AN: This is the first fic I've written since the beginning of last year, so bear with me. And of course it's shameless semi-shipping fluff, because it's me. Set prior to the Princess Prom, so Catra doesn't know Scorpia's a princess yet. Going with the assumption that she'd have a few more perks to her living space given her status. Can be read as purely platonic or pre-shipping.

The upgrade to Force Captain had perks other than the notoriety and respect (however reluctantly given it might have been, particularly from Lonnie) that inherently came along with it, and one of those was the fact that after spending the entirety of her life sharing her living space with the rest of the trainees and cadets Catra now had her own room. Granted, it was nothing too fancy - not that she had much to compare it to - and the bed consisted of an elevated hard slab little better than the mat on the floor she'd been sleeping on as long as she could remember. But the ability to shut everyone else out and exist alone with her own (often frustrating and unwanted) thoughts was nice.

In theory.

It was something she would never admit out loud, even if no one else was listening, but the untimely departure of her former best friend had thrown a wrench in Catra's life in more ways than simply resulting in Shadow Weaver becoming increasingly aggravating in her attempts to recover Adora. The loss of the one person she'd passed all of her time with, during training and outside of it, was isolating in a way she'd never experienced before. She wasn't exactly on friendly terms with any of the other cadets prior to the promotion, and the circumstances of getting it hadn't endeared her to any of them - or vice versa; they were all pretty dim in her opinion. The only other higher ranking member of the Horde that she was even slightly well-acquainted with was Scorpia... if a few days of having her ear talked off counted as being well-acquainted.

Catra had to admit, Scorpia's presence (and personality) did alleviate some of the loneliness that had settled upon her following the night everything fell apart. That said, while the other Force Captain seemed to have immediately latched onto her as a potential friend, Catra maintained no such hopes for their relationship. Friends were a liability. They wormed their way into your life then pissed off to Bright Moon to play sparkly dress up and pretend to suddenly be one of The Good Guys with a bunch of other flamboyantly dressed dimwits, one of whom was a princess, of all things.

Totally not bitter. Not in the slightest.

Scorpia was overly friendly, indiscriminately dropping pieces of personal information and invading her personal space, but Catra did her best to leave an invisible wall between them. They were on the same team, that was it. That was where the line lay.

...Catra also had no intention of ever verbally admitting that she appreciated the company. Not even to herself.

However, it was at night that the loneliness crept back in, making her toss and turn in her bed no matter how she curled up beneath the thin sheets. After years and years of not just sleeping surrounded by other people, but sharing Adora's mat (save for the nights when they went to bed separately after arguing over something or the other), the silence was damn near unnerving. The ambient noises of machinery were present, but it was devoid of snoring, breathing at regular intervals, random shuffling on the mats, all of the various sounds that came with cohabitating. And Catra, despite everything, missed it terribly.

This night, in particular, was worse than the past few nights, although she couldn't pinpoint why. Typically she only tossed and turned for a couple of hours before settling into an uneasy sleep that she woke up still tired from only a few hours later, but she'd been doing her best to pass out for a good three hours now with no success whatsoever. Catra growled, claws extending as she flipped over onto her stomach and casually ripped a hole in her flat, barely comfortable pillow, then vented the rest of her frustration on the pillow and the sheets, the sound of ripping fabric filling the air for a couple of mildly satisfying minutes. When there was nothing left to shred, she collapsed face-first in the scraps, groaning. This was the worst. This was all Adora's fault. Adora was the worst.

At least when it came to being a best friend.

After another few minutes of stewing in her own resentment, Catra sat up, rubbing at her eyes and taking in the sight of her wrecked bedding. Of course, Shadow Weaver was going to complain over her requesting replacements. Hell, she'd only grudgingly assigned Catra a room following her promotion in the first place. That was a problem for Future Catra, though, one that wasn't completely sleep-deprived. She'd considered sneaking back into the cadet dorm, but only briefly; being caught by any of her former teammates - and now subordinates - wasn't quite the worst case scenario in terms of blows to her pride, but it was pretty close. She also didn't exactly want to attract any attention by finding some other place within the stronghold to nap, especially that of Shadow Weaver, who would never shut up about her wasting the resources she'd been graciously given if the old hag stumbled upon her curled up behind a pipe or something.

