A/N: Dear lord, who else needs some happy Catradora after season 3?
Here's part 2 for y'all, featuring more tooth-rotting fluff and my season 3 OTP: Catra x Therapy.
( Amora23 from last chapter's comments if you want to write fanfic of my fanfic/use the name I picked that is totally cool, thanks for asking)
The daytime moon beats down on Adora's head as she traverses the lanes of simple houses comprising Defectors' Row. That's not the neighborhood's actual name, but everyone calls it that anyway. It stands out from the rest of Bright Moon and all its colors and eccentricities, its uniformity appalling to many who grew up outside the Fright Zone. To Adora, it's comforting. It's home.
Catra's design for the neighborhood raised a lot of eyebrows when they first presented it. Bow just about fainted. Glimmer was concerned about making the defectors and refugees from the Fright Zone feel unwelcome if they provided them with second-class housing (which was funny, seeing as she'd been reluctant to allow the migration in the first place). But when Adora recounted how uncomfortable she'd been when she first moved to Bright Moon, how all the pomp and luxury had made her feel so lost and out of place, she was able to convince them.
Besides, the houses are hardly second-class, at least to anyone who's not a princess. They have all the necessary amenities, they're just small and simply designed. Wastefulness was an egregious sin in the Fright Zone. No one who grew up there needs a waterfall for showering.
Adora shares a few smiles and nods with former comrades as she nears her own home, where her wife and daughter wait for her. The thought only makes her smile grow. Their home is in the core of Defectors' Row, inside the sprawling expansions that were added as more and more former soldiers left the Fright Zone in the years following the war. Many of them stayed in the decaying infrastructure at first because it was all they knew and they were afraid of who might attack them outside those walls. Word of the welcoming atmosphere here spread, though, and now much of the former army lives in Bright Moon. Not only that, they're some of its most loyal and productive citizens.
"Take that, Sparkles", Catra would say. Catra has said, actually.
Reaching their front stoop, Adora eases the door open in case Aisha is napping. If Catra just put her down and Adora wakes her up she'll be in the doghouse for the rest of the day. Sighing in relief as she escapes the sweltering summer heat, she wipes her brow caked in sweat and sawdust. A nap actually sounds pretty good right about now.
Adora returns her sword to its home on a high shelf in their coat closet, then pulls off her work boots and tiptoes into the house. When she peeks into the living room, her heart just about melts at the sight of her two girls napping together on the couch. A soft rumble that could snoring or could be purring emanates from the heap of feline, Aisha's tail swishing slightly over Catra's stomach in her sleep.
The urge to join the pile is strong, but the urge to shower is slightly stronger. Even Adora can smell how stinky she is, and her sense of smell is not nearly as good as theirs. Besides, she's sore and her skin is all grody and itchy. Heading for the bathroom, she pauses a minute to crack her neck and stretch her aching limbs. She may be She-Ra, but she's no spring chicken anymore. She misses the boundless energy and insane recovery capabilities she had when she was eighteen, but not the heartache. Things are better now.
She returns to the living room some fifteen minutes later, damp hair down and brushing the tops of her shoulders. Finding Catra and Aisha still asleep, she releases a pleased sigh and stops a few feet away. Just watching. Watching the soft flicks of Aisha's tail as Catra's chest rises and falls beneath her, watching the way Catra's ear twitches in her sleep.
It takes a couple more ear flicks in rapid succession for Adora to clue in, her sappy smile turning into a worried frown. She'd chalked Catra's heavy breathing up to the kitten weighing down her ribcage, but now she scans Catra's body for more signs of nightmares. Her heart sinks as she registers Catra's tense muscles and the erratic movement behind her eyelids. Then Catra shudders slightly, a tiny broken whimper rising up from her throat.
Rushing to Catra's aid, as has always been her first impulse, Adora kneels beside the couch. Sweeping a stray lock of hair from Catra's forehead, she plants a kiss on the deep lines set in her brow. "Catra, wake up."
Catra stirs a little, mumbling incoherently, but stays under. Finding one of her hands, Adora gives the twitching fingers a squeeze and moves her mouth to Catra's ear.
