Chapter Text
Chapter One- Coffee Shop
The coffee shop was both familiar and alien, with it’s cracked linoleum floors and old green tables. It had probably changed ownership since the last time she had been here… it had been five years after all.
She ran her hand through her shaggy brunette hair, glad for the ac in the oppressive heat.
Her mind wandered, memories of sticky summer nights and laughter. Adora and Catra, sitting out on the roof under the stars. Hiding from the other orphans and Ms. Weaver.
Bored fingers pulled at the sticker attached to her cup. She had one headphone in, glancing at the door every few seconds even though the bell hadn’t wrung.
It had been embarrassing, crawling back to her old home town with her tail between her legs. After years of school, love, life, work… for it all to just crumble around her. Having to start again, and in this place. Of all places, why did she have to come back to this place?
Nothing to do about it now though. She wasn’t that angry teenager anymore… it was just life. She would be ok.
The bell above the door rang. She pulled out her headphone and glanced up. Her breath caught in her throat.
She could tell the moment Adora recognized her because the blonde froze in her tracks. “Catra?” Her eyes were wide shock evident.
“Hey Adora.” The brunette gave a little nod, then pushed the hair that had fallen into her face back behind her ear. She stood up from her seat, putting her hands into the back pocket of her worn in blue jeans. Her sneakers squeaked on the floor as she came to a stop a few feet from the other woman. They were the only customers inside the store.
Adora finally seemed to shake off the shock, “Wow… it’s been… wow, a long time? I didn’t know you were back in town.” She seemed weary, hesitant with her words like she was waiting for Catra to snap at her. She probably was.
“Yeah, it wasn’t exactly planned…” Catra trailed off and shrugged one shoulder, causing her loose t-shirt to slide partially off her shoulder. She glanced towards the door again. Still no Entrapta’s friend. The silence seemed to stretch on. “Well… it was nice seeing you Adora.”
The blonde still seemed a little out of it. Adora glanced around. “Y-yeah. Of course. Maybe I’ll see you around?”
Catra honestly didn’t know what else to say. She was amazed that the blonde was being so civil. She had made sure in high school to be as horrible to Adora as possible. She considered apologizing now, but wasn’t sure if it would even make a difference. It was a lifetime ago. Uncertain, she went to turn away.
“Wait! I mean- Do you have time to catch up? I was supposed to meet someone but I think I probably missed them… I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to. It’s been a long time. I mean, if you aren’t doing anything of course.”
“Um,” Catra glanced towards the empty door again and then at the watch on her tanned wrist. “I was actually supposed to be meeting someone.”
“Oh… Oh, yeah. Of course.” The blondes face fell and it pulled at something in Catra’s chest. Some things died hard. “Maybe some other-“
“I’m pretty sure they aren’t coming though,” she rushed out, “I mean, if you want to wait with me?” She motioned back to the table where her coffee and phone still sat.
“Oh! Great. Yeah I’ll just go order and- “Adora gestured wildly, knocking her arm into a chair on accident and looking very put out by it. She quickly moved to the counter to place her order.
The blonde sat down gingerly on the chair, hands already fidgeting with her cup.
“So…” the brunette started, clearing her throat when the silence had stretched on for too long, “Listen… I just wanted to apologize,” a sigh, “I know it’s late, but still… I was seriously a shit to you after everything. You didn’t do anything to deserve it, and I was a horrible friend. I’m sorry.”
Adora blinked her big blue eyes slowly a few times before a smile lite up her face. “Wow. I think hell may have just frozen over.” Her grin turned sly.
Catra couldn’t contain the snort, “Nice Adora, way to ruin the moment.” Rolling her eyes, the brunette leaned back onto her chair.
Adora sobered. “Hey. Seriously though, neither of us handled anything very well. I’m sorry too. I’m glad I ran into you. Now…what are you doing back here?” She smiled again, leaning back as well.
