I… I don't want to talk about it if that's okay." Scorpia looks displeased but she nods her head. "Later then okay?" Catra gives a weak smile. "Later.", she answers. Scorpia sits down next to her and takes out her phone. She starts watching something. Right now, Catra feels like everything's going to be okay again. She lays her head on the armrest of the couch and just listens to the sounds of the video Scorpia is watching. Softly she drifts away to sleep.

'Don't leave me behind.', Catra thinks, 'I still have so much to tell you.' If she had telekinesis she would shut the bag that is being packed in front of her tightly. So tight that it could never be opened again. If she had telekinesis Catra would force Adora to stay. Somehow she would make it happen. But she doesn't have telekinesis and she can't make Adora stay.

Adora packs in her favorite red jacket. Catra got it for her and Adora has been wearing it almost everyday since then. Now it is being shoved into a bag. Catra will never see it again, never see her again. Adora stops throwing clothes in her bag for a second and looks over to Catra. She looks like she wants to say something but then she doesn't. They both stay silent, their eyes fixed on each other. Then Catra turns her face and stares at the wall behind Adora. "Catra…", Adora starts but Catra just lets out a hiss and leaves the room.

They don't see each other again until later, when a moving truck is parked outside. Catra is sitting in the dining room, right next to Kyle. Catra looks angry, Kyle just looks confused. Lonnie is the only one helping Adora get her things down to the van. Shadow Weaver hasn't been home all day. She probably didn't want to be there when her most beloved foster child left. Adora puts the last box she has packed on the truck and now all she has left is the bag filled with clothes. Catra wants to run up to her and just snatch it away. But it probably wouldn't change much.

Lonnie and Adora hug, then Kyle and Adora and then Adora looks at Catra like she's waiting for something. Catra scoffs and turns away from her. She walks away from the group, upstairs into her room. Now it's her room, anyway. One half of it is completely empty. She sits down on the bed. She hasn't slept in this bed for almost six years. And now she's going to have to get used to sleeping all alone in here.

There's a knock at the door but before she can answer it's already being opened. "Catra?" Adora. "Shouldn't you get going?", Catra says and even she can hear the bitterness in her voice. Adora slightly shakes her head. "I can't without having said goodbye to you." Catra lets out a bitter laugh. "Well you're gonna have to.", she gets up from the bed and turns to look at Adora, "Honestly, how dare you pretend like this is all okay? It's not. You're leaving me. You promised we would stay together. You promised…" She doesn't finish her sentence. Adora knows what Catra was going to say. 'You promised we'd always look out for each other.' Adora sighs. She looks down at the floor, like a kid getting scolded.

“You could… You could come along.",she says. Catra huffs out a puff of air. "Ha. As if you'd want that. You're happy. You're happy you don't have to deal with me anymore." Adora looks hurt… and a little embarrassed. "That's not fair.", she says but she doesn’t deny it. Now Catra is filled with hot white rage. She can't even see right anymore. She grabs the first object that's next to her and throws it at Adora. It's the little red car. "Just leave. Go." Adora doesn't leave, she stands still for an awkward amount of time. "Go.", Catra screams but Adora still doesn't move. "Fine, then I'll leave.", she says and sprints out of the room, downstairs, past the kitchen, out of the house. Away from everything.

The restaurant looks beautiful. It has an old Hollywood feel to it with lots of red satin and black details. It's nothing like Adora imagined it. She stares in from outside where she is parked. It's been fifteen minutes since she arrived and she can't get herself to get out and walk in. When she woke up this morning she was mad. So incredibly angry. And surprised at what she was feeling. Last night she kept telling herself that it wasn't a big deal. That in the morning Catra would get up and leave before they could talk anyway. That it was just for one night.

But then she woke up all by herself in her bed. She went downstairs to check if Catra was there but she truly was all by herself. There was a glass of water standing on the kitchen counter. And when Adora saw it she got angry. 'You could have at least cleaned up behind yourself.', she thought.

