Glimmer couldn’t sleep. She had been lying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her brain was running a mile a minute, thinking about all the things she had to do. The kingdoms she had to help rebuild, her own kingdom she had to run. But mostly she was thinking about her friends. Well, friends and potential boyfriend? Friends, potential boyfriend, and your best friend’s girlfriend who tried to kill you on multiple occasions but then saved your life? Yeah, she was thinking. The Bow situation was complicated. Sure, she had told him she loved him, but did he think it was in a friend way? They hadn’t really had time to talk about it yet. She hoped it wasn’t in a “just friends” way. But then again she also didn’t want to ruin the friendship that they had built over years. A friendship like that is something not a lot of people are lucky enough to have, and Glimmer did not want to take that for granted. But she also really, really liked Bow. Maybe she could talk to Adora. She seemed to know what she was doing, considering she and Catra were dating now. Well, “dating” is questionable since Glimmer has a suspicion that neither Catra nor Adora actually knows what that means. But even if they hadn’t put a label on it, it was very obvious that they loved each other. Glimmer was happy for Adora. She had always known that something was up with the two. Even when Catra was trying to kill them, she could tell that there was a lot of complicated history between them. Understanding that made it easier for Glimmer to accept Catra into the Best Friends Squad. Well, that and because she saved her life. To be honest, she hadn’t fully forgiven Catra for everything yet. But the important thing was that she was giving her a chance, and so far Catra had given Glimmer no reason to distrust her anymore. Catra seemed to love Adora just as much as Adora loved Catra, so she was content. Ugh, brain, stop thinking! Glimmer sat up in bed and sighed. I’m kind of hungry, I guess I’ll go get a snack since it seems like I won’t be sleeping anytime soon. She thought. She teleported out of her bed and onto the floor. She decided to walk to the kitchens instead of teleport. Maybe that will clear my head a little bit.
The halls were dark, only lit by the faint moonlight coming through the windows and casting shadows on the floor. Bright Moon was so peaceful at night. Sure, it’s always peaceful, but during the day there are so many things happening that it’s hard to find somewhere quiet. Glimmer nodded and waved to the guards she passed on her way to the kitchens. She was just passing by the training rooms when she heard a noise coming from one of them. It’s probably just Adora. She thought. Most of the time, when Adora can’t sleep she goes to the training rooms to hit something. It relaxed her in a way that Glimmer could never understand. If Glimmer wanted to relax she would take a nice hot shower, or maybe go to the beach. If it is Adora, maybe I should check on her. It might be nice to talk to someone. Maybe I can talk to her about Bow. Glimmer mulled this over, then decided to check if it was Adora. She backed up a few paces and peered into the room. It was, in fact, Adora. But she wasn’t alone. Catra was there too. They seemed to be sparring, and it was very intense from the looks of it.
The girls were face to face, both in fighting stances. Adora’s hair had come out of her ponytail a little bit, framing her face. Glimmer watched as the girls danced around each other like they had done this a thousand times. They probably have , Glimmer thought. Adora swung at Catra’s head with her staff only for Catra to catch it and push Adora backwards. She swung her own staff at Adora but she ducked. Adora swung diagonally at Catra, which she blocked then kicked at Adora’s face. Adora caught her ankle but Catra used that to pull Adora down so she landed face first on the floor. Catra looked down at her.
“Ow, Catra.” Adora glared up at the other girl.
“Oh no, did I hurt you?” Catra asked sarcastically, her hands on her hips.
“Oh, fuck off.” Adora said as she swung her staff under Catra’s feet, knocking her to the ground. Adora got up and looked down at Catra
“I hate you.” Catra hissed.
“Love you too!” Adora held out her hand to Catra. She took it and got up. Catra took the same position she had when Glimmer first walked in. Adora did the same. Catra swung and managed to hit Adora in the stomach. She winced but recovered and kicked Catra in the ribs. Catra hopped backwards and swung her staff. Their staffs connected in the middle. They didn’t hit each other’s bodies again for about thirty seconds until Catra hit Adora in the back of her knees. She ducked but swung upwards and back with her staff which connected with Catra’s chin. Catra yelped and grabbed Adora’s staff. She stood over Adora with both staffs in an ‘x’ position at Adora’s neck.
“I win.” Catra said with a smirk. Then she dropped the both staffs and held out a hand to Adora. “No weapons this time?” She proposed.
“You’re on.” Adora said as she took Catra’s hand. “And no cheating!”
