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Adora 🌈👊🏻-😺😺 (legendaryhero) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-06-09 22:00:00

WHO: Adora & Catra
WHAT: An eventful day at the beach
WHERE: Galdin Quay
WHEN: Tuesday afternoon
WARNINGS: Mild traumatization by shark + shark punching
STATUS: Complete


Ever since she and Catra had received their new influx of ending-the-war memories, Adora had been riding a pretty intense adrenaline high. Waking up the day after defeating Maleficent to discover they had taken down Horde Prime and set Etheria back on a good, Horde-free path was a feeling that not much else could top. From here on out, she could live her life in Vallo without worrying that they were abandoning their friends in their time of need. They had done their jobs, and now they could relax.

A vacation was much needed and well-earned.

It had really been Catra’s idea, but Adora was all for it. She had taken it upon herself to come up with a plan and put it into action, including researching vacations in general since it wasn’t really something they had on Etheria. Beaches seemed to be a popular choice. Catra wouldn’t be getting into the water, that was a given, but she would absolutely love sunbathing on the sand. A little bit of searching led her to Galdin Quay; the beach was small, and staying there would be pricey, but she decided it was worth it. She booked a week’s stay in a hotel room, a day’s worth of spa treatments, and left the rest of the week open for some spontaneity. Planning every detail would defeat the point, right?

Today was day two and their first day out on the beach after spending yesterday holed up in their room. It was really beautiful out here. Quiet, calm, and very romantic. She missed Spirit and Ivy (who Alex had very generously offered to look after while they were gone), but having some time with just Catra, free of any of her usual stresses, was the most incredible feeling. And getting to spend it laying out in the sun and getting tan without any interruptions? Well, all the better.

That didn’t mean she was without goals, though. First and foremost of them was getting Catra to come out into the water with her. She’d even bought and blown up an inflatable lounge chair just for that reason.

“Try it for me,” she pleaded, kneeling on the sand next to her girlfriend and giving her puppy eyes. “You won’t be in the water, you’ll be floating on the water. And I promise I won’t let anything get you.”

Beaches were apparently infamous vacation spots for the general public, so - why not? It was their first and (hopefully) not their last getaway from stressors. Away from the shifting forest of occasional murdery horrors and bustling city life, it was actually nice. The last beach she had been to, Catra conquered through Salineas (yikes) and while she wasn’t a big fan of water (try not at all), lying out and absorbing the sun’s warmth while napping was something her feline genetics literally screamed for. She had no plans on bothering with actual ocean water.

Until Adora gave her those goddamn puppy eyes.

“Why does it have a hole where the butt goes?” she sighed, lifting up her sunglasses to express that she maybe, possibly (definitely, but she’d put up a little struggle for the sake of it) considering her request. Catra was happy to stretch out on this beach chair in a scandalously skimpy black bikini and laze. On dry land. Dry land was her friend.

Truthfully, her relationship with water was complicated. Not just in a ‘I’m a cat hiss hiss’ kind of way. Water meant she surrendered control. She couldn’t move fast, couldn’t just leap out of it. Then the thought of being submerged - even accidentally - made her gut twist in a not-so-good way. It reminded her of that glowing green pool, how she’d been shoved under while an audience of clones watched and couldn’t breathe, over and over. All part of her ‘cleansing’ which was a bullshit way of saying ‘let me torture the fight out of you until you break.’

But Prime was dead, her life before Vallo was full of shitty moments anyway and most importantly? He was dead (what a beautiful fact!). She could endure this out of spite. He didn’t have to taint this. Catra wouldn’t let him.

She did assess this floaty-device though, squinting at it. “And is it going to deflate if I poke it with my toe?”

“Only if you purposely stab it with your claw,” Adora replied with a playful raise of her brow. “And that wouldn’t end well for you, would it?”

Adora knew how Catra felt about water, probably better than anyone else. She’d always had the catlike tendency to not like water, but it had only been exacerbated by everything Prime had put her through most recently. She was in no way trying to force her to do something uncomfortable. She knew when Catra had her mind made up and when there was a little wiggle room to work with. She wasn’t just putting on a show for Adora’s sake right now; there was some cautious curiosity in those eyes she so loved.

