As mornings go in Etheria, this one was pretty standard for Perfuma.
“Hey, Flower Princess! Got a moment?”
Until certain Wild Cat made an appearance. It shouldn’t be that suspicions, to be honest, but Catra had appeared without Adora so that was new.
“Catra! What a nice surprise!” She goes in for a hug but stops herself. Catra gives her a little smile and a nod in thanks. Even if a couple months had gone by since the end of Prime, Catra still wasn’t as comfortable with the displays of affection. Adora, Melog, and Scorpia were the only exceptions to the rule (and maybe Bow and Glimmer). And talking about them…
“Are you here alone? Where are Adora and Melog?”
“Back at the Fright Zone,” Catra answers, now walking with Perfuma, no destination in mind, waving at some people passing by. “After two months cleaning the place we feel we haven’t made that much progress. Adora might have covered everything in flowers, but inside the old Horde structures everything is still a mess.”
“Mess like what?” Catra releases a heavy sigh.
“Like we opened this door today and it was full of old machines and tanks that clearly have been tampered with because they are useless with wires and parts hanging everywhere. We suspect they fell victim to Entrapta.”
“So you were cleaning that room all morning?”
“The cleaning is still going on,” answers Catra, kicking a pebble into the trees. “But the things we need to take out are too heavy for me. I’m strong, but not dead-lift-a-tank-barehanded-over-my-head strong. Scorpia is, Adora as She-Ra is, and Melog has magic. I was in the way, so I came here.”
“And we are happy to have you, Catra,” says Perfuma in her ever-present cheery tone. “There are lots of things around here that still need to be done, though it’s really delicate flower work for most of it, but I won’t say no if you want to try.”
“Actually I had something in mind. A couple things to be honest,” says Catra scratching the back of her head and avoiding Perfuma’s now intrigued eyes. “First, I wanted to know if your offer to help me with meditation was still good.”
This time, Perfuma couldn’t help herself. Catra expected the hug. By no means had it caught her by surprise. What she didn’t expect was to literally be tackled to the ground in a flower explosion by an overexcited Perfuma.
“Yes! Of course the offer is still good!” she tells Catra just a couple inches from her face. If this had been any other person, Catra would have pushed them away. But this was Perfuma. She knew by now how Flower Princess was. Catra let it slide. For now. “When do you want to begin? Right now is a good time! We can begin with the basics! The lotus seating position, and then the breathing patterns to start clearing our minds of any thought and-”
“Hey! Slow down, will you?” Perfuma squeezes her one last time and stands giving her space, big smile on her face. Catra makes a show of dusting herself off before talking again. “No. Not today. Cause I have something else I want to talk with you.”
“Sure, about what?”
“Scorpia, when are you gonna tell her you love her?” says Catra direct to the point.
Silence follows. Catra can hear the wind howling between the trees, the birds singing, even the distant noise of a monster in the deep forest, but no answer from Perfuma.
“Flower Princess?” Catra stands right in front of her waving a hand in front of her eyes. No reaction. “Perfuma?” Catra then snaps her fingers. Nothing. “Damn, did I break her? Well, her chest is moving so at least she’s still breathing.”
She waits for a few more minutes until finally the Princess in front of her blinks and starts to move.
“Good, you are back. I was about to slap you out of it,” Catra grins, showing a little bit of fang.
“I’m sorry, you just took me by surprise. I didn’t realize someone had noticed.”
“How could I not?” Catra says. “I have to admit, and I’ll deny to my dying breath I ever said this, that it’s thanks to my feelings for Adora that I can. The way you look at Scorpia is the same way Shanty looks at Water Princess, or Net one looks at Windy one, or Sparkles at Arrow boy, or … how Adora looks at me.”
“Awww, that’s just so cu-”
“Don’t say cute!”
“But you are!” says Perfuma with sparkles in her eyes. Catra sighs a little exasperated. Why did everyone on this planet could do the sparkles?
“We are diverting from the topic. This is not about me, this is about YOU not telling SCORPIA about YOUR feelings. Something I actually find quite weird as you are the most in sync with feelings than anyone else I know,” Catra scowls a bit, fists on her hips.
Perfuma sighs, a little defeated. She wouldn’t get out of this conversation.
“I’ve tried,” she admits, Catra’s ears standing into attention. “But I don’t know why, every time, I freeze. And later I think “it’s for the best, most likely she doesn’t feel the same” and I know, I really KNOW, it’s unlike me, but I can’t help it.”
“If that’s the problem then there is no problem. She feels the same,” says Catra. “Believe me, she does,” Perfuma blushes, eyes going wide.
