piscesnebula | so, baby, can we dance? [ adora + catra ]

Adora's sudden burst of spontaneity has Catra bursting out into a delighted laugh, so happy she barely knows what to do with it. Ever since they saved the world... well, it's not Adora's fault, she knows, but Catra's been waiting for the other shoe to drop. For someone to tell her that she's not welcome. For Adora to leave again.

But here's Adora, practically begging her to run away with her, looking so nervous like there's any chance in Hell that Catra would ever reject her now. It soothes some wounded part of Catra's soul, and has her squeezing Adora's hands like she never wants to let go.

"If I know Entrapta, she's probably stocked Darla up with about six months worth of supplies." Because Entrapta, for all her manic ways, is the type to burrow into a place and stay there obsessing over a project for years, so she's pretty good at preparation. "But we should still definitely get food and wine, just 'cause it looks all fancy and I wanna steal it."

Catra beams at her, and after a moment of internal debate, leans in to press a kiss to Adora's cheek. Luckily for her, her fur mostly hides how the tips of her ears turn red.

"Go make a good distraction. I'll meet you at the ship?"

That laugh, Adora decides, is everything, and she’ll do anything to make sure there’s more of it. Now that she sees the truth about what was really happening to her, it’s all Adora wants: to make Catra ridiculously happy, and for always.

She has no such luck hiding how pink her cheeks turn at the kiss, but she’s also smiling brightly, and she nearly melts again against Catra before speaking quietly against her cheek in return. “Go, have fun stealing.” Words she never thought she’d say, but in the name of seeing the person she loves smile, if making her happy means stealing things that won’t be missed, she can enable. Just a little.

For a second she hesitates before parting from her, afraid that something might happen, something that might pull them apart again and take all of this away, but Adora swallows back her fear and leaves the dance after squeezing her hands. She runs to get a change of clothes for both of them first, plus a few other necessities, before heading to the ship.

By the time Catra arrives, the ship is humming and Adora’s changed into something more casual and less red jacket. Instead, she’s wearing leggings with a loose shirt to be comfortable (one that might look suspiciously like it came from a certain girlfriend’s closet that Adora claimed she hadn’t seen when asked), and for once, her hair is in a loose ponytail without the bump to her bangs. She looks comfortable, even as she paces while waiting. As soon as she sees Catra coming through the front window of the ship, she grins and waves like crazy before running out to meet her.

“Did anyone say anything? Did anyone see you?” Relieving her of some of her burden, Adora takes some of their goods. “And I brought some other clothes for you.”

As much as Catra loves teasing Adora about her little hair poof, she does think it's cute. Still, seeing her in more regular ponytail is novel enough that it's devastatingly attractive, and-- is that her shirt? The one that went missing? Yeah, she's definitely not complaining about Adora wearing her clothes. That's also devastatingly attractive.

"Your prizes, milday," Catra announces theatrically, bowing with a dramatic sweep of her half-cape, her arms full of purloined food. "And of course nobody saw me, I'm way too stealthy for anybody in there."

As Adora takes some of her stuff to carry, Catra makes her way up into the ship. There's a storage room at the back that she starts unloading into; entire boxes full of slices of cake, meat pastries, fruit tarts, vegetable skewers, and anything else she could get her claws on. The bottles of wine get set down next to them, and when she glances through the cupboards, yeah, there's definitely months worth of food in there.

There's a ripple of air at her side, and then Melog appears with a chirping meow, going to butt their head affectionately against Adora's knee. "Can Melog come?" Catra asks uncertainly. She doesn't wanna say they're my emotional support alien cat, but... that's what they are.

"Uh, duh. Of course." She kneels down and gently nuzzles against the side of Melog's cheek with a laugh. "There's no way we leave Melog. We're all going together, the three of us." Standing up again, Adora tugs at Catra's hand and walks with her to Darla's control panel.

