It was a beautiful day in Salineas. The reconstruction was progressing faster than expected and the new Sea Gate was set to be unveiled later that afternoon. Catra was enjoying a rare moment of peace on the beach, trying hard to forget when she stood on these same rocks with Hordak by her side.
Catra's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of her favourite person in the whole world:
"Hey! It's okay, it's just me!" Catra smiled:
"Hey Adora." Adora walked over to Catra and sat down next to her. They sat in silence for a long time, neither needing to talk in order to enjoy the others' company. Eventually, Adora took a deep breath, turned to face her girlfriend and said:
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Catra turned to look at Adora, a little worried at how nervous Adora suddenly was. Adora gulped, taking Catra's silence as a yes:
"I…um…I've been talking to Netossa and Spinerella and…" Catra's eyes widened. No way was Adora going to ask what she thought she was going to ask…
Another two years had passed and Finn had gone from adorable toddler to loud and obnoxious child. They had also become the main troublemaker in Brightmoon, often inspiring the royal twins to mimic their bad behaviour: pranking guards, stealing food, covering the seat of Glimmer's throne in glue so she could not stand up for an hour etc.
Catra, who had never had a good relationship with authority, did not see the problem with Finn's behaviour. She actually found their antics to be very funny and creative. Glimmer, on the hand, did not.
While Glimmer understood the need to rebel, she also understood the need to keep the palace in one piece, as well as the importance of keeping her staff happy.
As both Bow and Adora were now spending most of their time preparing for their first space mission to bring magic back to the universe, they consistently had a convenient excuse not to give the necessary lecture to their children. So, it fell to the two most naturally rebellious of Etheria's leaders to tell their kids to stop rebelling. The irony was not lost on Glimmer.
"…apparently, what Glimmer did with Bow last month – getting married – Netossa and Spinerella did it during the war!" Catra raised her eyebrow:
"Didn't you already know that? Weren't you there?" Adora gave an awkward chuckle before continuing:
"Yeah, but…that's not the point…" Adora cleared her throat before continuing:
"So…they asked why we hadn't…I mean...um…" It finally got too much for Catra. She interrupted her girlfriend:
"Adora?" Adora shut up and stared at Catra as if whatever she was about to say would determine the course of their entire relationship. To be fair, it would.
"Y-Yes?" Catra laughed at Adora's expression before gathering herself and provocatively whispering:
"Are you asking me to marry you?"
It was the first day of the week and Bow and Adora had been off upgrading Mara's ship for the last three days. As far as Catra was concerned, it was way too early in the day to do anything, but Glimmer had insisted she be up for breakfast so they could do this.
Catra was admittedly not looking forward to disciplining Finn. It had taken some persuasion on Glimmer's part to get her to agree to this. However, she did understand that the kids needed to know there was a boundary between what was funny and what was acceptable. It was also important for them to realize that some of their more elaborate pranks could hurt people.
Right after breakfast, Glimmer announced she wanted Finn, her children and Catra to come to the throne room so she could have a word with them. Finn's face immediately went red with guilt, making Catra feel almost sorry for them. Almost.
Adora went red and covered her face with her hands:
"Oh no! I messed it up, didn't I?" Catra gave a small chuckle before pulling Adora's hands away from her face and gently resting her forehead against hers.
"Would it make it easier for you if I tell you what my answer's gonna be?" Adora's eyes widened as she finally looked up at her girlfriend. Catra smiled and breathed into Adora's ear:
"My answer's yes." Adora looked like she was about to faint. However, in a show of great determination, she stopped herself, cleared her throat, looked straight into Catra's mismatched eyes and said:
"Catra, I love you so much. We've been through so much together and…I can't imagine my life without you...I would like to ask you if…you'd like to marry me?" Catra responded by giving Adora a passionate kiss on the lips, only pulling back to say:
"Of course I'll marry you, dummy."
As everyone entered the throne room, Catra was quick to notice the number of people present – all of whom had been the butt of one or more of the kids' pranks.
Catra could not help but smile. Sparkles had clearly put a lot of effort into this.
Glimmer then sat down on her throne (checking first to make sure there was no glue on it) and proceeded to look down at Catra and the three children in front of her. She then smiled graciously and said:
"I've called you all here today because I have something very important to tell you." Catra glanced at Glimmer's twins, who were both looking down at the ground. She was willing to bet Sparkles had already warned them this would happen. Finn, on the other hand, had been caught off-guard and was trying very hard to look as unbothered as possible. They were not fooling Catra though. Glimmer continued:
"There have been some rather bad things happening around the palace lately. Some of the guards have had water poured on them. Some of the food, which the chefs worked very hard on, has been stolen and/or eaten before it was supposed to be. And I have found many of my dresses have been drawn on, not to mention glued to this very throne." Finn smirked, while the twins lowered their eyes even more.