There was one other possibility, but... no.

Catra flicked one of her scraps onto the floor, watching it flutter to the ground. Granted, the other possibility would very likely result in her first good night of sleep in weeks, but it also meant crossing that invisible barrier she'd been struggling to maintain. Maybe. A Force Captain needed to be on their toes, right? And that meant sleeping, so...

Catra sat up, sighing heavily. She just knew she was going to regret this.

Night vision also had its perks, one of which was not needing to turn on the light in Scorpia's room to see that it was definitely decorated a bit better than hers was - perhaps because she'd been a Force Captain for longer - or to locate her bed, which was also a little nicer than Catra's. She wondered if that meant upgrades were in her future. Not likely, if Shadow Weaver had any say in it. Catra crept forward silently, leaping up onto the corner of the platform and hesitating. She could still return to her own room. It wasn't too late.

"...Catra?"

And now it was too late.

The sound of sheets shuffling preceded Scorpia, who'd been sound asleep upon her entering the room, sitting up and tilting her head in confusion. Catra wouldn't have pegged her for a light sleeper. She quickly held up a hand as Scorpia opened her mouth, attempting to halt the barrage in its tracks. "Don't. Don't start talking."

Scorpia gripped the sheets in her claws, face lighting up. "Ooh, are we having a sleepover? I've gotta admit I'm not really prepared since this is so sudden, but-"

"It's not a sleepover," Catra hissed, claws digging into the sheets beneath her before she managed to catch herself. She swiftly retracted them before damaging the fabric too much, glancing away from Scorpia as she spoke. "Look. Don't read too much into this. I'm just..." She trailed off for a minute, absolutely despising the vulnerability creeping into her voice. "I'm not used to sleeping alone, yet. In my own room, I mean."

She didn't have to be looking at Scorpia to know the other Force Captain was smiling at her; she generally was. "That why you've been a little on the grumpy side lately?"

Catra bristled, ready to snap back at her when, without any further hesitation, Scorpia scooted back, making space for her on the bed. "It's okay, I don't mind!" She said, cheerfully. "You need a blanket or an extra pillow or anything? Two pillows? Actually, I kinda need mine, but we can probably share."

Catra shook her head, slowly creeping forward and curling up atop the sheets a few inches away from Scorpia's legs. "I need you to go back to sleep and stop making this more weird and awkward than it already is," she grumbled, folding her arms and resting her head on them.

"On it!" Scorpia chirped, just as brightly. How she could be so effervescent at this time of night was beyond Catra. She felt her teammate shifting as she laid back down; the soft sound of Scorpia breathing, the presence of another person nearby... this. This is what she'd been missing. Catra felt her eyes growing heavy, drowsiness beginning to settle upon her with a surprisingly rapid onset...

...something brushed over one of her ears, smoothly running over her fur and immediately eliciting an embarrassingly loud, deep, rumbling purr. Under ordinary circumstances Catra would have flinched sharply, shot up with her claws out, and went for whatever exposed flesh she could find, but the nights of restlessness and steadily building exhaustion were taking their toll. The best she could muster was opening a single eye and glaring at the culprit in the darkness, the edge in her voice dulled somewhat as she hissed, "What are you doing?"

Scorpia drew back quickly, rubbing at the back of her neck awkwardly with her other claw. "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself! I can stop, really."

Catra rolled her eyes sleepily, shutting them once more; she was far too comfortable to protest at the moment, and Scorpia was sharing her bed with no complaint whatsoever. "...whatever. Just stop talking."

"Gotcha! Sorry, I'm just-"

"...Scorpia."

The exasperation in her tone seemed to get the message across that time, and instead of continuing to babble, Scorpia resumed gently running the tip of one of her claws over her fur. The purring that ensued was a reflex, but it had the additional effect of further soothing Catra herself, unthinkingly drawing a little closer until she was curled up against Scorpia's legs, a slight smile on her face as she finally drifted off to sleep.

And the following night, when sleeplessness got the best of her and sent her creeping back into Scorpia's room, her spot was already open.