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Glimmer wakes as her body seizes with pain. Charley-horses all over her body. She sobs, staring at her ceiling until she can manage to move a single hand. Slowly, she rubs a fist down the side of her torso in a sad attempt to massage out the muscle cramp. It hurt – the ache in her bicep, the feeling of a long hiccup attack in her lung, how she can't seem to uncurl her toes.
It's been a while since Glimmer unconsciously teleported in her sleep. It happened a lot as a kid, still getting used to her powers, but not since she was ten. Well, ten and now.
When she was ten, she'd end up in random places. Around her room. In the hallway. In her parents' bed. Once, she woke up in the gardens. Now, Glimmer is in her bed. She hasn't moved.
She can't move.
Who knows what happened, random spasms from the Black Garnet or her power fritzing causing the flareup, but the result is the same. Total body aches. Tears beading in her eyes. A sour taste in her mouth. Images just on the edge of her consciousness, part memory, part dream, part fantasy.
She'd yelled at Bow. She'd gotten jealous of Perfuma. Her mother almost surrendered herself to cause the collapse of the Rebellion. She'd lost Adora's friendship. She'd seen Entrapta burn up in green flames. Shadow Weaver got what she'd wanted. She-ra stood tall, Catra smirking at her side.
Glimmer shakes off the fuzzy images and digs her knuckles deeper into her side, the pressure hurting more than the muscle ache. It's her cue to switch to the muscles in her other side, and she works at them slowly. She's tired. She knows she slept, time has passed, but her body doesn't feel rested.
She stares at the ceiling, working by touch to knead out the charley-horses in her side, her thighs, her calves.
It takes a while, but eventually her muscles are looser. There's still an ache in her body and her back feels tense, but the painful cramps are gone. With a sigh, Glimmer turns onto her side to stare out the window. Dawn is approaching. She can't watch the sunset from her room, but she can see the way the tree tops lighten, how the rocks of the cliffs across the water lighten in color.
So much has changed, but not the view from her window.
She longs for a simpler time. In lieu of that, she'll settle for an early breakfast.
Glimmer climbs down the new steps from her lofted bed to the floor on shaky legs, halfway does her hair, then stumbles to the kitchen. She doesn't glitch during the journey, but once in the kitchen, a power surge hits her. Red lightning circles her arms as she does her best to not drop to her knees.
If there's anything to be grateful for, it's that recharging with the Moonstone increased the frequency of the glitches but not their intensity. Glimmer doesn't know if she could have handled more pain more often, especially with how the pain sinks its claws into her muscles. She never not hurts. The glitches just hurt so much more that the sudden release of her muscles is a reprieve.
The power surge passes, and Glimmer rests her forehead on the kitchen counter, taking in large gulps of air while relishing in the cool marble on her skin. It passed, just like the others. Just like the next one will. And the one after that. And the next fifty.
She's a commander of the Princess Rebellion and the Princess of Bright Moon. A curse will not bring her down.
Glimmer stands up, straightens her shoulders, and reaches for the kettle. She places it in the sink, letting the water fill it up, and convinces herself the tremor in her arm when she moves it to the stove is because she filled the kettle more than she should. She ignores her white knuckles.
She flicks the stove on and collapses into a chair next to the center island. The cook will start work soon, which is good because Glimmer doesn't have the energy to do anything other than prep water for tea. She wants to sleep. She wants her muscles to stop aching. She wants to slip into the warm baths of Mystacor. She wants the curse gone.
The kettle makes an aborted hissing sound, not hot enough to boil, but soon. Time to take it off. Boling water will scald the leaves.
Glimmer gets to her feet too quickly. Spots appear in her vision, and she collapses back into the seat. The kettle is louder, almost a proper whistle. She'll wake the castle. It's so long to walk the four steps to the stove, but she manages. A flick of her wrist turns off the burner. She doesn't dare lift the full kettle to remove it from the residual heat, instead nudging it off-center so the water can settle.
Glimmer twists, reaching for the cupboard where mugs are, when a gentle hand pulls it back toward her body.
"You're shaking," Bow whispers, "let me get it."
"No, I'm not," Glimmer snaps back, but it's half-hearted. At least she makes her way to the chair by herself.
Glimmer holds her hands out over her knees. There are faint tremors in her fingers. She fists and opens her hands, rotating her wrists and ignoring the slight cracks of her knuckles. When she holds her hands out again, fingers splayed, they still tremble.
