WHAT: Surprise anniversary date! (Guest appearances by Teela, Marlena & Randor) WHERE: The gazebo where they got married WHEN: Evening of December 19th, 2022 WARNINGS: Outrageously fluffy fluff STATUS: Complete
Teelaâs voice echoed through the door (soundproofing currently off) followed by a firm knock. Adora sighed, pulling her hand through her hair one more time and examining herself in the mirror before stepping into the closet to pull out a jacket, just in case.
It was their wedding anniversary today. A month ago, Adora had figured they would have Darla to themselves to celebrate, or maybe theyâd go into the city and spend the day doing something fun together. One year married was a very big deal, even bigger than their one year together anniversary back in February. She wanted to make sure it was acknowledged with something special.
With the whole family assembled on their ship, that wasnât happening. Well, it wasnât a just-the-two-of-them day, anyway. Theyâd gotten Happy anniversary! greetings from everyone this morning, breakfast delivered and shared together in the kitchen, a viewing of their wedding video, but it was a flurry of activity, not very calm or peaceful.
Now, they were being rushed out the door, and Adora had to imagine it was another family outing that had been planned for them. Randor and Marlena had disappeared after lunch with promises to see you later, and a few hours later, Teela had started poking at them to go out. She told them to dress warmly and comfortably, that theyâd need to be out the door by six, but she gave them no further explanation. But she was insistent, for some reason, so theyâd agreed it must be important.
She was dressed already, pulling her jean jacket up her arms and over her shoulders as she walked over to her wife. She smiled at her and leaned in to steal a kiss.
âYou look really good,â she murmured. âSorry we donât get our anniversary to ourselves.â
âItâs fine,â Catra grinned in reassurance, and she meant that. Did she imagine their day getting hijacked? Nah, absolutely the fuck not, but she was at least with Adora - that was the most important thing. Slight annoyances aside, sheâd been a good (somewhat tired) sport about it. She dressed cozily, and although her pants were on the stretchy side she had a feeling that by the end of the nightâbecause she was hungry, she planned to eatâthey might be digging into her stomach a little.
She also recognized the signs of people possibly⊠plotting? Things had been hectic but Catra had a decent grip on how everyone in the ship was; they had their quirks and weird habits, but they were respectful of not crossing boundaries. Marlena and Randor just seemed psyched to be around for the anniversary since they werenât able to attend the original event.
Her arm wound up around her neck, and she yanked Adora down with some force for another kiss. âIâm just stoked we get to celebrate it, you know? If I get to do that, and have you,â she said, the grin turning into a smirk, and she captured her mouth into a playfully filthy kiss, âI donât have much to complain about. Unless I donât get, like, fed in the very near futureâthen Iâm bitching up a storm.â
âMe too,â Adora agreed with a laugh. She didnât necessarily mind being dragged out for whatever was clearly up her familyâs sleeves, but she hoped they knew food would be required for their trouble. If they didnât, well, even Adora was known to get a little unreasonable when hangry, and that would be unpleasant on all sides.
Another knock came at the door, and a glance at her watch showed it was two minutes to six. âOkay, weâre coming!â she called out. She kissed Catraâs nose and shifted, taking her hand and lacing their fingers together as they approached the door. She disengaged the lock, and the doors to their quarters slid open to reveal a smirking redhead with her arms crossed over her chest waiting in the corridor.
âAbout time,â she remarked. âLetâs make this fast, your momâs very demanding about her timelines.â She gave Catra an apologetic look. âSorry, Catra. Brace yourself.â
She waved a hand, sweeping them up and setting them down a split second later. Adoraâs arms instantly wrapped around her wife to hold her through the inevitable dizziness from teleporting that never sat well with her. She waited until she was certain the sick feelings had passed so they could both look up and take in their surroundings.
