Chapter Text
wait- they don't love you like I love you
As tempting as another space road trip with her best friends sounds, Adora knows she can’t just leave Etheria in the state it’s currently in- there’s too many loose ends, too many towns to rebuild, too much trust to regain. Mara’s ship isn’t exactly in pristine condition, either, and upon further consideration, she’s really not in a hurry to be holed up in that giant, floating dumpster, after all.
Even still, running away with her best friends into space sounds awesome and irresponsible, and staying on Etheria sounds like an absolute drag, but with the high of winning and her adrenaline from the recent fight both waning, Adora, despite her enthusiasm for whatever their next Best Friend Squad adventure will be, just wants to sleep.
“You look tired,” Bow comments at last to no one in particular, breaking the lingering, comfortable silence that had fallen over them, now that the excitement is fading and reality is starting to settle in.
“I’m exhausted,” Glimmer agrees. “I feel like I could sleep for thirty years.” Truthfully, she isn’t eager to be back out in the cold, empty blackness of space, utterly cut off from her magical connection to the planet, either- but she knows, after everything they’ve been through, that she will never leave Adora’s side. “It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve been able to really rest.”
“Well, we’re all safe now,” Adora breathes, as if she can’t quite believe her words’ meaning is real. “Whatever else needs our attention can definitely wait- maybe not thirty years, but at least until morning.”
Glimmer sighs, despite her smile at Adora’s words, and covers her face with her hand as she remembers… “I’m sure Bright Moon is a mess. I’m not ready to go back there and face it yet.”
“Who says we have to go back now?” Catra wonders. “We still have our stuff set up in the,” she struggles for a moment at what to call it, and finally settles on, “hideout.”
Adora’s eyes light up from the reminder, from the idea that they can steal away from their impending responsibilities for just a little bit longer. “We do! And- it’s quiet there.” Without intending to, she smiles at Catra, her endless blue eyes impossibly soft and warm in a way that makes Catra’s heart pound- how does she do that? “We can rest there,” Adora continues, snapping into leadership mode, her voice serious and business-like, “and tomorrow, we can figure out what’s next.”
Bow glances over his shoulder at the group of princesses still celebrating, lost in their own worlds. “Should we-?”
“We’ll catch up with them later,” Glimmer shrugs, rising to her feet in answer. “I just want today to end.” She grabs Bow and Adora’s hands, then pauses to give Catra a pointed, expectant look. Catra glares in response, but reluctantly holds out her hand, consenting, and seconds later, in a flash of sparkles, they pop into existence in the hideout.
Catra ignores the turning of her stomach that always accompanies Glimmer’s magic, standing in the center of the cave they’d been using as their base of operations for weeks. She tries to stop her head from spinning by reorienting herself with her surroundings- unsurprisingly, they look the same as they did the night she left. Her gaze makes its way around the room; she hears before she sees Entrapta already at her eerie, glowing workstation, explaining to New Hordak (formerly Old Hordak) in hushed, excited tones the intricacies of how she finally managed to override all of Horde Prime’s control chips, and other nerd stuff Catra doesn’t much care to think about.
As Adora, Glimmer and Bow move to debrief with Castaspella and King Micah and send them off, Catra hangs back, lost in her thoughts about the previous days. A quick, guilty glance reveals her sleeping bag beside Adora’s- both of them neat and made, though she’d left hers a mess in her haste- and her pulse races suddenly at the memory of Adora’s tearful face and anguished cry of her name, at the thought of Adora tidying her bedroll in her absence, at the reminder that they still have so much to talk about-
Melog mewls beside her, drawing her out of the painful memory, and she’s surprised by their presence- she didn’t realize they’d followed her back to the cave. She reaches out absently to greet them, placing her hand on their head, grounding herself.
Sleep?
The suggestion sounds wonderful. She hadn’t slept the night before, consumed with dread at the thought of losing Adora, terrified of witnessing it and being unable to stop it. Her emotions had nearly consumed her, and she felt drained from the extreme and sudden switches between the highs and lows.
“Hey,” Adora says softly from behind her, and her left ear twitches in surprise at having been so lost in thought she didn’t sense her approach. She can normally hear her big, dumb footsteps.
When Catra turns, she finds Adora offering the bag she had left behind the night she’d literally disappeared, and she frowns as she gingerly accepts it, her ears flattening guiltily.
“Thanks,” she mutters, and they stand in silence for a moment before Adora, vibrating with tension, takes a deep breath and sinks down to her sleeping bag, her body screaming with fatigue.
