Aftermath
Back to the morning after…
Catra stares at the blonde with her mouth open in shock as she takes in everything Adora has just told her and then stares down at Adora’s hand, the one with the ring on it, the ring she must have gotten from Netossa and Spinny and then has to physically shake herself back into the present.
“Right.” Catra says, there’s nothing else that seems to come to mind, “Right…”
Adora offers up a nervous smile, pushing herself to her feet, “I’m going to get some water. I’ll be right back.”
“Right.” Catra repeats staring after her… wife, “Right…”
Adora returns with two glasses of water, she holds one out to the magicat as she sits herself back down in bed next to Catra, “Are you alright?”
Catra takes the water gingerly, bringing it up to her lips for a sip to bide her time while her brain musters up some sort of answer, and when she lowers the glass all she can ask is, “You married me?”
“Yes.” Adora smiles again, “I did.”
“Why?”
The question stumps the blonde, thinking she’d already answered this during the long explanation from before, “Uh… Because you asked me and… I thought we already went through that…”
“No. I mean, yes.” Catra rubs her back of her neck before looking back up at Adora, “But why me? I’m not… And you’re… fuck… you’re like… totally out of my league.”
That statement makes Adora giggle as she brings her glass to her lips for another sip, “You’re cute. What are you talking about? I am not out of your league, clearly as I married you.”
“I’m not cute…” Catra grumbles despite her bed hair saying the opposite as it sticks up all over the place, “But you…” the magicat looks the blonde up and down, before realising again that she’s in Catra’s bed and married to her, “Are gorgeous, beautiful and every other synonym of those two words that I can’t seem to articulate right now…”
Adora leans forward, collects Catra’s half drunk glass and puts it on the bedside table alongside her own and pulls the magicat in for a kiss, and when they part, there’s a dopey grin on Catra’s face as Adora smirks back, “See? You’re cute. Adorable. And every other synonym of those two words…”
Catra leans in again for another kiss, “Fuck…”
“Mm… no, we haven’t don’t that.” Adora whispers into the magicat’s lips before she adds, “Yet.”
Just as Catra is about to retort, her alarm goes off and she groans out, reaching around to grab it and muttering a, “Sorry” in the process as she turns it off and rubs her eyes, “Hey, Adora?”
“Hm?”
“Want to come to the lab?” Catra asks with an awkward smile.
“Sure. Show me your dinosaurs.” Adora smiles back as she leans back in for a few more kisses, “But I still want more kisses.”
Catra laughs, feeling lighter as she decides that making out with her wife is an excellent use of her Saturday morning, since no one is actually expecting her to be at work today anyway.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?” Adora tentatively steps inside, dressed in her magicat’s clothes.
“Yes.” Catra replies as she swipes her card and holds the door open to her office, “I just can’t leave you unaccompanied. So, where you go, I go.”
“What if I need to use the bathroom?” Adora asks as she watches Catra drop her bag on the floor behind her desk, “Or if I need to… I don’t know… make a phone call or something?”
“Do you need to do either of those two things right now, princess?” Catra looks up from her computer after switching it on as Adora shakes her head, “And in answer to your questions, for now, yeah, I’ll have to be with you. Obviously not go into the stall with you and watch, but I can wait outside the lavatory, so you’ve got some privacy. And if you need to make a phone call or whatever, just use my office. I’m just going to be in the main lab next door, you’ll be able to see me through the windows.”
“Oh, okay.” Adora replies as she looks around Catra’s office, it’s not big or even all that personable, just mostly books, books and more books. Only for a fossilised skeleton of a small Compsognathus that’s been reassembled and positioned in the middle of the bookshelf gives the room some sort of décor, the blonde looks over to Catra, “Nice dinosaur.”
Catra looks up and grins, “I found that one.”
“Oh yeah?” Adora says with genuine surprise, “That’s really cool.”
“Yeah.” Catra replies as she quickly types something on her computer and then gets up and off her chair to stand next to the blonde, looking at the small dinosaur skeleton, “I found that one on my first dig. Well, not that one exactly. This is actually just a replica, the real one is in a museum that I rent out to them.”
“You rent out a dinosaur?” Adora asks perplexed, “Can you do that?”
“Yeah. Finders’ keepers.” Catra shrugs, “It’s all above board. No dodgy dealings if that’s what you’re thinking. Traps has all the footage and all the documentation to prove it if anyone tries something.”
“Huh.” Adora tilts her head, “Can I ask how much you rent it out for?”
Catra grins, “Hm… it’s a bit early to talk money in our relationship, isn’t it?”
Adora eyes widen and the gasps, “No! That’s… I’m not after your money! I swear!” the blonde quickly says, “I’ll sign a pre-nup and back date if you need me to!”
Catra just stares at her incredulously, “Are you planning on divorcing me already, princess?”
“No.” Adora replies, “I mean, I don’t want to.”
“Okay…” Catra drawls before she smiles at the blonde, “Guess I’m going to spend the rest of my life getting to know and love you, huh?”
Adora pauses when she hears that, “What did you say?”
Taken aback a little with a smidge of recognition, the magicat slowly repeats, “I’m going to spend the rest of my life getting to know and love you?”
Without warning, Adora pulls Catra into a fierce kiss, the magicat yelping a little at the act before letting herself melt into it and kisses her wife back and when they pull apart for air, the blonde smiles as she rests her forehead against the magicat’s, “That’s why I married you…”
Catra blinks back at her, whispering, “I meant every word of it.”
“I know you do.” Adora smiles a little wider as she closes her eyes and enjoys Catra’s warmth, “So… show me what you do here.”
Adora frowns down at the slab in front of her as Catra continues to work, gently drilling and chipping away at rock around the bone as she huffs out, pushing her safety goggles up. The magicat’s ears perk up, “What’s up, princess? Am I boring you?”
“No, that’s not it.” Grey blue eyes meet heterochromatic ones as the blonde furrows her brows as she looks back down at the slab, “How can you tell what’s bone and what’s rock?”
Catra stares at Adora incredulously, before she grins, pulling off her goggles and walking across to where Adora is still glaring at the slab of rock in front of her, “Here, I’ll show you.” She takes Adora’s gloved hand and runs her forefinger over the slab, “Feel this?”
“Hm.”
“That’s rock. See how it’s rough?” Adora nods tentatively as Catra moves her fingers to another part of the slab, “And this, this is bone.”
