Chapter Text
Gurgling sounds fill the empty locker room as a young Horde soldier freshens up, prepping for the day ahead. He grips the edges of the sink, muscles flexing slightly as he glances at himself in the mirror. Their eyes immediately lock onto the healed scar cutting right through the eye, their lip curling up in disgust at the blemish that forever tarnishes their appearance. A quiet huff of defeat escapes his lips as his shoulders begin to slump. Memories flash in their head; the screaming and yelling, the moment it happened. A snarl suddenly echoed into the locker room, his hands clutching at his head as he did his best to push those memories- no, those nightmares away. Their chest rises and falls suddenly begins to quicken as they fall to their knees on the locker room floor. His hand clutches at his chest as he tries to steady his breathing.
“She didn’t do it! It was me!” Catra’s shrill voice broke through the deafening silence.
“Catra, no-!” Adora cried out, eyes brimming with tears.
“You ungratefully wretched creature!” A young Adora dashes across the room, managing to push Catra away just in time, but unable to clear herself from Shadow Weaver’s wrath.
A trembling gasp for air would make its way from their lips, their breath caught in a stutter as tears began to cloud their vision. His body doubled over, his hands desperately attempting to clutch the floor, attempting to grasp reality once again.
As if it happened in slow motion, the bolt of dark magic whipped through the air toward Adora, giving them no time to react. A shrill cry immediately filled the room as Adora got knocked back into the wall behind her. Catra watched in horror, knowing that if Adora hadn’t moved, that would’ve been Catra instead.
“Catra..” They manage to choke out, their heart dropping into their stomach as the moment replayed so clearly in their head.
With small trembling hands, Adora clutches the area over her right eye, feeling the rapid trickle of her blood as it pooled in her palm. She shrieked yet again as she subconsciously blinked, making her entire right side of her face twitch, causing pain in both her eye and in the newly opened wound on her face.
With a gentle sob, Adora sits there on the locker room floor, body hunched over as his hand covers his right eye. Slowly, they lower their hand, looking down to find an empty hand as well as an empty locker room. No Catra, and no Shadow Weaver. He glanced up at the wall, eyes locking on the clock right above his head. Quarter to seven. Rising from the ground, their demeanor immediately shifts. One hand wipes away at the tears that trailed down his cheek as he looks at himself in the mirror. Their face hardens and suddenly, it was as if the attack that happened not even 5 minutes prior, never happened.
Leaning over the sink, he splashes his face with cold water, removing any evidence of leftover tears. Suddenly, they could hear the light pitter-patter of one’s footsteps, nails scratching the floor slightly with each step. He immediately knew who was making their way toward him, there was no mistaking it. They reach over, grabbing a small towelette to dry their face. By the time he finishes drying his face and puts the towel down, Catra was already mid-pounce before he could stop her.
“Catr-!” They’re abruptly cut off as both he and Catra go falling toward the floor. A loud grunt escapes him as he hits the floor with a harsh thud, head barely managing to avoid hitting against the hard concrete floor. They cough gently, groaning softly at the sharp pain forming in their back. In defeat, he releases a painful sigh and slumps against the floor.
“Adora? Are you okay? Was I too rough..?” She gritted her teeth slightly, wincing slightly at the sight of Adora wincing in their pain. “I’m sorry..”
“It’s-” Adora opens their eyes, looking up at Catra. He sees Catra looking down, seeing the guilt on her face. They smile gently and place their hand on her hip gently. “It’s okay, Catra. I’m alright. I’m a tough cookie, you know that.” He laughs softly, only ever this way whenever Catra was around, especially if they were alone.
“Yeah, I know you are.” Catra laughs softly, gently nudging Adora’s shoulder as she settled herself on their waist. Adora’s hands would rest gently on Catra’s waist, both parties simply comfortable with just being in each other’s presence.
“We should probably get ready. The other cadets are going to be up in…” Adora tilts his head back, looking up at the clock on the wall. Their eyes start squinting as they attempt to read the hands on the clock.
“In about 5 minutes.” Catra laughs softly at the sight of Adora doing his best to read the time. “Someone needs glasses.” She jokes around, placing her finger right between her best friend’s eyes and wiggling her finger.
“Hey! Do not!” Adora argues in a lighthearted manner, grabbing Catra’s hand and moving it aside, causing Catra’s body to come doubling over Adora’s. With her quick reflexes, the Horde soldier manages to catch herself with her other hand, planting it down on the floor with a rather loud ‘slap’, before completely toppling onto Adora’s body.
“Hey!..” Catra shrieks aloud, looking up at Adora with an annoyed expression. Looking up into their eyes, almost immediately, her expression of annoyance dissipated. Suddenly a blush began to form upon her cheeks. “Watch it next time…” She turns her face away, looking at everything but Adora. In response, the Horde soldier couldn’t help the smirk that had already formed on his face.
“Ooh, you wanna kiss me so bad.” Adora’s voice deepened just a bit, their hands moving behind their head as a cushion. Catra’s eyes widened almost immediately, her head whipping toward Adora’s direction.
“What?!” There goes that shriek again. “No, I don’t!” This time, she balls her hand into a fist, aiming right at the defenseless Horde soldier’s shoulder again. Adora’s eyes widened in response to seeing Catra’s fist coming straight for them. Immediately, his reflexes kick in and he manages to catch Catra’s fist right before it collided with his shoulder. Their intense gaze suddenly locks with hers.
