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Language:
English
Series:
Part 3 of A Place of Our Own
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Published:
2019-10-13
Completed:
2019-10-27
Words:
10,117
Chapters:
6/6
Comments:
42
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171
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One Last Mistake

Chapter 6: Forgiveness

Summary:

Glimmer talks with Catra - can she be forgiven?

Notes:

Before we start, there's a quick content warning for vomit (nothing too graphic, but be aware if that's an issue for you).

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Anxiety flooded through Glimmer’s body. The last time she and Catra had ‘talked’, they’d got into a horrible row – and this time Catra was on home turf. Had she been lured here under the impression of making amends? Were all the kitchen knives out of reach? Was Catra going to attack her? She couldn’t help but wonder how easy it would be to escape if things turned nasty and was rather thankful to be sitting closest to the door.

“OK, what do you want to talk about?” Glimmer spoke uncertainly, instantly regretting her words the moment they left her mouth, “I’m sorry, that was a stupid thing to say…”

“Bow told me about court,” Catra ignored her rambling, “Though I guess a few hundred isn’t going to hurt your bank balance much what with you being loaded. What’s that, one week’s pocket money?”

“I also got banned from driving for 18 months,” Glimmer shuffled her feet uneasily. Having to use that as a boast was not something she relished.

“You got lucky, that’s what. But here’s the thing: I don’t care about what happened in court. I mean, I can’t really hold a criminal record against you given that I’ve got one myself. Guess it gives us something in common though…”

She laughed nervously, “I guess so.”

“But the fact that you willingly got into a car with my girlfriend when you were drunk and nearly killed her, I hate you for that and I always will,” Catra narrowed her eyes to show how seriously she meant it, “However, I am on the verge of a breakdown right now. I just can’t cope with looking after Adora on my own. So for her sake, I’m willing to put this aside…”

“Yes! I mean, that would be wonderful if you would. I have missed Ado-“

The brunette raised a hand to silence her, “Shut up. You also owe me an apology.”

“I’m sorry for what I did to Adora,” Glimmer didn’t hesitate. Her remorse was genuine, but she badly needed Adora back in her life and if this was what it took, there was no question, “It was the most stupid thing I’ve ever done in my life and I’ll regret it forever.”

Catra raised an eyebrow, “And…”

“And…?” the girl wasn’t sure what else Catra was referring to, but a few moments thought took her back to the altercation in the hospital, “Ohhh, yeah. I’m sorry for what I said to you, it was out of order.”

“Yeah, it was. If you knew the tiniest thing about my life and how hard I have worked to get away from my past, you wouldn’t even have gone there. Still, apology accepted,” she reached her arm out. Glimmer eagerly grabbed her hand and shook it, grateful for the second chance.

“Friends?” Glimmer proffered with a goofy smile.

“Don’t push it. I’m gonna go out for a few hours to clear my head. Don’t kill my girlfriend.”

“I won’t!” the pink-haired girl answered far too cheerily, instantly hating herself for her tone. Before she could stutter anything better, the front door had been slammed shut and she was left alone.

“Right,” Glimmer said to herself, looking around at the state of the apartment. There was a lot that needed doing, and she wouldn’t be happy until she had done it all and gone some way to making amends. She set to work immediately, systematically tidying each room in turn, finishing off the ironing that Catra had started and giving the apartment a deep clean to the best of her ability. She may have grown up with a handful of staff who cleaned up after her, but her mother made sure that she learned the skills to do it herself.

After a few hours of non-stop cleaning, she heard Adora call out Catra’s name from the bedroom and pushed the door open with a meek smile.

“She’s gone out, but I’m here,” Glimmer whispered.

Adora’s eyed widened at the sight of the girl stood in the doorway, “Glimmer? You can’t be here, Catra will…”

“Catra invited me here,” Glimmer took a few more paces into the bedroom and perched herself on the end of the bed, “She was finding it hard to do everything on her own.”

“I thought so,” Adora squirmed to try and raise herself into a sitting position. Seeing her struggle, Glimmer helped her a little until she was comfortably sat up against the headboard, “I just wish I could help.”

“It’s not your fault, you were…” she faltered, remembering that the girl’s injuries were caused by her, “I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise, Glimmer.”

The pink-haired girl stood up and looked straight at Adora, “No, I do. I did something so incredibly stupid that I almost ended up killing you, and I will forever be grateful that you didn’t. In one night, I almost lost two of my best friends and came pretty close to ruining my own life too. So I know the word seems totally inadequate but I am sorry.”

“I forgive you,” the blonde didn’t hesitate. She’d forgiven Glimmer the moment that she learned what had happened, but this was the first opportunity to say it directly, “You’re my best friend and I love you. We all make mistakes, and what kind of friend would I be if I made that the end of us?”

“A sensible one?” Glimmer gave a breathy chuckle that was more a sigh than a laugh.