Now she has a broken glass in her kitchen that she hasn't cleaned up yet. Now she's sitting in her car at two pm and trying to convince herself to go into a restaurant. She should know better. She should just get out or maybe leave. But this? It's embarrassing. She's like a teenager who's too scared of facing their crush. "Aaaargh.", she shouts while shaking the steering wheel, "God fucking damn it." She knows this rage is going to get her nowhere but still when she let's go of the steering wheel again she feels better. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

Suddenly there's a knock on the window which sends Adora screaming. A woman is standing outside. Very muscular and tall. She has very kind looking eyes but her mouth is bent into a frown. Adora let's down her window. "Yes?", she says and her voice is sounding a little thin. "Hi, I couldn't help but notice you. I am one of the owners of the restaurant over there…", the woman points to the other side of the street. Scorpia… this must be Scorpia. "Ah.", is all Adora can muster up. "Are you okay?", Scorpia asks. Adora just gives a weak nod. "Yeah sorry… I've just had a rough couple of days. I'll be on my way in just a second.", she answers. Scorpia gives her a nod.

Adora let's the window back up but just when it's about to close Scorpia starts to say something. "Sorry?", Adora says, "I didn't get that." The window goes back down. "You're Adora aren't you?", Scorpia says. There's something in her voice that makes Adora listen up. "Yeah I am." Scorpia nods, her eyes go almost blank like she's lost in thought. "Would you like to come in?" Again she points to the restaurant. Adora takes a second to think about the proposal then she says: "Sure." She gets out of the car and follows Scorpia inside. It is a really beautiful place.

"An espresso for you.", Scorpia says and it's obviously her customer service voice. She puts the tiny cup down in front of Adora and then takes the seat opposite of her. "Thank you.", Adora says politely. She opens one of the sugar packets next to the cup and dumps it in. They don't say anything for a while. Adora looks down at the cup and Scorpia looks at her. Then Scorpia starts talking: "Listen Adora… you seem like a nice enough person. Maybe not my cup of tea, but apparently Catras…" Adora squirms when she hears the name. Catra… Catra. Catra. Catra. "... so please you have got to be honest with me. What happened last night?"

Adora can't answer right away. Breathing in, breathing out. She composes herself. "We got drunk. And then we had… we had…" Oh god, it's so awkward. She feels like she's talking to a parent about it. Adora can't believe it. She talks to parents all the time when she does therapy sessions. She can talk for hours on end with them about the emotional scars of their kids. She can talk about the deep-seated traumas the kids might have experienced. But she can't talk to this woman around her age about sex. She just can't.

Apparently she doesn't have to. "Did anything else happen? Did you talk about something that might have been hard for Catra to talk about?", Scorpia continues the interrogation. "No.", Adora answers. Then she pedals back a bit: "Well we talked about you. Maybe that might have been something? But she seemed fine when we talked about you." Scorpia nods her head, she looks lost in thought again. "I don't think that's it.", she says calmly. "Then I don't know what happened.", Adora says.

She almost feels a little mad that she is being questioned here. She's not the one that disappeared this morning. Catra did. "Look I don't mean to be rude but I think it would be easier if me and Catra could talk directly. Where is she?" Scorpia looks up at her and shrugs her shoulders. "She's not here. She said she had to do something today." Adora is… confused to say the least. All this drama and Catra disappears to do something? "Did she tell you what she was up to? Where she was going?", she can hear the anger in her voice. Yes, maybe Adora feels a little bit rejected right now. "Well she didn't tell me where she was going.", Scorpia answers. "But she said she was gonna visit some old house. It had a name… I just don't seem to remember it."

Red lights start going off in Adoras head. Alarm clocks are ringing. "Home of the Horde.", she whispers. "Yeah that was the name… where are you going?", Scorpia shouts after her but Adora is already on her way out. Just when she's at the door she turns around one last time. "Thank you. I'm so sorry. I'm going to put everything right again."

