Maybe It's Destiny, Maybe it's You

Adora spends most of her Sunday with Bow and Glimmer running errands, picking up school supplies, and textbooks for the start of class tomorrow, and trying not to think about Catra, or Catra and Rose. Most importantly trying really hard not to think about Catra, or Catra and Rose. They stop at Cafe Runestone, to grab a snack, coffee, and tea. Adora plops down on her chair with her excessive amount of school supplies. She just likes to feel prepared, honestly the academic part of school was never her strong suit, she was more into the athletic aspect, her grades weren’t great that’s why she went to community college first and if it wasn’t for her sports scholarship there would be no way she could get into Etheria U on GPA alone.

“So, are you single now?” Glimmer asks between bites of her sandwich

“Yup! I think I finally said something that got through to him, because he stopped contacting me” Adora explains

“What did you say?” Bow asks, before Adora pulls out her phone to show her friends the text conversation. They both start laughing hysterically. “Wow Adora, brutal!”

“You think?” Adora feels bad now, looking over the text herself

“Honestly, whatever. It’s his fault for not letting you break up with him all those times before” Glimmer states. That does make Adora feel better. “Well, now that your single...and ‘gay, queer, dyke, lesbo, homosexy’ your own words. Maybe I should tell you that Lonnie asked if you play for our team?” Glimmer raises an eyebrow and gives Adora a knowing look

“What? We literally played together a few days ago, and we have practice tomorrow” Adora is confused as to what Glimmer is trying to ask

Glimmer smacks her forehead with the palm of her hand, and Bow shakes his head “Nooo Adora she’s asking if you play for the women who love women team” Adora is staring at Glimmer blankly. “Uhhh! She’s asking if your gay Adora”

“Oh!” Adora finally gets it. “Well, yes, yes I am, I thought that was obvious to you two” okay, maybe Adora doesn’t totally get it

Glimmer rolls her eyes, “Earth to Adora, she’s asking because she’s into you”

“Oh!” Okay now Adora finally gets it, gets it. “Wow okay… I mean she is really pretty… but…”

“But what? I mean she’s hot, and really really sweet once you get past the tough girl act, I mean you should give it a shot, why not?” Glimmer is back to eating her sandwich

“Because…” Catra Adora thinks to herself between speaking. “I mean…” Catra . “I don’t know…” Catra. “It’s just…” Catra.

“I mean, think about it at least” Glimmer says

Catra

Catra

Catra

Catra and Rose.

“Ya, I’ll think about it, for sure” Adora leaves it at that. They all hang out a bit longer but it’s starting to get late, so Adora grabs a sandwich for dinner later and heads back to her room to do some prep before class starts tomorrow.

She gets back to her room, opens her laptop, and brings out her textbooks, notebooks and pens onto her desk. She already has required reading before the class even started, it doesn’t make any sense, but I guess this isn’t community college anymore , she thinks to herself. Adora notices that Catra’s room is really quiet, so she assumes she’s not home. The walls in these dorms are like paper thin, so she can usually tell when her roommate is there.

Adora is finally done reading and has successfully taken meticulous notes on the introduction to history of Etheria. She looks at the time, it’s still early, but she has practice tomorrow morning, so she sets her alarm on her phone and starts getting ready for bed. She puts on her sleep clothes, lets her hair down, and makes her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She just finishes brushing her teeth when she hears Catra’s front door open. She almost considers opening the other bathroom door to say goodnight, when she hears another person’s voice talking to Catra. Adora listens to them talk, but doesn’t recognize the other woman’s voice.

She hears Catra say “ya, the bathroom is right over there.” So Adora scrambles out of the bathroom back to her room. She lays down on her bed and closes her eyes, trying not to listen to what’s going on in the other room. But Adora can’t help it, they’re chatting for a little bit, she can’t really make out what they’re saying exactly, but then she thinks she hears them put on a movie. She can’t help but think how she would like to watch a movie with Catra, she probably would have really good taste in movies , that’s the last thought Adora has before dozing off to sleep.

