Earth

After a brief drive in her mother's transport— which Glimmer couldn't help but notice was MUCH fancier than Bow's— they arrived at some kind of public dining hall. The place wasn't that crowded, but there were diners at several of the tables and a fair number of servers milling about. It wasn't as bad as the crush of people they'd had to navigate on the way to the parking garage, but in some ways it was worse. On the busy streets, no one had paid them any attention, but here every head turned as the three of them walked in the door.

They'd barely stepped inside before someone— maybe the innkeeper?— rushed to greet her mother. Angella acknowledged the woman warmly, enough that Glimmer suspected she must come to this pace often, a realization that did nothing to ease her anxiety about the upcoming meal. Because walking through a crowd was one thing, but having to fake it through an entire meal in this place where the customs were still entirely unfamiliar was another.

And, of course, the closest she had to a guide to this world currently wasn't talking to her.

Bow hung awkwardly behind them, his hands buried in his jeans pockets, looking half a second from bailing entirely. He hadn't said a word on the way over— which was a relief because she'd half expected him to tell her mother the truth and wreck everything— but he was watching her, like he was trying to figure out what she was made of. She honestly wasn't sure why he was even still here, but she wouldn't question it, not when he was her only chance to get through this meal and back home.

"Table for three, Ms. Moon?" the innkeeper asked her mother.

"Yes, thank you. You remember my daughter, Glimmer? And this is her…" Angella hesitated for a moment before continuing smoothly. "Bow."

Her Bow. If only! But that pause made her wonder. Did her mother think they were together? She glanced over at Bow in time to see his brow furrow.

"Would the gentleman be more comfortable with a jacket?" The innkeeper asked, her eyes falling to Bow's bare midriff. She gestured to a room off the side of the entryway. "We have some to loan."

"Actually, I think it's probably better if I go." Bow turned toward the door.

"You can't! I mean… give us a second?" Glimmer said brightly, digging her fingers into Bow's arm. She dragged him into the side room, which turned out to be a large closet lined with hangers and a few suit jackets at the far end.

"Let go." Bow's voice was ice cold.

"No! You're not going anywhere!" The innkeeper had her mother occupied— they were currently laughing about some upcoming event— but Glimmer kept her voice low just in case. The look on Bow's face was downright hostile, so much so that it hurt, but she drew herself to her full height and used her queen voice. "I need you! And you need me if you want your Glimmer back."

"What does that even mean? Who are you if you're not Glimmer?"

"I AM Glimmer!" She'd never been so annoyed at the height different between them before, but his distrust made Bow loom so much larger. She held herself straight. "I'm just not the Glimmer that belongs here!"

"I don't get it. If this is supposed to be a joke—"

"ARGH! It's not a joke! I'm here. She's where I'm supposed to be. We got swapped! It's like an alternate reality, parallel universe kind of thing." Glimmer waved her hands vaguely in a way she hoped conveyed the wiggly nature of the space-time continuum. He blinked at her. "Come on, Bow!"

"You, come on, Gl— What am I even supposed to call you?"

"Glimmer. It's my name!"

"So you're Glimmer…"

"Yes!"

"But… the wrong one?"

"Exactly!" Gods, she'd never known him to be so dense. "From another universe that's a lot like this one because the people are the same but also super different on a fundamental level because it's worse in every conceivable way! What's not to get?"

He shook his head. "That makes no sense. You look just like her."

"Because I AM her. But also I'm not! It's really not that hard to understand." She paced, but there wasn't a lot of room in this closet. "Look, I'll prove it. Ask me something. Something only your Glimmer would know."

He thought for a moment. "How did we really meet?"

"In this world? No idea. There!"

"W-what was that supposed to prove exactly?"

"I don't know! You're the one who's being difficult. It's not like I've been doing a great job of fitting in. You know me… her… better than anyone! You've known something was off all day."

Bow rubbed his face and exhaled. "Another universe."

"Yes…." She let him work it out, watching his brain work. He seemed to be digesting it, at least.

"And why is there another universe where you've seen me naked?"

"Ughhhhh! You are focusing on the wrong thing!" Glimmer groaned.

