When Glimmer woke up the next morning, she honestly expected Adora to be gone, already awake and training out in the courtyard like she always did nearly every morning since coming to live in Bright Moon. But, instead, the first thing she saw was the other girl sleeping soundly beside her, still curled up with her knees pressed against her chest, but nonetheless, at her side instead of at her feet. It was an odd sight, but it was nice seeing the girl who couldn't stand not moving around lay still for once, seeming rather peaceful instead of constantly on high alert.
Besides, this calm moment gave Glimmer a moment to appreciate just how special (and beautiful) her friend was. Never in her life would she have considered developing feelings for a former Horde soldier, let alone a girl, but… whatever it was she felt for Adora, she knew it was real and hoped that Adora felt something too.
But, like always, there was a part of Glimmer that doubted everything. She knew that it was unlikely Adora returned her affections, in fact, she wasn't even sure if the other girl was aware of what crushes and romance was. But given her bond with Catra, Glimmer wasn't sure if Adora would be willing to allow herself to get that close to anyone anytime soon.
With a small content yawn, Glimmer rubbed her eyes, squinting at the harsh morning light that flowed into her room. She doubted that sleeping in late was allowed in the Horde, one of the many luxuries Adora was now able to partake in, but even princesses and legendary warrior ladies weren't allowed to sleep all day
"Hey, Adora…" Glimmer whispered softly, shaking the blonde by the shoulder, "Come on… time to wake up, we're supposed to meet with Bow later, remember?".
The taller girl stirred and jumped slightly at the sudden movement. "Wha-? I'm awake… I'm awake!" Adora grumbled as she sat up, blinking a few times before she focused on the princess, "Glimmer? What time is it,".
"Morning… almost time for breakfast, I think. I haven't heard any of the kitchen staff or my mom call us yet, so I think we have some time to relax before heading out,".
Adora nodded slightly, still half asleep as she yawned, stretching out her stiff muscles from having slept in a tight ball all night. "Cool… I might have some time to squeeze in a bit of exercise before we go eat,".
It took nearly everything she had not to stare, but Glimmer couldn't help but find her face growing warm as she watched her friend stretch, hair all frizzy and a small trail of dribble running from the edge of her mouth. She wasn't sure if she was jealous or impressed by the fact that Adora always looked amazing, whether it be after waking up, or after a long fight. Maybe it was both...
"You don't want to eat first?" the princess asked, rubbing the back of her neck as she averted her eyes with a nervous smile, "I think the kitchen is making pancakes today, I don't think Bow and I have shown you what those are, have we?".
"I don't think so," Adora replied, "But it can wait, I always train before breakfast,".
"You don't have to, you know that right?".
She blinked and nodded, "I- I know, I just… *sigh* I'm used to it, I guess. Training has been the first thing I do every morning for as long as I can remember, it's honestly kinda hard to imagine myself not training every morning. Old habits die hard, huh?".
"Yeah… but if training is something you enjoy, you don't have to stop doing it. It's part of your routine, but you don't have to keep doing if it reminds you too much about… you know. The Horde?".
"I know but…".
Adora hesitated for a moment, seeming nervous all of a sudden.
"I'm not in the Horde anymore… it… it doesn't feel right carrying on with their methods. Does, does that make sense, or am I just crazy?".
"You're not crazy, Adora," Glimmer reassured, finding herself scooting closer to the other girl "That's normal, it's going to be a while for you to be fully used to living here, and… you might not lose some of the habits you grew up with, but that's okay,".
"Is it?".
She nodded, "You're not part of the Horde anymore, okay? You're with us now… with me, that's all that matters. So just… try and focus on that for now… sound good?".
Adora simply nodded and sighed softly if not contently, gently leaning into the hug Glimmer offered, "Okay...".
"Good, now come on, let's go get something to eat… or, maybe I could join you while you trained?" the princess asked after pulling away, having never actually witnessed Adora train since Glimmer herself had requested (demanded more like) a training area be built on the grounds for her friend a few weeks ago, "What do you usually do?".
