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Flying from the FZ to Alwyn is so exhausting, every fucking time Catra has to do it she thinks she'll tear her hair out. Would it kill them to create a more direct flight? Three layovers is just an excessive amount. Flying back to Alwyn wasn't as big of a deal when she lived in Bright Moon, but the FZ is just more convenient for work now. She'll just have to suck it up when she comes back home.
Catra manages to order a rideshare as she texts her moms that she landed safely. They offer to get her but she tells them she's already in the car. The driver is the best kind, gives her a gentle nod but doesn't ask her who she is or why she's traveling. She looks out the car window, taking in the few leaves still hanging on the trees as they make the trek into town, passing through two others to get there.
She manages to wrangle her luggage up to the doorstep of her moms’ house and knocks, ready to be let out of the cold. It's a little house—Catra's apartment in FZ might actually be bigger—but the memories and love that fit inside it make it larger than life to Catra. Netossa opens the door and gives her a bear hug, a bigger display of affection than usual but Catra appreciates that about her mom.
"You growing taller?" Netossa jokes, one arm swung over Catra's shoulders.
Catra rolls her eyes, "not since eighth-grade, mom. And definitely not now." She's a thirty-year-old woman, and growing more isn't really on her radar.
Her mom quickly picks up her bags and insists on dropping them off in her room before coming back and offering Catra tea which she gratefully takes. She looks at the living room, full of festive decorations and wrapped gifts. It reminds Catra that she needs to unpack the presents she brought.
As she watches Netossa make her way down the stairs, she thinks about asking about Adora. Instead, she bites her lip before the question gets out. There's no fooling her mom but asking about her ex-girlfriend first thing when she walks through the door is a little bit obvious, even for her.
Netossa seems to give her a knowing look anyway. "Could you go to the store and get milk and eggs kid? Spinny told me to run for it but I forgot. Might be good to stretch your legs around town." She suggests.
"I just got in and you're already foisting your chores on me, ma." Catra can't help but complain it's part of what makes coming home fun. She can grouch about shit she doesn't really mind and her moms will still love her.
"Yeah, yeah take it out on me later," Netossa says with a roll of her eyes. "Scram. Don't come back until you have groceries." She makes a shooing motion and crowds Catra toward the front door.
Catra smiles. "You got it, boss." She gives her mom a quick hug and takes the keys from her, putting on her jacket before braving the cold.
She's not used to wearing so many layers, but it's been a while since she did a long stint in a place that had a true winter like Alwyn.
The drive to the grocery store is a short one, just like every drive here. It's something that is always uncanny, how similar everything looks to the last time she was here. Same employees who all smile and greet her, same local produce, same broken cash register. If she blinks too fast, she can imagine herself bagging groceries like she had in high school.
And then as she turns into the aisle with all the jarred shit, she sees the most beautiful girl in the world standing there holding two jams up with a furrowed brow. Catra takes a moment to take a deep breath, to try and calm her pounding heart at seeing the blonde again. She'd thought she would have more time before she ran into her.
"You always liked the fig jam better," Catra says casually as she gingerly steps closer to Adora.
Adora tenses, clearly not hearing her and almost fumbling the jars before holding them tightly to her chest. She looks at Catra and her eyes widen then soften, her grip on the jars noticeably tighter. "I always forget." She responds as if it hasn't been eight months since they saw each other last.
Her eyes rove Catra like she's a Christmas miracle. Catra can't blame her because she does the same, trying to catalog any differences in her face, her voice, her body, anything that hints at what she's missed.
Catra never asks first—never pushes—because she knows Adora would always give in. It has to be her choice. Adora's eyes lock on hers, fear and longing battling for dominance in her gaze.
"Are you...?" Adora's question trails off, the silence saying more than any words could. Catra shakes her head softly at the unspoken question that's ringing between them. Adora's shoulders drop in relief but she doesn't say anything
"And you?" Catra prompts, nervousness bubbling over in her stomach. Adora could be relieved but still unavailable, have a girlfriend or want different things that Catra could never provide.
"No, I'm not seeing anyone," Adora confirms, her gaze telling her everything else Catra wishes to know about them for the next week.
"See you tonight?" Catra offers. She knows she should probably settle in and sleep after her shitty flight but all she can think of is being in Adora's arms and her bed again.