“I never cheat.” Catra replied, then took the first swing. Adora dodged and punched at Catra’s face, which she blocked. They’re beating the shit out of each other! Glimmer thought, concerned. It looked like they were really trying to hurt each other. Deep down, she knew that wasn’t true, but neither one was holding back. Glimmer considered interfering, but decided against it. She didn’t want to let her friends know she was watching them. This already felt like a weird breach of privacy, even though Catra and Adora were far too caught up in each other to notice that Glimmer was watching them. It was sweet, even if they were beating the shit out of each other. Glimmer went back to observing. Catra was fast, Glimmer noticed, but Adora was strong and precise. If Adora could tire Catra out she had this in the bag. But Glimmer suspected Adora already knew this. They were going faster now. It was almost like a dance.
Catra kicks Adora in the ribs. She recovers and punches Catra’s jaw in an uppercut. Catra kicks at Adora’s knees. She dodges and comes at Catra with a backhand slap to the face. That one must have hurt. Catra stumbles, then hits Adora in the shoulder with her elbow so Adora stumbles low enough for Catra to knee her in the jaw. Adora cries out, then punches Catra in the stomach twice. They step back from each other. Catra kicks at Adora’s face. She dodges and swings at Catra’s head. Catra dodges and Adora loses her balance enough for Catra to grab her ponytail. Catra knees Adora in the ribs but Adora squats low enough to flip Catra over her shoulder. Catra sticks the landing and kicks Adora in the back. Adora stumbles, but recovers in time to catch Catra’s wrist as she was swinging at her. She judo flips Catra to the ground. Catra tries to get up but Adora tackles her to the floor again. Adora pins Catra’s wrists, but doesnt get to her feet in time so Catra wraps her legs around Adora’s waist and flips them so Adora is on the floor. Adora grunts and kicks Catra in the stomach. Catra lets go of Adora which gives her an opening to flip them again. This time, Adora has Catra’s feet pinned and her forearm to Catra’s neck.
“Admit defeat!” Adora pressed harder on Catra’s neck, but not enough to cut off her air.
“Fine. I tap out!” Catra rolled her eyes and pushed Adora off of her and sat up so they were kneeling face to face. Catra put her hand on Adora’s cheek, wiping the blood off of her chin. “Are you sure I didn’t hurt you too bad?” She asked.
“No, I'm tough!” Adora said with a smile. “You?”
Catra laughed. “I’m a little bruised but I’ll be okay.” Adora’s face fell a little bit. “What is it?” Catra inquired.
“Well, we haven’t sparred like that since we were kids. And even then it definitely wasn’t that violent. I just… I don’t know. Is this bad?” Adora asked. Well at least one of them recognized that it was a little weird.
“You worry too much.” Catra said. Then she smiled. “It’s fine, Adora. I promise. I would tell you if you were hurting me.”
“Me too.”
“Good.” Adora smiled softly as she pulled Catra in for a quick kiss. They separated and Glimmer watched as Adora leaned her head on Catra’s forehead.
“Can we go to sleep now?” Adora asked, one hand on Catra’s cheek and the other on her shoulder.
“Only if you carry me.” Catra responded. She pushed away from Adora a little so they were looking each other in the eyes.
Adora rolled her eyes. “You have legs, you know.”
“Yeah but I also have a girlfriend who’s big and strong.” Catra giggled. So they do know the meaning of girlfriend. Glimmer thought. Huh. Maybe Bow told them. Or maybe they already knew. She made a mental note to ask them about it later.
“You want me to turn into She-Ra? Just to carry you to our room because you’re too lazy to walk?” Adora questioned.
“No, I think Adora is big and strong too.” Catra smiled. “But She-Ra would work just as well...” Catra said teasingly.
“I am not turning into She-Ra.” Adora said as she picked up Catra bridal style.
“Hmm. Suit yourself.” Catra snuggled into Adora’s chest. Glimmer saw Adora smile softly at Catra before shifting her weight and walking towards the door. She teleported back to her room so as to not get caught. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry anymore. She was thinking about what she saw. Was it right to spy on her friends like that? And was what Catra and Adora doing really okay? Sure, they had talked about it afterwards, but does that make it healthy? Maybe she could ask Perfuma about that one. She didn’t want to ask them directly in case they were mad at her for watching them. Well, mostly Catra would be mad. Adora would probably just laugh it off. Maybe she would consult Bow on what to do. She really did have so many things to do. That’s a problem for Morning Glimmer. She thought as she finally drifted off to sleep.