"Let's say that I believe you. That I accept that my Glimmer's trapped somewhere and you're some knock-off copy—"

"Wow, rude. Pretty sure it's the other way around, but continue."

"Then I want her back. Now."

Fuck. She swallowed and tried to keep her cool. "You will get her back when you're finished helping me."

Many hours from now. When we're back in that bedroom. And that's assuming the pullback even works, though she didn't think it would be helpful to mention any of that.

Bow's eyes narrowed. "And if I refuse?"

"Then you'll never see your Glimmer again." A tad dramatic, maybe, but a real possibility if she didn't get back in time. "As you've probably noticed, I don't have the slightest clue how this universe works. There is no way I can bullshit my way through this entire meal without your help. You help me get through this lunch, get back to that bedroom, you get your Glimmer back safe and sound. That's the deal."

She hated this. Absolutely fucking hated it. The last thing she wanted to do was blackmail Bow, of all people, but she was getting desperate.

Bow's expression shift to worry. "Is she OK? Is it dangerous where she is?"

"Oh no, no, she's fine. Probably having the time of her life, honestly." Her life was pretty great.

"How do you know?"

"Because she's with you!"

"Me?"

"Well, the other you. My Bow."

He stared at her for a long moment. "So, when you say you saw me naked you mean, like, accidentally walked in on me getting dressed or—"

She growled. "Oh, for fuck's sake, saw you naked like we've fucked many times on every available surface! We do NOT have time for this!"

Bow opened his mouth and then closed it again.

Glimmer sighed. "Look, I'll answer all your questions later, but I've got the length of one meal to fix things with her mom when I don't even know what they're fighting about, so stop gaping at me and start explaining!"

"Oh!" Bow's eyes widened. "Is that why you're here? To fix things with Glimmer and her mom?"

"Yes." Sort of. Not that she had any idea how she was going to do that, but it was the least she could do after exploding and making things worse. Bow chewed at his cheek, weighing. Now that she thought about it, she probably should have led with this. He clearly wanted this situation with Angella resolved desperately.

Finally, he exhaled, and she knew she had him. "Glimmer and her mom… it's a long story."

"Well, then give me the short version!"

"I'm not sure there is a short version!"

Glimmer glanced back into the restaurant where her mother was looking antsy. "Then talk fast!"

Bow took a deep breath and started talking in a rush. "Your mom wanted you to work for the family company. To her, it was a sure path to a safe and comfortable future. But you didn't want that. The two of you talked yourself in circles and she couldn't understand that it wasn't that you didn't want to work at all, just that you wanted to work at something worthwhile. But you hated fighting with her, so you tried to compromise by taking a similar job she recommended with HP, someone your mom knew from school. But it was more like 'knew of,' not 'knew well,' or she would have realized he was a sick bastard who wants to mold the world in his own terrible image and delights in making people miserable."

Sounded like Prime alright. Even though it had led to this current mess, Glimmer was still inordinately pleased with herself for landing one on his smug face. Wait until she got home and told the others. Frosta was going to be so jealous!

Bow continued. "You hated it there. And not just because of the army of sexist yes men he surrounds himself with that might as well be his clones. He made your life hell. Did everything from outing you to clients so he could get the commission on contracts you'd done the work to secure to not letting you use the bathroom just to be a dick. Threatened to destroy you and ruin your parent's careers if you said anything, all the while charming your mom and the public. You were trapped, unable to leave, and gaslit every time you tried to talk to Angella about it." Bow clenched his fist like he wouldn't mind a crack at Prime himself. "But HP's big mistake was trying to pit you and Catra against each other. Because the two of you went from professional rivalry to hating each other to all out war over who could take him down first, which culminated in the, uh… conference table incident."

Bow blushed and became very interested in the carpet. Glimmer was kind of dying for more information about this supposed hook up she had with Catra— just for scientific reasons, obviously!— but she was finally getting answers about her mom and didn't want to get off topic.

