WHAT: Adora fills Richie in on The Great Twin Reveal⢠and they just catch up and chat WHERE: Coffee shop WHEN: This morning WARNINGS: Nah STATUS: Complete
In any other circumstances, those might have been ominous words to say. Even in these circumstances, it was probably at least concerning. But Adora shot her companion a smile across the table, her attempt to reassure him. Her news wasnât bad, necessarily, but it was something she was holding back. And she didnât want to do that. She had a lot of people in her life that cared about her, and now that she was coming around to the idea, she wanted to share the news.
Slowly. On her own terms. The only ones that knew were the ones involved at the time - her, Catra, Teela, and Adam. She knew Adam would be shouting it from the rooftops, but she had needed more time to wrap her mind around it all and had requested it. Once she told the most important people in her life, then her twin could do all the shouting he wanted.
Richie would be the first. She hadnât even told Bow and Glimmer yet, but that was mostly because she could predict their reactions and wasnât quite ready to handle them. She knew Richie would be a good ear and probably have good advice for her - he was ridiculously wise, and it was one of the many things she valued about him.
Now that theyâd settled down for coffee and Spirit had been given his well-earned puppuccino, she figured it was time to go for it.
âAdam and I are twins,â she proclaimed, without any further preamble. âSo, apparently, Iâm a princess. Again. Kinda.â
What a way with words she had, right?
Running with Adora was, funnily enough, one of the highlights of Richieâs week - sheâd done a great job at whipping him into shape and what started out as a way to begrudgingly get some exercise and pet a puppy had now turned into full-fledged bonding. Plus, he was healthier - so that had to count for something too, right? Heâd quit smoking almost entirely (occasionally heâd have to plow his way through a good portion of a pack of coffin nails when Vallo did some weird shit like kidnap Max to another dimension), his lung capacity improved, his singing voice for musicals was better, and he could run the whole way with her now without feeling as if he was going to explode.
So, win? Yes? He definitely thought so.
The coffee and bagel treats (or just coffee - or coffee and a bear claw, like what he had now) afterward were the icing on the cake. Heâd freshened up a bit and sat across from his blonde sister, nursing an iced latte (largest size) - something to cool off with, while Spirit scarfed his own after-run treat. And then Adora dropped the bomb.
Whooooooooa.
Though in all actuality, Richie wasnât too surprised? âI remember you saying that you were gonna talk to Adam about stuff and you had this...feeling,â he said, poking his straw into his drink. âLike about how weird it was, all the coincidences. Twins though, thatâs wild - you still processing that?â
Adora remembered that, too. She had always thought something was odd, but sheâd ultimately taken the denial route. She was convinced she was overthinking, and after a while, sheâd pushed it so far out of her mind it was nearly forgotten. Until Catra brought up her suspicions in front of Adam, she was perfectly happy to keep on moving forward thinking He-Man and She-Ra and the shared Power were just a strange coincidence - they were both Eternian, no way there was anything deeper to it.
But, according to Teela, She-Ra and He-Man had always been destined to be the same blood. Adam just either hadnât realized that part or had forgotten. Theyâd ended up taking an official DNA test to confirm, but there was really no mistaking it, no denying it. Not anymore, anyway.
âYeah,â she sighed. âIâm working on it. I just figured⌠Iâve always been an orphan, you know? I didnât think there was this whole family out there waiting for me, not really. And a whole kingdom? ItâsâŚa lot.â
She had been technically a princess for a few years now, but it was more of a symbolic title than anything. She-Ra was considered some sort of cross between a goddess and royalty and sheâd assumed princess was just what the locals had decided on. Apparently, at least in her case, there was more to it than that.
âI think itâs been a little disappointing for Adam,â she continued. âI wasnât exactly jumping for joy when we found out. And Iâve been afraid Iâm going to let him down.â She was trying her absolutely hardest not to - she did care about him and wasnât unhappy to be his twin. Taking it all in was just so much.
