Where Do We Go From Here?

Kitatanya

Chapter 28

A/N: Thank you so much for your support! You're awesome!

Read on, loves!

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Catra's mind was still just as numb as her mate's as they slowly settled in that distant place of shared comprehension. The only thought in their minds was that they needed just a tiny bit of distance in that shock, but they did not want to be apart. And then came the thought from Adora that she simply wanted to hold her and be held. Even as her mate was forming the thought, she was already sitting down on the floor where they stood and Catra followed her tugs, wanting the exact same thing. Even as her arms were already about Adora's neck, and Adora's arms were tightening about her ribs, she wound her legs around her mate's body too, winding her tail about her waist as they clung to one another. Adora's face was buried into her shoulder, as hers was buried into her hair and all they wanted in that moment was to just remain like this forever.

But the comfort of each other's touch stilled the shock and now, higher thoughts were returning and all Catra could feel was a sense of guilt upon seeing Glimmer like that after wanting to reveal to her the truth of Catalyst. She could see it now, how Glimmer's stress and exhaustion had escalated what should have been a simple discussion into the explosion of emotions that she and her mate had responded to with their own surging emotions without thought. Feeling Adora's dread upon seeing Glimmer's angry imperial expression and feeling that soul-shaking feeling of despair her mate had felt in that burst of memories, had only made her even more furious than she'd been already. She had given into that fury without thought as it had pulled the power of their bond forward in a rush of blinding flame to match. And even in her righteous rage, it had lent a sense of clarity to her words, letting her see how she and her mate would be better suited to the task Glimmer had tried to take upon herself with her own sense of righteous fury and desperate fear for their home.

She'd already known Adora would agree, even as her mate had been unable to truly form the thoughts in herself at that moment. But in that power, Catra had felt the everything, felt the universe and its call for help in that more direct way and how much they needed to act and act now. And in that call, all she could think about was stopping any arguments Glimmer could throw their way with the certainty that they were right in their fury and that Glimmer could not fall because there was so much more at stake than just their home, no matter how important their home was to all of them and their people.

She felt Adora slowly begin to comprehend her thoughts through her own shock now and immediately, her mate's mind was full of the urge to reassure her. She felt from Adora that faith in her and how even if she regretted how very shaken their truth had made Glimmer, it was the right choice. Glimmer would have kept arguing with them. She would have kept trying to force them to accept her decision and even if maybe there might have been an easier way to tell their friend, their Queen -because the both of them respected Glimmer's rule in that unconscious way even as she was one of their best friends in the universe- the truth, it had been the right decision. Glimmer was strong, just as strong as they were in her way and Bow would be there with her in this moment, supporting her just as they were supporting each other.

He would no doubt be just as terrified and shocked by this new and greater awful truth as Glimmer, but if either of them knew Bow, he would push his own feelings aside and help Glimmer and try to steady her and in his efforts, he would steady himself too. Bow had faith in them and in all of their friends, and just as Catra was often the one to remind them both of that, so too was Bow that for Glimmer whenever he could be. And feeling all of that from her mate, finally let Catra feel a little eased of her guilt, even as Adora still felt a little guilty herself in the face of the pain they knew their friends were in right now.

Catra was crying and Adora was crying too. They were clinging to each other, sobbing in shared guilt and love and reassurance. Then they felt the gentle touch of Melog and knew that they'd waited to offer comfort until their storm began to still, because they'd felt how much they'd just needed each other in that moment and a little bubble of space with their thoughts. She felt Melog trembling just as much as they were, sharing that storm with them even as they were purring in that healing, steadying, loving timbre, wanting them to feel safe enough to let go and release the storm of tears they were both already trying to still.

Sensing that from them and that unspoken declaration support from them in this new way that they had comprehended the truth of Melog's love for them, made both of them instantly want to respond. They felt selfish again for how often they forgot Melog's own feelings in the force of their own. How they'd come to depend on Melog so much that neither of them had realized how they'd almost taken it for granted even as they loved them.

Melog had lost everything they'd loved. Every single being they had ever loved. They'd lost their home, their people, and even if they had managed in the end to somehow drive Horde Prime away with the magic somehow still lingering in the ashes of Krytis, it had been almost entirely in vain. Catra remembered how very lonely Melog had been, even as they'd responded in defense of their home before she'd attacked them. She remembered how Melog had isolated her as a physical threat greater than the others when she'd moved to defend them without thought out of fear and that never-ending pool of rage that still festered in a place deep inside her even now; the rage was a righteous fury now, but it was still anger in its rawest sense.