The first night alone is horrible. Adora can't seem to fall asleep. The bed is too soft, too big, the pillows seem to be suffocating her. There's something missing. Someone. She feels so small in this huge bed, this huge room. She gets up and immediately goes back to bed at least ten times before she finally gives up and goes to the living room. With all the money she had saved up she could afford to pay for a two room apartment and it pays off pretty well now that she can't even stand to look at the bed anymore.

She turns on the TV and just skips from channel to channel. There's a movie running on the fifteenth channel she skips to. A movie she hasn't seen since she was five. Aladdin. There's a distant memory of her watching it every year when she was little. The movie is sort of old and it doesn't look good on the shitty TV. But immediately Adora feels okay with the world again. It's like she has gone back in time, before she moved out of or even into the foster home. Before she had to be a grown up.

Before she knew Catra. Catra. It's like being pulled out of a dream. She can't stop thinking about the look on Catras face. Stretching herself over the entire couch she grabs the bag that she still hasn't unpacked. At first she can't find what she's looking for and for a slight second it makes her feel panicked that she might have forgotten to pack it. But then her fingers wrap around the cold metal and she lets out a relieved sigh.

She knows it was wrong to just take the car. Catra loves it. Adora never quite understood that. It's just a stupid piece of plastic and metal. She takes it out and just for fun rolls it across her knee. "Wroom, wroom.", she imitates the sound and giggles like a child. Then she lets herself fall back and puts her head down on the armrest of the couch. She holds up the car and looks at the scribbled letters on the bottom.

In the background Aladdin makes his first wish from the genie. "Hey… can you make me a prince?" A prince… When Adora was little she always dreamed of being a princess. Being saved by someone. She has learned over the course of her life that if she wants to be saved she will have to do it herself. She's not only the one who has saved herself but she's going to save others. In a way she is more of a prince. She holds the car close to herself and holds her breath for a second. Then she lets out all the air. Breathing in, breathing out. Her eyes slowly start to close and she sleeps through until the next morning, when she wakes up on her couch, with the little red car still pressed tightly to her chest.

It wasn't that hard to break into the house. No one has lived here for years it seems. When Catra steps on the porch it almost feels like it’s going to give in. The door lock is comically easy to crack. But then she has to ponder for a while if she actually wants to go in. Yes and no. A part of her knows that this isn't going to solve anything. It's just a house. But a part of her feels she needs to see it again. One last time.

Breathing in, breathing out. She gives the door a little push and it squeaks. Breathing in, breathing out. She steps inside and let's the door fall closed behind her. Breathing in, breathing out. It looks the same and then nothing like it used to. The walls aren't painted red anymore, they're now a squeaky clean white. It's all empty. No more paintings, no more furniture. The only thing left behind is a set of chairs that has been stacked on the wall of the dining room.

The floor is still the same though. The same linoleum painted to look like marble. The same stain, the same indentation and almost invisible the same smiley face drawn in Sharpie. Catra sits down on the tile and brushes over the drawing lightly with her fingers. She doesn't feel anything. She gets up again and starts walking from room to room. The kitchen, the living room, the room that used to be an office. Nothing. No absolution.

She looks out into the garden but the only thing there is a tree that Catra doesn't seem to remember being there. She goes back to where she started and stares at the stairway. Should she go up? She can't seem to make up her mind. She takes a step forward, then another one, then she stands still for a while and then she walks up the first step. When she's halfway up the stairs she stops again.

There's a sound from outside. A car seems to have pulled up in the driveway. Catra turns around as she hears someone getting out of the car. She hears the steps, then the door squeaks open.