"Darla, show us a map of our galaxy," she asks, and one pops up full of stars and planets. This is just their corner of the universe, one small pocket of forever. "There's so much, Catra," Adora murmurs in awe. "Pick one. Anything. All you have to do is touch it, and Darla can set a course."

There's a bubble of excitement and eagerness surrounding them both that she's never felt before, but all of it comes from the fact that she's doing this with Catra. They'll be alone as long as they want to be. They need to talk, and maybe some of that won't be happy, exactly, but Adora believes in this, believes in them. With no Horde, no Shadow Weaver, and nothing to distract them, what will they be together?

Adora can't wait to find out.

Adora's easy acceptance has Catra breaking into a smile of relief -- honestly, she doesn't know why she'd worried so much, Adora loves Melog, and Melog loves Adora. To the point where they frequently follow Adora around like a kitten and climb all over her for attention.

Adora's hand is gentle and sturdy in her own, and for a long few moments, Catra doesn't even see the galaxy. All she can feel is Adora's warmth.

Eventually, though, she does kinda have to reply. So she makes herself pay attention, making an exaggerated hmmmm noise as she studies the map. It's detailed enough, with the little dots of planets circling their respective stars. Darla has even highlighted which systems have planets capable of sustaining life, which ones they'll be good on for a while with suits, which ones have populations of people, and which ones they probably shouldn't set foot on at all.

Catra brings their joined hands up, and presses a fingertip to a promising looking star with seven surrounding planets, all with various highlight colors. They've got options there. And the moment she does, she can feel Darla rumble to life underneath her feet.

"Hold up, Darla. Don't fly out just yet. Someone has to call the Queen and make up an excuse about what we're doing," Catra says, casting a slyly amused little smirk at Adora.

Something about the way Catra keeps their fingers laced in order to pick their first destination makes it all feel real. Real in a way that makes Adora's stomach flip a little.

"Oh. Oh, by someone you mean me, don't you?" she asks with a roll of her eyes before bumping her hip against Catra's. "Fine. You don't even owe me, I'm doing this out of the kindness of my amazing heart."

As soon as Glimmer picks up, it's an earful.

"I've been looking EVERYWHERE for you. Where the fuck are you?"

With one arm across her body, she's about to answer when Glimmer seems to take in the background.

"Are you on Darla right now? ADORA!"

But Adora sees it, the twitch of a smile, and she knows it's okay. She knows that maybe her and Bow need this too. They all need time to know who they are now without a rebellion, without the Horde, without anything weighing them down. Still Adora plays her part.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise. She-Ra appearances for all the kids in different villages."

There's a dramatic huff from the device, and Adora looks at Catra with an amused smirk.

"Fine. But you better bring me back something cool. Go have fun making out with your girlfriend or whatever. Hi Catra! Byyyyye to both of you! Be safe!"

And then Glimmer hangs up on them and that's that. "You know we're both gonna have to sit down for as long as it takes her to be satisfied, until we've told her every single little detail about this trip, right?" But that doesn't seem to bother her as she plops herself in the pilot's chair.

As Glimmer yells and Adora tries to promise to make it up her, Catra just cackles in the background, spectacularly unhelpful.

She's learned a thing or two about Glimmer, by now. When she was in the Horde, all she ever saw was Glimmer's pissed off face, so that was how the Princess lived in Catra's imagination. Just eternally mad. But now Catra's seen all kinds of expressions on her face -- the soft, nauseatingly yearning look she gets when she looks at Bow, the pride and strength she wears when she's doing her Queen duties -- and she knows that Glimmer's not seriously angry. Because she's seen seriously angry Glimmer. A lot.

"Byeeee! We'll definitely make as much trouble as we can!" she responds with a jaunty wave, and then Glimmer hangs up, and Adora's throwing herself into the pilot's chair.

Catra sits on the armrest, her side pressed up against Adora's, watching out the front viewscreen as Darla lifts up off the ground and heads toward the sky, clouds streaming past.