Adora nods, face melting into a bright smile that settles onto Catra's heart like a bulldozer. "Wouldn't miss it," Adora promises softly.
She realizes that they've drifted closer together, almost standing directly in front of each other. Catra takes a step back and she immediately misses Adora's warmth. Catra nods and walks away, leaving Adora to her jams. Even though she knows she'll see her again tonight, every step away from her aches.
By the time she gets back with the milk and snacks, her other mom has come in from work. They end up in the living room, hot chocolates all around. "Tell us about everything dear. I want to know it all." Spinnerella insists, eyes bright as she takes a sip of her drink.
Catra laughs at her mom. "You act like we don't talk every week! You're already up to date."
Spinnerella swats at her. "Yeah. But I'm sure there are other things that happen that you haven't had a chance to tell me."
"Spinny, let the girl breathe she just got here today. I'm sure she'll tell us everything we need to know by the time she has to go back home again. " Netossa says, forever the cool mom.
"Don't tell me what to do." She narrows her gaze at her wife, bundling up under a blanket. "You know that's not how this marriage works."
"Sorry, dear." Netossa locks eyes with Catra, making a face that screams do you see what I put up with? Catra rolls her eyes at both of her moms.
"Well, I took pictures in the desert recently. It was gorgeous, you should have seen the colors." It was nice to do a shoot just for her. She'd actually wrapped some of the prints up as Christmas gifts, along with some other knick knacks she thought her mothers would like from her travels.
"You drank water right? Can't let yourself get dehydrated."
"Yes, I drank water." Her mom's worrying is cute if a little smothering. They chat for a while until Spinnerella is done for the day, going up to shower and sleep.
It leaves Netossa and Catra alone again, and she has one question on her mind. "Did you know she was gonna be there?" She asks, knowing her mom would know exactly what she'd be asking about.
She shrugs, smiling her secret smile. "I saw her truck in the grocery lot as I was driving home. I figured you'd find your way to her one way or another."
"Ma!" She groans. "You can't just meddle like that."
Netossa rolls her eyes. "You can pretend to be sneaky all you want Catra. Just remember I've been here since Adora moved into town and you started making big moony eyes at her."
Catra can't forget that either, the moment she was fourteen and Adora walked into her English class gripping her backpack and nervously swaying from side to side.
Catra shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "You wouldn't have known half the things we'd been up to if you hadn't been Adora's softball coach."
"Agree to disagree. I might have been the P.E. teacher but I'm your mother first, I would've figured it out." Netossa sighs. "Just be careful kid, all right? I always worry about this when you're in town."
She knows Netossa and Adora still talk and see each other. It's hard not to, in a town this size.
"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me." The joke falls flat as Netossa looks at Catra.
She walks over and pulls her into a hug. "I'm always happy when you're home." She says simply.
Catra pats her back, reveling in the comfort of her mom's hold. "I know. I miss you when I'm traveling too."
Netossa clears her throat awkwardly and smiles as starts her way up the stairs. "Don't stay up too late now." She says with a warning look.
"What do you mean? I'm going right to bed." She says with a raised eyebrow, challenging her mom to say more.
Netossa gives her an unimpressed look. "That's what I'm worried about kid."
Catra sputters but by the time she gathers herself enough to respond, Netossa is halfway up the stairs. She lets it go.
For a moment, she sits in her childhood home looking out the window. She could just not go. Was it really helping anything, to come back to this again, knowing they really only have a few chance encounters before Catra has to leave again?
But then she thinks of Adora’s smile at the grocery store, the way she held Catra with her gaze, not putting a finger on her. She sighs and grabs her boots.
Like always, Adora's window is slightly ajar and Catra opens it, swinging herself in with practiced ease. Some things you just don't forget. She manages to shut the window before she feels Adora's arms around her waist, holding her from behind.
"I'm waiting for you to get old enough that you fall on your ass climbing up here." Adora teases, her hot breath grazing the shell of Catra's ear.
Catra turns in her arms until she's face to face with amused blue eyes. "That would be your loss because this is a fine piece of ass."
Adora laughs, leaning forward until Catra can feel the fabric of her sweatpants rustling against her jeans. "When you're right you're right."
For a moment the laughter dies and they stare at each other, the air between them crackling in anticipation.