The clearing they were in instantly sparked butterflies in her belly and her heart racing. It didnât look quite the same as it had that day â no chairs set up for their guests to sit â but the gazebo was lit up, sparkling with strings of bright fairy lights against the rapidly sinking sun. Even from here, she could smell something delicious; her mouth actually began watering.
Standing on the step up, beaming and looking pleased with themselves were Marlena and Randor, arm-in-arm.
Adora turned to Teela. âTheyââ
âGo on, my job here is done. Talk to them,â Teela encouraged them with a wink. âHappy anniversary, you two.â
Wait, what did Teela mean by sorry, Catra, brace yourself, like how bad was thisâ
âOh for fuckâs sake,â she had exhaled out the exact moment after they had been transplanted, because of course there had to be some kind of magic teleporting bippity-bobbity move that came into play. Catra had, in fact, not been teleported anywhere since the grand news of being with child; she always figured it was a surefire way to throw up on someoneâs shoes.
Plot twist: she didnât. Adoraâs shoes were safe.
âWeâre not staying,â Marlena smiled at them with a wink, squeezing Randorâs arm as she led the way towards the girls. âWouldnât dream of it. We know homeâs been a bitâcrowded, and itâs not a very romantic atmosphere when it comes to celebrating an anniversary, so some of your friends were kind enough to help us find this place. I taught your father how to use Pinterest.â
Nausea didnât stand a chance to how stunned Catra was. She blinked at them, and then the gazebo, and then at Adora, and both her brows flared up like she was relaying a simple woah at her. It was a good woah.
âThereâs food,â she motioned behind her, âand some sparkling ciderânon alcoholic, so you can act like youâre having champagne since one of you is pregnant and the other one is a lightweight?â Marlenaâs smile became a grin. âDessert is included. Enjoy yourselves.â
âIâm still not entirely certain I understand it,â Randor admitted. Technology had never been his strongest point, and the devices in this world were so blasted small. He thought he had wrapped his head around this Pinterest, however, and he enjoyed the look of delight on his wifeâs face as she browsed through expertly. He had missed that smile for too long.
There was still a part of him that believed this was too good to be true, but he had decided to accept these circumstances for what they were. And his missing daughter â Adora, whom he never thought heâd see again, who he had been all-but-sure was dead and gone â was in this place. Happy.
As was his wife, getting to be the mother sheâd always hoped to be to their twins. That was all that mattered to him.
âIâm very happy to help put together a proper celebration for the two of you,â he went on, smiling at his daughter and daughter-in-law. âHappy anniversary, girls.â
Adora was too stunned and happy to say a word for a solid minute. She squeezed Catraâs hand, eyes shining with excitement and a big smile splitting her face to match, before she surged forward and wrapped an arm around each of her parents. Randor had a solid four extra inches of height on her, but she pushed up on her toes just enough to reach him.
âThank you so much,â she murmured. She turned to her mother especially, that grin never fading. âThank you, really. This is amazing. I love this place so much andââ She took in the scent wafting down the path from the gazebo. âIâm starving.â
âCouldnât be present for the actual event so we had to make it up with thisâyouâre welcome,â Marlena laughed, sinking into that embrace. She may have held onto Adora for a little longer than usual, and then proceeded to move towards her daughter-in-law. She wouldnât be left out of this either, bringing her into an embrace and pressing a kiss to her temple.
Catra didnât protest. Blushed, yes, and made a noise that was half-squeak and half-gruntâalso yes, but Marlena was hugged back (albeit shyly). She was good with them when it came to conversation. The affection, though, often caught her off guard. She was okay with it; otherwise she would have said something. âThanks,â she chuckled with some nerves, and rubbed the back of her neck. âIt looksâreally nice.â
âEnjoy it. Text or call us when youâre done. Teelaâs made sure itâs nice and warmâeat, yourselves and our grandchild.â Marlena kissed Adoraâs forehead, and after all the last hugs had been exchanged, she took Randor by the hand. âYour father and I have a movie date in your living room tonight. Legally Blonde, I think.â
âHuh.â Catra shrugged. âSurprisingly good movie.â
âSurprisingly great movie,â Adora corrected her wife, winding their hands together again. They exchanged last goodbyes with her parents and Teela, watching as the sorceress poofed them right back home.