"Normally people hate hearing that much detail about other people's excursions," Catra chuckles. "Ugh, Kyle used to be exactly like that." She pitches her voice up in a mocking imitation. "And then the commander told us to go east, and there were lots of trees, and I tripped over a rock and there was a bug underneath it which really scared me and the commander yelled at me and--" She cuts herself off with an amused snort. "Hopefully we'll have more interesting stories to tell. Wanna get into the stolen food?"

Edited (html!!) 2023-07-14 09:17 (UTC)

"Ugh, Kyle. Actually, you know what? Bow did say Kyle was really nice to him that time you, you know, kidnapped our friends." Our friends. They aren't just Adora's anymore and it makes her happier than she's said. It's what she deserves after feeling so alone. She never has to be again, and Adora hopes she knows that.

The warmth of Catra's body against hers makes her really not want to move, already comfortable. For a second she doesn't say anything, just watches as the hues of the sky change from yellow to blue, from blue to dark purple, and then darkness envelops them. Reaching for Catra's hand, she watches as all the stars come into view, all the moons and planets.

"It all still seems so...unreal, doesn't it?" This is the first time she's actually been able to enjoy the beauty around her and not have rescue or battle on her mind. There's a luxury in having this moment, but she is hungry, and they have all the stars and time in the universe now.

"Everyone knows stolen food is the best food." Impulsively, Adora kisses the back of Catra's hand before hopping up and making her way first toward the pantry. That way, Catra can't see how red her face has gotten, hoping it'll have cooled off by the time she turns around.

"Jeez, we could be gone for like...awhile." Which is said with a nod of approval.

It's not the first time that Catra's seen the ascent into space, but it does still seem so unreal.

For a long time, her and Adora's worlds were so small. Their world was the Fright Zone, and that was about it. Maybe the occasional excursion into nearby territory, but other than that, their world was choking green smog and metal and orders. When Adora left, her world became so much bigger, and Catra can only just now acknowledge that she was jealous of that. She'd wanted to claw Adora back down to her level, to confine her back into the small world that Catra hadn't managed to escape.

Now, though. Now they live in a world of infinite possibility.

She doesn't see the way Adora's face turns red after kissing her hand, which is just as well, because it means Adora doesn't see the way it happens to her, too. Hers fades by the time they reach the pantry, at least, and looking over the various boxes and trays she'd stolen, she's glad this room comes equipped with a stasis field to keep all the food fresh. Otherwise they'd have to live off of rations, and Catra's not sure she can go back to that after discovering what real food is like.

She takes a couple of plates, hands one to Adora, and starts piling her own plate high with various morsels. "Plus, if we do eat everything and need more food, it's not like other planets don't have food," she says thoughtfully. "We can always stock up somewhere else if we find a civilization. Or do a bunch of hunting and foraging."

Even as Adora crowds her plate, she has a roll in her mouth, so she can’t reply to Catra right away. But eventually, she’s all loaded up and bites into the bread so she can speak.

“We’re gonna hunt and forage? I mean, I know we covered that in basic, but I’ve never had to actually hunt to eat.” Not that she’s opposed to it, it’s just that wow, did she get spoiled fast.

“Do you think every place has magic?” Adora’s only just thought of something, although they can fight, and she knows they can take care of themselves. But still…

“I was thinking turning into a giant woman might come in handy. I mean, how common can that be? I thought if we needed a good distraction, that’d be a good head start.”

"I mean, how hard it can be? You just hunt animals you can eat and then catch them and cook them," Catra drawls. "And then pick berries or whatever."

Once their plates are loaded up, Catra tugs Adora back out into the cockpit, where they can sit on the floor and watch the stars in the distance as they eat. Catra leans her shoulder against Adora's, tail curling idly behind them, occasionally brushing over Adora's back. She sets a third plate down for Melog, who purrs in contentment, picking their way through the chunks of meat Catra had laid out for them.

