"Okay, okay I got one. Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Alright!" Glimmer clapped her hands together, smiling brightly. "So, truth. If you could do just one thing you've always wanted to do, and you knew you wouldn't get caught or face any consequences for it or anything like that, what would it be?"
"Do we have infinite resources?" Catra asked. "Could we, like, magically teleport wherever we wanted to do the thing?"
"No, no." Glimmer waved Catra off. "None of that smartass shit. I mean right now, with the resources you have, in Brightmoon. If you could do anything within the limitations of your own imagination and real-life ability, what would you do?"
Or: The Best Friend Squad plays truth or dare, Catra terrorizes Kyle for fun, and Adora makes a confession.
•••••
"Truth or dare?"
The groans from the group did not deter Bow in the slightest. "Come on! I know you guys want to play. It's been weeks!"
"Can't we just, like, look up at the stars in a relaxing and contemplative silence?" Glimmer whined.
"Nice try, Sparkles. Pretty sure Adora is gonna explode if she has to sit still for a second longer, so-"
"Not true!" Adora gasped. It was totally true. She absolutely loved their quiet nights stargazing but she could only take so much before she got restless.
"So, truth or dare?" Bow repeated.
Everyone grumbled in unison, "Truth." Nobody wanted to move for a dare. Except maybe Adora, but she was not about to move out of fear of what would be a very annoyed Catra.
The four were squeezed side by side in Adora's truck bed, nevermind that Glimmer's jeep was parked just beside them and could've easily held two. They'd at least taken the care to bring a few pillows and lay a thick blanket down to separate their squished bodies from the cold metal beneath them.
Adora and Bow were both on their backs in the middle, shoulders touching. Glimmer was on Bow's end, curled into his side, hands locked between her chest and his ribs. He had an arm cushioning her head, on the basis that he was just trying to make sure she was comfortable and definitely not so he could hold her ("There are literally pillows right there, the lovesick idiots").
Catra, on the other hand, wasn't bothering with the half-snuggling. No, she was fully on top of Adora, unashamedly using her friend as a personal body pillow. Her arms wrapped around Adora's waist, both their legs intertwined. Meanwhile, the blonde beneath her was pinned down, occupying her need to move with a hand trailing through Catra's hair, unknotting the messy tangles as gently as she could.
Platonically, of course.
"Okay, I got one," Bow finally said. "What's an embarrassing story from your childhood?"
"Ugh, lame."
"Catra, you literally say that about any question that isn't your own," Glimmer argued, pointedly ignoring the way Catra stuck her tongue out at her.
"Easy you two," Bow lightly chastised them. "It's my question so I can start." He quickly launched into a story about the first time he'd tried to use a bow and arrow — a nerf one, because his dads weren't completely insane — but it ended in disaster and a broken century-old vase regardless.
"I'm pretty sure it's common sense rule number one not to shoot projectiles in the house," Glimmer teased him. "Even I know that and I'm the queen of chaos."
"Are we giving ourselves nicknames now, your Majesty?" Catra shot back without missing a beat.
"You know," Adora cut in, knowing this could devolve quickly if she didn't, "I think I remember George and Lance telling me that story."
"O-Oh, they did?" Bow's voice pitched. He really shouldn't be surprised at this rate.
"Yeah. You know they tell me everything. I'm the daughter they've always dreamed of." It was true. George and Lance were always begging Adora to come over and help them in the archives. The organization! The filing systems! "Pretty sure they said you only wanted to get into archery because you were trying to impress a girl."
"What?!" Bow let out a nervous laugh. "Me? Wha- I- no, I wasn't-"
"Adora, cut it out," Glimmer said. "The only girl he even knew at that age was me."
"Hey, Queenie, is your magical power flight? Because if it is, maybe you can chase after the point that just flew over your head."
"Catra!" Adora tried her hardest not to laugh, especially when she turned to see both Glimmer and Bow's faces burning red. "Don't be mean."
"And what about you?" Glimmer directed the question at Catra, desperate to deflect the attention. "You're already such an embarrassment so I'm sure you have plenty of stories."
"Glimmer," Adora reprimanded. "Mean."
"Childhood stories imply that I ever had a childhood."
Glimmer scoffed at that. "Are you trying to say you were never a child?"
"I'm an entity, Sparkles. A being with no beginning or end." With a low grumble, Catra added, "I certainly was never some snot-nosed little heathen like the rest of you."