Her fingers aren't even the part of her that hurts that most, but they'll cramp up during a glitch attack. She woke up to a body full of charley-horses, and this is just further evidence of a fear becoming real.
The curse isn't just impacting her teleportation; it hasn't just eaten her magic. The surges of power are attacking Glimmer, destroying her muscles, seeking tendons and bones and nerves until it's not just her magic inaccessible to her, but her own body.
Her arm struggled to move the kettle. She might have dropped a mug, causing it to shatter and litter her trembling hands with cuts.
"Ah!" Red energy surges through her body. Her eyes tear in pain, and her body is so tight she's stiff in the chair.
"Glimmer!"
Bow's arms are around her in seconds. He grunts as the magic rushes through his body as well. Glimmer wants to throw herself to the floor, but she still can't move, and Bow's arms have locked too. There's nothing to do but bear it until the glitch fades. When it does, she slumps forward into Bow's chest.
He's warm and solid, catching her with ease.
"Glimmer?!"
"I'm fine," she mutters.
"Adora is more convincing."
Glimmer snorts. She must look really bad, if Adora's poor attempts to hide injuries or anxieties are better lies.
She's not sure why Bow holds her through the glitch attacks. It doesn't lessen the pain. There's no comfort in both of them hurting.
This type of hug is much more soothing. She leans further into Bow and tries not to think about how she'd like him to pull her closer. The thought is alarming. Glimmer pulls herself free.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing new." She pushes herself out of the chair and puts a few feet of distance between herself and Bow.
Glimmer gets Adora's desire to hide when sick now. Bow has known about the curse almost as soon as she's had it, but Glimmer still wants to bury herself under a pile of blankets. She doesn't want people to see her like this. She especially doesn't want her mother or Bow to see her like this. She is a Princess and a Commander. She needs to be strong and lead and fight and teleport –
Well, at least she can flee. "Well, I've changed my mind. I don't want tea. I'm going to see if I can get another hour or two of sleep."
"Glimmer, wait-"
But she's already out the kitchen. Her magic may be gone, and her body may be weak, but her feet still work.
Glimmer doesn't sleep. She takes one step into her room, decides she can't handle going up the stairs, and books it to Adora's room.
She finds Adora in pants and a sports bar, doing crunches on the floor. There's a sheen of sweat on her forehead that tells Glimmer she's on at least her third set of exercises. Glimmer understands the benefits of conditioning during periods of war, but Adora works out like the activity is a second runestone she needs recharging from.
"Um," Adora says, hands behind her head, chest almost brushing her knees. She sits there, frozen, staring at Glimmer.
"Where do you hide in Bright Moon?"
"I thought hiding was bad?"
"Well-"
The curse sends Glimmer to her knees, the impact to her joints less than the pain screeching through her muscles.
"Glimmer!"
By the time Adora's next to her, the surge has passed. It leaves Glimmer panting, and she wants Bow's arms around her again, even as she wants to ride all this out alone. She's strong and brave, and she hates seeing the worry on her friend's faces.
Even Adora is worried, but it's more than that. Guilt twists her face.
It's not Adora's fault Glimmer got kidnapped, tortured, and cursed. Glimmer had dropped her surveillance of Scorpia, too focused on personal matters. Adora had come to her rescue.
Glimmer can't think of what to say to ease her friend's mind because those same thoughts echo in Glimmer's brain – that she got Bow kidnapped, Adora tortured, and Entrapta killed. She knows it's wrong. It's still a thought she has.
"Where do you hide?" Glimmer asks again.
Adora hesitates, but gives up her hidey-hole. "There are a few storerooms on the other side of the castle. They're full of supplies, old and dusty. I think they're from the first Princess Rebellion, before it fell apart."
"Cool, take me."
"Are you sure? When I said in the Horde we hide when we're sick to prevent people from seeing us weak, you and Bow didn't like that."
"That was because you said you hid for a cold. This is different. I can fight with a cold. This-"
It's tremors in her hands and pain in her bones. It's knowing anyone who touches her when the curse activates is hurt too, and how each surge of corrupted magic freezes her body as all of her muscles spasm. She's a liability in the field like this, and she hates the way Bow and her mother look at her, with pity and guilt and care and worry and heartache.
It's easier to handle Adora's presence. Every time the Black Garnet sends power through Glimmer's body, Angella will wince, and Bow flinches like it's his own body getting hit with the surge, even if he's not holding her. Seeing Glimmer hurt causes echoes in their body. Adora doesn't get that pinched look to her face. She's guilty, but Glimmer's pain isn't shared.