Catra felt a little sorry for the children, but only a little. After all, Shadow Weaver's version of this would have been very different. Glimmer then stood up, looked at her children, and said:
"I would like both of you to turn and face the people in this room. I want you to apologize to each of them for your bad behaviour towards them. Is that understood?" Glimmer's twins nodded slowly.
Catra raised her eyebrow at Sparkles. She was honestly quite impressed by her apparent restraint (she was still learning that Shadow Weaver had not been a normal parent, and she had to stop thinking she was).
As Glimmer's kids sheepishly turned to face the room, Glimmer gave Catra a pleading look. Catra nodded – she understood.
Catra then knelt down to face Finn, put her hands on their small shoulders and said:
"I think you should probably say sorry too, huh?" Finn gave the cutest scowl Catra had ever seen and said:
"But I don't want to! I was just having fun…" Catra nodded patiently before replying:
"Yes but, while we may live here, Glimmer is in charge. It's her stuff and her people that you're having fun with. Sometimes people don't like having fun the same way you do – it sucks but that's life. And when someone asks you to stop (and they ask nicely and have a good reason for it), then it's the right thing to do to say sorry and stop."
Finn scrunched up their nose and turned to watch as the twins dutifully apologized first to the guards, then to the kitchen staff and then to the Erelandian delegates (to be fair, they really had not intended to put that much pepper on their food and had felt really bad when Glimmer had explained it could have made one of them sick). Finn then turned back to his mom, asking:
"Did Glimmer ever make you say sorry for something you did?" Catra's eyes widened before she burst out laughing:
"Kid, you have no idea!"
"Where is Catra?" Bow was close to hyperventilating. The wedding was going to start in less than fifteen minutes and Catra had yet to make an appearance. Glimmer, her bridesmaid and his wife, had been missing too – until now:
"So…about that…" Bow was an extremely patient man and even more loving husband, but the stress was getting to him and he interrupted his wife:
"Glimmer, you've been missing all morning! Adora is ready and waiting with Swift Wind and Micah to keep her company. Where. Is. Catra?" Glimmer took a deep breath and explained:
"So, you know how the wedding is set to happen today because this is the day Catra officially completes her sentence? You know, helping to rebuild Salineas and the Fright Zone? Well, Scorpia may have set up a surprise party in the Fright Zone with Entrapta at the end of her last day of work…" Bow's face went white:
"There was a party in the Fright Zone yesterday?" Glimmer bit her lip nervously:
"More like late last night…the squad turned up with alcohol…What I'm trying to say is that Catra's really hungover." Bow face palmed himself.
"Are. You. Kidding. Me?" Glimmer grabbed his hands with her own:
"I'm so sorry! I know it was my job to make sure she was ready but I was waiting for her to come back yesterday and she never showed! I teleported over there two hours ago and found her passed out in her Princess Prom suit on Hordak's throne. You don't wanna know what everyone else looked like…" While the mental image amused Bow, he did not allow himself to enjoy it. He hummed aggressively:
"Well, that's it then! We can't let her get married if she's out of it – that's not fair on her or Adora!" Before Glimmer could counter Bow's argument, Catra herself emerged from behind her.
Catra was still wearing her old Princess Prom suit. Her eyes were distant and her short hair had not been combed. She also smelled like the alcohol she had clearly been drinking not too long ago. She yawned:
"Wasss not fair for me n Adora?" Glimmer quickly let Bow's hands go so she could catch Catra before she fell into a very large flowerpot. Catra involuntarily purred in Glimmer's arms:
"Gee, thanks Sparkles…" Bow shook his head:
"Yeah, she still seems drunk to me. The wedding's off. As Adora's brides' man, I'll let her know." As Bow was about to turn and leave, Catra quickly grabbed his arm. He turned and raised his eyebrow at the feline.
Catra's relationship with both Glimmer and Bow had improved immensely in the fourteen months it had taken her to pay her debt to society. Their opinion of her had really started to change when she had heroically saved the day at their own wedding by singlehandedly fending off an errant elemental.