âI mean, itâs a huge info dump that could or could not change a lot of things,â Richie said. âMaybe not here, but at home - who knows. No one can tell you how youâre âsupposedâ to react and I donât think heâd try. He doesnât seem like that.â Adam was cool - really happy-go-lucky and always wanting to do the right thing, with intentions that were (probably) mostly pure as a bar of gold. Adora would have plenty of support, from him and also her other loved ones as she navigated this new sticky bramble of a maze.
He slurped on his drink a little, the ice sloshing in the cup. And tried to think of how he might react if surprise sibling and surprise royalty was sprung on him - honestly, it was hard to say. Everyone was different. Richie might be curled up in a ball and crying in a corner, he might be out there buying Happy Siblings Day cards already - it just depended.
âBlood familyâs important but so is found family,â he added. âSo like - how did you end up separated from him? Was it Shadow Weaver?â That bitch really sucked. Richie wanted to fight her (and would probably lose, but that was beside the point).
Richie was right, as usual. Adam wasnât pushing her at all. He was happy, obviously, but he had been giving her space while she processed, even tried to help coax her through meditation not too long after the big reveal. It had even sort of worked, surrounded by the lush gardens underneath Castle Grayskullâs main floor.
It was just so much all at once. Everything felt like a lot, she couldnât think of any better way to describe it. This time last year, sheâd felt like she didnât have a care in the world, but everything had just started stacking up. Sometimes it felt like she couldnât get out from under it all no matter how hard she tried, and she was actively trying.
She scooped up her frappe - mocha with extra chocolate drizzled throughout - and took a small sip, her first. She had been so determined to get those words out of her mouth that she had neglected her drink until now. It was rich and refreshing and gave her a second to gather her thoughts again because - gods, how in the world had she never explained this whole thing to Richie? It just hadnât been important before.
âThis one actually isnât on Shadow Weaver,â she clarified, ânot that she wouldnât have kept us apart if it was up to her, but -â She paused and shook her head. âNo, uh, Light Hope brought me to Etheria through a portal? She was this A.I. programmed by the First Ones a long, long time ago, and she needed a First One to activate the Sword of Protection and kickstart the Heart of Etheria Project, when the time came. And she got me. I donât know if she knew who she was looking for or it was just a stroke of luck, though.â
âThat sucks though,â Richie frowned - and he wasnât sure if this was some baby snatching or what, but being pulled apart from family, from her own twin brother, was a raw and shitty deal. Adora had been dealt a few of those in her life - they all had, yeah, but she had so much dumped on her. Like the weight of the world and being responsible for having to save everything and everyone - no fucking thank you.
It wasnât something that just went away because she was somewhere else either - those habits of wanting to fix everything, to make it better because she was supposed to, were ingrained in deep. He could tell she was trying to let go of some of that, however - and he didnât plan to do anything besides be there while she worked on it. âDo you feel like you just never had a choice about much of anything?â he asked, setting the cup down to lean back in his seat and begin working on the bear claw with long fingers - sometimes the almond paste was hit or miss for people, but Richie was into it. Marzipan remained one of the greatest inventions, in his opinion.
Spirit shifted to lay at her feet and Adora dropped a hand down to scratch behind his ears. He was a good boy, calmer now that he was a little older. She scooped up his licked-clean plastic cup and set it over in the corner of the table to dispose of later.
She took another long sip from her frappe before she shrugged in answer to Richieâs question. âYeah, I guess I do,â she said. âIt was always the Horde, then the Rebellion⌠I was fighting, one way or another. I was brought up in war. Vallo is⌠Itâs really the first place I started being able to make choices for me. But sometimes even those donât feel like mine.â
She sat with that for a minute before looking up at her brother with a sheepish smile. âBut youâre not my psychiatrist, sorry. You donât have to deal with these things.â
âI was just curious,â Richie shrugged, nudging Adora under the table - it was a reassuring gesture, and he definitely would suck at being anyoneâs psychiatrist. âChoice can feel like a weird thing sometimes. Especially âcause we get pulled into so much stuff against our will.â Like weird kidnappings or Hallmark movies or their powers were zapped for one reason or another - total oddness, but they really had no choice (see?) but to learn to roll with the punches if they wanted to keep trucking forward here. That was like life in many other ways, he guessed.