It's probably another one of those Horde things Glimmer doesn't want to think about too much – how Adora will twist herself into knots but is more concerned with making sure Glimmer doesn't hate her than checking to see if Glimmer is healthy and hale every day.
Adora doesn't try to hold her when the curse acts up seconds later, shooting lightning up Glimmer's spine.
Instead, her hands hover over Glimmer's body until the curse passes. Glimmer clenches her eyes shut at the careful way Adora places her hand on Glimmer's shoulder, wishing it were Bow's steady hand instead, but Bow would have stupidly held her through the power surge and give her puppy eyes, and Adora's steady, if guilty, visage is easy to ignore.
"Please," Glimmer gasps up. "I don't want Bow or Mom to see me like this."
"I get it," Adora helps her to her feet, a supportive hand under her elbow. "I used to hide from Catra too."
Glimmer wants to snap at her, Bow is not Catra, except that he is. They're both childhood friends Glimmer and Adora wanted to hide their hurts from.
"Anything you want me to grab from your room? How long are you hiding?"
"You'll know where I am."
"But you're hiding," Adora presses, with a befuddled look on her face. "You don't want people to see you, so I'll take you to the storeroom, you can find your own corner, and I'll leave you there."
Glimmer can hear an invisible Bow protesting, how that is not what people do when they are injured or sick and need support. But there's nothing to do for Glimmer. They have no theories, even far-fetched ones. The only thing that has lessened Glimmer's pain during a curse attack is being unconscious, but as her charley-horse status this morning proved, her body still suffered the effects even if she slept through the acute pain.
Disappearing for long is going to cause more problems. It doesn’t stop Glimmer from wanting is to deal with this by herself.
"Just till dinner," Glimmer grumbles. "I don't want Mom to send out a search party. But if you could grab me snacks-"
"On it!" Adora's out of the room, not caring that she's only half dressed in a workout bra and training pants.
She never learned body shyness, sharing a co-ed bunk room her entire childhood. Sometimes, Glimmer is envious of that. The lack of shame, not the bunk beds. She likes having the privacy of her own bedroom.
Adora returns twenty minutes later, laden with a box filled with fresh breakfast pastries, chunks of cheese, and a shut ewer of water. No flatware, Glimmer notes, but then again, little Adora hiding behind boxes eating ration bars probably hadn't used a plate either.
Glimmer wonders just how often Adora has hidden herself away in Bright Moon. Glimmer can remember looking for her friend, but never to the point of worry. After all, Adora could be training or running or out somewhere where someone.
The storeroom Adora leads her to is very dusty and dim. No one has probably been here in years, other than Adora, and something in Glimmer aches at the idea of Adora curled up alone in a corner, hidden away instead of allowing her friends to offer comfort. Which is crazy, because that's exactly what Glimmer is about to do.
For a second, she debates asking Adora to stay.
"I'll let you pick your spot." Adora passes over the box of snacks. "That way you're hiding from me too."
"Thanks." Glimmer looks down at the gathered supplies, thankful for Adora's friendship. Glimmer had asked for something, and Adora provided with minimal fuss.
With an awkward pat on Glimmer's shoulder, Adora leaves.
While there's dust in the air and dust on the crates, there's a surprising lack of it on the ground. Glimmer suspects Adora did it to hide evidence of her footsteps, to make her harder to find. With a sigh, Glimmer walks through the stacks of wooden crates. None of them are labelled, but there's quite a lot stamped with the logos of Plumeria and Dryl. She pushes aside her grief for Entrapta for curiosity – Dryl hasn't had much of an export industry for at least a decade, but if these were from the first Princess Alliance, when the war against the Horde was fresh and conflicts were frequently clashes between armies…
Glimmer pries one open. Armor. Not the full suits worn by Bright Moon guards, but neatly packed vambraces for the forearm, just enough to help someone knock aside a sword or dagger. Problem was, the Horde used large blunt weapons, like maces or hammers, as well as electrical weapons. Dryl had armed the Alliance with armor that had minimal effectiveness. Plumeria's crates were similar, layered linen armor that would provide little protection.
Supplies of a war past. Or a war still being fought, just differently now, against an enemy with much better technology.
Melancholy, Glimmer wedges herself into the brightest corner of the room, mainly because she bets Adora chose the darkest one. It's under a grimy window, and through it, Glimmer can tell the sun is fully up now. The kingdom's morning bustle must be in full swing – cooks in the kitchen, the castle staff getting to work, the guards not on shift going through morning conditioning, Adora among their ranks. It isn't unusual for Glimmer to sleep in, so her mom wouldn't be worried. Not unless Bow shared what happened this morning.
