"Hey, nerd."
Catra heard this from directly behind her as she was drinking water from a fountain and she felt someone standing behind her. She turned around, wiping water from her mouth with the back of her hand and wondering who was calling her a nerd when she came face to face with Adora.
"Adora? Good morning," Catra said, pleasantly surprised.
"Morning. After school. Me and you. We're going somewhere." Adora said this as if there was no other option, an amused look on her face.
"Uh...yes. Definitely," Catra agreed eagerly, bobbing her head up and down.
"Good," Adora said with a contented smile and then, as suddenly as she had arrived, she swiveled and walked away.
Catra watched her go and shook her head in disbelief. "She's perfect," Catra muttered to herself.
"Marvelous work, Adora! It makes my heart sing!" Mr. Hawk exclaimed passionately as he praised Adora's finished painting of an ocean coastline. "And I do so love the ocean! Keep up the good work!"
He admired the piece for a moment longer before walking off to admire more art. Adora knew that Mr. Hawk reacted like that to just about everyone's paintings, but she still felt good receiving the praise.
"It is real nice, Adora," Perfuma remarked from the seat next to Adora before taking a long drink from what looked like some kind of a smoothie.
"Thanks! What's that?" Adora asked, gesturing to the cup in Perfuma's hands.
Perfuma stared at it for a while. "Honestly? I have no idea."
"Oh."
"So anyway, how have things been going with you?" Perfuma asked politely.
"Oh, pretty all over the place. Glimmer and I have been going through a rough patch. Which normally would mean I'd be doing bad, but things with Catra have been really good. And we're going to the Fall Formal together."
Perfuma's eyes widened. "Like together together?"
Adora looked away sheepishly and Perfuma laughed lightly. "Okay, so you're not official, but you're close?"
Adora hesitated briefly before nodding, too excited to worry about anybody knowing at this point.
"That's so nice. I never would have figured you and Catra. Your birth signs don't even pair well. But I'm happy for you," Perfuma said with genuine appreciation in her voice. "Have you ever been in a relationship before?"
Adora shook her head.
"Oh, I see. You're probably scared? I felt the same way before my first relationship."
"Who was that?" Adora asked curiously.
"A guy from out of town. I met him at a peace rally. We really synced up. But it wasn't meant to be." Perfuma had a far off look in her eye.
"Woah. I had no idea you had been in a relationship before."
"Oh yes. Several."
Adora couldn't keep a small look of surprise from her face. "Really?"
Perfuma smiled at the reaction. "Well you don't have to act too surprised."
"Oh I'm not!" Adora recovered quickly. "I just...I mean you seem so... personally invested and I just never thought... you'd want someone else. I guess? I didn't mean to act surprised or anything."
"Oh, I don't mind at all, Adora," Perfuma said cheerfully. "And I am very personally invested! But my heart yearns like any other. We're all just looking for our soulmate at the end of the day."
"Yeah I guess. So do you think soulmates are... y'know...real?"
Perfuma looked at Adora with steady eyes. "Of course! I think we all have someone out there who is our perfect match. And I think fate puts them in our path. They might be someone you meet at school or a stranger you have a conversation with at a coffee shop. And I think so many people meet their soulmate and never know it, or let it pass them by. That's why I think people should just tell people when they're interested. And then see how things go. Until they find their soulmate."
"Woah. That's pretty deep," Adora said reverently. "I've always thought more...pessimistically. But I like that! It has a nice feeling to it."
"Doesn't it?" Perfuma said dreamily. "Do you think Catra's your soulmate?"
Adora exhaled quickly. "Woah. I don't know about that. I mean she feels really...special. And I like everything about her. But, like, how do you know if you've found them?"
Perfuma thought about it for a bit before responding with a shrug. "I don't know, I haven't found mine yet."
"Fair enough," Adora responded. "By the way, I like your painting. What are those rainbow balls?"
