"Catra? Are you okay?"
The flowing of water. Rushing from one end to the other. An endless stream. Endless terror.
Catra could only watch as white foam formed on the top of that liquid death. It could sweep her away in an instant and she'd never come back from it. After all, she almost lost Adora to it.
"Catra!"
Catra's eyes suddenly widened, and she looked over to her partner. Adora narrowed her eyebrows and saw the fear in Catra's eyes. "You going to be alright? Once we get pass this river, we're almost there," Adora said.
Catra stood before the rushing river. The last obstacle before they reached Chris' campsite. Admittedly, the water looked not that deep, and there was a large cable from one piece of land to the other for the two of them to hold onto as they crossed this river.
But hearing the rushing of water triggered memories of that river a few months back. The time where she saw Adora's unconscious body float towards the surface. She wasn't breathing. Catra remembered every second.
"Catra…" Adora placed a gentle hand on her partner's shoulder. "You don't have to worry. I'm not going to let myself drown again. Come on. We've got something to hold onto this time. We've been hiking for the last couple of days. We're nearly there."
Catra swallowed down he fear and nodded. "Yeah… Just… Stick close to me. Please," Catra spoke.
"Of course," Adora smiled.
They walked through the muddy fields, the clouds around them glowing orange from the sunset. The dark green trees only grew more intense in their color as the sun shined brighter at this time in the afternoon. They would have to set up at Chris' camp quickly before night fell.
Adora approached the cable. It was stern, and holding onto it meant they wouldn't get swept away in the rushing river. Adora decided to go first, gripping the cable tightly as she took her first step in the rushing water.
It went up to her hip, but her tight grip on the cable kept her balanced as she walked through the rushing water. After a few steps, she looked behind herself to see Catra grabbing onto the cable. Her hands shook and her eyes were wide terror, but she knew that she had to push through this last step.
Slowly, Catra's foot dipped into the rushing water. Immediately, her foot was almost swept away, and she lost her balance, falling into the rushing water.
Catra let out a scream as she fell into the rushing river, and her hands gripped tightly to the cable. "Catra!" Adora cried out as Catra panted, her body soaked in water as she held on for dear life.
"Just keep going!" Catra replied, taking immediate steps forward in a rush to get out of the river. Adora kept her eye on Catra as she took only a dozen steps before reaching land on the other side of the river.
Adora didn't even hesitate to turn around once she was on land, reaching out a hand for her partner. Catra looked up to Adora's offer of help. "I'll drag you onto the land!" Adora called out to Catra over the sound of the rushing river.
"You promise?!" Catra cried.
"Always!" Adora returned.
Catra only needed that one word. She slowly loosened her grip on the cable, and leapt towards Adora, grabbing her one hand with both of hers. Adora immediately pulled on Catra's hands, using her strength to fight against the river and Catra's weight.
And ultimately, Adora succeeded, pulling Catra onto the cold, wet surface.
Catra panted as she pressed her cheek against the mud, thankful to be out of the river. She put her hands against the ground, watching the droplets of water fall from the strands of her messy hair as she slowly stood up.
Adora stood up after Catra, and looked towards the east. Slowly, Catra pointed towards the distance. Adora looked to her face to see a wide smile form.
"We're… We're here."
Adora squinted her eyes. In the distance was a clearing of land, with no trees and only the grassy ground. But more than that, there was something else occupying the clearing.
"A… A bus?"
Adora could see a single, vintage bus occupy the piece of land without trees. It was rusting, but Adora could see the lower half of the bus was covered in a green paint similar to the color of the trees, with the top half being as white as the sky during midday.
Catra walked towards the bus and Adora followed. As they got near, Adora could see many cracked or missing windows on the bus, and the green-and-white paint was badly oxidized. On the top of the entrance to the bus was a single number. 142.
Adora and Catra had to scale a few hills, but eventually, they reached the clearing of land, and the bus itself. Catra looked to it with stars in her eyes and a wide grin on her face. "It looks exactly like how I imagined it…" Catra whispered, walking around the bus and inspecting it closely.
"Is… Is this where Chris camped out here?" Adora asked as Catra looked close at the rusted metal.
