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Glimmer knew something was up with her friend within the first few weeks. Sure, it took a while for Adora to finally be herself around her and Bow (four months to be exact) but Glimmer didn't blame her. Habits were habits for a reason; and hard to break at that. Glimmer had habits too. Not necessarily as bad as Adoras, but habits nonetheless. So did Bow.
Glimmer's habit was smoking.
Yeah, it was bad.
Yeah, it screwed with her lungs, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yada, yada, yada.
She'd heard it all before. She only ever turned to smoking when something particularly bad had happened. And her "particularly bad" was quite bad. If she smoked every time somebody deemed a battle gone bad, she'd've been dead a long time ago. Her constitution of a bad battle involved a severe injury of a close one, the death of somebody, period, or an entire village being slaughtered.
Thankfully, since Adora had arrived, and She-Ra by proxy, Glimmer had been smoking less. Maybe... five times in the four months?
Bow's was his OCD and need for everything to be perfect. That was a whole other can of worms Glimmer didn't have the energy to open.
But Adora?
Her habits were… they weren’t necessarily bad habits, but they weren’t good ones either. For example; the Horde had an apparent philosophy of “hit first, ask questions later,” which rendered Glimmer and/or Bow with a bruised jaw for a few days. Obviously, she’d apologised profusely, borderline smothering them for a few days until the bruise faded from ugly purple to grim yellow.
Another habit had been the sleeping. It’d taken Glimmer several late nights and early mornings to force the blonde into a healthy routine. One that didn’t involve going to bed at eleven at night, and then waking up at seven the next day. Or the training through flu and injuries.
The hardest ones to break?
On everyone’s part? Bow’s in particular?
Nudity. And when it was appropriate.
It’d first happened after Thaymor. Glimmer had recharged safely and retreated to the pools for a bit of relaxation when the corner of her eye caught a bare ass. She rubbed them harshly, looking around.
Huh. Maybe she’d miss seeing something. She shrugged.
It happened again that same day, in the mutual showers. Thankfully, it was only the two of them in there, so Glimmer was tactful. "Whoa, heyo! You can't be naked here!" She'd exclaimed. Adora turned with a frown. “Have I done something wrong?” She asked. Glimmer hummed, forcing her eyes up and away from her friend's very close, very naked body. “You can’t be naked in the shower halls. You can in the cubical, but not otherwise,” She thrust a towel at the blonde. Adora took it with a grumble. “Yeah, I know you had communal showers in the Horde. But we’re not there, are we? We’re in Bright Moon, where privacy is a thing,"
It happened a little while later, after a gruelling training session. In a rush, they’d only done a quick shower, not even shedding full clothing, just armpits and faces. Bow’s traumatised scream brought Glimmer out of the bathroom in a hurry. “Adora, I’m so sorry!” He wailed, covering his eyes. Glimmer raised her head, flushing immediately. “What? I’m not naked,” She defended. Glimmer stood in front, extending her arms out, hiding the girl behind her cloak. “Bow, you can use the bathroom. I’m done in there,” She said.
Bow whined as he scrambled off. “Adora! Taking off your shirt is still classed as naked!” She chastised. Adora rolled her eyes as she pulled on her bra. “Not really. Naked would mean everything is out. Ass and all,” Glimmer shook her head with a sigh. “Just… definitely don’t do that in front of Bow… or any man unless you’re in a relationship with him,"
Adora snorted. “Not gonna be an issue,” She chuckled. Glimmer narrowed her eyes, folding her arms. “Why? Is Bow not worthy of a relationship with you?” She quizzed. Adora paused, midway doing up her bra clasp. “Glim, I’m into women. I’m lesbian,"
Glimmer stuttered an apology through her blush. “Relax. I love you, but not that way… I have a specific type,” She whispered to the ceiling. Glimmer knew exactly the type Adora was into.
Tall, curvy, brown-haired, pointy teeth and an ego the size of Etheria.
~
That evening drew Glimmer to her final point of sanity.