“What’s the difference?” Adora asks, her brows still furrowed.
“It’s smoother.” Catra replies but the frown still stays on the blonde’s face, the magicat chuckles and nudges Adora, “It’s okay, princess. It takes a while to get used to what’s what.”
“Uh huh.” Adora nudges Catra back playfully, “Guess I’m not made for this stuff.”
Catra wraps her arms around Adora from behind and rests her chin on the blonde’s shoulder, “It’s okay. You’re not getting paid to know this stuff.”
The blonde giggles, leaning back against Catra, “Do you still have a lot to do?”
“Nah, I think I’m done for the day.” Catra replies, “I know a great place we can go for lunch.”
“Brunch.” Adora corrects.
“Sure.” Catra grins as she presses a soft kiss onto Adora’s neck, scent marking the spot right after, “Brunch.”
“Okay.” Adora agrees as she rubs her cheek against the top of Catra’s head, “Mm… Do you want to come and see my place later?”
“Yeah. I’d love to.” Catra replies with a purr as she pulls the blonde out of the lab and back to her office.
“So, this is my place.” Adora opens the door to her apartment, “It’s… it’s not as nice as your place, but it’s home.”
“Cosy.” Catra says as walks in and looks around at the studio apartment, “I like it.”
Adora shuts the door and watches the magicat walk around her place before standing at the foot of the bed, the blonde rushes over, quickly picking up the clothes strewn over the bed from when she was getting the night before and quickly dropping all the items in her laundry basket, “Sorry… I wasn’t expecting anyone here…”
“Do you sleep over a lot, princess?” Catra asks teasingly, quirking an eyebrow in the process, “Because I think that needs to stop right now. The only exception would be sleeping over at my place, obviously.”
Adora rolls her eyes, “No. I don’t sleep over a lot.”
“Great.” The magicat takes off her jacket, throws it over the back of the couch and then flops onto her bed, “Woah… your bed is super firm… how do you sleep on this thing?”
“Shut up!” Adora chastises as she drops onto the bed next to the magicat, “It was all I could afford when I first move in here. And I just never changed it.”
“Hm…” Catra thinks to herself, “Move in with me. I’d hate to tear your place apart by accident.”
Adora looks over at the magicat, there’s a smirk on her face but by all accounts, Catra seems serious, “Really? You want me to just… move in?”
“Yeah. You’re my wife.” Catra shrugs, “It’s kind of makes sense that we would actually be living together.”
“What am I going to do with my place?” Adora asks, “And what’s going to happen if…”
“If what?”
“If this doesn’t work out.” Adora sighs out, “I mean, we kind of jumped into this and I don’t think we’ve really taken the time to process everything. Maybe…”
“You want to hold off on moving in with me?” Catra’s ear droop slightly in disappointment as she sighs, “I get it.” The magicat turns over on her side to look at Adora, “One step at a time?”
“We’re already married.” Adora points out, “Maybe we should slow down a little…”
Catra chuckles, “Slow down after the fact that we’re married?”
“Yeah.” Adora smiles back, “You know, kind of… really get to know each other, before we have joint everything.”
“Okay.” Catra nods as she reaches into her pocket and holds out a set of keys, “Here.”
“What’s this?”
“Keys to my place.” Catra replies as she flops onto her back, “I trust you, princess.”
“When did you even have time to do this?” Adora looks at the set of keys in her hand.
“When you took forever in the bathroom.” Catra says with a grin.
“Hey! I did not take forever!” Adora pouts, “It was totally a normal amount of time to use the very busy bathroom.”
“Uh huh.” Catra replies unconvinced, “Anyway, those are yours. Come and go as you please.”
“Do you want keys for my place?” Adora asks as she puts the keys down on the bed next to her, “Because I’m going to have to ask the landlord if I can get another set cut…”
“It’s fine, Adora.” Catra replies, “I’m sure I’ll be able to charm you into living with me soon enough.”
Adora glances over and sees Catra grinning at the ceiling, “Uh huh.”
“And then you can stop renting.” Catra yawns, putting her hands behind her head and getting comfortable, “I can donate this bed to the nearest prison. It’s probably as hard as their cots.”
Adora glares over at the magicat before turning over and then tickling Catra, the magicat laughing as she tries to stop the blonde’s fingers tickling her, “You’re such an ass.”
Catra pants out, trying to catch her breath from laughing so much to grin back at the blonde, “Okay, okay. I won’t donate it to the prison. I don’t want anyone else having your scent but me.” The magicat yawns again, “I’ll just stick this in my spare room, I guess.”
Adora pulls herself up and rests her head on Catra’s chest and then wraps one arm over the magicat’s stomach, “Mm… are you sure this is a good idea?”
“What?”
“Being married.”
“Yes.” Catra replies tiredly, “Those greens might have fucked with my memory, but the feeling in my bones is still the same. I’m sure, princess.”
Adora smiles up at the magicat, “Do you remember dancing half naked in the rain?”
Catra smiles down, actually recalling that memory, “It was kind of perfect, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Adora leans up and presses a kiss on Catra’s lips, before sighing, “What are we going to tell everyone? Should we tell everyone?”
“Well, I would love to tell everyone. Shout it from the rooftops.” Catra starts, “But, I think my friends are going to be pretty peeved with me…”
“Mine too.” Adora agrees.
“But at the same time, I don’t want to keep this a secret.” Catra says, “Well? What do you think? I reckon we bite the bullet and just tell everyone.”
“Are you sure?” Adora bites her bottom lip nervously.
“I am. As long as you’re comfortable with it.” Catra cups Adora’s cheek, rubbing her thumb gently over it, “We can hold off if you want to.”
“No.” Adora rubs her face against Catra’s hand on her cheek, “I think you’re right. Besides, I’m a really bad liar…”
That makes the magicat laugh, “Honesty it is, then.”
“Yeah, as long as we do it together.” Adora says hopefully, “I don’t think I could handle doing it alone…”
“That’s fine.” Catra replies, “Just let me know where and when and I’ll be there.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah. I promise.”
Perfuma and Scorpia stare at Catra in shock, they haven’t said a word since the magicat told them that she got hitched last night. They haven’t even asked to who due to said shock. Eventually Perfuma snaps out of it first and narrows her eyes at the magicat, “Are you sure you got married? Like… I know what greens can do to you…”
“I’m sure.” Catra replies confidently, “Very sure. Extremely sure.”