"Adora…" Catra looked to her partner with a huge grin. "Welcome to bus 142. Otherwise known as the Magic Bus."
Adora looked at the vehicle. By all means, it was definitely run-down, and in no condition to go anywhere. But with a bit of work, it could make for an immensely useful shelter. She was just glad that the hiking was over for now.
"Who knew you could find a bus stranded all the way out here?" Adora scoffed as she stepped towards the entrance of the bus, going inside. The floor was littered with whiskey bottles and other trash, but it also had a dirty mattress, and a wood-burning stove. With a bit of cleaning, Adora figured they could make this work.
"Chris got lucky stumbling along this place," Catra explained as she entered after Adora. "It was a major help in how he survived as long as he did. But… It was also his grave."
Adora slowly placed her pack on the floor of the bus, and let out a sigh. "We don't have a lot of sunlight left. What should we focus on?" Adora asked.
"I'm going to see if I can get a fire going. After that, we could probably have dinner and try to set up a place to sleep in here. Oh, and we should also try to barricade the broken windows," Catra pointed to the shattered glass windows of the bus.
"I can handle the windows," Adora offered, already having a plan in mind. There were a few pieces of cardboard on the floor of the bus, probably to be used for sleeping. But considering that they already had gear to sleep in, Adora figured these cardboard 'mattresses' could be repurposed.
She reached into her pack to grab out the duct tape that Catra had brought along with a few other camping supplies in Alaska. As Catra kneeled before the wood-burning stove, Adora exited the bus with the many pieces of cardboard she had gathered.
She went over to the three broken windows on the right side of the bus. The vehicle had overgrown weeds sprouting from underneath, and Adora made note of any berries she found nearby. She placed cardboard against the broken windows, and taped them over.
A few windows were still intact, so they weren't completely blind in the bus. But the broken ones had to be patched up for the warmth, and so that any wind wouldn't put the fire out inside. Adora was thankful to whoever inserted the wood-burning stove in the bus. It would be a help for warmth and food down the line.
As Adora taped over the final window, she suddenly saw the sky shined a little brighter. She looked over her shoulder to see that the clouds had parted, showing off a gorgeous sunset on the bus. Adora raised a hand, shielding the sunlight directly from her eyes as she heard Catra's footsteps against the mud outside once she exited the bus.
Catra couldn't help but scoff as she saw the sun shined directly onto the bus. "Hey, looks like God approved of us going on this journey!" Catra sarcastically cheered. "And here I thought he'd hate a pair of lesbians having fun."
"Maybe he was the biggest gay ally of them all," Adora chuckled. Catra climbed onto the front of the bus, noting that it had no engine, and eventually scaled onto the roof of the bus. Adora followed after her, and took a seat next to Catra on the top of the Magic Bus.
The two of them looked out towards the endless forest and rivers. The sunset shining on the Stampede Trail, and reflecting onto the two of them. "… It's as beautiful as I always thought it would be," Catra said softly as she looked at the sight before her.
A flock of birds flew in the distance. Adora was lost in the mix of green, blue and orange that was painted before her. It didn't feel real. It was too beautiful to be real. But Adora was really breathing in the Alaskan air. Her eyes were really cast on the Alaskan nature.
And she loved every bit of it.
"Where do you reckon Georgia is?" Adora asked out of curiosity. Catra looked around herself, and after a few seconds, she pointed towards the south-east.
"I'd say more than a few miles that way," she said with a smirk. As Adora scoffed, Catra's pointed finger guided more to the west. "And about there… Is where we abandoned our rental car. In Arizona."
"You think its still there?" Adora asked.
"It better be," Catra replied. Her finger guided a bit more west. "And right about here is where we… attempted to canoe down to Mexico."
"Emphasis on attempt," Adora smirked. Catra's finger guided a bit more west.
"From there to California, and then…" She dragged to the east. "Las Vegas. Your first job."
"And our first pair of friends on this journey. You think Scorpia and Perfuma are okay these days?" Adora asked.
"I certainly hope so. They said they were going on a road trip of their own. I hope they're going alright," Catra said. Her finger went multiple degrees to the east. "And then… That's where I think our cow is."
