Epilogue

It's hot as hell for a night in March. Adora bets she could see the heat waves radiating off the hilltops of the packed sand that seems to stretch out for miles if the sun were out but, in all honesty, she really shouldn't complain. Last Spring Break was also at Glimmer's beach house but the weather was awful—rainy and humid all day—quickly ruining their vibe, but they did have an intense game of UNO that ended with Perfuma eating a habanero pepper after losing a bet followed by everyone frantically searching the freezer for anything to cool her mouth down. The year Perfuma's mouth set fire marked the tradition where they all saddle up and vacation at Glimmer's beach house in Mystacor during Spring Break. It's not even like there is enough room to fit their entire squad, with only six bedrooms, but luckily the sights and luxury make up for getting packed into those rooms like a can of sardines.

While the bedding situation is still very much present, some things are definitely different this time around.

"Catra!" Bow cheers, he's the first one to see Catra walking out from the house in a comfortable burgundy tank-top and faded blue shorts. She makes a beeline to the group gathered in the backyard, they're all lounging on the sand in a messy circle with a cooler full of drinks perched in the middle. Mermista was just telling them another story about something Sea Hawk did over the weekend, and she's more than a little drunk so it's hard to make out what she's saying in between her slurring, but everyone takes a second to greet Catra as she snatches water from the cooler.

Catra nods at them. "Hey, what's going on?"

"You're late." Glimmer stands up just to say it and gives her a hard time as usual.

"What else is new, babe?" Catra nudges Glimmer with her shoulder in passing. Glimmer rolls her eyes all in good fun and retaliates by pinching the bare skin at Catra's waist in a way that is so familiar and reminiscent of the last party they had before the last week of summer. Catra sidesteps Glimmer when she tries to make another grab at her, and manages to get away in one piece so she can join Adora in the sand where she saved her spot. Catra greets her with a lingering kiss that quickly turns deep.

"Get a room." Glimmer frowns at her choice of wording. "Actually, no, please don't have sex in the house—or anywhere —my grandmother lives here for most of the year and I swear, I better not walk in on you two. I still haven't forgotten about last time."

"Lucky you." Catra whistles, unfazed at the teasing by now.

Bow shudders. "Please don't mention that ever again. I still get flashes."

"Flashes of what?" Scorpia asks from the other side of the circle having not heard what they were talking about.

"Flashbacks of Adora and Catra having intercourse in their apartment." Entrapta supplies information that was definitely not given during this conversation so Adora's wondering how she knows that little detail.

Adora wants to work out how Entrapta got her hands on this information but her face suddenly feels hot because now most of their friends are looking over at them, and it doesn't help that Catra's not even trying to hide her smirk. Adora ducks her face into Catra's shoulder and mutters, "...say it louder will you."

Entrapta raises her voice. "Flashbacks of—"

"Rhetorical Traps." Catra says soft but stern.

"Anyway," Perfuma slowly pulls them away from this awkward conversation "Catra why were you so late? I thought you were driving up here with Adora but you guys took separate cars."

"Adora caught a ride with Bow and Glimmer but she's riding back with me at the end of the week. And I had to finish my biochem final so...fun stuff." Catra mutters the last part. She takes a sip of water and groans. "I need alcohol but I have a track meet next week."

Perfuma smiles. "I'm sure you did fine. Didn't you have that girl helping you study?"

Catra nods. "Her name's Regina and yeah she helped a lot."

Entrapta hums. "She sounds familiar."

"She should." Catra looks at her, amused. "She invited us to her cabin on Mount Etheria."

Entrapta shakes her head.

"...she was the one Adora punched in the face to defend my honor."

Nope, still not safe, Adora ducks her head back into Catra's neck. There isn't a reply from Entrapta who is still probably drawing a blank.

Catra groans like she doesn't want to say what she comes up with next. "She wears pink on—"

"Oh! I remember now. Too bad we never got to test those boosters when we were there."

Catra shrugs, the movement forces Adora to face the world again. "It still worked out for us."

"I still can't believe we got first place because one of our boosters broke down and exploded the guy right behind us." Scorpia exclaims with a grin. "Oh yeah, Adora, you got it on video right?"

"Yeah, did I forget to send it to you? I'll do it once I get service."