“Catra!” Adora shoots up in her bed when she hears the scream, at first she’s worried until she hears “Ugghhh, fuccckkk, Catra” Oh no that was definitely a moan, Adora thinks before laying back down and groaning into her pillow. She tries to push the sides of her pillow over her ears, but it does very little to cover the sounds coming from the other room. “Oh yes, ahhh, fuck yesss, right there, Catra, Catra.” For some reason, the sound of the woman who Adora assumes is Rose, calling Catra’s name is incredibly irritating, almost infuriating. She cannot listen to another second of this, but it just keeps coming. “Ahhh, fuck , yess, mhhmmm, god, Catra” different combinations of those words, along with, gasps, screams and moans seep through the walls as Adora is scrambling around her room in search of her headphones. But they are nowhere to be found. Fucking shit! Adora gives up on her headphones, she looks over to her speaker and thinks for a moment. I could play music out loud, but then they’ll know I can hear them, will that be awkward? I mean she has to know she’s being loud, I mean maybe they think I’m a heavy sleeper, but still… Also what would I even play, like do I play something that would kill the mood? They would be pissed. Would I play something that’s sexy? God then they would probably just be even louder. She is pulled out of her thoughts when there is a particularly loud scream of Catra’s name “Caatttrrraaaa!” but then it goes quiet, besides the faint sounds of heavy breathing, and suffling.

Thank fucking god! Adora thinks as her temper calms and she crawls back into bed, she closes her eyes and takes long deep breaths. Until she hears a faint moan again, but this time it’s coming from Catra, and Adora’s eyes blink open. Catra is significantly quieter than Rose, but her moans are getting slightly louder, and still audible. The sound of Catra’s voice is causing a different reaction in Adora though, her body feels hot, there is a tingling in her toes, and a tightness in her stomach. She closes her eyes thinking she should just tune it out, but honestly she is listening intently to the raises in pitch to Catra’s breath, and the light rasp in her voice. Images of Catra appear in her mind. She is below Adora, and her mouth is open letting out these beautiful sounds, Adora is running her hands across Catra’s body exploring every inch of her.

“Oh, fuck, yes a little to the right, yes, right there, fuck yes” Catra is calling out. Before Adora can register what she’s even doing, her hand wanders down below her shorts, and past her underwear. She imagines looking up at Catra from between her legs, as she dives into her roommates core. “Oh, fuck, yes” Catra lets out between gasps, and moans. And it feels like she’s talking to Adora. Adora’s fingers are rubbing rapid circles around her clit, as she grabs her breast and pinches at her nipple. Adora loses track of time, as she imagines all of Catra, and all that she would to her. She is pulled away from her thoughts when she hears Catra scream out, “Oh fuck yes, don’t stop,  I’m so close, ahhh, don’t stop” but Adora doesn’t open her eyes, or leave her imagination, and she doesn’t stop either. She picks up her pace with her fingers, as if she is doing this to Catra instead. “I’m so close, fuck, I’m gonna cum, ahhh!” It feels like Catra is right there, right below Adora.

“Yes, do it” Adora moans under her breath. She quickly lets go of her nipple to cover her mouth, she bites down on her hand to cover the gasps, and moan, as she gets closer and closer to the edge.

“Fuck I’m cum-ing, ahhhh!” Catra moans, and the sound is ringing in Adora’s ears. Adora bites down hard onto her hand, as her whole body tenses, her toes curl, and her back arches. She melts into the bed, revealing in the afterglow. Until she opens her eyes, and she is alone in her room, Catra isn’t there. Catra is in the other room, basking in her own afterglow, due to the sex she just had with someone else. Someone that is not Adora. And Adora just got off listening to them, Adora just go off listening to her roommate have sex. The realization hits Adora Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, that is not okay, that is so, so, so creepy. Why did I just do that? What the hell was I thinking? That is so fucking creep, I am such a creep, what the hell is wrong with me? Who does that? What the actual fuck… this goes on for a while in Adora’s head, she is pulled out of her spiraling thoughts when she hears Catra’s front door opening and closing. She hears one pair of footsteps walking across the room, and opening the window. She assumes Rose left.

This is not okay, I need to get over this thing, whatever this thing is for Catra… Adora tried to think of a solution rather than let her thoughts spiral again. Maybe Glimmer is onto something, and I should try dating, it could get my mind off of Catra, she makes a mental note to herself to talk to Lonnie tomorrow after practice, and buy a new pair of headphones. Before she dozes off into a dreamless sleep.

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEE- Adora grabs her phone off her desk and turns off her alarm, she rolls out of her bed, still in a haze, and makes her way to the bathroom. She sees Catra there filling her water boiler, in the sink and Adora is now definitely awake. Catra is wearing a baggy grey t-shirt and nothing else. Adora is blushing profusely, looking anywhere besides Catra. She was really hoping she wouldn’t see her today, at least definitely not this early, especially after hearing her have sex last night, and well y’know getting herself off to it.

