"Hey, I have something to show you."
Catra came around Adora, seeming to appear out of thin air. Bow and Glimmer looked over at her curiously, but Catra only had eyes for Adora, sitting down next to her on the table.
"Nah uh, this one's for my muse, and my muse only."
Bow mock pouted, Glimmer pulling him out of his seat with a sassy tug. Adora quirked an eyebrow at her girlfriend, eyes scanning her momentarily. Catra had spent most of their allocated "rest" time finalizing designs for the show and coordinating backdrops and other various design elements.
"Muse, huh?"
Adora waggled her eyebrows at her, earning herself a small whack from Catra.
"Shut up and listen to me, dummy."
Up until now, Adora had been doing her fittings with a blindfold, and they were only a few weeks out from the show. She was glad Catra was finally clueing her in into the piece she was going to wear.
"I'm only showing you this because I need you to practice your walk, oh and I need to make sure you're comfortable wearing it."
She said the last bit out in a slight rush, causing Adora to be a bit suspicious.
"Why would I not be comfortable wearing it?"
Catra looked down busily, opening up her tablet while nervously biting her lips.
"Catra?" Adora pushed. She blushed, Adora narrowing eyes in suspicion. She'd reach over and grab Catra's device for herself to just look at, but she knew Catra would most likely scratch her eye out if she even attempted to take a look in her design portfolio.
"What the fuck am I going to be wearing?"
She leaned on the table, Catra raising a palm, telling her to 'wait.'
Adora obeyed, Catra finally relinquishing the tablet and sliding it across the table. She conveniently avoided Adora's eyes as she looked down.
Holy-
"Catra."
"Adora."
"You can't be serious," Adora couldn't help but stare at it. A beautiful design, but one she could never pull off.
"Oh, but I am."
"This isn't me, I can't wear...that."
"Firstly, it's not a 'that,' it's a creation. Secondly, it's not meant to be designed for you, it's to fit the theme."
"Which is?"
"Can't tell ya, sorry love."
Adora ignored the flutter she felt from the endearment, pushing it aside to focus on the discussion at hand.
"You literally said you based your whole design off me."
"I did."
"So you think this creation represents me."
"You if you had...style," Catra shrugged. Adora was flabbergasted at the insult, opening and closing her mouth in shock.
"I have style!" She defended, looking down at herself. Currently, she wore a cropped sleeveless hoodie, sneakers, and leggings. Athleisure definitely counted as style, in Adora's opinion.
"Mhm, sure you do."
Catra made a few finishing edits on the drawing, her condescending tone causing Adora to feel quite affronted.
"It's okay, you're still cute. Even more so now that you're all grumpy."
"I'm not grumpy," Adora mumbled. But she most definitely was.
"I actually based a lot of this design off She-Ra, you know-"
"The warrior who went by the alias Adora, yeah yeah, I know."
Adora found she was getting a bit sick of hearing of this 'She-Ra.'
"Is it ready yet?"
Catra looked up and faced her, eyes pausing on Adora's blue ones for a few seconds.
"Huh?"
Adora gestured to the tablet sitting in front of them.
"The actual thing, is it finished?"
"Oh, no. Almost, though."
Catra flicked off her tablet, crossing her legs on the seat.
"I'm bored. I hate no classes."
"Are you? You've been drawing and sewing every minute of the day. Starting to think you'll leave me for your sewing machine."
Adora was still slightly sour at the style related comment, but she tried her hardest not to let it show. Catra saw right through it though, smiling at her as she got up and wandered around to the back of Adora's chair.
"Suffering from lack of attention huh?"
She hummed, looping her arms over Adora's shoulders and around her neck. Carefully, the cut on it still sensitive to touch.
"Maybe," Adora leaned slightly into the touch, annoyed at herself for being so soft.
"Sounds like someone likes me," Adora was too enraptured by that scent to disagree. Catra planted a kiss on Adora's head, the touch promising something more, something she'd receive when they were alone.
She drifted back into her seat, flicking through her phone.
"People are going nuts for us. I thought it was bad when Bow and Glimmer got together but wow-"
She paused, eyes widening as she shook her head. Adora scooted her chair closer, looking over her shoulder.
"What are they saying?"
She knew some of it, saw the floods of new followers, likes and comments after Catra posted a photo implying their relationship.
"Nothing too out of the ordinary. I just didn't expect this many people to care about who I date, they never did in the past."
Adora still didn't have the courage to ask about Catra's past relationships. It somehow felt invasive, even if she knew Catra would willingly tell her if she knew Adora was interested to know.
