Friends? Friends!
----
Adora
Her alarm begins to blare out at 6 in the morning. It’s quieter than yesterday, to not wake up Bow and Glimmer.
Adora slowly sits up and rubs her eyes. After they had brought all her clothes in from yesterday's shopping spree, Bow and Glimmer had forced her to give them a fashion show which took much longer than they thought. She ended up going to bed at around 12 in the morning, meaning she’s only gotten 6 hours of sleep today. Despite how tired she is, Adora wouldn’t change how yesterday went for the world.
She stands up and changes into a tight black athletic shirt and a pair of grey leggings that are comfortable enough for her morning run. It’s still very cold outside, but the exercise will keep her warm and she’ll just get back inside quickly before she freezes. Adora goes into their singular washroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.
After grabbing a quick snack from the now fully-stocked pantry, Adora leaves the apartment and goes down the outdoor stairs that lead to the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop.
Before she starts, Adora takes out her phone and opens up the screenshot of a map of the area just so she won’t get lost. It would just be a quick 10-minute run, but she still didn’t want to end up somewhere she’d never been to before.
After looking for a good route for her run, Adora begins her run by turning right. The direction Adora runs in just so happens to be directly in front of the apartment next door to her, which she definitely doesn’t realize.
----
Catra
She pours herself a cup of black coffee into her favourite mug and goes to go look out the window.
Scorpia usually wakes up at this time every day, while Catra sleeps in as much as she can.
The only reason she’s even awake at 6 in the morning is that Scorpia managed to shatter not one, but two mugs while trying to make herself a cup of coffee. The sound of shattering ceramic was enough to wake up a very grumpy Catra, and now she can’t go back to sleep.
Eventually, sipping coffee while looking out the window like a grandmother gets boring, so Catra decides to go outside for some fresh air. It’s like her mom always says, “Fresh air, Fresh thinking.” Catra thinks it a stupid quote but still goes outside for fresh air in the morning sometimes.
As soon as she breathes in the air outside after closing the door behind her, Catra feels more awake and relaxed. ‘Maybe mom is right,” Catra thinks as she walks down the outdoor stairs to the sidewalk.
The sight outside is exactly what Catra expects at 6 in the morning on a Monday. A few people walking their dogs, some driving to work, but mostly empty. What she doesn’t expect is to see her neighbour running in her direction covered in sweat.
The sweaty blonde doesn’t seem to notice Catra at first, but eventually, she looks over and smiles brightly at the brunette.
She comes to a slow stop in front of Catra while still panting. Catra can’t find it in herself to do anything else but stare.
Adora’s wearing a tight black shirt that accentuates her large biceps and the 6-pack Catra can see slightly peeking out through the form-fitting shirt. Her shirt looks like it's about to rip at the seams. She’s still breathing heavily from running, which is making her chest rise and fall quickly. Her skin is glistening with sweat, and Adora’s still brightly smiling at her.
Eventually, she must notice Catra’s staring because she raises an eyebrow, confused. “...Hello?”
Catra blinks and shakes her head slightly, already putting on her mask of nonchalance again, “Oh… sorry. Hey.”
“Hi, Catra! It’s a great day, isn’t it?” She looks sideways towards the bright sun shining down on the two while still smiling. Adora’s positive attitude is starting to get on Catra’s nerves, but she doesn’t say anything. Yet.
“Yeah.” Her blunt answer isn’t met with disappointment like it usually is. Adora doesn’t seem affected at all by Catra, which only works to make her angrier.
“So, how are you? I like your outfit by the way.” Adora points to Catra’s pyjamas with a sheepish smile. She looks down at her clothes and almost gasps in embarrassment at what she’s wearing.
Her shirt is dark crimson with a large cartoon cat drawing on it, and her pants are baggy pyjama pants which are covered in little cartoon kittens. It was a joke present from Scorpia, but Catra thought they were pretty comfy and still wears them.
Catra blushes and huffs as she crosses her arms, “Thanks. Can you leave me alone, now?”
That finally gets a reaction from Adora, who scrunches her eyebrows in confusion. Catra thinks her expression is absolutely adorable but refuses to show it. “What?”
“I said can you go now? I mean, why are you even in Brightmoon, anyway. This doesn’t seem like the place someone like you would come to. Just… go back to where you came from,” she flicks her hand outwards as if she’s shooing a cat away.
Adora visibly recoils at her words and seems genuinely upset by what she just said. Catra almost feels bad for her. Almost.
“I-I’m not going back.” It’s almost a whisper, and Catra can barely hear it.
Catra rolls her eyes, “Oh come on. It couldn’t have been that bad. You’re probably more welcome there than here. Now, go! Leave me alone!” She goes to push Adora in the shoulder, but the blonde flinches hard.
Despite Catra’s words, Adora doesn’t budge from her spot. Catra can faintly notice her eyes glistening, like she’s holding in tears, and begins to panic. She didn’t think Adora would react like this.
