Behind my back I can feel the heart of Etheria crackling with energy, threatening to explode at any moment. But it doesn't matter. All that matters to me in this very moment is the feel of Adora's lips pressed against mine, filling me with a warmth I didn't even know was possible.
I can't believe I finally told her how I feel , I think, and that she loves me too . She'll pull through this. I know she will. She'll turn into She-Ra, we'll survive this, and be together forever from now on...
Adora's fingers dig into my arms, gripping desperately.
Something's wrong...
Her head falls backward, and my lips feel cold air at the loss.
"Adora?" I ask, shaking her shoulders, fresh tears forming at my cheeks.
Adora gasps. "Catra, I'm... sorry. I couldn't..."
This isn't how it's supposed to be!
Her eyes roll back in their sockets and she sighs. Her chest rises once more, then falls still.
This isn't right! It isn't!
Adora falls completely limp in my arms, and a cold dread chills my heart.
"Adora!"
I place my ear to her chest, frantically listening. There's nothing... not a single beat of her heart. It's the most horrifying thing I've ever not heard.
"ADORA! NO!" I scream, clinging to her lifeless form, sobbing violently, my chest heaving so much that I struggle to breathe.
This can't be happening...
it can't be ...
... not when we were so close...
The heart explodes behind us, and I don't even care that I'm about to die.
--
I gasp for air and jump away from the explosion on instinct, landing on the floor and rolling a few times before I stop on all fours, panting, my eyes frantically scanning around for Adora's body. My mind feels foggy but I quickly realise that the floor is soft beneath my fingertips... soft and pink. Not cold and hard. A dream? PLEASE let it be a dream, I think, clawing my nails into the carpet, my heart pounding in my ears.
"Catra!" Adora calls out my name, and hearing her voice makes my heart almost shatter. She leaps towards me, and I throw my arms around her.
"Adora," I choke out her name while nuzzling my face into her neck, her skin turning damp from my tears.
"It's okay," she says, gently rocking me in her arms. "It's okay. I'm here. We're safe."
I flatten my ear against her neck, finding the steady rhythm of her pulse.
da-dum...
da-dum...
I inhale a deep breath through my nose, taking in Adora's familiar scent, smelling the salt of her recent sleep, and that subtle hint of vanilla which could only ever belong to her.
"Adora, I... " the nightmare flickers in my mind again. Adora's face, how it looked when she just gave in, and how horrifying it was to not be able to hear her heartbeat. "Damn it," I groan, leaning back and putting my fists against her chest, tugging at her nightgown. "I just want it to stop , okay? I just want to stop feeling like I'm going to lose you every two seconds, especially now, especially now that we-"
Adora silences me with a kiss, so gentle that it takes my breath away.
"I'm not going anywhere," she says, tipping her forehead to mine, her eyes searching for my gaze.
"You say that now, but..." I begin, feeling suddenly angry that she came so close to sacrificing herself yesterday. No, not angry. Frightened .
"I mean it, Catra," Adora says. She takes both my hands, and laces her fingers between mine. "I'm never going to leave you again. Ever."
I finally look up into her eyes, feeling almost lost in her gaze. "And if we find a planet full of, I don't know, sentient marshmallows that will die if you don't sacrifice yourself?" I ask, sniffling.
"Then I-" Adora says, before taking a deep sigh, "then we find a way to fix it, without me having to-"
"Don't you get it?" I ask, pushing forward, pinning her to the floor, my fingers tightly gripping hers, "what if there is no fix? I just saw you die, Adora! Okay!? We were at the heart, but this time you gave up," I choke out the words, "...you gave up on me, and it felt so real..."
Adora manages to free one hand, and she reaches up, touching her fingers to my cheek. "Catra... "
"I love you, but it..." I begin, fresh tears streaming down my face, spilling onto Adora's cheeks, "it terrifies me! You've always put literally anyone, or anything before yourself and I can't stop thinking," I release her other hand and press my forehead to her chest, my ears flattening, "after everything... I'm just going to lose you anyway... so why bother..."
