Chapter Text
The light sparkled through well placed prisms throughout the large ballroom as dozens of guests moved under them. Nearby flickering of flames caused the glassy reflections to dance and pivot their light across all of the attendees of the ball. Movements that looked like flowing water, as lines of people streamed towards the dance floor or outside on the large palace balcony to take a breather.
An event like this had been a long time in the making, it wasn’t Queen Glimmer's turn to throw a proper Princess Prom but that hadn’t stopped her from planning and throwing an exclusive night out for everyone to unwind and enjoy themselves after the weight of the war was lifted from their shoulders. She had done more than the adequate amount of planning and preparing, the dinner and hors d'oeuvres were rich and delicious and the drinks were continuously flowing which kept spirits light and carefree.
It was a beautiful, highly anticipated night for everyone, except for Adora. While her friends laughed the night away, she felt as if she wasn’t truly present. Adora was exhausted, the dark circles under her eyes now concealed by a light dust of makeup to match her fair shade. She had worn her long blonde hair down, a simple braid weaving its way along the back of her head, courtesy of Glimmer. Her dress was one that was tighter, more mature than the last time she had been to a formal event. It was a floor length light gray evening gown, a detailed design lacing the bodice and letting the loose flow of tulle fall to the floor. Bow and another guest talked at length around her about the recent return of a species of high interest in Mystacore, the words were ones she let pass her. It was nice to have a reason to be dressed up and have a good night with the people that she held dear, but one was missing.
Catra had not attended.
She had figured that Catra would skip the event. They never had what she could call an even tempered partnership. Recently they had an argument, god it was so stupid. It had spiraled from a heated talk to the two deciding to take a break.
The separation had hurt them both intensely. Since Catra’s confession to her during the situation with the fail safe and her reciprocating those feelings, the two had been inseparable for the most part. It had only been about two weeks, but Adora knew they were both holding out for the sake of their own pride and stubbornness…that's what she had hoped at least. Even after smaller disagreements, the two couldn’t resist falling back into each other. Either an apology, a flimsy attempt to make the other give a resistant smile, or sliding a small note across the room would be enough for either of them to drop their guard and remember that no matter what, they were on the same side. That they would always be there for each other.
Standing in a crowd of people, all looking as glamorous as the stars themselves, she felt more alone than ever because Catra was not there.
It couldn’t all be blamed on her, Adora herself was surprised at the things she had said when Catra had voiced her opinions about the weight of She-Ra responsibilities beginning to crush her again. Another month away, another few days of no sleep because there were always problems that she needed to solve. There were always more people in need of saving. It was a recurring topic that never seemed to find an actual solution, just a short term band-aid.
The final straw before Catra’s ultimatum was that they have at least a weekend to themselves. No She-Ra, no running off to take care of the entire world. She had asked for sixty hours of the two of them; Catra and Adora, together and away to be themselves. It had sounded easy enough, Adora excitedly planned a remote camping trip for the two of them to check out some old ruins and hike to sightsee around Erelandia.
For weeks, they had made the preparations and stocked for their weekend get-away. Catra would tick off days on the calendar in Adora’s room when she would stay the night. Seeing the warm beaming of Catra’s excitement made Adora wish she could give her that feeling forever. Sometimes she wished the two of them could just disappear together, immediately feeling guilty for trying to neglect her responsibilities.
“What’s up lady?” Mermista called, sipping from her wine glass cooly. Adora hadn’t realized she had drifted off. The Princess was looking regal in her dark blue mermaid fitted dress, showing off her curves and causing Adora to wonder where Sea Hawk could be.
“Nothing, just hanging out” she answered tiredly, pulling at the skirt of her dress to straighten it. Mermista watched her, holding her glass balanced in her hand up near her head.
“Same, I sent him to get a refill but I’m going to say he got distracted” she said sarcastically, looking towards the dance floor to see the mustachioed man spinning and tapping his feet wildly around a laughing Perfuma. Mermista gave a noticeable look around.
“Where’s your other half?” she asked bluntly. Adora’s mask faltered, looking dejected before throwing her air of self-assurance back on.
