An Unlikely Match (Catradora AU)

Chapter 13

When Adora's phone rang a week later, she jumped for it, practically dropping all the books in her hands when she saw her girlfriend's name on her screen. She answered the phone and swore as the books fell to the ground in a loud tumble. Catra laughed.

"Um, what was that?"

"Oh nothing, don't mind me."

"You crack me up," Catra said, still cackling. Adora smiled broadly in return.

"Well, I'm glad one of us enjoys my pain." Adora took a brief glance around the store, hoping no one could hear her. Thankfully, it seemed pretty empty.

"Me too, me too," Catra continued. Adora ignored her and bent down to clean up her mess. "Alright sorry, just looking for a time update for tonight."

"8pm, BYOB, wear clothes you don't mind getting paint on," Adora confirmed.

"I'd rather not get any of my clothes dirty, thanks."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you."

"How do we feel about no clothes?"

"My mother will be there," Adora chuckled.

"I know," Catra confirmed, "Have you seen your mother?"

"I'm hanging up."

Catra continued to laugh before letting Adora get back to work. Adora found herself cheerily restocked the books, happily cleaning the counters, and making 15 coffees without a single mistake. All the while, she hummed along to herself. For the patrons entering the store, they probably assumed Adora was always this happy. Even Glimmer seemed damper in comparison and begrudgingly agreed that Catra was a good match for her. Adora smiled in agreement.

8pm came quick enough, and people started piling in for The Heart's first paint night. Bow and Glimmer arrived first, followed by Lonnie and her boyfriend, Rogelio, that no one knew she even had. Angella arrived with her friend Castaspella along with a few Seattle residents Adora had seen in the shop that week. Catra arrived last, giving Adora a look of apology as she slid into the room behind her. Adora gave her a look but was happy she was, at the very least, clothed and here.

"Alright everyone, thank you for coming. Please help yourself to the beer you bought for yourself," Adora said, feeling nervous about running the show, but everyone laughed at her joke and she felt her shoulders relax. She walked the group through a painting of an ocean and sky that she thought would be good for all skill levels. She smiled to find she was correct. There was chatter and painting and Bow plugged in his phone to start playing some music.

Adora walked around, helping anyone who had their hand raised and just admiring the work they had started. When she got to Catra, she tried not to laugh. The girl had already spilled a good chunk of paint on her pants and was sitting with her face 2 inches away from the canvas. Her mouth hung open while she hyper focused on painting the sky.

"You want even, little strokes here," Adora said softly from behind her. She reached around and grabbed Catra's hand. Catra relaxed her hand in Adora's and leaned back on her shoulder, allowing Adora to help. Adora tried not to smile too much. She showed her how to move the brush in a way to get a nice even blue sky. Catra watched Adora the whole time, not even pretending to be listen. "Got it?" Adora asked, feeling Catra's eyes on her. She turned and raised her eyebrows.

"Yup, even strokes."

"Even little strokes," Adora repeated. Catra shrugged and Adora moved on with a wave of her hand and a chuckle from Catra. Every few minutes though, Adora peaked over to her to watch Catra continue to struggle. Adora giggled to herself. She checked on Bow and Glimmer and found Bow's painting to be almost identical to her own. Her mouth hung open and she turned on him, smacking his shoulder.