"I'm... sorry," Adora says. I feel her chest puff out, then hear her sigh deeply, and the whole time I'm listening to her heart, making sure it's beating steadily. "I'm sorry for putting you through... well, everything. I'm sorry for leaving you without properly explaining why. I'm sorry I abandoned you, that I didn't try harder to see it from your perspective. I'm sorry I gave up on you, even if it was only for a short while; I'm sorry I ever doubted you at all. I'm sorry for so many things," she says, softly, gently, stroking her fingers through my hair. "I hardly even know where to begin to make it right. But I'm not going anywhere, and I won't be so reckless anymore, I promise."
"Do you mean it?" I ask, nuzzling my nose into the crook of her neck, and sliding my hands into the space between her shoulders and the carpet, where I hold her close.
"Yes. I want this as much as you do," Adora says, her voice instilling me with a sense of calmness. "To live, I mean. With you. And those marshmallows? We could just toast them."
"Haha!" I laugh, reluctantly pulling away from her neck and propping myself up on my elbows, "as if you could ever-"
"Well you claimed they were sentient," Adora says, a manic grin widening at her lips, "but if they're in our bellies, who could prove it?"
"Adora! You do have an evil side!" I exclaim.
We both burst out into laughter, giggling like idiots, rolling around on the floor and tickling each other, which only makes the laughter worse.
--
Eventually the laughter dies down, and I lay on top of Adora, resting my head on her chest, pressing my ear to her heart.
"Sorry," I mumble, feeling a little embarrassed. Every breath she takes, and every heartbeat, fills me with warmth, with love. "The dream was just so real. I overreacted."
"It sounds like it was awful," Adora says. She places a hand on my right cheek, lightly stroking my fur. "I just need you to believe me when I say I'm here. That I won't ever leave you again."
"Ugh, I think we're turning soft," I say, nuzzling my lips against her hand, purring.
"I think we are," Adora laughs. "But I also think you could be even softer, and kiss me."
"Oh, really?" I ask, giggling. I prop myself up onto my hands and look down, capturing her gaze with mine. But the smirk on my face soon dies, replaced with awe. Adora has such clear, beautiful blue eyes, and the way her golden strands of hair are loosely spread out behind her... I don't think I've ever wanted to kiss her more than I do right now.
Adora's hands cup the back of my head, and she leans upward, her lips just an inch away from mine, and I couldn't stop myself even if I wanted to. I close the gap, kissing her slowly, softly, deeply, and I soon find that magical feeling again, her tongue, trailing against mine ever so briefly.
I gasp, and break from the kiss, feeling all of the hairs along my back stand on end.
"Sorry," Adora says, appearing to panic.
"Less talking," I mumble, lowering myself down again, "more kissing."
This time I'm braver and allow my tongue search for hers, soon rewarded by a deep, guttural sound resonating from Adora's throat. Our lips stay half-open, and I trail slow, lazy patterns around Adora's tongue with my own. She must like it because her fingers tighten into my hair, and when I gently nibble her lip, I'm rewarded with a gasp.
"Catra, what-"
"Woops," I say, the tip of my tail flicking side to side. "Accident."
"Wasn't complaining," Adora breathes, leaning up to capture my lips again, this time with so much force that it almost knocks the wind from my lungs, and I kiss her back aggressively, interlacing my thighs with hers, needing to feel her as close to me as possible.
"Adora," I mumble, kissing her, again and again. "You feel so good..."
Adora's hips squirm beneath mine, and she grabs just behind my thigh, pulling my leg between hers. I can feel how damp she is through her shorts, it's even seeping through into the fur on my thigh, and I can smell how turned on she is. Her scent drives me into a frenzy, and I rock myself against her thigh, feeling something start to happen, something weird, but nice, but... weird!
"Ah!" I say, jumping away, wondering what the hell that was. I still feel it burning between my legs, but it soon starts to ebb away.
Adora props herself up onto her elbows. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I just... never mind." I say, folding my arms, feeling a bit stupid.
"Was that too much?" Adora asks, appearing nervous.
"No, dummy," I say, crawling back towards her, pecking her on the lips, "something weird happened, that's all."
"Something... weird?"
I scratch at the back of my neck, and glance down between my legs, "something... down there."
"So, bad-weird, or good-weird?"
"Good, I think? I stopped before I could be sure."
Adora chuckles and plays with a few strands of hair by my ear, "Catra... I think you nearly had an orgasm. You've never... ?"
"Oh, is that what everyone used to go on about?" I ask, frowning. I never really did understand all those talks back in the horde about sex-this and sex-that.