Adora breaks first, reaching down and hauling Catra up so that her legs are wrapped around Adora's waist and she's actually higher up than Adora now. The blonde quickly kisses her, a sloppy kiss with too much teeth, but Catra could care fucking less because it's Adora with her. They'll have time for slow and finesse, but right now she wants to touch Adora and make her home there.
"Fuck." She curses as she gasps for breath, feeling Adora's kiss move to her jaw and then her neck, sucking hard at Catra's favorite spot and drawing a moan from her.
"Bed." She pants, wanting to have nothing between them except skin and sheets.
Adora’s hands are cupping her ass and the only indication that she hears Catra’s request to move is how she squeezes while she settles Catra lower on her hips, supporting most of her weight in her arms. She doesn't stop kissing her, nosing her neck, pulling her somehow closer.
Catra laughs, a breathless thing that's almost a wheeze. "I missed you too."
The last time she'd seen Adora was in April but they hadn't been together like this in two years. It was the longest they'd been without each other.
"I somehow think I missed you more." The blonde murmurs into the hollow of her throat.
She shakes her head, her jaw resting against Adora's temple. She places a soft kiss on her hair. "Never babe."
She lets out a surprised grunt when Adora turns quickly laying her down. She's smirking down at Catra, the moonlight behind her highlighting the slope of her shoulders and arms as she leans over Catra, her hair falling out of its ponytail.
"I'm going to show you just how much I missed you." She swears as she pulls her shirt over her head.
Immediately she starts putting kisses on Adora's chest, gently rubbing her thumbs over her nipples until they peak. "Sounds like a plan princess."
She all but melts onto the bed, reveling in the quiet dance of slowly touching each other, pulling clothes off, replacing them with kisses and whispers. They've gotten much better at it since they were sixteen in the back of Adora's pickup truck.
Every time, Catra can't help but marvel at how the touch is different but still the same. They've grown and changed and lived apart but when they're together like this, it touches some piece of her that's still young and in love, dying to leave the small town and see the world. Dying to see it all with Adora.
They come over the edge together, looking into each other's eyes and sighing sharply, breathing the other in. It feels a little like falling in love all over again.
She's always boneless when they're done, in a way she never is with anyone else. It's the safety she feels in being intimate with Adora. She feels Adora's hand on her hip, a finger trailing patterns on her hip bone. Her hands feel big and comfortable, the warmth radiating into Catra's skin like spring instead of winter.
"How's Razz?" She asks quietly.
Adora sighs a tired thing. "She's good. More out of it than with it nowadays but she's always in high spirits." She drops a casual kiss on Catra's temple. "She'll probably be happy to see you, even if she doesn't recognize you."
"I'll make sure to swing by." She promises softly.
"You have to go," Adora whispers across her skin as she puts more sweet kisses there.
Catra groans but nods, knowing she's already stayed too long. "You'll be at the Winterfest?" Catra asks although she already knows the answer.
"Catra, of course I will be." She rolls her eyes. "Need to show my ugly mug around so everyone remembers who they should buy their vegetables from come harvest."
Catra kisses her softly. "You're gorgeous Adora." She really is. Given Catra's career, she's around beautiful people more than most, but no one has ever held a candle to Adora.
The blonde smiles lightly pressing a kiss to her palm. "As long as you think so."
"Well, then I guess I'll see you then if I don't run into you sooner." That's two days away, which feels far too long.
The look on Adora's face tells her she agrees. "I'll keep my window unlocked all week." She lets the invitation sit between them.
Catra nods. She thinks she won't come back tonight, just to prove that she has some self-control. But then again she's been wrong before.
"I'll see what I can do. Need to spend time with the moms too, you know."
Adora rolls her eyes, pulling her closer. "Coach and Spinny always tuck in early unless it's Christmas."
"Not when their favorite child is in town." She teases.
That earns her a deadpan stare. "You're their only child Catra."
She shrugs. "I said what I said."
"I mean do what you want, I'm pretty flexible." She says offhand, but her eyes are focused on Catra.
"I know that." She murmurs as she leans in for a kiss. It's a bit too familiar, but things always are with them.
She ends up coming back the next night, but she knocks on the front door this time. Adora opens the door, eyes widening in surprise.
"I'm here for Razzy." She offers as an explanation.
Adora nods with a slight smile and lets her in. Razz looks older than before which is saying something. She can't remember a time when she didn't think Razz looked old, but her wrinkles have grown deeper and her hair whiter.
"Look who came to see you Razz!" Adora says loudly.