"You're just now thinking turning into a giant woman might come in handy?" Catra scoffs playfully. "Wow I must have missed all the times you did it during fights the past couple of years. Totally didn't come in handy then."

But she falls quiet and contemplative, chewing on a bite of grilled chicken. "I think Etheria must have been, I don't know, pretty rich in magic. Because why else would Horde Prime be so obsessed, you know? And the First Ones, too. But I'm sure there's other magic out there. Maybe not every place, but maybe a lot. There's probably all sorts of different kinds. Not just the Princess-making kind."

"Sooo, I don't know about you, but I definitely don't know how to cook. But we have plenty here, I think we'll be okay for a while." She can't help but lean into the warmth of Catra, realizing this is the feeling that's been missing. The closer they are, the better it feels.

"Hey! I didn't just think of it, I—sometimes I didn't know if I was good enough as just me. You've made it better, but the feeling was there for so long." She doesn't mean to shift the tone into something that might be a little more serious, making a little sandwich out of the small bread rolls, chicken, and small squares of cheese. It gives her something to look at while she talks.

"I know you thought...well, I don't actually know what you thought, but I think you thought I felt like I was better than everyone else, but I never have. I've never thought that. Shadow Weaver made sure of a lot of things, and one of them was making sure the praise I always wanted was just out of reach."

Adora finally looks up, holding her mini-sandwich.

"We don't have to talk about this, Catra, but I think maybe it's better if we do? I should've talked to you before and told you what it was like in my head, but I didn't want you to think I was weak."

After her voice breaks on the last word, Adora swallows, clears her throat, and takes a bite of food, giving herself a reason not to talk for a second.

Yeah, that's... a point. Catra doesn't know how to cook either. But, like, how hard can it be? Raw meat + fire = food, right? Whatever, they'll figure it out.

And that's when Adora decides that it's time for Feelings Talk(tm), and a quiet look of dread steals over Catra's expression. She can probably figure out cooking, but she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to figure out talking about emotions. She doesn't want to, she doesn't like it, and yet it's apparently necessary to have a honest, healthy relationship between people.

There's a long, long stretch of silence after Adora's last word. Catra's claws nervously shred a bread roll apart.

"You were always enough as just you, Adora," she finally manages to say, quietly, more raspy than usual. "Shadow Weaver put you up on a pedestal that you could never reach, and treated like you the golden child while always telling you that you weren't enough."

Catra doesn't know when Adora got wise to Shadow Weaver's manipulations. Maybe it the was moment she got the sword and met Glimmer and Bow. But Catra had known for a long time before that. She'd seen through Shadow Weaver's bullshit and her propaganda for years. But she still hadn't been able to stop it from emotionally affecting her.

"I never thought you were weak. I was... jealous," Catra admits reluctantly. "Shadow Weaver always tuned battle scenarios too hard for you, but you always nearly beat them anyway. She complimented you sometimes, even if it was just scraps. I used to get so angry at you for... I don't know, being you, being Shadow Weaver's favorite, being so good and strong and noble. I knew, deep down, that none of it was your fault. But. Sometimes I just didn't want to admit that."

The lump in Adora's throat makes it hard to swallow, so for now, she puts down the makeshift sandwich and looks at Catra. This doesn't have to be a bad conversation, but something doesn't have to be bad to hurt.

It took too long for Adora to really get it, all of it, and by the time she did, it was too late. The damage was done, and she knows that's why she was so hard on Glimmer for trusting Shadow Weaver. Adora had, and look were it landed her: a life that wasn't hers at all, manufactured from the time she was pulled through a portal.

"I thought if I was the best at everything I could protect you better. I couldn't and don't want to change you, but I tried to do what I could. If I was the favorite, then I could get Shadow Weaver to go easy on you." There's a pause before Adora looks right into Catra's eyes. "It wasn't enough." She can say that now; Catra isn't alone in having things to apologize for, and Adora doesn't think they need to necessarily hash them all out, but for this one, she'll be brave and go first.