"Want to carry on?" Adora whispers, looking at me through lidded eyes, cupping my chin and cheek in her palm, causing me to purr loudly. I've never seen her pupils so dilated, nor her cheeks so red, and I have the word yes on the tip of my tongue, but...
My ears twitch. Over the sound of my purr I hear something else humming in the background.
"What's that?" I ask, just as Melog jumps up from their slumber, looking suddenly alert.
"What's what?" Adora asks, following me as I hurry towards her balcony, pushing open the double doors, running to the golden banister and peering below for the source of the ever-growing sound. But it sounds like it's actually coming from-
"Oh no," I mutter, squinting towards the sky and noticing a spec appear, rapidly increasing in size. "Adora..."
"Is that..." Adora squints, then gasps. "A clone ship?! We have to warn everyone! Catra!"
"Already on it," I say, running back into her room and throwing my clothes on. Maybe they're retaliating , I think... Maybe sleeping was a bad idea, we should have reached out to them first . The room flickers golden-white, and I pause to watch, wide-eyed, as Adora reaches her hand out, forming her magic blade.
"For the honour of grayskull!" Adora yells. Her form begins to glow, red shorts and night gown soon replaced with she-ra's white, red and golden outfit. This whole transformation thing is really starting to grow on me , I think, purring and twitching my tail while I watch it play out.
"Catra?"
"Ah, crap! Okay, I'm going," I say, dashing towards the bedroom door alongside Melog just as Adora jumps on top of the balcony's barrier. "And you'd better be careful!"
Adora tilts her head, and smirks at me, "Kiss me afterwards, okay?"
"Huh?" I ask, pausing in my tracks.
"Just promise me."
"Okay. I'll kiss you as much as you want, dummy," I say, shaking my head when she grins and leaps from the balcony to the grounds below. "Come on Melog, time to make some noise!"
--
"Wakey-wakey!" I yell, running up the corridor, banging on people's doors.
Luckily everyone's rooms are positioned up and down the same corridor as Adora's room, so it's pretty easy to rally everyone. A combination of Melog's roars and my yells seems to do the trick, and before long most people have been spurred into action, albeit drowsily.
"Catra, what's going on?" Glimmer asks, standing in her doorway and rubbing her eyes. "Isn't it still really early? What's that sound?"
"Clone ship on its way down," I say, pointing in the rough direction of the noise. "Adora's already headed there. Go!"
Glimmer grabs my arm and one brief, pink flash later we're both standing near the western exit of the palace. I stumble a little, thinking I'll never quite get used to Glimmer's little trick, and then I search upwards.
"It's crashing!" Glimmer says, pointing, wide eyed. "Look!"
And that's when I spot the smoke, billowing out from somewhere behind the ship as it groans, plummeting downwards. "Wait, is it gonna crash here? " I ask, my tail-hair standing on end.
"I'll go grab everyone, one moment," Glimmer says, popping in and out of vision before I even get a chance to ask if this is the best place for all of us to gather. Scorpia and Perfuma appear, looking a little frazzled, followed by Mermista, Frosta, and then everyone else.
Adora and Swiftwind swoop down, landing next to us. "It's bad up there," Adora says, frowning. "I think the vines got caught in the engines, but I don't understand - weren't they out in space?"
"The ship must have been in our atmosphere ever so slightly, meaning it was slowly drifting down this whole time!" Entrapta exclaims, sounding way too happy about it. "I wonder if any other ships are going to crash?" she continues, placing a hair-hand under her chin.
Adora covers her face with her palm, "Let's hope not. First of all, we need to deal with this."
"By my calculations it will land not far from where we're standing," Entrapta says, tapping into her data pad, "but some of the hull will land inside the walls. So we should probably move!"
"I was going to suggest that," I growl, rolling my eyes at Glimmer.
"The forest," Perfuma says, pointing through the arched doorway and beyond the palace walls."That's where it will land, right?"
"Yes - Entrapta's right," Bow says, looking up at the ship through his hand telescope, "it'll land in the forest for the most part, but the momentum will... Glimmer... we need to move."
"What of the clones?" Hordak asks, and I have to look twice because I swear he almost appears concerned. That's new , I think.
"Don't worry everyone, It's fine, I've got this," Perfuma says, smiling and touching Hordak's shoulder. "Leave it to me."