Adora knows they should talk about things- they have so many things to talk about, after all- but she also knows that she does not have the energy, physically or emotionally, to sort through any of it. She tries to ignore the way her attention is unwillingly drawn to Catra, even as she slips off her own red jacket, her boots, and, after a moment, her hair tie, shaking out her blonde hair for the first time in what feels like days. She slides her legs under the covers, hyper aware of Catra settling into her own sleeping bag- right beside her- and holds her breath.
It all feels surreal. It seems like a lifetime ago that she’d woken up to find Catra gone; the memory makes her heart clench painfully. She glances over to find Catra staring at the door, as if remembering the same moment, her tail curling around herself like a barrier of protection against the sadness.
“Why’d you do it?” Adora whispers beside her, her throat tightening. She does not have the energy but she cannot stop her mouth from forming the words, her heart from pursuing the answer. She shivers, her stomach clenching as she recalls the feeling of having that same heart ripped from her chest, the feeling she had when Catra left. “Why’d you leave?”
“You still don’t get it, huh,” Catra mutters quietly, shaking her head.
“Is it because you-”
“You’re really gonna make me say it again?”
Adora smiles, barely, her blue eyes dull and sad. “Is that so terrible?”
Catra sighs in defeat. “Because I love you, Adora. And I-” her throat tightens. “I didn’t want to watch you die. I couldn’t. Not after everything I…” Her voice shakes. She swallows.
“I love you, too," Adora whispers. "But that never stopped you from trying."
Catra smiles bitterly, her ears lowering in guilt. “I know a lot of bad shit has happened and I tried to kill you a lot, but I never really believed I would actually succeed.”
At the raw confession falling from her lips- for the first time out loud- the accusing, harsh words of Double Trouble return to her, echoing cruelly in her mind.
We both know this was never what you really wanted.
Catra squeezes her eyes shut, trying to block out the painful memory, the sting of the betrayal, the sharpness of their truth, and her words tumble out faster. “I knew you’d always find some stupid way to survive- you’re so damn stubborn. Was I ever actually surprised when you showed up again?”
“I guess not,” Adora admits.
“There were times when it seemed like you wouldn’t actually survive, and I- I intervened. But with the failsafe-” she pauses, her voice wavering, and she glances at Adora’s chest, remembering the glowing evidence of the failsafe that was once there. “It felt- real. It felt like you might actually really die, and I couldn’t intervene, and I…” Adora reaches for her trembling hand, and Catra, feeling encouraged, continues, “I couldn’t watch you leave me again.” She squeezes her eyes shut once more, willing herself not to cry. Melog mewls sadly beside her in empathy, lying their head in her lap. She absently touches their head.
“Wow,” Adora starts softly, slowly, and then, in a far more teasing tone, “I can’t believe you like me.”
Catra chuckles, discreetly scrubbing at her eyes with the back of her wrist. She shoves Adora playfully. “Idiot.”
Feeling accomplished at lightening the subject enough to continue, Adora’s expression grows soft, and she touches Catra’s arm. “Hey,” she starts gently, voice barely above a whisper. “I never wanted to leave you; I wanted you with me. I still do. And all my choices- everything I envisioned for the future- you were there, Catra… by my side. The backgrounds might have changed but- it’s always been you and me.”
“Well, gee, I wish you would’ve told me before.”
Adora scoffs, her eyes narrowing. “Like you told me all your feelings?”
“Yeah, I’m sure that would’ve gone over real well in the Fright Zone,” Catra rolls her eyes. “And Shadow Weaver would’ve found some way to punish me for-” she pauses, the memory resurfacing in sharp, stinging clarity, seizing her chest in a sudden, cold grip. She takes a deep breath, trying to shake the feeling; she’s not ready to sort through that. She doesn’t know if she ever will be.
As if sensing the shift in energy, Adora creeps her hand into hers, holding it gently but firmly in their shared sadness, and Catra distracts herself with the contact, directing her focus instead on the feeling of Adora’s fingers entwined with hers as Melog lets out a soft purr beside her. Holding Adora’s hand used to come so easily- there was nothing to sort through, nothing to analyze, just the two of them taking on the world together. It felt so natural.
But now, everything’s shifted; she still gets an excited, comforting feeling from the gesture, but there’s more- a weight there that didn’t exist before. Her tail flickers in thought.