“Morning Princess” Catra says, oh so casually. Adora doesn’t respond, she doesn’t know what to say. “Everything okay there?”

“Ya, ya, everything’s fine, why wouldn’t it be fine, I’m just tired is all” act chill Adora! Act chill! She tries to talk herself into behaving normally.

“Mhmm” Catra nods. It feels like this water boiler is taking forever to fill up. “You want some coffee?”

Adora knows she should say no, but she realizes that she doesn’t know if the cafes or the dining hall is open right now, and she really needs coffee before practice. “Ya sure, thanks” she says, Catra gestures for her to follow her, and so she does. She walks into Catra’s room and sits at her desk, cause she is not about to sit on that bed right now. Catra plugs the pot in, and they wait for it to boil. Adora feels awkward, so she speaks “What are you doing up so early?”

“Eh, went to bed late and couldn’t really sleep” Adora nods in response, trying really hard not to make a face that gives away the fact that she definitely knows why Catra was up late. Apparently she wasn’t successful, “Why are you making that face?”

“What face? I have no idea what you’re talking about? That’s just my face” Adora is blushing hard.

“You heard last night, didn’t you? I’m sorry about that”

“Oh what? Oh barely, it’s totally fine, didn’t even notice” Catra seems suspicious

“I’ll put on music next time or something”

Next time? The thought makes something in Adora’s stomach turn “Oh, it’s fine, you don’t have to do that” Catra raises an eyebrow at Adora. “I mean ya, you should probably do that” Catra makes 2 mugs of instant coffee, and hands one to Adora. Adora takes a sip and almost gags, “you got any sugar?”

“Yup” Catra goes into her drawer and hands Adora a couple packets of sugar. Adora sweetens her coffee and starts to drink it. Until curiosity takes over her brain.

“Where is she anyway?” Catra tilts her head at Adora’s question

“You mean Rose?” Adora nods, trying to remain neutral. “Oh she left last night, I don’t really do sleepovers”

“Oh…” Adora faces down into her mug to avoid eye contact. “Well I should probably get ready for practice, good talk Catra, good coffee Catra, thanks”

“Weirdo” Catra says before Adora bolts back into her room.

Practice goes well for the most part, Adora is a bit in her head at the beginning, but eventually she gets in the zone. It feels like the rest of the team does too, they all work really well together, especially her and Glimmer and Adora really appreciates that. Coach Kristy is amazing too, hard but fair, she ends up letting everyone off a bit early because it’s the first day, so they all hit the showers. As Adora is packing up her things to leave Lonnie catches her eye. She remembers that she promised herself that she would talk to her, so she takes a deep breath, and walks over.

“Hey Lonnie”

“Oh hey Adora”

“Great job today, you were like really good at defense it was honestly impressive”

“Thanks, you weren’t so bad yourself ‘She-ra’”

“Thanks, yup! That’s me, that's what they call me” god I have like no game Adora thinks to herself. “So…alright bye have a good day, see you next practice” Adora turns around to save herself from any further embarrassment, until Lonnie calls out to her.

“Hey Greyskull, have you had breakfast yet?”

“No, I haven’t actually, have you?”

“No, wanna go grab a bite at the cafe or something?” Lonnie asks

“Sure thing!” So they both walk over to the Runestone Cafe, Adora orders an oatmeal with fruits and a coffee, she doesn’t get anything too big or messy because even though Lonnie supposedly finds Adora attractive, she might not after she sees the girl eat. They grab a table near the window, and eat while making small talk about practice, the team and Coach Kristy.

“So what are you studying?” Lonnie asks

“I have no idea yet, I’m technically an independent student right now so I’m just taking a bunch of random courses that I find interesting. Hopefully find something cool enough to make my major. What about you?”

“I’m pre-law” Lonnie says casually, but Adora is thoroughly impressed

“Damn, that’s amazing. So you want to be a lawyer?”

“Ya, I do really badly, but it’s just so much school. I’ve only been here 3 years and honestly I’m over it”

“Haha, ya I feel that. School is not my thing, kicking things is a lot more my thing” Lonnie laughs, and Adora thinks she has a really pretty smile.

“You're a freshman right?”