"Is she nuts?" I ask, watching as Perfuma dashes towards the forest, right into the path of the giant, deadly, flaming spaceship. "Scorpia, Adora, aren't you going to stop her?"
Scorpia laughs and places a pincer on my shoulder. "Just you watch. My girl's got this."
"I'll go see if she needs backup, just in case," Adora says, Swiftwind dashing them into the air a moment later.
The next thing I know, the entire ground rumbles loudly beneath my feet, and then a huge pillar of thick, green roots and branches shoot up from the forest, curling around each other, growing in size and reaching impossible proportions, until they spread out at their apex into a wide, giant net of thick vines.
"Okay. I suppose that's kind of cool," I say, watching it in awe. It's so different seeing stuff like this from the other side, where I can actually stop and pay close attention.
"Just in time, too," Bow says, and we all watch as the clone ship plummets into the makeshift net, metal groaning loudly against crackling wood. The ship's descent starts to slow, vines creaking under the weight of the hull. But it's not slowing down enough.
"Move back!" I yell, stepping away, "unless you all want to become princess pancakes."
But then the foliage that's already a part of ship springs to life, sprouting vines that shoot downwards, merging with the giant net and whipping around in tight circles until the ship slows further still, finally coming to a standstill, its pointed nose knocking a few bricks loose from the castle wall.
"Never doubted her for a moment," I mutter, while Scorpia beams with pride.
"Okay, let's do this!" Adora yells, circling into view from behind the ship. "Mermista, Frosta! Get those engine fires out! Hordak, Entrapta, get in there and figure out what's going on with the clones. Glimmer, can you-"
"Already on it," Glimmer says, linking her arms with Entrapta and Hordak, then teleporting them away.
"Want a lift?" Adora says, offering out her hand. I look at Swiftwind, then at Adora.
"No, thanks," I pout. I'd rather teleport."
"Oh come on!" Swiftwind says, shaking his mane, "It'll be fun! I promise I won't drop you."
"Ugh, fine," I say, taking Adora's hand, climbing up behind her, and squeezing my arms around her waist, noticing - not for the first time - just how much thicker Adora is as She-Ra. That's definitely something I might want to explore one day , I think, blushing as I snuggle my face against her strong shoulders.
Swiftwind stomps his hind legs into the earth and a moment later we're up in the air, just me, my eight-foot girlfriend and a magical, talking flying rainbow horse. I try not to think about it too much.
--
"Let's check the engines first," Adora yells, looking at me over her shoulder.
Like I have any choice , I think, nodding, then squeezing my eyes shut and clinging on for dear life as we fly around the back of the ship.
We find Mermista and Frosta standing atop a frozen plume of water, with a hint of stale smoke in the air. The engines appear thoroughly drenched, without a flame in sight.
"Looks good," Adora yells, waving back at them both. "Swiftwind, let's go help with the clones." Swiftwind performs a sharp turn in the air, making my stomach heave and giving me serious regrets about agreeing to this whole ordeal. He flies to the side of the ship and lands on a thick pad of vines by the main entrance.
We're about to head inside, when the metal door opens with a whoosh . Hordak steps out with a clone holding an arm over his shoulder, and Entrapta follows just behind.
"We found only this one," Hordak says, helping the clearly-wounded clone outside of the ship. He grunts and buckles over, as though struggling to support the clone's weight, but Adora quickly dashes forward.
"Let me see," Adora says, taking the clone from Hordak and sitting him down, then cupping his face in her hands. I gulp, wondering for the briefest moment how those big, strong fingers would feel if they were rummaging through my fur.
A healing glow surrounds Adora. It seeps out from within her, glowing along her arms and over the clone's arm, torso and head, then across his whole body.
Glimmer blinks into a spot next to me and folds her arms, quietly waiting until the glow dissipates.
"Thank you," the clone says, his head lolling forward. "But please... I must... sleep..."
"I wonder what his story is?" I ask, tilting my head towards Glimmer. "Do you think he'll be okay?"
"Adora's healed far worse," Glimmer says, staring at me pointedly. "For now, we'll take him back to the palace."
"Uh," Entrapta says, pointing her hair in the direction of the slowly-crumbling ship. "Can we...?"
"Knock yourselves out," Glimmer says, smiling. "Just be careful ."
"YES!" Entrapta exclaims, "Come on Hordak, we've got work to do!" she continues, pulling down her visor, and summoning a blow torch from who-only-knows-where.