In those terrifying, insane, and almost incomprehensible moments afterwards, she'd seen the truth of that ferocity they'd displayed and realized they'd been just as terrified as she and Adora and Glimmer and Bow had been from almost the moment they'd arrived. Melog was acting in defense and the moment that confounded spore had made her sneeze, that crazy thought had been confirmed upon seeing their response. It was an immediate sense of kinship she felt for them then, a kinship she hadn't understood for what it was until much later.

Just as Melog had told her that the magic in her heart had driven them to respond to her and want to be near her, seeing their fear and that so familiar front of anger in them had made her want to respond too, even if she only realized it much later. And then impossibly, she could understand them in the face of all of her tangled emotions and the insane situation she'd suddenly found herself in and remembered all of that desperate loneliness she'd heard in their voice as they'd tried to make themselves understood. The way they'd responded so immediately and exuberantly to Adora's offer to take them back to Etheria with them, just as they'd responded to that flicker of She-Ra Adora had shown them moments before, had made her want to respond to their loneliness even more, even as she hadn't been able to trust in it then.

And now, remembering all of this and feeling Adora's resurgent love for Melog in the face of these rekindled memories that had already been shared and comprehended in bursts of the past, on top of everything they'd now realized of Melog's true feelings for them and how very much they truly did just want to love them and see them happy. Especially now that layered over everything, truly feeling a sense of what it felt like to want to be a mother, a parent, and being able to now comprehend that part of Melog's love for them in this totally new way, had then crying harder before those thoughts and emotions even fully took root in either of their minds. They were reaching for Melog, even as Melog was already curling more tightly around them, and that thunderous purring was as strong as ever.

But even as they were responding physically, Melog spoke, their thunderous purring rumbling in their gentle and kind tone. 'Do not feel guilt for me, my precious ones. All I do for you, I do for myself in a way too. There is gratitude forever in my heart for you, for giving me a new life and beings to love in my despair. It is something I can never repay, this debt it feel for you, for freeing me of my lonely prison and the ghosts that haunted me there on my home. You have felt those ghosts yourself, in the memories you share from that time of terrible darkness that almost stole you away. I cannot see them for myself, but I know those emotions you felt in that storm all too well.' There was a great grief in their voice, even as their thunderous and loving purring did not still.

'You gave me a reason and a purpose to live on. You gave me something to cherish and to protect when all I had was lost. You let me guide you in my brokenness and see hope that I myself had long forgotten. In my efforts to see you happy, I found a happiness in myself. I see those same feelings in our ward, who sparked that love of a mother that now burns within you both. I did not wish to burden you of these feelings before, but I cannot ignore this guilt you feel any longer, so I reveal it to you now.' They pulled away then, and they tried to blink away their tears to see them as Melog was already brushing their special kisses over their faces to wash them away.

When they could finally see them again, Melog was smiling at them their special version of a smile. There was now a familiar parental twinkling in their eyes and in that thunderous purring to join their love. The gentle surprise they felt in their strong words and upon seeing it there would not let them respond. 'So you see, my precious ones, it is I who is the one that is selfish, for being here beside you is something I want more than anything else. Even as I sense in you a strength that lets me know you no longer need me by your side.' That special smile shifted, into an expression of tenderness they'd never before seen on Melog's face, because the sensed that Melog had been hiding it from them until now. 'That promise now that is everything your bond should be between two beings who love one another like you do, has given you that strength. Less and less after you woke from that time of terrible darkness have you needed me, because now you stand strong in one another. Yet still I am here, because I cannot bear to be apart from you. And all I wish to do for the end of my days is to protect that which brings me this happiness and you, my precious ones, whom I cherish above all else.' A surge of denial had risen in them both, upon hearing Melog dismiss themselves as being not needed to either of them.

Before they could speak or act on it, Melog's purring stopped and that expression shifted into a firmness that reminded them acutely of Castaspella, warning them to be still as they continued; they could almost hear the words in that expression and it made a part of them smile, before Melog continued. 'Yes. Be still.' They said then, a flash of affectionate humor in their eyes, before that firmness returned.'Do not feel selfish for putting yourselves before me. You deserve this happiness and this love and deserve far more time to explore it and to lose yourselves in it than these awful circumstances in your lives allow. In these emotions that rage in the both of you, I have felt a truth that grieves me so. You have both alone lived more than your share pain and in your short years, have seen a lifetime of experiences, good and bad, and beyond. And in this soul-bond forged from the magic of your love, you now share every instance of those lifetimes and so have in fact survived the both of them in their entirety in a way. The fact that you sit before me, so young in years, yet having lived through such things as I can only begin to guess at the true extent of before I knew you, shakes me. And especially on having seen and heard and shared the experiences we have together on top of this new and greater evil you must face in your future…' They trailed off with a shudder and huff of disbelief, before leveling them with something akin to a glower.