“Ya, but I did a year at the community college before transferring”

“Ah, I do not miss freshman year, the dorms suck, and the dining hall is shit”

“Ya, I’m in the north dorms, which isn’t actually that bad. I have my own room at least. I just like a bathroom mate.”

“Ya what's your roommate like?” god if only adora could put into words what she thought of Catra. But she was not going to let her mind go there, she takes another bite of her oatmeal trying desperately not to blush.

“Oh, she’s cool I guess… I mean actually she’s like really cool, almost intimidatingly cool. She’s a Fine Arts major, her name is Catra” Adora sees Lonnie make an oh face and chuckle.

“Oh, I know Catra” why am I not surprised? Adora thinks to herself

“How do you know Catra?” Adora asks, even though she thinks she probably knows the answer and isn’t sure if she wants to hear it

“We used to hook-up for a little bit,” Lonnie shrugs. There it is Adora groans internally

“Has everyone slept with Catra?” Adora tries to hide her bitterness

Lonnie laughs “Honestly, I feel like If you’re a lesbian in the city of Etheria, you’ve either slept with Catra, or want to sleep with Catra.” well fuck, I wonder where that puts me Adora can’t help but roll her eyes. “I dunno, there’s just something about that girl, y’know? She’s a dangerous one.” Oh, ya I know Adora thinks to herself, letting out an inner sigh.

They change the topic away from Catra, thank god , the talk about soccer, and school, Lonnie shares some hilarious stories from her freshman year. Adora thinks Lonnie is actually really sweet, funny, and gorgeous. It’s nice to talk to her, Adora’s stomach also doesn’t do backflips when they hang out, which is a nice change of pace from being around her roommate. It feels a lot more comfortable, easy, and stable, maybe this thing could actually help her get over whatever insane feelings she’s having about Catra. Plus she doesn’t want to be one of the many lesbians of Etheria who has slept with Catra, but I mean it would probably be really hot- nope! Not going there Adora stops here train of thought. She looks at the clock, and it’s almost time for her first class, so she starts to grab her things.

“Hey, I gotta go to class, but this was really nice. Thanks” Adora says smiling at Lonnie.

“Ya, it was, I was wondering… What’re you doing Thursday night?”

“Uhm ...nothing, why?”

“Well, there’s actually this cosmic bowling night, I know it sounds really dorky but it’s actually really fun. If you want to go together?” Lonnie asks, almost shy, but barely because it’s Lonnie.

“Ya, sure that sounds fun”

“Sweet it’s a date”

“It’s a date!” Adora smiles. Her and Lonnie exchange phone numbers to figure out details and she heads to class.

For Adora the week passes by quickly, with classes and practice, she already has so much homework it’s ridiculous. She hasn’t seen much of Catra, besides in passing, it’s not that Adora is trying to avoid her or anything, it’s just that she can’t stand the feeling of being around her. The way her stomach feels like a trampoline park, or how her mind turns to jelly, it’s just too much, but not enough all at the same time. And now it’s thursday, and she’s standing in front of her mirror again. She is wearing a tight, striped, black and white, long sleeve shirt and black skinny jeans. And once again, she looks like she’s going to mug someone, but in like a burglar from a 90s cartoon sort of way. Uggghh She has no idea what to wear, she tries to dig through all her clothes but has no luck, fashion really isn’t her thing. So she pulls out her phone to text her very fashionable friends B.F.S (BEST FRIEND SQUAD)

Adora: Hey, I have no idea what to wear for my date tonight. S.O.S

Bow: Don’t stress, what are we working with?

(Adora sent an image)

Glimmer: LOL are you gonna share the money you steal from the bank with us?

Bow: Glimmer! Rude!

Adora: AHHHHHHH!

Glimmer: Okay, sorry that was rude. It doesn’t look that bad, but don’t wear that.

Adora: Then what do I wear?

Glimmer: I would go with something fun, but not too eager, casual, but thoughtful, like you tried but not that hard, like ‘I woke up like this’ but ‘I woke up hot’ kinda vibe.

Adora: That is so far from helpful. Thank you!

Glimmer: Your welcome <3

Bow: I think what Glimmer is trying to say is just wear something that you’re comfortable in, and feels like you. You don’t need to try and impress her, you just need to be yourself. That’s already impressive enough.

Adora: Thanks Bow, that’s actually really helpful.