Catra huffs. "Just lower the volume because you've got Glimmer screaming in the background like a lunatic."

"It was exciting!"

Adora shows the video of the race to Scorpia because she feels bad about forgetting to send it earlier in the week. She hadn't noticed before because she was so enthralled by the race at the time but, when the robot that's trailing behind the one Entrapta built explodes due to their dismantled booster, Glimmer's frantic screaming stands out dramatically. Adora and Scopia laugh and replays the video a couple more times until Glimmer sulks long enough for them to knock it off. When Adora looks up she notices that most of the group has gone back inside leaving the original best friend squad (the Catra version of course) and Scorpia but she leaves too when she notices Perfuma getting up as well.

"And then there were four." Glimmer says.

Bow nods. "It's been a while since we've done something with just the four of us. I know we see each other almost every day in the dorms but we're always busy with class. We should catch up."

"On what?"

Bow pauses for a moment and then asks, "what're your guys' plans for after graduation? I'm looking into graduate school I think. I'll probably stay at BU but if I don't get in I'll try applying to something closer to home but I definitely want to stay. I just love it here, you know?"

Catra nods. "It grows on you."

"So? What do you guys have planned?"

Adora hesitates. "I feel like I'm wasting my Criminal Justice degree but…" Her vision of the future seems blurry, she stumbles to find the words, but Catra is there squeezing her hand. She gives Adora a look that melts her core and allows her words to flow like syrup. "I want to be a basketball coach. At the collegiate level."

Glimmer gapes. "Really? That's awesome!"

Bow is beaming like the marshmallow he is. "Yeah! And I don't think you're wasting your degree, the experiences you've made at BU have brought you to this point. And now you have connections with the coaches so you can probably shadow them in the summer and get them to tell you about the process to becoming a coach."

Adora's smile is sheepish but she's excited about the idea. "Already on top of it. My coach is a lot of help, she gave me some links to check out and offered to write a recommendation letter if I ever need it." She asks, "what about you Glim?"

Glimmer looks ready to burst. "I got the internship I've been telling you guys about!" Bow, having already known, sits there grinning like a sap while Catra and Adora's eyes go wide.

"No way." Catra scoffs, "why didn't you tell me? You've been calling me to complain about how you didn't think you would get it for weeks but you can't call me with the good news?"

Glimmer laughs. "I wanted to tell you in person and you were busy studying."

"Again. You kept calling me—"

"Anyway..." Glimmer talks over her. "Have you decided to go to medical school or what?"

It's Adora's turn to take Catra's hand. Catra keeps quiet for a while but her face is twisted up as she thinks about the conversations she and Adora have had about this. She eventually says, "I don't know if I want to go to medical school but I am interested in getting into the medical field. Like, I can easily get into research and be happy studying things that impact carcinogenesis and being in a lab rat like Entrapta. I'm open to a lot, I just don't want to be stuck in a desk for the rest of my life."

"Sounds like a solid plan to me." Adora says with a comforting smile.

Bow agrees, "we'll figure it out. Besides, it's not like we have to know the answers right away."

"Scooby gang!" They look over to the house on the low hill to see Mermista yelling at them from the open screen door. Sea Hawk is behind her with his arms out like he expects her to collapse at any moment. "We're about to play strip poker! Play or be square!"

Adora chokes on her drink. "They're not serious are they?"

"No one is more serious than drunk Mermista." Glimmer says as she eagerly gets up. "I'm down to play. What about you?" She asks her boyfriend.

Bow wipes some sweat off his forehead. He takes the hand Glimmer offers to help him stand. "I'm actually terrified to play but it's so freaking hot out here and I just want to get inside and stand in front of the air conditioner for a while. What about you guys?"

Adora can hold her own in poker but she isn't ready to go inside just yet. When Catra doesn't make a move to get up Adora answers for the both of them. "We'll catch up in a few."

Glimmer does a weird thing with her eyebrows that's probably supposed to be suggestive but it just makes them all break out into a silly laughing fit. Adora leans back on her hands and watches the couple walk up the low sand hill and back to the beach house that's alive with tipsy college students—clearing a dangerous mix (it proves correct when they get a very rude note taped to the door from the neighbors the next morning).