“Oh Catra? I’m not sure…” her gray-blue eyes looking down as a sad frown pulled at her “...we’re kind of taking a break I think” she added. The look that Mermista shot her made her wonder if she overshared.
“You think ?” the dark haired beauty questioned, looking at her in disbelief. At the same time, Bow and the man he had been chatting with wandered off towards the refreshments, giving Adora more space to feel comfortable enough to open up.
“There…we had a fight. Decided we needed some time apart” she said matter-of-factly. Inside she hoped that time apart also meant there would be a time to get back together was implied, but now that she was saying these thoughts aloud, she wasn’t sure.
Mermista let out an amused scoff, Adora’s strands of blonde fell off of her shoulder as she looked at her friend.
“Sorry, I’m not laughing at you. Believe me, it’s fine. We’re no strangers to taking breaks” her darker complexion nodding towards the dance floor.
Sea Hawk was now trying to do some contorted looking variation of the worm on the dance floor with many people stopping to cheer him on a gawk at the outlandish display.
“If you don’t mind, how do you guys do it?” Adora asked, with Mermistas look of perplexity she elaborated “when you guys are just so different, how do you make it work?”.
Mermista sighed, her gold earrings shaking as she looked on at Sea Hawk.
“It wasn’t instant. You know that, right?”
Adora nodded. Mermista turned to set her glass on the wide railing of stone that lined the balcony.
“There’s times where it doesn’t work to be honest. If it's something you want, you find a way to make it work,” her words were clear, even as her voice lowered. Even after all this time, it was as if she were embarrassed to speak about her own relationship. “Like healthy balance. He…knows how to bring out the best in me and I hope I do the same for him”.
The Princess of Power had been hoping to get one of Mermista’s talks with more attitude. She wanted to be gratified that she had made the right choice in what she had done, without telling her specifics. Now she just felt the clutch of regret in her throat. She excused herself from Mermista before deciding she would rather retreat to her room for the night than carry on the charade of having a good night.
After an emergency needing the involvement of She-Ra to deactivate some left over mind chips, their weekend trip had already been delayed by several hours. Catra had sat waiting, already hearing all of the apologies that Adora could rattle off in her dash out the door. A couple hours tops.
Again, Catra would wait.
A wait that she was used to and worked hard to be understanding of.
A couple hours slowly morphed into several, then the entire evening before she had returned.
Adora worked again to save face, insisting the trip was still on and they still had the rest of the remaining time. Though disappointed by their shift of plans, Catra agreed. All she wanted was to have time with Adora.
The trip to Erelandia had two transmission calls from King Micha, again Catra understood that duty calls. It was when they landed and had barely lowered the ramp that Adora worked to scan the area for any anomalies to send a report back while they were there. Catra stood and hit the off switch, prompting an irritated response from her girlfriend.
“You said just us.”
Adora snapped back that it would only be one more second and they could find information that could help all of Etheria heal if they knew the extent of the damage.
“You promised.”
Catra had lost all remaining patience, seeing a premonition on how the remainder of their trip would go. If this had been the first or second time, it wouldn’t have blown into the massive issue that it had been. Voices were raised, both of their hands flew expressly and exhaustively due to the repetitive nature of the argument. Adora asked her how she could be so selfish, didn’t she want to help the world?
“It’s not my job.”
Adora argued that doing the right thing isn’t the job of one person, which made Catra scoff. She didn’t want a lecture on ethics and argued that she would never be able to tear herself away from being She-Ra. Just as before, she defended that she wouldn’t watch her dissolve herself into this thing that people expected her to be.
“You know it's not all about you Catra '' Adora's words bit as she turned the systems back on to quickly run one more diagnostic before scanning.
“Just take me home.”
And she did.
The trip was called off and the two went home. Catra exited the ship before Adora had time to power everything down. Even so, she was angry with her and wouldn’t have followed her until she had time to cool down.
Eventually Adora did calm down, she wondered where Catra was when one of the staff members knocked on her bedroom door of the palace to deliver a note from her.