Bow rubbed at the back of his neck. "And it honestly wouldn't surprise me if HP leaked the security footage himself as revenge. But because your parents are both pretty famous and everything… Everyone knew. There was media and memes everywhere. Just no escaping it. Catra had to hire a bodyguard to keep creeps from harassing her at her new company. Though that at least had a happy ending since Adora took the job and the rest is history."

Glimmer wanted more information about that too, but this was taking much longer than she expected and she really needed him to wrap it up. "OK, but what does that have to do with me and my mom?"

"Well, you were embarrassed. And while you were hiding out at my place and ignoring everyone's calls, HP used your silence to his advantage. He spun the whole thing to your mom as if you'd been acting inappropriately and unprofessional the whole time and he'd been valiantly trying to protect your reputation. And your mom… What she did was not right and there is no excuse for it, but she had a manipulative bastard whispering in her ear. You'd never told her you were bi and unofficial viral sex tape was basically the worst possible way for her to find out. She was shocked, reacted horribly. Thought you'd done it on purpose to embarrass her, sabotaged everything just because you didn't want to work for the family business."

Holy shit, mom! What the fuck? Though, considering how it sometimes felt like her mom was always ready to believe the worst of her, Glimmer had to admit she could see it. She knew she wasn't perfect and screwed up a lot, but if her mother could just trust her! She was almost always trying to do the right thing, even if it hadn't worked out that way!

Bow looked pained, and she realized how much he'd been in the middle of all this, supporting her when her own mother was against her. "And when she started accusing you when you were already hurting, you exploded at her. Said a lot of things maybe you shouldn't have and tried to lie about what happened at first so that by the time you told her the truth about HP, she didn't believe you. And I tried to talk to her, my dads tried to talk to her, even Catra tried to say something, but your mother had already made up her mind and wasn't listening to anyone."

"Why didn't my dad do something?"

"Because he doesn't really know what happened. He travels a lot for performances and you're both too stubborn to let him know what's really going on. And I was all for telling him and getting him to intercede but you were too hurt by then and all you wanted was to get away. So we found a place big enough for both of us. You moved out while your mom was away on a business trip and she FLIPPED. Completely cut you off. Locked you out of your accounts. Wouldn't let you use your own money."

"Why?"

"We think she was trying to teach you a lesson, show you what it would be like if you didn't take a stable job, I guess? She seemed to be counting on you coming crawling back the next day, ready to take whatever nice, safe job she wanted you to."

"Except it didn't work because you took a job you hated rather than let me fall on my ass."

Bow shrugged, looking sheepish, and she knew she was right. Fuck, she loved this man.

"You didn't want me to! But it was hard for you to get a new job because your mom is so powerful. No one wanted to risk making her mad by hiring you. And even part-time jobs were a nightmare because you kept getting recognized from… the tape. And, yeah, I don't love working at the museum but…" He trailed off.

"But you love her."

He looked ready to deny it, but then he seemed to remember the incident in the woods and just shrugged, blushing. Oh, Bow. Didn't matter if it was being flung out into space or falling from a cliff or her mom throwing her out on her ass. He would always catch her.

"For the record," she said, taking his hand, "it's not that I didn't want to kiss you before. It's because you're not my husband."

His head snapped up. "Your wh—"

"Glimmer?" Her mother was in the doorway. Her eyes dropped to their joined hands and the edge of her mouth twitched upward. Bow let go quickly and started flipping through the rack of loaner jackets. "Are we all set?"

"Almost," Bow answered, pulling on a non-nondescript black blazer. It was a little short in the cuffs and he quickly pulled it off again, reaching for a dark blue one.

"You don't have to put a jacket on if you don't want to, Bow." Her mother was trying to sound friendly, but there was still a lot of tension there. "Anyone gives you a hard time, they'll have to answer to me."

"It's OK." Bow laughed, looking uncomfortable. The new jacket fit him better, and looked great with his jeans, though it was still deeply unsettling to see him with his abs covered. "I know a crop top's not exactly fancy restaurant attire."

"Why not?" Glimmer asked. "You should be able to wear whatever makes you comfortable! We'll make it a law."