Perfuma nudges Scorpia, her scorpini friend shakes herself out of it and then smiles, “That’s… gosh… I don’t even know what to say to that…”
“Who exactly did you wed last night?” Perfuma finally asks as she look around the café that the magciat has brought them to, “And when did you go see Netty and Spinny to get the ring?”
“Last night.” Catra replies like it’s obvious, “You can call them to confirm but I’m pretty sure they were on board with my decision.”
“To who?” Scorpia blurts out, “I mean, who’s your… uh, wife?”
“Adora.” Catra replies with a dopey grin and then shakes her head unbelievably, “Can you believe she actually said yes?”
“Uh…” Both her friends say at the same time as Adora walks in.
“Oh, hey guys.” Adora greets awkwardly as Catra wraps an arm around the blonde’s waist as Adora blushes at the act as she tries to regain her composure, “It’s good to see you guys again. How was the rest of your engagement night?”
“Not as good as yours it seems.” Perfuma replies trying to figure out if this is some kind of prank, “Did you really get married last night?”
Adora nods awkwardly as she sheepishly says, “I know it’s kind of crazy…”
“It’s a whole lot of crazy…” Perfuma mutters under her breath as Adora continues.
“But I’ve never felt like this for anyone before. So when Catra asked me I guess, why wait right?” Adora shrugs with a soft smile as Catra presses a kiss on her cheek, “Like I could say no to her.”
Catra grins back and pecks Adora’s lips, “I can be very charming, I guess.”
“Not charming.” Adora says before smirking and then whispers into Catra’s ear, “Cute.”
“Uh… congrats?” Scorpia says unsurely and then looks to Perfuma for guidance, “Right, sweetie?”
“Well, if they actually did get married then yes.” Perfuma nods and then sighs out before her eyes light up, “Stars… you got married, Cat!”
“I did.” Catra replies squeezing her hand on Adora’s waist, “I totally did.”
“Bring it in!” Scorpia finally gets on board as she pulls all three of them into her arms and laughs out, “My wildcat is married! Woo!”
“So… you’re not… upset?” Adora asks as her cheek is smooshed against Catra’s.
“No! Of course not!” Scorpia beams and then smirks to Perfuma once she releases everyone from the hug, “Now, Perfuma owes me dinner!”
“Huh?” Catra tilts her head in question.
Perfuma sighs as she looks to Catra, “I never thought you were the marrying kind.”
“I’m not.” Catra shrugs, “But, greens, a beautiful blonde and the perfect night kind out pulled it all together.”
“Okay, no more greens for you. Ever.” Perfuma points her finger at the magicat, “Lest you end up doing something really bad…”
“Like what?” Catra asks perplexed.
“I don’t know.” Perfuma concedes, “Maybe deciding to buy an island or something.”
“Ha!” Catra laughs, “Like I could afford anything like that! Ridiculous!”
“It was just an example!” Perfuma huffs out, crossing her arms over her chest, “I still can’t believe you actually got married…”
“Believe it, Flower Power.” Catra smirks.
The wiry blonde smiles back after looking at Catra holding Adora close into her body and coos, “Stars, you’re positive energy is through the roof right now! I’m so excited and happy that you’ve finally moved out of that horrible brooding and growly stage.”
“I was not brooding.” Catra denies.
“You were, Wildcat.” Scorpia backs her fiancé up, “But you looked real good doing it. If you’re success with the ladies… oh, I mean, you definitely had a… presence…”
Adora quirks an eyebrow up at Catra, “Did you now?”
“Nope. Not going into that.” Catra kills that line of conversation before yelping out indignantly when Adora grabs her arm and starts to lead her out, “Hey! What are you doing?”
“We are going to the doctors and getting a health check.” Adora declares much to the amusement of Catra’s friends, the blonde turns to the pair snickering, “Has she engaged in any… dangerous behaviours?”
“Uh… I don’t think so…?” Scorpia replies rubbing the back of her neck, “She’s generally pretty safe. Most times she… ow! Wildcat, that was uncalled for.”
Scorpia rubs her shin from where the magicat had kicked her to stop talking, “I’ve been very safe.”
“Uh huh.” Adora says, “How safe? I’m not going to ask how many people you’ve been with because frankly, I don’t want to know.”
“Adora!” Catra groans out, “Fine, we’ll go get tested. Together. You and me.”
“Fine.” Adora nods defiantly.
“No secrets, right?” Catra asks, “And besides I get checked regularly.”
“Me too.”
“Good.”
“Great.”
“Okay, then.” Catra nods, “Well, you want to go to my doctor or yours?”
“Is your doctor like… specialised in magicats or is it cool that I go there too?” Adora asks nervously.
“If you’ve got your own doc, we can go to your doc first and then mine after.” Catra suggests, “Do you have a doc, princess?”
“I don’t really have a doc.” Adora admits, “I usually just go to the local clinic and get whoever the doctor on duty is.”
“Oh, do you want to go to mine then?” Catra asks.
“I mean… if that’s alright?” Adora asks meekly.
Catra chuckles pulling the blonde in for a kiss on the lips, “It’s fine, Adora.” She presses another kiss on Adora’s cheek, “They have that whole doctor-patient confidentiality or whatever. So, your medical stuff is all yours unless you want me to know.”
Adora nods, “Okay, yeah. We’ll go to your doctor then.”
“Okay.” Catra agrees and pulls out her phones and brings up the online appointment booking calendar and shows it to Adora, “She’s got bookings for tomorrow if you want to go.”
“Oh, let me see.” Adora grabs the phone and looks over the screen, “She works on Sundays?”
“Yeah, she does the odd hours and days. That’s why I go to her.” Catra replies, “So… tomorrow?”
“Can we do it in the morning?” Adora asks as she looks over at her wife, “I’ve got a horse to see at 930am. Then we’ve got the rest of the day to do whatever.”
“So… no sleeping in, huh?” Catra pretends to be disappointed before she feels Adora nudge her, “But, for you, yeah. Morning is fine. What time?”
“7am and 730am?” Adora asks as she looks to her magicat, “Or is that too early?”
“It’s fine, princess.” Catra smiles back, “Book it.”
“Oh, you need a username and password.” Adora points out as Catra gently takes the phone back.