"I thought you were tough, and didn't care about anything, especially not Shadow Weaver. I'm sorry I didn't see what I should have, even when it was right in front of me. I will never leave you behind again. No matter what, Catra.

Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise to hear to hear that part of the reason Adora strove so hard to be the best was so that Shadow Weaver would go a little easier on Catra, but... it's a surprise. But in hindsight, it makes a lot of sense. The punishments had always been a lot worse when she was younger, and had eased up a bit when she'd gotten older. The red wracking pain of that magic hadn't been as bad. Catra had just assumed that Shadow Weaver had just started ignoring her even more as she'd gotten older, but...

It makes sense that she'd be less prone to punishing if she was more satisfied with Adora's work.

Adora's confession about her assumption that Catra had been too tough to care about anything brings a wry little smirk to Catra's lips. That had been exactly the impression Catra had wanted to give off back then, so, mission accomplished.

"I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to go with you."

Catra reaches out, careful of her claws, brushing a long strand of blonde behind Adora's ear. Just that simple touch is infused with so much fondness she can barely stand it.

"You left me behind, but I didn't give you a choice," Catra admits. "I was too scared to leave. I thought it was because I didn't want to throw everything we'd built with the Horde, but... I couldn't admit to myself that you were more important than that. I was so twisted up in the idea of you as the golden child that I thought I could finally prove my worth when you were gone, but I never realized that it was just spite and fear driving me."

"I asked you to change your life for me without looking back, and that probably wasn't fair. I guess I just thought it was never the Horde you stayed in the Fright Zone for." Adora has to look away for a second, not ready to cry, not yet, and she blinks away the blurriness. "But that was probably selfish. Once again, making it about me, right?" she says with a self-deprecating laugh, finally looking at Catra again.

Then she keeps talking, and Adora presses her cheek into Catra's palm. Her words make all the effort not to cry for nothing, and two tears spill over. "You've always been worth everything to me, Catra." Closing her eyes, her hand covers the one resting against her cheek.

"I would've fought off a hundred armies, just for you, even before She-Ra."

Catra gently rubs away one of those tears with her thumb, and leans in, pressing her forehead to Adora's, her eyes falling closed as she struggles with just how overwhelmed that one little sentence has her feeling.

You've always been worth everything to me.

It's everything she's always wanted to hear, but she doesn't know if she would have been ready to hear it before now. Back then, back in the full throes of her fury when she'd been right on the verge of destroying the whole planet, she wouldn't have believed Adora if she'd said that. Now, it has her heart pounding with how much it means to her.

"You're everything to me, too," she murmurs scratchily. When her eyes open, her vision's a little blurry with tears threatening to fall. "And I'm going to try to be worthy of that from now on. Even if I'm... not quite sure how to be on the good side."

It comes out sheepish, with a rueful little smile.

"You make it look so easy. Like you were always meant to be the hero."

Adora laughs but it's warm and not at Catra as she reaches out and wraps her arms all the way around her. She doesn't really care about the food right now, and instead speaks quietly against her neck.

"You know what? I wanted it to look that way. I wanted you to be proud of me."

She says it softly into Catra's neck before pulling back and looking at her. "Now I'm proud of you. I see everything you're doing, I promise. And I know some days are hard, but you haven't given up. That means so much to me."

After a pause, Adora wets her lips, her gaze drifting to Catra's mouth before meeting her eyes again.

"I need you to believe that. And that you're always gonna be mine, no matter where we are, and no matter what we do."

Adora's not wrong. It has been hard, harder than Catra really knows how to cope with. It's not just getting stared at weird by a lot of people in Bright Moon, either, it's trying to regulate her own bad habits. Her tendency to snap, to push people away, to get angry over small things, to pick fights. She'd never exactly had a healthy example of how to behave -- and neither had Adora, but Adora turned out so much better than her.