She scrunches her face, then stretches her arms out as far as they go. Her fingers aren't the only thing trembling; it feels like she's holding up weights she wants nothing more than to drop, but there's nothing in her hands. It's the ache after a battle, all used-up adrenaline and overworked muscles, but worse because Glimmer hasn't been in a fight. She's just been at home while Shadow Weaver's curse attacks and attacks and attacks.
And not even Shadow Weaver, she doesn't think. Because it's not like the woman cast a spell on Glimmer. Glimmer had simply gathered every drop of Moonstone magic in her blood and pushed through the restraints created by the Black Garnet.
Sometimes she wonders if her body is a battleground for two runestones, and that's unfair. Trees don't fight; mountains don't fight. Glimmer wants to protest the use of her body for this. The way the curse eats at her.
"Ah!"
Dark magics zips around her body, the bright red arcs of magic whipping her arms and legs. Glimmer curls up as tight as she can and lets it pass. There's nothing else for her to do.
All day she sits in that dim corner of a room full of armor that didn't help her mother win a war she's still fighting, and one that may strip Bright Moon of all its royalty. Will this curse eventually kill Glimmer? It doesn't feel like it, but then again, after a particular bad hour where the curse activated five times, Glimmer almost wishes it would. She's kitten-weak on the floor, the cold stone a relief even as the smell of cheese from what should be a lunch snack makes her nauseous.
If the curse isn't going to directly kill her, it might indirectly do so. It'll make her weak, easy for someone like Catra to kill. Or it'll just make doing things like eating seem like such a chore she stops and wastes away, waiting for the next spasm of pain.
She wishes she hadn't pushed Bow away in the kitchen this morning. He'd just been trying to help. And it would be nice to feel his hand on her forehead, pushing away a piece of hair she's too tired to move. His arms around her had been so warm and safe. She'd wanted to lean into them further, sink into this chest and –
And that is part of the problem, isn't it?
She wants Bow here, but she wants him to think she's amazing and cool. He's seen her brought low before, but she feels like she can't show this to him. Because, because Bow should only see the best of her. Not the ugly vulnerability she showed at the Princess Ball, ruining the first half of the night and preventing her from keeping an eye on Scorpia.
Just the pretty parts.
Because she wants Bow to think she is pretty.
Glimmer groans into the ground.
"Glimmer?"
She goes still.
Glimmer expected Adora to return shortly before dinner. She could be fairly literal, and Glimmer had said she'd only hide till dinner. It made sense she'd show up to help Glimmer back to her room or maybe to the informal dining room. After hiding all day, Angella would insist on seeing Glimmer over the evening meal.
But it's not Adora who's calling out.
"Glimmer?"
Bow's voice is closer. Glimmer wants to crawl into an empty crate. She wants Bow to hug her.
It's just, she's tired from suffering through a day of curse surges. Next time she hides, it'll have to be somewhere more comfortable. Or maybe she'll tell Adora she needs blankets and pillows more than food. Glimmer's barely touched the box of snacks.
Bow calls out a third time. "Glimmer?"
Did Adora tell him where she was?
Glimmer bites through her lips as a glitch surges through her body just as Bow rounds the corner of a crate stack. He's beside her in a heartbeat, and the pain locks both her and Bow in their positions. All Glimmer can do is ride it out until the pain passes, lying on the dirty floor.
When it's over, Bow tries to help her sit up, but her muscles aren't behaving. She sags sideways. Bow catches her before her head hits the floor.
"Easy." He maneuvers them both so they're sitting with their backs against the storage room wall, her head on his shoulder.
Glimmer thinks he says something. Her mind's still a little staticky, but she can pick up his voice, higher than normal because of stress. While her head is on his shoulder, his hand hasn't come to rest on her side or shoulder. She can feel the little twitches of his arm against her back as he debates where to put it.
She loves that Bow immediately attempted to comfort her. She hates that it hurts him. He's too caring to put his needs first.
It takes a lot of effort to pull herself away from Bow, straightening her spine and leaning the back of her head against the wall. Bow removes his hand from her back.
"I'm okay," she mutters, staring up at the ceiling.
"You're not," he insists.
In answer, another glitch hits her. The pain makes her back bow and her muscles clench, and she can feel the grind of her teeth. Usually, she can hold in the sob, but she's suffered through so many glitches today. She hurts so much. She wants them to stop.