"Wake up, kitten."
Catra's eyes pop open with a gasp, fluttering as she gets her bearings. The more she takes in, the more she's able to control her breathing. The light in the room comes from the outdoors, not a glowing runestone. The pressure on her chest is not a vice grip of magic, but a small child. The hand stroking her cheek is warm and soft, if a bit calloused. And the eyes… those beautiful eyes looking down on her are blue.
Sighing in relief, Catra relaxes back into the couch. "Hey, Adora," she drawls, voice heavy with sleep.
Smiling reflexively, Adora answers, "Hey, Catra." She gives her wife a peck on the lips, hand trailing from her chin down to her collarbone. "You okay?"
"Yeah, fine," mumbles Catra, eyes on Aisha as she gives her head a little scratch.
Adora's chest aches. Over the last decade she's gotten a lot better at reading Catra's body language, understanding when she's feigning toughness or being less than honest. Or both. Her thumb drags across Catra's chest, catching on the collar of her shirt. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Nah." Catra waves her off with a playful smile. "It's just the usual, Weaver stuff. Nothing horribly traumatic or whatever."
Adora would beg to differ about the traumatic part, but she's also gotten a lot better at understanding and respecting Catra's boundaries. So she forces a smile and says, "Okay, love." Her eyes flick down to their daughter and that smile turns genuine, spreading wide across her cheeks. "Gods, she's cute."
"Course she is. Have you seen her moms?"
Chuckling deeply, Adora leans in and kisses Catra again. That simple peck turns into more when Catra's eyes glint and a clawed hand cups the back of her head, pulling her back in. Catra hums into the kiss as it deepens, claws carding through Adora's hair as she slides her hand down the back of her neck. Adora winces as Catra finds a particularly tender spot on her shoulders, and Catra squints in concern.
"Sore?" she asks, giving the tight flesh a soft squeeze.
Adora whines in discomfort, nuzzling Catra's forehead. "Yeah."
Catra chuckles, grazing a thumb over Adora's neck. She always relishes opportunities to be the caretaker, given how much of that Adora has done over the years. She's never quite gotten over that insecurity, but to be fair, Adora doesn't exactly complain. "Want a back rub later?"
"Mm, please," murmurs Adora. Glancing up at the very appealing scene before her, she pleads, "Can I squeeze in?"
The tiny pout on Adora's face makes Catra's heart swell. As if she could ever say no to that face. Nodding permission, she wiggles toward Adora, careful not to jostle the sleeping kitten too much. Adora stands and rounds the couch, hopping over the back to wedge herself in beside Catra.
Adora settles her head in the crook of Catra's shoulder, relaxing into her warmth. Then Catra's arm wraps around her and pulls her impossibly closer, and Adora swears that if she could purr, she would. She settles for humming as she nuzzles Catra's chest, inhaling the comforting scent of her wife's skin and fur.
Sighing contentedly, Adora turns her head and focuses on Aisha, gently rubbing her fingertips into the kitten's skull. Aisha stirs slightly and opens her mouth with a quiet but jaw-breaking yawn before nuzzling back into Catra's chest. Like mother, like daughter.
"We made this together," Adora says in awe.
"Mm, I think it's the best thing we ever made," muses Catra. "'Cept for maybe that fart balloon thing." Snorting at the memory, Adora turns her face into Catra's neck to suppress her giggles, and Catra's ears prick up with pride. Gods, how she loves making Adora laugh. That was one of the things she missed most when they were estranged, hating and longing for each other from across enemy lines. Smirking as she lightly scratches Adora's scalp, she remarks, "Still can't believe that was your idea."
"Shadow Weaver's face…" Adora laughs harder, still struggling to keep quiet. Unfortunately her violent shaking disrupts Aisha again and the kitten's ear flicks with displeasure. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Adora finally recovers enough to think. And recall the rest of the incident. Eyes flicking up in concern, she grazes her fingertips over Catra's cheek. "I'm sorry she blamed you."