--
A few teleports and a terrifying horse ride later, everyone apart from Hordak and Entrapta are gathered together, just outside the medical ward.
"We'll take good care of him," Castaspella tells a very distraught-looking wrong-Hordak, before heading into the room and closing the door behind her.
Wrong-Hordak places a hand on the door, and tears fill his eyes. "Brother..."
"Hey, wrong-Hordak, it's okay. He'll be fine," Bow says, reaching a hand onto his arm.
"Isn't it time we gave him a name?" I ask, scowling.
"A... name?" wrong-Hordak asks, immediately placing his hand on his mouth. "Wait, I am allowed one now?"
"Sure, what do you wanna be called?" I ask.
He sighs, looking dejected. "I do not know."
"Well if you need any suggestions let me know... I bet I could think of a few fun ones."
"Catra," Adora warns, trying but failing to hide her smirk.
"What? It could be entertaining," I say grinning.
Wrong-Hordak suddenly reaches out and pulls me into a hug. "Thank you, Catra. I will consider your offer."
"Ugh, what is it with everyone being a hugger ?" I ask, rolling my eyes while the others just stand there laughing.
"Maybe you're just so cute that people need to hug you," Bow says, puckering his lips.
"You got a death wish or something?" I ask, shaking my fur back into place the second I'm released from wrong-Hordak's arms.
"Gotta admit, I do love hugging Catra," Scorpia says, beaming. "I mean, she's so cute and fluffy."
"Really?" I ask, scowling, "Scorpia, don't make me take back what I said earlier."
"Aww, but-"
"And I know what you were up to last night," I say, pointing a claw first at her, and then at a suddenly very red-faced Perfuma. "So I'd tread lightly if I were you."
Adora hums to herself and looks away, clearly struggling to restrain herself from adding to this nonsense. So, I walk up to her, wrap my hands around her waist and look upwards to catch her gaze. "You know, it was kind of hot watching you tell them all what to do," I say, speaking quietly so that only she can hear.
"I'm not sure I believe that," she whispers back, though she appears smug all the same, "You always hated it back in the horde."
"Well that's because I was busy competing with you back then," I say, shrugging.
"And you expect me to believe that you're not now?"
"Nah. I won, it's over, Adora."
"Huh?"
I stand on my tip-toes, and kiss her, only realising right at the last second that this is my first time kissing Adora as She-ra. Doesn't feel any different really, other than it hurts my neck having to reach up like this. "I won, because now you're mine, dummy." I say, pressing a finger into the middle of her chest.
"Hmm. Is that so?" Adora says, grinning from ear to ear. Her form dazzles briefly and she shrinks down to a far less intimidating size, and I can't help but burst out laughing at a sudden realisation.
"Hey, Adora," I chuckle, raising an eyebrow and pointing my finger first to her nightgown, and then to her red boy-shorts. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Oh, okayyy," Bow says, blushing and looking away, covering his eyes with the side of his hand.
"Woops!" Adora says, blushing brightly. "I'm just gonna... go get changed."
I hook my arm through hers and burst into a fit of giggles. "Come on, let's get out of here!" I say, yanking her away.
--
The two of us are practically crying with laughter by the time we end up back at Adora's room.
"That was hilarious !" I laugh, almost doubling over. "Did you see their faces?!"
"Phew," Adora says, panting as she closes her door behind. "Could have been worse, could have been naked!" she says, grinning awkwardly.
I walk towards her and fold my arms, purring. "So... when we actually do have sex," I say, guiding my tail under her nightgown, stroking my tail around her midsection, "am I going to have to remind you to get dressed before you go off on your little adventures?"
Adora blushes at the contact, but then her lips twist into the smuggest of all smirks. "When?" She asks.
"Huh?"
"You said when we have sex. Not if ."
"Shut up, dummy!" I say, swatting at her arm. "You haven't even taken me on a date yet, so don't get your hopes up."
"Well you haven't given me my kiss yet," Adora says, lidding her eyes. "Remember?"
I close the gap between us, cup my palm behind her head and kiss her, slowly. I can still pick up traces of her scent from earlier, sweet and salty, but I try to ignore it otherwise we might have to break all of the rules we agreed on last night.
"Done," I whisper, lightly biting her lower lip, delighting in the groan Adora makes as we part from the kiss. "Now, where's my date?"