Perfuma laughed. "Oh, Adora. If you don't know what the chakras are yet then I'm not doing my job right."
By the end of class, Adora knew more about chakras and the Buddhist belief system than she had ever thought she'd know.
Adora stopped by her locker and put her art stuff up before texting Catra and letting her know that Bow and her were gonna sit with Glimmer today at lunch to hopefully work things out.
Then she put her phone in her pocket and walked down the hall to her next class. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, but she did happen to glance in the direction of Frosta's locker and saw her talking to an older guy who looked like he was a senior.
Adora slowed her pace and watched for a little. It only took her a few moments to realize that the guy did not look happy and that Frosta had an angry look on her face as well.
Adora frowned and looked around for a teacher or somebody who could help. She couldn't see anyone, however, and so she made up her mind and walked up to the pair.
"Hey, Frosta. What's going on?" Adora said casually as she stepped up to them, already trying to get in between Frosta and this older kid.
A wave of relief immediately washed over Frosta's face and she looked at Adora like she was a guardian angel. "Adora! Hey! I was just telling this chump here to leave me alone."
Adora raised her eyebrows and studied the guy who now stood in front of her. He was taller than Adora and he definitely looked like he was a senior. He met Adora's gaze and his lip curled in distaste.
"Are you the jerk my sister was telling me about?"
"Excuse me?" Adora asked, genuinely confused.
"Well this little rat," he said angrily, jamming a thumb in the direction of Frosta, "made my little sister, Holly, drop a whole letter grade last week by sabotaging her assignments. And then when she tried to teach her a lesson, apparently a 'big, blonde girl' threatened her and her friends."
"Oooh," Adora realized what was going on, remembering that she had defended Frosta last week. "Yeah that was me. Look, the situation was complicated. But I wasn't gonna let them hurt Frosta."
"Well they didn't! But now I hear that yesterday after school, Frosta went and drop kicked my sister in the courtyard!" The guy exclaimed, staring Adora down.
Adora's mouth hung open slightly as she turned to face Frosta. "Did you…?"
Frosta shrugged and smiled guiltily. "She was spreading rumors about me."
Adora massaged her forehead with the palm of her hand and sighed, turning back to the boy. "Well that is...concerning."
"Yeah you could say that," the boy said angrily. "So if you wouldn't mind I was gonna show the little runt a lesson."
"Trust me, you really don't wanna," Adora said in an attempt to reason. "I've done the whole fight thing. It seems fine at first, but then the next thing you know you have a face wound and you're forced to join theater."
The boy squinted in confusion and then shook his head. "Yeah, maybe you could scare a few sophomores the other day, but not me."
He put his arm up in a motion to shove her out of his way. Adora braced against it and managed to stay in place. He seemed to grow more upset and went to push her again.
Adora caught his arm and pushed it away from her. The boy strained, pushing as hard as he could against Adora, but she overpowered him and he stumbled backwards a couple steps. He looked surprised that he had been pushed aside so easily and regarded Adora with a new expression that was almost fearful.
Adora saw where this was going and put her arms up. "Look I really can't have another one of these on my record. How about...how about...a deal?"
"What kind of deal?"
"Well…" Adora bit her lip and looked back at Frosta, who was staring at her expectantly. "Your sister has got to leave Frosta alone for good. Nothing physical. No rumors. Nothing. And Frosta won't do her homework anymore."
"That's right!" Frosta exclaimed from behind Adora.
"And then in exchange…" Adora continued. "Maybe...maybe Frosta can tutor your sister?"
Adora heard a gasp from Frosta and the boy in front of her looked confused, but he had definitely dropped his offensiveness.
"Your sister was clearly having problems in class so she needed Frosta to do her work. Maybe...Frosta can help her out during lunch or something? Help her learn the material so she can do it on her own?"
"That's a terrible idea!" Frosta protested. Adora ignored her.