Razz gives her a snippy stare. "I'm old, not deaf Adora." She says plainly, which makes Catra cackle.
At the sound of her laugh, Razz turns to look at her. "Catra dearie, is that you?"
She freezes as does Adora whose eyes fly to meet Catra's. "Yeah Razz, it's me."
"Oh, Catra dearie it's been so long! Our Adora has missed you so much."
Adora turns red clearing her throat.
"I'm here to see you Razzy. Have you baked anything recently?" She sidesteps the comment gently.
"No, Adora won't let me near the stove. She told me I can bake something for Christmas but that's months away." She complains, giving Adora another glare.
"Razz, Christmas is in a few days. We can do a blueberry pie then." Adora explains gently, her eyes growing sad as she looks at her grandma.
Razz freezes for a moment, a look of utter confusion crossing her face before shrugging. "I suppose we moved faster this time Mara dearie."
Adora sighs and shakes her head, turning to look at Catra. "Can you watch her for a second? I have to get some meds for her."
"Yeah, no problem." She gives Adora's hand a soft squeeze.
When Adora leaves Razz is mostly quiet which is frankly unsettling. The old woman never stayed quiet a day in her life. Her eyes are a little distant before she locks in on Catra again.
"Adora loves you, dearie. Don't let her tell you any different." She advises.
A lump grows in Catra's throat. She remembers the exact words from the first time she visited Alwyn after their break up. "I love her too Razzy." She says simply, not bothering to finish what she'd told Razz then. Sometimes that isn't enough.
"Good. You two girls need to take care of each other." She nods before looking around the living room. "Have you seen my broom?"
"Not today. Adora can help us look when she comes back."
She spends another half hour talking to Razz before she has to pack up and go, giving her a warm hug before leaving.
Adora walks her to the door. "I'm guessing you're done for the night."
Catra nods. "Razz took a lot out of me. I don't know how you do it."
Adora sighs and she looks ten years older, worry lines like grooves on her forehead. "Sometimes I don't either. But I have to."
She pulls Adora into a hug, a hand running softly up and down her back. The blonde ducks her head, her weight sagging onto Catra.
"Oh, baby." Catra murmurs consoling, swaying Adora a little as hears her sniffle. "You have people who are helping you?"
She can feel her nod. "The insurance offers a caretaker for a few hours a day. And I pay someone to stay with her the rest of the time when I can't."
"No 'Dor, for you. Who's watching out for you?" Her heart feels heavy in her chest—she feels like it should be her, she shouldn't let Adora go through this alone. But there are so many reasons why she's the last person who could be there for her.
"You know I have Glim and Bow."
She nods, knowing that if those two are anything, it's loyal. "Good, I'm glad." She holds Adora for a little while longer, feeling her breathing even out.
Adora presses a soft kiss to her cheek before taking a step back. "I'm sorry—I didn't expect it to get to me like that."
"You don't have to apologize." She shushes Adora, bringing a hand to her lips. "I had a great time and I missed Razz alright? Let me know if she wants to bake I'll make some time to help her."
"You don't have to do that." Adora protests, eyes tight with worry. It's a look Catra knows—Adora is terrible at accepting any help, especially when she thinks it's borne of pity.
"I want to."
She eyes her for a moment before nodding reluctantly. "Okay. Drive safe alright?"
Catra bites back the casual response that she'd text her when she got there. Neither of them had asked for the other's phone since the breakup and she isn't opening that can of worms now.
"Will do."
The next day is the Winterfest and damn if doesn't look exactly like it did when she was growing up. Wearing one of the sweaters her mom knit for her last year, it's easy to feel like no time had passed at all.
She walks around with her moms, looking at the decorations and the vendors until they inevitably happen upon Adora's stand. She can feel how her moms glance at her when the blonde comes into view.
The worst is running into Adora around people. It feels like she wears her heart on her sleeve and people must know that they are involved somehow.
Adora is helping someone else, but when she's done and she sees them, she smiles widely.
"Coach." Adora tilts her head at Netossa.
Netossa laughs, one arm wrapped around Spinnerella. "You don't have to call me Coach anymore, it's been a decade. And you’re a coach now too." She points out dryly.
Catra raises an eyebrow at Adora—she's surprised her mom didn't tell her she was working with Adora.
"Force of habit." She says with a smile. "And I'm not a coach, I just help out with summer training." She explains mostly for Catra's benefit.