'Do not squander any moment you have to be together.' They all but growled the words.'Do not feel as if you must justify every moment of your wonder with this drive and this will to fight. I do not say to dismiss this drive or to say that what you must do and what you must face should not be on your minds, because that is a truth between you that I feel myself now, stronger than ever. But in these moments as these, when there is nothing more you can do, take these moments as your right, not as if you have stolen them like you both seem to feel as if you do. For all that your destiny holds a greater challenge than I can even begin to truly comprehend, so too is that destiny bound in love and in this wish and this promise to be together as you so very deserve.'

All of that firmness disappeared in a flash and when Melog leaned forward to nuzzle between their cheeks, there was love and a plea in their eyes. 'Take your happiness and cling to it as tightly as you can when you are able, for that is all I ever wish for you, my precious ones.' That tiny, gentle pleading was almost the sobbing mew of a kitten and the both of them were all but reeling with a rush of love for Melog that again in this moment, rivalled only their love for each other.

More tears came, happier ones now, but they did not fall. They only built there, seeming to cling to their lashes as they now clung to Melog and to each other. For a long blissful moment, there was nothing but love and wonder to fill them both. Then, all at once, the door to the building literally flew from its hinges, crashing to a splintering mess on the floor, and all three of them were scrambling to stand, Catra and Melog snarling a terrified challenge as Adora screamed one of her own.

It took them a moment to register the shocked look on Scorpia's face, where she stood in the doorway with one claw still extended as if she'd been knocking on the door. Then, the tall princess recoiled, gripping her claw to her chest as her face filled with a terrified apology. "I am so sorry!" She cried. "I didn't mean to break it! Or to scare you! I promise!"

A slender hand caught around her arm and Scorpia turned to the side and they caught a glimpse of all of their friends wearing shocked expressions, before Perfuma stepped into the doorway beside her. She looked torn between reassuring Scorpia and apologizing to them at the same time with a few quick and frantic looks. Finally, she simply wrapped her arms around Scorpia's and pressed her face into the tall princess' muscled bicep as she faced them.

"It's my fault!" She cried apologetically, pulling Scorpia forward into the room a little. "We'd been knocking and calling out, but no one was replying and I got worried. Scorpia tried to knock then, because I made her worried too and the door just…" She gestured helplessly at the now splintered door on the floor.

Scorpia winced again. "I swear I did not mean to do that! I, um, yeah, I guess I just forget my own strength sometimes and the door, you know, it's made of wood and I'm still so used to dealing with the metal doors in the Fright Zone…" She was scratching the back of her head with her free claw, blushing fiercely. "And I ended up scaring you and I really, truly, never ever like to scare people and now we have to fix the door and I'm just… I'm really sorry! Yeah! Yep. That's a thing that I am right now. Very sorry."

Catra had been too frozen with shock to reply, but seeing Scorpia completely dissolve into this nervous rambling that had so often annoyed her in the past, now made her feel an almost nostalgic rush of love and affection for the bumbling princess all at once. She was laughing before she even fully realized she was, all but bending over double in her great mirth. A moment later, Adora was laughing right along with her, having been all but overwhelmed by her own emotions, and she felt her mate all but stumble backwards to lean against the table so that she wouldn't fall. Melog was chuckling lightly and it was all Catra could do to push aside her laughter enough to dash away her tears so that she could reassure her goofy friend still fidgeting in her nervousness.

"Scorpia." She laughed her name, giving her a look that expressed all of her affection. "I missed you."

It was the first time she'd actually said the words and she only realized then, when Scorpia's head jerked up to face her, gaping at her in surprise that was almost shock, that she and the tall princess hadn't actually gotten to have a real, honest conversation in a very long time. Even for all that they'd interacted with each other after the fall of Horde Prime and she already knew that Scorpia forgave her and loved her still as a dear friend, she still hadn't yet given her a chance to express it and hadn't given herself a chance to express it to her either. In another burst of realization, she realized she hadn't yet truly expressed her feelings for any of their friends or truly given them a chance to either. As much as she loved them and for all the love she'd felt them feel for her, she was still holding them all at arm's length most of the time.