She still wasn't entirely sure how the monarchy worked out here, especially when there were so many more people than at home, but it seemed silly to have stupid rules about what you could and couldn't wear when they made people feel awkward. Especially if they prevented her from ogling her duplicate husband's abs! But apparently saying this was another misstep because her mother was giving her a funny look and Bow's eyes widened slightly.

"Ha! Yep! That would be funny if we could!" he said quickly, buttoning the last button on the jacket and putting a hand on her shoulder. "So… lunch?"

As a server guided them to the table, Glimmer gestured for Bow to hang back, trying to figure out what she'd said wrong back there. "You never said. Who's queen here? Me or my mom?"

"Uh… neither." Bow whispered back, looking slightly concerned. "Exactly what kind of world do you come from?"

"A normal one!" Glimmer responded, defensively. But it was a stark reminder that even if she had Bow on her side now, she was still completely out of her depth. And while she appreciated Bow's recap of the whole situation with her mother, she'd only understood about half of it. What could she possibly do or say to repair a situation this broken when she didn't have the slightest idea of what memes were or what they had to do with gas lighting, especially when every place she'd seen here so far seemed to use electricity?

The server led them to a corner booth, set off from the rest of the dining room. That was a relief! At least she didn't have to fool an entire room full of people! Just… her own mother.

Damn it.

"How are things at the museum, Bow?" Angella asked as they sat down. "I imagine your fathers were quite pleased to see you take up the family business."

"It's fine," Bow said in a pinched tone. Knowing what she did about this situation, she couldn't help but wonder if her mother's comment was a dig at her.

"Bow wants to start a company with Entrapta!" Glimmer said, even though she didn't really know exactly what kind of company it was or even what they'd be doing, just that it was clearly something he wanted more than what he had.

"Is that so?" Angella looked surprised.

"It's just something we're thinking about. Probably not realistic," Bow said quickly, shooting her a look. "I don't even know if we could make it work."

"Of course you could! You're brilliant!" Glimmer nudged her shoulder against his and he gave her a cautious smile.

"Maybe with machines, but I don't know anything about running a business or securing clients or any of that. Never mind the money thing." He fiddled with his napkin. "But it would be nice to be working not just for a paycheck, but because you were doing something worthwhile."

Angella looked read to object, but she glanced over at Glimmer and took a different tack. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

He did. Hesitantly at first, but then with more enthusiasm. And Glimmer didn't understand half the stuff he was talking about— Something about developing patterns to make prosthetic limbs and other disability aids more affordable by letting people 3D print and assemble it themselves?— but there was no mistaking the way his eyes lit up as he explained. Though as much as she loved watching Bow get excited about his projects, she couldn't help but study her mother. Not just because it had been so long since she'd seen her face in person, but because the woman was so clearly warring with something as she listened.

Then it hit her. War. If there was one thing Glimmer knew, it was conflict. And what was this thing between the other Glimmer and her mom if not an ugly war between two people who couldn't agree? In other words, the sort of thing she dealt with back on Etheria all the time.

The server appeared, asking if they were ready. Glimmer panicked slightly— Ready for what? But Bow surreptitiously tapped a line on the pamphlet she hadn't even noticed was laying in front of her and she read the lines aloud, trusting him implicitly.

"Well, that certainly sounds interesting," Angella said to Bow, as the server left with their food requests. "But is it secure enough? What do your fathers—" Something buzzed, and she looked at her pocket tracker pad, frowning. "Hmm. Just a moment."

Angella stepped away from the table and Bow leaned over to whisper, "Do you have a plan?"

"Yes." Glimmer hadn't when she sat down, but she did now. "I'm going to tell my mother that she's right."

"What?"

"I'll say I'm sorry, admit to everything, take whatever job she wants, publicly apologize to Pri— HP." Gods, just saying that made bile rise in her throat, but it was the only way. "Then she and I will be talking again. I'll be able to get a new job. You and I will have enough money so you don't have to do something you hate. It'll fix everything."

"Glimmer, no!"

"Don't look at me like that! This is diplomacy, Bow, and I happen to be very good at it. It's about sacrifice and compromise and finding the middle ground." Why couldn't she just cloak this whole situation with what her mother wanted to hear as easily as she'd hid the spires on Etheria? "It sucks, but I have to do it all the time back home."