“Things didn’t work out in LA. Needed a change of pace until I figure out my next step, I guess. What about you? Last I heard…” Catra trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence. The last she had heard from Scorpia (before the topic had become off limits) was that Adora had dropped out of college in her first year and lost her soccer scholarship because…
Adora scoffed and grinned, “That I had a baby?” She let out a laugh at Catra’s red face. “Yeah, I figured. That was the last big news about me. I ended up dropping out of college. I couldn’t stay because of the pregnancy. I ended up moving back here and living with Mara. I took some night classes and I work Admin at the school for now. It’s fine… it’s not what how I saw my life going, but I wouldn’t trade Avery for anything.”
“Cool… cool. Yeah I heard about the baby.” She wouldn’t mention how she had reacted to that particular news. Bitter, angry. That Adora… but that was all in the past. Catra had ruined the friendship that they had had for so long. Catra shook off the unwelcome memories. She wasn’t that person anymore and she had gotten over Adora years ago. “Yeah… I ended up going to school, I’m a Music Major. I was working at a store in LA but it didn’t work out there. Here I am.” She gestured grandly with both arms. She glanced down at her watch again and then back to the still empty door. Still no Entrapta’s friend.
Will this sucked.
Adora glanced around as well, sighing dejectedly. “Sorry, I really am interested. It’s just I was supposed to meet someone here but Avery’s sitter showed up late.”
“Hot date?” Catra teased, trying her best for a confident nonchalance that she definitely did not feel.
Adora laughed, letting out a snort, “Ha. No. Actually a potential roommate. My last one left with short notice. It’s kinda put me in a bind.” She glanced at her phone distractedly.
Catra sat up straighter in her chair. “Oh? How did you meet them?”
“I haven’t, actually. My friend Entrapta-“
Catra facepalmed and let out a loud groan.
“What?”
“Adora… you’re meeting me. I’m Entrapta’s friend.” Catra grabbed her phone and started to scroll through her messages. She aggressively punched in some angry emojis and sent them off to her friend. “I didn’t even know Entrapta knew you…”
Adora stared at her blankly as the words seemed to sink in. Then a squeak “You’re Entrapta’s friend? How?”
“Scorpia introduced us senior year since we were both going to the same college. We were room mates for a while… how do you know her?”
“Well… maybe friend was kinda a strong word…more like acquaintances? We had some classes at Bright Moon together before she transferred to Horde… I thought she said her friend was a DJ?”
“Oh. Yeah… I mean I DJ on weekends and stuff. I actually got a job down at Rune. I did that even when I was in school.” Catra was definitely going to have a nice long talk with Entrapta… seriously? How had this happened?
Adora visibly deflated and ran a hand over her face. “Well… damn. I was really hoping…” She sighed, “Do you know how hard it is to find someone reliable, not a creep, and willing to live in a house with a three-year-old?” she ticked them off one long finger at a time.
Catra drummed her black painted fingernails on the top of the table. Her brow was creased in thought. Picking her cup up she downed the dregs of her now cold liquid. “Ok.”
Adora looked up from where she had thumped her head down onto the counter. “Ok?”
“I mean… this could still work out, right? You need a roommate who isn’t a serial killer. I need somewhere to sleep that isn’t the couch at Entrapta and Scorpia’s place…” She let the sentence hang, “I mean… no pressure. It’s totally fine if you think it’s a ter-“
“Ok.”
“Ok?”
“Yeah.” The blonde was squinting at her in thought, but seemed determined. “Ok.”
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Summer Ages 15 and 14
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Adora lounged on a turned over crate in the back of the alley. She pulled at the collar of her sticky shirt in the muggy, hot evening air. The only sound she could hear was the sporadic sound of the spray can firing off, and the clack clack clack of the ball as Catra shook a can.
“You know Shadow Weaver is going to have you scrubbing toilets for the rest of the year if you get caught again.” The blonde said slowly, leaning her back on the somewhat cooler bricks behind her.
“Yeah yeah…” Catra grumbled, eyeing her street mural appraisingly. It was a huge piece with a tiger leaping out of the building from a night sky. “And you’ll lose your spot as favorite if she ever hears you call her that.”
