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”The storm is likely to continue over the night, citizens are advised to stay indoors and…” Adora changed the channel as she sat down on her couch with a bowl of popcorn.
The heavy rain was falling outside, accompanied by thunder and lightning didn’t bother her, as she sat on her couch and idly zapped through the channels while munching on popcorn from the bowl in her lap.
Suddenly, she heard a loud knock on her door. Wondering who could possibly be showing up at this hour, she got up from her couch and walked to the door to open it.
“Hey Adora,” a familiar, but soaked, figure greeted her.
“Catra? What are you doing here?” the blonde asked. It had been over a year since she had spoken to her old friend and roommate. They had gotten into an ugly fight and she had moved into another apartment in the building. They still saw each other from time to time, but it was awkward. And now Catra was standing at her door.
“Well, I kind of…locked myself out…” the girl admitted, avoiding Adora’s eyes.
“You…locked yourself out?” the blonde asked dumbfounded. It was so weird, talking to her again as if nothing had happened. As if those hurtful words were never said…
“Yeah. It’s so dumb, really…I must have forgotten my keys at work and…yeah. I guess what I’m trying to say is if I can crash here until morning?” Adora eyed the soaked girl who was looking at her with big eyes.
“Well, I guess it’s fine. If it’s only for tonight,” she finally said after a moment of consideration.
"Thanks. And you don't by any chance have a spare set of clothes? I'm kind of soaked…" The brunette shot her a soft smile and Adora's heart skipped a beat.
"Yes, of course. Come in," she said and stepped aside so the girl could enter. After locking the door behind her, Adora walked over to her dresser and took out a t-shirt and a pair jogging-pants, before walking back to her guest and handling her the clothes.
"You can take a shower if you want," Adora said. "Just don't use all the hot water," she joked. Catra gave her another small smile and nodded before she headed towards the bathroom.
Shortly after, Adora heard the water beginning to run. Her thoughts were a mess. She could feel the unresolved tension between them and she wanted to talk about it…she just didn’t know how to get about it.
Soon enough, Catra got out, wearing a set of dry clothes and holding the wet ones in her hands.
"Just hang it on the chair," Adora said and waved at a chair by her desk. Catra hung up her clothes in silence. Once she was done, she walked over to the couch and sat on the other end, as far from Adora as possible.
They sat in awkward silence for a while, the commercial on the TV being the only sound in the room.
Finally, Catra sighted and said: “I wonder why the weather is so shit all of the sudden.”
Adora shrugged. “Global warming, probably.”
Catra huffed. “Yeah, probably. Still, it’s annoying. I can’t even get home without getting completely soaked…”
Adora eyed the girl. “What kind of work do you do these days?” she asked.
The brunette turned her head lazily and their eyes locked.
“I work at a bookshop and a café…it’s any small-jobs I can find, really. Such is the life of a drop-out. And you?”
“Well, college is fine, really. But it can also be really boring sometimes…I’m trying to coach on the side, to earn some extra money, but that’s about all I have time for during the week…”
Catra lifted a brow. “Coach?”
Adora nodded. “Yeah, I coach middle-schoolers in soccer. It doesn’t pay a lot, but it’s good enough. Besides, the kids are cute.”
Catra nodded. “Sounds like fun. And…” she looked away for a second before returning her eyes to Adora’s.
“How are those friends of yours? Sparkle and Arrow?”
Adora let out a short laugh. “It’s Glimmer and Bow.”
Catra rolled her eyes. “Well, close enough.”
Adora shook her head, a soft smile still on her lips. “They’re fine, thanks for asking. And yours?”
Catra fiddled idly with a loose string as she spoke. “I have this co-worker at the café, Scorpia. She’s sweet and all but I have to remind her about personal space on a daily basis.” Adora giggled.
“She’s a hugger,” Catra elaborated.
“You’ve never had trouble with breaking personal space when we lived together,” the blonde said. Their eyes met again.
“No. But that was different…” Catra said with a sigh.
“Hey,” Adora inched closer and laid a hand on the other girl’s knee. “I missed you too,” she said. Catra huffed.
"What? I don't miss you. Get over yourself," the brunette said, sounding a little too defensive to be convincing. Adora smiled and inched closer, continuing in a serious tone:
"Catra, I’m serious.” Their eyes met again and Catra could feel her mouth get dry.
“So am I,” she said.
“No, you’re not.”
Catra’s eyes lingered on the other girl’s lips for a second. Suddenly, the lights in the room turned off.
“What’s happening?” Catra said, panic sipping through her voice. Adora remembered that the girl had always been afraid of the dark.
"Don't worry. The storm probably cut the power off. I have candles in the kitchen.” Adora began to get up from the couch, but halted when she felt Catra’s hand grab her own.
“Don’t leave me alone,” the girl said. Adora smiled softly in the dark.
“Come on then, scaredy-Cat,” she said and dragged the other girl with her towards the kitchen.
“Stop patronizing me,” the brunette said, still holding her hand as they walked through the apartment.
“Never.”
Catra sighted and rolled her eyes. “Always so difficult…”
They entered the kitchen and Adora had to let go of her hand to find the candles in the cabinet.
“You know you love it,” she said with a smirk.
“I really don’t,” Catra said, but Adora could hear the smile in her voice.
They walked back to the couch and Adora began tuning on the candles.
“Now, that’s better,” she said with a proud smile as around 20 candles let up the small living-slash-bedroom.
“I don’t know, I’d still rather have the real lights,” Catra said as she wrapped herself into Adora’s blanket and looked around with suspicion, as if she expected a monster jump out and attack her any second.