"Glimmer, you'd be miserable!" So would he. He didn't say it, but she knew it was true. Even if doing this freed him to live his dream and start that company with Entrapta, his happiness was too tied up with hers. If she was miserable, so was he. But what else was she going to do? "And even if she won't admit it, your mother knows she was wrong! She won't be happy with this either!"

"Well, sometimes you have to find a solution that works even if it doesn't leave everyone happy!" She hissed as her mother pocketed her tracker pad and returned to the table.

"My apologizes. Where were we?" Angella looked between them, almost like she was as nervous as Glimmer was.

Glimmer took a deep breath.

"Mom, I'm sorry for losing my temper before. We haven't seen each other in a long time and I wasn't prepared for—" Her voice caught. Fuck, don't start crying now! "Anyway, I am truly sorry for exploding like that. I could have handled it better. And as for everything else, well, I've thought about it and realized that you are r—"

Beside her, Bow made a pained sound and buried his head in his hands. Angella sat back, her expression stiff, but before Glimmer could finish her sentence, the servers arrived with their food. They set some kind of dumping thing with rice in front of her that smelled absolutely amazing (Good job, Bow!) with a warning that it was still too hot. A relief because she was still far too nervous to eat anything right now.

Her mother smiled as she thanked the server, but it was that frayed fake smile Glimmer knew well. Angella unfolded her napkin, spreading it onto her lap, her hand shaking slightly as she did so. It suddenly reminded Glimmer of what the real Angella told Adora in the portal about being a coward. And suddenly all those prickly things her mother did that enraged her from questioning her hair to trying to dictate her life choices looked less like thorns thrown up to keep her away and more like desperate fingers holding on too tight.

How could she have forgotten? Her mother was afraid. For her. Of Glimmer getting hurt or failing or barreling so far ahead, she'd lose her daughter forever. And if she let that fear win now, all she'd be doing was using a pretty illusion to cover up a much bigger problem.

"You were saying?" Her mother asked, spearing a bit of seasoned meat, and deliberately avoiding her gaze.

"I was saying that… you were wrong." Her mother's head flew up and Bow froze, noodles hanging halfway out of his mouth. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she was about to make everything much worse, but suddenly it felt like time to go back to trusting her gut. "You're wrong about me. I know I f— screw up sometimes. Constantly, honestly. But I am stronger and braver than you think I am and you're never going to realize it unless you trust me to live my own life. And that means letting me make my own path, even if it doesn't lead exactly where you want it to go."

Her mother chewed slowly. When she finally spoke, it was cautious. A minute ago Glimmer might have taken it for anger, but now she saw it for what it was: pure terror. "Does that mean you are planning to press charges against HP?"

"I—" She hesitated, not sure what that meant and not wanting to make promises for her other self or make her go through something she might not want to. She risked a glance over at Bow, only to see him watching her, dumbfounded. Her mother had taken another bite, chewing slowly, and Glimmer decided she might as well go all in. Maybe you couldn't please everyone, but you could at least do the right thing. "I don't know yet. But I won't lie or pretend it didn't happen just because it's hard. I know you're scared. And I know it's probably going to suck for all of us because Prime doesn't fight fair. But just because it's messy and difficult and scary doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do. And I'm sorry if it puts the heat on you or dad but—"

"Oh, for goodness' sake, Glimmer! We don't care about any of that! Your father and I would like nothing more than to see the bastard burn for what he did!" Her mother set her utensil down. "And I'm sorry. Truly truly sorry. To both of you. For being a coward and stubborn and utterly awful about all of this, making it harder for you at every turn. I should have trusted my daughter and the astonishing young woman I knew in my heart she was. You are both far, far stronger and braver than I have given you credit for, and I am so very proud of you and everything you've accomplished. Glimmer, I love you so very much. You have become so much more than I ever could have hoped."

That was it. Those were the words she'd waited so long to hear, and everything blurred as the tears she'd been fighting this whole time can pouring out.