The boy thought about it for a while before nodding carefully. "Yeah maybe that could work. She won't be a fan of working with Frosta, but she does need to get her grades back up." He nodded to himself some more. "Okay. Yeah. You got yourself a deal."
"Oh God, no," Frosta whispered, just loud enough for Adora to hear.
Adora extended her arm and shook hands with the boy. She made sure to squeeze a little harder than usual and the boy winced slightly and pulled his hand back. "I'll tell Holly about it," he said quietly and then walked off.
The second he left, Adora whipped around to face Frosta, who was pouting. "Frosta! What!? You can't keep drop kicking people! Why would you even think to do that?"
"Hey, you weren't complaining when I drop kicked your girl!" Frosta pointed out, throwing her arms up. "And now I gotta tutor stupid Holly? Where's the justice in that?
Adora exhaled slowly. "It was either you compromised, or you got hurt or something."
"Pshh. Did you see his face after you grabbed him? You coulda destroyed him!"
"Yeah but then I'd probably get kicked out of school and then he'd be mad at you and they'd make you miserable for the rest of your high school life. You can't drop kick your way out of every problem."
"Yeah that's what you think," Frosta mumbled to herself.
"What was that?" Adora demanded.
Frosta groaned. "Okaaaay. I'll tutor her for a while. But at the first sign of a struggle I'm going for the throat."
Adora looked at Frosta hopelessly. "Okay well I gotta get to class. Try to stay out of trouble this time. I feel like every time we talk now, I'm playing the role of meat shield."
Frosta chuckled at this, but then her expression turned more sincere. "Okay. I'll try. But only cuz you asked."
Adora snorted and turned to leave.
"Thanks, Adora," Frosta said to her and she turned back in time to see Frosta running up to her and giving her a hug. Adora smiled and patted Frosta on the head. As much trouble as she was, Frosta was a good person at heart and Adora was glad to call her a friend.
Catra walked into the dimly lit auditorium and looked up to the booth at the top of the room. The blinds were drawn and she couldn't tell if there was a light coming from within or not.
"Hello?" She called out into the auditorium. Her only response was the echo of her own voice.
She made her way up the stairs and came to the closed door to the booth. She knocked on it and held her mouth up to the crack in the side of the door. "Entrapta? Are you in there? It's Catra."
There was a brief moment where Catra thought she might just be talking to an empty room before she heard a shuffling from within, the clank of metal hitting metal, and the sound of approaching footsteps.
The door swung open and Entrapta was standing there. "Catra. You're...here for lunch again?"
"Yeah," Catra said casually. "Everyone I know is off being sad or talking about things and when I'm with Kyle and Rogelio I feel like a third wheel. Plus I kinda like your setup in here."
Entrapta looked like she was making calculations in her head again. "I didn't think you'd ever actually visit, but...this is an acceptable time. Would you like to come in?"
"Uh, yeah, if that's cool," Catra responded, holding up a bag. "I brought snacks."
Entrapta smiled and stepped back, letting Catra in. She entered and looked around. It was a small area and had little space that wasn't taken up by the huge light and sound board that was rigged up to the whole auditorium. What space was not taken up by the equipment was absolutely blanketed in a whole mess of tools and little metal parts and pieces that Catra had thought only existed in movies. It was all dimly lit by a desk lamp that rested on the floor and lit up a small circular area that was cleared out and looked to be where Entrapta sat amidst all the mess.
"Woah," Catra said breathily. "This is somehow exactly what I expected and not at all what I expected at the same time."
"It's basically my home away from home. Literally nobody comes up here but me. So I can just do my work up here. Here let me clear you a spot!"
Entrapta bent down and shoved a whole pile of little parts out of the way, clearing out a small circle next to her spot on the floor.
Catra looked on in amusement and took a seat when Entrapta was done, finding that she fit perfectly in the circle. Entrapta sat down next to her.
"So...what exactly is all this?" Catra asked, picking up a little green piece that looked like a circuit board.
