Author's Notes:

Finally. It's the third day. I think if I really push it, I can end this story today… That would be… That should go down to history.

Also, wow, I can't believe how popular this story is getting. This is legitimately the third most favorited She-Ra fanfiction in the whole archive! Not only that, but it's the number one most followed story too! Like, wow! Thanks a lot for all of the support! You guys rock!

Histories and Chemistries

XI

Everything was supposed to be fine.

The school started out normally, and it ended normally as well.

Nothing wrong was supposed to happen.

But then Catra pulled her into an empty hallway after school, terrified and paranoid even when she tried to hide it, asking her if she'd forgiven her and if this week had been the best week of her life.

And Adora had kissed her.

Why wouldn't she, really? She understood her feelings. And now she wanted to show it to Catra, make her understand.

Catra… didn't seem like she hated it. In fact, she had looked like she enjoyed the contact as much as she did.

And that…

That really made her happy. Hopeful.

That maybe they could both be happier than they already were.

That maybe everything could be more than fine.

But then…

"ADORA! ADORA, PLEASE! OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

Adora had abandoned everything and ran up to the front door with incredible speed, wondering why Glimmer was pounding on the door and why she sounded so scared and what was going on.

She opened the door. "Glimmer?! Wha-"

Glimmer was there, exhausted and petrified. On her shoulder was a bloodied, bruised Catra.

A beat passed.

She hardened.

"Get inside, now."

Glimmer did just that. Adora helped her drag the barely-conscious noirette to the couch, who was muttering incoherent things.

"Adora, she-"

"We need to fix her up." Her eyes roamed to each and every injury sporting the girl, who was trying futilessly to get up from the couch.

Glimmer made a choking noise. "She needs to go to the hospital."

Adora bit her lip. That was a good idea, but…

Catra wouldn't be able to afford it.

She never could.

She shook her head. "No, no… I've got it handled." She turned to the trembling girl and ordered, "Get some towels and bandages."

"What do you mean you've got it handled?!" her friend demanded.

Adora swallowed and spoke softly. "This isn't the first time this sort of thing happened." Her face fell and she refused to look at her friend's eyes. She hugged herself for a moment, trying to forget all of those painful memories. Catra had always been a troublemaker. Troublemakers tended to get into troubles. And when that happened… Someone had to help them get back up again. "Towels. Bandages. Now."

Glimmer pressed a comforting hand on her shoulder - making her want to cry even more - before disappearing with a task in hand.

For a long while, it was just the two of them, accompanied by the ticking clock, the air conditioner running, and the TV that she hadn't yet turned off due to the rush of it all.

Adora wordlessly walked towards the injured girl, stopping when she got close, her breath hitching when she saw just how much of a horrible state she was in.

"Catra…"

The girl opened her eyes. They were once filled with such confidence and intelligence and mischievousness…

Now they were just unfocused and riddled with pain.

"O-oh, hey… Adora…"

Catra gave her that usual grin of hers, looking up at Adora as if she was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

"Catra, you idiot."

Adora took another step forward but hesitated.

If she was going to treat her wounds, she needed to be able to see it… and to do that meant removing her shirt… leaving her with only…

"Are… are we at your house…?"

Adora started back to reality, realizing this was no time to get flustered. Catra needed help. That was all she was doing; helping her.

She gasped again when she saw that her upper body was riddled with even more bruises. "You stupid, idiotic idiot."

Catra, clad in only her bra and jeans, leaned forward even when it caused her pain only to wipe off the tears Adora didn't know she was shedding.

"... Don't cry, please." Catra looked distraught. "I… I don't like seeing you cry…"

And that broke Adora even more.

"Why? Why do you always do this? Why do you always do this to me? What- What happened?! Why didn't you say anything?!"

"It's my fault." Adora slowly turned around, eyes widening when she realized Glimmer was the one who had spoken. The short girl refused to meet her eyes and quickly shoved the towels and bandages into her hand. "Here."

But Adora wasn't willing to let it go so quickly. "What do you mean?"

A beat passed.

And then another.

And then Glimmer whispered, her voice weak and trembling. "I heard her. And Shadow Weaver. Just last week… She was threatening Catra to try and get you back to The Horde."

… Of course this has to do with me.

Adora didn't know whether to cry or scream or laugh.

She settled to simply ask, "What did she do?"

"She fought back, obviously."

That cracked a smile on her lips. Of course she did.

Tending to Catra wasn't that hard, especially since none of the injuries were too extreme.

After who knew how long, Catra was sprawled out on their couch, passed out, bandages dressing her, making her look like a mummy.

The sight made her ill, and…

Mad.

So very mad.

"So Shadow's the one that did this to her?"

And Adora's feet moved on their own, dragging her to her front door.

"Adora, wait-"

Glimmer glued herself to the door.

The blonde gritted her teeth. She was not in the mood for this. "Glimmer. Tell me one good reason why I can't just call the cops and have them arrest Shadow Weaver for almost killing her own student?"

Glimmer was scared - either of her or of the situation, she didn't know - but she held her ground. "Because Shadow Weaver's not the one who did this to her."

She snorted. "Yeah, but she's the one calling the shots, so move-"

"Adora, please, wait. You're not thinking straight." Suddenly, Glimmer was pulling her into a hug, and her anger was slowly forgotten, leaving her with only her sadness. "Please, I know you're upset, but you're going to get yourself in trouble…"

"Then…" She sobbed. "Then what do I do?"

Glimmer didn't answer, not for a long while. She kept holding her. And she kept shedding her tears until she was calm.

And that was when they pulled away.

"I don't know, Adora. I don't know." Glimmer sighed, looking down. "Shadow Weaver… said something…" Adora wanted to ask what that 'something' was, but she stayed quiet instead. "I... think she's got dirt on Catra."

Adora shook her head, refusing to believe it. "No… No, Catra's not the type to hide something. I know her, she's got nothing to hide-"

"I think she does." Adora looked at her. Glimmer looked like she knew something, something important. "Just… At least talk to her before you do anything crazy."

Suddenly, they heard laughter from the couch. Turning around, they saw Catra who had her eyes open but was still very evidentily lucid. "Yeah… Talk to her, Adora… talk to the door..."

And with that, she passed out again.

Glimmer was the first to snap out of her shock, wincing. "When she's… saner, of course."

Adora wanted to punch Shadow Weaver in the face. And maybe even the horde members that did this to her. She wanted to march into their lair and punch every single one of them.

But…

Glimmer was right.

"... Fine."

Everything was supposed to be fine.

Nothing wrong was supposed to happen.

… But something bad did happen.

To be Continued

Author's Notes:

Yeah, I know technically (and realistically) Catra's supposed to be in the hospital. But I want this to really be intimate. Instead of nurses taking care of Catra and her being in a hospital room, we, instead, get Adora (and Glimmer) taking care of her in Adora's house.

It's more… intimate, I suppose. More familiar.

I could've stretched this out longer and add a bit more drama and maybe even make this into 2 chapters, but I don't think it's really necessary. I mean, you guys can already tell that Adora must be pissed and sad and confused right now. Plus, I don't want to "dramatize" things just for the sake of drama. Not with this fic, at least.

I could've made this a longer chapter, but… word count, you know. I really want to stick to writing at most 1.5k words.