Adora’s heart pounds, her body responding to the magnetic fire of Catra’s close proximity. She’s always felt an indescribable energy whenever Catra is with her; she never knew what it was or what it meant, only that she desperately wanted to be around her- closer to her- always.
Now, with their feelings out in the open, Adora starts to recognize that want as attraction, and the realization of it nearly takes her breath away. A thousand questions fill her mind, and she wonders- has she always wanted Catra?
The sudden bombardment of thoughts reminds her that she does not have the power to sort through them, and despite the fire filling her from Catra’s nearness, she’s still so very, very tired. “We should get some sleep,” Adora says quietly, more to convince herself than for any other reason, and Catra nods absently, her thoughts drifting as Adora reluctantly releases her hand.
They shift down quietly into their separate sleeping bags, subconsciously facing each other. Adora stares at Catra’s lips; the memory of them pressed up against hers still doesn’t feel real, but it ripples through her, sending heat flashing to her lower stomach, which confuses her, because her body is still insisting that it’s beyond exhausted.
She aches to be closer to Catra, but she’s unsure what the rules are now- she’d never kissed anyone before today. She’s caught herself staring at Catra’s lips many times, but never gone so far as to imagine them locked in a passionate embrace. Now, though, she has the memory of how it felt to kiss her whispering in her mind, and the same gaze at Catra’s lips kind of drives her crazy.
Melog curls up against her back, their form pressed against her, warm and comforting. She secretly longs for it to be Catra instead, but doesn’t know how to voice her desire, and her exhaustion is relentless. As she forces her gaze up to familiar, intense eyes, focused on her, she tries to ignore the loud, conflicting feelings- the ceaseless tugging in her chest, countering her fatigue- because she’s unsure what to do about it. She just wants to be closer, but insecurity makes her second-guess herself. What if Catra rejects her? They hadn’t shared a bed since Mara’s ship, despite being inseparable otherwise, and she’s pretty sure, in her vulnerable, exhausted state, that she would cry if that happens, which would ruin the peace that had settled over them. Her thoughts race as she debates internally, and when Melog shifts behind her, she’s reminded that they reflect Catra’s emotions, so maybe -
“Come here,” Adora breathes finally, opening her sleeping bag in brave invitation. “Please- I- I want you near me.”
“I am near you, dummy,” Catra mutters, but she shifts closer in response, sliding into Adora’s warm sleeping bag and finding her familiar spot against her. Adora slips her arms around her, pulling her close, then closer, into a hug, and Catra slides arms around her waist, tucking her head under her chin and breathing in Adora’s living scent. Melog presses in even closer to Adora’s back, and with the warmth and comfort of Catra surrounding her, and the low, steady hum of Catra purring against her chest, she’s finally able to sleep.
Bright Moon is less of a mess than they expected, once they finally realize they can no longer put off returning to it and Glimmer teleports them to the palace. It’s not perfect; there’s a lot of sections in desperate need of rebuilding, but the palace- and, more importantly, the Moon Stone- stand relatively untouched by Horde Prime, in thanks mostly to them abandoning it early in the fight and making it less of a target.
Netossa and Spinerella had forgone sleeping in the cave the night before and had instead returned immediately to Bright Moon, eager to get an early start the next morning on organizing the chaos. By the time the Best Friend Squad arrives, the Captain has already regrouped with the rest of her guards and secured the palace as the previously-evacuated citizens begin pouring back into the kingdom. Glimmer, Micah and Adora, trailed by Bow, Catra and Melog, spend the remainder of the day walking through the town, encouraging the slowly-returning citizens, and joining Spinerella and Netossa at the supply lines to help dole out supplies.
With her new short hair and change of outfit rendering her unrecognizable to the majority of the people of Bright Moon, Catra quietly observes the awe and gratitude on display as the citizens bow and cry before King Micah, lost to them for so long. Glimmer proudly revels in the attention, happy to show off her father, who stands awkward under the unwanted publicity while Catra attempts to stay in the shadows.
When the sun begins to set, and most of the Bright Moon refugees have been attended to, Glimmer allows herself to get lost in the excitement of bringing her dad home to the palace, even though he’d already been there for weeks without her, distraught over her disappearance and the slowly encroaching, advancing forces of Horde Prime.
As she follows Adora and the others down the palace corridors on the unneeded tour meant for Micah but useful for her, Catra feels uneasy, as if she doesn’t belong here, doesn’t deserve to stand in such splendor after all the hurt and havoc she’d caused. The halls seem sterile, empty, reminding her of her time spent on Prime’s ship, despite trying to convince herself otherwise- but this big, empty structure is just as foreign, just as unwelcoming, and she struggles to keep her emotions under control, hoping her tail doesn’t betray her.