"Are you okay?" Adora asks once they're alone in the night with no one to keep them company except each other and the occupants in the sky always a constant reminder of their past. "You've been kind of weird. Well, not weird but quiet."

Catra cracks a small smile. "Nothing can be weirder than that night."

That night being the first time they did anything besides chaste kisses and bashful looks with lingering touches without any intent. It's a moment that Adora will always remember because 1) what a night and 2) why does the universe hate her? It started off well enough, Catra sent her a text telling her she finally had the place to herself and invited Adora over to watch a movie in her room. It was very Netflix and Chill but they didn't pick up on those vibes until somehow Adora had Catra pressed into the bed with her fingers teasing just beneath Catra's loose shirt to just feel . Adora's face burns when she recalls how the night ended just as quickly as it had started.

Adora breaks away from the wet kiss. She dips her forehead into the pillow to catch her breath while Catra trails wet lingering kisses up, up, up her neck until she gets to her ear. She grabs Adora's hand and pushes it further up her shirt until the tips of her fingers brush the bottom curve of her breast and—fuck—she's not wearing a bra.

"You can take this off if you want."

Adora shudders because this is nothing like those dreams that cut off too soon—this is far better. "Really?" She whispers in awe because she can't believe this is happening.

Catra's laugh comes out like a whine. "You're such an idiot." But then she guides Adora's hands to the edge of her shirt and leaves them there to do the rest of the work.

Adora wants to take the shirt off more than anything but she has to know the answer to something that has haunted her over the last couple months. She pulls back and sits up on her knees so she can look at Catra's face when she asks:

"Has Glimmers seen them?"

Catra chokes on her breath. "W-what?"

"You know." Adora motions to her own chest and asks again, "have you shown Glimmer?"

"No!" Catra looks a dangerous mix between mortified and pissed. "Why the hell would I? Why are you even asking me this?"

Adora's confidence trickles down drop by drop. She uncrosses her arms and starts talking with her hands. "Because I thought...she said…"

"Spit it out!" Catra snaps, but she doesn't look angry if anything she probably just wants this conversation to be over and done with.

Adora talks faster. "A while ago she told me you were thinking of getting your nipples pierced and she said you were texting her to get some advice on it when you started second guessing yourself. Then she said she was going to ask you to show her...you know. To show her what you're working with so she could tell you if it would look good or not so I'm just wondering if you've ever—"

"No. No!" Catra rubs her forehead with a groan. "I remember asking her for advice. But that's it."

Adora feels a weight being lifted off her chest (excuse the pun). She nods with a nervous smile now that she realizes she's made things a little awkward but she couldn't continue without knowing. "Okay. Good."

"She didn't ask."

Adora frowns. "What?"

"Glimmer, she never asked if she could...look." Catra lets out a weak laugh. "She was probably just messing with you because she knew you had feelings for me but weren't acting on them. She's such a troll."

Adora makes a note to get revenge but for now she settles for hiding her face in her hands. "Of course she was." She keeps her face tucked away until it starts to cool off, when she looks back down she sees Catra staring up at the ceiling. Adora trails her fingers back under Catra's shirt and tries to stir things back in the right direction because she very much would like to see what's under this shirt. "So, can I still—"

"Hell no." Catra playfully slaps her hands away but she kind of means it so there's nothing really playful about it. "Now I can't get the thought of my best friend asking me for…" she shudders and doesn't dare finish the sentence.

Adora pouts. "But…"

Catra's already pulling her laptop back over to them and logging back into the browser. "Whatever...let's just finish the stupid movie and cuddle."

Adora obliges but she's in a sour mood for the rest of the night which is fine because Catra is kind of terrified of whatever crazy questions her girlfriend might come up with next so she keeps quiet too. When the movie is over Catra ends up driving Adora back to her dorm because they both need some space after tonight. And when Glimmer bumps into them in the hallway coming back from class Catra practically grunts out a greeting and races back to her car while Adora glares at Glimmer with disdain for a two days straight.

Adora does eventually get to see Catra with her shirt off a few days after the event when Catra finally gets over the awkwardness. It takes even more time when Catra stops to talk about boundaries and things not to mention in bed but it's sure as hell worth it.

Adora comes out of the memory with groan. "We promised to never speak of it."

