It wasn't often that a Bright Moon night was anything but quiet. The capital of the rebellion just had that sort of soft and quiet aura to it at night, even without anyone wandering the halls on patrol. However, this came with one small downside: on the rare occasion that someone was still up in the wee hours of the night, everyone was bound to know. For most, this just meant not to get up unless it was absolutely necessary; for Judy, it just meant to take quieter steps.
Slipping on her new sweater, she stared down the door for a solid ten seconds, listening intently for anyone else's footsteps. She needed a breath of fresh air right about now, and a conversation was needed just as much as another Horde invasion. So it's a good thing the coast was clear. Nudging her bedroom door open the tiniest bit, she slipped through the small gap and shut it just as carefully, shuffling along until she found a nice open balcony. Leaning against the rail, she took a sharp breath of night air, letting out all the garbage that had built up in her chest. "Finally," she murmured, just in time for Adora to hear.
Maybe it was all those years of Horde training, but Adora had always been a ridiculously light sleeper. The faintest echoes could break the peace of her slumber, even something as quiet as socks sliding along the marble floors. Judy had come to both love and hate this; when she needed Adora, she was bound to be up before her doors were even open, but that also meant sneaking out was near impossible. "Finally what?"
It probably goes without saying that Judy nearly had a heart attack. Turns out she wasn't quite as alone as she had hoped, and after catching herself on the railing and steadying her breath, she turned around with a heavy blush and a shameful frown. Eye contact was out of the question right now. "... H-Hey Adora. I just, um... I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to get some fresh air. Sorry if I woke you up."
"No, it's... It's fine. I know you didn't mean to... and I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Adora stretched her arms a tiny bit, coming over and joining Judy at the railing. She kept a solid meter or so between them, unsure of how comfortable Judy would be with a hug, or even an arm around the shoulder; it was better just not to try for now. "... So. Are you alright?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm... I'm fine, it's all good. You know how it is," Judy tried to assure her, adding in a light chuckle for good measure. Even so, she knew that that wouldn't fool anyone, not even Kyle. And he believed that Hordak made pants illegal once.
"... No, you're not. C'mon, what's bugging you? There's gotta be something... Is it the Horde?"
The young recruit sighed, pacing back and forth for a few seconds before finally answering Adora's question. "I just... This is probably gonna sound stupid, 'cause I already went outta my way and risked everything to join the rebellion, but I don't even know what I can do to help. I sure as heck don't belong out there on the front lines, I'm squishier than a marshmallow. And like... I came from the Horde in the first place. Is anyone really gonna trust me to fight them now?"
"Judy, it doesn't matter where you're from, or what you can do; anyone can help fight the Horde! I mean, look at me, I was in the Horde for as long as I could remember. They even made me a Force Captain, and I'm still fighting back now!"
"But that's not-" Judy took a deep breath, clasping her hands together in front of her and squeezing tightly. "Adora, I- I get it. You wanna inspire me 'cause we came from the same kinda background, I can't blame you for that. But there's a difference between you and me! You're She-Ra, a warrior princess of legend, and I'm a ten-piece Chicken McNobody! I barely kept myself from not being fired, and I don't even know how!" Judy threw her hands up in exasperation, plopping down onto the nearest bench and resting her chin in her palm. "I appreciate it, don't get me wrong. It just... The sentiment feels a bit transparent."
The silence hung in the air for a short while, and Adora soon joined Judy on the bench, not saying a word. Instead, she just took Judy's free hand, squeezing it ever so gently. Needless to say, her cheeks lit up a bright red at this... but she didn't try and push Adora away. In fact, she leaned into it a bit, resting her head on Adora's shoulder. "... Sorry, Adora. That was rude of me to shut you down like that."
"No, no, there's no need to apologize. You're right. Most everyone I've met has already been a good fighter, or they've got some sort of magic. I shouldn't keep my approach the same for you." Adora smiled a bit, gladly letting Judy lean into her. "If you want... I could give you lessons every now and then. I can't promise any sort of consistent schedule... but I can try."
"Thanks, Adora... but it's fine. It's not like nobody else here can train me... Your schedule's busy enough as it is."
"If you insist." The two of them sat there for a few more seconds before Adora started to gently pull away. "So... You good now? 'Cause you've sorta got bags under your eyes, and I don't want you losing any more sleep than you have to."
"I, uh... I think I need a minute, if that's fine." Judy pulled Adora a bit closer, not quite wanting her to leave just yet. While their situations were entirely different, she did indeed feel a sense of solidarity with Adora, since they both left the Horde behind and all that. Or at least... That's what she kept telling herself it was. Feelings and emotions were dumb and weird; that was probably the only thing Hordak was ever right about.
"Take all the time you need." Adora lightly chuckled, running a hand through Judy's hair to calm her just a bit more. Judy was... an interesting recruit. She was just about as old as the best friend squad, and yet... She felt so much younger at the same time, as if she was just some frightened little girl that needed to know everything was alright. There was a warrior under there; she just needed time to blossom.
Though she didn't want to break the silence, Judy eventually got up, taking Adora's hand again. "... Thanks for coming out and sitting with me. If, ah... If you've got the time, would you maybe wanna grab lunch tomorrow? Like, together?"
Admittedly, Adora was taken aback by the offer, but she quickly came to her senses and smiled back at Judy. "Yeah... I'd love that." A lingering thought sat in the back of her mind, of someone else who had been struggling with that same sort of thing. But the solid details escaped her, so she brushed that off for now, walking Judy back to her room. "See you tomorrow, J," Adora said as one last goodnight, giving Judy a quick hug before heading to bed and pondering their friendly hang-out tomorrow.
Judy had to immediately get herself into bed when she had said goodnight to Adora, just to stop herself from jumping for joy. Somehow, on one of her worst nights, she had worked up the courage to ask Adora on a date... and she said yes. Maybe things were finally looking up.