Chapter Text
Adora doesn’t have appointments today so it’s just her in the studio. Usually, on a day like today, she might try to work on some of her larger projects, but she’s hit a bit of a block. Instead, she throws down some clay onto her pottery wheel. It’s a big piece that’s going to take a lot of focus, but that’s exactly what she wants.
She knows she's a bit of an oddball, but centering clay is one of her favorite parts of making a piece of pottery. It did take some strength—which she had in spades—but mostly it's the mental strength it takes that attracts Adora. She can't just wrestle the clay—
Adora sighs as she hears giggling and talking from the reception area. It seems that her uninterrupted day is more of a pipe dream than a reality. It's always the same, a gaggle of girls come in and say they saw some pottery making on social media and wanted to try it.
She doesn't mind that really, it's great to have new people interested in learning. But usually, once the girls realized it takes practice and patience, they smile politely and leave, not really taking an interest in the art.
Still, Adora paints a smile on her face, and she hears the teetering get louder as she comes into view. There are five women, clearly in a group, standing by the reception area. She holds in a groan as she realizes they are all wearing gaudy sashes that read some nonsense about bridesmaids and getting married.
"Hello, how can I help you?" She smiles, eyeing the group with concern. She’s never had a bachelorette party show up to her studio, much less unannounced.
A tall woman who’s flushed as red as a crab startles, just noticing Adora. "Oh gosh! Hiya! So, this is a bit odd but it's my Bachelorette party—I'm marrying the most amazing woman you've ever seen—well you haven't seen her because she's not here but—" She stumbles to the side and a woman with long blue hair steadies her, although she doesn’t look too steady herself.
One of the other women in the group steps forward patting the clearly drunk woman on her other shoulder. "Scorp, I got this." The woman then turns to Adora, a smooth confidence that makes her hard to look away from. She might be the shortest of the group but she’s lithe and pretty in a way that makes Adora’s palms sweat. "I'm not sure how she got the inspiration, but drunkie here really wants to make something for her bride-to-be."
"Do I want to ask why you're all drunk at—" Adora looks at the clock on the far wall of the reception area. "—one in the afternoon?"
"Bottomless mimosas!" A woman with white curls cheers, swaying slightly on her feet.
"Ah. That explains it." She eyes the tall woman—the bride-to-be who is now looking at one of the vases Adora has on display. She looks back at the woman who seems to be their spokesperson. "Look, ma'am—"
She makes a short retching sound. "Catra, please." She insists with a frown.
"Catra." She says steadily. The brunette looks up at her with long eyelashes, a soft almost pleading look on her face. Adora bites her lip. She's terrible at saying no to pretty women. "Catra." She repeats firmly. "I can't have drunk people operating machinery. Or fragile art."
It's a basic principle really. She's not even being mean.
You wouldn't know it from the way Catra juts her bottom lips, eyes locked onto Adora. They're gorgeous, two different colors. Adora’s tempted to comment on them but she doesn't want to be rude—or worse, make Catra realize that Adora thinks she's awfully gorgeous.
"I get it, really I do." She starts slowly. "And I'm not trying to put you in an uncomfortable position. But Scorpia really wants to make a mug or something for Perfuma and I'm her maid of honor. It's my job to help her achieve her dreams. And right now, I need your help, Adora."
She snaps her head at hearing her name fall from the brunette’s lips. "Um—how did you know—?"
"It’s on the sign." She supplies. Adora blushes, she should have guessed that. "Look, I'm sober and so is ‘Trapt. The other two don't even want to do pottery they'll sit and behave themselves. I just need you to monitor one moderately drunk girl in the name of true love."
Catra looks a little frazzled on the edges, and her plea seems sincere. Adora sighs. She really doesn't make enough for this to be worth it.
"I want a card on file. Any broken pottery is going to get paid for. Full price." She tries for stern, but Catra squeals anyway reaching out and grabbing Adora's forearm.
"Thank you, thank you. I promise I'll pay for anything that gets broken." She says with a smile, eyes beaming with happiness.
Adora clears her throat trying to shake the way it makes her soften like ice cream in July. "Alright, can you all follow me? Seems like Scorpia wants to make something special today." She tries for cheerful but she's worried.
Scorpia is ecstatic, putting down a mug she’d been holding with surprising gentleness and then raising her arms in the air like a boxer who won a match. "I want to make a love cup for my love cup!"
Adora tries to keep her snicker softly as to not upset the bride. "Well, I think I can help with that."
"Can you make really small pottery?" A woman with purple pigtails asks Adora.
She smiles lightly. If this woman is drunk, she hides it very well. "Yeah, it comes in all different shapes and sizes."
She nods decisively. "I'd like to make a tiny mug."
Adora eyes the woman and then looks at Catra who gives her an apologetic smile. "That's Entrapta. She's the other sober one."
Adora nods at Catra in acknowledgment and leads the group to the classroom. "No problem. Let me set up your friend first."