The note asked for space. Saying the two needed some time apart. Adora read it in disbelief, honestly believing a night without a sleepover was all that she meant. Over the course of the following days, it was like Catra had instantly ripped herself out of her life. Any meetings they had together, she didn’t show. Her normal work out times were quieter, with no Catra to show up near the end of them with a fresh drink or date out to lunch. Adora had tried to knock on her bedroom door to talk but seemed to always miss her.
To fill the gap, she just went on more missions. Filled her days with more strict regiments of working harder because if it wasn’t for Catra, then what was the point of taking a break?
Adora lifted her skirt, holding the railing of the grand staircase as she descended the steps. She grimaced the whole way down. Did her best friend and lover bring out the best in her?
No sooner had those clear thoughts planted themselves in her mind than the blood like color of a deep burgundy at the base of the stairs caught her eye.
Standing before her, leaving the small coat check area was her love, Catra. Her breath caught in her throat, unable to grant her permission to breathe for a moment. She watched Catra’s stark eyes meet hers with a slightly parted mouth. She wore a darker pair of dress slacks, now opting to pair it with a black button down that rolled up to cuff at her elbows. In every sense of the word, she looked sharp, dangerous . Her expression froze with both of them standing in silence, working the courage to be the first to speak.
From the height of the stairs, she looked down at an almost defiant Catra. Such a position was one she had been used to all her life. The perseverance and fearlessness were just some of the things that drew Adora to her. She wanted to have the power of looking up at anything, no matter the disadvantages and not have the feeling of uncertainty.
“You came” she breathed, Adora’s light eyes softening. Catra averted them, knowing if she looked too long she risked giving herself over.
Catra kept her aloof expression, looking at her hand as she placed it on the wide railing opposite from Adora. She stepped her graceful frame up one rise, only offering a slow stand-offish nod. Adora held the silence for a snarky insult that never presented itself. With Adora near the end of the staircase, she wanted to rush to Catra’s side to hold her but remained in place.
“How- how have you been?” she asked carefully. She hadn’t expected the break in her voice, realizing now as she saw her that it had been an awful two weeks. They both gave the freedom of space to each other and hadn’t kept tabs on the other and it killed her to not know where she was or if she was safe. Catra’s black brows furrowed, looking concentrated at the space just in front of Adora as if just looking at her would be enough to pull her back.
“Don’t do that, '' her coarse voice ordered softly.
“Don’t-?”
“Act like that’s been all you’ve been thinking about” Catra snapped, careful to keep her voice lowered. Her fiery glare now met Adora’s in an angry brilliance.
“Catra, I miss you” Adora’s words dropped like a brick to the ground. She could see the microexpression of Catra’s lip quiver before she pulled it into a deeper frown.
“See? You can’t do that. You just get to be the good guy again, like none of this was your-” her voice now growing louder and more frantic with each objection. Adora slowly stepped down, causing Catra to back up to create more distance. Adora held up her palm, wordlessly begging her not to leave.
“I know, it…I’m sorry” her eyes pleaded with Catra.
“Sorry can’t fix everything” Catra said coldly “I’m not stupid. I know there are things in this world bigger than me and we- you, can’t help when you’re needed but…” Catra hadn’t noticed how emotional she had become until she saw a blue clad couple coming down the steps. She looked around, embarrassed to be having this display out in the open. Once the pair had taken the moment to pass through them, Adora brought herself down to Catra’s step before nodding her head towards the now empty coat check.
She waved Catra over, the latter understanding that the conversation was one better had with some level of privacy. After Catra entered and Adora shut the door, it was like her flame had been reignited.
“I guess I just don’t get it, Adora. You will always tear yourself apart just to make sure the entire world is whole. It isn’t fair.” her voice now more angry than melancholy.
The room was a dainty shade of eggshell, with a delicate small chandelier shining above them as dozens of dress coats, shawls, and wraps lined themselves around them.
“I know it’s not fair, it's not fair to you either” Adora agreed.
“I don’t give a fuck about me Adora, I’m talking about you . We have this talk all the time and nothing ever changes!”
