A/N: So it turns out that my favorite thing to do is take formative rom coms from the early 2000's and Make Them Gay™ . (See: She's the Man AU). Enjoy? You're welcome? I'm sorry?
Adora Collins never really fit in anywhere. Sure, she tried - and boy did she try! Even her best friends Glimmer and Bow saw how much she tried. They did their best to tame her. It wasn't her fault she wanted to be good at everything and help everyone in need. Sometimes Adora came on too strong. It was times like this that Bow and Glimmer could only steer Adora away by the shoulders and apologize profusely to the retreating, offended figure.
"Wait, I just want to help!" Adora would whine as she was wheeled away by her friends.
"How do you know they wanted help?" Glimmer would reply scathingly.
And Bow could be relied upon to soothe the tension with a gentle, "There are plenty of other people in the world who need an Adora."
So it was no surprise to Bow and Glimmer (or to Adora's mother) that when her stepfather announced his intentions to apply for his dream job, Adora wanted to support him in any way she could. No matter that she did not have a close relationship with her stepfather, or that the decision could relocate the family far away.
Adora was the queen of selflessness.
"What is your dream job and why didn't I know you had one?" Adora asked at dinner the night he mentioned anything about it.
"I grew up as a military kid as you know," Hordak said, spearing his asparagus expertly. "The academy I attended for high school had the Commandant position open, the same one my father held for thirty years."
"Oh," said Adora, glassy-eyed, fork halfway to her mouth. "Sounds so official. You should definitely go for it."
"You know what that would mean, right honey?" said Octavia, both real and glass eye fixing her daughter with a stare.
"Yeah - Mr. Hordak would get to work in his dream job!"
"You don't have to call me that," Hordak said, side-eyeing Octavia, who sighed.
"I just don't want to get you and my other dad confused," said Adora. The food on her hovering fork finally succumbed to gravity and plopped back onto her plate. "What should I call you?"
Hordak eyed her, towering over her menacingly. Adora always had to try to not be intimidated by her stepfather, forever a military man.
"You can just call me Hordak. Or Sir."
"Sir Hordak?"
"No, just Sir."
"Okay!" said Adora brightly. "Sir Hordak kinda sounds like a knight of the round table anyway."
"Then it's settled," said Octavia. "But Adora - if Hordak gets this job you know that means we'd have to move upstate right?"
Adora hadn't honestly thought of that. Her face fell and she surveyed her plate. There was silence at the table, Hordak and Octavia waiting for an outburst that never came.
"That's okay," Adora finally said. "Sometimes we have to do what's best for everyone."
And so it was that when Hordak got word that he had snagged the Commandant position at George Washington Military Academy, Adora had to face the reality that her whole world was about to change. Adora tried not to show anyone that she was upset - she had been a vocal proponent of this after all - but that didn't mean that she couldn't let Bow and Glimmer show their sorrow at the change of plans.
"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Glimmer groaned, suddenly at Adora's bedside as though she had teleported there. Adora's two best friends were prone to climbing through her bedroom window to hang out with her in secret, but Glimmer had a particular knack for being exceptionally quiet and startling Adora, making it seem as though she appeared out of thin air.
Bow was right on Glimmer's heels.
"Adora, you can't leave us! What about the Best Friend Squad?" he said, gesturing to the figurines on the bedside table. Bow was a man of many crafts and one of his creations was a set of three mini figurines each with the appearance of Bow, Glimmer, and Adora. Each Best Friend Squad member had their own set, hand-carved and painted by Bow himself. They were one of Adora's most prized possessions.
"I know, I know, it sucks," said Adora candidly, flopping onto her bed in dismay. She pulled a pillow over her face. "Why did I give my blessing?"
"Because that's just who you are," said Glimmer, seeming to suddenly appear on the other side of the bed. She sat down on the edge and put a comforting hand on Adora's forearm. "It probably won't be that bad. Will it?"
"An all-girls boarding school sounds - interesting," added Bow, flinching.
"Wow, you're making me feel so much better," said Adora, voice still muffled by the pillow over her face.