“No problems.” Catra grins as she types in her username and password and books the times Adora suggested, “Done and done. Now, you better set like 10 alarms so I don’t sleep in.”
Adora giggles, “You won’t need 10 alarms, because I’ll be your alarm clock in the morning.”
“So…” Catra rests her forehead on Adora’s, “Does that mean you’ll be staying the night again?”
“Mm…” Adora pretends to think, “Well, I guess it would be fitting to sleep in the same bed as my wife…”
“Very fitting indeed.” Catra replies before they’re interrupted by Perfuma clearing her throat, the magicat rolling her eyes as she gives the wiry blonde a look, “What’s up?”
“Don’t forget you’re going to be going with Scorpia to shop for wedding outfits Monday night.” Perfuma warns before she leans in and whispers into Catra’s ear, “Try to keep it simple.”
“You know me.” Catra grins.
“Uh huh.” Perfuma rests her hands on her hips, “And get yourself another suit. You’ve worn out the only one you’ve got.”
Catra rolls her eyes again, “What’s wrong with my suit?”
Perfuma ignores the magicat’s question, instead addressing Adora, “Get her to show you her one and only suit. And then tell her why she needs another one for my wedding.”
“Uh…” Adora nudges Catra with her head, “Is that… okay?”
“You want to see my suit?” Catra smirks before shrugging, “You’re totally going to dig my suit. So much so that you’ll be begging me to take it off so we can…”
“Okay!” Perfuma cuts the magicat off, “Anyways, don’t forget.”
Catra nods with a shit eating grin on her face as they finish off the rest of their drinks.
“Okay, are you ready?” Catra asks as they stand outside an unfamiliar house, Adora’s hand almost crushing the magicat’s as nervous tension takes over the blonde’s body, “I’ll be right here with you.”
“I know.” Adora nods psyching herself up before gulping down, “They are going to be so mad…”
“Why?” Catra asks tilting her head, “If you’re happy, then they should be happy for you too. Otherwise, they aren’t really your friends.”
“Harsh.” Adora turns to face Catra, sighing out and leaning her forehead on the magicat’s, “I am happy.”
“Good.” Catra breathes out, “And I’ll do my best to keep making you feel happy.”
Adora leans in and presses her lips on her magicat’s, “They’re still going to be mad.”
“Let them be mad then.” Catra whispers out with a small smile, “Are you ready?”
Adora nods, “Yeah, let’s do this.”
Knock Knock
The door opens and Adora steels herself as her friends appear in the doorway, “Hey guys!” she looks to Catra, “Guys, this is Catra. And Catra, this is Glimmer and Bow. My best friends.”
“Hey.” Catra greets with a nod.
“Hi, Catra!” Bow waves with a beaming smile, “I’m Bow.”
“Uh, yeah.” Catra sticks her hand out and Bow quickly grabs it for a handshake, “It’s nice to meet Adora’s friends.”
“This is Glimmer. My best friend and my girlfriend!” Bow happily announces much to Adora’s surprise.
“What?!” Adora almost shouts as she wraps her friends up in a big hug, “When did this happen?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“Well, it kind of just happened last night.” Glimmer replies cooly, “We’ve been… preoccupied.”
The sparkly girl smirks as Bow blushes, a big grin still on his face as he adds, “Come on inside. We’ve got tea brewing in the pot.”
“Sure.” Catra shrugs as she’s tugged inside by Adora and shuts the door.
Adora goes to help Bow with the tea while Catra heads to the other room and Glimmer gestures for the magicat to take a seat on one armchair while she takes the couch as they await their partners to come back.
“So. Catra, right?” Glimmer asks and the magicat nods, “So, how do you know Adora?”
“I met her last night actually.” Catra replies vaguely.
“Oh, that’s cool.” Glimmer says as she relaxes back more into the couch, “Oh, was it at Perfuma and Scorpia’s engagement? Bow and I went there a little later and missed her.”
“Actually, yeah.” Catra says surprised that they have mutual friends, “How do you know Perfuma and Scorp?”
“Bow used to date Perfuma.” Glimmer replies still somewhat peeved, “Not that I care about that now…”
“Sure.” Catra replies trying not to shake her head, “So… I guess they’re still on good terms?”
“Well, it’s hard not to be when Scorpia is so sweet.” Glimmer smiles back, “And Perfuma is very much smitten with her.”
“They really are made for each other.” Catra agrees returning the small smile.
“Are you going to be at their wedding?” Glimmer asks as Bow and Adora return with steaming cups for tea, “Wait, have they even decided on a date yet?”
Catra accepts the cup from Adora with a tooth grin, taking a quick sip before answering, “Yeah, I kind of have to be at their wedding since I’m Scorp’s best… whatever.”
“Oh! That’s so exciting!” Bow beams as he puts both cups on the coffee table in front of the couch, his eyebrows raise as he watches Adora do the same with their cups before swiftly being pulled into Catra’s lap, pressing a soft kiss on the magicat’s cheek, “Uh… okay…”
Adora shuffles a little in the magicat’s laps before finally settling, her cheeks flushing red when she sees her friends staring, “So, how did you guys get together last night?”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Glimmer smirks at the blonde, gesturing wildly at the pair on the armchair, “What is going on here?”
Catra peeks her head around the side of Adora and grins, “It’s more comfortable this way.”
Glimmer and Bow look at one another, not expecting that answer of all things as the latter tries again, “Adora? Are you and Catra… a couple?”
“Wait, didn’t you just meet last night?” Glimmer adds confused.
“Yeah, we did meet last night.” Catra answers vaguely, not giving more than Adora seems to be comfortable with, the magicat rubs her cheek against the blonde’s shoulder, “Guess you can call it… love at first sight?”
“Stars… really?” Adora turns her head and looks fondly at Catra and the magicat nods. The blonde grins widely as she pulls Catra into a kiss, only breaking apart by Glimmer clearing her throat, turning her attention back to her best friends, “Uh, yeah, I guess we are a couple...”
Catra snickers as Adora nudges her playfully, the magicat whispering into Adora’s ear, “A couple of crazy people in love?”
Adora giggles and nods, breathing out, “Yeah.”
Once again, Glimmer and Bow share a conspiring look as Adora and Catra seem content to be in their own little world, and once again, Glimmer clears her throat to get their attention. Adora looks over, the same blush on her face as the sparkly woman asks, “What is going on here? Are you two… girlfriends? Like… after one night of meeting each other?”