"Apparently I was best friends with a changeling my whole life then." Adora poked Catra's ribs, earning an outraged growl in response. "I happen to remember a certain picture day-"
"Shut it, Gray."
"-when you decided you just had to do your hair on your own, so you took it upon yourself to-"
"Finish that sentence and I swear-" Catra's claws poked warningly into Adora's back, "-I will tell them all about the Alwyn Incident."
Adora has never shut up so quickly, skin pale as she whispered, "You wouldn't."
She did. Catra gave the full story, sparing no details or Adora's pride in the process. By the time Adora was reduced to a red-faced embarrassed mess, she'd forgotten entirely about the story she was trying to tell about Catra.
(Glimmer did not forget. Glimmer would be asking as soon as she could corner Adora in classes on Monday. Adora would be prepared. Despite what Catra thinks, not every photo from that day had been shredded to pieces. Glimmer would not comment that Adora just keeps that in her wallet. But she would definitely tell Bow later.)
After Glimmer's dramatic recounting of a particularly unfortunate family reunion (the Moon's should never be allowed ten feet near a game of monopoly, those little budding monarchs), the game continued in similar fashion — with far too much bickering and a suspicious preference for only truths over dares.
As the hours wore on though, and each member of the Best Friend Squad refused to fall asleep, their questions and answers only grew wilder as their sleep-drunk brains desperately chugged along.
Following a dozen or so rounds, it was Glimmer who proudly declared, "Okay, okay I got one. Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Tru-uth."
"Da-"
"No one wants your dares, 'Dor."
"Alright!" Glimmer clapped her hands together, smiling brightly. "So, truth. If you could do just one thing you've always wanted to do, and you knew you wouldn't get caught or face any consequences for it or anything like that, what would it be?"
Adora frowned at the question. She turned to look at Glimmer, who was still awaiting an answer from the group, an expectant look on her face.
"Do we have infinite resources?" Catra asked. "Could we, like, magically teleport wherever we wanted to do the thing?"
"No, no." Glimmer waved Catra off. "None of that smartass shit. I mean right now, with the resources you have, in Brightmoon. If you could do anything within the limitations of your own imagination and real-life ability, what would you do?"
"No consequences?" Bow repeated curiously, though his tone implied he was more interested in whatever scheme Glimmer had thought up if that tidbit was necessary.
"None!" Glimmer happily clarified, taking another sip. "You could get away with murder if you really wanted."
"Should I be concerned?" Catra tilted her head up to whisper the question in Adora's ears and suddenly Adora couldn't think in complete sentences anymore. Typical.
While she was busy blue-screening, Glimmer was already talking about her long-standing wish of hers to go hang gliding.
"There's like three buildings in Brightmoon," Catra scoffed. "Where the fuck are you going hang gliding?"
"If you'd let me finish-" A pillow slammed into Adora's face at high velocity, despite the fact that she was clearly not the target.
"What about the Moors of Mystacor?" Bow asked, pointedly ignoring Glimmer's acts of violence. "That's close. You could take a bus. Your mom would kill you though."
"That's the point!" Glimmer sat up, letting Bow fall victim to the bunched-up blanket rocketing their way. "The no consequences thing, not my very likely death. No parents to fuss and no risk of injury! I get to go hang gliding over some of the most beautiful waterfalls in all of Etheria and live to never tell the tale."
"Why don't you go parasailing?" Adora asked. "I'm sure Mermista would take you."
"Or parachuting!" Bow sat up to match Glimmer, keeping the blanket to wrap over their shoulders. Catra stuck her tongue out at them, out of ammunition.
"I want to be flying, not falling with style Bow," Glimmer lightly teased. "And there is no perfect world that exists where I do anything with Mermista and don't die. Have you seen how she drives those boats?"
"She's not as bad as Sea Hawk," Adora pointed out. They all shuddered at that. That man was a menace to society, with or without a lighter.
"I think I'd enter the Etheria Inventors League," Bow said. "That'd be my one thing."
"That's that lame nerd competition, right? With the robots?" Catra asked. It was the closest she usually got to genuine, considering she actually remembered what Bow was talking about.
"Yeah," Bow immediately brightened. "It's really cool and one of my old professors, Dr. Entrapta, hosts the whole thing. They have talent scouts come from all over to watch. It would be so cool."
"Why not do it then?" Glimmer asked. "You're always drawing up ideas. And you're stupid smart."