"Punch things mostly… practice with my sword, hope to the gods I'll somehow figure out how to master my healing ability in the event one of you gets hurt,".
"You'll get it eventually, Adora, no one is expecting you to perfect all your powers so soon,".
"I know," Adora muttered again, "but that doesn't stop me from worrying that I won't be able to help,".
"You are helping, Adora. And hopefully you won't need your healing powers anytime soon, besides, the Horde hasn't attacked us in weeks, so I think we can let our guard down, at least for a little bit,".
She nodded again, smiling softly as she took hold of the princess's hand, ready for her to teleport them down form the hanging bed, "If you say so, Glimmer. I'll… try to relax a little,".
"Good," Glimmer said once both girls reappeared on the floor, "Now go get your sword and I'll meet you outside,".
"Alright," Adora said as she began to walk out of the room, only to pause right in front of the door, "Oh, and Glimmer?".
"Yeah?".
"Um, thanks for telling me that story last night… it was... really nice, cute too".
"N- no problem, Adora," the princess muttered, finding herself blushing slightly, "It was..uh, fun… making up a story, I'm really glad you enjoyed it. You fell asleep pretty fast,"
"… Being next to someone always kinda helps me sleep, it… it's why I come in here so often,".
Glimmer couldn't help but smile stupidly at that. For Adora, the girl who was still struggling to adjust to life outside the Horde, to admit that she felt safe enough to sleep next to someone she considered the enemy less than a month ago, as music to her ears. Whatever it meant, she hoped that it meant gaining a little bit more trust from Adora… maybe even her affection.
"I'm glad I can help. It's kinda weird having you sleep beside me instead of at my feet, though".
An awkward smile coats Adora's lips as she turns away, "Oh. Um, sorry about that… I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything".
"You didn't, Adora," she stammered quickly, realizing how that must have sounded, "It wasn't a bad kind of weird… it was just a bit surprising is all. And kinda nice… you're um, cute when you sleep,".
Adora's face almost immediately grew red the second those words left the smaller girl's mouth, and for a moment, she almost regretted it, but the confused look of awe on her face made her wait for a reaction.
"I… I um… heh, you, you look cute too, Glimmer,".
The long, harsh moment of silence between them was almost deafening, and Glimmer could almost hear Bow screaming for her to just fess up and admit her feelings, but, before she could do or say anything, the moment passed and ended with both girls chuckling nervously.
Glimmer was still at a loss for words while all Adora could do was respond with was a small smile as she turned back to the door, "Uh *ahem* we should probably get out there soon, the guards give me weird looks if I linger around one place for too long,".
The princess nodded a little and watched as the blonde quietly left her room, equally as flustered as she was.
"What the hell just happened," she muttered to herself, trying to wrap her head around what just went down.
Was that flirting?
Just friends complementing each other?
Glimmer could never really tell with stuff like that, so, for the time being, she tried to ignore her odd exchange with Adora and focused on gathered her shoes and cape, now nervous about meeting her friend out in the courtyard.
Now she was glad they'd decided to wait on having breakfast.
By the time Glimmer made it to the small training area, Adora was already there, hitting a punching bag so hard it looked like it could go flying at any moment. Sometimes she forgot just how strong and well trained her friend was, it was scary and incredible at the same time.
"There you are," Adora said when the smaller girl came into view, "I was starting to think you decided not to come,".
"No… just took my time with the walk, and I needed a bit to find something".
"You didn't teleport over here?".
Honestly, Glimmer had been so flustered, that she may or may not have forgotten she had powers, despite using them moments before.
"I need to recharge first, now that we can do after breakfast,".
Adora gave her a strange look before returning to her exercises, "Okay… what did you need to find that took so long anyway?".
"A book," she replied.
"One of the storybooks you were telling me about?".