The only thing keeping her from fleeing in shame is the firm, gentle pressure of Adora’s hand in hers, anchoring her there, and Melog’s reassuring presence beside her. She wonders how Glimmer can be so forgiving- after all, is it not her fault that Queen Angella was lost to the portal?
Then again, Entrapta created the portal machine, and they’d all forgiven her, and Catra knows she’s at least as deserving of forgiveness as Entrapta, right?
She studies Glimmer, who shows no trace of sadness as she yanks King Micah along by the arm, giggling with excitement as she and Bow nearly fall over themselves sharing stories of their antics over the years. She listens quietly, observing, and when Adora chimes in with stories of her own about the three of them, she can’t help the jealousy that overtakes her. With the exception of the parts she was present for- the fighting parts, the bad parts- three years of Adora’s life are completely unknown to her. Her mouth tastes bitter at the thought, her stomach churns; Melog’s blue seems to shift to a dull gray, and Catra wishes her emotions weren’t so openly on exhibit.
But then Adora smiles that dumb, hopeful smile, just for her, her blue eyes shining, happy- and Catra feels her jealousy melt away. It’s then that she realizes that the stories are just as much for her as they are for Micah- that the three of them are just as eager to let Catra in, to catch her up, to share their adventures with her, as she is desperate to fill in Adora’s three-year gap.
Glimmer doesn’t treat her with malice. When their eyes meet, not a single shred of hatred is present.
If Glimmer can forgive her, she decides, then maybe she can forgive herself.
It’s a weird sight, seeing Catra in her bedroom, despite having fantasized about it constantly over the last three years. Glimmer hadn’t bothered to assign Catra a room, and the knowledge that Glimmer automatically assumed that they’d want to bunk together makes Adora smile proudly. She watches Catra, who gazes around her bedroom cautiously, and hopes she wasn’t wrong- but maybe Catra does want her own space. Out of desire, they’d shared the brig on Mara’s ship, and once on Etheria, slept near each other every night; Adora remembers the old Catra sleeping at the foot of her bed, drawn to her- but that was before she became a Force Captain, with her own room, her own large bed. Does she prefer that now?
The fact that she doesn’t know, that she hasn’t known Catra for the last three years makes her second guess herself, hesitate. She clears her throat, watching Catra’s ears perk up.
“Catra?” she calls gently, and Catra turns, her eyes wide. “I know it’s a lot,” she continues softly. “Believe me, this is the toned down version.”
“It’s just- so pink. How do you sleep in here?”
Adora laughs. “You get used to it.”
Catra’s quiet for a moment, her tail flicking in thought. “I guess they don’t call it Bright Moon for nothing.”
Adora slowly moves closer. “I know it’s- different.” When Catra doesn’t answer, Adora chews her lip, her fear resurfacing. “Look, you don’t have to stay here with me. I can ask Glimmer-”
“No, that’s not it,” Catra says quickly. The thought of leaving Adora’s side, of being parted from her, is nearly frightening so soon after everything that’s transpired. She’d spent three years sleeping without her- and she didn’t want to do it anymore.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“It’s just- weird, being here. Seeing where you’ve slept- where you’ve lived- this whole time.” Without me.
Adora’s eyes soften, and she takes Catra’s hand. “I didn’t really sleep. Not like I used to in the Horde- it’s too pink.” They laugh together for a moment, and Adora feels encouraged. “But it’ll be different now that you’re here.”
Catra rolls her eyes. “The room’s still pink, Adora.”
Adora only grins dopily in response, moving to her bureau as Catra finds a place to set her bag. She opens one drawer and begins making space for the few clothes Catra had managed to grab from the Fright Zone. The thought of Catra still wearing Horde clothes saddens her- at her soonest opportunity, she would have to set Catra up with the Bright Moon tailors. Even if she wanted the same clothes, like Adora did, it feels different not having them come from the Horde.
Not to mention the quality’s better, too.
Once she finishes, she turns back to Catra to find her smiling softly at her, and she’s once again gripped by the familiar desire to kiss her, to lean forward and taste her mouth, to run fingers through her short, choppy hair and pull her close, breathing her in… A blush spreads across her cheeks as she imagines it for the first time, slightly shocked by how fast her thoughts have taken off. She’s about to give in to the pull, but a knock at the door interrupts her thoughts.