"Right. My bad." Catra isn't even trying to hide her smirk, it's such a different reaction from her prior one on the matter. It eases Adora's worries for just a second because soon it's slipping off Catra's face and the furrow is back in her brow. She's even biting her lip, which she never does unless she's thinking the worst.

"Talk to me."

Catra sighs and then pulls out her phone. "Grades are already out and I'm kind of terrified to see what I got in biochem. The final was a lot, we had almost two hours to take it but there were so many questions. And I finished everything but I don't know if…" she looks at her lap. "I've had my unofficial transcript pulled up so I could see my grade but I'm too chicken to do it."

"Do you want me to check for you?" Adora asks.

Catra nods. "Yeah."

Adora gently takes Catra's phone, she admires the lock screen (a picture of them making goofy faces at a track mixer) before she puts in the password she is proud to have the honor of knowing. She scrolls down the unofficial transcript until she gets to the section of Fall 2020 . She skims the four classes that Catra has completed and marvels at the listed grades.

"...you got an A." Adora can't hold it in anymore.

Catra lets out a rough laugh in disbelief. "No way. Are you serious?"

"See for yourself." She hands the phone back and giggles when Catra's eyes go wide. "Congratulations." She hugs her despite the fact that they're both gross and sweaty with sand stuck on their arms and legs.

Catra shakes her head. She can't stop smiling. "Holy shit...I'm a freaking genius."

Adora snorts at that. "Wouldn't go that far."

"I have to tell Regina. She's gonna flip." Catra suddenly remembers something. "Man."

"What's wrong?"

"I told Regina I'd do something for her if I got an A based on her study method."

Adora tilts her head, intrigued. "Like what?"

"I don't know. Something about burning and a book? It might have something to do with Sea Hawk though. I told her about how he's always catching stuff on fire." Catra shakes her head with a found smile. "You never know with her crazy ass."

Adora laughs at that. "Yeah, but she's a good person." She can admit it now.

Catra hums. She's looking out at the waves as they crash into the shore one after the other. "Yeah."

Adora brushes their fingers together in the sand because it's too hot to get any closer and sometimes she feels like she can't exist if she's not connected to Catra in some way. Adora looks around at the imprints their friends left in the sand; the only proof that they were actually there. And it's funny and enlightening how it always ends up this way with her and Catra left alone. It's almost like nothing has changed but she'd be foolish to believe that to be the truth.

Because the truth is, everything is different or, at least, it should be, right? They're together now, in every way they've ever dreamed, but as they sit under the eyes of the endless sky and stars, watchful as ever, Adora feels like nothing has changed. No matter what, she still feels like those kids desperately clawing at each other trying to make sense of this cruel world. And she wants to see Catra for who she is now—wants to see herself for the woman she has become, the one who chases what she wants and not the girl who never allowed herself the simple pleasure—but she's stuck in the past. Adora blinks in a moment of weakness and then time lapses for just a couple seconds but time works differently in the void and soon it feels like decades.

It's hot, maybe one of the hottest nights of the year, but they stick around behind the bleachers long after prom is over and the cars have cleared out leaving behind an empty lot. The stars keep them company long after Lonnie and Kyle get weeded out by the heat. She can see the waves of heat rolling just above the black-top concrete, sweat rolls down her sides—soaking the thin lining of her dress—she feels gross and sticky but she doesn't want this night to end. It may have started with Tucker and his asshole friends, mediating between Cathy—the snide looks she sends her over Catra's shoulder on the dance floor (like the ones she'd received in the halls in between classes)—but it's all worth it because this night is going to end with Catra in her arms.

And it probably doesn't change anything, they'll probably always be friends because it's the way it's always been, but this night has to stand for something. It has to mean something that Catra stays with her during the heatwave. Just like it meant something when Catra stayed out in the snow even when the bite of the cold leaked through their winter gloves when Adora begged her to help finish their snowman.

But all good things must come to an end and eventually Adora breaks her resolve. They stumble in the night weary from the heat. It's a miracle when they make it back to the house. Weaver stands in the doorway waiting for them with a lecture on her tongue—but Adora can't recall what her face looks like, the memory of this moment is blocked off by a strange shadow until it jumps. She's out of the murky water. Adora's ears ring from the berating; it's the only proof that it happened.