“She does? How are you so sure? She told you?”
“No, I just know it,” Catra puts one hand on her shoulder and gives her an encouraging smile. “She looks at you the same way when you look away.”
And just like that, the sparkles are back.
“Really?” Catra nods. Flowers start appearing all around them. “What do I do?”
“Confessing would be nice,” Now is Perfuma’s turn to scowl a bit, she is not amused. Catra ignores her. “And take it from me, you don’t want to wait until you both are trapped in mortal peril to do it.”
“Wasn’t planning on it. Wasn’t planning anything if I’m honest,” Perfuma stays silent for a second. “Can I ask you something? Why are you so invested in this?”
Catra blushes and looks away.
“You know I wasn’t the best friend for Scorpia during our time in the Horde. I didn’t make her happy and she deserved that. I want her to be happy now and you, Flower Princess, you make her happy,” Catra risks a look at Perfuma. She had tears in her eyes and a smile so tender that, even when she looked away again, Catra could still feel her gaze on her. “It’s also to make Mermista stop her complains about “those two idiots” and- COULD YOU PLEASE STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?”
“Ok, sure, sorry,” Perfuma schools her face. “I wonder how Scorpia will react.”
“Only one way to find out.”
“I feared you would say that,” Perfuma takes a deep breath. “Ok, if I’m going to do this I need to do something first and I’ll need your help.”
“Ehhh, sure? What is it?”
Catra regrets her words almost immediately at the smile Perfuma sends her way.
///
As mornings go in Etheria, this one was pretty standard for Scorpia.
One more day working to bring back her families’ kingdom from the ruins of the Horde. It would take time, but she felt so good. More so because she wasn’t doing this alone. She had friends, true friends, helping her every step of the way.
“And that was the last tank!” she says, dusting off her pincers in her slacks.
“Last one for now,” answers Adora, turning back from She-Ra mode, and sitting on a box. She looks around. “I think this room structure is solid, we won’t have to bring this one down.”
“Oh! That’s good! Very good!” Scorpia makes a show of looking around. Adora gives her a soft smile. She can totally see through her.
“It’s your kingdom. If you don’t want to keep it, it’s fine,” she says, petting Melog.
“Am… Am I that obvious?”
“As obvious as your feelings for Perfuma, yes.”
Scorpia turns to look at Adora so quickly the blonde is surprised she didn’t injured her neck.
“How I feel-? What? Nooooo! I don’t… You are just… Ok, yes,” Scorpia moves to sit beside Adora on the floor. Melog moves to be sandwiched between the two women. “How long have you known?”
“Long enough, as well as basically everyone, except the one who really counts,” Adora smiles at Scorpia’s blush. “Can I ask why you haven’t told her?”
“I’ve tried,” she says. “But whenever she smiles I forget what I was going to say and become a blabbering mess.”
“Cat got your tongue, huh?”
“Yes,” she says, lying down to stare at the high ceiling. “And it’s also that Perfuma treats everyone with the same enthusiastic friendship. How can I even be sure she feels something different for me as I feel for her?”
“You can’t know until you try, just don’t wait until you are literally being used as a sacrifice to save a planet to do it, trust me,” Scorpia chuckles at that and sits back up.
“I won’t, promise,” she says, carefully scratching behind Melog’s ears, they purr, happy smile on their kitty face.
“I can see something is on your mind, want to share?” says Adora a few minutes later.
“What if Perfuma doesn’t… What if she says no?” Adora sighs.
“Ok, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I think it’s worth it,” she makes a dramatic pause. “She won’t say no.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because I’ve seen the way she looks at you when you are not looking at her,” says Adora. “It’s the same look Catra has when she looks at me.”
That does the trick. Adora can see the immediate change in Scorpia.
“Ok then! It’s decided! I’ll tell her!” Scorpia says, getting to her feet. “I still don’t know how, but I’ll do it!” Adora grins widely and gives her a double thumbs up. “Can you help me think of something on our way to lunch? I’m starving. You must be dying to see Catra and Wild Cat must be bored waiting back at the camp site.”
“Oh, she is not at the camp,” says Adora, falling into pace with Scorpia, Melog at her heel. “She said she would go to Plumeria and that we could find her there later.”
“To Plumeria then.”
Adora waits.
“PLUMERIA!?”
There it is.
“Relax, you don’t have to say anything to Perfuma today. You don’t even have to come if you don’t want to.”
“Nonono! You don’t understand, I have to! Catra must have already told her we are together and that you know where she is. If you show up alone then Perfuma will know I decided not to go and she could think it’s because of her and I can’t have her thinking THAT!” Scorpia stops to breath. “No, I’ll go.”