Blushing deeply, Bow fiddled with the blanket as he mumbled, "Oh, you know. I just never have the time really. Not with work, school, helping my dads all summer. It takes a lot of work to even build a submission worth the League's time. Not to mention resources and money and...yeah." He trailed off with a half-hearted shrug. "It's a nice wish though."
Glimmer shared a look with the other two girls that portrayed a pretty clear message: They'd be helping him get into that competition or die trying.
"I can help out with the money part," Catra casually threw out.
"What?" Adora was about to ask what the hell she was talking about when Catra quickly added:
"I'd rob a bank. That's my thing."
"You're so full of shit!" Glimmer shouted back.
"What?!" Catra's tail whipped around wildly as her eyes grew wide with excitement. "You said anything."
"Anything reasonable."
"This is reasonable. You're just doubting my abilities."
Adora raised an eyebrow at that. "And how exactly are you going to rob a bank?"
"Like I'd tell you. You're such a goody-two-shoes, you'd just turn me in." Catra poked Adora's forehead before jumping up and out of her embrace to balance on the roof of Adora's truck. She ignored Adora's distressed pleas for her to get down as she paced back and forth. "It'd be easy though. And fun. I've always wanted to plan a heist."
Admittedly, Adora was sure Catra would be very good at heisting. She wasn't about to admit that though, especially when she was one slip away from scratching her claws all along Adora's beautiful, beautiful truck.
"There's no consequences, so obviously I'd get away with it. The banks are all insured so it's not going to hurt anyone anyway." Deciding she'd agitated Adora enough, she dropped down to simply sit on the truck's roof, feet dangling as she grinned deviously down at the others. "And I could give the money to charity and all that. Bow gets to live out all of his dorky robot dreams and Sparkles can customize her hang glider all pink and glittery for all I care."
"Are we charity cases?" Bow whispered to Glimmer who seriously looked like she was planning her own heist outfit (the most crucial element of any bank robbery).
"What about me?" Adora asked. "Don't I get anything?"
A soft rumble came from Catra's chest as she considered what she really wanted: Enough money to buy themselves that little house they'd dreamt up as kids — somewhere in between Brightmoon and the FZ, up high in the cliffs, overlooking the woods and the water. There, they could live on top of the world like they'd always planned.
It's not that Catra was particularly insecure about money. She'd grown up happy and just fine with what she'd had. Her moms had always taught her that money didn't solve everything, but Catra knew it might solve one problem.
Specifically, if she had money then Adora wouldn't need to. Which was sort of ridiculous, considering this was Adora Grayskull she was talking about. The same Adora Grayskull who was next in line to take over her family business, one of the largest companies in Etheria, and who had spent essentially her whole life learning how to do just that — make money.
It stressed Adora out more than her dumb friend ever wanted to admit. Catra was pretty sure Adora didn't even want to run the company, but that was an argument that only ever went in circles with them.
So, it was silly. This fantasy Catra had. The two of them hiding away in their cabin on the cliffs, nothing to worry about and especially no business bullshit. They could live comfortably. Together.
Catra could have said all that. Instead, she promised, "I'll buy you a horse."
The sound of Adora's undignified sputtering soon filled the air. "I- that's- why would you think I'd want-"
"Eight horses," Catra amended. "One for each stitch in that forehead of yours after Alwyn."
"Will you please stop talking about Alwyn?" Adora's outright whining was almost enough to get Catra to stop. Almost.
But before she could throw out more taunts, Bow's phone rang, the obnoxious ringtone Glimmer had set for him cutting through the air — some weird song about friends and fighting? No one ever bothered to listen to the whole thing.
"I swear, you are the only teenager on this planet who keeps their ringer on," Catra grumbled, rubbing her sensitive ears.
"Yeah, I don't even do that," Adora said.
Glimmer laughed. "That's because you don't know how to turn it on."
"Guys, quiet please." Bow showed them the screen. "It's my dads."
Adora jumped into action. The whole group knew the protocol for a Parent Call. Namely, Catra would try to shout some stupid incriminating bullshit and Adora would need to prevent this by any means necessary.
This time, that involved her tackling Catra off the side of the truck.
Her intention had just been to clamp a hand over Catra's mouth. What Adora hadn't expected (though, she really should have by now) was for Catra to lick her palm. This had caused Adora to yank her hand away and topple backwards. Grasping for anything to hold onto, she somehow decided to grab Catra, sending them both over the edge of the truck bed and onto the grass.