Adora stopped. She didn’t counter or think of any response, just allowed the words to sink in. She heard the faint sound of sniffling from Catra, knowing that having this conversation with what she viewed as deaf ears was making her feel powerless. She felt stuck, destined to watch her love destroy herself time and time again for people who didn’t even know the real Adora like she did.
Catra quickly worked to wipe stray tears away with the brown backs of her hands. Adora’s gray dress swayed with her as she closed the space between them, moving her hands to place them around Catra’s.
“I’m so sorry Catra, I never wanted to let anyone down. Especially not you” her sad eyes looking more hurt when Catra ripped away from her before she could make contact.
“You never let me down Adora,” she argued. A break through her armor. Her striped crossed arms lowered slightly as she looked across the room to the blonde. “I just wish you knew how amazing you are as you ”.
A small smile appeared, gratified that Catra was even back to speaking with her.
“You are one stubborn dummy thou-” Catra’s comment was cut short with the crashing of Adora’s lips over hers. The surprising contact made her clawed fingers shoot up and the cradle themselves around Adora’s smoothly completed cheek. She met the kiss with her own fervor, breaking before pushing her mouth aggressively back against hers.
Adora held Catra’s back, keeping her slight frame pressed against her own. The two eager to feel the familiar contact of each other once again. Catra’s hand moved to squeeze the curves of her chest through her bodice, thinking of how much nicer her lover would look without it on. She kissed along the line of her collarbone, grazing her shoulder with her teeth. The fleeting thought of someone entering to collect their coat was one that Adora decided was a minor risk she was willing to take.
The familiar flutter of magic within her ebbed and flowed as Adora moved both of her hands to pull Catra’s shirt untucked, running her hands along the warmth of her midsection. Before she could continue, Catra sunk to her knees. The shoes Adora had on were crossed in small brown ropes going up the length of her calf, Catra followed the straps with her mouth while her hands wandered up her skirt to pull down her panties. Eagerly, Adora held up the thin plumes of her skirt to allow more room.
Catra’s mouth tickled her as she felt her hand release from the outer part of her hip. She looked down to see Catra put a finger into her own mouth, slowing to make connection with Adora’s shuddering gaze before standing herself up right against her again, bringing the fingers to Adora’s core. Feeling them push in, Adora breathed and grunted as she took it.
She hadn’t pleasured herself in the entire time of their hiatus, every sensation felt like fireworks igniting in her veins. She moved against Catra’s hand, the occasional rubbing of her clit against her wrist driving her to move harder.
The look on Catra was one of awe. Knowing that she was the one to send good girl Adora into such a stir was one that made her only want her more. The motion of Catra’s fingers and the small bend that they gave inside was sending Adora further and further. Her hips had begun to move against the door enough were a shortened bang was heard with each sway of her hip in time with her gasps for Catra to keep going.
“Shhh…” Catra cooed, quickening her pace before stopping all together.
After taking a moment to catch her breath, still having yet to climax Adora panted “Sorry..”.
Returning to her position near the floor, Catra stooped to one knee, taking Adora in her mouth as she gently worked the shaft of her clit with her tongue. Adora couldn’t stop herself from allowing a moan to escape before she felt her face grow hot and the familiar build of release within her. Catra was not shy about pleasing Adora, she sucked gingerly before using her tongue to swirl near Adora’s entrance. She brought her hand back, switching to easily guide a finger back into her while continuing to use her mouth to play with the sensitive areas that she could reach. Finally reaching her tipping point, Adora cried out as she held then released the back of Catra’s head from her. The softness of her short hair moved from her fingers as she stood up to kiss her, still with remnants of her on her lips.
The two quickly straightened up, Adora helped Catra fix the back of her untucked shirt and Catra teased her, saying she could hang on to her underwear by putting it into her pocket for safe keeping. Adora swatted her arm then snatched them from her. She saw Catra reach for the door.
“Wait,” she stopped her “are we…?”
Catra looked her in the eye, smiling before knowingly taking her hand.
“Yeah, we are.”