In that moment, she made a vow to herself that now, she would stop holding them back and let herself truly be the person she now was. She felt a sudden rush of giddiness from her mate upon feeling these thoughts in her, but Adora squashed it down and out with a strength that amazed her in a way and she felt it was because Adora desperately wanted her to be able to fulfill that vow with nothing holding her back. The sudden rush of adoration she felt for her mate in that moment, was that new rush of giddiness that was all her own and for all that it was for her mate and Adora knew it was, she faced Scorpia and Perfuma and their friends now trickling into the doorway behind them with it and let it all show with her surging love for them too.

"For all that I call this silly airhead an idiot-" She laughed, jerking her thumb back at her mate as she pretended to be affronted by her words. "- I'm the biggest idiot I know right now. You all still annoy me. You all still irritate me. I still think every one of you is a goofy, mushy, goody-goody princess who I'd like to strangle sometimes to this day." All of them had been looking at her with the same surprise as Scorpia, but slowly, each of them was beginning to smile as she continued and she knew they already knew what she was about to say even before she said it anyway. "But I love you guys anyway!" She all but shouted the words, unable and unwilling to check the strength of the emotion in that declaration.

There was a moment, a tiny instant of silence after her words, when she felt a little lurch of terror from somewhere deep within her. It was a tiny, little broken place of tension still somehow living underneath that relaxed tangle in her soul that she hadn't still realized was there until now. It made her instantly want to retract her words or at the very least act in a way to make them seem less genuine somehow. That part of her wanted to run and to hide from that deeply rooted feeling of rejection that had somehow remained deep within her.

She knew Adora felt it, because her mate was reacting almost in that same instant, coming to reassure her and Melog took a step her way to do the same. But, before either of them could do anything more, all of their friends were beaming at her, expressions exuberant and happy tears sparkled in every single one of their eyes as they came rushing forward. She found herself caught up in a crushing hug between Scorpia and Perfuma as Spinnerella, Netossa, and Mermista all squeezed the three of them between them.

"I love you too." All of them murmured it, their quiet voices blending and mixing together.

The sound of those quiet declarations was so very reminiscent of the moments before she'd felt love surging back into her broken heart, giving her the strength to see the full hope in saving her mate, her love, her everything when she'd been utterly shattered by her despair. And hearing it, feeling it, remembering it with such acute and poignant clarity, sent her spiraling into right back into tears. She let herself cry and heard and felt them all crying too and in those tears, she felt that little broken place meld itself back together in a rush of love.

Adora had been holding everything back, keeping her mind as still as she possibly could, using every ounce of her will to let her feel these feeling unrestrained, because she'd been unable to bring herself to let go of their bond. Now though, upon feeling that healing in her, all of her mate's restrained emotions were surging forth and she felt her mate crying too in love and in wonder, exulting in that healing as she'd exulted in hers before. Melog's thunderous purring surged in wave and she realized they'd been holding back too, letting her feel this on her own, just like her mate had done and she loved the both of them for it so very much, she was crying harder all over again. She felt her friends part a little and knew it was because Adora was moving forward, almost stumbling with the emotions surging through the both of them and their shared tears. And then Adora's body was against hers, clinging to her and she was clinging to her mate just as fiercely as their friends resumed the hug with them pressed between them. From the sound of their purring, they knew Melog was winding about all of them, embracing their tearful circle in their own special way.

There was one regret in both of their hearts. The regret that Hordak and Entrapta, and Glimmer, Bow and Frosta were not here. Then one of them was missing Swift Wind and then his face joined their shared regret too. But as much as they missed them all in that moment, it did not lessen how very wonderful this moment felt, full of the love they shared with those of their friends, the people they loved, that were here, rejoicing in it as much as they were themselves.

So many things had happened since they'd awoken last night, sore and tired and soul-weary. They'd finally been allowed to get lost in one another in the most complete of ways like they'd wanted to for so very long, even as they had not known what it truly meant to be so lost until those ethereal and awing and soul-altering moments of passion between them. After only a short time of rest and play, fully whole in one another, they'd realized the truth of Melog's love in the face of their awful secret. They had been moved and awed by their unspoken declaration of endless support in the face of their challenges and it had given them the urge to challenge everything they had to face in new and primal way.

They'd felt despair take them over in the face of their uncontrollable delay to do their duty, washing away their giddy feelings of exuberance and love and tear into their determination and their promise. The one of them had raged while the other had fallen into tears, only to have their promise surge ever stronger in the face of it. They'd learned hard truths and had been healed a portion of one of their brokenness at the root of that despair that had torn them, through Ramel. And through his innocence after all of his insightful words, felt the fire of a brand-new promise for their lives, sear them and sharpen them to a more ferocious edge than ever before. And in that fire they'd been relieved of the tiny doubt in the face of one their truths.

They'd revealed the awful truth of Catalyst next, to Glimmer, and had felt a more complete comprehension of her true evil in the fury of their power and had felt the fires of She-Ra's spirit holding them steady while they spoke it. They'd shaken one of people they held most dear and had been unable to comfort her before their chance was lost. In their guilt, Melog had revealed to them an even greater truth and an even greater promise of love and a greater declaration to be with them always for the rest of their days, just wanting them to be happy and to be safe. And now this, this love and this healing in this different broken place of the other, was filling them now, washing everything away in this storm of happy tears.

The both of them were all but reeling with the force of the many things that had happened. This day was not even halfway over and yet it almost felt like another lifetime. Remembering Melog's words only made them feel it all the more acutely. And suddenly, they were tired. So, so very tired.

All they wanted to do was hide away from a moment and rest. The both of them were sagging with it and felt their friends now holding them up. Their happiness had faded into alarm in almost an instant and they knew they had to gather themselves enough to reassure them before they could go and rest. They stood straighter now, finding strength in one another and in the love and concern of their friends, and tugged along the bond to that place of intimate conversation between them once more.

As Catra settled back into her own mind, feeling more than a little dizzy, Adora was already beginning to speak. "We're okay, we're okay." She reassured them softly.

Catra blinked open her watery eyes and saw her mate doing the same. The soft and warm smile on her tired face and the love sparkling though her lingering tears, made Catra want to kiss her mate in that moment very much. She felt that same urge from Adora, but they refrained with slightly brighter smiles. The both of them would rather wait in this moment, until they were alone once more to give in to that urge. For now, they needed to prove their reassurance to their friends and be strong for a little moment more and then they could rest and be complete with one another once again.

"Sorry." She said, smiling around at their friends. She felt a burst of mischief and followed it in an instant. "My daily quota for mush has officially been met and if I don't get away from you guys, I think I just might puke." She joked. Adora snorted and squeezed her tighter with a burst of giddy affection that made her laugh.

Mermista let out a surprised laugh of her own and the water princess reached out to clap a hand down on her shoulder. "Seconded."

The rest of their friends all broke out into laughter too and the lingering embrace broke the rest of the way. "Go and rest." Spinnerella ordered softly, smiling at them with love and affection.

Netossa wrapped her arms about her wife and pressed against her as Spinnerella draped an arm about her shoulders. The net weaving princess once again had that knowing glint in her eyes as she spoke. "And actually rest this time so you won't be useless later." She teased.

A new, mischievous urge rose in Catra then and she felt no reason to check it now, as she might have before. Instead she tightened her arms about Adora, holding her tightly in a suddenly possessive manner. "No promises." She purred as she leaned down to lay her cheek on Adora's shoulder, letting a hint of the hunger she always felt towards her mate deepen the tone.

Adora was laughing in the same moment Spinnerella was, holding her more tightly in an instant and she felt her mate press a playful kiss into the top of her head as she grinned a challenge at Netossa's gaping, surprised expression under Spinnerella's smug grin. The net weaving princess glanced up at her wife and dissolved into laughter herself a moment later, shaking her head ruefully as she blushed. "Alright, alright. I'll stop." She laughed, sending them both a loving smile, before looking up and beaming at her wife.

The rest of their friends were all laughing softly now too, but as much as Catra was enjoying their company, she still felt that urge to just go rest with Adora for a little while and her mate squeezed her tighter as she felt the thought in her emotions and sent a little pulse of love and agreement right back. She sighed and pulled away from their embrace enough to look around at their friends once more.

"We're gonna go." Then Adora frowned and Catra felt a little burst of dismay from her before she continued. "We still have to go find our actual tent on the wagons and the rest of our gear so we can set up before we can take a nap, but if you need us, we'll probably be somewhere near our friends' tent on the southern end of the town."