"You mean CatrAdora?" Adora asked with a chuckle. "How you reckon they're doing?"
"They're being the best damn cow ever, that's how they're doing," Catra responded. Slowly, her hand lowered and she took a deep breath in through her nose, and out through her mouth. "And… Here we are."
"Against all odds. We made it," Adora smiled.
"We fucking made it," Catra laughed, shaking her head. She laid back on the bus, putting her hands behind her head as she looked up at the orange sky. "And to think… If I had gone by myself, it would've all been for nothing."
Adora looked to her partner with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?" She asked. Catra took a few seconds to respond.
"I was going to die on this bus," Catra replied in a nonchalant tone.
Adora could've sword she heard Catra's words wrong. There was no way she just said what she said. "What…?" Adora asked, her voice almost lost as Catra continued to look to the sky. Slowly, her smile faded away as she closed her eyes.
"Chris died on this bus. And when I said I was going to follow in his footsteps… That also meant doing exactly that," Catra explained.
"Why would you want to do that?!" Adora cried, not believing any of this.
"Because it was either that, or going back to a home I hated. To a life I hated," Catra said. "Adora… I was fucking miserable back home. Everyone just… saw me as nothing. No matter what I did. My own mother saw me as a failure. And the future… I couldn't see a future where I could be happy. So… I figured, what better way to die than to do it all the way out here?"
"Catra!" Adora grabbed her partner's hand. "You can't… You… You can't do that! You just can't!"
"Why not?" Catra asked.
"Because there's people who love you! You have so much life left to live! You…" Adora took a moment to collect her thoughts as she felt tears well up in her eyes. "I don't know what to say…"
Catra saw Adora's tear filled eyes, and slowly, she sat back up, resting a hand on Adora's cheek. "Hey…" Catra spoke softly as she stroked her thumb against Adora's gentle cheek. "I'm not going to die anytime soon now."
"You're… You're not?" Adora asked.
"I was going to die on this bus… Was," Catra said. "But… Then I met you in the bathroom at that train station. You gave me back the ten-thousand dollars I lost… And you asked me if you could come on this journey with me."
Adora's eyes slowly widened as Catra spoke. "And at first, I was going to turn you away. After all, this was the journey to my death. I'd… already written my note. I had planned out the way I was going to end my own life. Alone on this bus. But… Then I remembered something."
"What was that…?" Adora asked.
"Chris used to read a lot of books. One in particular was a book called 'Doctor Zhivago'. He read it on this bus," Catra explained, her hand going from Adora's cheek to her hand. Adora interlocked her fingers with Catra's as she spoke. "He also used to scribble notes in his books. And one note he scribbled in 'Doctor Zhivago' stuck out in my mind when you asked to come along on my journey…"
Catra looked to Adora. "That note read… 'Happiness only real when shared'."
Adora felt her breath catch in her throat. Catra looked at Adora's hand with a smile on her face. "Chris rejected the idea of bonding with other people. He rejected the idea of connection. And I wanted to do the same. But… When you asked me if you could come along on this journey… In that moment, I realized that, in Chris' last moments of his life, he yearned for connection with other people. He wanted shared happiness."
Catra rubbed her thumb along Adora's palm. "So… I accepted. I brought you along with me on the journey to experience something Chris never did… Shared happiness. And throughout the ups and downs… I began to realize he was exactly right. That happiness is real when it's shared with the people you love."
Adora could only listen, her breathing slow and the tears in her eyes slowly going away. "I decided a while ago… That this journey would no longer end with my death. I would fight to survive. I would fight to save your life. I would fight for my right to live. And I would fight for our future. Because… My happiness… My happiness deserves to be real. And so does yours."
Adora felt her heart flutter with warmth as she squeezed Catra's hand. "Catra…" Adora spoke with a smile.
"So, Adora… I'm not going to die on this bus. I'm not going to die for many, many years. Whoever is waiting for me in the afterlife is going to have to wait a while longer. Because you…" Catra chuckled. "You helped me realize that life really is worth living."
Catra raised a hand, and gently rested it on Adora's cheek. "And for that…" Catra smiled. "I will always love you."