“Uh…” Adora says biding her time as she looks to Catra for support, the magicat just smiles back, a questioning look in her eye as if she’s asking; do you want me to tell them? The blonde shakes her head and takes a deep breath, finding comfort in Catra’s arms around her as she turns back to her best friends and says, “Catra’s not my girlfriend.”
“Hm?” Bow hums back a little confused as Adora bites her bottom lip before saying the next part.
“Catra’s my wife.” Adora finally blurts out.
“What?!” Both of Adora’s best friends shriek at the same time as Catra’s ears flop down from the sound but continues to hold onto Adora securely.
“You’re joking… right?” Glimmer asks laughing awkwardly, “There’s no way you got married when you literally just met last night.” She looks to Bow and asks him looking for confirmation, “Right?”
Bow laughs nervously, “It doesn’t really seem like you Adora.” He starts, “You don’t tend to jump into relationships…”
“Believe it, Arrows.” Catra says as she pulls Adora back into her, enjoying the weight and warmth against her, “I may have been on greens last night, but I have zero regrets about Adora. Not at all.”
“Aw, babe!” Adora gushes with a soft look on her face, turning her head to press a kiss to the magicat’s lips, “I have no regrets either. Because I have the rest of my life to know and love you.”
“You love me?” Catra asks.
“Stars…” Glimmer sighs out before Adora can answer, “Are you kidding me?!”
“What’s wrong, Sparkles?” Catra asks without taking her eyes off Adora.
“You don’t know if Adora loves you. And yet you still got married?” Glimmer asks exasperated, pinching the bridge of her nose as Bow pats her on the back, just as confused, “Stars… also… you were high?!”
“I was on greens.” Catra shrugs, “Doesn’t change the fact that I know I love Adora.” The magicat narrows her eyes at the pair, “Do you even know what greens do to magicats?”
“I’m not stupid. I know what greens do.” Glimmer glares back, “You got married when you were high.” She looks at Adora, “Have you been doing drugs too?”
Adora shakes her head, “No. You know I don’t do that.”
“Greens give me an overwhelming sense of clarity.” Catra cuts back into the conversation, “Makes decision making a lot easier. Clearer.”
“So do drugs.” Glimmer provides unhelpfully, “It alters you. Your perception.”
Bow wraps an arm around his girlfriend, “Are you sure this was a good idea?”
“Yes.” Catra answers confidently.
“I do.” Adora says at the same time as the magicat, “It feels right. And, I know it’s a lot to take in…”
“That’s an understatement.” Glimmer mutters under her breath, annoyed that the blonde has stolen her thunder.
“But this feels right.” Adora repeats as she lets herself get pulled back into Catra’s arms, “And I’m happy. Like, genuinely happy.”
Bow smiles back, “I’m happy for you Adora.” Before he has to ask again, “Are you sure getting married so soon as a good idea though?”
“Yes.” This time Adora confidently replies, “And like Catra says, we’ve got the rest of our lives to get to know and love each other.”
“But you don’t love her yet.” Glimmer points out, throwing her head back against the couch, “How can you be so reckless?”
“Look, Sparkles.” Catra growls out, unhappy with the insinuation that her feelings don’t stack up, “We’re married. Adora’s my wife. Deal with it. Or don’t. I don’t care what you think.” Taking her glare away from Glimmer, Catra sighs and looks at Adora, “I don’t care if your friends don’t believe me or think that I was under the influence or whatever. I love you. I know I do and I know I did when I married you last night. And I know you’re not there yet, but I’m not letting you go. Not letting you get away. I’m not going to ever give up. Not on you, not on us. I have no doubts that you are the one I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with.”
Adora’s eyes well up a little at her wife’s words, the magicat cupping her face and leans their forehead together, “I…”
“Adora! Think about this!” Glimmer screeches out, “Have you lost your mind?”
“No.” Adora says without thinking twice, “I know what I agreed to and I wanted to do this.” She looks to her friends, “I know you think I’m crazy. And honestly, I don’t blame you. It’s fast. But at the same time, this feels right. I don’t regret marrying Catra. If anything, I kind of wish I met her sooner because then we would have known each other a little longer and this wouldn’t seem so sudden. And you’re right. I’m not quite there yet, but, I’ve never been so close to being able to say those words back to her. Well, to anyone in a romantic sense.”
Glimmer’s jaw drops upon hearing Adora words and she suddenly gets to her feet, Bow following in surprise as the pair stand in front of the blonde and magicat still cuddling in the armchair next to them, “I’m sorry.”
Catra’s ears perk up, not sure if that apology was one of rejection or not when Adora quirks an eyebrow and sinks into her wife’s arms a little more as she waits for Glimmer to elaborate.
Glimmer sighs, “You’re our best friend. And as crazy as this is, I just want you to know that we’ll support you. No matter what happens.” Catra tilts her head at the sparkly girl as Glimmer continues, “And if being married to… Catra… makes you happy, then, I guess we’re happy for you too.”
“Convincing.” Catra grumbles under her breath as Adora nudges her, pressing a soft kiss to the magicat’s cheek, making Catra smile back.
“She’s trying. This is hard for her too.” Adora whispers into the magicat’s ear before pulling herself up and off the chair where Bow gathers the trio into a group hug, “Thank you for trying.”
“We’ll always have your back!” Bow squeals out happily as Glimmer nods back sincerely, “Now, our tea is getting cold.”
“That… that went surprisingly well.” Adora sighs out as she flops down onto Catra’s bed, “I thought Glimmer was going to blow a fuse.”
Catra nods with a blank look on her face, walking over to her dresser to collect her sleeping clothes and then disappearing into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Adora just watches in silence, a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach as she waits for Catra to return.
“Are you going to get changed?” Catra asks as she pulls back the blanket and gets into bed.
Adora sits up, “Um, yeah. Okay.”
Once Adora’s changed and gotten ready for bed, she sees Catra already turned over with her eyes closed, as the blonde goes over and turns off the light and gets into bed as well, she turns onto her side and waits for her eyes to adjust enough to see Catra’s back and sighs.
She gets a sinking feeling in her gut as she hesitantly reaches out to touch the magicat, only to stop and hover her hand over the top before swallowing down loud enough for Catra’s ear to twitch in response. Adora’s voice cracks when she finally says, “Catra?”