Glimmer: Pretty much what I said

Adora: Not even close

Bow: You can call us after the date, if you want, and tell us how it goes :)

Glimmer: Or don’t if it doesn’t end until tomorrow morning ;)

Adora: Wow... bye.

After a semi-helpful conversation with her friends, Adora decides to just go with skinny blue jeans, a white t-shirt and her favourite red letterman jacket. She puts her hair in a tight ponytail and re-poofs her hair poof. Right on time because… PING

Lonnie: Hey, I’m outside your building. No rush though take your time

Adora: I’ll be right out :)

Adora walks outside and sees Lonnie, she stops for a moment, she looks really good. She has her hair braided in cornrows down the middle, with the sides freshly shaved, she’s wearing grey corduroy pants, with a red t-shirt. “Wow...you look great. I love your hair” Adora says

“Thanks, I went to the salon yesterday. I like your poof too” Lonnie smirks, Adora pushes her playfully on the shoulder.

“You didn’t need to come here, I could have met you at the parking lot”

Lonnie shrugs “I’d like to believe chivalry didn’t die with the millennial generation” Lonnie offers an arm to Adora. Adora loops her arm through, and they walk towards Lonnie’s car in the parking lot. When they arrive, Lonnie opens the passenger side door and gestures for Adora to get in.

“Why thank you, what a gentlewoman” Adora climbs into her seat and buckles her seat belt.

“Anything for a pretty lady” Lonnie climbs into the driver seat, she puts on some music and they make their way off campus. The bowling alley isn’t too far away, the pull up to the parking lot and there is a giant neon sign that reads THE ROSE BOWL . They get inside, pay for their entrance, and trade in their shoes for pairs of old bowling shoes. The place looks like any old bowling alley, with those blue faded carpets that have funky patterns, it’s dark with UV lighting and strobes flashing different colors. They are blasting top 40’s music, they decide to play 6 pin bowling because it’s less busy. They both crack up laughing when they notice how their teeth and eyeballs look in the UV light.

“So, are we going to put the gutterball protectors” Adora asks

“What, are you chicken?” Lonnie teases

“Oh, you’re so on!” Adora is very competitive, and so is Lonnie. So the night is full of teasing, and back and forth shit talk. It’s all playful though, because it’s bowling, and no one can be taken seriously bowling. It’s a close match though, Adora is leading by 3 points, but Lonnie has one last turn. “HOLY SHIT LONNIE WATCH OUT!”

Lonnie drops the ball and it rolls directly in the gutter, “Wow Greyskull, never took you for a cheater”

“Don’t you wish we put up those gutterball protectors now?” Adora responds with a smirk

“Or such a tease” Lonnie steps closer to Adora, Adora looks into Lonnie's eyes, they’re a brown hazelnut color, but then she notices Lonnie looking down at her lips.

“Times up, someone else is taking your lane” The guy from behind the counter yells at them. They both immediately pull away from one another.

“Ya, I should probably get home. I have some homework I want to get done tonight, and practice tomorrow y’know” Adora isn’t lying, she actually does already have a ridiculous amount of homework. So they walk back to Lonnie’s car and drive back to campus.

“I’ll walk you back to your building”

“That’s sweet, but you don’t have to do that” Adora responds

Lonnie shrugs, “It’s a nice night out, plus I want to” Adora smiles, and they make their way back to Adora’s dorm. During the walk Lonnie takes Adora’s hand, and it’s nice, they walk in silence most of the way. Until they reach the front of the building, Lonnie pulls adora gently so they are facing each other. “Can I kiss you?” Lonnie asks, it’s almost a whisper.

People don’t usually ask, in Adora’s experience, she finds the consideration cute “Ya, thanks for as-” Then Lonnie's lips are on Adora’s. They kiss for a little while, their tongues finding each other and moving together. The kiss is nice, Lonnie’s lips are soft, it’s tender, but still hard, and their mouths fit well together. But it’s similar to all the kisses Adora has had in her life. I mean it’s definitely better in many ways. But everytime Adora kisses someone, she expects this spark, fireworks, or an explosion of passion. Maybe she’s just seen to many rom coms, and that’s just not how it is. Maybe it’s just nice and comfortable and maybe that’s okay.

Lonnie pulls away to speak “I had a really good time tonight, even though you cheated”

“I had a really good time too, even though your a sore loser”

“Wow Greyskull, you’re lucky your pretty” Adora blushes at that

“Look who's talking, thanks again. I had a really good night. See you at practice tomorrow?”