He gave Spirit a nudge too, reaching over to pat his butt because he was the goodest boy - they had plenty of animals at Skyhold, and Richie still had Enolaâs cat Crumpet and was taking care of her, but they could always use more dogs. In his opinion (though Hannibal the war elephant was a pretty sweet deal and very unique). âAnd, you know, like - you can just tell me stuff too. No way Iâm a psychiatrist type. Sometimes I guess you just wanna let it out and arenât always looking for a solution which is cool too. Or I do, anyway.â
And there didnât seem to be a specific solution for this current sitch - besides giving it time to settle.
âI appreciate that,â Adora told him sincerely. He was definitely a good person to spill her guts to when she just needed someone to listen. She didnât expect solutions from him, but she always expected solutions from herself. It was a vicious circle, and she was just tired some days. She had been wondering if it would be easier to just be back at war - less time for overthinking and second guessing, more time to just act.
âTell me more about whatâs going on with you,â she spoke up instead, deciding a change in subject was needed for the moment. âHowâs it going with El? She looked like she had a good time at Disney.â
Richie dusted his hands off, chasing that flaky pastry bite with another sip of coffee. Sure, maybe a bear claw negated the effects of the run, but who cared - life was too short to count calories or whatever. Plus it was more about the bonding experience anyway. The time spent together (and getting to pet a puppy, very important).
âShe had a great time,â he agreed. âIâve been to Disney in California but that was awhile ago. Still, it was cool to get to introduce her and Max to everything.â And Max definitely hadnât ever been - the whole thing was a new experience for him, but one of the first things Richie had been attracted to about him was how excited he was to learn about the simple things in this modern era. Like Excel spreadsheets or a neon light-up sign in a coffee shop - it was just really cute, was all. âOne of Valloâs better surprises,â he grinned. âBut yeah, things are cool. Sheâs going to school and liking it and me and Max help her with her homework. Itâs good dad-ing practice for us.â
âYouâre gonna be great dads,â Adora grinned right away. âYou already are. I canât wait to meet Alfie again. Whenever that happens. I still miss Finn like crazy.â
Despite all that, she was doing her best not to push. They knew Finn came young, but it was totally possible it wasnât this young. Future Adora hadnât given them a whole lot of detail, probably trying to avoid putting pressure on them (Adora, specifically, since pressure of all sorts was feeling crushing right now). But she was hopeful - it was one of the few things that didnât feel like too much right now.
âWe definitely didnât have anything like an amusement park back home, but I hope we will now that the warâs over.â It was a thought, although not one she thought would necessarily come to her in a world where such a thing had never existed. But maybe.
âFuck war, go to all the amusement parks,â Richie grinned. Sometimes you just needed that frivolous kind of bullshit fun in your life - and it seemed like not a lot of Vallo people really got to have a true childhood, for one depressing reason or another, so there was always a lot of catching up to do. âAnd, hell, I miss Finn like crazy too - I miss Alfie.â
He did. His and Maxâs little half-orc kid was the cutest, a gentle giant with strength he was really mindful of - which was why he was careful when he picked flowers, collected bugs, or pet llamas. Just the sweetest - getting to raise him from babyhood would be so awesome. âItâll all happen when it happens though,â he gestured with vague âjazz hands,â the way the future worked.
You know. Seer hand gestures - that sort of thing.
âNo pressure. You have enough to deal with. But at least you know MILF you has her shit together so youâve got this also, blondie.â
Adora nodded. âItâll all happen when it happensâ was what she was doing her best to remember and to stick by. She couldnât say she didnât hope for sooner than whenever, but they were young and she certainly wasnât going to press Catra too soon. It was only because of Finn that she had warmed up to the idea of kids (yes, multiple, because there were more forthcoming after Finn), so pushing too much too fast wasâŚnot the way to go.
Sheâd learned that lesson quickly. Somewhat.