"Okay!" Entrapta says as they all walk into the room.
Adora turns her attention to Scorpia. "So Scorpia, ever made bread before?"
"Yes, I love bread! I make Perfuma bread all the time, that's why she needs a mug because you need toast for your coffee, I—"
"A little too loud, Scorp," Catra adds, gently sitting the woman on the workbench.
"Sorry." Her whisper is just as loud as her normal volume. "I just really love Perfuma. We're getting married." She adds seriously.
Catra rolls her eyes but somehow manages to look doting while doing it. "We know, Scorpia. Pay attention to the nice blonde yeah?"
Adora holds back a chuckle and rips off a decent size chunk of clay from one of her new bags, maybe about a pound. She doesn't think they will use all of it, but it'll be good for her purposes right now.
"So, I'm going to give you a piece of clay and you need to massage it like bread. Warm it up. Think you can manage?"
After providing an enthusiastic nod, Scorpia reaches for the clay in Adora's hand, cooing at it and seemingly whispering something about a love cup to it.
Catra takes the other two women and sits them in a corner, seemingly threatening their existence, eyes flashing and low voice promising violence. Adora will have to self-evaluate the flash of heat that rolls through her at the sight but that can wait.
"Entrapta?" She thinks that's the name she heard but she isn't sure. The woman is staring at the wheel and sits down without prompting.
"How does it work?" She asks, eyes focused on the machine. Her foot inches toward the pedal, and Adora quickly squats down and moves the pedal firmly out of her reach.
"I'm not sure about the mechanics of it, but I have the assembly manual handy for when I need to fix something if that interests you." Adora shoots out quickly. She gets the sense that Entrapta might enjoy some reading material after she’s done while Adora works with Scorpia.
She places a piece of clay in the middle of the wheel after making sure it’s secured she gestures to Entrapta. "You can go ahead."
Entrapta wrinkles her nose and looks at the water bucket next to her. "I have to wet my hands and touch it?" She eyes the water and then the clay as if the prospect is particularly unappealing.
"Yeah, you'll have to use the water some as the clay dries out." She explains, using her own hands to demonstrate wetting the clay and showing how the texture changes when she does so.
"Oh. Never mind, I'd prefer the manual." She says matter of fact, eyes darting around the studio. Catra clears her throat, staring at Entrapta. "Oh. Please." She adds as an afterthought.
"Sure, give me a minute." She wipes her hands down on a towel, relieved to not have two wheels going at the same time with beginners. "Scorpia, how's your clay doing?" She yells out as she looks through her papers. She’s sure it’s nearby, she last had to fix one of the pottery wheels in the classroom.
Scorpia pounds her clay into the workbench, the table rattling as she does so. "It's so good! It's soft and bendy and I think it's good now." She furrows her brow looking at the clay. "Well, I think it's good."
"Here you go, Entrapta." Adora hands the woman the promised papers and then turns her full attention to the bride-to-be. "Alright. Let me see the clay."
Adora notes that Scorpia's hands are steadier than before as she gives Adora what she asked for. The clay is a bit dried but generally malleable—it’s normal for beginners to use too little or too much water.
"Alright let's get this on the wheel." She tempers the texture of the clay a little before she helps Scorpia get set up. Before she really gets into it, she eyes her other guests. Catra seems to have them all handled, the rest of the bachelorette party sitting patiently in a corner. Catra is sitting closest, and Adora can look at her easily from where she’s instructing Scorpia. "Okay, so let me walk you through it."
Scorpia manages to sober up considerably after they center the piece which makes the process a lot less painful. By the end of it, they have a slightly wobbly teacup, but Scorpia seems pleased.
"I can straighten it up a little for you before it sets too much." Adora offers. She does it all the time for casual clients like this one.
Scorpia shakes her head with a smile. "No thanks, Adora. Perfuma's taught me a lot about loving myself, imperfections and all. I want this to reflect that."
She can't help the soft smile that crosses her face at that. "Your fiancée seems really lucky to have someone that loves her so well." She offers. "When's the wedding? I'll make sure it's ready for then."
"In two weeks! I'm so excited." She does a little jig in her seat.
Adora laughs as she offers her a towel to take off the brunt of the clay stuck on her hands. "I might have gathered that." She then turns to look at Catra who mostly stayed quiet while Adora helped Scorpia. "You excited for maid of honor to be done?"
Catra smiles and rolls her eyes. "I'll be happy to not have to cater to Scorpia's drunk wishes." She teases her friend who looks slightly embarrassed. "But I'll be happy to see them get married."
"You’re the girl from the viral video, aren't you?" The girl with the blue hair asks as she rakes Adora up and down with her eyes. “Netossa and I have been trying to place you this whole time and I’m positive that’s it.”
Adora snaps to look at the dark skin woman. While her companion groans. "Mermista, please learn some manners." The other woman—Netossa—scolds.