“We can put a towel over the hole if it bothers you, and I’ll stay right nearby, I promise,” Adora continued seriously. If she had a shot at convincing Catra, she was going to keep after it. “I’ll even take you back to land the second you’re tired of it. No pressure. I’d just like it if you gave it a try.”

Little freckled nose wrinkling, her legs slid off the beach chair so her feet could settle into the hot sand - sharp toes wiggling and all. The sunglasses were shifted up to sit on her head, and her fingers toyed with her braided hair (courtesy of Adora’s styling). “You don’t have to baby me,” she huffed heatlessly and shifted to the edge of her seat. “It’s not like I can’t swim.”

A necessary survival skill taught by the Horde and all - it had been her least favorite class ever as a cadet.

“But since you’re cute and went out of the way to get this for me,” she continued, smirking. “I’ll try it, yeah. No towel required. And you don’t need to keep an eye on me or anything - I’ll manage. If you want to find a dolphin to befriend or find a mermaid just for fun, go for it. Don’t hang back for me.”

“Okay, no hanging back,” Adora agreed. She would probably hover nearby just in case, anyway. She knew Catra could take care of herself, even in an uncomfortable situation like this, but that protective streak was never easy to quash. Thankfully, they had the whole little stretch of beach to themselves, so there were no external sources to stoke her anxiety; she’d rather keep it simmering at its current low level.

Stretching her back, she leaned forward and stole a quick kiss, her fingers sliding upward through the fur at her girlfriend’s knees. “Thank you. It’s gonna be fun, promise. The water’s really calm.”

“Mmhm,” Catra purred, tail swishing forward to wrap around her forearm - and her arms around Adora’s neck, not letting that kiss stop quite there. More happened, she made sure of it. “It’s cool. I wouldn’t mind watching you splash around up close and personal as long as you’re not being mean and splashing me.”

It was a simple request, and who was she to deny what Adora wanted anyway? After everything, she deserved all the things she wanted as small as it may be. “Just keep that thing stable for me to climb on when it’s in the water? It seems like it’d be wobbly.”

She was sure it’d be fine. Floating was doable. Catra might get a bit fluffy at first but she was capable of smoothing out her own tail, thank you.

Adora nodded agreeably. “I won’t let go until you tell me you’re good. And no splashing, either. I’m not that mean.” If she really wanted Catra underwater with her, she’d pull her into the shower in their room later. That gave her an escape route, and it was a faster process altogether. Pleasurable, too, when they wanted it to be. She didn’t really foresee attempting sex in the ocean being a good time.

“It has cup holders, so you can bring your phone if you want. And your water bottle. Definitely that so you don’t get dehydrated.”

Ever the planner except when it came to going head first into battle, wasn’t she? Catra snorted a giggle and pushed her hands into Adora’s face to shove back lovingly. “Yeah, yeah - I get it you big dork,” she drawled in amusement. “You don’t need to fret about my hydration.”

There were times where Catra was particularly stubborn about accepting Adora’s protective streak, though this - this was okay. Maybe a little extra, but she knew it came from love (oh, gag). Turns out that being cared for actually felt nice when she wasn’t actively struggling against it.

She stood and grabbed those very things - phone (which was apparently waterproof, thanks Vallo), her bottle. “Dibs on picking tonight’s dining spot though!” Catra poked at her ribs ticklishly as they walked over towards the edge of the water. It was calm - minimal waves - but there was still some seafoam that’d creep up on the sand and leave behind shell debris. The occasional crab, too. “I want expensive fish.”

Adora felt like she couldn’t stop smiling. Even when Catra shoved at her face and teased her for worrying about her, she was happy. They both were. Right now, there were no tensions, no arguments lingering, and she felt this level of peace she’d never experienced before. She’d been feeling this way since they’d woken up and known Prime was gone. She really hoped it wasn’t going to go away anytime soon.

Catra’s poking elicited a few giggles before Adora leaned down to scoop up the float and carry it over to the water’s edge. “Anything you want,” she agreed. She was more than happy to let Catra pick where they ate. It was the least she deserved after agreeing to something Adora knew she was a little nervous about, no matter how willing she was to try.