“Ya see you tomorrow, have a good night” and with that Lonnie walks away, and Adora goes back to her room.

When Adora gets to her room she looks at the time, it’s only 9:30 but she has a reading to do for tomorrow, and homework she should start on if she doesn’t want to fall behind. So she takes out her film studies textbook, notebook, pens, and starts reading. Adora knows Catra is home because she can smell the pot trickling into her bedroom. Catra smokes a lot in her room, she tries to cover it with a mix of incense, scented candles, and air freshener, which honestly smells worse than the cigarettes and weed. Adora doesn’t really mind. The smell doesn’t linger in her room, it’s mostly Catra’s and the bathroom. She finally finishes a very long introduction chapter on the asthetiques of film critique and has successfully taken thorough notes. She then pulls out her study notes for her Environmental Science class, they already have a quiz next week and she knows she needs to start studying now if she wants to do well. After she feels that she knows everything decently, she makes an attempt at the practice quiz, but immediately gets stuck on the third question. Maybe it’s the stress, or being tired, but Adora gets so angry with herself for not knowing the answer. It feels so simple, like something everyone should just know, or at least to be able to remember. God, your such and idiot, stupid, dumbass! She calls herself before throwing her textbook across the room, THUMP  it hits the bathroom door.

Catra knocks lightly on the bathroom door before opening it, she sees the textbook on the floor in front of her. “What did this door ever do to you?” Catra sounds smug, until see notices how stressed Adora is. She picks up the textbook and walks over to place it on Adora’s desk. She puts a hand on Adora’s shoulder and rubs soothing circles with her thumb, “Hey, it’s okay. What’s wrong?”

“I’m just a fucking idiot, who can’t learn anything, and if my grades drop below a 3.0 I lose my scholarship, and I’m so fucking stupid I’ll be lucky if I don’t fail all my classes” Adora throws her head into her hand, trying desperately not to cry.

Catra cuts her off her rambleing, “Hey, hey, hey look at me” Adora peeks up from her hands, and Catra lifts her chin so they’re looking into each other's eyes. “Nobody gets to call you an idiot, besides me. And I don’t think you’re and idiot because you can’t remember some stupid facts, I think you’re an idiot because you don’t see how determined and capable you are… And because you’re a horse girl” Adora laughs at that, she immediately relaxes her whole body and pulls Catra into a tight hug. She doesn’t know why she does it, maybe it was because Catra was being so sweet, maybe it’s because she needed a hug, or maybe it’s because it felt like the right thing to do. And once Catra hugs her back it feels so right. “You and Scorpia both, what’s with you muscle heads liking to squeeze the life out of people”

Adora laughs, and feels like all her anger, stress, and fears are gone and replaced with indescribable warmth. She lets go, and it feels like Catra holds on a second for just a second longer before letting go herself. “Can I help?” Catra asks

“You already did”

“I meant with your homework, you idiot” Catra catches herself quickly “I’m sorry...too soon”

“Nah, not since I know what you actually think of me” Adora smiles, and she feels herself blushing so she turns back to her desk “Any chance you know all of the layers of the atmosphere by heart?”

“Bottom to top: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere”

Adora is both shocked and impressed at the same time “What?! How do you know that?”

“The Silly Monkey Talks” Catra shrugs

“What? What did you call me?”

“No, you dork. It’s a mnemonic for remembering the layers of the atmosphere. The: Troposphere, Silly: Stratosphere, Monkey: Mesosphere, Talks: Thermosphere”

“Wow… that is incredible, I’m adding that to my Q-Cards”

“A jock and a nerd, you’re really something else Adora Greyskull”

“I’m like the opposite of a nerd, I have a really hard time with academics so I have to try like extra, extra hard just to do slightly above average”

“Well, I’m the master of shortcuts, cramming, and quick, efficient studying techniques. If you ever want some help”

“Yes! I would so appreciate that! I suck at art, but if you need help with like cleaning your brushes or something I could that for sure”

Catra laughs “I think I can manage, but I might need a live model in the future so i’ll keep you posted”

“Deal!” Adora sticks out her hand, Catra laughs and then shakes on it

“Hey, you need a break? I got the keys for my studio today, want to go check it out?”