She proceeds to lead the way out of the Horde ruins leaving Adora to follow a few steps back. She trades a look with Melog.
Their plan was going smoothly so far.
///
“Breath in… now out…”
Catra opens one eye and immediately gets wacked on the hand by a plant.
“Eyes closed, Catra, don’t cheat or this won’t work,” says Perfuma without moving a muscle.
“How did you even noticed that with your eyes closed?” mutters Catra, shaking her swatted hand before getting back into meditation position and closing her eyes once more. “The Horde was wrong in many things, but right in that Princesses are monsters… OUCH! WHAT DID I DO NOW?”
Perfuma grins, obviously enjoying this. “Shhhh… no talking… just breath. In. Out.”
“I still don’t understand what you needed me for,” she says one eye open again. “You can certainly do this by yourself.”
“Why waste a good learning opportunity?” Catra frowns and connects the dots.
“You tricked me into my first meditation?”
“If that’s how you want to put it,” Perfuma opens one eye and smiles. “Then yes, I tricked you.”
Catra can’t hide her surprise.
“Well, colored me impressed, Princess,” she sees movement on the corner of her eye and then proceeds to stand up. “But I think this session will need to be a short one.”
“What? Why?” Catra points into the distance. Perfuma turns and her eyes go big.
“Because we have company now,” she says, walking to the newcomers. “Adora! Over here!”
Catra doesn’t turn to see Perfuma’s reaction. She figured she would let her panic in peace.
///
“I don’t think this is such a good idea anymore, Adora,” Scorpia tries to backtrack but Melog doesn’t let her, pushing her with their head against her lower back.
Adora just chuckles. She then hears Catra calling them over and raises her hand to return her greeting.
“A little too late for regrets, Scorpia, they already saw us,” Adora hears Scorpia’s low whine and rolls her eyes good naturedly. Her friend could be such a drama queen.
Catra meets them halfway to the spot they saw her meditating with Perfuma (more like trying to, really). She first gives Adora a small peck on the lips as greeting and pets Melog before turning to Scorpia. She lets her friend give her a big hug without flinching.
“So, you both ready?” asks Catra when Scorpia puts her back down.
“Yes… ready for what?” Scorpia looks puzzled between her two friends.
“Oh, you didn’t tell her?”
“Sorry, forgot to mention it,” says Adora to then turn to Scorpia. “We are going to visit Razz. It’s pie day.”
“Plumeria has the most direct route, that’s why I was waiting here. Besides, I wanted to tell Perfuma about wanting the meditation classes.”
“Don’t worry,” adds Adora. “We won’t take too long. We will be back to finish with today’s clean up,” they start moving, Melog running circles around them.
“We’ll bring pie!” calls Catra before they disappear behind the tree line.
“Something tells me I was tricked,” Scorpia mutters, watching them go.
“Where are they going?”
“Pie Day at Razz’s.”
“Oh! So I guess is just the two of us, then?”
“Yes, just the-” the moment catches up to her. She looks to her right. The Princess was looking up at her with a quizzing look. She could almost see the question mark over her head.
“Something wrong?”
“No. Noooo. Not at all. I just…” Come on Scorpia, do it! “I just… I just hope they bring pie.”
“Oh yes! That would be wonderful! Now come, lunch is ready over here,” Perfuma starts walking and Scorpia follows.
She slaps her forehead, hard.
“Way to go, Scorpia.”
///
Perfuma lets her facade drop the moment her back is to the other woman. How in Etheria was she going to survive an afternoon alone with the person she has strong feelings for?
Catra might have told her that her feelings weren’t unrequited and to not be afraid to confess, but it was still scary.
Also because she wanted to make this count. You only confess once, after all.
“Deep breaths, Perfuma. You can do this. It won’t ruin your friendship. It will make it stronger.”
“Perfuma?”
She stops, schools her features, and turns with a wide smile on her face.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Well, I was wondering where you were taking us because we passed the lunch tent already.”
As mornings go, this was no longer one Perfuma wanted to remember.
///
Scorpia didn’t know how she was able to eat given the knot that had found a very good home inside her throat.
Every single time she had tried to start a romantic conversation, it had backfired into their usual banter.
Friendly banter. No more than that.
Although she did notice that Perfuma seemed distracted. Her usual perkiness looked forced. Her answers came delayed. The plate in front of her almost untouched. Was it because they were alone? It wouldn’t be the first time they were like this. Was she nervous, perhaps? And if so, why?
She remembered Adora’s words.
“I’ve seen the way she looks at you when you are not looking at her.”
“It’s the same look Catra has when she looks at me,” she mutters.