Adora looked into her partner's eyes. She saw genuine love in Catra's eyes. In her smile. Adora's heart had almost stopped as she looked in shock. "You… You love me…?" Adora asked, her voice hoarse.
"I know it's dumb…" Catra shook her head, looking down at the floor below her. She knew it was only one-sided. But she had resigned herself to that fact. She was okay with it.
But slowly, she felt Adora's hand placed over her own. Catra's body jolted, and she looked up to see Adora returning that loving smile. As the sunset shined upon the two of them, Catra saw the orange sky reflect in Adora's eyes.
"Catra…" Adora sighed. "I love you too."
The world had stopped. Time had stopped. Nothing else mattered in this moment for Catra. She could only look into Adora's eyes. Nothing was important except for Adora in this exact moment in time. And eventually, Catra brought her other hand up, and rested it on Adora's other cheek.
She cupped Adora's face in her hands. And yet it was Adora who leaned forward and pressed her lips against Catra's.
Adora always heard that first kisses were meant to be awkward. They were meant to feel weird. But as she closed her eyes and took Catra's lips with her own, she felt nothing but pure bliss. Catra's gentle hands against her cheeks made everything in her body feel warm.
For Catra, she couldn't get the smile off her face as she kissed her partner. She ran a hand through Adora's long hair as they kissed for so long that they lost track of time. But eventually, Adora had to come back for air.
They opened their eyes as they separated, and yet the taste of each other's lips was still there. Adora could only let out a chuckle, and Catra giggled in response. The two of them laughed as Adora pushed her forehead against Catra's.
Their laughter echoed across the trees and the forest as the sky turned dark. They could barely get anymore words out. They didn't even know what to say anyway. And so, they laughed.
They loved each other, and they laughed.
"Well… Isn't this nostalgic?"
Catra laid on a small sleeping bag she had set up on the Magic Bus, eating at some canned soup as Adora dug through her own pack. The sun had completely set and all that surrounded them was the night sky, and the sudden rain that had come about in almost an instant.
The fire from the wood-burning stove illuminated the inside of the bus, and kept the two of them warm throughout the rainy, dark night. As Adora tried to find sleeping gear in her pack, she suddenly dug out a small journal from deep within her bag.
"What's that?" Catra nodded to the journal within Adora's hand.
"It's the entire reason I was reminded to come on this journey," Adora chuckled. "This is where I wrote that promise to myself."
"You brought that along with you and you forgot all about it?" Catra raised an eyebrow.
"I did plan to fill it out as we went along, but… I guess it kind of slipped my mind along the way," Adora explained as she flipped through the pages. As she did, a single photo dropped out from one of the many pages, hitting the floor of the bus.
"Oh, mine!" Catra immediately snatched up the photo before Adora could react. She flipped it around to see a photo of what looked to be a thirteen-year old Adora, who was smiling directly at the camera, showing off a missing tooth and a band-aid on her cheek. "Aww, you were so cute!"
"Give that back!" Adora snatched at the photo. "And what do you mean I WAS cute? Did I degrade or something?"
"Hey, I didn't say anything like that," Catra smirked as she laid back on the sleeping bag. "I'd say you're still as cute as ever."
"Uh huh. Nice save," Adora shook her head. She put the journal back in her pack. "Fuck… I feel like a totally different person from back then."
"How so?" Catra asked, laying on her side and resting her cheek on her hand.
"Just… I don't know. More alive?" Adora shrugged. "I just don't feel as confused or lost anymore. I feel… confident, if anything. I made a promise to myself and I kept it. It makes me proud of myself."
"That's nice," Catra smiled. "I'm proud of you too, Adora. I can tell you've come a long way from who you used to be last year."
"Are you just saying that cause I know I'm a lesbian now?" Adora asked with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile.
"Maybe," Catra spoke in a cheeky tone. Adora zipped up her bag, and crawled away from the fire, going towards Catra on her sleeping bag.
Without really thinking, Adora slowly crawled on top of Catra, looking down at her and placing her hands on either side of her. Catra looked up to her partner, giving the same teasing smile. "You know you're being a bit of a smartass, right?" Adora asked.
"I take pride in it," Catra replied.