“Yeeesss!! Take me away from this hell hole” Adora says flopping back on the back of her chair

Catra laughs, she notices she does that a lot around Adora. “God you’re dramatic, but sure thing, anything for you Princess”

They make their way over to the Fine Arts building, it’s not too far away from the dorms. The building itself is probably one of the largest on the whole campus, it’s not the tallest but it’s definitely the widest. It also looks incredibly old compared to the other buildings, It reminds Adora of the warehouses she saw in the Freight Zone when they went to The Heart of Etheria. Except on each corner of the first floor, there are large glass windows looking into a gallery space. “Freshman studios are on the second floor,” Catra says before they start climbing up the stairs. They turn down a few halls filled with lockers and paint stains before they arrive at a large door. Catra unlocks the doors and swings them open. It’s a huge space, with a high ceiling, and huge windows, everything is white, with the occasional paint splatter or charcoal smear. There are large high tables and stools in the middle.

“Holy shit, Catra, this place is amazing”

“Ya, it’s not bad, this is my section” Catra leads Adora over to an area right in front of a window looking out onto the campus quad. There is a wooden easel, and several boxes containing tools and supplies. “I have to share the space with a few other people because I’m a freshman, but they all seem like morning people. So I’m going to come at night when no ones here”

“This is incredible, I’m so jealous. Studying in my room sucks, and I hate the library, it’s way too quiet and you can’t eat”

“I do know how much you love to eat” Catra smirks

“Shut up!”

“Well, you’re welcome to come here and work with me whenever you want?” Catra shrugs

“Are you serious? That would be amazing!” Adora can’t help the smile that spreads across her face

“Like I said earlier, anything for you Princess” Adora turns away to hide her blush, and finds a stool in the center of the room to sit on

“I just gotta grab some stuff for class tomorrow” Catra begins digging through her supplies “Fuck! I gotta organize all this shit” Catra huffs and continues looking around. They’re silent for a moment, as Adora is tapping her fingering on her thighs and looking around the studio.

“So… I went on a date tonight” Catra stops moving for a moment before turning back to look at Adora.

“Damn, well you move on quick. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Girl actually” Adora says

Now Catra fully stops what she’s doing and turns to look at Adora, arms crossed across her chest, one hip out, and one eyebrow raised “Oh really?”

“Yup”

“Anyone I know?” Catra asks, and Adora can’t quite read her expression

“Actually ya, it’s Lonnie, she’s on my soccer team”

“Hot lawyer Lonnie?”

“Yup, that’s the one”

“Nice… Lonnie’s cool” Catra turns back to her task “So… how did it go?”

“I mean it was nice… I guess… I mean ya, It was a lot of fun, Lonnie is really sweet, and pretty, and cool. But It just felt like it lacked something... I don't know... Like intensity, passion, or like love or something I don’t know”

“Maybe, that’ll come later. I don’t know” Catra has already found all the supplies she needs but doesn’t want to look at Adora so she continues shuffling things around.

“You don’t feel that way about Rose? Or the other girls you sleep with?” Adora asks, not really sure if she actually wants to hear the answer

“Not really… I mean I think they're cool, I like spending time with them, but I wouldn’t say I’m in love. Sex and emotion are two different things, they’re great when their together, but their also pretty dang great seperatly” Adora doesn’t know how to react to that statement, so she just doesn’t. She lets the silence hang in between them, until Catra speaks again. “So are you going to go on a second date?”

“I don’t know…” Adora is staring intently at Catra, even though she’s not looking at her. Until she is.

Catra turns around to stare into those endless blue eyes “I don’t know… is there a good reason why you wouldn’t?

“I don’t know is there a good reason why I shouldn’t” Adora can’t look away, there is a familiar tension lingering between the two if them. It feels like neither of them want to blink, because if they do they might lose it.

“I don’t see one… I guess”

“Me neither… I guess”

“Okay then”

“Okay”

What the actual fuck?! this feels like Deja Vu, we literally had this exact same conversation last week, what the hell is going on? Why does she keep doing this? What does she mean? Adora snaps out of her thoughts “I’m gonna go back to my room” She says before bolting out of the studio.

Catra stands there for a moment, just staring into the space that was previously occupied by Adora. She doesn’t understand the feeling in her body, it feels like her skin is tense, and the hairs on her body are standing. She felt the same way after the last time they had this conversation. And just like last time, she has no idea what either of them meant by what they said.

It’s because neither of them meant what they said, however they meant everything that didn’t say.