"Well it changes all the time," Entrapta answered. "But I usually work on making little robots. I'm the president of the Robotics club after all."
"That...makes sense. Doesn't the robotics club meet after school too?"
"It does. I go to the meetings when I can and then do theater when I'm needed here. It keeps me from getting bored."
"Oh. Cool," Catra said, placing the piece back down gently into a pile of miscellaneous tech. "Entrapta are you like...one of those secret geniuses?"
Entrapta chuckled to herself in her normal nasal tone. "I don't think so. I know a lot about math and science and technology. But there's a lot of things I don't know."
"Like what?"
"Well…what's something you know a lot about?"
"Uh...not much. Mostly just useless things. Like guitar and organized crime and I watched a whole documentary about birds one time."
"See? I don't know a thing about any of that," Entrapta said as she picked up what looked like a large base of something she was working on and then managed to grab a screwdriver from the rubble without even looking.
"Well, sure, but knowing about birds and stuff doesn't get you good grades and fancy scholarships."
Entrapta tightened a screw on the thing she was holding. "School does a terrible job of educating students," she said, not even looking up from her work. "You can't condense intelligence into a few strict categories and then punish those who don't excel in all of them."
"Woah," Catra said insightfully. "That was deep. Now I know you're definitely a secret genius."
Entrapta smiled and looked around her surroundings briefly before locking eyes with a spot by Catra's foot. "Can you pass me that distance sensor?"
"Uhhhh," Catra stared into the many objects, completely lost.
"It's that little black bit with the two mini cameras in it."
"Ah. You really should have led with that," Catra said as she snatched up the right piece and handed it to Entrapta. "You want any snacks? I raided the cafeteria. I got muffins, some soda, lil' packaged sandwiches, and chips."
"I just ate. But thanks," Entrapta said. She returned to her work and Catra nodded.
Catra took out her stuff and began to eat her lunch. They didn't talk much and Catra didn't really mind. She liked the peaceful environment and it was kinda fun watching Entrapta tinker away.
"Social ability," Entrapta said suddenly, out of the blue.
"Come again?"
"I am not a genius when it comes to social interactions...especially compared to others." Entrapta continued to work on her machine as she spoke.
"Oh. Well nobody really is."
"You're pretty good at it."
"I...well thanks, but I'm no genius. And, I dunno, I wasn't always...I mean I used to be real quiet as a kid, believe it or not."
Entrapta glanced up at Catra momentarily. "You were?"
"Oh yeah! I was real weird too. Rougher than a lot of the other kids and I had a strange sense of humor. Didn't mesh with others too well."
"What changed?" Entrapta asked casually.
Catra pondered the question as she tapped on a piece of metal lightly with a screw. "I didn't really change who I was. I just kinda...found people who liked that I was different, y'know? People who were like me."
Entrapta didn't respond for a while. She brushed some of the hair out of her face and pushed up her glasses. "I don't know if there's anyone like me. Not that I've encountered, at least."
Catra examined the girl. She didn't show any signs of being upset and was still just working on her robot.
"Well, look, I might be a decent talker but a lot of people still hate me. Mostly because of stuff I did forever ago and it was mostly my fault, but still. I get what you're saying. And I think we're maybe more similar than you think."
Entrapta lowered the device in her hands and stared at the ground. Her fingers twitched slightly and it looked like she was thinking intensely about something. Eventually she nodded to herself and brought the machine back up, continuing to work on it.
Catra watched for a while and then went back to her lunch.
"Thank you for coming up here," Entrapta said, minutes later.
"Yeah. Any time. I can do it more if you want."
"Maybe every once in a while," Entrapta said slowly.
Catra smiled. "Sure thing."
Bow and Adora waited patiently for Glimmer at the normal spot. Bow was bouncing his leg up and down in his seat, rattling the whole tabletop slightly.
Adora reached over and put a firm hand on his knee, keeping him from juggling it anymore.
Bow shot her a thankful look. "I'm nervous."