Catra now looked pleadingly at both of them, speaking breathlessly:
"The wedding…is going…to happen. Just give me…an hour…I'll have a shower…drink whatever Sparkles gives me…and be ready to…say my vows…when you tell me to..." Bow raised his eyebrow even higher:
"Are you sure about that, Catra?" Catra forced herself to stand up, smiled and replied:
"Of course! I can't…let Adora down…I've done that too many times before…and I won't do it again!" Catra had said that last bit with a lot of determination, causing Glimmer to nod reassuringly at her husband. Bow sighed and said:
"Fine, one hour! I'll just go and let everyone know there's been a delay…I hope I have enough magic tricks to last that long!" Catra gave a giant grin:
"You're the best, Arrow Boyyy…" Glimmer grabbed the feline's arm before she could finish her sentence. She then roughly tugged her back towards the palace:
"Come on, Horde Scum! You're gonna sober up so fast you'll never drink again!"
Finn joined their friends and gave such dramatic and heartfelt apologies that Catra began to suspect Double Trouble had been secretly giving them acting lessons (they were now one of Glimmer's special envoys, much to Adora's chagrin and Catra's amusement).
Whether Finn was exaggerating or not, Catra could tell they did mean most of what they were saying. She glanced back at Glimmer, who breathed a massive sigh of relief. Parenting was hard.
Once all three children finished apologizing, they turned to face Glimmer and said sorry to her as well. The queen smiled and said:
"Thank you for saying sorry. I accept your apology. Now go outside and have some fun." Before Finn could run away, Catra knelt down beside them and whispered:
"That means don't go and pull up flowers in Queen Angella's memorial garden." Finn huffed and whined:
"Okayyy…" Catra smiled and said:
"Go and pull up the flowers in Light Spinner's memorial garden instead." Finn looked up at their mom, who gave them a knowing wink. Finn then grinned their face off and ran after their friends.
As Glimmer came down the stairs to join Catra, she asked:
"Did you just tell Finn to wreck Shadow Weaver's garden again?" Catra gave a sly grin:
"Isn't that the only reason it's still there?" Before Glimmer could respond, the door slammed open and Catra recognized the familiar scent of her mother.
Forty-five minutes passed and Bow had run out of magic tricks more than ten minutes before. He was now entertaining everyone with exciting stories of what the best friend squad, and later Catra, had done during the war.
Bow was a masterful storyteller and Adora enjoyed listening to him from her hiding place in the back of the ceremony. The wedding was taking place outside the palace and it was a predictably beautiful day with the lake reflecting the moonlight behind her.
Despite worrying about what had happened to Catra, Adora trusted her friends to fix it. Swift Wind then nudged her, causing her to turn around. That was when she saw Catra.
The first thing Adora noticed was Catra had clearly just had a bath, which helped to explain the delay. The feline had the usual grumpy expression she had after getting wet, and her ears kept shaking involuntarily as they tried to dry themselves.
The second thing she noticed was that Catra was in a lovely white suit that Glimmer had had made for her, and, despite her visible grumpiness (and illness? She looked worryingly pale), she looked extremely handsome.
Once Catra was close enough to notice Adora, the discomfort she had from her wet fur, splitting headache and tight-fitting suit dissipated immediately.
Adora was wearing a beautiful white dress. Believe it or not, Adora had helped design it, and it literally took Catra's breath away. Then Catra realized that, for all Glimmer's efforts to sober her up, she was entering the ceremony the wrong way, and had just seen Adora before she was supposed to.
Catra stopped walking and face palmed herself, almost falling as she did so. There were a lot of emotions going through her head right now and it was almost too much to cope with. At least it was until Adora rushed over and wrapped her in a hug.
Catra instantly felt the weight of the world lift off her shoulders, and eagerly leaned into the hug. She whispered:
"You look…so beautiful…" Adora smiled and pulled back to look at her soon-to-be-wife. She said:
"You too. Did you just have a bath for me?" Catra grinned, cleared her throat and muttered:
"It's not because I like you." Adora laughed and Catra blushed.
Catra was fully awake now. Glimmer's numerous disgusting concoctions, as well as the cold shower, had worked. Adora then stopped laughing and said:
"So, I'm guessing you got held up in the Fright Zone?" Catra nodded:
"I'm really sorry, Adora." Adora gave a cheeky smile:
"It's fine – we'll just blame it on Kyle." This made Catra laugh uncontrollably. After almost a full minute of Adora wondering if her fiancée was alright, Catra calmed down enough to explain:
"This…this is the first time it's actually been his fault!"
Cyra entered, accompanied by two of her own guards and an adviser whose name Catra could never remember.
As soon as they were close enough to the throne, Cyra bowed respectfully to Glimmer, while her entourage knelt before Catra.
Catra hissed and motioned for them all to rise. She was still not accepting of her role as princess of Halfmoon.