“C’mon, princess,” she teased, grabbing the water bottle and popping it into the nearest cup holder. “Your chariot awaits.”

Oh my god, the worst. Catra’s eyes twitched, and her jaw may have dropped at that insult and her tail may have given Adora a heavy thwap on her deliciously toned arm. “Low blow,” she grumbled. “Remember that none of this is because I like you.”

They were beyond the ‘like’ thing now - clearly. But it was still fun to say anyway, knowing Adora knew that all of it was exactly because she loved her.

Her feet met the water tentatively. It was shockingly cold compared to the summery temps they were experiencing, even causing her body to experience a brief shudder. It all smelled so salty, much like the pods of glowing amniotic fluid on Prime’s ship - but this also had other scents mixed into it. It wasn’t a total replica to the senses. Catra could draw the line to differentiate.

Right before being knee-deep into the waters was a good time to climb on. It took her a minute to figure out what to do with her hands. “Okay, um -” The phone was dropped into the other cup holder, and she started to carefully and awkwardly (she was so out of her element) climb on top of the inflatable lounge thingy. Out of fear she kept the claws in her hands sheathed and was very cautious with her toe placement, but she managed to settle in okay.

Obviously she was tense and already wasn’t a fan of how wildly unstable she felt to be floating on water furniture she could shred into ribbons in less than two seconds. Catra would manage though. Give her a minute to get used to it. “I’m good with being pushed out more,” she decided with a shrug. “I can swim in the worst case scenario, I won’t drown.”

As soon as Catra had gotten on the lounge, Adora’s pace slowed. She held the float steadily, taking careful steps forward, eyes scanning over Catra for signs of discomfort every few seconds. While she was a little tense, she wasn’t freaking out. That was good; this thing would be history in no time if Catra started freaking out. One hand pushed forward from the bottom and the other gave her girlfriend’s ankle a quick squeeze.

“You sure?” she asked. She knew swimming was a possibility if it came down to it, but she didn’t really want to put Catra in that situation. “I’ll take you out farther if you want, or you can stay here, or we can turn back. It’s really okay if you’re not feeling comfortable.”

“Adora,” Catra warned, reaching into the water to splash at her gently - see, she can touch the ocean without spazzing out. “I’m fine - promise. It’s a little weird but I’ll get used to it, okay? There’s no crazy waves, not a lot of people are out. It’s just us right now. If I need you -”

She wriggled and sat up, reaching for that hand around her ankle to grab and tug forward. The goal was to lure her into a reassuring kiss, purring against her lips. “I’ll let you know. I don’t want you to spend our first official vacation fretting over me. You do that enough. If I sneeze funny you’re giving me worried puppy eyes.”

It was endearing, even if she rolled her own eyes because of it.

Adora was doing it again, she realized that. Even when she was in a good space, her mind tended to go into overdrive when she was worried about Catra. She just needed to get a grip and listen. If there was something wrong, she would be well within earshot and she’d fix it. But there was no sense in fixing nothing.

“Sorry,” she murmured, easily leaning in to the kiss she was being offered. The float shook a little with her weight added to it, but she slid back off quickly to prevent any capsizing. “Okay, I’ll bring you a little farther, then I’ll let you go.”

And she did just that, moving another twenty feet at most. The water was about up to her neck by the time she released it and floated backwards. She dropped underwater for just a moment, emerging with her hair fully soaked. “I’m not going far. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Catra’s tail was on the move but it wasn’t anything apprehensive - the movement was lazy, content flicks. The kiss helped. Hence this, like, trill that rumbled squeakily from her throat. “No apologizing,” she scolded playfully and leaned back into the float. “Feel free to give me a show, yeah? Swimming involves a lot of arm movement.”

And while she wasn’t a fan of being dripping wet herself, Adora was stupidly attractive like this and she’d be happy to drink in the view. “Love you - find me a cool sea shell or something, the kind you hold to your ear and supposedly hear the ocean?”

