Huge thank you to Dalblauw for beta reading for me on this. My friend is a talented artist so please check her out a h-t-t-p-s dalblauw .carrd .co/ if you'd like!
Currently it seems like this fic will be 11 chapters, but we will see how it goes. Thank you for coming to read this fic.
Following the defeat of the Horde the rebellion takes one night to celebrate, and celebrate they do. They party the night away, surrounded with good food and music. Stories of hope and perseverance are shared over raised glasses. While they're partying the future seems bright and optimistic, but once the sun starts peeking over the horizon the reality sinks in that there's more work to be done. Etheria still needs their help. The Princesses rub the sleep out of their eyes, and after many heartfelt goodbyes and a few shed tears, mostly from Perfuma, each Princess returns to their respective Kingdom. They agree to gather in Bright Moon in three weeks to discuss the future direction of the rebellion, but for now will focus on helping their citizens.
Catra doesn't have a Kingdom to call her own, but Adora links their hands together and tugs her towards Bow, Glimmer, and Swift Wind to head to Bright Moon. Melog sticks faithfully to her side as they travel, walking in step and peering around curiously at the new world it's in. Now that the group isn't constantly on alert, Melog has questions about everything around them.
What kind of plant is that?
"That's hemlock."
Can I eat it?
"No!" Catra exclaims a little too loudly, drawing the attention of the rest of their traveling party. Catra's cheeks heat up, she wishes she could trade spots with Melog. It hasn't noticed that Catra's outburst caused their journey home to skid to a stop as gives her a quizzical look, cute head tilt and all. Catra addresses the peanut gallery with a sharp tone, "What?" she demands and motions down with a large sweeping motion. "I was talking to Melog."
Adora merely laughs light-heartedly, her smile washing warmly over Catra. She walks over and leans down to pat Melog gently on the head. She speaks softly, "If Catra says no that means no, okay Melog?" Melog purrs in response, its eyes shutting from happiness. After a moment, Adora stands up and places her hand on Catra's shoulder, giving it an affectionate squeeze. Catra leans into the touch, fighting the urge to purr since she's hyper aware Adora's friends are still watching them. "You're gonna love Bright Moon."
The rest of the journey goes by quickly, and soon Catra stands at the entrance to Bright Moon. It's been many months since she was there, but with how fast things have been moving it feels like she was only away for a moment. The citizens of Bright Moon are gathered around the entrance, and they start cheering when Glimmer leads their rag tag bunch into the city. Catra sticks close to Adora's side as they walk up the road leading to the castle, a little worried that someone will recognize her from the Horde and call her out. Adora waves excitedly at the crowd, giving Catra some time to glance around as they walk.
The city is different from how she remembers it. Many of the large shops are still standing, but here and there a pile of rubble lies where a home once stood. Catra's heart weighs heavy seeing the smiling Bright Moon citizens. These people have suffered so much at the hands at the Horde, yet here they are cheering as if nothing is wrong. Catra's never thought of random citizens as strong, yet they stand before her showing greater strength than she ever has.
"Hey," Adora's concerned voice pulls her attention back to the blonde Princess walking beside her. Adora laces her fingers with Catra's, "Are you okay?"
Old habits die hard and Catra turns her head away on reflex with a bitter retort. "I'm fine." The weight on Catra's heart does lift slightly at Adora's concern and she tightens her grip on Adora's hand so she doesn't pull away.
That was mean. Melog chimes in with its opinion from where it's walking in front of them. It glances over its shoulder with a meaningful stare.
Catra clears her throat. "Sorry Adora, I really am okay though."
Adora, sweet kind Adora, accepts her answer with a small nod and goes back to waving and greeting citizens with her free hand. They're nearly at the castle by now, and Catra is relieved when they finally arrive.
Adora already has a room in the castle, and they give Catra one down the hall. The room is far more spacious than any bedroom in the Horde which Adora proudly points out as they enter. In the center is a giant fluffy mountain of… well Catra isn't exactly sure what it is. "What is that thing and why is it here?" She asks critically, pointing at the aforementioned object with an eyebrow raised.
"That's an Etherian bed." Adora answers, sitting down on what seems to be a massive pile of pillows. "It's a lot at first. I'll ask Glimmer if we can get you a normal bed tomorrow."
Catra throws a few of the pillows into a pile on the floor for Melog and sits down on the 'bed' next to Adora, feeling the sudden urge to lean into her friend. No, friend isn't the right word, they aren't just friends anymore. Catra isn't sure what they are exactly, but as she inhales and gets lost in Adora's fresh, lemony scent, she knows it's more than friends.