“Oh, stop being such a baby. It’s cozy.” Catra shook her head. Adora inched closer to the girl and put her arms around her curled up frame.
“Aw, don’t worry Kitty-Cat, I’ll protect you from all these evil shadows,” Adora said with a glint in her eyes.
“You promise?” the brunette asked in a meek voice.
“Promise.” Their eyes met, and they giggled. Adora had missed being with her. So much.
“Where did it go wrong, Catra? When did we stop being us and became…strangers?” Adora suddenly asked. Catra blinked in surprise.
“Well, when I dropped out and you began hanging out with your new friends all the time, we did begin to drift apart…but I think it was another thing that did it for me…” She wouldn’t meet Adora’s eyes.
“What was it?” Catra sighted and took down the blanket.
“I was in love with you,” she said. Adora’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and her heart began to beat faster.
“You were?”
Catra nodded. “Yeah, but I was kind of dumb about it. Instead of telling you, I just kept finding reasons to be mad at you…until that day I snapped, and we got into that fight…”
She looked away, but Adora laid a hand on her cheek and turned her head so she could look into her eyes.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Catra’s mouth became dry. She eyed the other girl’s lips as she spoke.
“I was afraid. I thought you didn’t like me like that and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship…besides, I thought you were with Sparkles…” Adora huffed with a smile and shook her head.
“No, Glimmer is just a friend,” she said. They looked at each other for a moment, so many things still left unspoken, but the awkward tension was gone…and replaced with another kind of tension.
“Well, it doesn’t matter now,” Catra said and leaned away from the other girl's touch, her heart still beating loudly in her chest.
“Catra…” Adora breathed out, but the other girl cut her off.
“I don’t know about you, but I am tired. I could crash on the couch, right?” Adora nodded dumbfounded. She had so much more to say to the other girl, but she didn’t seem to want to talk anymore.
“Yeah…ehm, I only have that one blanket and you can borrow my pillow,” she said meekly.
Soon enough, the brunette had placed herself on the couch and Adora lied in her bed in the other end of the room, still thinking about their conversation.
She wanted to tell Catra…to tell her that she had feelings for her then too…that she still had.
That her heart ached for months and she cut her classes for a week after she had moved.
That the bed was cold without her in it and the mornings boring.
That she missed her, more than she could express. That she had wanted to grab her and kiss her, ever since she had walked into her, no their, apartment.
But instead, she lied in the bed, tuning and sighing, unable to fall asleep because of the girl on her couch.
Just when Adora thought that she had finally tired herself out, she felt the bed give in as someone crawled into the bed.
She turned around and saw Catra’s eyes shine in the dark, almost like a cat’s.
“This doesn’t mean anything. It’s only because I couldn’t fall asleep on that damn couch,” she said.
“Of course.”
They looked at each other for a solid moment before Catra sighted.
"And I don't miss you."
Adora inched closer. "Of course not," she said, the corner of her mouth turning up into a small smile.
"And I don't like you anymore," Catra said, still looking into the other girl’s eyes.
“You don’t?” Adora asked, almost sounding disappointed.
“I do,” Catra sighted, defeated.
“Yeah?” Catra nodded. Adora inched closer. Their hands were touching under the blanket and their faces were now inches apart.
“And what are you going to do about it?” the blonde asked, her eyes lingering on Catra’s mouth.
Catra gulped before she spoke. “What do you want me to do about it?” Their eyes met again.
Adora could see confusion and uncertainty in Catra’s.
All Catra saw in her’s was determination.
Adora closed the distance between them and kissed the girl. Catra’s mouth was so soft and warm against hers.
It was a chaste kiss, she was trying out the waters, but soon enough Catra opened her mouth a little wider, encouraging Adora to go further.
Adora’s hands had traveled up and into the brunette’s wild hair, while Catra’s had begun exploring her body underneath the blanket.
When she touched a specifically soft spot, Adora let out a soft hum in delight, which only encouraged the other girl further. To Adora, it all felt so natural. As if they were two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that fit perfectly together.
Eventually, they tired themselves out and fell asleep after a long and soft kiss. For the first time in a year, the bed wasn't too cold for Adora.
…
The next morning the storm had ended, and the sun was shining brightly outside. Adora woke up before Catra and lied in the bed for a moment, watching the other girl sleep.
She looked even more beautiful in the morning light that shun from the window. With a sigh, Adora got up from the bed and walked into the kitchen to make some tea.
She found Catra’s favorite, that she had kept, even when she herself almost never drank tea. But Catra did, every morning.
So, she boiled some water and made two mugs before she walked back to the bed and placed them on the nightstand. Catra was already turning in the bed, barely awake.
“Good morning, Kitty-Cat,” Adora teased as the brunette put her forearm over her eyes to shield herself from the sunlight.
“Worst. Nickname. Ever,” she simply answered, eyeing her with a golden eye.
“You love it,” the blonde sang. Catra sat up in the bed, her wild mane even messier than usual.
“No. But I love you,” she said and looked Adora in the eyes. A blush crept on the blonde’s cheeks and she simply handled the other girl her mug.
“I made you tea,” she said.
Catra took the mug. “Is that…lemongrass and pomegranate? I thought you hated it…” Adora tugged a strand of hair behind her ear, still flustered after the confession.
“Yeah, but you don’t,” she said. Catra smiled softly and took a sip.
She then leaned closer and placed the mug on the nightstand behind Adora, before placing a hand on the blonde’s cheek and pulling her in for a soft kiss.
“Thank you.”
Adora smiled. “You’re welcome.”
They kissed again.
“Maybe,” Catra said, pulling away just a little, “you could make me a cup of tea every morning?”
Adora smiled and kissed her again before saying “I’d like that.”