She calls for their visitor to enter, and the door cracks open to reveal Glimmer, grinning mischievously. “It’s ti-ime,” she sings.
Adora smiles at the familiar look- she knows there’s only one reason she’d be knocking so late. She grabs Catra’s hand and tugs her to the door. “Let’s go!”
“What’s going on?” Catra demands, but doesn’t pull her hand from Adora’s as they slip out into the hall, where Bow- and Melog, who had been given their own room- stand waiting for them.
Bow and Glimmer exchange looks, and then he turns accusing eyes at Adora. “Adora, you didn’t tell her?”
“Tell me what?” Catra complains. Melog echoes the sentiment.
Glimmer wraps her arm around Catra’s shoulders, causing her to frown. “We’re going to raid Bright Moon’s kitchen!”
When the realization hits her, Catra’s expression softens. “Oh,” she murmurs, her ears flattening, eyes averting to the ground. Adora squeezes her hand in excitement, and she feels an involuntary blush cross her cheeks. How could Glimmer forgive her, then so easily and purposefully include her in such a private Best Friend Squad outing? How does Catra deserve this?
Before she can ask any more silent, self-doubting questions, Catra is swept up in the excitement as Glimmer releases a battle cry and they teleport through the palace and into the kitchen. Catra takes a deep, calming breath, centering herself- she supposes it gets easier each time Sparkles does it- as they all pause to take in the kitchen and find it exactly how it had looked so many times before.
On the counter, posed on an elegant platter, sits a giant cake, and Glimmer easily lifts it, offering it to her friends. Before they can ask about the cake’s origin, since the Bright Moon chefs had not returned yet, Glimmer admits, “I might have called in a favor from Erelandia.”
Catra swallows, her throat feeling tight with emotion at the obvious lengths Glimmer went to in order to have this special outing with her friends- with her- as Bow agrees, they definitely owe us!
They circle up on the floor with the cake platter in the center, dividing the lime green-colored confection up equally among them. Unsurprisingly, Adora finishes hers first, making the rest of them laugh at the frosting and crumbs that cover her face. She tries to steal the rest of Catra’s cake next, and Catra makes a big show of keeping it away from her before finally surrendering… but only after wiping a large smear of frosting across Adora’s face, which prompts Adora to tackle her and rub her face against Catra, who shrieks and struggles away, and they all laugh so hard they cry.
When the cake is finished, and they're pumped up on sugar and happiness, Glimmer’s eyes sparkle with their usual magic. “I can’t believe we’re here,” she breathes.
“It seems unreal,” Bow agrees. “After so long…”
“A lifetime ago,” Glimmer admits, her gaze turning sad.
Adora pauses to reflect as the energy between her and her friends takes on a melancholic tone. It had been a long time since they’d all been okay- she and Glimmer had had tension for a while, and then there was Bow and Glimmer’s tension, and Catra-
Almost against her will, a smile overtakes her face. She’d only ever dreamed that Catra would join the rebellion, only ever secretly hoped they’d be laughing together like this on the floor of Bright Moon’s kitchen. Now, with her dreams a reality, she feels complete- not for the first time since Catra had joined them. She only hopes that Catra feels the same way.
Glimmer is first to rouse from her thoughts and climb to her feet, and Catra sets the empty platter on the counter. Once they are all standing, Bow pulls them into a long, silent hug, and for once, Catra allows herself to melt into her friends, to take comfort in the physical expression of their love, to feel their joy at her presence. They cling to each other tightly for long moments, and finally, once they separate, offering each other smiles and good nights, Catra and Adora tread silently back to Adora’s room, hand in hand down the dark, empty- but now familiar, not-so-unwelcoming, safe - halls of Bright Moon.
Melog peels off down another corridor with a soft mew as they reach Adora’s room, and once they’re inside, closing the door behind them, Adora pulls Catra into a tight, intimate hug.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispers.
“Where else would I be?”
Adora’s smile falters. For so long, Catra had been elsewhere, everywhere but here where Adora knew she belonged. She doesn’t allow herself to get lost in regret, in bittersweet longing for the past to be different, and instead, focuses on the present, and her best friend in her arms. “I’m sorry,” she admits. “Having you here just feels- right.”
Old Catra would say something sarcastic- would tease her, shut down such an honest admission of emotion, because her heart couldn’t take what it could mean. But instead, her expression softens. She returns the embrace, nuzzling into Adora‘s neck.