âCâmon, letâs get in there and get you warm.â She tugged Catra gently down to the waiting gazebo, up the few small steps that led them inside.
Immediately, warmth washed over them, and Adora was grateful to Teela for taking care of that. There was a small round table inside, covered with a pink tablecloth and their food laid out between two empty plates. âI think this is from the tiny cats,â Adora noted, her fond name for the little cats that ran The Canteen. âThey were probably honored to cook for their queen.â She grinned, leaning in for a smooch as she pulled out one of the white chairs for Catra to take a seat.
âRoyalty titles give me heartburn,â Catra huffed, but she was also smiling so no serious offense was taken. This wasâsuper fucking nice??? Again, she knew some nefarious plotting was in the works (as someone who has nefariously plotted before, she knew the signs), though she didnât think it would be this extra. âFeeling fancy and romanced here with you pulling out my chair.â
It was cute. Adora always liked doing little gestures for the sake of her comfort, and Catra had definitely become more receptive to being taken care of.
Everything smelled amazing. None of it was triggering her nausea, which was a win sheâd eagerly taken with what her body was going through and how finicky her senses could be even in the second trimester. Her hands went to squish her own cheeks and she stared at everything with hilariously large eyes; they looked so sparkly but that could also be the string light decor reflecting in them. âIâm hungry,â she breathed out in awe. âMake me a plate.â
Catra was always bossy, but now she was just getting spoiled.
Fancy and romanced was exactly what Adora was going for. She liked simple things like that â not all the time, she knew Catra would deem that intolerable, but sometimes. Her wife deserved it, and she had been especially receptive to the doting lately. It wasnât an opportunity Adora was ever going to pass up.
Neither was putting together a plate for her after seeing that face. Her wife was the cutest in the whole world, and she would die on that hill. It was definitely why Finn was so close; they took after their mommy so much. With a laugh and a flourishing half-bow, she scooped up Catraâs plate and heaped it full, closer the size of her usual serving than Catraâs.
But given how much Catra had devoured at Princess Prom, it seemed much more reasonable.
âCan you believe itâs been a whole year?â she asked, cracking open the bottle of cider to fill both their glasses. She grabbed her chair from the opposite side of the table and pulled it over to the side; she didnât want a whole expanse of table between them. âTwo since we got here. Itâs so crazy!â
Once Adora was seated next to her, Catra grabbed that goddamn beautiful face of hers and gave her cheek the biggest, longest smoochâshe deserved that and more for serving her. âI know, feels like forever even if itâs just been two years,â she sighed with disbelief, gifting her with a softer kiss before relinquishing her hold. To think that what happened at Thaymor had happened five years ago, too; but that wasnât worth contemplating right now. Time was a funny thing. âItâs been the best two years, though.â
They had put a lot of work into their relationship and themselves. That was worth celebrating, too.
She immediately stabbed food with her forkâohhhhh, shit, this was steakâ to start shoveling into her mouth. Catra wasnât a total savage, okay, she was the dantier of the two of them when it came to food but she also probably had never enjoyed food this much before. âOh! Wait,â she paused to swallow, otherwise sheâd be talking with a full mouth and that was rude as fuck. âI have a game we can play while we eat!â
There was a small satchel she carried with her, and after reaching into it she revealed what looked likeânotecards? Oh, they were definitely notecards. With questions on them. Catra cleared her throat, flipping her hair over her shoulder. âOkay, okay, this is a little cheesy and I wasnât sure if weâd get a chance to do this tonight so I brought them anyway andâdonât judge me, Adora.â
It did feel like forever but absolutely in the best way. Their lives had been long and mostly marred with war, tragedy, and general unpleasantness. Theyâd had tough times over the past two years in Vallo, but the intensity had been dialed way back. Relationship dramas, learning to communicate, and the occasional monster-related event were much easier to handle than being opposite each other on the warfield, leading different sides. She couldnât â and wouldnât â argue that these had been the best two years of her life so far.