"You don't say?" Adora said with a small smile before nodding in agreement. "But yeah I'm a little nervous too. It's just Glimmer, though. It'll be fine."
"I know. But what if she just gets mad all over again? Or we make it worse?"
"We probably won't," Adora said somewhat confidently.
This didn't seem to persuade Bow much and he started to bounce his leg again. Adora looked over to Catra's table and saw that it was empty. Adora wondered where Catra was, but couldn't find her anywhere else. She did, however, see that Kyle and Rogelio had moved over to where Scorpia was sitting and were talking with her.
Adora watched them for a while before her attention was drawn to the familiar form of Glimmer as she exited the kitchen and walked out into the lunch room. She looked over at their table and froze for a bit before heading over.
Bow and Adora watched as she approached slowly, standing in front of them at the table. "Uh," Glimmer's eyes flitted over to where Scorpia sat. "Hey guys."
"Hey," Adora and Bow both greeted her at the same time.
Glimmer pulled out a chair and took a seat, regarding her tablemates warily. "So...I want some questions answered first."
Bow and Adora nodded and Glimmer looked at each of them briefly. "First off. Adora. How did this even happen?"
"How did what happen?"
"Catra, of course. How in the world did she go from bully to...to...well whatever she is now?" Glimmer looked noticeably uncomfortable.
Adora had figured Glimmer would want to know this and so she proceeded to relay a brief overview of what had happened. Most of the details Glimmer already knew, but there was a lot that Adora had not told her about, or even lied about. Glimmer shook her head slowly and stared at the table throughout the recollection, but didn't say anything. Adora left out a lot of unnecessary embellishment, mostly her attraction to Catra and the more intimate moments they had shared, but managed to fill in the gaps enough for Glimmer to understand what had happened.
When Adora finished, Glimmer stayed quiet for a while. It looked like she was busy processing everything. "Alright," she said after a while. Then she shook her head and sighed. "Okay. So are you two…? Actually. I don't wanna know." Glimmer massaged her temples. "And what about you, Bow? You I understand even less."
Bow cleared his throat and filled Glimmer in on how Catra had come to him wanting to get advice about Adora and how to get to know her better. He also left out some of the more personal things and confessions of love.
By the end of this, Glimmer looked like she was nursing a full on migraine. "Okay so she came to both of you. Because of you." Glimmer pointed at Adora.
"I mean, I guess. That's kinda what it sounds like," Adora answered.
"Yeah it is," Glimmer said, rubbing at her eyes. "When were you guys gonna tell me? If ever?"
"I was going to...at some point," Bow told her. "I didn't want everything to blow up and Catra said that you'd know soon and I was just kind of waiting for that I guess."
"And that's where I come in, I think," Adora added. "I was supposed to let you know about me and Catra. And I was going to…"
"When?" Glimmer pushed.
"Soon. I had planned for the day after Halloween but...I didn't actually get around to it. And then you kinda...well you remember."
"Yeah it's hard to forget."
"I'm sorry Glimmer. I should have told you sooner.
"We should have told you," Bow added.
"Why didn't you then? Do you not trust me?" Glimmer gripped the side of the table.
"No that's not it," Adora disagreed quickly. "It's like I told you before. I was scared I'd tell you and you'd get mad and we wouldn't be friends anymore. So I held it off. And I ended up just making things worse."
Glimmer nodded. "You really did. You both did." She shot a look at Bow and he slumped his head. "But...I don't know. I talked about it with Scorpia the other night and maybe...maybe I would've reacted like this even if you had just told me from the beginning. I mean...Catra and I...and my friends…" Glimmer began to twiddle her thumbs nervously. "Look I'm just saying that I feel like maybe...my whole thing with Catra might have clouded my reaction a little bit. Even though you guys did still lie to me."
Glimmer let the weight of it all lie there for a while and nobody said anything. Eventually she sighed.
