Bad End of the World

I Will Try To Fix You

Adora

Adora looked down at the sword. It was right where Catra had left it, just lying there on the floor. She bent down to pick it up, her hands still trembling, and fresh blood trickling down the wound in the center of her chest.

"Catra...?" she whispered, only then noticing that the cell barrier had been left deactivated. She released a long, deep sigh, then sat on the bed, and pressed the tip of the blade onto the tiled floor. She actually wants to kill me, Adora thought, squeezing her eyes closed as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

She rested her palms atop the rounded end of the hilt, staring into the blue jewel in the center, grinding her teeth together. I came all this way to heal her, to tell her how I feel... But she just wants me dead.

Adora laughed bitterly at the irony. How had they ever drifted this far apart? How could she love someone who clearly hated her so much? Her chest started to throb, and she wasn't sure if it was the injury, or her heart aching.

Maybe it's both.

And then she felt her gut twist, along with a wave of nausea at a harsher truth. It wasn't just that Catra hated her. No, it was far worse than that. She'd seen it in the way Catra's hands had trembled while she'd held that sword, and heard it in the way she'd stuttered.

Adora shifted her hands and gripped the handle of the sword until her knuckles turned white, tightly enough that it would have probably shattered if she were She Ra right now. The woman she loved, and had apparently loved her entire life, was terrified of her. And she had no idea what to do about it.

"Uh..."

Adora snapped back to reality and twisted her head to the right, finding Kyle, stood perfectly still while holding a blue food tray and a bottle of water. He stared down at her hands, which were still tightly gripping the hilt of the blade.

"Oh, hey Kyle," she said, attempting a weak smile.

"Should I... set off the alarm?" he asked, wincing.

"No. I'm not going anywhere," Adora said, sighing. "Or maybe I am. I honestly don't know anymore."

Kyle took a few nervous steps forwards, and put the food and drink on the end of the bed, where his eyes widened. "You're hurt! I'll go get some bandages, just wait-"

"No. I'll fix it," Adora interrupted, shaking her head. She didn't bother to transform, since it was a relatively minor injury. She raised the hilt of the sword to her chest, and a few seconds later the bleeding stopped.

"Wow," Kyle said, folding his arms. "Neat trick."

Adora sat cross legged on the grey sheets of the bed, propped her back against the wall, and lay the sword flat across her thighs. She noticed that Kyle was still looking at her, and felt her heart sink when she detected the same traces of fear she'd sensed in Catra. "Kyle, it's just me. I promise."

"Well, you say that, but..."

Adora thumped the back of her head against the wall. "Can you... just do me a favour? For old times sake?"

"I'm listening..."

"Just... stay a while."

"Um, I can do that," Kyle said, smiling weakly. He sat down on the floor, cross legged, and folded his arms, looking up at Adora expectantly.

"I guess you're wondering why I came back."

Kyle shook his head. "I already know. You two were always inseparable, after all."

"I just wanted to try and make things right, especially after..."

"We all know it wasn't your fault, Adora. We heard about what Catra did, setting that trap, and infecting the sword."