It's not like Catra wasn't already thinking about it, but hearing Adora say it feels like a bucket of ice water being dumped on her head. She grimaces, the ache in her chest spreading through her core and down her arms.
"That's just how things were," Catra says simply, averting her eyes as she feels them clouding over. Her therapist would be disappointed in her right now, she always says how Catra needs to acknowledge her trauma and stop downplaying it. Talking about it is supposedly healthy, but it's so hard to do, especially with Adora. Not because she doesn't trust Adora, but because Adora was so deeply involved and she hates making her feel bad. And, admittedly, some part of her is still afraid that Adora sees her as a weakling needing protection.
Catra knows she shouldn't think that. It's an 'unhealthy thought pattern' she needs to break. But it's hard not to fall back into all her fears whenever she gets that feeling at the back of her neck that makes her whole body tense for fight or flight.
The feeling of a warm hand flattening on her collarbone pulls her out of the darkness of her mind. She sighs, focusing on the pressure and warmth. That hand is an anchor, reminding her that she isn't locked in cold, red tendrils. She's safe, she's with Adora. And she's free.
When Adora turns her chin with a finger, Catra lets her. Adora holds her gaze intently, fingers moving back to scrape blunted nails behind her ear. Catra's eyes fall shut with a gentle mewl before she forces them back open, not wanting to miss a second of this. Her wife's eyes are trained on her, shining in adoration, and she's never gotten tired of that look.
"I love you so much," whispers Adora.
Catra's ears prick up again and she tries not to blush, with only moderate success. Smirking to compensate, she answers, "I know." Adora makes that pouty face again and she laughs, chest rocking under the weight of their slumbering child. Recovering her breath, Catra rubs a thumb over Adora's cheekbone, her grin wide and toothy. "I love you too, dummy."
Adora's smile is bright as the daytime moon, lighting up the room and Catra's whole life. How Catra got through all that time without her, she doesn't know. Back then she wanted to prove she could live without her. She succeeded, but in hindsight it all seems so silly. It doesn't matter if she can live without Adora. She doesn't want to.
Between the fingers that have snuck back behind her ear and the moonbeam crawling up her legs, Catra's on the verge of dozing off again. Releasing a breathy sigh, she mumbles, "Mm, sleep with me."
"It's not like you need to ask," cracks Adora.
Catra opens her eyes just enough to glare at Adora's saucy grin. "I'm not asking. And that's not what I meant, for once."
Craning her neck, Adora plants a soft kiss on Catra's forehead. "Go to sleep, Catra. I won't be far behind. I'm not going anywhere."
Catra's eyelids flutter but fail to open, and Adora smiles so hard her cheeks hurt. There's nothing cuter on Etheria than a sleepy kitty. Catra mewls softly and murmurs, "You promise?"
An ache spreads in Adora's chest, like her heart is swelling and trying to crack her ribcage. She's broken promises before, but this is one she hopes to keep forever.
"I promise," she whispers into Catra's ear.
That ear flicks against Adora's nose and she giggles, but Catra is too far gone to care. Within moments her breathing evens out and a soft rumble rises in her chest. Adora presses her ear back to Catra's chest and absorbs the comforting sound, eyes falling shut as her fingers wind in Catra's shirt.
She hums, opening her eyes again as she reaches out for Aisha, the other love of her life. Still not quite sleepy enough to join in their slumber, Adora occupies herself stroking her daughter's thin coat of fur. When she scratches gently at the base of Aisha's tail the kitten releases this tiny, high-pitched mewl, and that pain strikes in Adora's chest again. Her heart is bursting with love, filled to the brim by these two girls she loves more than anything.
Catra was partly right. This home is the best thing they've made together. They built this house, they made this child, and they repaired their relationship, finding the cracks and filling them with love and compassion. It's still a work in progress, maybe it always will be. But Adora's never been the type to back down from a challenge.
Her blood slows and she relaxes into Catra again, draping an arm across her stomach. Warm and content, she lets her wife's soft breaths lull her into sleep.
A/N: I had a couple outtakes but no real plans for any more chapters, so this is probably it for this story. Short and sweet. Hope you all enjoyed. :D
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