"Maybe my plan won't work," Catra drawled, pretending to reflect regretfully on that fact before turning a devilish smirk on Adora again. With her back pressed against the girl's shoulder as it was, she was so close her mane tickled Adora's ear. She reveled in the princess's obvious discomfort as she leaned in further still, musing, "But then again..."
With the speed and suddenness only a feline could muster, Catra twisted out of Adora's unwilling embrace, tugged sharply on her hands to pull her off balance, and then swept her into a dip before the rebel could so much as blink. Catra smugly noted the gasp Adora gave as they came closely face-to-face, the feline's nose hovering just inches above hers.
"It's been fun distracting you," she finished, baring her fangs in a grin.
Adora collected herself enough to compose her face into a fitting scowl. She consciously relaxed her grip on Catra's shoulders, where her hands had clung on in the heat of the moment. "Distracting me? I am not distracted," she fumed, though her eyes told a different story as they flickered away from Catra's face.
Catra tilted her head, her smile turning wicked as she let her tail brush temptingly over Adora's exposed leg. "You sure about that?"
"Hey—!" Adora's voice faltered in agitation, her cheeks reddened furiously. She floundered out of Catra's grip and recovered her balance by falling into a defensive stance, fists clenched. She blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes with a huff. "Enough games," she declared. "What have you done?"
"Nothing permanent," Catra cackled, crossing her arms as she faced off opposite Adora. Around them, the other pairs on the floor continued their dance, oblivious to the drama going down in the midst of it.
"You—"
Catra cut off her rival's inevitable rebuke with a scoff and a roll of her multihued eyes. "Really, Adora, when are you going to realize? All this stupid princess nonsense doesn't stand a chance against the Horde." She spread her arms, cocked her head and shrugged matter-of-factly. "You might as well give up."
Adora glared, baring her own teeth, and opened her mouth to argue.
A loud "Ahem," sounded from nearby before she could form the words. Adora and Catra spared a suspicious glance toward the noise. They realized at the same time that two of the ice princess's royal guard were watching them closely, ready to intervene at the first sign of trouble.
Catra curled her lip, annoyed but not surprised. She was sure the tension between them was thick enough to half-smother everyone in the room. She groaned and slid her gaze back to Adora distastefully. "Guess they don't appreciate you making a scene," she jabbed.
"Me making a scene?" Adora cried indignantly. "You're the one who—"
Catra stepped forward and pulled Adora to her roughly. "Shut up before those goons kick us out," she muttered through her teeth. Sure enough, off to the side, the guards had taken a step toward them.
Adora scowled, but she reluctantly relaxed into Catra's hold to maintain pretenses. That didn't stop her from burning a hole in the feline's forehead with her eyes, or moving through the steps of the dance more than a little aggressively, but it was better than blatantly squaring up in the middle of the ballroom. "Anyway, you're wrong," she eventually said in the middle of a complicated twirl, picking up the same tack as before. "I'll never give up. The Horde is evil and it has to be stopped."
Catra caught Adora as she collided with her body and then spun out away again, their hands still joined. "Ugh, alright, enough with the heroic speeches," she grumbled. She bent and let Adora roll across her back, land and pivot in a move that turned into another, shallower dip. This time when the two enemies came face-to-face, Adora's blue eyes were somber instead of embarrassed.
"I just wish you would see it," she said sincerely. They straightened from the dip and Catra's arm stayed around Adora's back as they rotated around one another. Adora held her eyes the whole time. Her voice was softer as she said, "I wish you would come back with me."
The music was beginning to fade, signalling the close of the first dance. They took each other's hands and crossed them over as they retreated to arms' length in the final move. "You've made your choice, Adora, and I've made mine," Catra replied coolly. She tried not to let her heart sink at the wounded look in Adora's eyes.
Even if they were supposed to be enemies now, there was too much between them to ignore for long. For Catra, there was no denying to herself that she missed her companion—not that she would ever admit it out loud—and it was clear enough that Adora felt similarly. Those clear blue eyes were practically begging her for forgiveness. And Catra wanted so badly to give it to her. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not now and maybe not ever. She was too caught up in a storm of anger and confusion and resentment and…
And other emotions that had nothing to do with this stupid She-Ra debacle and everything to do with Adora herself.
Catra pushed those feelings down before she could think too hard about them. As usual.