The magicat lays still, the only indication that she’s heard her is the flick of her ear as Adora swallows down hard again.
“Catra?” Adora tries again, “Are you… are you mad?”
“No.” Catra replies, the response feels cold.
“Oh, okay.” Adora replies gritting her teeth together from being too emotional, after all, they barely know each other as she thinks about whether she should just get up and go home, maybe this was all just a huge mistake, she looks at Catra’s back, tears on the verge on falling as she weakly asks, “Do you want me to leave?”
“No.” Catra breathes out, growling to herself as she turns over and her heart drops when she sees the look on her wife’s face, “Fuck. I’m sorry, princess. Please, don’t cry.”
Adora squeezes her eyes shut, shaking her head and trying to hold back the sob that wants to break out, “I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Catra pulls Adora into her, “I overreacted. I’m… I didn’t mean to… fuck. I’m such a fuck up…”
Adora laughs wetly, feeling Catra’s thumb rub the tears from her cheek, she shakes her head, “What… what happened?”
Catra sighs, leaning her head against the blonde, she hates admitting her feelings, but with Adora, she owes it to the blonde, to her wife, to be honest and open and so she does, “I got into my own head.”
“Why?”
“Your friends don’t like me.” Catra breathes out, not able to look Adora in the eye, “I’m… I’m not good enough for you. Sparkles made that very clear.”
“You’re such an idiot.” Adora lifts Catra’s chin up so she can look into Catra’s eyes, “Why do you care what my friends think?”
“Because.” Catra frowns down, “They know you the best. And they love you and support you. And they obviously don’t think you marrying me was sane or even a good idea. And… I don’t want to be the reason that makes you sad.”
“What are you talking about, Catra?” Adora asks softly, her eyes staring into the magicat’s, “I love my friends.” Catra’s ear fold down upon hearing that, it’s not that she’s jealous, just, where this conversation is leading doesn’t seem like a good path. Adora takes Catra’s hand and runs her fingers over the ring on the magicat’s finger, “But, this is my decision. I wanted to marry you. I want you. I don’t regret this. And my friends are just being protective. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t good enough. Because you are. Good enough. I chose you.”
“Not exactly, princess.” Catra looks up, a lilt of a smile on her lips as she catches Adora’s eyes, “I chose you.”
“We chose each other.” Adora declares with a soft smile that Catra returns, the blonde leaning in and pressing a kiss on the magicat’s lips, “You scared me.”
“I’m sorry.” Catra sighs as she pulls Adora into her, “I just…”
“You’re good enough.” Adora instantly says reassuringly, “You’re perfect.”
“You’re perfect too.” Catra whispers into Adora’s hair.
“And you’re mine.” Adora breathes out, her body relaxing into Catra’s.
“I’ll always be yours, princess.” Catra replies, “As you’ll always be mine.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah. I made a vow last night and I plan to keep it.” Catra says with conviction, “For as long as you’ll have me.”
Adora laughs softly into Catra’s chest, “Well, you better be ready for a lifetime then.”
“Always am.” Catra replies surely as they remain wrapped up in one another as they fall asleep.
“You did not tell me you worked with these… beasts…” Catra warily eyes the horses in their pens as she follows Adora through the stables, “Where are we going exactly?”
“I did. I said I had to go see a horse today. To see Swift Wind.” Adora replies as she grabs Catra’s hand, squeezing it to make her magicat feel safer, “It’s okay. You’re okay. Perfectly safe here.”
“Says you.” Catra grunts out as she follows her wife so close that she’s nearly stepping on Adora’s heels, “Who or what is a Swift Wind?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Adora turns back with a goofy smile as Catra sniffs the air and sticks her tongue out at the smell of manure, “Come on, he’s just over here.”
“Over where…woah…” Catra walks right into Adora’s back upon seeing the massive white horse in the last pen, “And… why are we here?”
And before Adora can answer, a woman appears, “Adora! There you are!”
Adora turns around and smiles politely back, “Oh, hey Val. Here I am.”
Val, a middle aged woman with long greying red hair tied up in a bun, pearls and a fancy light blue pants suit has Catra eying the woman suspiciously, the woman raises and eyebrow up at the magicat, “What did I say about strangers, Adora?”
“Oh, this is Catra.” Adora confidently says, “She’s not a stranger. She’s my wife.”
“Your… your what?” Val says, shock clear in her voice, before she huffs out a laugh, “Very funny, Adora. No strangers.”
“She’s not a stranger and I’m not being funny.” Adora replies in a huff of her own before holding up her hand with the ring on it, “Catra and I got married on Friday. And she’s not a stranger. Now, we’re going to go see Swift Wind and take care of his hoof issue.”
Val narrows her eyes at the blonde, “Fine. But make it quick. I have places to be.”
“Oh, you don’t need to be here for this.” Adora says, “I need to go grab a few tools still once I get a better look at Swifty’s leg…”
“I’m not leaving you here with that… stranger.” Val glares at Catra, “So, you better hurry this up.”
“It’ll take as long as it’ll take… sweetie.” Catra growls out angrily at the way this woman is treating her wife, “And if you don’t want it drag out longer, I suggest you better get to those places you need to be and leave my wife to work in peace.”
“How dare you speak to me like that!” Val puffs up angrily as Catra stands a little straighter, she’s still a good foot shorter than the woman, but that’s never been a problem to Catra, she’s harder to hit the lower she is, “Get off my property.”
“Val.” Adora steps in between the pair, “I’ve worked with Swifty ever since he was born. You know he doesn’t take to other vets as well. So, you either leave me in peace like you have in the past or you can get comfortable in here and miss whatever fancy thing you want to go to.”
Val seems shocked by Adora’s retaliation as she winces in annoyance, “Fine. But it better be done when I get back. And you better have locked everything up and nothing better be missing.”
She poignantly stares at Catra when she says the last part, the magicat’s hackles raise at the insult as Adora squeezes her hand once more and looks pleadingly with her magicat not to make things worse. Catra sighs and nods, shaking her head and glaring back at Val, “Have a nice day, lady.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m done.” Adora says and then pulls Catra with her towards Swift Wind, ignoring Val as she walks out of the stables in a huff.
Once Catra’s ears pick up that’s she gone she turns to Adora, “Are you sure her name is Val and not Cow?”