Bow would have to accept the outraged screaming as a compromise.
"Is that dumb brain of yours broken?!" Catra hissed, trying to shove Adora away. Adora simply laughed, letting her full weight go limp on top of Catra, pinning her down. "Gah, your stupid gangly limbs-"
"I'm not gangly!"
"Gangly and weird and long and annoying-"
The two tussled around, Adora wrapping her not-gangly arms around Catra's waist to trap her while the feral cat kicked and clawed.
Still sitting in the truck bed, Glimmer rolled her eyes as Bow strained to hear what his fathers had to say. She could only pick up a few key words: 'breakthrough', 'translation', and 'historical emergency'. Glimmer wasn't entirely sure what that last one entailed but she knew what the result typically was.
"Hey dumb and dumbest?" Glimmer leaned over the truck bed. "I have to drive this one home. Are you two planning to stay there all night?"
Without waiting for an answer, she threw a blanket down anyway, which only got caught up in their wrestling. As soon as Catra managed to pull it away for a breath, a pillow smashed into her face to send her back down into Adora's waiting arms.
"Let me go." Muffled through multiple layers of pillow, blanket, and Adora, the demand fell just a little flat.
"Would you actually buy me a horse?" Adora whispered the question like it was some secret but Catra wasn't focused on her words. Instead, she was very much preoccupied with the fact that Adora was holding her from behind, head nuzzled into her shoulder, breath rustling the fur on her neck.
Realizing she hadn't answered, Catra hoped she didn't sound as flustered as she felt when she whispered back, "I'd buy you whatever you want, princess."
"Princess? That's new."
"Yeah, well, only a princess would name their horse Swift Wind."
Adora was so close to Catra that the latter could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. "You remember that?"
The squeaky laugh escaped Catra before she could stop it. "How could I forget? I still-" And then she really did stop, full sentence, the embarrassment threatening to swallow her whole.
"You still what?" Adora shifted them into a sitting position and Catra craned her neck to look over her shoulder at her. Adora's eyes were wide and curious, with something oddly vulnerable mixed in too.
"I..." Catra really couldn't deny Adora with a look like that. "I still have the drawing. In my desk, or whatever."
Adora's smile only grew softer. Oh no. This absolutely would not do if Catra wanted to continue functioning.
"Stop it!" Catra shoved her face away with an open palm, finally wrestling out of Adora's grasp now that the blonde was properly distracted. "Don't get a big head about it or anything!"
Adora absolutely would be holding this against her. She made that drawing when she was seven. It could barely even be called a horse, looking more like an oddly shaped lizard with wings and rainbow hair. At the time though, Adora had been extremely proud of it.
Catra hated it. She'd made fun of it relentlessly when Adora had shown it to her. But it made Catra laugh, so little Adora, heart as big as her forehead, insisted Catra keep it. For when she needed to laugh.
The sound of Glimmer's engine starting brought Catra back to reality, though Adora was still lying in the grass looking a little stunned. Glimmer and Bow were already climbing in the jeep, exchanging conspiratorial looks that Catra did not appreciate.
"Wait. Where are you two going?"
"Would it kill you to listen every once and a while?" Glimmer complained. "I have to drive Bow home."
"It's a historical emergency!" Bow buckled his seatbelt with a flourish. Clearly, he's been spending too much time with Sea Hawk.
"Are you both going to survive on your own?" Glimmer gave Catra a knowing stare. "Won't get into too much trouble, right?"
Growling, Catra dared Glimmer to say more. At Catra's side, Adora had finally gotten to her feet and was waving goodbye. Personal space had always been relative between the two but under Glimmer's amused gaze, Catra was all too aware of how close Adora was standing next to her, their hips practically connected despite the whole field stretched around them.
"Behave!" Glimmer shouted as she peeled out down the dirt path, jeep creaking precariously as Bow held on for dear life. Her voice faded into the distance. "Don't do anything I would do without supervisiooooon!"
Once they were gone, a peaceful silence fell over the remaining two. Or, it would be peaceful if they both weren't fidgeting awkwardly, wondering what was supposed to come next.
"So..." Catra finally broke the silence since Adora would probably need four-to-five business days to decide what to say. "Are you ready to head back?"
Adora's expression immediately soured. "No. Not really."