âLetâs just hope I can figure out how to be that MILF someday,â she laughed, surprisingly relaxed about the entire thing. She had a tendency of stressing and comparing herself to how put together and chill her future self had apparently been. But it was nice to know that somehow, some way, sheâd get there.
Richie was one-hundred percent confident in Adoraâs ability to become the best version of herself - he didnât even have to be able to see the future to know that but even if he did have a vision about it, and dip into those waters, he would be certain that it was going to come true. âYou will,â he assured. âYouâre already a great person - not perfect, but no one is so you definitely donât have to be. But youâre pretty great. And youâre going to be a great MILF too.â
He meant that. Adora had so many good qualities - she was caring and warm and determined, laser-focused when it came to protecting those who cared about and even those who needed someone to stand up for them when they couldnât do it themselves. Finn would turn out to be amazing too (and an amazing partner for Alfie, who Richie knew deserved the best).
âSee, Iâm sounding like a fortune cookie - I think I need more coffee now.â He wasnât able to smell colors yet, and getting there sounded like a plan.
Adora got a little blushy - she loved compliments, giving and receiving them, but she still sometimes had a hard time when they were about her personally. She was good at receiving compliments on her fighting style, She-Ra, that sort of thing. But hearing that she was good, that she could handle this, it was different. It helped, though, being encouraged like that.
She smiled, reaching across the table to give his hand a quick squeeze before returning it to her drink. âYouâre telling me youâre not already a fortune cookie? I must have gotten the wrong memo,â she teased.
âNah, not yet - I guess maybe thereâs still time,â Richie chuckled sheepishly, pushing his glasses up on his nose. He wasnât used to offering up genuine compliments, not really. He didnât have any of the Losers here (save for those few times Eddie blipped in and out) but that was okay because most of his time in Vallo had been about building a new family - people who werenât the Losers who got past the layers of fart jokes and crude humor to see that he was actually pretty sensitive, and actually pretty generous and caring himself.
He let one muppet limb arm dangle so he could pat Spirit on the butt again. âBut if anyone can get me to be a fortune cookie, I guess itâs you - so congrats.â Her and Max, probably. And El. Heâd pull out all the stops for those people - and heâd always be there when they needed him.
âI feel so privileged,â Adora replied, her tone teasing but she sincerely meant it. Having Richie had been really good for her and Catra both. He was a good influence on them - they really hadnât met much of anyone around here who wasnât. He was always understanding, even though their worlds couldnât be more different, and seemed like he really got it.
âHave you had any actual visions lately?â she questioned, brows raising. âAny more giant dick storms coming our way?â If there was one thing she would never forget, it was that particular gif.
âIâm at the market with Prigany pretty often and I do drawings to practice, when people ask for them,â Richie shrugged. He still felt weird about charging for it since he never thought heâd be in this position but he also had to accept (as his covenmates pointed out) that he was actually pretty good at what he did so there was no reason why he couldnât make a profit. âI havenât seen anything tooooo weird? Not lately. Mostly people have specific questions or like, wanna look into their love lives.â
Heâd done a lot of those types of drawings. Also drawings related to home, health, money - standard topics for folks, as they traversed these life paths. âIf you ever want another one though, Iâll do it for free,â he promised with a patented shot-of-sunshine smile. âMax gave me a pen for Valentineâs Day, itâs infused with crystal that boosts my visions.â Rasâs potions helped too - so he thought he was in a good place to like, not suck at this.
Adora nodded. âI still have the one you drew for me in Serendipity,â she told him. She had framed it and put it up in her and Catraâs room, in fact, and it would be up there forever. It was the perfect souvenir to come out of that place, as opposed to the sad sack letters her alternate self had written to Catra during their time apart that her wife had received. She kept them stashed somewhere, and although part of Adora wanted to throw them out, she refrained. They meant a lot to Catra, just like the journal that refused to be burned.
âIâll let you know if I have any specific questions, but right now, Iâm just glad to be here with you.â She smiled softly and took another drink. It had been a good morning with one of her favorite people, and she really couldnât ask for more.