----
Huntara
As she drives down the street that leads to the tattoo parlour, Huntara can see Catra talking to someone. The other person, a blonde girl, looks upset. Huntara parks her car a little further than usual so she can see what’s happening without intervening. This isn’t the first time she’s found Catra arguing with someone outside of the store.
As she quietly steps out of her car, she can faintly make out what Catra is saying.
“You’re probably more welcome there than here. Now, go! Leave me alone!” She can see Catra try to push the blonde, but she flinches before Catra can even touch her.
Huntara pauses. More welcome there than here? What does that even mean? Suddenly, it clicks.
That’s Adora. She knows it is because Lonnie described what she looked like to her. And Catra just told her that she’s more welcome at the Crimson Waste than Brightmoon. But Catra doesn’t know that Adora’s from the Crimson Waste.
Huntara begins walking over to the two while trying to keep her anger in check. She’s not going to yell at Catra. Sure, she’s acting like a dick, but she doesn’t know. How could she? She taps Catra’s shoulder a little harder than usual. The brunette turns and quickly deflates when she sees her boss standing behind her with a stern face. Catra already knows that Huntara saw that whole encounter, and quickly tries to maintain composure.
“What’s up, boss?”
“What’s up is that you need to go clean the washroom.”
Catra somehow deflates even further but doesn’t argue like she usually does as she walks into the store.
Now, the only people outside are Huntara and a very anxious-looking Adora. Huntara turns back to the blonde. “Hey! I’m Huntara, the manager of Horde Tattooing.”
Adora visibly relaxes at that and sighs in relief. She smiles up at Huntara and sticks a hand out for her to shake, “Oh. Hi, I’m Adora.”
Huntara shakes her hand with a chuckle, “Yeah, I know. Lonnie told me.”
Adora freezes at that, “So, you know…” She doesn’t have to finish her sentence for Huntara to know what she’s talking about.
“Yes, I know you’re from the Fright Zone,” Adora’s eyes widen at that, so Huntara backtracks slightly, “but don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I went to the Fright Zone too, you know.”
Adora seems surprised at that, “Really?” Huntara nods.
“Oh, and don’t listen to Catra. She didn’t mean what she said.”
Adora frowns, “So why did she say it then?”
“Because Catra likes to be an asshole to people for no reason. Trust me, she’s a real softie at heart.”
Adora laughs at that, “You're joking, right?” Huntara laughs with her, “Nope.”
Once their laughter dies down, Huntara changes the subject to what she originally intended to talk to Adora about. “Hey, I want you to know that if you ever need anything, I’m here, okay? I know how hard life can be after ageing out, especially when living in the Crimson Waste. You’re a real warrior, you know that?”
Adora's smile gets bigger at that, “Thank you. That means a lot.” Nobody has ever told Adora how strong she is for getting out of the Crimson Waste and it makes her happy to hear that. Huntara nods.
Adora glances at a clock hanging inside the tattoo parlour, and immediately begins panicking, “Oh, shoot! I’m going to be late for work!” She starts running towards the coffee shop beside them as Huntara laughs loudly from her spot, “Good luck!”
----
Adora
She quickly slams the door to her apartment open at six-thirty in the morning. Adora only has thirty minutes to shower, change into clean clothes, eat breakfast, and clock in.
She quickly runs into her bedroom, but almost immediately runs back out with a handful of clothes in her hand into the washroom.
In her panic, Adora doesn’t notice that Glimmer and Bow had been eating breakfast at the dining table and had seen her run around the apartment like a mess. They laughed to themselves as Adora got ready for the day in record time.
----
Twenty-six minutes and one extremely quick breakfast later, the Best Friend Squad is ready to go. They grab their work aprons and head out. They're a little early, but that's only to give them time to order their coffees from the café. Glimmer and Bow both get some fancy intricate drink that Adora can't remember the name of. She gets a black coffee and puts one sugar and one creamer into it.
That’s one of the perks of working at a coffee shop. Free coffee once a day.
By the time they finish, it's just about 7 in the morning, so the three of them clock in.
Today is Bow and Glimmer’s first day actually working at the shop and not just training, so they won't be doing anything too confusing yet. Adora helps customers at the cash register as Bow, Glimmer, and other employees make the drinks. Adora feels guilty that she hasn’t talked to any of her coworkers, but she does know some of their names.
There’s Mermista. She has tan skin, blue hair, and an annoyed look on her face most of the time. Despite her not very positive attitude, she’s a good worker.
There’s Perfuma. She has slightly tanner skin than Adora, but much lighter hair than her. Adora’s never talked to her but from what she can see, Perfuma has a really positive and bubbly personality.
There’s Sea Hawk. He has a moustache and brown hair that swoops over the black hairband wrapped around his head. He yells ‘ADVENTURE’ a lot, and calls Mermista ‘my dearest’ way too much for a work setting.
That’s pretty much it for employees since Brightmoon Café is a small coffee shop in an even smaller town.