“Get used to it.”
Adora smiles, squeezing her tighter. “Gladly. It’s all I’ve wanted. I missed you so much.”
Catra swallows, feeling too many emotions. “I- missed you, too.”
Adora pulls back, and once again, desire clenches in her stomach- especially when she notices Catra’s eyes gazing at her mouth. Her heartbeat picks up, and she bites her lip. “Catra,” she starts, low, shy. “Can I-” she hesitates, mustering up her courage. “Can I kiss you?”
This time, Catra can’t stop from rolling her eyes. “Adora, you don’t have to ask every time.”
Adora blushes furiously. “Okay, well, it’s kind of a new thing for me, and I’ve never kissed anyone before, so- “
“You haven’t?” Catra asks, raising her eyebrow in challenge.
Feeling slightly judged, Adora’s eyes widen in shock. “You have?” And at Catra’s sly nod, she finds her stomach twisting. “Who?”
Catra shifts closer, her forehead pressing against hers, her short bangs tickling Adora’s skin. “You, dummy.”
Relief washes over her- she really didn’t like the thought of Catra kissing anyone else- and she sighs. Then, as if realizing the weight of expectation, she reaches up to cup Catra’s face, her thumb stroking softly over her velvet cheek. With a shaky breath, she closes the gap between them, her lips pressing softly to Catra’s. The grip of desire squeezes tighter in her stomach, and she doesn’t know how that can be possible- is she not already satisfying it by kissing Catra? She kisses her harder, but the desire only grows, causing her heart to slam in her chest, and she pulls back after a moment, breathless, already desperate to kiss her again.
She licks her lips, nearly trembling from the powerful wave of emotions crashing over her. “Catra, I-”
And she’s cut off by Catra kissing her, by Catra holding her, by Catra’s fingers in her hair, stroking gently, then not so gently as her hold tightens, as her kiss turns fierce. Catra’s tongue darts out against her lips, and Adora sucks in a quick breath, opening her mouth automatically. The kiss deepens; Catra’s mouth is hot against her own, and Adora feels her pulse pounding loudly in her own ears, throbbing between her legs, especially when Catra’s hands slip under the bottom of her shirt and her fingers graze along the heated skin of her lower back. They both groan at the touch; Catra from the warm, taut muscle she finds there, and Adora from the possessive, teasing touch along her skin. She feels as if she can’t get close enough- the desire to touch Catra is nearly overwhelming, but she can't bring her hands to leave their spot cradling Catra's face.
For all she’d been dreaming of Catra’s mouth on hers again, this kiss is entirely different from that first loving, tender one in the Heart of Etheria, entirely different from what she’d imagined and expected. Catra ignites something powerful with her lips, with her tongue, with her sharp fangs nipping gently at Adora’s bottom lip, causing her to tremble with want she cannot yet name as a small, involuntary moan works its way up from the back of her throat and her hips press forward of their own accord, aching to be closer.
When they finally break apart, breathless and overwhelmed, their eyes meet, dark and intense. Adora’s heart pounds so hard she wonders if Catra can feel it, hear it. And then Catra speaks, her voice low, rough, scratchy.
“It’s late,” she admits. “We should sleep.”
Adora swallows her disappointment. She’s desperate to keep kissing Catra, nearly dizzy from the feeling, and she doesn’t know why it almost hurts to stop, but she does know Catra is right. She runs a hand through her hair, pulling her messy bangs from her forehead, feeling slightly frustrated without reason. “Okay,” she agrees finally.
They’re in their pajamas moments later- matching gray tanks and shorts, and Adora smiles wistfully at the familiarity. When’s the last time they’d been safe enough to be in pajamas together? Mara’s ship, after she’d rescued Catra from Horde Prime, but before?
They climb into bed, and Adora offers her a bright, hopeful smile, ignoring the way heat and desire simmer under her skin. “I love you,” she says, feeling the truth of it warm her chest, resonate throughout her whole body. It feels more real each time she says it, and she reaches out to gently run her fingers through Catra's hair.
Catra smiles softly, leaning into the touch, her tail curling around Adora’s bare thigh, comfortably possessive. “I love you, too.”
Adora presses a gentle kiss to her temple as she curls up against her, as their legs tangle together under the sheets and they sink down into pink softness. She sighs in content, and as she mumbles a sleepy, good night, the last thing she sees are the stars, shining, brilliant, through her window.