Glimmer couldn't help but chuckle at how visibly excited Adora got at the mention of new stories, "No…I'll go look for those later. This is a book about healing, like, with herbs and stuff? I never thought I'd need but... I think that it might help us in the future,".
The other girl nodded and continued her assault on the punching bag while Glimmer settled herself on the grass a few feet away and began to read through the old leather-bound book. But, and no surprise to the princess, it was nearly impossible to stop her eyes from drifting back up to Adora. There was just something graceful about the way she moved, how her whole body was in sync and in complete focus, and for a while, it seemed like Adora was genuinely calm, almost lost in her own little world.
Everything about her was just… perfect in Glimmer's eyes.
All she wanted was… for her to notice her.
"What were their names?" Adora said suddenly.
"Huh?" Glimmer said, jumping slightly when she realized that she'd zoned out simply by just watching Adora
"The Princess and Soldier, from the story you told me last night… what were their names?" she continued, not seeming to have noticed the other girl staring at her.
"Oh uh… I don't know. I was just kinda playing on the thought that so much time had passed that they forgot," she said, hoping that Adora hadn't caught on to what the story really was about, but then again, her friend was smart and cunning, so she wouldn't put it past Adora catching on.
Adora simply hummed slightly, continuing to punch the training dummy with a thoughtful look stuck on her face before abruptly stopping a few moments later.
"Do you wanna train with me?" she asked.
Glimmer blinked, "What?".
"Train… like, warm-up exercises? I'm… I'm kinda used to having a sparring partner to train with but… not anymore,".
"Oh… um, yeah, I'll practice with you, or at least I'll try. Why didn't you ask me sooner?".
Adora just shrugged and looked away, almost embarrassed, "I don't know… but um, do, do you know how to fight?".
"I have powers, Adora," Glimmer teased softly, "of course I know how to fight, you've seen me fight".
"I- I meant without your powers, like, hand to hand combat?".
"Oh… then no, not really, but I'll be fine, Adora, as I said, I've got my powers to protect me. You don't need to worry,".
"But I do worry!" Adora exclaimed suddenly, seeming nervous and flustered again. "Ever since the whole thing with your powers glitching, I've been scared that it might happen again, and you'd be left defenseless without your powers and-".
"Okay, I wouldn't say defenseless, but-".
"Glimmer," Adora said, softer this time, reaching over and placing her hands on the princesses shoulder, "You getting hurt? That was my fault, and I swear it won't happen again. Can… would you let me show you some moves at least? So I'd know you'll be able to protect yourself if something bad happens and me and Bow can't be there to help?".
She blinked, both startled and moved by the other girl's words.
She knew what was going on.
"First of all," Glimmer said, taking Adora's hands off her shoulders and holding them in her own, "What happened in the Fright Zone that time wasn't your fault, okay? No one is blaming you for that. Secondly, of course, you can show me some moves, I'll probably suck at it, but you can teach me. But I don't want you to worry about those things… I'll be okay, I've got you don't I?".
"You do, always, Glimmer, you'll always have me, but… what if I'm… what if I'm not there? What if I fail, and the rebellion falls because of me and-".
"Adora, why are you so worried about this stuff, nothing's going to happen, everyone is fine and the rebellion is strong. Why are you getting yourself all worked up over this?".
Adora didn't respond at first, just slowly shifted away from the princess. "You, Bow… the other princesses? You're all the closest thing I have to a family, you guys are my family," she said, her voice wavering ever so slightly "I need to protect you,".
"Adora…".
"And I can barely do that right,".
With a small gruff, Glimmer sighed and rolled her eyes, "Okay, that's it,".
"What's it? Glimmer, what are you-"
Adora hardly had time to finish her sentence, Glimmer having thrown her arms around the taller girl, holding her is a tight embrace. "I'm not going to let go until you're nice to yourself, okay? No more of this self-deprecating talk," she said, giving her friend a light squeeze.