Now, Catra has to figure out what the new Catra looks like. And she's... not sure what that will be, what new kind of creature she might become. But if there's one thing that brings her comfort, it's Adora. Adora's loyalty, and steadfastness, and refusal to ever fully give up on her.

"I like the sound of that," she admits, her smile brightening. "Being yours. And you being mine, too."

Adora's so close, and she smells so nice, and Catra hadn't missed that glance at her lips. It makes her own gaze dip downward, lingering.

"Can I kiss you?" she asks scratchily, amidst the hum of the engine and the stars flying past the front window.

Adora's heart slams in her chest, thudding so hard she's sure Catra can hear it. But still, she manages a soft and warm smile before nodding. Leaning in, she lets her hand rest against Catra's cheek before leaning in to brush their lips together. It's even better than the first time, when everything was terrifying and unsure.

This is everything she thought about when they were both still in the Horde, and she brings both arms around her neck to pull her closer, wanting her as close as possible, unwilling to let her go. Even when she needs a breath she leans in again, a hand resting against the back of Catra's head as she parts her lips first, inviting her as close as she wants to be.

Catra's still not sure if she regrets or loves the circumstances of their first kiss. She'd been terrified that Adora was going to die, she'd barely been able to hear anything over the rabbit-quick thumping of her heart and the anxiety churning in her gut. Their kiss, when Adora had opened her eyes, had been pure relief. The purest, most true emotion Catra has ever felt.

But she thinks she likes this kiss better.

Adora's not dying. The world doesn't need saving. It's just the two of them (plus Melog) in a ship that's hurtling through the stars, and the soft press of Adora's lips against hers.

There's a break, briefly, and Catra winds her arms around Adora's waist to tug her in closer, and parts her lips, and the kiss gets a whole lot deeper, then, Catra's tongue playfully exploring as she hums happily. It brings out the tiniest of purrs, a faint rumble in her chest before she draws back, eyes hooded in smug regard, cheeks pink under her freckles.

"Wow, maybe we should have emotional conversations more often, if that's how they end," Catra drawls.

Adora will always wish their first kiss had been different, that she'd been brave enough to kiss Catra before. But regardless, their love saved the world, so she can't really regret it. By the time this kiss breaks she's practically in Catra's lap, one hand holding onto her at the waist. Laughing softly, she lets her nose nuzzle against Catra's, closing her eyes and breathing her in. This is real and not just one of her rare really good dreams.

"Maybe we should. Maybe they lead to something amazing in the end." Sitting back, she pulls Catra with her so that their positions are reversed and she's holding onto her in her lap. Her own cheeks are red, and she's just a little breathless.

"I think we should probably keep kissing. What do you think?" She's too nervous to suggest they go to their room now, even though it feels like she's spent forever wanting more.

Catra figures that the real point of Big Emotional Conversations is probably to, like... work through issues, or say stuff that needs to be said, or whatever. But as far she's concerned, the real point is: she gets to kiss Adora at the end, and Adora gets to look like that, all kiss-blushed and bright eyed.

"Wow, right in Darla's cockpit?" Catra puts on a scandalized expression, but she leans in to press little kisses over Adora's cheek, the corner of her lips, her nose. Just exploring. "That's bold. Anybody could see us."

(Not unless there's aliens crawling on the forward window.)

"I think I can get onboard with that plan, though," Catra hums, and catches Adora in another proper kiss. "We've got a few hours until we get to that star. I think kissing is a great way to kill that time."

so, baby, can we dance? [ adora + catra ]

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look we all know the show was rated for language b/c at any moment glimmer was gonna off

let glimmer say fuck she deserves it

not me prepared to nuke my sleep so I can stay up late this weekend 👀

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asdlklsdj sorry for the wait i forgot it was my turn, rip 💀

you're fine! (also, I tossed Adora on the TDM for Abraxas jsyk 👀)

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