Part of the reason they were out there in the first place was because Adora had needed a distraction. Not that she'd asked for the help. The squad had simply shown up at her door and wouldn't leave until she agreed to join them.
It'd been stressful lately. Finals. College application essays. Cross Country Championships. She'd been buried up to her neck in work. This was her escape from it all, and she appreciated it truly, but she also knew it would come to an end eventually.
Just not yet.
"I have an idea," Catra elbowed her lightly. "Trust me?"
Adora felt the tension leave her face as the frown gave way to a small smile. "Obviously, Cat."
With that, Catra reached into Adora's pockets for the keys.
•••••
The idea was blueberry soda. Namely because, as Adora would firmly attest, nobody can feel bad when drinking something so (atrociously) delicious.
In reality, it was just Sprite and blueberry syrup. And no, it did not matter that the perfectly normal Sprite was two dollars cheaper or that Catra had offered to just buy Adora a jug of the stupid syrup so they could make their own – at Adora's insistence, they had to get it the authentic way or it just wasn't the same.
There was nothing authentic about some poor teenager named Kyle mixing the drink behind the counter of the Crimson Waste Gas Station but if it made Adora happy then Catra would have to live with it.
So, Catra wasted zero time grabbing her favorite 8-pack of popsicles and the largest liter cup she could find, tossing both items in Kyle's general direction.
"Uh, hey guys," Kyle greeted the two, mostly looking at Adora (not because he was scared of Catra, he was just...yeah, he was terrified).
"Hey!" Adora smiled brightly, an interesting contrast to Catra's death glare. "Busy night?"
"Never is," Kyle chuckled weakly. As he filled up the soda, he said, "So, uh, I hate to be the one to tell you this but...well, you see- so the manager-"
"Spit it out Keven, my popsicles are melting."
"It's Kyle. You know that."
"Right, Kieran, got it. The manager?"
"The manager," Kyle sighed, sliding over the goods. "Well, she doesn't want you guys on the roof anymore. Huntara, um, she says it isn't safe and she doesn't want a lawsuit when you inevitably...get...get hurt...or..."
"Done?" Catra eyed him up and down, unimpressed.
Kyle looked ready to argue for all of a millisecond before giving in. "Yeah, yeah. The door's unlocked. Just pick up your trash when you're done, please?"
"You're my favorite." Adora was grinning ear to ear as she took her soda, taking an obnoxiously big gulp. Cara fought the urge to gag — both from the soda and the undeserved Kyle praise.
Pulling Adora away, Catra led them to the staff room and then to the ladder in the back. As promised, the door to the roof was unlocked and they quickly found their seats on the building's edge, looking out across the deserted parking lot. From up that high, they could see the hilly fields they had just been at, along with a few lights of the town poking above the dip of the valley.
If they wanted, they could probably pick out Adora's house. Penthouse, that is. The Crystal Castle. Home of Hope Grayskull herself. A menace to society by Catra's standards and a benevolent capitalist god by society's standards.
For the record, Catra wasn't jealous. There was absolutely no envy she felt for Adora whenever she visited that modernist prison of a home. Catra made it her responsibility to get Adora out of there as much as possible, hence the gas station hideout.
"Cool Lime?" Catra offered, ripping open the popsicle box. There were four flavors, two of each. It was an unspoken rule that they'd end up eating four each anyway but Catra always asked out of formality.
"I'll do red first."
"Red isn't a flavor. There is wildberry, though. Do you want wildberry?"
"I want red."
The sound of Catra's complaining was drowned out by the loud slurping of blueberry soda. The complaining only grew in volume when Adora (who come to think of it was perhaps an even greater menace to society than her mother) dunked the popsicle into the soda.
"You disgust me."
"What?!" Adora argued through a mouth full of purple slush, the animal. "Everyone knows red and blue go together. Like red gay, blue gay."
"Who the fuck taught you about red gays and blue gays?"
Then at the same time, one a bashful whisper and the other a curse on a family's bloodline, they both said, "Glimmer."
Cool Lime. Orange. Wildberry. Mango. That was the supreme order of flavors in Catra's opinion. Not that anybody ever asked for her opinion (which was only because she'd already be lecturing before anyone could get a breath in).