As soon as sheâd returned those kisses and Catra pulled away, sheâd wasted no time digging into her food, too. She was never going to turn down steak and, as always, it was cooked perfectly. Thank gods there was plenty more when she was done because she was already sure one cut wouldnât be enough.
What she hadnât expected, while she chewed away, was for Catra to declare she had a game to play. Her eyebrows furrowed and she watched as her wife dug into her bag and came out with a decent-sized stack of notecards. She pointed at it with her fork, then picked up a glass to wash down that last bite.
âIâm not judging,â she insisted, shifting to dig her fork into a steaming baked potato. âWhat is it? Is it a fun game or an âIâm gonna get in trouble if I answer wrongâ game?â
âDonât answer wrong and you wonât get in trouble,â Catra shot back with a leer. Crossing her legs, she gave her wifeâs foot a playful shove. âItâsâa little lame, alright, and itâs just funny interview questions to reminisce about our first year married. Answers canât be anything from anytime before the wedding, and Iâm going to ban anything with Finn being used as an answer for the sappy questions. Okay, soâŠâ
There were a few more bites taken from her plate, and she chewed thoughtfully as she sifted through the cards. Some questions were dumb and irrelevant, but there were a few fun ones. âThis oneâwhatâs the stupidest argument weâve had so far during our marriage?â
They were notorious for bickering about dumb shit all the time. There were a lot of examples to choose from.
Adora couldnât have given Catra a more enamored look if she tried, lips curling into a goofy smile. The idea was sweet and knowing that those notecards had been carried around with her wife in the hopes theyâd have a chance to play made her heart flutter excitedly. She had been teasing her for ages about how sappy sheâd gotten, but there was no better proof than this moment.
âNot lame,â she declared first, brushing her foot against Catraâs ankle. âAnd Iâll accept the Finn ban even though itâs totally not fair.â She let her lower lip jut out in a tiny pout before tapping her fork thoughtfully against the edge of her plate.
âThe pumpkin carving fight,â she laughed a few moments later. âGods, that one blew way out of proportion.â There were so many to choose from, but that one was one of the more recent and really stuck out to her. Maybe because, looking back, it had probably been just a bit hormone-driven.
âUghhhhh,â was Catraâs initial response, dragging a hand down her face. That was going to be a forever infamous one, wasnât it. âOn my end I was going to say the toilet paper oneâwhich we had right before you conked your head and landed in the hospital, by the way, not sure if you rememberâbut that oneâŠâ
Hah, yikes. She tried to fight the sheepish smile her lips desperately wanted to make, and failed. âHonestly, when you thiiiiink about itâŠâ Catra held the note cards up to cover half her face, giving Adora a scrutinizing squint. âItâs basically your fault?? Technically??â
She gestured down at her stomach in a way that clearly said duhhhhhh??
Adora snorted around a mouthful of cheesy baked potato and smirked at her wife and those squinty eyes of hers. âIâll take the blame for that one,â she acquiesced, fingers wrapping around her glass. âNot the toilet paper one, though. That was all you. I remember.â
She took a drink of cider, then looked at Catra with raised eyebrows. âOkay, whatâs the next notecard? Iâm invested now.â
âYou still put the toilet paper the wrong way, but thatâs fine, I love you anyway,â Catra hummed, flipping through the notecards. She also scooched the chair closerâas if they werenât close enough alreadyâso their knees could touch. âHow abouuuuuuut⊠favorite outfit for the past year?â
Oh, easy.