"I could give you a tour of the palace, if that counts?" Adora asks, pushing herself away from the door and playfully bumping against my shoulder as she walks past. I notice a mark on her back, barely visible through her nightgown, so I follow her and pull the cloth back, taking a closer look.
"Catra, are you trying to undress me?" Adora asks, snort-laughing.
Then I notice five distinctive lines, dark red, puffed out slightly, and I feel my heart sink.
"Adora... did I..." I whisper, pulling my hand back, opening my palm, and looking down at my claws.
"Hey, at least it's not as bad as last time," Adora says, fixing a few loose strands of her hair. "Those ones took a looong time to heal."
A knot forms in my throat, and tears spring to my eyes at the distant memory. I'd somehow convinced myself that I hated her so much, or at least hated she-ra, that it would be okay to rake both sets of claws down her back. I still remember the stink of dried blood beneath my nails, how I washed my hands over and over again afterwards, washed them until they were raw, telling myself again and again that it was she-ra I'd hurt, not Adora. But they'd both always smelt the same, their sweat, their tears, and definitely their blood. So I knew it wasn't true. I knew all along.
"But I kind of like these ones, since they-" Adora pauses, probably noticing my silence. "Since they... Catra, hey, what's wrong?" Adora asks, turning around to face me, then placing her hands on my shoulders and giving a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned the other ones. They're gone, see? It's fine, Catra. Don't be upset..."
"I... made you bleed ..." I say, grinding my teeth together. "I almost forgot..."
"Bah, we were always hurting each other, even before then. Don't you remember all the training drills?"
"That was different and you know it!" I say, pricking my ears back. "I tried to hurt you, I mean, really, really hurt you... What's wrong with me?"
"Hey, come here," Adora says, opening her arms. "Please."
I take a slow, reluctant step forward and lean into her embrace, keeping my arms by my sides, feeling numb inside. "You were a different person, going through a lot of things. But these new marks? They remind me how hard you fought for me, to protect me..."
I rest my forehead just above her collarbone, sighing. "I'm a monster. I go out of my way to hurt people, even when I love them..."
"You know I forgave you long ago for all that, right? You need to forgive yourself, Catra. Otherwise how can you ever move on? How can you ever be happy?"
"I don't deserve to be happy," I snap, knowing it's true.
"Okay that does it," Adora says. She pushes my shoulders back and forces me to return her gaze, "you can mope here and feel sorry for yourself, or we can go out on the best date ever."
"Hah... what?"
"There'll be kisses, and food, and... uh, more kisses?" Adora says, grinning. "Have I mentioned kisses?"
Adora wipes my cheeks dry, and I feel my heart warm because she's trying this hard just to cheer me up. "You're an idiot."
"Correction, I'm your idiot," Adora says, leaning forwards and kissing my forehead.
I prick my ears up and smile. " Mine ? Hmm. Has a nice ring to it."
"So, it's a date?"
"Fine, but," I say, reaching behind her hair, and pulling her hair tie loose, "wear it down?"
"You prefer it that way?" Adora asks, blushing. "Well, I only need to keep it out of my eyes if we're fighting, or flying, and a date shouldn't involve-"
"You're such a dummy," I say, bursting into laughter as I lean forwards, wrap my arms around her waist and press my mouth into the crook of her neck, a hum of approval greeting my lips.
I stay there a while, holding Adora tightly and purring, feeling so lucky that I have her. And maybe, maybe... that's all that matters right now.
"Feeling any better?" Adora asks, stroking the fur behind my ears.
I sniffle, pulling away to smile at her. "Much."
"Then it's time for our hot date!" Adora exclaims, suddenly tickling my sides.
"S-Stop it, haha!" I screech, running away from her.
"Fine, fine. Anyway, I'm gonna need a shower," Adora says, wrinkling her nose, "I'm feeling a bit... clammy."
"Is that from all of today's heroics," I ask, flashing a wicked grin at her, "or from our little tussle earlier?"
"Both," Adora says, wiggling her eyebrows, stealing a quick kiss, and then heading towards the bathroom.
I dive onto my bed, cross one leg over the other, then fold my hands behind my head, yelling "You'd better hurry up, I need to clean up too... and I'm starving."
"Will do!" Adora yells back, just as I hear the sound of running water.