Curling up in Adora's bed used to be the most natural thing in the world for Catra. It was only ever questioned when it didn't happen. So why, after saving the world and the universe and confessions and promises, was it so difficult for Catra to get comfortable?

She was glad Adora hadn't come to bed yet; there were no witnesses to the pacing, and the shifting beneath blankets, and the accidental skewering of a pillow. The celebrations had been loud and plentiful, and after a while, Catra realised just how exhausted she was. The look Adora gave her when she said goodnight left no question where the two would meet. Catra liked that look. Her Adora.

But this bed wasn't as comfortable as it should be, and the room felt simultaneously humid and freezing, and quite frankly Catra was aching all over from the war. But mostly she was scared. Battling extra-terrestrial beings hell-bent on corrupting the universe to his whim? Easy. Literally the kind of thing she'd been raised for.

But the prospect of Adora walking through the bedroom door any minute?

Catra made the courageous decision to flee the premises and never return. She was in the process of creeping across the floor when the door swung open. Adora was sweaty, and yawning, and untying her hair. She ran her fingers through those blonde strands, until she was scratching her head in such a violent manner it seems she might scalp herself. She kicked off her shoes with more velocity than necessary that they almost dented the wall. She threw her jacket to the ground in a crumpled heap and let a medium-sized burp escape her lips.

Catra was back in the bed before the jacket had hit the ground. How could she possibly be anywhere else?

'Hey, you,' said a sleepy Adora, rubbing her eyes and staggering towards the bed.

'Hey, Adora.'

'If Glimmer's awake before sunset, I'll eat her cape,' said Adora, collapsing onto the bed.

'Sparkles can't handle a little party?' asked Catra. All she wanted to do was wrap herself around Adora, get as little space between their bodies as possible. Just hold each other and let the world slip away. She'd done it a million times before, so what was stopping her?

'If this is a little party, I'd hate to see a big one.' Adora struggled to turn herself over, so she was star-fishing on her stomach. There was much grunting and scuffling and limbs not working, but she managed it in the end. Her grin was goofy and stunning. 'There. Now I can actually see you.'

'You forgot what I looked like already?' Catra had meant for it to be flirty and playful and, you know, the kind of thing you'd say to someone climbing into bed with you. But it came out stilted and defensive.

Adora's grin faltered slightly. 'N-no, I just like…' The grin melted into the kindest of smiles. 'Never mind. I should get changed.' The struggle to turn over now became the struggle to stand. Catra could have helped, but it would have gotten in the way of her giggling.

'Eternia's mightiest hero, defeated by a bed.'

'Oh shush,' said Adora as she flopped on to the floor. 'I meant to do that.'

Catra wondered if her cackling would wake anyone else up. By the time Adora reached the dresser, she was standing upright, triumphantly showboating.

'And you thought I couldn't do it.' Adora began to rummage through the dresser. 'Hey, are you gonna get changed?'

'W-why?'

'You can't wear that to bed, it's all dirty and smelly.'

'I usually wear this to bed.'

'That's why you're always dirty and smelly.'

'I am not!' exclaimed Catra, repressing the urge to start licking the back of her hand.

'I'm kidding,' Adora grinned again, with a twinkle in her eye that made Catra's knees shake. 'You can have one of mine.' She threw an oversized shirt towards Catra. 'And then tomorrow, we'll wash everything.'

The room fell into a silence as Catra retrieved the shirt, and the prospect of getting changed transitioned from hypothetical to reality. For the first time that night, a slight blush rose to Adora's cheeks. Her nose turned rosy and her bravado fell away.

'I'm… I'm just gonna turn around and…'

'Oh. Oh! Yeah, no, yeah.'

'Not that-'

'No, you do that.'

'It's just-'

'No, definitely.'

'Yeah?'

'Yeah.'

'Okay.'

'Do you want me to turn around?'

'No, no, it's okay, I'll just-'

'Yeah.'

'Yeah!'

The blush was practically scarlet at this point, and shared between the two of them. Adora turned towards the wall and Catra tried to look everywhere but the dresser.

'It's not weird, is it?' asked Catra.

'What? No! It's not weird, it's… different.'

'Good different?'

Adora's tone softened. 'Of course, good different.'

Catra's ability to look away from the woman she loved vanished. She was astonished at how muscular Adora's back was. Of course, it was to be expected, given their upbringing and lifestyle choices, but Catra had always just assumed that She-Ra had all the muscles. She hadn't expected it to be so toned, so battle-worn. The remnants of a hundred battles could be found across her shoulders, down her spine. Across her left shoulder were three gleaming scars – narrow at the ends, thick in the middle. They'd been there a while.

'Hey, Adora?'

'Hmm?'

'Who gave you those scars?'

'Are you looking at me?' Adora pulled her top down over her head and turned with a cheeky grin.

'Shut up, where'd they come from?'

'Which ones?' Catra mimed where they were and Adora turned sheepish again. 'Oh, uh… I dunno.'

'Adora.'

'Okay, okay… they came from… you.'

The room grew silent. The need to flee burned inside Catra once more, but she fought against it. A million words sprung towards her lips, needing to say something. An apology. A pledge to make things better. A distasteful joke. Anything would be better than the silence. In the end, Catra landed on: 'Oh.'

Before Catra realised, Adora was in bed beside her. The distance between them had closed and the embrace was warm, and comforting, and loving.

'Don't freak out. Don't worry. I'm not mad or bitter or anything, I-'

It was too much for Catra. Too much affection, too much nice, too much everything. She started to squirm and struggle and wriggle against the embrace and the blankets.

'Shut up! I wasn't freaking out,' Catra lied. She untangled herself from Adora and the bed and started to pace the floor. 'I'm not some fragile little flower that I can't handle-'

Adora let out a childish, disgruntled moan. 'Can you stop being defensive for just one moment, please?'

'I'm not being defensive!' said Catra, reciting the most defensive thing she could have said in that instance.

'We have a weird history, okay, and things like this are gonna pop up, because we went through a lot of weird stuff,' said Adora. 'That doesn't go away, but that doesn't have to make us freak out all the time.'

'You're freaking out,' mumbled Catra under her breath.

'And you're going to need to tell me what you're feeling. What you're actually feeling. With your words.'

Catra knew Adora was right. She just couldn't say it out-loud, with her words. So she kept pacing. She paced in silence for quite a few minutes, with Adora silently fuming on the bed. Her eyelids drooping with exhaustion, her hair frazzled, messy and unkempt, and an absolutely adorable scowl on her face.

Finally, Catra said, 'okay. Maybe… I was… freaking out… because I hurt you and…'

Adora's smile started to creep back. 'And?'

Stupid talking with stupid words and stupid feelings. 'And… I don't want to hurt you. Ever again.'

Adora reached out a hand towards her. 'Did that feel better?'

'No.' Catra lied again, but took Adora's invitation back into the bed. The embrace was warm and comfortable and even though she hadn't changed out of her dirty and smelly clothes, Catra was ready to sleep. 'Look… this is new. And hard. For me, and you, I guess. We both know I'm not used to… Anyway, just because I said that I love you doesn't mean that I know how to love you.'

'Well, if you want me to love you, you're going to have to let me love you.'

Catra buried her face in the crook of Adora's neck and breathed in. She could feel sleep approaching fast. It was getting harder to speak, but this time for good reasons. 'Okay…'

Adora's lips felt divine against Catra's forehead. 'You don't have a choice, anyway, I love you no matter what.'

'Heh. You're an idiot.'

'Well, you're in love with an idiot, then, what does that say about you?'

Catra held Adora close and let out the faintest of purrs.

'I'm an idiot too.'