Adora giggles, nudging Catra as she opens the door to Swift Wind’s pen, “You should probably stay out there, he’s not great with other people…”
“Fine by me.” Catra shrugs, pressing a kiss to Adora’s cheek before taking a step back and watching her wife approach the horse, “What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing.” Adora replies with a smile as she glances back, “He just needs a new shoe.”
“Uh huh.” Catra replies not knowing what that means as she stares down at the horse’s ‘feet’, “He’s not wearing shoes. He doesn’t even have feet.”
Adora can’t help but snort out a laugh, “Really, Cat?”
“What?”
“And I thought you were smart.” Adora glances back with another laugh making Catra smile back despite knowing she’s the butt of the joke, the magicat watches as Adora gently pulls up the horse’s back leg to show Catra, “See this?”
“What am I looking at?” Catra tilts her head.
“It’s come loose. See how it’s not tight in there?” Catra shakes her head, as Adora just smiles back as she explains it, “Anyway, we need to get this guy a new shoe.”
“Uh… okay.” Catra nods her head like she understands as Adora releases the horse’s leg and gives him a good pat while checking over him, “And… how do you put a shoe on a horse?”
Adora smiles even wider, “I’ll show you.”
“Stars! Doesn’t that hurt?! You’re like hammering nails into his foot!” Catra panics as she watches Adora work, “Princess… are you sure this is like… ethical?”
Adora shakes her head with a laugh, “Don’t worry, Cat, it doesn’t hurt him.”
“But… but…” Catra points to the hammer in Adora’s hand, “It’s got to hurt him…”
“It’s cute that you’re so concerned about Swifty, Cat.” Adora finishes what’s she’s doing and releases the horse’s leg and then wipes the sweat off her brow, “But he’ll be fine. It doesn’t hurt him. If anything, he’ll feel better now that he can walk properly.”
Catra still frowns down, her brain still not understanding the mechanics of horses as she finds herself being wrapped up in Adora’s sweaty arms from behind and she tries to wriggle free unsuccessfully, “Adora! Gross! You’re all gross and sweaty!”
Adora laughs as she hugs Catra tighter and presses a kiss on her wife’s cheek, “Sorry, but you’re just so cute when you get so… thinky.”
“Uh huh.” Catra rolls her eyes, finally relaxing in Adora’s embrace, “You’re still gross and sweaty.”
“I am.” Adora agrees with a grin and then whispers suggestively into Catra’s ear, “Maybe you can help me wash up later?”
Catra grins back as she tries to stop the shiver going down her spine at the suggestion, “Uh… yeah, I can do that… I, uh, I could. If you want… that is…”
Adora giggles at the bashful magicat in her arms, “Cute.”
Catra groans out, “Can we go now?”
“Yes.” Adora nods, pressing one more kiss on Catra’s cheek, “I just need to quickly finish cleaning up.”
“Okay.” Catra says as Adora releases her from the hug, the magicat taking a few steps away before turning around, “Do you think Cow will notice if I steal a horse?”
“Catra!” Adora laughs out loudly, “Yes, I think she’d know if you stole a horse.”
“Damn it.” Catra pretends to be disappointed as she grins back widely and then shrugs, “Guess my dreams of watching you ride my horse will never be fulfilled.”
“You want to watch me ride?” Adora quirks an eyebrow up at Catra.
“Oh yeah, I do.” Catra replies mischievously, “I’d be up for watching you ride my horse… or me…”
“Catra!” Adora’s eyes widen as her face turns red, slapping the magicat on the shoulder and looking around like someone else might have heard that, “You can’t say stuff like that!”
“Why not?” Catra shrugs nonchalantly, “Is it wrong to think sexy thoughts about my wife?”
“No…”
“Then?” Catra smiles back, teeth and all as she gestures to the blonde, “Hurry up, this Sunday’s a wasting.”
Adora rolls her eyes, “Okay, okay. Help me grab my tools?”
Catra takes the blonde’s tool bag and slings it over her shoulder, leaning against the wall as she watches Adora say goodbye to Swift Wind with a few more pats before exiting.
“I’m hungry.” Adora whines out playfully to Catra as they walk back to the blonde’s car, the magicat putting her tools in the back as she takes the keys and walks to the driver’s door, “I can drive…”
“I know.” Catra smiles as she gets into the driver’s seat and puts the key in, “Get in, princess.”
“Okay.” Adora gets into the passenger seat and slumps back, feeling exhausted, “I think I’m going to need a massage.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” The blonde rolls her shoulders and stretches out her arms in the narrow space of her car as Catra starts to drive, “I’m hungry.”
“Hungry enough to eat a horse?” Catra deadpans as she turns her head slowly to glance at her wife before grinning.
“Not funny.” Adora smiles despite herself, “But I am hungry.”
“What do you feel like?” Catra asks and Adora shrugs, “Okay… what don’t you feel like?”
“I think I’m just a little dehydrated.” Adora reaches around back for her water bottle while Catra hums, “Oh, crap!”
“What?!” Catra looks over quickly, “What happened?”
“I’m supposed to meet Glim and Bow for brunch today.” Adora groans out as she flops her head back against the head rest.
“What time?”
“11.30am.”
“We got time.” Catra replies as she grips the steering wheel a little tighter, steeling herself a little bit with the talk of Adora’s friends, “Where do you usually meet?”
“Oh, I’ll just cancel.” Adora sits up upon hearing the slight hesitation in Catra’s voice, “I see them every week anyways.”
“No. Go.” Catra sighs out, “I want you to.”
Adora bites her bottom lip, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.’ Catra replies with a nod, “I’ll be okay for a few hours by myself.”
“Come with me?” Adora asks softly, almost pleadingly.
Catra thinks about it silently in her head, weighing up the positives and negatives as she focusses on the road in front of them, biding her time to answer, feeling Adora shuffle nervously next to her.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Adora reaches out and squeezes Catra’s hand.
Catra wraps her fingers around Adora’s before the blonde can let go, the magicat sighs, “Okay. I’ll come with you.”
“Yeah?” Adora asks surprised.
“Yeah.” Catra nods, “As long as it’s okay with you and them.”
“I’ll let them know.” Adora smiles at her wife, “Thanks.”
“It’s fine, princess.” Catra replies, “It’s just brunch.”
Adora leans over and presses a kiss on Catra’s cheek, squeezing the magicat’s hand again, “Really. Thank you.”