Except, this time it was harder than usual. Everything was harder than usual when Adora was standing right in front of her, literally holding hands with her, wearing that stupid dress with her stupid hair all done up and her stupid face practically glowing in the wintry spotlights. Even her stupid eyes were more distracting than usual as they lingered on Catra's, reaching past her defenses, cutting straight to her soul the way only Adora could.
Catra wrinkled her nose and looked away. That really was stupid.
She was roused from her ruminations as the first song finally came to a close. She and Adora ended in the same pose as they had begun, facing opposite each other with a single hand joined between them at eye level. All around them, the other pairs were doing the same, but the two girls hardly noticed. They watched each other, their look charged. Adora had to have noticed Catra staring at her while they danced. "It doesn't have to be this way," she said gently into the silence as they dropped their arms, breaking contact. They were the last couple to step apart.
Catra faked a sardonic smile. She knew better, but instead of arguing she let the truth hang in the air unspoken and opted to say, "Well, at least we have tonight, right?" She tried not to let any hint of desperation sneak into her voice.
Adora missed nothing. Her eyes turned regretful, but she too forced a light smile. "How do I know you're not still just distracting me?" she joked.
"You said it wasn't working." Catra's smirk became genuine.
If it was possible to blush and pale at the same time, Adora managed it. She began to stammer defensively, "I, uh—" Her hand went to her hair and twisted a stray lock in a familiar nervous gesture.
Thankfully she was not left to flounder long. Frosta's voice rang out over the murmur of the crowd, announcing the next dance. The music began even before her speech finished. This time it was slow and thoughtful, plucking right at the heartstrings. Catra could tell right away that this wouldn't be the kind of dance one switched partners in. This was a love ballad through and through.
And she didn't intend to waste it.
Not tonight.
As Adora started up some stumbling monologue again, Catra reached up and stopped her lips with one hand. "Shut up," she ordered. Her voice was biting, but her touch lacked any roughness as she shifted her hand to cradle Adora's chin. Her eyes were full of heat and frustration. Her freckled cheeks were likewise flushed. "—and dance with me."
Adora blinked in surprise, seemingly frozen for a moment. Catra hated that she had to look up at the other girl slightly as they stood close, unsure, balancing on the brink of something unidentifiable but profound. Her heartbeat grew painfully hard as she waited for a response. She began to fear she'd gone too far.
Her tension eased as Adora let out a small, flustered laugh. The princess worried with her hair again and glanced away, biting her lip. Catra felt her heart swell in gratification when she noticed Adora's own rising blush. "I guess the others probably have everything under control," the rebel reasoned to herself. Her distraction was obvious. "Yeah. Pfft! Bow and Glimmer have probably caught Scorpia already. They've probably stopped your evil plans and saved the kingdom and recruited Frosta and…" Her rambling continued until Catra rolled her eyes mightily and stepped in.
"Adora." The feline grasped her companion's arms and manually lifted them to drape around her own shoulders. Then she settled her hands on Adora's hips and pulled her in until only inches separated their bodies. She gave the bumbling hero a pointed look. "I said shut up."
Adora's blush climbed all the way up to her ears. She scrambled to save her dignity by declaring, "Fine, but—just one more dance!"
Catra chuckled as a smile pulled at her lips, exposing one fang. "Promises, promises." Without waiting for an answer, she gently pressed into Adora, starting her into the dance. It wasn't long before they found their rhythm to the slow ballad and melted into the crowd as if just another lovestruck couple.
They danced in silence for a long while, more simply swaying than performing any real steps this time. Gradually Catra's nervous heartbeat slowed and her anxiety faded away and she let the ponderous music and the comfort of Adora's closeness lull her into a sort of trance. Her ears drooped and her tail curled to and fro languidly as she moved. It was easy to pretend everything was all right with the world when she was here, lost in the atmosphere of the evening, Adora in her arms, all other cares distant by comparison. She found herself drifting closer to her partner as they danced until they were practically pressed against one another.
Adora didn't seem to mind. She curled her fingers in Catra's mane and twisted the wild locks absently, stoking a faint purr in the feline's chest. Catra slid her arms around Adora's waist more tightly. Her eyes slowly closed of their own accord as she basked in this rare, forbidden comfort.