"Oh, and how does that go?" She can't help but teases. She can't imagine Adora trying to wrangle a bunch of high schoolers.
"The kids all love Adora, some of them too much if I'm being honest."
"Coach!" Adora says appalled. "Those are children!"
"Yeah, and I remember when you were a runt too Adora, don't forget." Adora is suddenly looking down at her vegetables while she looks like a tomato that belongs in her cart.
"Dearest, don't be so rough on the girls now." Spinnerella admonishes, slapping a soft hand on her wife's shoulder.
Netossa rolls her eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll let them off the hook for now." She grins at Adora. "Do you have any of that fennel we bought last week?"
"Sure do!" Adora looks relieved as she walks through her produce offerings, pointing and explaining what part of the season each was in.
It's a part of Adora she rarely got to see—she didn't start training to take over the farm in earnest until after they broke up.
After her mom makes a few purchases, she watches as Spinnerella tugs Netossa's hand, giving her one of those weathered looks that lets her know not to mess around.
Spinnerella's eyes veer to Catra, a soft smile on her lips. "We will give you two girls a chance to catch up. Meet us at the hot chocolate cart when you're done?"
Before she can even answer they both walk away. She watches them leave and notices Adora doing the same.
"Do you think they know?" Adora says worriedly, biting her lip.
"Oh, they definitely know." At the very least Netossa did. And those two never kept anything from each other.
"What makes you say that?" Adora sounds panicked.
"My mom sent me to the grocery store because she knew I'd be there."
"Coach?" She verifies.
"Yeah."
"Well, I guess she can't hate me too much then." Adora shrugs with a soft smile. "I can't ever tell with her."
Catra rolls her eyes. "Please, my moms love you." They'd practically taken Adora in when they were dating, having dinner almost every night.
"Hey, I'm the one who had Netossa drive an hour into the woods to have a talk about respect and consent."
Catra's eyes snap up to Adora. "Wait, why is this the first time I'm hearing of this?"
"Sworn to secrecy probably. And I was seventeen and terrified of Coach. I love her to bits but that woman's mind is something else."
"She probably swore you to secrecy because I would have had a fit and told on her to Spinny if you'd mentioned it." She can't imagine how embarrassed she would have been if she'd found out that Netossa did something like that.
Adora laughs, a bright, crisp sound that reminds her of the holidays more than the Winterfest itself. "Too true. I still don't think Spinnerella knows—I'll keep it in my back pocket for a rainy day." She teases.
"You do that, then." Catra leans forward. "So, you want to tell me what you're doing now on the farm?"
Adora rolls her eyes and is about to speak when they get interrupted.
"Adora really?" Catra turns and sees Glimmer marching up to the cart, staring angrily at Adora, an apologetic Bow trailing behind her. "What are you doing?"
Adora's glare is punishing. "I'm doing what I always do at Winterfest and manning my cart." She says flatly, sending some signal to Glimmer that Catra can't decipher.
It seems that Glimmer understands just fine as she puts a hand on her hip. "Be serious, Adora." She turns to look at Catra for a moment. "Every single time, Catra leaves you in pieces and we have to put you together." Glimmer accuses, eyes flashing in anger.
"It's not like that." Adora quickly assures Catra as she continues to glares at Glimmer.
She scoffs, crossing her arms. "That's fucking bull. Just because Catra isn't here to see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. She deserves to know what she does to you."
"Glimmer this is none of your business and I need you to butt out."
Bow puts a soft hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "Adora has a point."
Glimmer huffs, looking at Bow then Adora. "Fine. Whatever." She shakes her head. "Happy holidays, Catra." She stalks off and Bow jogs behind her shooting them both a quick apology.
For a moment there's a silence that chills Catra more than the weather. "Is it like that Adora?" She asks cautiously once they're alone again.
"No Catra. Glimmer just doesn't understand." She says adamantly, jaw still clenched in anger
Catra eyes her worriedly. "I don't want to hurt you Adora, if this doesn't work—" She feels a pit growing in her stomach at the thought.
"No!" She bites her lip. "Look, you're going to tell me you don't feel a bit ... sad when you leave?"
Catra snorts at the understatement. "Yeah, of course I'm sad when I leave home."