Adora welcomed the banter as they ate and drank. Low-stakes arguments such as these always made her feel...content, she supposed? Like she didn't need to worry about right answers or impressing anyone. She could just mess around and indulge in the small things that made her happy: the sight of the stars above the Waste, the weird rainbow stain on her tongue from all the artificial sugar, Catra's ridiculously adorable laugh, the way Catra's face would scrunch up in fake contempt at Adora's antics, the cool thing Catra's eyes did in the dark where they'd glow like-
"Whatcha thinking about, Gray?"
"What?!" Adora flinched like she'd been caught. Which. She had. "What do you mean?"
Catra smirked as she let Adora squirm in the silence for a moment. "You're as red as a wildberry over there. So?"
"It's nothing!" Adora's voice pitched up an octave. "Nothing, just, I was- well, you see-" She slammed her mouth shut, knowing this wasn't getting her anywhere. Really, Adora's been alive for all of seventeen years so she ought to have learned by now when to think before she speaks. "I was just thinking...how much I appreciate this." And you. I appreciate you.
Maybe she didn't say that last part out loud, but judging by the way Catra quickly broke eye contact and busied herself with reading the ingredients label on the popsicle box, she heard it anyway.
"Hey, so," Catra quickly changed the subject, "You never answered Glimmer's question."
Adora just gave Catra a blank stare. "What question?"
"You know, if you could have one thing, no consequences, all that. You never answered."
"Oh." And then silence.
That wasn't the reaction Catra was expecting. Nor was she expecting Adora to look so distressed when she finally did look back up at her. The blonde was chewing the inside of her cheek, brow furrowed, hand nervously fiddling with the straw from her drink. This wasn't the 'Oh shoot, I forgot to think of an answer' look. This was the 'I have an answer and I really don't want to say it' look.
Considering the context of the question, Catra couldn't help but wonder what could possibly elicit that much...shame.
Catra tried again, the need to know beating out the common sense that was telling her to drop it, change the subject, anything. "There has to be something you've always wanted to do. Right?"
Adora's eyes flickered over to meet hers. Why did she look so guilty?
"What do you want, Adora?"
There was a long span of silence. So long that Catra convinced herself she wouldn't be getting an answer at all and they'd have to both go home unsatisfied with this tense end to an otherwise great night — but then Adora let out a long-tired sigh, hands running down her face once she set her drink aside.
"I think I'd run."
"Run?" Catra couldn't help but gape at the obvious. The cross country star wanted to run? Big shocker. But there was a nervous edge to what she meant to be a teasing tone. She felt as though she were climbing up the slope of a rollercoaster, her heart hammering in her chest as she anticipated the drop. "Run to...where?"
"Not to," Adora shook her head lightly, a far off look in her eyes as she stared out at the horizon, as though she were already tracing her path. "I mean...away. I'd run away."
There was the drop, and by god was she plummeting. The air left her lungs and she tensed without meaning to, like it would help brace her for whatever Adora said next.
"Doesn't really matter where," Adora continued, oblivious to Catra's plight if only because she refused to look at her friend as she laid bare her confession. "I would just run until I thought I was far enough away that no one would recognize me. New town, new state, whatever it took. However far my legs carried me, I'd run."
A shiny glaze fell over Adora's eyes as she imagined it. Her pulse pounding underneath her skin, making her whole body come alive. Her breath coming in rapid succession as everything else fell away except for the road in front of her, a world of possibilities with none of the expectations that came with it.
"And once I'm there, wherever there is-" A wistful smile tugged at the corners of Adora's lips. It didn't match the bitterness laced into her tone. "-I'd start over. No one would look at me and see 'Ms. Grayskull, future CEO of Grayskull Industries' or- or 'She-Ra, the star athlete that'll take this town to Nationals.' All they'll have is Adora. Just Adora. That's all they get because that's all I'll have too."
Solemn silence fell over Adora as she finally heard the words out loud. It was a fantasy she'd had for quite some time now. A rare indulgence, an escape she'd let herself linger in when everything became too much.
"And what about us?"
Slamming back into reality, Adora turned to Catra with wide eyes. Her friend wasn't looking back at her, instead focusing her gaze out into the parking lot but Adora suspected she wasn't actually seeing anything. Catra's expression was completely neutral, but that didn't mean Adora couldn't read her. She'd known Catra all her life. They spoke a language that only they knew, one without words or script. Adora could read it in Catra's set shoulders, the light fidgeting of her thumbs against her shirt sleeves as she wrapped herself in a hug, curling into herself.
Catra might as well have been screaming. Betrayal.