At least this one is short – it stops as soon as Bow touches her, and the sudden release of her muscles makes her slump to the side. She falls into his lap.
"Glimmer!" He turns her over onto her back, and she gets a full view of his large, worried brown eyes.
She doesn't want to look at them and slams her eyes shut. "Just, just give me a minute."
Lying won't work anymore. It's not like Bow hasn't seen through it this morning anyway. She feels a hundred times worse now, too, not even bothering to use the energy lying requires.
She clamps her hands together over her stomach in an effort to stop the muscle tremors. When that doesn't work, she kneads one hand with the other to deal with the ache.
"Let me," Bow whispers. He takes the hand in his and lifts, her hand in his blocking her view of his eyes. Then, he starts giving her a hand massage. Glimmer watches his fingers work for a few seconds, then closes her eyes and focuses on the sensation.
He's got calluses on his fingertips from pulling back arrows. There are other rough spots too, nicks and welding burns from creating things. His hands aren't soft, but they're warm and firm. His fingers dig into the meat of Glimmer's palm, they manipulate her fingers, they press circles into her wrist. Once he's satisfied, he moves on to her other hand.
Glimmer keeps her eyes closed, hyper aware of her head on his thigh, the warmth of his torso near her ear, the exhale of a heavy sigh on her fingertips. She feels treasured. When Bow gently places her hands on her stomach, Glimmer wants to ask him to keep going. Rub her feet, her neck, her calves, and knead her spine. Maybe ask for the sensation of his fingers on her forehead, pushing away a lock of hair. Or a scalp massage.
She just wants him to touch her, and not the desperate, supportive holds he leaps to when the Black Garnet throws a hissy fit in her veins.
She wants more of this – not quite best friends hanging out in a corner, but still that at the same time. The simplicity, the care, the tenderness.
Glimmer wants to drown in this moment, even as she wants to push Bow away. Now's not the time. They've both recently been kidnapped, they're sitting in a room full of supplies of a war that's lasted decades, and… Perfuma.
She knows they've already talked through the weirdness of Princess Prom, getting kidnapped really does put it into perspective her being upset at Bow not being her plus one. Her grief and worry and fear at things changing is natural, but a shift in their dynamic isn't so big. Not with the Princess Alliance in shambles.
They haven't talked about why Glimmer was upset at Perfuma being Bow's prom date, only the resulting feelings. She'd hadn't been able to answer that question herself, only knowing that seeing Bow do things with Perfuma instead of her made her angry and sad. But sitting here on the floor, with her hands twitching half from Shadow's Weaver's magic and half from a desire to put Bow's hands on her hair, Glimmer finally knows why.
She likes him.
Like likes him.
She hadn't been upset about Adora adding herself to the dynamic because she'd not been a threat to her relationship with Bow. And with She-ra being a princess, making Adora one by proxy, Glimmer never faced the choice of which friend to take to the ball. Her relationships with Adora and Bow have never been at odds.
Perfuma is a threat, and one Glimmer hadn't seen coming, because Bow is her best friend. They did everything together, from fighting the Horde to sneaking kitchen snacks to chores. In Glimmer's head, she assumed they'd go on doing things together forever until they were old. And now, now there's a chance she won't.
Bow hasn't let go of her hands; they rest over hers on her stomach, his thumb tracing small patterns on the back of her left hand. There's no way he doesn't see the tremors in her fingers.
"Hiding like Adora, now?"
"She did show me this spot."
"I figured. I know this is where she likes to hide."
Glimmer forces her eyes open. Bow's staring at their hands.
"How do you know that?"
"Swift Wind. I don't think Adora knows just how accurately he can find her, and I'm not about to tell her."
"Smart."
She closes her eyes again, breathing in the dust and Bow. Thankfully, no magical disruption ruins the moment. She's not naive enough to think that means the curse will leave her alone for the rest of the day. But maybe the next hour?
"Want some water?" Bow asks.
"Yeah."
Bow helps her up, propping her against the wall, before diving into the snack box. He finds the ewer of water and a cup, filling it halfway.
"Thanks." Glimmer drinks slowly. The water's lukewarm from sitting in the box all day. Most of the snacks Adora packed she hasn't touched.
When she's done, Glimmer puts the cup down in her lap. She's not sure what to say. She's already thanked him, and they've exhausted ideas about how to heal her as well as theories of what's wrong.
Her hands aren't as tight and cramped as the rest of her muscles. She wants to ask Bow to help other parts of her body, but instead she simply leans against him. The space's a little cold, but if she were wearing a jacket or had a blanket, she could fall asleep right here. He's a warm, secure presence at her side. She's safe with Bow. She's comfortable with Bow.