After a few seconds of silence, Adora couldn't stop herself from leaning down and giving her partner a quick kiss on the lips. Catra chuckled at the sudden kiss, but it was in that moment that Adora realized what kind of position she had just put themselves in.
Adora wasn't sure how to feel about all this. Her face went a slight shade of red, but she definitely liked being like this. A bizarre thought came to mind, and she tried to push it away. But when she looked down at Catra, she could only think of one thing.
She wanted to be close with her.
Slowly, Adora leaned up, still on top of Catra. She looked down at her partner for a few seconds, and took a breath. Her heart was about to pound out of her chest, but she knew that she needed to try now. There wasn't much time left for them, after all.
Adora's hand went to the bottom of her long-sleeved shirt, and in a swift motion, she pulled it up over her head. She wore nothing else underneath.
Catra's heart stopped for a bit, and her eyes widened as she saw a part of Adora she had never seen before. She would always look away when Adora was getting changed or in the shower. But now, it seemed like Adora wanted her to see this.
Adora noticed Catra's reaction of shock. "Sorry… Was that weird?" Adora asked.
"I…" Catra shook her head. "N… No. I was just a bit…. Stunned. Why'd you do that?" Catra asked, even though she likely already knew the answer.
Adora's face went red again, but she was in too deep now. She took another deep breath. "Because… I want you to touch me," Adora spoke softly. "But only if you want to as well."
Catra's hands were frozen stiff, and she had to scream at herself internally to move her body. She was shaking slightly, and she wasn't sure why. She had done this before. But she never imagined it with Adora.
Eventually, Catra placed her warm hands on Adora's cheek. Slowly, she dragged it down and over her collarbone. Adora's body felt fuzzy as her collarbone was tickled slightly, and then that sensation soon became a sudden pleasure as Catra's hand ran over the curves on Adora's chest. Adora let out a sudden gasp.
"You okay?" Catra asked.
"Yeah… Just got surprised," Adora chuckled. "I promise, I'll tell you if I'm feeling uncomfortable."
Catra looked to the shirtless Adora, and she realized she didn't want to leave her alone like this. Suddenly, Catra took off her jacket, and pulled off her own shirt as well. She left herself in a bra, but that was quickly removed as well.
Adora's eyes gazed at Catra's body for a few seconds. She swallowed, a tad nervous that Catra was so experienced and yet she herself had never done this before. "You can touch me if you want as well," Catra said.
"… Sorry. I'm probably driving you crazy by how slow this is going," Adora apologized, but she was soon met with Catra leaning up and placing a hand on her cheek.
"You're right. You're driving me fucking insane with how beautiful you are," Catra smiled. "But I don't care how long you need. We've got all the time in the world. And as long as you're happy, I'm happy."
As Adora looked to her partner, Catra slowly undid Adora's ponytail, letting her blonde hair flow onto her rough skin. Adora looked deeply into Catra's eyes, and quickly, she leaned forward. Adora pushed her lips against Catra's, wrapping her arms around Catra's bare shoulders as she pushed her down onto the sleeping bag.
Their bodies pressed against each other, giving off a heat greater than the fire Catra had built. Catra's hand ran down the bumps of Adora's spine as they kissed, and Adora was surprised when Catra involved some tongue in their kiss. She wasn't sure how to respond, but she allowed it.
Their kiss separated, but they continued to hold each other. Their forehead pressed against each other. "I love you…" Adora whispered.
"I love you so fucking much…" Catra responded. She ran a hand through Adora's hair and pressed her lips to Adora's ear. "And I'm going to make you mine."
Catra's voice sent shivers down Adora's spine, and her breath came out in shudders as Catra's expert lips ran over the crook of her neck, nibbling at all the right places. Adora didn't want to have Catra do all the work, and she returned by running her hand over Catra's body, her thumb rubbing against the sensitive points on Catra's breasts.
The soft gasp Catra let out was enough to convince Adora to keep going. Clothes were shed, and yet the heat only continued to rise. Their bodies never separated, not once. Control was not with one or the other, but they simply shared it. They took in each other's voices, pants, moans, bodies and love.
And underneath it all was a desperation to never let go, despite what the future may hold.