They’d been sent on a scouting trip into the whispering woods due to some suspicious activity. Bow had gone off to scout the perimeter whilst she and Adora napped. Or tried to. Adora had been on shift before Bow, so Glimmer had been semi-awake when she zipped up her section of the tent around fifteen minutes prior. Yes, Glimmer had insisted on separate sections. If only for the reason she liked her own space, sometimes Adora (and Bow) stripped to the nude to sleep.
Glimmer tried it but felt too vulnerable.
But she lay there, watching the night sky through the tent covering, when there was a faint rustling sound. Must be Bow. She thought. The rustling grew slightly louder over thirty seconds but didn’t increase any further. Glimmer narrowed her eyes. She debated calling out, but if the noise wasn’t Bow, she’d be exposing herself.
So she stayed quiet.
There was a sound. Not a sound of pain, or anger, or upset, but… something else. Happiness?
Glimmer’s face fell as the sound happened again. She stared wide-eyed into the blackness of the tent, unable to comprehend what her brain was hearing. A breathy sound followed a high-pitched whine.
Glimmer grabbed her pillow and smothered her face, plugging her ears through the fabric. The noises grew higher and higher, breathier and breathier over… maybe only ninety seconds? Not long, but long enough to send Glimmer into a mental breakdown.
A hand grabbed hers suddenly. She jumped. “Hey, it’s me. It’s shift change,” Bow said. Glimmer nodded mutely, sitting up. The archer frowned. “You ok?” His eyes narrowed as he picked up the sounds. His face fell. Glimmer would’ve laughed if she didn’t feel like crying.
“Is she-"
“Yep,”
The two best friends stared in silence, hoping to disassociate.
They weren’t so lucky.
A quiet-ish (surprisingly) moan sounded into the night, high and breathy before the tent fell silent. Glimmer idly picked up one of Bow’s arrows. “Will this go through my skull?” She asked. Bow snorted. “Doubt it. I’d have to shoot it at you,” Glimmer shrugged. “Doesn’t seem that bad,” She thought. Bow patted her shoulder. “Nope. We both suffered then. We’ll grow from this experience as better humans,” He shrugged, flushing a little. “Plus… from what I’ve heard in the infirmary, it’s a normal thing to do… it can actually help you sometimes. It releases the hormones and stuff you need,"
Glimmer shuddered, thankful her mind was too disturbed at that current moment to think of anything imagery-wise. “Yeah, well, I’ve never done it, and I’m fine,” Bow raised an eyebrow. Glimmer shrugged. “Never had anything to fantasise over,” She stood up and left.
Pausing by the tent flap, she looked over her shoulder. “Are we gonna bring this up to her? Or let it die?” She asked. Bow rolled his fingers as he thought. “Let this die. If it happens again, explain privacy to her,"
Glimmer cackled. “I’ve tried that. Those Horde habits are gonna be real hard to break,"
The following morning, Adora received strange looks. "You guys ok? You look odd," Glimmer shook her head softly. "We're fine. We're not really night owls, so we didn't sleep much," The blonde hummed, pulling on her boots. Glimmer's eyes couldn't help but fall to her muscular biceps. Adora caught her gaze with a cocky smirk. "Like what you see?"
Glimmer's mind was thrown to the breathy moans and pants from the night before. She swallowed thickly. "For sure," She sarcastically said back. Adora flexed her arm with a grin. "Plenty of me to go 'round, Princess,"
Glimmer sent a look to Bow, snorting when he choked on his cereal. Adora didn't catch on, humming softly as she grabbed some food. Adora glared at them for a moment. "I don't trust you two... something's up... but I'm too tired to guess why,"
"Gee, I wonder why," Glimmer mumbled. Her face lit up in realisation that she said it out loud, rather than in her head. Adora hummed in question, mouth full of toast. "I meant the night shifts," She lied easily. Adora stopped chewing for a moment. She shrugged with a low hum, stuffing her face more.
Glimmer shook her head harshly with a high-pitched laugh. Adora frowned; but said nothing further.