Catra turns and smiles back, “When did you become so dependent on me?”
The comment makes Adora snort out a laugh, “I am not dependent on you!”
“Whatever you say, princess.” Catra chuckles.
“We’re married.” Adora pouts playfully, “So, that makes it alright.”
“Ha! You are totally dependent on me!” Catra points out with a laugh and Adora groans out, “It’s okay, princess. It’d be weird if we weren’t sort of dependent on each other now.”
Adora nods shyly, “I need to shower first.”
“Sure. You’re place or mine?” Catra asks.
“Hey guys!” Bow waves to the pair already seated at the table, “Sorry we’re late. Glim slept in.”
“Bow!” Glimmer whisper shouts at him, “Not cool!”
“Sorry! Sorry!” Bow quickly apologises, looking sheepishly at the Adora and Catra at the table, before beaming again, “Anyways, how is everyone?”
Catra shrugs as Adora smiles, holding Catra’s hand on the table and playing with her claws, “I went to see Swifty this morning.”
“Oh, how is he?” Bow asks as Glimmer and him take a seat as a waiter comes over to take their drink orders.
“Had to replace on of his shoes, but otherwise, he’s good.” Adora replies, “Though Val was a total… cow… today.”
“Adora!” Glimmer says dramatically before laughing, “How you deal with that woman, I have no idea. She practically banned me and Bow from going to see her horses. Even though she’s only a caretaker to the stables.”
“She tried to kick me out too.” Catra adds with a shrug.
Bow’s eyes widen, “She is definitely not the nicest or even pleasant to deal with.”
“Don’t I know it.” Catra agrees.
“You know, the first time Glim and I went with Adora to see the horses, she threatened to have the police called just because there were ‘too many’ of us on her property.” Bow picks up his menu, despite already knowing what he wants, “Glim and her had a full on shouting match that I thought for sure the cops would be coming.”
“I wished the police showed up so I could get her fired.” Glimmer grumbles under her breath, “Why my parents keep her on baffles me.”
“She works for your family?” Catra asks confused.
“Sadly yes.” Glimmer replies, “I think my dad just feels sorry for her and lets her live there.”
“I’m afraid to ask why.” Catra rubs the back of her neck.
“She used to be some top socialite back in the day.” Glimmer answers, “I’m not too sure exactly what happened, but I think there was something to do with fraud and pyramid schemes that basically scammed her out of most of her money… anyways, you’d think she’d be better.”
“Still living in the past then.” Catra surmises.
Glimmer nods, “She’s still angry at the world and at everyone.”
“Figures.” Catra shrugs as the waiter comes back to take their orders.
“Hey.” Glimmer leans forward towards Catra when Adora and Bow have both excused themselves to the bathroom.
Catra looks up from her phone and then deadpans, “Don’t tell me. You think my wife and your boy are cheating on us.”
“What?! No!” Glimmer rolls her eyes as Catra laughs, “You’re such an ass.”
“Yep. An ass that’s married to your best girl friend.” Catra grins.
“Okay, shut up. I’m trying to do something here.” Glimmer complains.
Catra leans back and puts her hand up teasingly, “Sorry Sparkles, but in case you forgot. I’m married. And I’ve only got eyes for my wife.”
“Of course she’d marry you.” Glimmer grunts under the breath as she kicks Catra in the shin.
“Ow!” Catra rubs her shin but still sports a shit eating grin on her face at riling up the other woman, “Can you just spit out whatever you’re trying to say or do?”
“I was trying to tell you that I’m sorry for last night.” Glimmer huffs out but her lips tick up a little into a smile, “I shouldn’t have said what I said.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” Catra agrees, “But, it’s whatever. I’m used to it.”
“That’s not the point.” Glimmer kicks Catra in the shin again.
“Okay, if you keep kicking me, I’m not going to forgive you, Sparkles.” Catra threatens lightly with a slight growl.
“Stop being difficult!” the sparkly woman grumbles, “Anyway, I’ve never seen Adora like this.”
“Like what?”
“Genuinely happy.” Glimmer says easily, “As much as I hate to admit it, you make her happy.”
“I do?”
“Yes.” Glimmer concedes with a sullen look before looking back up at the magicat, seeing Bow and Adora coming back as she quickly says, “She loves you.”
“Huh?”
“She. Loves. You.” Glimmer repeats slower.
“She does?” Catra asks, her ears perking up as she hears Adora and Bow get closer.
“Yes. She does.” Glimmer repeats as their cohorts rejoin them, the sparkly woman standing up and grabbing Bow’s hand, “Okay, thanks for coming to brunch. We’ve got tickets to that new rom-com movie starting in half an hour.”
Catra starts to pull out her wallet to pay when Bow pushes her hand back towards herself, “Our treat today.”
“Uh, what?” Catra says, “Nah, I can pay.”
“We know you can.” Glimmer smirks, “Treat your wife to something special, Catra.”
“Text us when you want to catch up again!” Bow calls out as Glimmer drags them outside.
Once Adora’s friends are out of sight, Catra leans over and says to Adora, “Your friends are weird.”
“Thanks for coming with me.” Adora leans in and presses her lips onto Catra’s.
And just as Catra is about to kiss her wife a little more, her phone pings with a new message and after a minute her phone rings and Catra groans out while Adora giggles, “Really? Can’t I kiss my wife in peace?”
“You better answer it.” Adora pulls them up and they start to head out.
Catra nods and answers her phone, “Spinny. To what do I owe this call?”
“Dinner. Tonight.” Spinnerella simply says, “630pm and bring your wife. That’s an order.”
“Uh, huh?” Catra replies bewildered until something clicks in her head and she remembers, “Oh, right. Yes. Will do. See you tonight.”
“Bring your wife.” Spinnerella repeats excitedly, “Oh, can you ask her if she’s got any dietary requirements?”
“Sure.” Catra relays the message to Adora who answers no, “No, she’s all good.”
“Fantastic. I’ll see you tonight!” Spinnerella replies happily, “Don’t be late!”
Catra nods despite Spinnerella not being able to see it and the call ends. The magicat sighs, “We’ve been summoned to dinner with Netty and Spinny. Is that cool?”
Adora smiles back, “Of course. As long as it’s okay with them…”
“I have to bring you.” Catra returns, “And I apologize in advance as it’s very much… meet the parents.”