“I’m on it,” Adora agreed with a grin, drifting back over to press a quick kiss to Catra’s hand. “I love you. Enjoy the sun.” She swam off, making sure she stayed well within Catra’s line of sight and giving a little extra flex to her arms. She loved when her girlfriend fed into her showoff tendencies; it was a good boost for her ego.

Now, to find a seashell. Why people wanted to listen to a shell for sounds of the ocean, she didn’t quite know, but it would be a good souvenir. And maybe she would run into a mermaid down there. That would be pretty cool.

Fuck, Adora was adorable (pun intended but it couldn’t be helped). It was impossible to fight that toothy little smile that naturally appeared - and now with Etheria’s warscape having been resolved, she found it easier to do that. Smile in general, because things were fine at home and they were together in both words. It fed the whole narrative of ‘nothing bad can happen as long as we stay together’ and now, she believed it without a shred of doubt.

It made Catra not all that concerned about the water, really. The shades slipped back over her eyes, and she settled in comfortably and the gentle movement of the ocean wasn’t - the worst? Tracking Adora through the water wasn’t difficult, and she stayed relatively near and the sunrays were so warm. The purring was inevitable, but it was soft and contained, always strongest when Adora had her wrapped up in her arms.

She didn’t know how much time had lapsed. Dozing may have happened, probably because Adora’s presence brought a sense of safety. There was a weird bump underneath her float, like someone swam beneath and gave it a nudge to be annoying.

“Your big butt’s moving me,” Catra chuckled as she reached up, rubbed her eye drowsily and then pushed the sunglasses up again. “Did you find me something shiny?”

Silence.

Catra felt it again, something underneath her - pushing. The float undulated like a small wave had hit it. “Adora? What are you even -”

Then, a graze of something sharp hit her butt - since, y’know, for whatever reason this device made her ass settle into a hole that had her exposed to the ocean. Nothing painful but definitely enough for Catra to jolt, on the verge of tipping over now that she abruptly shifted to all fours so she could see what the fuck was happening as it clearly had zero to do her with her goddamn girlfriend. “Adora?” she hissed, tail stiff and puffy.

That was when she saw it, swimming. Circling. Fin cutting through the water, a glimpse of razors for teeth. It wasn’t awfully big but who gave a fuck when she had never seen one physically in her life and it hit her float again and, yes, Catra did let out the most undignifying shriek her vocal chords could ever produce. “ADORA!”

The float toppled, and Catra fell in because why could she ever have nice things.

Adora spent her time mostly above water, if only because she wasn’t actually capable of breathing underwater, but she dove down pretty consistently. She was a fairly strong swimmer thanks to required Horde lessons (another survival skill to add to the arsenal). Thankfully she hadn’t had to put those skills to use too often during the war. It was nice to use them for no reason other than fun now.

And she had, in fact, found something shiny. She wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe some sort of coin? It was flat, silver, about the size of her fist, and had engravings in it that she assumed were another language. At first glance, it had almost looked like First Ones’ writing, but when she surfaced to get a better look, it was clear that wasn’t the case. Maybe she’d see if someone in the city knew what it was when they got back.

She had just finished tucking it into the pocket of her shorts (they came with zipper pockets, fancy) when a sound she would never have expected to hear practically shattered her eardrums. She whirled around just in time to see a fin gliding across the surface and Catra toppling off the lounge and into the water with a big splash.

Panic sunk in instantly. She knew there were sharks around, of course, but she’d never expected to run into one; they hadn’t gone out that deep! She swam out as fast and as hard as she could and plunged underwater, intending to grab hold of Catra and pull her to the surface.

Which she did, and in the process, she rammed right into the shark, startling it.

Really, it wasn’t a big shark. She doubted it was even full grown. But it was agitated and she could see all of its teeth when it opened its mouth. A spike of fear shot up her spine and a rush of adrenaline hit her. She kicked hard, pushing herself and Catra back to the surface and tossing her poor, soaking wet girlfriend over the capsized float. “Hold on, okay?”

The shark wasn’t far behind them. When it burst out of the water with its teeth bared and its fins spread open, she acted on instinct. She pulled her arm back, lunged forward, and punched the side of its head with all the strength she could muster. It definitely wasn’t going to like her now.

