hey, adora - a collection of oneshots

after the war

just a little thing about the future of catradora

"Hey! Glimmer!"

The queen of Bright Moon turned at the familiar voice, and offered it's owner a quick smile. "What can I do for you, Catra?"

Catra fell in step beside her, tail swishing rapidly with some emotion Glimmer could not even begin to interpret, though it might have been anxiety. "You--I mean, princesses--I mean, Etherians," She coughed, looking entirely flustered.

"Etherians," Glimmer agreed. "Go with Etherians."

"Right. So, anyway, Etherians--er--what do they--how do they...?" She seemed unsure how to ask whatever question was bugging her. Her ears were turned sideways, which Glimmer was pretty sure meant she was nervous, but Catra had always been difficult to read with any accuracy.

"How do we...what?" Glimmer prompted sweetly, pausing her stride and turning to face her friend head on. It had been nearly three years since Catra joined them, and while she'd adapted with varying degrees of success to most Etherian customs, Glimmer supposed there were always more to learn. 

"I need help." Catra admitted, dragging a hand over her face. "How do you--How do I... ask Adora to marry me?! People do get married here, right? That's not one of the just-a-myth things?" It came out of her in a rush of words with no space for breath, and she bit her lip waiting for the other girl's reaction.

Glimmer choked. "No! I mean--Yes, we do marry here. But...um--" Oh god. She swallowed. "Um...I'm actually super busy right now. I can't help you. Sorry! Bye!" She blinked, and appeared in a burst of sparkles in her private study, where she collapsed against the desk. Oh god.

--

Catra stared at the empty space where Glimmer had just been, heart sinking into her toes. Oh. So that was how it was. She couldn't say she hadn't expected it--hadn't feared it--when she'd thought about asking Glimmer's blessing, but she'd hoped--

No.

There was no point thinking of that now. No matter how Glimmer smiled at her--said she forgave her--there would always be a part of the queen that saw Catra only as a threat--as the Horde soldier who'd gotten her mother killed--and there was nothing Catra could do to change that.

Still, there were other people she could ask, other people she could win over more easily, and Glimmer would forgive her eventually, even if she never forgot. Catra never expected her to.

--

"Can we talk?"

Bow looked up from his book--a fascinating narrative on Etherian history his dads' had sent him--and nodded. "Sure, what's up?"

Catra perched on the balcony railing outside his window, looking slightly frazzled. "Does Glimmer really want me here?" She asked, voice tinged in bitterness. "I mean, she acts like everything's fine, but I don't think she wants me around. And I get it, I do, but I just...I had hoped--" She cut herself off, and looked earnestly at Bow. "Does she hate me?"

"Slow down." Bow shut the book and set it down on his nightstand, giving his friend his full attention. "What are you talking about?"

"I--" Catra scratched at her arms absentmindedly, looking more worried than Bow had ever seen her (except for maybe once, but that was a long time ago). "I mentioned something to her earlier and she completely shut down. She actually used magic to get away from me!" She laughed like that was the craziest thing she'd ever heard. "I just, I thought we were getting past this, you know?"