Nice, kind blue eyes look up to where she is standing. "Adora?", she exclaims. Adoras face pulls into a grimace and then… then she starts crying. "What are you doing here?", Catra says confused. "What are you doing here?" Adora sounds angry and maybe a little worried. Her voice cracks. "You just left me Catra." She's sobbing uncontrollably now. Catra doesn't know what to do. She feels tired and confused and… angry. She feels angry. "Well, now you know how that feels." It just slips out. "Don't make this about that.", Adora hisses. "What ? About the truth?", Catra edges on. Adora shakes her head. "You're so…"

Selfish. That's what she was about to say. "What? I'm so what? Selfish, horrible, a burden?", Catra shouts, "That's what I am, isn't it? A burden. A burden on Adoras perfect little life." Adora shakes her head, again and again. "Catra's the problem. If she wasn't here you would be happy. Huh? That's what you're thinking, isn't it? Well I am so sick and tired of having to be the problem. I am just trying to live my life, I am just trying to be happy like everyone else. You were the one who pulled me in again. It was you Adora.", Catras voice keeps cracking up, tears are escaping from her eyes, "Why couldn't you have just stayed away?" Her body starts to shake. She needs to sit down. "Why?", she says and her throat is hoarse.

It's like all the air has been pulled out of her. Suddenly she doesn't feel angry anymore. Suddenly she's just tired and sad. She sits down on the staircase and pulls her legs close to her body.

Adora hasn't said anything in a while. She's just standing at the bottom of the stairs, quietly like she's afraid to do something. It's sort of awkward how they're both just respectively not saying anything. But then Catra hears a sigh.

Adora clears her throat and then almost nervously says: "Because I love you Catra." Catra shakes her head and lets out a bitter laugh. This is all too much. This is all wrong. It's like being punched in the face and then receiving a lollipop. "I love you too, you idiot.", she says. "I've always loved you."

She looks down at Adora. They just stare at each other for a while. Adora looks surprised, Catra looks tired. Finally Adora moves. She gets up the stairs and sits down next to Catra. They just sit next to each other for a while, then Adora takes something out of the pocket of her pants.

"I thought that I maybe should give this back to you.", Adora says. Catra takes it. The little red car. Sweet irony. "Do you remember how I got this?", she says keeping her voice monotone. Adora ever so slightly shakes her head. "It was my first day at the foster home, here…", she takes a second before she continues, looks around the hallway, "You were playing outside with Kyle and Lonnie. And Shadow Weaver introduced me to you." She keeps her voice quiet, afraid that if she says it too loud her voice might crack. "And you looked up to me and handed me the car. I was in. Just like that. You had already accepted me.", she finishes. She looks over at Adora. Adora looks back. "I don't remember that.", she says softly, "For me… it always belonged to you." Adora has a weak smile on her face but her eyes are still sad. "Well for me…", Catra says, "... I always belonged to you." It sounds cheesy but she says it all seriously. Stern voice and everything.

"I can't take it all back, can I? I can't undo my mistakes, I can't unsay every horrible thing I've said.", Adora says and she sounds incredibly, incredibly devastated. "Yeah.", Catra answers, "But neither can I." They sit in silence again. Catras hand searches for something to hold onto and finally Adoras hand finds hers. They're not looking at each other, both staring off at some distant point.

"I love you Catra.", Adora says. "I love you too.", Catra answers. Then she let's go of Adoras hand and gets up. She turns to look upstairs, where there's still an entire floor waiting that she hasn't looked at yet. She turns back to Adora who is looking up at her. She holds out her hand, like an offering. Adora doesn't hesitate. She takes it.

Two hours later they walk to their cars. When they're on the driveway they both stop. Adora smiles and she almost looks shy. "So what now?", she asks. Catra takes a second to think about it. "How about I meet you at this really cool restaurant in half an hour?", she says and grins, "Not to brag but I kind of know the owner." Adora grins back. "Well that sounds amazing. I'll see you there." Catra nods happily and starts walking to her car. Before she can get in though she gets pulled back by her wrist. Adora's lips meet hers. The kiss lasts forever. And when forever is over they both get in their cars and leave. Leave the town behind, leave the old house behind, leave the little red car behind, hidden underneath a floorboard on the second floor. It's warm outside and Catra wonders if Adora would like to get ice cream with her.