Adora shrugged, then realizing the other girl couldn’t see her, scoffed. She eyed her rebellious best friend. Catra’s hair was a messy ponytail exposing her shoulder blades and neck. They both had on a pair of cut off shorts and a tank tops thrown over swimsuits. They had gone to the pool after practice today, and hadn’t made it back to the orphanage yet to change.
The blonde could see the sweat causing the shirt on her friend to cling to her lanky frame. She only realized she was staring as Catra turned around abruptly, putting her chest directly in her eyeline. Shit .Adora jerked her eyes up to Catra’s.
“Toss me the black, will you? This one’s empty.”
Adora cleared her throat self consciously and ran her hand over the back of her sweaty neck, then reached down to the bag at her side. She tossed the can over and averted her eyes to the darkening sky overhead.
The tranquility of the evening was shattered by the shout from the end of the alley. “Hey! You kids stay right there! Ya’ll in trouble now you little punks.”
“Shit!” cursed the blonde, jumping up and running to the back of the alley, bag slung over her shoulder.
Catra waited next to the fence on the side of one of the buildings. “Go!” she yelled, waiting for Adora to get up the fence before climbing it and jumping over it herself.
They scrambled out of the other alleyway in time to see a cop car coming down the street, lights illuminating the buildings around it.
“Fuck!” Catra curses, but she’s laughing “Split up. See you at home.” Catra pushes Adora towards another gap in between buildings.
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CATRA- MOVING IN- SATURADAY WEEK 1 DAY 1
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Catra moved into the converted garage three days later on a Saturday. She had very little contact with Adora after exchanging telephone numbers… but the blonde hadn’t been far from her mind the entire time. God… what had she gotten herself into?
When she pulled up, she recognized the address as the same house that Adora had been adopted into during their sophomore year. The place was relatively small, so Catra would be moving into garage they had converted when Adora moved back into Mara’s. Adora would be in the master and Avery in the Csmall second bedroom. There was only one bathroom, but they had been used to sharing with a lot more people when they were still in the orphanage so hopefully that wouldn’t be an issue. The kitchen, living room, laundry, and yard would be shared. It was a pretty nice setup, even if Catra was nervous about being around a three-year-old that she couldn’t just run away from. Also, the whole living with Adora again thing… yay for progression and adulthood.
It only took her a couple trips to move everything out of her friend’s place and into her new one. She had had to rent a small trailer when she moved out here for the few things she had brought. It was mostly her DJ equipment, her gaming stuff, and a few boxes of clothes. Scorpia had loaned her a cot until she had a chance to go purchase a bed.
She looked around at the mostly baren room. The closet was the only thing that looked normal, she didn’t even have a dresser yet. She hadn’t taken anything that Ashley and she had owned jointly when she moved out.
Catra was hot and sweaty standing in front of the window AC unit in her room. Looking around again she clenched her fists, trying to fight back the tears that were suddenly threatening to overwhelm her. She was twenty-three, she was supposed to be in LA with the woman she loved, getting married and starting her forever… not here starting over under the same roof as her past.
There was a soft knock on the doorframe. “Knock knock! Hey, just checking to make sure you’re doing alright settling in…” Adora paused as the brunette sniffed and turned away. Catra ran an arm across her face to catch any stray tears.
Fuck
“Yeah-yeah. I’m good. Thanks.”
Adora stood in the doorway in indecision. “Ok, well I’m almost done with dinner if you’re interested. It’s chicken…” she cleared her throat awkwardly, rapping her knuckles lightly on the doorframe. She had always been a nervous fidgeter as a kid too.
“Yeah, thanks. I’ll be in in just a minute.”
There was a heavy pause as Catra kept her face turned away from Adora and directly in the stream of cold air.
Adora shuffled in the doorway for another moment. “Right. Ok. I’ll just see you inside then…” and hurried away.
Catra turned around and slid down the wall, her head in her hands and gulping for air. “Shit.” She had forgotten she left the door open. She leaned back after she had her breathing back under control. “This isn’t awkward at all.”