"Do you think if you had been against the idea of your stepdad applying for the job that he wouldn't have done it?" Glimmer asked.
"I don't know, I can never read Hordak. I mean Sir. God, I'm really going to have to get used to that, huh? He's going to basically be my principal."
"That is going to be strange for sure," confirmed Bow.
"But what about you guys?" asked Adora, changing tack. "Are you going to be okay without me?"
"Of course," said Glimmer at the same time Bow cried. "NO!"
Glimmer shot a glare at Bow, whose mouth was in a pout.
"I thought we agreed we weren't going to make this harder on her?" Glimmer said to him, betrayed.
"I can't help it, it's just so sad that the Best Friend Squad is breaking up!"
"We're not breaking up," said Adora, finally removing the pillow from her face and sitting up. "We're just going long-distance."
"SAME THING!" Bow wailed, grabbing the pillow instead and burying his own face in it.
"I'm just worried about the military part of this whole equation. Aren't you nervous getting wrapped up in all that?" asked Glimmer.
"I mean, yeah a little. But how bad can it be?" Adora said, as always trying to find the silver lining.
"But you have to wake up early in the morning and do drills and exercise all the time," Glimmer continued, shuddering. "Sounds like torture."
"If Hordak - I mean, Sir - can do it, why not me?"
"Hordak has lived his whole life in military culture. I'm just saying it's going to be a big departure from what you're used to. I don't want you to go in swinging blindly. Bow, quit it!"
Bow was still sobbing dramatically into the pillow. Upon mention of his name, he straightened up and dropped the pillow. His face was curiously dry...
"Just be careful, Adora," said Bow, no trace of tears in his voice. "The people in military school are going to have a much different mindset than us or anyone at our school now. Some people will be there because they want to be. Terrifying."
"I'm sure they're great people," said Adora. Seeing her friends' faces, she added, "But not as great as the Best Friend Squad, obviously!"
"Good save," said Bow.
"And you have to wear uniforms and stuff too, right?" said Glimmer.
"Yeah, but that's okay. You know me - I throw on the first thing I see in the morning and put my hair in a pony. Simple, easy, fast. I'm low maintenance anyway."
"And you have to -" Glimmer started again, but Bow shushed her.
"Instead of interrogating her about every little negative thing, why don't we do what we came here for and enjoy Adora's company while it lasts?"
"Wow, that was the saddest thing I've ever heard," said Adora.
"I'm just saying…" said Bow.
"You guys will come visit when I get days off right?" asked Adora anxiously.
"Of course!" said Glimmer. "We'll come when you call, whenever you need us."
"Within reason," said Bow. "Like obviously not on a Tuesday afternoon…"
"Oh I see how it is," said Adora, grabbing the pillow smacking Bow across the face with it.
As Glimmer joined in wielding her own pillow and the girls began ganging up on Bow, Adora sincerely hoped this wouldn't be the last ever night of spontaneous Best Friend Squad hangouts. She knew that things were going to change and that she wouldn't be a 5 minute drive from them anymore, but she wanted the Best Friend Squad to last forever. Was that even possible? Or had she damaged that chance irreparably by encouraging Hordak's career aspirations? Sure, she'd made her family happy, but what about her friends? She may have hurt them with this decision and that was something she could never forgive herself for.
The day before the move, Micah, who was in town from a tour, came to say "happy trails". That was the first time Adora actually felt herself tearing up. This was really real now. Her bags were all packed and their house was virtually empty, the furniture all loaded into the moving truck that was parked in the driveway. They were staying in a hotel that night and driving all day tomorrow.
When she saw her father Adora nearly burst into tears. To stop herself, she buried her face in his shirt and hugged him as tight as she could.
"Hey, baby girl," he said gently, knowing without having to ask how upsetting this must be for her. He would also know (because he was the same way) that she would not have shown her tears to Octavia or Hordak.
Micah was a professional magician (which is just as nerdy as it sounds) and spent much of his time on the tour bus with his crew. So it wasn't as though this move was going to wrench Adora away from her dad, but something about seeing him for the last time right before this big life change cemented the seriousness of the moment. She hadn't even cried saying "see you later" to Bow and Glimmer.