"I believe that you're both sorry. And I don't entirely forgive you yet, but I can get there. I...I don't wanna lose you guys either."
"You won't," Bow said as he put a hand on Glimmer's.
"It'll take more than this," Adora agreed.
"Yeah I think so too," Glimmer decided. "But I still wanna have some time where I sit with just Scorpia. It turns out she's going through some stuff too and strangely enough I think we're really helping each other out."
"She seems like a good person," Adora said with a nod.
"Yeah she is. I probably wouldn't have even talked to you guys today if she hadn't opened me up to the idea. But anyway...y'know…things might be weird for a bit and I don't know how I'm ever going to be around you guys when Catra is there…"
Adora frowned as she thought of the scenario and Glimmer noticed.
"...but I'm gonna try. You...well...you deserve it, Adora. I'll at least try for you."
Adora let out a sigh of relief and rested her hand on Glimmer's other hand. "Thank you."
"Sure thing. But...like...oh my god if we ever get to where we're all hanging out and Catra and you start making out or something that'll be beyond trippy. I mean my estranged ex and my foster sister?"
Adora reddened a little. "Oh no...I mean I won't...there won't be any making out."
Bow raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You sure about that?"
Adora reddened even more and tried to hide her face with her hands.
"Eeew," Glimmer said, giggling a little. "You know. It's good to talk to you guys again."
"You can say that again."
Catra slid across the bench over to where Adora sat and bumped shoulders with the girl, who had been waiting outside the auditorium for her to get there.
"Hey. I didn't see you after your classes. How'd your lunch go?"
"It went well!" Adora said earnestly. "Glimmer is starting to come around. She's not, like, all the way just yet, but I think we're slowly starting to get back to normal."
"Well that's good to hear," Catra said, brushing a hair out of Adora's face.
Adora smiled up at her. "Catra, I'm so glad that we're...that you're here for me."
Catra looked surprised but pleased at the sudden statement. "Well I'm glad I'm here for you too. And I'm glad you're here for me. I'm really gonna need it! Cuz if Glimmer and I are gonna be around each other more often it's gonna be a real challenge."
"I know," Adora said nervously. "Will you try to get along with her?"
"If it'll make it easier on you, then definitely. I'm just not sure she'll have as easy a time."
"Probably not. But we'll figure that out later."
"Sure. Hey...where are we going after school?"
"That is a secret," Adora said proudly. "You'll find out after practice."
"But I wanna know nooow," Catra whined, tugging on Adora's arm.
Adora just chuckled and shook her head. "It'll just give you something to look forward to. And I hope you're feeling active cuz we're walking there."
"Well for one, I'm never 'feeling active'. And also, how far is it?"
"Oh it's not that far," Adora said dismissively.
"As in your definition of not that far or the normal definition?"
"The normal one," Adora said with a grin. Then she zipped open her backpack and showed Catra the contents. "I also brought you a big poofy coat, some gloves, a hat, ear-warmers, and a scarf just in case you get too cold."
Catra looked at Adora in surprise and then nodded solemnly. "You know me so well."
"I know," Adora said cheekily, bumping into Catra with her shoulder.
"I'm so excited f…" Catra stopped mid-sentence as the auditorium door opened and Double Trouble poked their head out, their eyes coming to rest on Catra and Adora.
"Ahem," they said. "I really do hate to break you two up, but we have some big goals to accomplish today."
Catra sighed and reluctantly got up from the bench, putting a hand on one hip. "We'll be right in, boss."
Double Trouble winked at the pair of them and slipped back inside.
Catra stretched her arms. "Well let's hope we don't have to fall off of more places today."
"Aw, you know I'd catch you," Adora said, standing up beside Catra.
"Of course you would," Catra said, shooting a thoughtful smile at Adora.
"Mmfhhhmmm!"
Adora looked over at Catra and saw that she was trying to speak through her scarf. The only part of her skin that wasn't bundled up in something fluffy was her eyes.