"Wha- I'm not being self-deprecating, I'm being logical," Adora tried to defend, the slightest hint of amusement at Glimmer's actions raising in her voice.
"Nope, you're being paranoid, and I'm going to hug you until you know everything is okay,".
"... are you serious?".
The princess nodded, "I can stand here all day, just watch,".
A small giggle escaped Adora's lips, "Well then, it would be an awful shame if, I don't know, gravity suddenly started increasing on me,".
"No, it's not," she said, grunting slightly when Adora allowed herself to go limp, letting all her weight fall on the smaller girl who was still holding her.
"Is too, same thing happened yesterday,".
Now Glimmer herself was laughing. "God, for someone so skinny, how can you weigh so much?" she said, now struggling to keep Adora from falling on top of her.
"I've got no clue what you're talking about… it's the gravity," Adora continued, chuckling until the princess could no longer hold her up and both girls flopped to the ground a giggling mess.
"You're such a dork," Glimmer said, finally releasing her grip on the taller girl, allowing her to get up off of her, except, Adora didn't. She stayed on the grassy ground with Glimmer, picking herself up just enough that she was now hovering over the smaller girl, their faces a few inches apart, the biggest most idiotic smile the princess had ever seen covering her face.
"Yeah, but I'm your dork," she said, nonchalant as ever.
All Glimmer could do was hold her breath, unsure if she should even move. Adora was practically sitting on top of her for the First One's sake, and in kissing range at that… she could barely think of anything else.
"Are… you okay? Your face is all red, I didn't hurt you did I?" Adora said, the smile suddenly replaced with an alarmed expression as she began to clamber off the other girl, "I'm sorry,".
But Glimmer wasn't going to miss this golden opportunity, just like she'd missed all the other ones. "No," she said, grabbing Adora by the collar of her jacket before she was too far away, "Adora wait…".
The other girl froze, looking back at the princess below her with both confusion and concern, "Yeah… what's- ?! "
Of course, Glimmer cut her off mid-sentence with the kiss, a small peck on the lips, one that lasted less than a few seconds, but enough to get the message through. Surprisingly, Adora didn't fight it or pull away from the gesture Glimmer was pretty sure she didn't understand, she seemed bewildered and excited more than anything.
When Glimmer pulled away, the wide-eyed look on her friend's face was enough to get her to chuckle again.
"Are you okay?".
Adora nodded vigorously, a smile pulling up the edges of her lips.
"What was that?" she asked.
"A kiss,".
"A kiss," she repeated, blinking a few times as she finally moving herself off of the princess, her fingers immediately pressed against her lips in amazement, "Can… can we do that again?".
Glimmer wasn't sure if her smile could get any bigger. "Sure, but… can we talk first?" she said, sitting up beside Adora once more.
The other girl nodded, clearly still reeling from the gesture.
"Do… do you know what it means when people kiss?".
"I mean… I've seen Sea Hawk and Mermista do that sometimes, and I know they like each other a lot so… you… like me?".
She nodded, "Yeah, I- I like you, a lot".
"And I'm guessing this is a different kind of like that being friends?".
Glimmer nodded again, "Yeah…".
Adora blinked a few times and smiled, "S- so the story you told me?".
"Yeah. It was uh, kinda about us… wasn't that subtle, was it?".
The other girl shrugged, "I thought I was just making something out of nothing but… you. You actually like me?".
"Of course! What's not to like… you're perfect,".
She smiled again, a small blush creeping up on her cheeks, "Y- you're perfect too, Glimmer. And… really beautiful, I always thought so… I just didn't want you to think I was weird or anything,".
"You're not weird," Glimmer reassured, "I'm… I'm glad you feel the same way,".
"Me too, I- I really like you Glimmer".
The princess smiled, reaching over and taking Adora's hand in her own again.
"Adora?".
"Glimmer?".
"... can I kiss you again?".
Adora's smile only grew, "As you wish, My Princess".