Adora lays back on the bed with a satisfied sigh and raises her arm. "C'mere." She motions with her fingers for Catra to lie down with her.
Catra doesn't hesitate in complying and snuggles into Adora's side, inhaling and exhaling deeply as Adora wraps her arm around Catra's shoulders. Adora brings her head down to kiss Catra on the forehead and for a moment they lie there, completely at peace. Kind of at peace anyway, as Catra feels like she's going to fall through the bed and into an alternative dimension at any moment.
Catra wiggles a little, "Adora, I love you, but this bed is so uncomfortable."
Adora giggles, though it's muffled by Catra's hair. She traces slow circles on Catra's arm with her index finger and pulls her head back a little so she can actually respond. "I know, but they love these here. Sometimes I try them out again to see if my opinion will change."
"Etherians are so weird." Catra rolls her eyes and is rewarded with another giggle.
Adora loosens her grip so they can sit up, "Let me show you my room, I think you'll like my bed a lot better."
"Oh?" Catra waggles her eyebrows. "You know just what to say to a girl." Catra hops up and walks over to the door. She stops in the doorway and glances over her left shoulder, tilting her head and giving Adora a sly wink.
Adora follows, but her expression has gone slack, "What do you mean? I'm telling you the truth, I really do think you'll like it." Her eyebrows draw together, confusion clearly written on her face. "It's a nice bed, like the ones we had in the Horde."
Catra reaches out to grab Adora's hand as she approaches, giving her a mischievous grin. She draws the captured hand up and places a gentle kiss on Adora's knuckles, pleased when even her most oblivious jock blushes bright pink from the contact. "You're the best Adora."
The best friend squad, which includes Catra now, throws themselves into helping rebuild Bright Moon. It actually reminds Catra a bit of Horde work, except everyone here asks for help instead of demanding it.
Every morning, Catra gets up, eats breakfast with Adora, Bow, and Glimmer, and then heads into town. They start on the north border and make their way south. The homes in Bright Moon are made of a plaster like material, great to withstand weather and stay cool even in the summer heat.
They go house by house. First, Adora, Bow, Melog, and Catra clear out any rubble on site while Glimmer transports the bags of plaster from storage to the location on site. Then, Catra opens the bags and dumps the powder and water into two molds, one for each side of the house. Bow stirs one side and Catra stirs the other. Then, they let them dry for 45 minutes and work on another house in the meantime.
Adora takes over from here. Transformed as She-Ra, she picks up each half of the home and places them upright, with Catra painting additional plaster onto the edges of the home so they can stick the two halves together. Once both halves are settled, they remove the molds from the outer shell and the house is nearly done. Bow hangs a unique curtain in the door and windows to give the house its own flare, and a happy citizen gets to see their new home.
At the end of each day Catra chows down on delicious castle food and falls unconscious to start things all over again the following day. After a day or two her fluffy 'bed' is replaced with a hard cot, which helps her sleep even better. Melog is also overjoyed to find they left it the pillows to curl up on.
Rinse and repeat, Catra sweats day in and out for the next week, rebuilding every destroyed home in Bright Moon. The citizens are extremely grateful, and Catra finds satisfaction in building things for once instead of destroying them. Once the final home is done they celebrate with an extra rowdy dinner. Catra eats and laughs to her hearts content, but gets tired quickly and sneaks out to go to bed. She passes out almost instantly, falling into a deep sleep.
When Catra wakes up the next morning, the first thing she realizes is that she doesn't have to go labor in the sun today. Her whole body relaxes. She stretches her arm to scratch Melog behind the ears, "Good morning."
Melog purrs a greeting back and nuzzles her hand. Catra's eyes are still heavy and she draws her arm back after a few pats. She blinks twice and peacefully drifts back to sleep.
The next time she opens her eyes, the sun shining in has moved, signaling that she has most likely slept well beyond when she was supposed to get up. Melog is still sleeping as well and Catra nudges it with her foot as she rises from the cot.
"Melog, I think we overslept."
Once up, Catra stretches out her back, satisfied when her shoulders pop as she draws her arms over her head. Melog stretches besides her, arching its back cutely. It's probably fine.
Catra continues stretching, drawing her left arm across her chest and pulling it with her right arm. "I wonder why Adora didn't wake us…" She trails off, realizing the gravity of what she said. "Melog, where's Adora?" Panic rises in her voice as her eyes flicker around the room.
Melog's fur bristles and changes to red. It dashes towards the door, Catra quicky on its heels. They bust into the hallway and quickly cover the distance to Adora's room. The door is open, and much to Catra's disappointment the room is empty.