The feline barely noticed when Adora leaned in to rest her brow against Catra's. The princess's words seemed distant as she murmured, "I'm sorry, Catra. I never meant for this to happen."
Catra furrowed her brow, loathe to let their moment end. She knew that as soon as they broke apart her heart would be in a tumult of guilt, confusion and regret, and she didn't want that to happen yet. Right now all she wanted was to savor the feeling of Adora's fingers in her hair and her breath on her cheek and store it in her memory to last her all the lonely times to come. She needed to.
So she shifted her hands to Adora's back and let her claws come out just enough to catch on the fabric of her dress, clinging. "I know," she whispered back. "Just…give me this."
"Catra."
There was so much emotion behind that single utterance of her name that Catra felt a shiver run through her from top to tail. She wasn't the only one struggling. That knowledge gave her a little bit of recklessness and she felt her heart pick up its pace. All they had was tonight. Just tonight. How far would Adora let her go before their time ran out?
Catra caught her breath in nervous anticipation, hovering once again at that unspoken brink that they both recognized. If she tipped them over the edge, how would it feel to fall?
How would it feel to hit the ground?
"Am I worth it?" she breathed, almost inaudible.
She would find out.
She slid her hands under the fabric of Adora's dress. Her palms skimmed over the skin of her back, and her claws trailed lightly behind, raising gooseflesh where they passed. At first the blonde stiffened in surprise, but her initial gasp soon died into a weak noise as Catra's claws fell to kneading gently between her shoulder blades. She swayed forward slightly and had nowhere to catch herself but Catra's body. From the feline's shoulder Adora fought down a groan and managed, "Catra, we can't—"
Catra's lips on her neck made her voice falter.
The cat laid a tiny kiss and then drew back enough to say lowly, "Just give me this. Just tonight." She didn't receive an answer right away, but she felt a shudder go through the other girl and her hands tighten on her shoulders. She took that as permission to lean in again, nuzzling at Adora's ear as her lips returned to her neck. A guilty, wicked smile spread over her face as Catra realized she was finally getting the chance to make Adora squirm—though maybe not exactly in the way she'd originally intended. "I've got you now, She-Ra," she mumbled mockingly, tilting her head to nose underneath Adora's chin.
Adora was about to speak, but her voice was dashed again as Catra's fangs dragged gently, torturously over her pulse point. All that came out instead was an embarrassingly loud moan.
Catra snickered as Adora immediately snapped her mouth closed and jerked back, her face cherry red. She glanced around to make sure no one around them had heard. "Sorry," the feline offered. She freed her hands from the back of Adora's shirt and instead trailed them down her arms, seeking her hands. The blonde regarded her with darkened, flustered eyes even as she let her twine their hands together.
"Catra, what are you doing?" she asked softly. There wasn't any disapproval in her eyes, but Catra still felt the urge to draw back within herself, ready to weather a storm. She forced down the old instinct and made herself raise her eyes to Adora's steadily, meaningfully.
"What I should have a long time ago."
Adora's breath audibly hitched, but at the same time she looked away. Catra felt a tendril of uncertainty twisting in her gut. Maybe she'd been wrong to take the risk. Maybe she'd gone too far.
The princess found her gaze again and there was a fierce affection in hers that Catra had not seen for months. "It's not that I don't feel the same, Catra," Adora began as if she'd read the feline's mind, "it's just—" She momentarily broke free from Catra's hold to gesture around them all-encompassingly. "—with the Horde, and the Rebellion, and the way things are, I— we just—" Her blue eyes were filling with tears. "We can't."
Catra reached up and ran the backs of her knuckles along Adora's cheek. She shook her head, feeling a tiny smile flicker at her lips. "You don't get it," she said gently. She held the blonde's tear-dampened gaze with her mischievous one and repeated, "Just tonight," punctuating her words with a reassuring kiss on Adora's cheek.
"Oh, yeah." A long sigh shuddered out of the blonde as she relaxed into Catra's touch. "Okay." Her hands came up and buried themselves in the fur beneath her ears, thumbs tracing along the curve of her jaw. Catra's eyes slid closed as she enjoyed the attention, so she didn't see Adora lean closer, but she felt the princess's breath skim her lips and heard her say timidly, "Then…" and her heart was suddenly tripping in its haste.
Then…
Then an explosion rocked the ballroom.
…