âThe suit you wore to Princess Prom,â she answered immediately, and then paused to think it over. âWanna say thereâs that dress you wore at the Beltane Ball, too. Andâthe yellow one for Keith and Shiroâs wedding.â Catra made that Iâm thinking more face too, reaching for her own glass of cider for a sip. âYou know what? Fuck it, youâre hot in everything.â
âSometimes that doesnât feel like it was all this year,â Adora remarked. She still had both of those dresses, hung neatly and covered in plastic toward the back of their closet. She wasnât often in formalwear, but she had come to enjoy it more, even dresses. She still mostly preferred a nice suit, being more comfortable in pants, but the way Catra looked at her in everything she wore?
Yeah, honestly, her answer tracked. She had seriously told her sheâd look hot in a potato sack. While she doubted that was actually true, she believed that Catra saw her that way. That was enough.
âMine probably doesnât really count,â she admitted, âbut Iâm gonna say whenever youâre wearing my clothes.â She grinned gently, leaning over to nuzzle Catraâs cheek with her nose. âYou look really good in my shirts, especially.â
âWow,â Catra blinked, and she was purring instantlyâgods, it was criminally loud. Her cheeks warmed. âThat was⊠a good answer. Smooth, princess.â
Was it a little warm in here? Did Teelaâs magic shit suddenly spike up in temperature? Yeah, probably, that made sense. Catra took a thirsty gulp of cider, and then leaned forward to snatch a kiss; chaste, lingering, and when she pulled away, she smirked. âLucky you that I plan to steal your shirts for the rest of our lives. Okay, next question is gonna beâŠâ
The next notecard was pulled, and she snorted. âFavorite place to have intimate relations that isnât the bedroom. Oh, gods, you answer this one first, Iâm stuffing my face real quick. Donât make me choke.â
Adoraâs expression turned thoughtful again. That was a good question, but there really wasnât a lot of variety to choose from. She tended to prefer the comfort of their bed. Even when theyâd snuck away during Prom, Catra had wanted their own bed. Theyâd definitely desecrated the kitchen counter and some walls on Darla. The shower was always fun and the couch saw some heavy use.
But there was one spot in particular that came to her mind.
âI mean, there was that one time on Darlaâs roof,â she remembered with a dreamy look in her eyes. That had to have been back in the spring, before Adam had moved onto Darla with them, but it had stuck with her. âBut I dunno if that counts as a favorite if it was only once.â
Catra squealed out a laugh with a full mouth. Sorry, she needed a minute to fully chew and swallow like a civilized person, thank you. When she did, she breathed and inhaled a dramatic gasp. âWhy havenât we done that again?? Is it because weâre not living alone anymore? That doesnât explain the couchâor the kitchen,â she pointed out, talking through a fit of giggling she tried stifling into the back of her fingers.
The Darla rooftop was a good one, though. A really good one.
âIâm gonna go with the couch though,â Catra answered, leaning back into her seat. âSoft. Convenient. Iâve had to re-watch movies several times because youâre distracting, but itâs not a terrible price to pay.â
Adora puffed up with pride, practically beaming. âIâm much more interesting than movies,â she declared. That probably wasnât really true, but sheâd count it as a win that she kept Catraâs attention off the TV and on her on those occasions when they took over the couch. She tried not to use it for those purposes too often, since they didnât live alone anymore, but she couldnât deny it had an inherent thrill factor.
âI think the couch is my favorite, too,â she agreed. âNext, please.â She dug her fork into the mini mountain of beans on her plate and raised her eyebrows expectantly.
âSuch manners,â snickered Catra, flipping through the notecards again. âIâm thinking we'll do two more so we can actually finish eating, andâhuh, okay. This one. Most embarrassing moment of our marriage so far? My prideâs already hurting, uhhhhhâŠâ
Thinking about it, she winced.