Adora winced. She should have never opened her big stupid mouth. She should have made something up instead. She should have-
"I mean, I guess it's a hypothetical for a reason," Catra cut in before Adora could completely spiral. Was that on purpose? "But you know. Me...and Glimmer and Bow, what do we do once you're..." She trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought. Gone.
For a second, Adora just stared, those wide blue eyes begging to meet Catra's mismatched set, a luxury she wouldn't be receiving if Catra had any say in it.
"I guess..." Adora answered unsurely, as if she hadn't already considered this, "Well, it's no consequences. Right? So, in theory, it'd work out. Hope would find someone else to take over the company. Coach Hordak would find a new team captain. You could take my spot as top student-" (That at least got a small laugh out of Catra, their old feud seeming silly now in light of all their other quarrels and hardships throughout the years) "-and I'm sure no one would miss me too badly in any of my classes."
And then Adora turned away to look up at the stars, feeling too vulnerable to show her face to Catra as she murmured, "As for you three...maybe you'd all be mad at first. Try to call me, but I wouldn't bring my phone. Glimmer would storm over to her dad's office and demand he call a search party, but that'll only last for a week at most. If even. Wouldn't really matter in the end. I'd be somewhere far, far away and-" The words caught in her throat as she whispered, "And you'd move on."
Adora wiped at her face, her hand wet as she pulled it away, hoping the movement was at least discreet. It wasn't. Catra had turned to look right at her as soon as she'd heard the first crack, but Adora didn't see it.
Shrugging helplessly, Adora simply said, "Life would continue without Adora Grayskull around. In this- in this scenario it would, anyway. Because...nobody would need me anymore."
It was quite the concept. Funny, how that worked. Most of the time, Adora thrived off of being needed, of having a clearly defined purpose so that she could feel useful. But every once and a while, it all became too much. The pressure would build until, inevitably, she'd take on too much and what was once useful became a burden upon others once she failed to follow through, each failure more taxing than the last.
Nobody would need me anymore.
Adora frowned at her own words. She thrived off of being needed. She wished she would never be needed again. How did that make any sense?
Her own expression gave away her confusion, but that didn't mean Catra couldn't read between the lines. After all, she'd known Adora all her life. They spoke a language that only they knew, one without words or script.
Adora wished she wouldn't be needed, but that didn't mean she couldn't be wanted.
"It's a nice wish," Catra said. When met with Adora's unconvinced gaze, she hastily tacked on, "I'm serious. A fresh start? Who wouldn't want that? I mean, Perfuma's always going on about reinvention and taking control of your own course-"
"You've actually been going to her meditation classes?"
Ignoring that. "-and we've all got our own ways of trying to forget about our shitty lives. So, yeah, it makes sense."
Adora stared at Catra, lips pressed into a thin, dissatisfied line.
"It makes sense," Catra repeated. She shuffled closer to Adora until their legs were touching, mostly so she could wrap her tail around Adora's wrist. Automatically Adora moved to smooth the fur down, an old habit from their childhood that always seemed to calm both parties.
"You still don't like it."
"This is supposed to be about living out your greatest hypothetical dreams. I don't think what I like matters."
"It does," Adora immediately shot back. "You matter to me. And you're upset."
Catra considered it, as if it were a question. But Adora wasn't asking her a question. And Catra wasn't going to lie. "Yeah. I am."
Adora's face scrunched up and the apology was already bubbling up in her throat when Catra knocked her shoulder roughly into Adora's.
"You're an upsetting person, Gray." The endearing lilt to that statement only furthered Adora's confusion, but Catra barreled on. "You're a frustrating person to care about. You always have been our whole lives. But do you know what that means?"
Adora shook her head. Between the two of them, Catra was always miles ahead of her once she got some big idea in her head. She would always take it and run, dragging Adora along for the ride.
"It means you're worth it. I'm still here, aren't I?" Catra took a deep, steadying breath. "So, yes you upset me. You're probably going to upset me a million times more but if that's the price to pay, then I can live with that, assuming you'll have me around to pay it."
The sniffling sound was probably coming from Adora but she mostly ignored it, Catra's words bouncing around in that brain in hers until they really sunk in.
"Besides," Catra spoke, mostly to fill the silence, "I'm not going to police your daydreams. We all have our escapes. Frankly, yours is probably the least destructive out of any of our friends so, you know, there's that.
Still somewhat unsure, Adora at least nodded. Catra was right of course and arguing would do her no good. It didn't make Catra's reassurances any easier to accept though.