Catra frowned again at her phone, pulling a cord of hair with annoyance. She shook it out, putting her phone on the table while Adora watched, eyes fixated.
"You're staring," Catra spoke without glancing at her, hands still running through the long dark waves.
"I know. You look pissed, I'm trying to figure out why."
Catra finally stopped, looking back at Adora with startled eyes.
"How the fuck do you read me that well?"
"It was kind of obvious, don't give me too much credit."
Catra knotted her hair up in a low bun, pulling her sleeves down her hands before rubbing them together.
"It's my hair. That's pissing me off."
"Phew, thought it was me."
Adora placed her palm over her heart in relief, Catra raising her eyebrows with a smile.
"You perpetually frustrate me. But right now, my hair is annoying me more."
Adora shrugged, mindlessly taking out her own device.
"Then cut it."
Catra was silent for a few moments, Adora barely realizing until she turned back to look at her.
"Wait, you're gonna do it?"
"I was just thinking about it. It's just-"
Catra paused as Glimmer and Bow came back near their table, the two of them eyeing the pair of girls cautiously.
"I don't care if you're done or not, I needa eat."
Glimmer plonked herself down on the chair, Adora letting out a breathy chuckle as she delved into her plate of macaroni and cheese.
"Fair enough," Catra swung her leg around the chair, straddling it while folding her arms across the top edge. Adora's eyes watched the movement, her face heating up when Catra caught her. But she only nodded her head slightly, offering a signature wink before moving on as if she didn't just fire up every nerve in Adora's body.
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"Voila," Catra entered the dorm, doing a spin as Adora held up a palm. She was deeply invested in a algebra question, and Catra had been far too much of a distraction since she entered Adora's life. She distantly heard a few mutters and mumbles from her back, but promptly ignored them. It was already eight o'clock, if she wanted to try and go for a walk tomorrow morning she needed to get to bed on time.
"Yes?" She propped her leg back on the floor, taking off her glasses and turning to face Catra.
As soon as her eyes landed on her Adora's jaw very nearly dropped, her gaze hungrily taking in the new cropped hair and face framing pieces. It was so well done Adora debated if Catra was a secretly talented hairdresser, or if this was just her being unreasonably attractive. Probably a combination of both.
"I-Oh my-It's-" she was at a loss for words, Catra's smile slowly becoming wider until she looked like the Cheshire Cat.
"You like it?"
Adora shook her head, simultaneously annoyed by her cheekiness and still in awe at how good she looked.
"I love it," she finally got out. Right at that moment, Glimmer exited Bow's room, running a comb through her hair. The brush fell onto the ground with a thud as she took Catra in.
"You are definitely too hot for me," Adora said, unable to even look at her textbook anymore.
"I disagree," both Glimmer and Catra said at the same time. They both turned to look at the other, Catra raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms against her chest.
"Should I be worried?" Catra teased, a light grin still on her face. Glimmer didn't look the slightest abashed, tilting her head while matching Catra's expression.
"We already share the parents, what's one more thing?"
Catra wobbled her head and stuck her tongue out at Glimmer, her sister mimicking the expression. Adora cleared her throat, causing their attention to flick back onto her.
"The thing wants you both to leave. I have homework to do."
Catra waved the excuse off, settling down in Adora's bed. Glimmer followed suit, Bow wondering out of his room to see what all the commotion was about.
"Oh my god, you look so cute!"
He squealed in reaction to Catra's new hair, sitting next to Glimmer on her bed.
"I am not cute. Call me that one more time and watch what happens."
Bow discarded the threatening glare, continuing to gush over Catra's hair as if he was looking at a newborn kitten or something.
"Why'd you do it anyway?"
Glimmer grabbed an art magazine from her bedside table, flicking through it while she spoke.
"Prime-well..."
The mention of Prime instilled ice in the air, freezing all of them in their places.
"He sort of used it," she looked down, playing with her rings. Adora once again abandoned her books and glasses, joining Catra on the bed. She looked up again, with a bit more determination.
"Dragged me sometimes by my hair. It just felt dirty, you know? Being washed in that water, tied up with plastic."
Catra still hadn't talked about what happened at Prime Elite, and Adora didn't dare push her. This was the most she'd heard in the past week, and only this small amount turned Adora's stomach to lead.
"That man deserves hell, I swear that motherfucker will pay."
Something darkened in Glimmer's eyes, something that was foreign for Adora to witness.
"Agreed," she said firmly, wrapping a comforting arm around Catra.
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