Adora felt a couple of teardrops wet Micah's shirt and she pulled away, not wanting her emotional weakness to leave trace evidence. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes, head down surreptitiously.
"It's gonna be okay, baby girl," Micah said, placing a hand on her cheek. "Hey, look what I found."
The oldest trick in the book - Micah moved his hand behind her ear and removed it, twiddling a coin between his fingers.
"How did that get there?" he said, grinning at her.
Adora snorted in amusement despite herself. That was her dad's go-to when she was feeling down; he was corny, no doubt about it.
"Oh, hi Micah," came Octavia's voice from behind Adora. Micah and Octavia had a very amicable divorce. You could even argue they would still be good friends if Micah wasn't in a different state every month.
"Well hello! How are you all getting on? Packed and all?" asked Micah.
"Yes, all ready to go," said Octavia. "So glad that you could make it to send us off. It means the world to Adora."
Micah smiled down at his daughter and gave her a one-armed side hug. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Where's the Dak?"
"Hordak," Octavia corrected pointedly, "Went ahead of us. He had to start his post already. We will meet him there tomorrow."
"Good, good. Well, I'll leave you to it."
"At least stay for dinner," Adora said, tugging on his arm.
"No, I'll leave you to it. So glad I got to see you off. Love you, baby girl."
"Love you too dad. I'll call and tell you all about it."
Micah leaned down and in an undertone said, "if you hate it and need me to save you let me know. "
"I will," said Adora, but she doubted the sentiment. Micah was fun, emotionally supportive, and could certainly be relied upon to attend graduations and recitals. But his touring lifestyle didn't really suit a teenager who needed to go to school and have a social circle. She knew he meant well anyway and kissed him on the cheek to prove it.
The dreaded first day of George Washington Military Academy snuck up on Adora and suddenly, it seemed, she was standing on the lawns in a pressed tan uniform, expecting the worst. Hordak had to work and Octavia was unpacking so Adora was left to fend for herself.
She was used to stares and whispers - at her old school she was the opposite of popular. She was a "get in the way" kind of girl there. But even after a few minutes of being on GWMA's campus, she noticed immediately that her uniform came with a certain kind of social protection. She looked just like everyone else. No one even spared her a glance, not even the line of cadets that marched past her with long white rifles resting on their padded shoulders.
Adora, with newfound confidence, picked a path and not even caring where it took her, started down it. She even smiled at people she passed, swinging her arms in delight, reveling in this strange new world she had found.
She noticed people saluting to each other and excitedly picked up the habit. She saluted everyone, giggling and twirling in circles as people passed.
Now she was getting a few looks, but Adora didn't care. She kept on saluting - way more fun than waving! This would be the first thing she would tell Glimmer and Bow about.
On her last twirl she lost her balance and side-stepped into a nearby gaggle of students, stepping on one's foot.
"Oh, sorry," Adora said, still giggling and snorting at herself.
"You'd better be, maggot ," came the sharp reply from the cadet she had stumbled into.
Adora stopped laughing immediately and straightened up. The cadet in question was dark and brunette, with different colored eyes. She was intimidating as fuck, thought Adora.
Adora was at a loss for words. The other cadet looked her up and down.
"Are you new or something?" she barked.
"Yes! I'm uh, Adora," she said, pointing to her name tag. She realized too late that her name tag only had her last name, so she hurried to correct herself. "Uh, Collins."
" 'Maggot' suits you just fine," said the other cadet. "I'm Cadet Captain Catra Stone and don't you forget it."
"I won't," said Adora, but the captain had already turned around.
Captain Stone's friends had kept walking without her, so with one more glare over her shoulder at Adora, she jogged to catch up with them.
Maybe this wouldn't be quite as easy as Adora had first thought.
A/N: Ya'll, it is so hard to assign Adora and Catra parents when they are orphans in canon. I almost had Adora's mom as Angella and I just couldn't fathom how she would have ever gotten with Hordak. The things you do for a decent crossover...