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ADORA- DAY ONE
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Adora stood in the kitchen uncertainly. She fiddled with the hem of her loose tank top. Catra had definitely been crying… but it wasn’t her place to pry, right? It was just so hard to fight the feeling that she should be there for comfort. Maybe it was just her caring nature, or being a mother, or maybe just that is was Catra…Catra the girl she had grown up with. Her best friend for so long… but that was years ago now. The girl she remembered from the last years of high school had been so angry… so not the person she had come to care for… but this woman in her house…
Either way, she knew the Catra from before she had moved away, would have never been caught crying. It was weak… but Catra hadn’t even lashed out when she’d been caught. The blonde wondered what must have happened in the years they had been apart to bring the brunette here like this. Catra had her clothes, her electronics, and a cot… what had happened in LA? A bad breakup with a boyfriend maybe?
She was brought out of her musings by a throat clearing behind her.
“Hey,” Catra shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot. She had changed out of her sweaty clothes into some shorts and an old band t-shirt. Her feet were bare, and it struck Adora how much it reminded her of being fifteen again. “You need any help?”
“No no, I’ve got it. If you want to just grab yourself a drink you can sit down. Cups are above the sink; I just need to wrangle Avery away from her paints.”
The other girl nodded, heading over to the sink and got on her tip toes to reach a mug on the shelf above the glasses. Adora was temporarily distracted by the flex of her calve muscles.
“You mind if I drink the rest of this coffee?”
“No, but it’s cold already.”
Catra just shrugged unconcerned and dumped the rest of the carafe into her cup, not even bothering to warm it up she took it to the table. She grimaced at the bitter taste.
“There’s milk in the fridge… and sugar over on the counter.” The blonde pointed after putting the rest of the dinner dishes on the table. She grabbed a plate and started to plate and cut food into smaller pieces for Avery.
Catra glanced back towards the fridge, wrinkled her nose, “It’s too late. I’ve come too far.”
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CATRA DAY ONE CONT’D
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Dinner was mostly quiet. Avery was shy around the newcomer and kept glancing at her every few minutes.
“Hayden doesn’t live here anymore.” The little blonde said solemnly looking over to the brunette.
Catra started at the sudden outburst, dropping her fork that had been on her way to her mouth back onto the plate with a clink. “Shit… crap… I mean- um-“
Adora laughed at Catra’s panicked expression before turning back to Avery who was looking at Catra with her nose scrunched up.
“No baby, Hayden had to move to a new home. Catra is going to live with us now.”
“Catra is going to live in Hayden’s room?”
“Yes baby, Catra lives in the other room now. Now it’s going to be Catra’s room.”
Catra rubbed the back of her neck, “Is that ok with you Avery? Can I live here with you and your Mom for a little while?”
Avery nodded. “Yes. You can live here.” Then, “Mama I watch Elsa now?”
Adora rolled her eyes, “After you finish eating you can watch until it’s time to get ready for bed.”
Catra tried to hold in the laugh at seeing Avery’s pout. The little girl looked so much like Adora with her blonde hair and big blue eyes. The brunette had never known Adora at 4, but she was willing to bet that she had looked just like this.
“I hope you like Frozen, it’s all she’s wanted to watch for weeks.”
Avery looked back over at Catra, “Do you like Elsa and Anna too?”
Catra relaxed back into her chair, the tension of the day melting away. “I love Frozen. Do you like the first Elsa movie or the second Elsa movie better?”
“Another Elsa movie?!” came the excited screech.
Catra jumped and swiveled her head to look at a glaring Adora. “Whoops?” she said meekly. “If it helps I have it on my amazon account? Please don’t kill me!”
Later, Avery screamed ‘Show yourself’ as Adora tried to get her ready for bed. The little girl excitedly explained how ‘Elsa froze and then the ice broke and then the horse and the water and whoosh and she saved the town’ for the third time to an amused Catra.
The brunette guessed she would count the first day as a win.