"It's fine," Adora assures. It’s not the first time she gets recognized, and it probably won’t be the last. "My friend took a video of me working and it did better than we expected." She says diplomatically.
It's a bit of an understatement. Glimmer's video blew up—her account had been bombarded with comments asking about Adora’s business and Adora herself. She'd even done a few local stories regarding the now infamous video.
"Yeah. Working. I bet." Mermista eyes Adora's arm and Netossa rolls her eyes.
Before she can get in a word edgewise, Catra taps them both on the shoulder. "Alright, all of you outside." Catra orders, sending Mermista a heated glare.
Mermista shoots the brunette a smirk. "Fine. I'll wait with Netossa and Entrapta outside until you're done here."
Adora clears her throat, trying to brush off whatever that was. "I'll fire the piece in the kiln then we have to paint and glaze. If you'd like I'd be happy to do it for you or you can come back to do it yourself."
Scorpia furrows her brow. "I'm actually from out of town. With the wedding so close, I don't think I can make it back in time." The large woman looks so distressed at the thought.
Adora waves her off. "That's fine. I can finish it, but delivery might be tricky. I'll pick it up as safely as I can, but I don't guarantee they arrive safely." Adora learned the hard way that fragile tape and bubble wrap could only go so far and it's best to warn clients of that upfront.
"I can pick it up, I'm local," Catra says leaning against the door frame.
Adora raises an eyebrow. "Really?" The question slips out. She clears her throat and looks away gathering her thoughts. "Well, that solves the issue then."
Catra turns to face Scorpia. "I got this, big gal. Why don't you check if everyone is ready for the massage place?"
Scorpia takes a step toward the door but seems to think better of it, turning to address Catra. "Wildcat, you sure? This wasn't in the budget. I can pay for it." She insists.
"No, no. I planned this trip I'm footing the bill. Now out." She shoos Scorpia crowding her out the door.
As bossy and larger than life as Catra has been since she stepped foot in Adora's studio, she's uncharacteristically quiet when they end up alone. Adora lets the silence settle for a moment, eyeing the brunette.
She finally steps toward Adora, crossing her arms across her chest. "How much do I owe you?"
"Honestly, not sure. This was a weird day." Adora doesn’t even get many walk-ins, people usually reserve their space ahead of time. "I think I'll just charge it as a normal class and then we have the kiln fee. I'll do the glaze and paint for free." She offers.
It was more work than a normal class, but she had a fun time doing it. Besides, she feels inspired by the love Scorpia feels for her fiancée. She'll be happy to add something special to the gift Scorpia wants to make for the wedding.
"You don't have to do that." Catra protests. "I stumbled in here with a horde of drunks the least I can do is compensate you."
Adora takes a step closer and waves the brunette off. "No really. It's fine. Honestly, I've had way worse students. This was fun." She smiles, hopefully in a convincing way.
Catra sighs and shrugs. "Okay then, if you're sure. Thanks." She looks up at Adora with a shy smile on her face. "When will it be ready to pick up?"
"I can have it ready in three days." It's one of the best things since she saved up and sprung for her own kiln—she's no longer beholden to anyone else's schedule when it comes to finishing off her pieces. "Will you come to pick it up?" Adora can't help but feel hopeful at the prospect.
Catra nods. "Yeah. I don't work far from here, I can just grab it after work." Her eyes dart from one of Adora's eyes to the other and that's when Adora realizes how close they are standing.
She clears her throat but doesn't step back. "Did you have a good time? I know you were busy, not sure how much you saw of what I was helping Scorpia with."
She smiles gently and Adora discovers she has a dimple on one of her cheeks. "It seems fun, I'd love to try it on my own time when I'm not you know." She waves her hand in the air as if that explains her meaning. In a way, it does.
"Yeah." Adora smiles and they just look at each other for a moment, the silence no longer awkward.
"Catra! Come on, flirt on your own time!" One of the women—Netossa, Adora thinks—bellows then slams the door.
"Asshole!" Catra yells at the door her cheeks reddening. She turns back to Adora. "I have to go." She says apologetically.
She turns to do just that, but Adora panics for a moment. "Wait!" She blurts out. She grabs a business card from her desk, quickly scribbling her personal cell on the back. "If you need an update. On the cup." Adora says as she holds it out.
Catra smiles gingerly grabbing the card. Adora realizes it has some dark smudges from Adora's hand which have dried clay on them.
"Right. For the cup." She says as she smirks. "I'll call you."
"Okay. Cool. Great! Um, I'll see you soon?" She knocks the tip of her shoe to the ground nervously.
"You can count on it." She assures.
"Catra! Let's go!" This time it was Mermista groaning as she holds open the door.
"I'm going!" She yells again, her blush not having quite left from the first time. She gives Adora a small wave and a smile before heading out.
Adora stands there in the silence of her studio for a moment. She grins to herself and heads toward the back, inspired by more than one thing she experienced this afternoon. She thinks she might try creating something new.