This was hysterical. Like, in a funny way and also in a deeply mortifying way. Panic seized her brain, her movements, everything - going down under was the one thing she was trying to avoid and here she was, flailing, trying to gain some semblance of control and swim the way she knew how.

(While also trying to shove away the thoughts of that green fucking pool.)

But Catra felt a set of arms and latching onto the person she knew grabbed her was instantaneous. Claws were out, biting into Adora’s skin in a way that was purely accidental and instinctual, and once they broke through the surface there was a lot of sputtering on her end. She was aware of being hoisted onto the lounge - and also sadly aware of how those unsheathed claws tore into it in desperate need to cling and began the process of a slow-to-moderate deflation.

The shark, though - they seemed to have had enough, getting knocked in the face with a force that made it whip around and abandon its initial investigation. Catra thankfully had managed to witness the event of her girlfriend punching a shark in her honor and while it was one of those stupidly attractive things Adora knew how to do all too well, she was too grouchy to be horny about it.

“I’m eating shark steak tonight!” Catra hissed after it in a hilarious show of fury, fangs bared and body quivering from either cold or plain adrenaline. The lounge was beginning to sink. “AND I HOPE IT’S YOUR MOTHER I’M EATING!”

A wave of relief crashed over her when the shark decided being punched was a good reason to leave instead of attacking again. That hit had been a gamble, but she was glad it had worked out in their favor. And after that, it seemed like a very reasonable decision to get the hell out of the water. She knew Catra was seriously angry, and being soaked down to the bone couldn’t be helping her feel any calmer. The deflating float probably wasn’t helping matters either.

“Okay, you can eat all their friends and family tonight if you want,” she chuckled, still trying to shake off the panicky burst of energy that had her heart working overtime. “C’mon, let me carry you back and towel dry you. That thing’s not going to make it back to shore.”

And that was fine. It was a cheap float that she’d bought expecting the possibility of Catra’s claws destroying it. It had lasted much longer than she’d thought, and she didn’t anticipate needing it again. She wouldn’t be surprised if Catra refused to come near the water again.

Catra was completely capable of swimming back to shore on her own, thank you very much - but she didn’t. A string of vulgarity was growled out under her breath, and she willingly let herself slide off what remained of the lounge and into the water. God, she hated this sensation. Made her feel soggy. Plus, cold. Her afternoon had been spent soaking up sun rays and now she was immersed into this.

“Gimme,” she huffed, and by gimme she meant Adora. Catra floated over to eliminate the space between them and clung, arms wrapping around her shoulders and legs going tight around her waist. Her cheek squished into hers because hmph, she was pouting a little. “I don’t know what hurts more - that shark’s face when your fist connected to it or my pride. I’m going to eat every shark they’ve ever loved in their life, mark my words.”

“I know you will, sweetheart,” Adora agreed, nuzzling the cheek against hers with a soft smile as she started trudging back toward the shore with her arms back around Catra to keep her steady. This had gone exactly opposite how she’d anticipated, and she felt bad Catra had gotten dumped in the ocean after how careful she’d been. But it was better than being snacked on by a shark, by far. And there was no reason they couldn’t enjoy the sand and sun a little longer.

By the time she had them both out of the water, her heart rate had slowed to normal and she felt calmer. Her fist ached — sharks were not soft creatures — but that was the last thing on her mind as she lowered Catra back onto the beach chair. She snagged one of the big beach towels they had brought with them off the end of the chair and sat down to wrap Catra up in it, pulling her close.

“You okay?” she murmured, pressing her nose into a spot just beneath her ear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think there’d be sharks anywhere near us.”

Salt water was nasty. Catra let out a funny nyah with her tongue, as if that’d do anything to rid her of the taste - she had gotten some in her mouth when she fell in the first time, gross. The swim back was short, and she was a fairly good sport about it. No flailing or hissing. The feel of dry sand on her toes was welcomed and the sun, she felt it again on her skin and fur. That’d warm her up.

The towel she was swathed in helped too, but cuddled up in Adora’s arms was also way better. “It’s fine, I’m good,” she answered sincerely, rubbing at her nose like she was fighting back a sneeze. “It didn’t bite me or anything. I just - um, fighting in water isn’t my thing and I’ve never seen one of those in person before?” Her ears dipped sheepishly. “What about you? Did I scratch you too hard?”