"Just so you know though, dummy," Catra added, holding onto that last bit of false bravado to compensate for how terrified she was, "If you ever do get the balls to run away, you better bet I'm coming with you because, let's face it, you wouldn't last a month on your own."
Adora knew she was being baited. She took it anyway, gratefully falling into the banter's familiarity. "A month is really all you'll give me?"
"Month and a half, tops. I'm bringing my phone though. And snacks. And I'm not the running type so we're going to have to compromise on the transportation method."
"I could carry you."
"You could certainly try."
"I could!" Adora pulled Catra's tail harmlessly, earning a quick shove in response. "I'd put you on my shoulders. You could navigate."
To prove her point, she reached for Catra so she could pick her up. Catra scurried away, which invited Adora to chase her around the small concrete square. Five minutes later, Adora had Catra thrown over her shoulder, slumped in defeat as Adora ran victory laps.
(If Catra let Adora catch her, then no she didn't.)
"Alright, alright." Catra wriggled until Adora put her down. Instead of moving away from each other though, Catra stood her ground, looking up at Adora's red face. "So we agree?"
With a tilt of her head, Adora breathily asked, "Agree on what?"
"If we ever want to make any life-changing fate-altering rash decisions, we're at least going to have a partner in crime, right?"
Adora's eyes narrowed. Then, resolutely, she leaned forward just enough to whisper in Catra's ear as low and serious as she could manage. "Catra. I am not giving a false alibi to the police if you rob a bank."
•••••
It's been decided. Adora is a scoundrel and a fiend and will not be getting the eight horses she was promised should she continue this traitorous behavior.
But, she gave her letterman jacket to Catra when she got cold (which didn't take long, considering she'd eaten four popsicles in the span of twenty minutes and the breeze on top of the roof was brutal) — so setting aside Catra's pride, Adora could stay.
Not for long though, considering Huntara's car just pulled into the parking lot.
Adora chugged the rest of her soda as Catra dove towards the roof hatch, throwing it open and jumping down to the break room without even touching the ladder.
"Hurry up!" Catra whisper-hissed. She yelped as the empty paper cup landed on her head and smartly made the decision to back away before Adora did the same.
Feet on the ground, they only just managed to leap onto the couch in their best 'Act Natural' poses as the door swung violently open.
"I thought I told you two this room is for employees only," Huntara growled, eyes zeroed in on the awkward heap they'd tangled themselves in. "Last I checked, you aint employees."
"We, uh, we were just-"
"Kyle pretty much begged us to stay for the night." Catra cut off whatever abhorrent lie Adora was trying to come up with. "See, he has to walk home and it gets dark being the night shift and all so-"
"Nice try kitty," Huntara pointed a thumb towards the door. "Kyle just hopped on a motorcycle with his Thing One and Thing Two."
"Ah, I see," Catra nodded sagely. "Well in that case-" She gripped Adora's hand and then they were both running out the door, the furious manager shouting after them.
They ran out of the gas station and straight to the truck, peeling out of there before Huntara could catch up. Their laughter didn't die down until they were well down the road, Adora finally slowing down if only to grumble half-heartedly about 'becoming a getaway driver after all.'
Numbers blinking faintly above the radio, it was well past midnight. Had they been out that long? The truck rolled along at cruising speed as they let their heart rates slow to a more fitting, relaxing pace.
Until Catra finally turned to get a good look at Adora and started cackling all over again.
"What?! What now?"
"Dude, you look like you drank the blood of a fucking smurf." Sure enough, not only were Adora's tongue and lips completely blue but the last remnants of the drink had dyed the sides of her mouth from that last chug.
If Catra was bolder and this was some silly romcom, she'd lean over and say something smooth about color theory and offer to kiss away the blue with her red (because who doesn't like a callback?).
Unfortunately though, Catra had already admitted some pretty bold feelings that night, this wasn't a romcom, and Adora would probably crash them into a telephone pole if she dared; so instead Catra just rolled her eyes and stared fondly, knowing right then and there that if she could really have just one thing that she'd always wanted — it would be Adora.
Just Adora, consequences and all.
•••••
A/N
Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think, your comments are always the best :)
Also, I know the 'confession' thing was a bit of clickbait but, look, it's not my fault these two are hopeless, okay? You can go hunt them down at their cliff-side horse ranch and yell at them yourselves.