“I was joking.” His tone was stern, condescending. “But your reaction is making me think otherwise about your rebuttal.” They gave her fist a quick squeeze before releasing it. With a huff of annoyance, he sits up, causing Catra and himself to be almost at eye level, Catra only having the upper hand due to the fact she was sitting on his lap. Her lip curls up into a slight snarl, ready to claw the fellow soldier, but she refrains. Adora smirks in response to seeing the amount of restraint the feline forced herself to have. “That’s what I thought.” With ease, they slipped an arm around Catra’s waist and managed to stand up, Catra hooked on their waist. Catra grumbles in annoyance, subconsciously hooking her legs around Adora’s waist as she was moved. This wasn’t the first time this happened.
“I don’t wanna go to training today. It’s the same thing every day.” Catra scoffs, releasing her legs from around Adora and dropping to the floor. Their hands securely held the feline’s waist as she dropped and steadied herself. Once she landed, he removed his hands from her waist, unknowingly lingering for a second or two before his hands were no longer against her.
“We’re not skipping today, You remember what happened last week when we ditched. I am not going through that again.” Adora’s body tenses at the thought of what happened. They had been trying their best to forget it and make up for it. “We’ll go to our spot afterward. Hang out outside for a bit, get some much-needed fresh air.” Adora gently nudges Catra’s arm and shoots her a smile. Catra couldn’t help but smile back, but not without nudging Adora’s arm back.
“Fine. Since someone’s too much of a pussy.” Catra sneers at Adora, sticking her tongue out at her. Adora laughed mockingly before rolling his eyes.
“Fuck off.” They made a face at Catra whilst flipping her off. Catra simply returned the favor. It was a joke, they knew that, but deep down they both knew that they were afraid of the consequences their actions would bring them. With the both of them ready to practice training right there, suddenly a group of three make their way into the locker room, causing both Horde soldiers to stop in their tracks and whip their heads in the direction of the group.
“Well, if it isn’t the pirate and her pet.” Lonnie sneers at the two, her lips turning into a mocking grin and her arms crossing over her chest. Kyle and Rogelio stood behind her, snickering toward each other in response to Lonnie’s remark. Adora shifted uncomfortably as Catra’s lip curled into a snarl. She hissed, baring her fangs at the incessant soldier. Adora reacted immediately, grabbing Catra’s arm tightly and pulling her back toward him. They shook their head, signaling to Catra that today was not the day to start violence. Catra shook her arm away from Adora’s grip, a scowl still remaining on her face. Lonnie scoffs, laughing as Catra was held back. The soldier would step forward, finger waving back and forth mockingly. “Tsk tsk, bad kitty. ” She cackles loudly, putting her hands together a few times before pretending to wipe away a tear as she walks away. Unable to help herself, Catra loses her restraint and lunges forward, her hand entangled in Lonnie’s hair.
“This kitty won’t hesitate to gouge your fuckin’ eyes out. Keep fucking with me Lonnie.” Adora’s eyes suddenly went wide, knowing that if they didn’t separate the two now, they were all going to witness a murder. His arm slipped around the feline’s waist, ripping her away from the other soldier before anything serious could happen. Rogelio was already holding Lonnie back from getting to Catra. Yelling erupted in the locker room; screams and shouts of threats and insults being tossed back and forth. Kyle just stood there, freaking out between the feisty opponents.
“H-hey, we can solve this without violence, right guys?” His hands trembled in fear, knowing both of these women would squash him like a bug.
“NO!” Simultaneously, they responded with their building aggression, momentarily facing Kyle before turning back and focusing their hatred on each other once again. His face goes pale, body trembling as they respond.
“O-okay... Sorry..” He turns away and slips behind Rogelio, hiding in fear and embarrassment. Rogelio, whilst holding Lonnie back, reaches behind and gives Kyle a gentle pat on his head.
“Catra, stop it! She’s not worth it!” Catra shrieked, going feral in Adora’s very arms. In a blind rage, she reaches down and roughly claws at whatever was holding her back, forgetting for a moment that it was Adora. Suddenly, a scream of pain is heard from behind the feline, his arms loosening from her waist as he immediately begins clutching his right hand. Blood pools from their hand, dripping onto the floor and down their arm. “Goddamn it! ” He seethes, his hand trembling in immense pain. “Will the both of you stop fucking arguing already? Someone got hurt, and it was neither of you. Happy?” They grit through clenched teeth, walking toward the bench and sitting down. “Would you stop fucking staring and get the first aid kit, maybe?” Once again, his tone was condescending, but this time toward the both of them. Catra immediately turned away, grabbing the first aid kit and sitting beside them. She immediately takes out gauze and alcohol, cleaning up the wound and disinfecting it. Afterward, she would dress the wound as best as possible with the old bandages they had. Lonnie had walked away long before Catra finished dressing. She definitely wasn’t one for confrontation, especially against Adora. “Thanks.” Catra nodded her head, closing the kit and going to the sink to wash her hands of Adora’s blood.
“I-” She hesitated, but forced herself to get it out anyway. “I’m sorry, Adora... I didn’t... I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She dried her hands off, staring at the natural weapon she possesses. She started picking at them, feeling self-conscious of them now. Adora immediately stood from his seat, walking over to the feline and clutching her hands in his own.
“It’s alright. You didn’t mean to. Lonnie angered you and I know how you get when she does that. Stop picking at them, you need them. One day I’m not gonna be there to stop you, and when that day comes, Lonnie is definitely going to regret it.. If she lives to do so.” Adora chuckled softly, squeezing Catra’s hands gently to assure her that she was okay. This wasn’t the first (or last) scar she would be receiving from her best friend. “It’s okay, I promise.” They smiled at Catra, trying to get her to cheer up some, but that didn’t last very long when they heard the quiet whispers of their nightmares swiftly come their way.
“Adoorraa..”