While she knew Adora had a thing for being scratched, this wasn’t the situation for it and Catra knew her claws could be inconvenient during a panic-worthy moment.

Adora didn’t fault Catra for being a little helpless. Water already wasn’t her thing; of course she wouldn’t be able to fight back while she was engulfed in it. She didn’t mind swooping in to save her — really, what choice did she have after hearing her shriek like that, it had scared the hell out of her — but this wasn’t about her ego right now. She would rather focus on making Catra feel better and getting her dried off.

She rubbed the towel up and down Catra’s arms and gave her another squeeze. “I’m okay. Honestly, I didn't even notice you scratched me.” She had vaguely felt those claws digging into her arms when she’d been pulling her out of the water, but it hadn’t been her primary concern. She lifted one arm to check it out — and, oh yeah, there were a few scratches. Nothing serious or dripping blood, though. “They’ll heal up, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re all right.”

It was impossible to not purr. Those vocal little vibrations were almost always guaranteed with Adora involved - she didn’t do much of it during their time separated, had to do it secretly while they were cadets (Shadow Weaver was never a fan of those ‘animal instincts’), but now they were free to roll out of her like smitten thunderclouds. It stemmed from feeling content, and safe. She was very much both those things right now.

“I’m sorry anyway,” Catra expressed, pressing her cheek into her shoulders as her eyes stared up at her fondly. The rounded pupils were a dead giveaway. “My ego will never recover from this, by the way - I can’t believe you had to play Big Damn Hero for me. Against a fucking fish of all things.”

She could take care of herself. Seriously. Except maybe not in water.

“It’s a really big fish with sharp, scary teeth, in fairness to you,” Adora chuckled, dipping her head down to press her forehead to Catra’s. She gave her a firm squeeze, shifting to wrap her legs around her, too. She liked doing this when they were alone and Catra was purring so she could feel it rumbling all the way through her. It kept her even and calm and tended to lull her off to sleep on restless nights.

“I love you,” she murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her girlfriend’s lips. Her heart fluttered as she raised her hand to stroke across her cheek, gazing into her eyes. “I think we can be done with the ocean for this vacation. That was way too much excitement.”

“I have sharp teeth too,” Catra grumbled childishly, tightening the wrap of the towel around her - she was a burrito. “And claws. Grow some legs and get on land, asshole, I can take you.”

Oh yeah, she was so butthurt but Adora’s kissing was enough to pacify her and stomp out most of the irritation. That whole situation was probably one in a million anyway - these weren’t shark infested waters and one probably strayed too far and wanted to see what was up. Most of her knowledge came from that one time she stayed up to watch one episode of Shark Week before promptly passing out, whatever. It was enough.

Her head turned to playfully bite at her hand through, a little mrrrrr sound coming up. “Only if that’s what you want - I’m good with just staying on land if you wanna come out here again,” she said. “This trip’s for you.”

“This trip’s for both of us,” Adora corrected her, gentle and immediate. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to correct that kind of comment. She knew Catra didn’t think she deserved this, but she did. They both did. They had fought an entire war and come out of it both in one piece and as the victors. That wasn’t just Adora’s accomplishment. Sure, they’d had some bad years, but Catra had come through for her in the end. That was what mattered to her most.

“We’ll decide as we go. I’m trying to be less of a planning freak. For now, let’s get you dried off and brushed out before you turn into a giant fluff ball. You packed a brush, right?” They had a giant beach bag Adora had pulled their towels out of within reach; there was probably a brush buried at the bottom of it somewhere.

Okay, fine. The both of them. Catra rolled her eyes (obviously with affection), and leaned in to bump their foreheads together again. “Whatever you say, princess,” she smirked. “And I did bring a brush but - you know, salt water and sand. It’s going to make me dry all weird. Brush me after we shower? You’re going to need one too. Then we can get all fancy so I can eat shark.”

She was going to order like, five shark steaks and probably not eat them all but that’s also what she had Adora for - to obliterate her leftovers like a good, gluttonous girlfriend.