Catra had drooped a little with her own dismay at the thought of a delay to their rest, but upon hearing the last, she was beaming up at Adora in an instant. She was glad her mate had thought of Rogelio, Lonnie, and Kyle and let it show, even as Adora was already smiling back down at her as the emotions echoed to her through the bond. Then, Melog let out a low chuckle, surprising the both of them.

When she looked to them, they were gazing at the both of them with love and pride and more than a little affectionate humor. 'Follow me, for I know where your belonging are.' Their tone was furtive and they were already moving towards the door as they spoke.

Confused and more than a little curious, they waved at their still smiling friends and followed after Melog at once. Melog was walking with a purpose and their curiosity only grew more acute, before they turned into a row of tents and saw their friends and Ramel sitting out in front of the space between their friend's tent. And beside theirs, stood their own, already pitched and waiting. The four of them were laughing together around a small fire and Kyle was stirring something in a pot above it.

They'd frozen in surprise, but Melog had not paused and as they approached the laughing grouping, the four of them looked up. All of them beamed at them in unabashed affection and Catra felt like her knees would give out with the strength of her own resurgent rush of nearly soaring happiness as Adora's swept through her too in an exuberant and giddy burst of their shared affection towards them all.

Lonnie let out a low laugh that she could barely hear. "Well don't just stand there!" She called, as Kyle and Rogelio chuckled too. "C'mon! Kyle cooked!"

Neither of them could respond for a moment, still caught up in that happy place, before Catra heard Adora's stomach rumble a moment before hers roared too. It was only then that she realized they'd had one full meal since Bow had cooked a quick brunch before they and their friends had set off on the mission to reach this town. All they'd eaten for nearly three days had been a few bites of travel rations at the other's request. She was chastising herself, even as she was laughing at her own stupidity and felt Adora's emotions echo her own as she snickered.

"We have got to take better care of ourselves." She growled playfully up at her mate. "We dropped our training and now we always forget to eat."

Adora sighed a laugh. "Yeah. You're right." Then her smile took on a brighter edge. "At least our friends look out for us."

Catra purred up at her as they started walking again. "I can't even be mad we won't get to sleep for a little while." She murmured, sending her mate a little teasing pulse through the bond.

She felt her mate carefully controlling her thoughts and instant later and it was the only warning she had before Adora's lips were brushing the inside of her ear. "Who says we're sleeping." The words were sensual rush of warmth against that sensitive flesh and she was already gasping, body tensing with a sudden surge of acute need, even as Adora's hunger for her came roaring through the bond.

It took every ounce of her control not to react any further than a little shiver and to keep smiling and walking, because Lonnie, Rogelio, Kyle, and Ramel were all looking their way. But she did send a string pulse of that need back at her mate and her own sudden and raging hunger for her too. Maybe Melog knows that spell Glimmer used on the building. She murmured the words like a purr through the bond.

She felt her mate stifle a gasp, now she was fighting not to react outwardly too as they drew up on their friends. Maybe. The word was like a sigh of a sensual promise of pleasure.

And just like that, Catra was no longer hungry for food and knew for a fact her mate's appetite had shifted as well. Still, they had to eat and keep up their strength and what their friends and Ramel had done for them was so unexpected and so very nice, neither of them could bear the thought of not spending at least a little time with them before they gave in to each other.

There was time, the thought flowed between them then. They could not act towards the war or their duty in this moment, no matter how they wanted to and Melog's truthful words had assuaged their guilt for it more than a little. Yes, the universe needed them and the staggering reality of Catalyst's evil loomed above their everything like a dark cloud. Their fear for their home, their loved ones, and their friends still was there, filling them with the urge to fight and to protect. The future they both wanted, hung in a terrible balance over which they had no current control. All of this was still true.

But from Adora there came a thought that she sensed her mate had not truly had since they'd broken, even during the times they were apart from their soul-bond. That thought was that these little moments, these little bubbles of peace that Melog said were not stolen, but instead their right to have, were the moments that kept them going in spite of it all. Catra could not resist the urge to kiss her mate then and felt her surprise at the sudden, firm kiss. That surprise lasted for only an instant, before Adora was kissing her back and the surge of happy and playful cheers from their friends at the action, made the both of them smile into that happy, loving kiss.

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And there we go! Thank you so much for reading! You guys are awesome. I hope you're enjoying and I hope to see you along as we head on towards the future!

Until next time, loves! Stay safe and read on! Ja!