A patrolling guard is walking down the hallway and Catra yells out and dashes over to her, skidding on the ground to avoid crashing into them. Her hands clasp around the collar of the guard's shirt and pull down firmly. "Where's Adora?!" Catra can feel herself over-reacting, can feel the tension seeping in her voice, but she can't stop herself. What if something happened, what if Adora left her again? She hyperventilates heavily, realizing that the guard is watching her silently, one hand on the hilt of their sword. Catra takes another deep breath in, counts to three, then exhales slowly and releases her vice grip on the guard's shirt. She's calm, this is fine. "I'm sorry. Do you know where Adora is?"
The guard clears her throat. "I believe She-Ra got called out for an emergency. Queen Glimmer will know more."
Oh, She-Ra duties. Of coooouurse that's what it is. Catra thanks the guard and makes her way towards the throne room, albeit at a calmer pace than before. Melog keeps up with her, its fur returning to standard blue.
Catra decides to play it casual as she enters the throne room, leaning against the wall next to the door and scanning the room to take note of who is present. Glimmer and Bow are sitting side by side facing away from her at the war table, heads close together as they look at a map of Etheria. Their shoulders are within a centimeter of each other and keep brushing intimately.
One guard is standing in the doorway and eyeballs Catra, but she ignores them and decides to make her entrance. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite Sparkles and Arrow Boy."
"Oh, hey Catra! Good to see you!" Bow greets her over his shoulder and motions to the open seats across from him, "Come join us!"
Catra walks around the war table with Melog following close behind. As she circles Glitter mutters, "I better be your only Sparkles."
If she were anyone else, Catra probably wouldn't have heard it. Having cat ears comes in handy this time. "What was that?" she asks while cracking a grin.
Glimmer clears her throat, a light blush splashing across her cheeks. "Uhh… Nothing! What can we help you with?"
Catra pulls out the chair across from Glimmer, wincing when it screeches against the ground. She sits down and Melog curls up at her feet. She decides to cut straight to the point. "I'm looking for Adora."
Glimmer stands up as she responds, "Adora was called out this morning for an emergency." Glimmer moves to the end of the table and points at a small dot by the water as she continues, "The Sea Elf Village is having trouble with some scattered Horde soldiers." Glimmer clenches her fist. "I wish I could've gone."
Catra's heart falls at the news, Adora went on a quest without her. Knowing she is safe should make her feel better, but it just causes her chest to tighten uncomfortably.
Glimmer walks back to Bow's side and sits down with him again, still grumbling under her breath.
"You'll go next time," Bow pats Glimmer comfortingly on the back, bringing a small smile to her face.
The comradery of the two people in front of her brings Catra back to reality. They seem to be closer than before, even more so than when they were returning from space. Catra can't say she has a strong opinion on their relationship, but she wants to be happy for them. Their gazes towards each other are filled with affection, and Catra suddenly feels like a third wheel. She rises from the table with a snarky quip, "Get a room you two."
Both Glimmer and Bow blush all the way up to their ears, making eye contact with each other for just a moment and then quickly glancing away.
Catra laughs as she walks back around the table, motioning Melog to follow her. "You guys are too funny. I'll get out of your hair."
Bow tries to insist she stay and spend time with them, but Catra doesn't want to be there anymore, now that she knows for sure that Adora is gone for the day. She's not quite ready to spend so much time with the lovey dovey couple without Adora.
Catra pauses in the doorway for a brief moment, turning back to face her new friends. "Thank you for your help." She spins and exits without waiting for a response, pivoting to head back towards her room.
She flops down on her bed upon arrival with a loud sigh. Melog nuzzles her side with a quiet grunt. What's wrong? It's not like she's gone forever.
Catra laughs at the question and follow up statement. Of course she knows that Adora will be back. It just feels like the Horde all over again, Adora out fighting for what she believes in while Catra lurks in the shadows. She visibly shivers, the irrational side of her is winning out again. She swallows deeply to wash away some of her anxiety. Melog nudges her hand, still waiting for a response.
Catra slides off the bed so she is sitting flat on the ground, her back pressed against the cool metal of the bedframe. She scratches Melog behind the ear. "You're right, Adora will be back soon. I just need to be… patient." The last word is hard to say, but admitting that everything will be fine does alleviate some of her pain.
Melog purrs in satisfaction, curling up and nesting its nose into Catra's side. What should we do now? It's still pretty early.
Catra looks over to the clock hanging on the wall and confirms it's 1 PM. "Well first let's raid the kitchen."
Melog agrees whole-heartedly, and the two set off to find some food.