“I’m not sensible, you know that!” giggled Adora, “But seriously, our friendship means everything to me. Sometimes friends make mistakes. Sometimes friends fuck up really badly. I’m not forgiving you because I want you to feel better about your mistake, I forgive you because you’re my friend and you make my life better by being in it, so I want you around and I want you to feel comfortable when you are.”

“I don’t deserve you,” she leaned over the bed and carefully hugged the girl, “Thank you.”

“Owww,” Adora strained, making Glimmer immediately let go and jump back, “Time for more painkillers, I think. Kitchen.”

Glimmer shot up to get them. When she returned, they spent more time talking – after all, they’d not had the chance for a few weeks – and it boosted both their moods to have their friend back, just like before. Hours passed, with Glimmer taking on the role of housekeeper and nurse in Catra’s absence. But as night set in, the brunette had still not returned. It worried Glimmer a little, but she -felt it best not to trouble Adora with her fears.

When Adora went back to sleep, Glimmer returned to the living room and quietly watched some late night television, not paying a huge amount of attention to it. Around midnight, a sound in the hallway distracted Glimmer and she rushed down the corridor, “Finally! Where the hell have you been?”

Catra staggered her way towards Glimmer, falling against the wall, “I jusssst… I dunno.”

“You’re drunk. Fucking hell, Catra,” she shook her head, “What the hell were you thinking?”

“At least I’m- I’mmmm not gonna kill anyone,” the brunette kneeled on the floor, swaying slightly, “I might throw up though.”

Glimmer gripped her arm and dragged her into the bathroom, “Not on this carpet you’re not.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!”

“Someone-“ she realised she was almost shouting and didn’t want to wake Adora, “Someone has to. Look at the state of you.”

“Go away, Glimmer. You’re-“ Catra burped loudly, “Oh shit…”

“Wha-” she didn’t need to finish her question as the brunette crawled up to the toilet and vomited violently. Hesitating briefly, Glimmer moved closer and grabbed the girl’s hair from both sides, holding it away as the alcohol purged its way from Catra’s system the hard way. When she felt she was finally finished, Catra collapsed back against the bathtub, the feeling of regret growing inside her. Glimmer disappeared briefly, returning a moment later with a large glass of water.

“Drink this,” she ordered, “It’ll stop you getting dehydrated.”

The brunette grabbed the glass and did as she was told, “Why’re you being nice to me? I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” Glimmer sat on the floor next to the girl, “You called me over cause you need me. I reckon something inside you wanted to forgive me.”

Catra cackled loudly, immediately following it up with a pained expression, “Don’t flatter yourself, Sparkles. Bow was busy, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” she nudged Catra’s shoulder, “You’re a bad liar.”

“Ugh, fine, whatever,” the brunette put her hand on Glimmer’s knee and looked her in the eyes, “I called you back cause I’m totally in love with you.”

“I…what…uh…”

“Kiss me Glimmer,” she leaned in towards her.

Glimmer’s mind raced. She couldn’t betray Adora like that, no matter how much she wanted to. But on the other hand, Catra probably wouldn’t remember in the morning so Adora wouldn’t find out. Although she herself would know, was she able to live with that? Wouldn’t it ruin the friendship she had just regained? Could she really do this? She felt her body lean forward towards the girl, was this actually happening? Was she going to-

Laughter erupted from the brunette as she jerked her head away, “I’m joking. Fuck, Glimmer, your face.”

“God, Catra. You had me going there. Dickhead.”

There was an awkward silence between them for a couple of minutes, before Catra spoke again, “Fine, I wanted you back in Adora’s life. She missed you.”

Glimmer stared at her, saying nothing.

“Oh, alright, jeez. Look, I like you, but I hate you too, and I don’t know how to deal with that.”

“Apparently by drinking yourself into oblivion…”

Catra waved her hand dismissively, “No, that was just trying to… I needed a break from life. It was stupid.”

“Well I guess that makes two of us,” Glimmer put her arm around the girl’s shoulder, “We’re both idiots who want to do right by Adora. You know what she said to me today? She said ‘friends sometimes fuck up really badly, but we forgive them because we want them in our life’. I want you in my life, Catra, and I know you want me in yours. So you think you can forgive me? Can we be friends?”

“You sound like you’re coming on to me,” the brunette chuckled, making Glimmer blush, “But yeah…I guess we can.”

“Awesome. I hope we can get back to normal soon, especially when Adora’s up and about again. I’ll come over every day if you need me to, sound good? Catra?”

There was no response but the sound of snoring, Catra having fallen asleep propped up against the bathtub. Glimmer carefully manoeuvred her into a slightly more comfortable position and left the girl, laying herself down on the sofa to try and get herself some sleep. The relief of being back here with Catra and Adora made her smile. Things could finally return to normal, and that was all she wanted.

Notes:

And that concludes this part. Next up, one or two more lighthearted things, including introducing more characters. Hurray!

But after that, I have some dark stuff... be prepared!

Series this work belongs to: