Author's Notes:

I just binge-watched She-Ra and the Princesses of Power yesterday, like, until midnight, and surprise-surprise, my OTP is between the black-haired cat girl and the powerful blonde girl whose hair can glow…

Wow. Such a shocker. Who would've guessed.

But, for real, I am obsessed with that show, especially the dynamic between Adora and Catra, that is just… wow…

The sexual tension is so high the show should be rated R.

Despite Everything

...

"I hate you!"

She dodged a rather predictable sword swing to her right, jumping away and onto a large rock, swift as a cat.

This had been going on for almost an hour now.

Catra had been actively trying to avoid Adora - or, as everyone liked to call her, the almighty She-Ra (ugh) - ever since the horn had been blown, signalling to the beginning of the war.

But, once Adora spotted her, she made a beeline for her, treating all of the Hordes less as enemies and more as insects that kept her away from the cat.

She knew the reason why Adora was acting like this.

And she didn't like that reason.

"I hate that you can't see how good you are!"

The tip of the sword came into view, and Catra dodged and leapt into a much smaller rock.

She frowned, trying to see the supposedly-invincible, legendary Princess who could never lose a fight and all of those other rumours.

She didn't.

She couldn't.

Instead, all she saw was a teenage girl, just like herself, who was exhausted, angry, and just wanted things to be over. Someone who was in too deep. Someone who fought not because she wanted to, but because she had to.

Her heterochromatic eyes widened when she saw the last thing she wanted to see.

Tears.

The heart she didn't think she had anymore broke.

"I hate that I can't be with you anymore!" she ranted on, even as she transformed back into the real Adora, dropping down to her knees, not giving any care that she was on the edge of the cliff, bits of dirt and pebbles falling down into seemingly nothingness.

"I hate everything about you!"

The cat in question leapt, looking down to the princess who couldn't even stand. Adora had been pushing herself far beyond her limit, all for what she believed in. Fate and beliefs and justice and all of that. That's Adora for you, she supposed.

And now both of them were looking into each other's eyes, one of them standing tall with barely any real injuries, and the other with too much injuries that it made her wince.

Catra acted calm even if she wasn't.

She pursed her lips and said nothing, even when she wanted to reach out and hugged the poor girl and wipe away all of her tears just like when they were kids.

Adora couldn't even lift the stupid sword anymore. She was just holding it as it rested on the ground, her grip loose and weak.

And yet, despite it all, she was still as fierce as ever, rage burning in those ocean blue eyes as if she wasn't too weak to fight anymore, as if she could go on.

"I hate you, Catra!" Adora sobbed.

Me too, she smiled. And really, who doesn't? If she were to die, she wouldn't be surprised if her 'friends' threw a party to celebrate it.

"I wish you'd just go!"

I tried to, but you caught me anyway.

Catra took a step forward, and another, and then another, not knowing why she was retracting her claws back. Wasn't she supposed to kill She-Ra? Or was she supposed to capture her?

At this point, she didn't even remember nor care what her mission was. Not like it ever mattered to her. Not really.

Adora closed her eyes, sword clattering as she brought her hands to her hair, tugging and pulling in hysteria.

"I wish I didn't have to see you!"

Me too.

"So that I don't have to deal with you! To deal with us- AH!"

In the space of a few seconds, the ground gave up beneath Adora, and she was flailing her arms helplessly, reaching out to her.

And, for some reason, Catra did the unreasonable thing and catch her by one arm, dropping to her stomach.

Adora was looking up at her with curiosity and shock and hope, those tears still falling.

Adora was never the one to control her emotions. She wore them proudly on her sleeves.

Her nose was red. There was a trail of blood on her cheek - Catra wished it wasn't her blood. Her face was streaked with dirt, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. She was a mess.

And yet she looked beautiful anyway.

And Catra found herself smiling, not understanding why.

Weren't they in the middle of a war?

Wasn't this to be a fight to the death, where only one of them would come out of this alive?

Why was she doing this?

Why did she feel as though doing this was the right thing?

"Why are you doing this?"

I don't know.

Catra began to pull.

"Aren't we on different sides?"

Yeah. We are.

Adora brought up her other arm.

"You shouldn't help me."

I know. But I'm doing it anyway.

Catra caught that other arm.

"Why are we like this?"

I don't know.

"I want us to get back to the way things were."

Me too.

They were both standing now. Adora had to lean herself onto Catra, putting her body weight to the other girl because she herself couldn't support it.

Catra's arms encircled her small, slim waist, and she tucked her chin on top of the girl's head. She took a deep breath, sniffing the strands of dark blonde hair, the familiar scent of lilacs and peaches serving to calm down her nerves, melting her into this embrace even more.

It was as if she was shielding the girl from the world.

And maybe she was.

She didn't understand why that was.

She didn't understand a lot of things, if she were being honest.

"I want everything to be okay."

The grip Adora had on her shirt tightened, and Catra felt the fabric getting wet.

For the first time, she spoke.

"But we really can't have that, can't we?"

She didn't recognize her own voice. There was no confidence, no hatred, no determination there.

Catra felt her shifting, and she looked down to meet those unyielding, bright blue eyes again.

"Do you still love me?"

She had been asking that exact same question for a long time.

Catra tried to think of what she wanted to do...

And did just that.

And apparently, what she wanted was to kiss Adora on the lips, letting her emotions show instead of telling them. Actions speak louder than words, and all that.

She didn't want to pull away, but she did so anyway.

She quickly turned around, too afraid to look at that girl in the eyes.

"Who knows?" she lied. They both knew the answer - the truth to it all. "But you better leave. Now, Adora."

She heard boots shuffling against the rocky ground as the girl began to leave.

But then it stopped.

And a faraway voice said, "I love you."

And Catra wanted to say those exact words as well. And she didn't understand why.

Catra waited until she couldn't hear the footsteps before she turned around.

Her heart sank when she couldn't see the familiar face of someone who was once more than a friend.

Someone who still was more than a friend.

Someone who she loved.

And someone who loved her just as much.

Despite everything.

…

The End

Author's Notes:

It's not a very amazing story and it's relatively short but... I like it anyway.

I choose the write everything from Catra's POV because I think it's more beautiful that way. I wrote her so that she's conflicted about all of this and she doesn't really understand why she's doing all of this and why her feelings always dictates her emotions.

What a beautifully tragic love story they have.