"Oh my God," Adora said with a chuckle as she reached over and tugged Catra's scarf down to under her chin.
"Ahhh!" Catra yelped, her voice cracking a little as she did. "My warmth! You're letting my warmth escape!"
"Catra it's literally not even that cold out."
"Yeah well of course you'd say that," Catra said gruffly. "You're like ninety-nine percent muscle."
"What's the other one percent?"
"Hmmm. Probably, like, cuteness."
"Catra," Adora said, flattered. "You can't just out of nowhere say stuff like that."
Catra shrugged. "I'm trying to be more honest." She shot a devilish grin at Adora, who smiled bashfully and then focused back on where they were going.
"Anyway," Catra continued. "What I was trying to ask you was if we were there yet."
"Shoot, yeah. You got it, Catra. We're here. I wanted to bring you to the sidewalk outside of a dentistry office," Adora answered sarcastically.
"Well I was just curious," Catra said with a satisfied chuckle. "Are we close then?"
"We are super close."
"Oh! Like within eyesight?" Catra began eagerly scanning the various buildings and shops around them, trying to figure out where Adora could possibly want to take her.
"Maybe," Adora said slyly, cutting across a patch of grass over towards the parking lot of a small strip mall.
"Oh man. Are we going to Randy's Home and Farm Supplies?" Catra asked, tripping on a curb a little as she said this.
Adora saw her trip and braced her as she stumbled forward, holding her arm. "Not Randy's. I know you needed some farm supplies but it'll have to wait."
"Well darn," Catra joked, staring at Adora. She continued to lead them through the parking lot and past a few shops. Catra guessed where they were going about a dozen more times, all of them incorrect.
And then finally Adora stopped outside a little store with tinted windows and a neon sign hanging above the door. Catra read the sign aloud.
"The Fish Factory…"
Catra's eyes widened a little bit and she turned to look at Adora, mouth slightly agape. "You did not."
Adora smiled. "Well after you told me about Bonnie and Clyde passing away I just thought you could use some more little fish buddies for your b…"
Adora hadn't even finished what she was saying when Catra threw her arms around Adora and cut her off. Adora laughed and hugged Catra back as she squeezed her tightly.
"You're my literal favorite person," Catra said as she held Adora.
"Oh, it's really not much."
"It really is," Catra said softly, giving Adora one last squeeze before stepping back. "You're so warm! Let's go get some fishes!"
Catra stormed into the shop and Adora followed, laughing joyfully.
Catra, in her haste, just about collided with an old woman in front of the door. She was barely able to catch herself and the old woman looked over at the girls, smiling as she regarded them. "Welcome to the Fish Factory. Feel free to look around you two."
"Oh we will," Catra said excitedly, grabbing Adora's hand and pulling her over to the first tank.
The store was dark and bathed in an aquamarine glow from all the tanks that lined the walls. Fish of all shapes and sizes swam around in the glass tanks and hid behind kelp and toy skulls.
"Ooooh," Catra cooed in fascination as she took in the array of colorful fish. "I...I want them all."
"I don't think we can fit all of them in your tank!"
"I'll just get a bigger tank," Catra responded playfully as she admired the fish. "Help me find one that speaks to me."
"Speaks to you?" Adora questioned.
"Yeah. Like one that seems...right for me. I want a spiritual connection."
"A spiritual connection…" Adora pondered aloud as they walked amongst the fish. She found herself actually looking at the fish and trying to establish a connection.
"Hey that one's got your eyes," Adora remarked, drawing Catra's gaze to a goofy looking fish that was wobbling along with bulbous eyes that were bigger than its whole head.
"Ouch," Catra huffed. "It is kinda cute though. In, like, a really ugly kinda way. Sorta like you."
"Oh man," Adora chuckled. "I had that coming."
Catra smirked and continued to watch the ugly fish with the big eyes. "Is it looking at me?"