Hours go by as they continue working, and today is pretty regular. Well, not totally regular. Today feels different than the other days that Adora’s worked here. Everyone is socializing a lot, and they all seem so happy. Bow and Glimmer seem to really boost the morale of everyone here. Adora turns to see them all talking and smiling with each other.
Adora gets a sick feeling in her gut and turns back to the register. Maybe it was naïve of her to think that she could get a fresh start here. Maybe she should just stop trying to make friends. Maybe there’s no poi-
Her thoughts are cut off by Glimmer calling her over, “Adora! Get over here!” Adora looks back and forth between the rest of the store and her coworkers. It’s been particularly slow the past few hours since most people are at work by now.
Adora decides to go join the group. She’s expecting them to all get awkward when she joins, and immediately leave.
Instead of that, everyone is so friendly towards her. They’re including her in their conversations, and Adora finds herself laughing and smiling along with them. It turns out that they never even knew Adora’s name the entire time she’s worked here, which is entirely her fault.
Now, not only do they know her name, but they also said that they all consider Adora their friend. All three of the coworkers, Mermista, Perfuma, and Sea Hawk, said that they wished Adora had talked soon because they think she’s really great.
Their conversation is cut short by customers coming in. A group of hungover college students in desperate need of caffeine.
The six go back to their jobs, but Adora can’t stop smiling as she works.
She can’t believe it. People actually like her! They don’t think she’s weird, or annoying, or a nuisance. They think she’s nice and fun, and friendly.
After Lonnie left, Adora became very hostile towards all the other kids and, as a result, nobody ever wanted to be her friend. She would push them, and hit them, and yell at them, and basically just do anything to make them leave her alone. She told herself that it was better that way. That if she didn’t let anyone get close to her, they couldn’t hurt her later. Eventually, people stopped trying to talk to her and Adora stayed alone until she aged out. Nobody said goodbye to her when she left.
The group of friends (friends! It’s still so exciting to Adora) continue to talk between customers as they work throughout the day.
----
By the end of the day, everyone is exhausted. They all clock out at 10:00 pm and, after saying goodbye, they all head home.
The distance from work to home is a lot shorter for Bow, Glimmer, and Adora than it is for anyone else working there.
The three of them collapse onto the two couches in their living rooms.
Adora lifts her head slightly to look at the other two, “So, how did you guys like your first day?”
Bow looks over at her and smiles tiredly, “It was great! Everyone’s so nice, but now I’m so tired.”
Glimmer groans her agreement from beside him.
Eventually, after lying on the couches for a little too long, Glimmer begrudgingly stands up to make them dinner.
Adora gets up with the purple-haired girl, “Oh, do you want any help? I can make dinner if you want.” She’s following the shorter girl around like an anxious dog.
Glimmer turns around to face her when they’ve made it to the kitchen and slowly places a hand on her shoulder, “It’s okay, Adora. You made breakfast yesterday, so I’ll make dinner today. Besides, you aren’t exactly an amazing chef.”
Adora stutters endlessly at that, “I- You- What are you talking about? I’m an amazing cook!”
Bow raises his head from the couch as he and Glimmer both give her an incredulous look, “You almost burned the house down while trying to make dinner yesterday, Adora.”
Adora blushes and sits back down on one of the two couches in their living room with a huff. She mutters something under her breath, but neither Bow nor Glimmer hear her.
----
Adora and Bow sit at the dinner table as Glimmer brings over something steaming. Glimmer spent way too long cooking, so they’re all starving by now.
Glimmer places a platter of dumplings down on the table, and the two immediately begin taking all of them with their utensils. Bow and Glimmer use chopsticks while Adora uses a spoon and fork. It turns out orphanages don’t teach children how to use many eating utensils. What a shocker, right?
As soon as Bow and Adora get one bite of a dumpling, they both practically melt from how delicious it is.
“Where did you learn to cook this, Glimmer,” Adora asks with her mouth filled with dumpling. Glimmer laughs at her eagerness, “My mom isn’t a good cook, but we always made this together when I was a kid.”
The group keeps eating and, after they’re finished, they start Game Night. It was Bow’s idea, and it turns out to be really fun.
They start with Monopoly and quickly move through most of the board games that Bow brought with him from his dads’ house.
By the time they’re done, the group is even more exhausted and head to bed. Tomorrow they don't have work because of some event that Bow and Glimmer refuse to give Adora any information about, but they still have to be up early.
Adora lies down on her pillow and pulls the blanket up. She thinks about how today went.
She made friends. She had fun with her friends. She had a good, productive, day.
As she goes through the events that transpired today, Adora is reminded of her interaction with Catra. Adora can understand why Catra’s lashing out at her, having spent years doing that herself, but usually, when Adora lashed out, it was because of something someone did, not just for no reason.
‘Maybe I made her upset?’ Adora thinks, but she can’t think of anything she’s done to upset the brunette.
‘Maybe I’m just not meant to be friends with everyone in this town,” Adora thinks as she succumbs to sleep.