Catra is locked up in the bathroom with the shower on full blast so Adora has the room to herself. She doesn't want the night to end. Adora stands in front of her vanity mirror, her face is blotchy and stained red from the dry air and her hair is a mess of loose strand and frizz. The corsage, plastic and fake, perfect in the sense that Catra spent the weekend saving up to buy it and in the sense that it will never wilt over time. Adora handles it like a newborn, cradling it in her hand and carefully depositing it into her empty jewelry box until she can find a better place for it. Then she goes back to the mirror and just stares. The memory glitches, obviously more is supposed to take place, but Adora stays rooted and keeps staring. She doesn't want the night to end, longs to hold onto this feeling of euphoria, but her time is up.

"You okay?" Catra is looking at her with her brows knitted tight. Adora has to blink as she comes back into time because it's weird seeing Catra's intelligent eyes which are very much different from the recklessness that once resided. "You kind of zoned out for a while."

Adora shakes herself out of it and is slow to reply but Catra is patient just like she was that night. Eventually she lets a teasing smile slip through. "You're the one who was trying to search for the meaning of life in the ocean."

"Maybe some day I'll find it." Catra says simply and doesn't rise to take the bait any further. The first one had just been out of tolerance per girlfriend duty. "Seriously. Are you okay?"

Adora squeezes Catra's hand in reassurance. "Yeah sorry...I guess this heat is finally getting to me. Maybe I'm getting too old for this."

Catra grins. "Yeah, we're making a bad habit of letting ourselves fry in the heat. Maybe we should head back inside? I'm not gonna lie, I am very curious, and terrified, to see how bad Bow's losing right now. You know how bad his poker face is."

A couple years ago Adora would have been selfish, unknowingly so, keeping Catra tucked outside with her away from the world. Not because she wants to keep Catra to herself but because of the worry that she'll never get another chance to have Catra in a vulnerable position like this again. And for a moment she almost slips back into the mirror before she realizes—she doesn't have to. She doesn't want to.

Adora realizes with a start; she doesn't mind if this night ends. It's okay for them to join their friends and play strip poker—it's okay for them to step out of this little world they've built for themselves out on the beach in such a small amount of time—because there will be more nights like this. She doesn't have to cling to the mirror. These intimate moments where Catra's vulnerable and soft in a way she doesn't dare show as intensely with their friends isn't scarce, in fact, it's abundant and rich and above all Adora could ever ask for.

"We should." Adora knows she has that goofy smile because a blush leaks across the freckles on Catra's nose. She kisses her just because she can and then pulls her by the hand leading them back up to the beach house. Adora can see their friends, rowdy as ever, gathered in the living room from the screen door. "Bow is obviously going to lose but you do know Entrapta is going to wipe the floor with everyone."

Catra almost doubles over in laughter. "Shit! I almost forgot about her. Oh and poor Scorpia, she's probably already down to that floral thong Perfuma bought her."

" What? "

"Damn, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that. Just act surprised."

Together they slip back into time, and sure enough Bow is sitting on the floor in his boxers (the ones with kittens on them), Glimmer teasing a finger up and down his core every chance she gets, meanwhile Scorpia has a blush that covers her far better than that loose t-shirt does. Adora sits on the couch, the waiting area for those who want in next round, with Catra dutifully in her lap as they watch the train wreck that is this game.

In another city, in another time, the girl steps away from the mirror. She keeps moving forward but, for a few years, she holds the night dear and latches onto it when all seems lost. She refers to it on the worst day of her life, a couple days before her high school graduation, and she cuddles it during those lonely college nights. It's a long process, leaving her with scars and jagged edges, but her healing finally begins when a girl she thought she lost walks into her Junior seminar, now a woman—wiser from their time apart and hopeful to mend what is left of their fractured friendship.

It takes some more time, a lot of misunderstanding, and a lot of longing, but one day when the mirror girl-turned-woman gets a wakeup call from the ones she holds dear—and this weird chick who's obsessed with the color pink and Wednesdays—she slowly lets go of the past. And while it was painful reminiscing on it years ago, in a couple more when she's telling the story to a child who has her eyes and their mother's smile she'll feel nothing but peace even as they whine about it being too long of a story.