Adora examined the fish again. It definitely did seem to be swimming towards where Catra was looking into the tank. "Well one eye goes one way and the other goes the opposite so I can't really tell. But it's coming right for you."
"Come here little buddy," Catra cooed to the fish. "I don't care that you look like a weird alien. I actually like that about you."
The fish continued to swim up towards where Catra was standing.
Asora looked on. "This could be it. The spiritual connection."
"Oh this is it. Are you trying to swim to your new fish daddy? Come on now lil' guy."
The fish continued to awkwardly swim towards Catra, her face now almost pressed up against the glass. The fish got right up to the glass, right where Catra's nose was, and lightly bopped its face onto the glass.
Adora had never heard Catra squeal, but she assumed that the noise that Catra made just then was as close as she would ever get.
"This is the one. This fish. One hundred percent. I'm gonna keep my eye on her so I don't mix her up with another one. Can you go grab the owner person and tell 'em we want this one?"
Adora was proud that she had made a good move with going to get fish. Catra seemed to really be enjoying herself. Adora got the old woman who seemed to run the shop and led her over.
Then Catra explained that she needed the exact fish that she was looking at and not just one that looked like it in the tank. Luckily the owner was patient and seemed to enjoy that somebody shared her love of fish. So after several failed scooping attempts and a whole lot of cheering on from Catra, they were eventually able to get the fish that had 'connected' with Catra.
Catra thanked the woman and watched her new fish swim around in its little transfer box. "Perfect. She feels like...I think her name should be Boba. Like the tea. Cuz she's all round like one of those little boba balls."
"That's adorable," Adora answered honestly.
"Now I just gotta get one more. So they can have company." She said this as if it made complete sense and Adora smiled and nodded along.
"Yeah we can't have them getting lonely," Adora agreed.
The owner kept Catra's fish at the register as the girls went back to searching.
"Now you spotted the last one," Catra told Adora. "So keep doing what you're doing."
"Gotcha."
They looked through a few more tanks. Nothing seemed to catch either of their attention until they moved to a smaller tank with more colorful fish. They both saw it at the same time and pointed it out to each other.
It was a pure black fish with a bright red tail and it flitted about elegantly in its tank.
"That's, like, your two favorite colors."
"You're right," Catra said reverently as she watched it swim. "I like it. Its so different from the other one. Beautiful in their own ways. Definitely one of these. Let me figure out which one is for me."
"Okay," Adora responded, grinning as she watched Catra examine the fish. She noticed that Catra looked really happy. She had hardly stopped smiling since they had entered and her eyes darted from fish to fish in child-like wonder, the soft, blue light dancing across her face and lighting up her pupils.
Adora realized then that she thought Catra was insanely beautiful. She had felt it before, of course. When she would see her in her leather jackets and with that cocky smile. But it had never registered quite as directly as it did now. It had never been so plain in Adora's mind just how deep her attraction to Catra was.
Adora wondered if she should tell Catra this. She wanted her to know. But she wasn't sure if that was too much, too soon. Adora didn't know what they were. They hadn't put a label on it yet, but it was so fun and new and exciting.
Adora eventually decided to wait. There would be time to tell her later. And eventually, Adora hoped she would be able to tell Catra how beautiful she was every single day.
Adora thought back to what Perfuma had told her about soulmates that morning in art. Maybe it was too quick to rush into things, but when Adora was with Catra, the idea of having a soulmate suddenly didn't seem too crazy after all.
Catra is a fish geek confirmed. And oh my god I love her. This chapter was like incredibly fun to write cuz I got to hit some of my favorite characters. Like Entrapta and Catra? That's fun stuff right there. And rest assured you will figure out the name for Catra's second fish in the next chapter. That can be the cliffhanger for this chapter! Plus Adora and Catra are becoming more and more involved and it's only a matter of time before they call this what it is. Thanks for reading and your comments have been so extremely fun to read. It's like I get to experience the story again through you guys! So thanks. Hope you all have a really good week and stay happy and healthy!