“Did you say something?”
“What? Oh! Well, uhm, nothing really just remembering something Adora told me,” she says resting important to it. “It was about Catra.”
“Catra? Everything good between them? They looked ok to me.”
“Oh yes! All perfect! It was a good thing she told me, a very very good thing… yes”
“That’s good then!”
“Yes, good.”
Awkward silence follows.
They play with their food a little while longer until the tension grows too strong for them.
“Would you like to-”
“How about we-”
They both try to speak at the same time.
“You can go first.”
“You can go first.”
They stare at each other for a second to then laugh, tension broken.
“You were saying, Scorpia?”
“Yes, well,” she puts the remains of her lunch aside, no need to keep playing with it. She wasn’t that hungry anyway. “I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me? You know, to pass the time while Adora and Catra return with the pie.”
“I would love too, yes,” Perfuma answers quickly. She blushes, and averts her gaze.
Scorpia beams. A walk, alone, with lovely Perfuma, perfect love declaration opportunity.
“Then, what are we waiting for?” Scorpia offers her hand to Perfuma. “Let’s go.”
///
They walk, not saying much.
At least this time it wasn’t an awkward silence. They just enjoyed each other’s presence.
Scorpia smiling each time Perfuma would stop to fix something on a tree or a plant or make something bloom to give more color to a certain area. Each time she would ask Scorpia if it looked good, if it wasn’t too much, or if there was a special color she would prefer. It was sweet.
Their walk takes them to the kingdom limits. That area where in the past you could clearly see a Horde camp. Now everything was covered in flowers and you could see different people working here and there to remove Horde remnants or just children playing and making flower crowns.
“You know?” says Perfuma, sitting down and patting the space next to her for Scorpia to sit as well. “For years I looked at this place, full of soldiers, machinery, and grime killing the earth and never thought, even in my wildest dreams that it would look like this one day. That the green, the colors, would come back.”
“We’ll make sure they never fade again, together, I promise you that,” says Scorpia, putting an arm around her shoulders and bringing her closer. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
Friends.
That word makes Perfuma react.
It was time to be brave. It was time to confess. It was time to tell Scorpia she loved her.
Perfuma moves to be able to see Scorpia’s face and her eyes open in surprise at what she sees.
Her face was bright red, eyes pleading, mouth set into a tense line, and she looked like she wasn’t breathing.
Before Perfuma could ask what was wrong, Scorpia took a deep breath and started talking.
“I heard myself,” she starts. “I heard myself talking just now and it’s not what I want. Adora was right. If I keep on waiting I’ll end up saying this when one of us is being sacrificed to save a planet and we deserve better,” She pauses to take another deep breath. “I... Oh man… I’m not good at this… I can do this, I can do this,” she closes her eyes and counts to ten. “Ok, here it goes, Perfuma-”
“I love you, too!”
Silence follows.
Perfuma sees the other woman petrified in front of her, totally caught by surprise.
Now she hopes she didn’t just made a big mistake by blurting that out.
“You… you love me?” asks Scorpia after a few seconds (that felt like hours) went by. “You mean it?”
“Yes,” she says.
“And just to be sure, you don’t mean it as friends, right? You are not saying that you love me as your friend, right?”
“I certainly am not saying it like that,” Perfuma extends her hands and cups Scorpia’s face between them, bringing their foreheads together. “Princess Scorpia, I’m in love with you.”
Scorpia puts her arms around her, bringing her closer.
“Princess Perfuma, I’m in love with you as well.”
///
Scorpia didn’t know much about kissing, but she was sure that she had just the best first kiss in the universe.
And the second.
And the third.
And after a while she just lost count.
Perfuma was the best in the universe. Period.
“As much as I’m enjoying this,” she says to her blushing brand new girlfriend. “I think we should be going back. Adora and Catra will wonder where we disappeared to.”
“I honestly don’t think they will be wondering,” says Perfuma. “I’m pretty sure we were set up today for this to happen.”
“Oh! You got that impression too? I was wondering why Adora told me all that, to then bring me here, to then leave me alone.”
“Catra did the same,” she nods. “They planned it.”
“That wild cat,” Scorpia sighs. “I knew she was a good friend.”
Perfuma smiles tenderly at her new girlfriend and stands up.
“Come on, it’s getting late. We shouldn’t keep Adora and Catra waiting for the good news that their plan worked.”
“Very good news,” Scorpia replies, standing up as well and pulling Perfuma in for another quick kiss.
Scorpia could see it, their future.
Their whole lives from that moment on.
And she loved it.
For Etheria she loved it.
And she couldn’t wait to start.
-End-