âThe pumpkin carving incident again because I was dumb and I wanted to hide afterwards,â she admitted, shrinking into her chair. âAndddd when I kept falling asleep while you were trying to sex me up. Maybe when I got food poisoning? Youâve seen me sick but that was a whole other level, gross.â
Adora frowned, setting down her fork and scooched her chair so they were pressed together, lifting her arm to wrap around Catraâs shoulders. âWe were both kinda dumb in the pumpkin carving incident,â she soothed, offering her a quick little smile, eyes soft. âAnd the food poisoning was really my fault, so you donât have anything to be embarrassed about.â
On the plus side, that had taught her that grocery store sushi was not to be trusted. She tended to avoid buying it all if it could be helped, and now they were on another sushi hiatus with the pregnancy. She wasnât unhappy with that fact at all.
âThe food poisoningâs up there for me, too,â she went on, loosening her grip to allow Catra to eat more while she mused. She had no shortage of embarrassing moments, and her brain had the tendency to conjure them up again frequently. âSnapping at you for what happened with Scorpia and the Fright Zone.â
She still felt terrible about that one in particular. It had all been about feeling out of control, feeling like she was spiraling. And though part of her was still angry at Scorpia â maybe a byproduct of her relatively low tolerance for the other princess in general â it hadnât been fair to lash out at Catra for something that had truly been an accident.
âHuh,â Catra blinked. âWouldnât have thought about that making the list.â Hers had been situations that could be looked back on and laughed about a little, but that one was a little more on the serious side. There were no wrong or bad answers for this, though. All of it was valid.
Instead of digging into her plate more, it was her time to sootheâshe closed in on Adora, pressing a smattering of kisses to the side of her neck (didnât want to interrupt her mouth when it came to that steak, after all). âYou were forgiven that same day, you know. Youâve been doing better,â she said, stroking some hair away from her wifeâs face, âand Iâm proud of you.â
Adora was given a very smitten look, and a slow blink of her eyes to drive the point home.
Adora smiled, tipping her head down to lean their foreheads together after that slow blink. She probably had gone more in the direction of regret than embarrassing, but Catra knew what she was getting here. Even at her best, the intrusive thoughts still came sometimes, and sheâd learned that voicing them was better than not. Catra wasnât going to judge her â at least, not in a mean way.
âI know.â Her mouth was steak-free so she took the opportunity to kiss those lips (though there was probably some steak flavor lingering) and smile at her. âOkay, different question and Iâll try not to be so serious this time.â
âThis can be the last one unless you want to look through it and take over,â Catra said, straightening her posture with a little shimmy on the chair. âThis card says favorite positions forâpfft, thatâs easy, pass. Favorite date spots, ehhhh, everywhere is a date spot if we want it to be.â She kept making faces at most of them before pausing, cocking her head to the side. âThis oneâs simple but what the hell. Favorite memory of being married so far? Lemme go first.â
That was a broad question. There were so many good ones, amazing ones. It was one of the reasons why she had taken up on making that whole scrapbook holiday a tradition nowâbecause it chronicled their year with pictures and notes and doodles, a way to keep time from making those memories fade too quickly. She had just finished this yearâs, too. It was tucked away, waiting to be wrapped.
She shuffled the notecards in her hands, thinking. Thinking.
âMaybe itâs cheating to not say a specific one,â she said, teeth digging into her lip as she continued to just think. And then, âItâs all the nights I get to fall asleep with you, and all the mornings I wake up to youâand I know you get up before me but a lot of the times Iâll wake up before you do, and youâll be sleeping and I watch you for a few minutes like a creeper because Iâm allowed.â Catra rolled her eyes. âAnd itâs not exclusively about being married, but the whole thing just hits different because we are? We made some symbolic choice about being together forever and threw a big party to celebrate, and you could have made that symbolic choice with anyone and chose me, like an idiot, so even if those nights and mornings sometimes blur together, theyâre still what I like to remember best.â
Wow. Did she ramble or what? Catra sighed, flustered and mildly annoyed with herself, before reaching for her glass of cider to sip from. âUgh, whatever.â
âYou know, itâs really charming when you say something super sweet and then try to blow it off like itâs nothing,â Adora snarked playfully, squeezing Catraâs shoulders and fixing her with a knowing look. Sheâd nearly gone into full sparkly eyes mode, but Catraâs habit of getting annoyed by her own sappy comments had nudged her into snark mode instead.