Adora smiles softly. "Well, I get sad when home leaves me. Doesn't mean I don't want it to visit." She presses her forehead against Catra’s. "If I thought it hurt more than it was worth I would stop this." She assures her.
Catra deflates a bit at that. She can't judge Adora for this, not really. It would make Catra a hypocrite. As if she doesn't know that she'll spend the week after this one crying herself to sleep at night thinking about being here, about everything she's given up to chase her dreams.
"Fine. If it's okay with you then it's okay with me."
"Is that my photo?" She asks incredulously. It isn't a picture of her, it's one she took last month when she was following a migrant group through the Crimson Waste. She'd finished getting dressed and was about to leave when it caught her eye sitting in the corner of Adora's desk.
"Yeah, you got nominated for an award for that one I think." She says casually. "I think you should have won, that other picture sucked, he just won because of his name or whatever."
"You have my photo hung up." She says dumbly, not sure how to process that information.
Adora is still naked in bed. She rolls her eyes and stretches. "Yes, Catra. Lots of folks have your photograph hung up."
"Well yeah but—" None of them are Adora. None of them mean what Adora means to her.
"It's not that weird Cat. You made it out of the small town and now you’re getting awards for journalism. People are allowed to be proud of you."
The idea of Adora looking for her photos, bothering to buy them, and being proud of her for it when they don't even have each other's phone numbers brings a knot to her throat.
"I guess." She doesn't have the words she needs—not here sitting in Adora's bedroom, not when she's back in the FZ, not when she's photographing. Words have hardly ever been their thing anyways.
Adora breezes by it, which makes Catra suspect the photo means more to her too. "So want to go ice skating on the lake tomorrow?"
Catra can take a hint. "You know I'll always be faster than you." She shoots back, enjoying the affronted sound she makes and the shameless way she sits up, letting Catra have an eyeful.
"Well, let's see it then," Adora says with a grin. Catra gets distracted by the expanses of creamy skin, leaning forward to touch Adora's side.
She grins when the blonde shudders under her touch, eyes darkening as they look at Catra. "We will. Tomorrow." Catra assures.
Adora kisses her, attempting to tug her back into the bed. Catra laughs and swats her away.
"I have plans with Scorpia and with my parents later." She explains although Adora knows.
"One more time can't hurt?" She raises one of her eyebrows. It's a saying that's sustained them for years at this point—and it's easy to give in now, to let Adora pull her back into bed, the photograph long buried.
"Only one more time."
She remembers the lake as being less crowded, but maybe the whole world seemed bigger back then. It's a small lake and the ice isn't particularly even, but the town rents out skates and everyone makes the best of it.
Catra skates backward and Adora is holding her hands, keeping an eye out for anyone behind them. It reminds her of the week before prom, where they did the same thing, giggling out over the frozen lake. They manage two loops like that before Catra turns around, mindful of all the bumps in the imperfect ice.
They don't hold hands the rest of the time but they do bump shoulders, sharing secret smiles as they skate. It doesn't take long for Catra to realize she had a lot more stamina for it in high school than she does now. "I need a break."
"Oh really? Getting old there?" Adora says with a grin, although she's breathing harder too.
"Not old, just tired."
For a moment they both catch their breath, the air so cold it hurts as Catra gasps it in.
"Wanna go on a drive?"
Catra thinks it over. It's been forever since she's done something like this. "Yeah."
The roads out to where they snuck off as children haven't changed at all, winding things that they had no business on when they only had their learner's permit.
"What happened with Mermista?" Adora finally asks as she breaks the silence.
"I thought we didn't talk about exes." She says dryly. A lot of their rules are unspoken, and this is one of the biggest ones.
Adora shrugs. "I mean it's not like I didn't know. It was all over the news."
"Does that mean Perfuma's on the table for discussion then?" She quickly points out.
Last Christmas, Catra stayed well away from Adora while she seemed to be getting serious with the art teacher. They were done by the time Catra made a weekend trip to Alwyn in April for Spinnerella's birthday.
Adora rolls her eyes. "That breakup was not nearly as interesting."
"Yeah sure," Catra says disbelievingly.
"It wasn't! Perfuma wants a load of babies she can do arts and crafts with. That's just not me." Adora says with a shrug. "I know it would be helpful to have someone to leave the farm to but having kids just feels so ... suffocating." Catra nods her understanding. Adora might seem the type, but anyone who really knew her could tell that kids weren't an interest of hers. "Your turn." She points out, eyes still on the road.