"I still mess up constantly. But I'm really lucky that I've got a lot of really wonderful people in my life ready to catch me whenever I fall." Glimmer grabbed the tissue that had appeared from Bow's direction and dabbed her eyes. Under the table, Bow's hand closed over hers and she squeezed it back gratefully, wondering if it was normal to keep falling more in love with the same person every day. When she'd gotten herself somewhat under control, she looked at her mother, really looked at her, like it might be the last time she ever saw her. "Mom, I know we fight and don't understand each other, and I say stupid things I can never take back, but I love you. I miss you. So much. And even though I can handle it all now and things are better and my future is just so so bright, I still wish… that you could be there to see it."

Then Glimmer fell apart, dissolving into sobs. Angella reached for her hand across the table, her face wet with tears. "I'd like that too."

Glimmer wasn't sure how long they sat in Bow's transport while she cried herself out. At least fifteen tissues worth. She'd given her mother the longest possible goodbye hug she could without it being suspicious, then Angella had disappeared back into her building for a work meeting with a promise to call tomorrow and she and Bow had gotten into his transport and pulled away.

Except they hadn't gone far before she was a disgusting sobbing mess and Bow had pulled over so he could hand her the tissue box he kept in the back seat (since she'd already blown through his entire pack of pocket tissues over lunch). Outside of jumping in to rescue her whenever the conversation veered into unfamiliar territory, he hadn't said much during lunch. He wasn't saying much now, just handing her tissues and reaching across the center console to rub her back sometimes.

Finally, the tears ran out and left her feeling hollow. It was called closure, but she hadn't expected it to feel so much like shutting a door you could never reopen. Saying goodbye just then had been like losing Angella all over again. Not just because she was leaving this version of her mother, but because it reminded her of the real one she'd never gotten to say goodbye to.

"I'm sorry." Glimmer sniffed and put the last of the used tissues into the garbage bag Bow offered. "I owe you a proper explanation and I'm a mess."

"I think I've worked some of it out myself." Bow gripped the steering wheel, even though they weren't moving. "In your world… Something happened to Angella. That's why you're here." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want but—"

"My mother's dead." Glimmer gasped as she realized what she'd just said. "Oh gods! I've never said that before."

She'd never even let herself think it. It was always "missing" or "disappeared" or "lost." Easy, safe words that made it feel like Angella was still out there somewhere if only she could reach her. But suddenly here in this dirty, magicless world she saw it all for what that was: another stupid compromise she was making with herself. A hopeful cloak she'd been using to cover up the truth. When in her gut she'd always known.

"She's dead," she said again, the reality of the words setting in. "And I'm never going to see her again."

Apparently, she had some tears left after all. Before she fully understood what was happening, Bow had come around to her side, pulling her into a tight hug. And it was comforting, but it wasn't right because this wasn't her Bow, the one she really needed right now. And that was her fault. She'd come to this world, done this whole crazy, dangerous thing to try to get her mother back rather than face that fact that she was gone.

"I never should have come here." She pulled away, looking guiltily at the tear stains on Bow's shirt. "I'm sorry I dragged you and your Glimmer into this. You've been nothing but wonderful, helping me when you'd have had every right to walk away hours ago."

"Of course I was going to help you. You may not be my Glimmer, but you're still Glimmer. And it's like you said before." He gave her that dorky grin she loved so much. "I'm always Team Glimmer."

"I love you so much," she said, throwing her arms around him again.

He returned the hug tentatively, his touch on her back unsure. "Your husband. In the other world. Is he a good guy? Like… you two are happy?"

She pulled away to give him a small smile. "Yeah. He's the best. We're incredibly happy."

"Good. Then I'm happy for you." And he was too. It broke his heart, but he'd be supportive anyway, so long as he knew she was happy. He swallowed, his voice faltering. "So, I guess, you and I... it didn't work out or—"

"Bow," she cut him off before he tortured himself anymore. "It's you. I'm married to you."

"You— Oh!" He exhaled, his face breaking into a huge grin. She couldn't help but laugh at the giddy expression of relief on his face. "Well, that's even better!"