She's pretty sure she's a little in love with him, too.
"If Perfuma," Glimmer starts, "If she hadn't asked you to Prom, would you have gone with me?"
"Of course I would have. And I'm sorry I was distracted, and got kidnapped-"
Glimmer pokes him in the stomach, and he stops.
"So you only went with her because she asked you first?"
"Well, she asked."
Right. She'd assumed Bow would be her plus one just like so many other formal events she'd gone to as Princess Glimmer since she turned thirteen. She hadn't thought of asking. She hadn't thought she needed to.
Glimmer pulls herself away from Bow's side to see his face. "Bow, will you go to the next Princess Prom with me?"
It's in ten years. The war should be over by then. They could be dead or alive. Crippled. Glimmer might be queen. Etheria might be at peace. The Horde could have won the war, and there might not be a Princess Prom at all.
It doesn't change her mind.
She doesn't want to go with anyone else but Bow.
It's in ten years. Bow might not be her friend. Maybe he'll be with someone else. But if Perfuma was his date only because she asked first, well, Glimmer isn't going to let this opportunity pass her by.
"Isn't it a little far out to ask me?"
"So? Right now, I know in ten years I want you to be my date." She can't help the blush blooming on her cheek. "If, in the future, you change your mind, you can let me know. But otherwise, as of today, you're my date to the next Princess Prom."
Bow looks at her, and she sits up straighter, ignoring the aches of her body and praying a glitch doesn't ruin this moment.
Before he can answer, Adora rounds the stack hiding them from the rest of the storage room. She seems startled to see Bow, eyes darting to Glimmer.
"Are you done hiding now? It's dinner time. Has Bow told you? He's probably told you. If you still want to hide, I totally get it and will leave. I'll even take Bow if you don't want him –"
"Breathe, Adora."
Adora takes in a lungful of air.
Glimmer sighs. "Yes, I'm done hiding."
Holing up in this room all day hadn't given her any benefit. It didn't stop her from glitching. Her friends and mother still worried all day. Bow still found her and hurt himself helping her.
She extends her arms, and Adora helps her up. Glimmer wobbles; she hasn't stood in hours and her whole body aches. She wants to be on the floor again. Or in a bed.
Adora and Bow slot into either side of her, helping her balance until her legs get the memo that it's time to work. Adora steps away first, Bow more slowly. His hands brush Glimmer's elbow, ready to catch her if a glitch sends her to her knees.
"Queen Angella is waiting. She invited all of us to dinner, not just you, Glimmer, and I didn't want to dine with her alone."
"It's just my mom,"
"She's the queen, and your mother, and-"
And Adora feels guilty.
She'd probably hide from that dinner if she could.
Glimmer reaches up to pat her shoulder. "Let's go to dinner. Can you grab the snack box? You overfilled it. We can drop it off in the kitchen on our way."
"Of course."
While Adora packs away the box, Bow leads Glimmer through the room. Once they are out of Adora's sight, Bow leans over to whisper in Glimmer's ear. "Yes. I'll go to Prom with you in ten years."
Glimmer forces down her blush. She can't bring herself to look at him, not sure if she wants to see platonic affection on his face or something else. And if it's something else, how to respond.
She's saved from answering by Adora jogging to catch up to them, chunks of cheese thumping while the cup rattles against the water.
Glimmer is so glad both of them are here. In the storeroom, in Bright Moon, in her life. Adora is her best friend, and Bow is her future date.
She won't let him or herself forget it.
Glimmer leans sideways; Bow catches her. She doesn't pull away, letting him support her glitch-worn body as they walk to the central area of the castle while Adora keeps up a stream of chatter, worry about how little snacks Glimmer ate, about the quality of her hiding space, about manners in front of a queen, never minding that Adora has had dinner with Angella several times a week for five months.
It's slow going through the halls. Glimmer can't muster up the energy to move quickly, and she likes the feel of Bow's arm wrapped around hers. It gives Adora lots of time to air her insecurities, but eventually, she shyly suggests they go to Mystacor. Considering what happened last time they went, it's sweet that Adora suggests something Glimmer likes.
"Tomorrow would be nice," Glimmer gives her a big smile.
"Tomorrow it is," Bow says, squeezing her bicep.
Her muscles might be sore and achy, but that's okay when she's got two people who want to make her feel better. They'll figure out how to break this curse and then Glimmer will figure out how to confess to Bow.