Catra sighs. "Mermista wanted to be in an open relationship. I think if we were in a different place I would have considered it but there just wasn't a lot left between us at that point." She rolls her eyes. The reality is, it was never serious with Mermita, only a good time. "I wasn't willing to deal with the media interpretation of it either. I belong behind the camera not in front of it."
"Agree to disagree. You look beautiful in pictures." Adora protests playfully.
"Flatterer."
"No, I just have eyes." She grins.
By the time Catra looks back out, she realizes that she recognizes the spot where they've parked. It's a clearing she hasn't been to in ages, a place Adora would take her when there was too much going on and they just needed time together.
Adora looks at Catra, her eyes nervous for once. "I thought this might be nice." She says softly.
"Oh, Adora."
"C'mon, don't be weird about it." She grins as she blasts music from her truck, no one around for miles to hear it except them.
She goes around the truck and opens Catra's door, taking her hand and tugging her along. She turns Catra in her arms and pulls her close, starting to dance. Catra shakes her head with a smile, allowing the blonde to move them. She rests her head on her shoulder, watching her breath cloud over in the cold.
"You know I'm so proud of you. You're doing important work Cat, changing the world like you always wanted."
"It's not all I ever wanted." She says instead of what she wants to say, I always wanted you too.
Adora's smile is soft. "I know." She hums to the music as she sways side to side, holding Catra close.
She wakes up so warm and safe, and that's how she knows she's in Adora's bed. She feels her large rough hands wrapped around her naked waist, lazily drawing circles near her belly button.
Adora's fingers are always like that, always tracing and grazing as if she hasn't explored every inch of Catra a dozen times over. As if every inch of Catra isn't already hers.
"I can tell you're awake." She says as she pulls Catra's back flush against her front, legs slotted together. There's not an inch of space between them and Catra can't say she minds. In the lazy warmth of the morning, it's easy to forget that she has a flight this afternoon, that she probably won't see Adora again for another six months at least, and who knows if the stars would align so they could be together like this again.
"No way you're imagining things. Go back to sleep, princess." Catra turns and burrows her face into the crook of Adora's neck, trying to memorize the way she feels around her.
"You have to go Catra." Adora reminds. "I'd rather spend at least a little time awake with you before then."
Catra sighs but she nods, knowing Adora can feel the movement given how close they're pressed together. "Alright then baby, what do you want to talk about?"
"If we could visit one of the places you've been to together, which would it be?" Adora fires off quickly. It makes Catra wonder how long Adora held onto that question.
Catra thinks about it for a moment. "I'd want to show you Bright Moon. I grew up there in a lot of ways and you never made it to visit."
Adora and Catra had broken up well before Adora was meant to visit her at Bright Moon University. It was years before they gave in to their current arrangement and by then, Catra was already in the FZ.
"I'd love to see Bright Moon with you." Adora's voice is melted, thawed slushy snow atop dormant seeds.
"It would have been nice." Catra is talking about more than a college visit. Having Adora in a more tangible way than the one she's allowed—it feels like an impossible dream, one she always peeks at when she's back home.
Adora sighs and gets up, tossing on a shirt and looking for her pants. Catra does the same, tugging on one of Adora's shirts. She knows the blonde notices but she doesn't comment.
They stand in front of each other for a moment, the silence loud and lingering.
"Don't wait up," Catra says instead of saying goodbye.
"You know I won't," Adora responds back as always.
They'd stopped doing goodbye kisses, it made it all that much worse. Instead, they hug, their foreheads pressed together and their eyes closed. Catra tries to remember this—the feeling of Adora's strong arms around her, how safe it is, the only place in the universe where time stands still.
"I can't believe you thought I'd let you take a cab back to the airport." Spinnerella huffs as she gets into the driver's seat.
"Mom, no one calls cabs anymore. They have apps for that."
"I don't want to hear it Catra, it's all preposterous. You're lucky I was so happy to see you that I forgot you didn't wait for us to come get you."
Catra rolls her eyes but says nothing. As they get to the edge of town she looks out at a sight she both longs for and dreads. Just like the first time she left town, there's Adora sitting by the lake's edge watching the cars coming in and out of their small town. She can almost imagine that she smiles when she recognizes Spinny's car, but she's too far to be sure.
She'll carry that imaginary smile with her until next time.