Halfmoon had now become Etheria's newest kingdom – Glimmer had authorized its reconstruction in the wasteland between the Fright Zone and the Whispering Woods. Cyra was officially the queen once more and her kingdom grew bigger every day. However, Cyra had not had more than a couple of exchanges with her daughter in the last two years, and those had been little more than meaningless pleasantries.
Cyra gave Catra an awkward smile, causing her to look away defiantly. Now her hair had fully grown back, her long mane swayed as she turned her head, the way it used to when she was cross. Catra was happy to have that familiar feeling back, at least. Glimmer then asked:
"Queen Cyra, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" Glimmer was now standing closer to Catra, resting a hand on her back to reassure her. Queen Cyra cleared her throat and said:
"One of my patrols was in the Whispering Woods yesterday and came across an old Horde base. It must have been brought into our territory by the moving landscape of the woods. My soldiers went inside and found this." The queen held up a very familiar Horde badge. Catra gasped:
"Where did they find that?" Cyra looked at her daughter in surprise:
"It was stuck in one of the machines. My soldiers pulled it out. It seemed important so I thought I better bring it to you immediately." Glimmer then went white and said:
"When it was pulled out, did a screen turn on?" Cyra looked confused:
"My soldiers reported the screen turning on briefly but there was nothing decipherable on it. It turned off almost immediately." Glimmer reached out and took the badge. Catra recoiled, not even wanting to look at it. Glimmer then said:
"Um, thank you for bringing this to my attention…your majesty...I now have a very important question. Since this happened, has anyone reported anything strange in the Fright Zone? Like, I don't know, automated missiles preparing to fire?" Both Catra and Cyra looked shocked, with the queen of the magical asking:
"What are you talking about?" As if on cue, a loud bang was heard in the distance. Catra face palmed herself before turned to Glimmer angrily:
"Did you never fire the missiles?!" Glimmer panicked and said:
"We didn't need to – you took down Horde Prime and all his ships…plus the Heart of Etheria activated at that specific moment and everyone passed out!" Cyra, now thoroughly confused and concerned, yelled:
"Can someone please explain what's going on?!"
Catra was now beginning to panic. She remembered giving Double Trouble her badge to give to Glimmer. She remembered giving instructions for Glimmer to fire the missiles at Horde Prime's flagship. She had always assumed they had been fired - that they had added to the destruction that she had already inflicted on the ship when she activated its self-destruct sequence.
Ignoring her mother, Catra put her hands on Glimmer's shoulders, turning her friend to face her:
"If my badge was pulled from the control panel, regardless of whether Adora set new co-ordinates or not, the missiles would automatically be set to launch at their original target after exactly one hour!" Glimmer's eyes widened even more:
"What was your original target?" Catra closed her eyes and whispered:
"The beacon." Glimmer almost screamed:
"That's where Bow and Adora are!" Within seconds of her saying that, a loud explosion was heard in the distance. As a terrible silence fell on the room, Cyra turned to Catra, saying:
"Your badge?" Catra stared at her mother in disbelief. Did she really not know? It then occurred to her she probably did not. She had spent the whole war hiding in the Crimson Waste, out of touch with everything that had happened. And, since resuming contact, all Catra had told her about her time in the Horde was that she was raised by Shadow Weaver, who had tried to kill her.
Catra had not realized the extent to which her mother had not tried to find anything out about Catra or even the war itself now she was technically one of Etheria's leaders. Maybe it genuinely did not interest her? Or she had some fantasy where Catra would tell her herself? Either way, Catra made sure that the truth hurt:
"Yes, my badge. Did I forget to mention that? I was the leader of the Horde! And now, because someone prioritized putting me on trial instead of doing a proper debrief four years ago, I may have just indirectly killed my wife – again!" Glimmer almost yelled at Catra:
"That's enough! My husband is over there too - come on!" With that, Glimmer grabbed Catra's hand and teleported them both to the beacon. Neither of them were ready for what they saw.
The wedding was beautiful and the vows brought most of the guests to tears. Micah most of all, and he was the one marrying them.
"By the power vested in me by (*sniffles*) the throne of Brightmoon, I hereby pronounce you wife and wife! (*sniffles*) You may kiss the bride!"
Catra did not hesitate the dip Adora just like she did at Princess Prom all those years ago. Only this time, Adora did not glare at her. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in for one of the best kisses the couple had ever had.
The wedding may have started out uncertainly but there was no doubt that, by the end, neither Catra nor Adora either remembered or cared about the panic of that hour's delay. Bow and Glimmer did though – legend has it they never fully recovered.