But she still loved every bit of that response, and that showed in the way she couldnât stop smiling and how her fingers lifted to loop into Catraâs curls.
âI agree with you, actually. I donât think I could pick just one. Finding out about Finn was up there, obviously, but we had so much good before we found out about them, too.â
She wanted Finn so badly, but she realized now she would also have sort of been okay waiting. She thought about that sometimes, how quickly they were becoming parents, how quickly everything in their romantic relationship had moved. Theyâd gone from being a happy married couple to being expectant moms so fast. They were still so happy, but it was a lot.
It felt right, though. Their lives had always been weird and sort of accelerated. They were still in their early twenties, but it felt like theyâd lived twice as long with all the war and tragedy and pain in their background. She was ridiculously happy this was how theyâd played out, that theyâd found their way back to each other â both here and back home â and had this beautiful life together.
âAnd itâs cute you think I didnât know about your creepy staring. Light sleeper, remember?â She leaned in for another kiss and murmured, âI really like it,â against soft lips.
âWhat,â she said, and blinked several times, and the kiss was reciprocated with some delay while she processed. It took Catra only a few seconds before she laughed, throwing her arms around her neck and kissing her again, and again, and again. âYou fucking asshole, I canât believe you knew this entire time!â
It was a little embarrassing but, like she had stated, she was allowed.
Catra abandoned her chair for Adoraâs lap. It was always her rightful throne. âI think my body wakes up to make sure youâre there sometimes,â she told her, softer but grinningâthe news that her wife knew this whole damn time was ridiculous, freckled cheeks warm. âAnd it helps me remember that youâre real, and not some dream, and that youâre just⊠mine.â
Take that for charming, princess.
Adora giggled when she was hugged and kissed for her reveal, becoming downright gleeful when Catraâs chair was abandoned in favor of her lap. Some might be annoyed by being used as a human chair but not Adora. Maybe it was because it had been trained into her since puberty, but she truly just loved it. She knew it was one of those ways Catra showed she felt safe â and she was hers.
âIâm gonna be here forever,â she promised, reaching up with one hand to cradle Catraâs cheek, the other arm looping around her waist. She thought about how that promise was grand and unrealistic, particularly in a place like Vallo. But she meant it with her whole heart and soul, and she was going to try to keep to it.
If willpower had anything to do with why Vallo did the things it did, it was going to have a hard time getting rid of her, that was for sure.
âI love you so much.â She kissed Catraâs chin and looked up at her with eyes that were definitely beginning to pick up some of that sappy shine. âThis has been the best year of my life, Catra. All of it, even the tough parts. Iâm glad we made the symbolic choice to be together forever with each other because I canât imagine having this life with anyone but you.â
Catra swiped her thumb under one of her eyes, just in case some of that sappy shine spilled over. Wouldnât be the first time Adora shed happy tears, nor would it be the last. âLove you too, doofusâand I donât think I can even compete with all the lovey-dovey words there,â she smirked, absolutely thrilled by them regardless. Those were things sheâs always wanted to hear, and to have Adora say them to her wasâŠ
It was everything. Ten years, twenty years from now, she knew sheâd still be in awe of it.
Reaching for her hand, she guided it to settle over her stomach; an obvious reminder of one of the best things that came out of the year. âNext yearâs going to be better,â she vowed and kissed her forehead. âNext anniversaryâs going to have a six month old into the mix, soooâŠâ
Wild to think about, but Catra was pretty sure thatâs what was going to make it the best one.