WHAT: Brainless cute wife time (with hints of deeper talks) WHERE: The Fright Zone WHEN: Today WARNINGS: Vague allusions to their abusive childhood STATUS: Complete ART CREDIT:bbbijou @ tumblr
âYouâre getting so slow in your old age!â Catra cackled, a blinding beacon of maturity as she egged Adora as they scaled up all the foliage. It was easier to climb through the Fright Zone like this, a hunk of metal in the middle of the ocean now flourishing with so much greenery â vines and flowers, spores of magic floating around like fairy sprites. It had gone under a lot of neglect after Scorpiaâs disappearance and messing with it afterwards didnât sit right with her.
So there it sat, untouched, but it didnât mean it would sit there rotting. It thrived. Wildlife made their home there, and it would collect a few stragglers that wanted to camp out here for whatever reason, like it was some ancient ruin worth exploring. Catra didnât know how to feel about that, therefore she didnât really think about that.
She had told her wife she was taking her somewhere that didnât involve a lot of brain cells and she did. The way things were laid out before them felt like an obstacle course, and they chased one another in a playful dance of just racing around like they were kids all over again. They had stumbled upon a nest of eggs by accident â what kind of eggs, they werenât too keen to find out â but it was almost a little strange to think that they were learning something new about a place they had grown up in and knew everything about already.
The chase ended somewhere familiar. Somewhere that didnât look anything like it used to, but it was the highest point of The Fright Zone â and theirs, always. Instead of angry red skies with smog, it was a clear blue with some patches of fluffy clouds. Ocean stretched out around them, the waves calm and the wind tolerable. Flowers and leaves blanketed the surface they stepped on when they made it to the top, and Catra declared herself the winner with a triumphant and breathless, âBeat you, loser.â
She ultimately plopped herself onto the ground and laughed. The laughter was cut short by a spore that made it under her nose and then made her sneeze, like She-Raâs magic had told her to be humble and shut up.
When Catra had mentioned taking Adora somewhere that didnât involve braincells, Adora had never expected it would be the Fright Zone. Having their childhood home here, in this entirely separate world from the one theyâd been raised in, had always been strange. Theyâd received so many things from home â most good, but some bad. These days, it was hard to tell where the Fright Zone fell on that spectrum, and that was why she tucked it away in the back of her mind and left it there.
For the most part, anyway. She had talked to Marlena about bringing her here at some point â making a family day of it, maybe, to keep the implications of it all from feeling too crushing. Maybe after this trip, they could. It would definitely be easier to broach the topic with her wife.
Being here now was freeing. Catra was stoking the competitive fires within her (probably intentionally), but she was having fun. She wasnât worrying about anything or overthinking. She was just chasing after her wife, navigating the still far-too-familiar terrain of the metal of the Fright Zone without pause. The place was seared into her memory, even after years away, and she wondered if it always would be.
The topmost spot, where they landed with Catra in the lead, was theirs. Never once had they encountered anyone else up here, and in that way, it was home to many of the happier memories Adora had of the Horde days. She was happy to be there again, tossing her arms around her wifeâs waist from behind and tucking her chin over her shoulder.
âYou win,â she agreed, gracefully admitting defeat as she kissed the nearest freckled cheek. âI would say you used your feline advantages, but obviously youâd never, ever cheat,â she teased.
âI have natural talent,â Catra preened, leaning back against Adora so she could feel that much more wrapped up in her arms. Being held like this always reminded her of all the tight spaces sheâd stuff herself into when she was a child; they made her feel safe because she wasnât exposed.
These arms were way better than metal walls. Stronger, too. By far.
Her head tilted back against Adoraâs shoulder as she took in the view. They could see the main island, its skyline and natural features - plus all the pocket islands around. âIsnât this some wild shit,â she hummed, sliding her hands over her wifeâs to squeeze. âBet seeing the stars all the way up here at night would be good, huh?â
âYeah, I bet it would,â Adora agreed softly. Theyâd never had that when they lived in the Fright Zone back home. The air was too polluted around them, coloring the sky this awful, grim red. It was a miracle theyâd all survived with such a constant source of sickness around them.
But here, the Fright Zone was an island of its own and it was surrounded by a lot of natural beauty. The view was nice â reminded her a little bit of that spot on the hill back home that she loved, that overlooked Bright Moon and gave her space during the most stressful times. This, though, was better; she got to be with Catra.
There had always been a lot of noise up here too, the echo of gears grinding and metal scraping together - this place had been a metallic beast spitting out weapons and tanks, building up defenses with the intent of becoming some impenetrable fortress. The machines had never been turned on again, and now it was fairly quiet.
She could pick up the sound of waves gently lapping, a flock of birds here and there, but it was all scenic white noise.
âWhatâcha thinking about, princess?â
âNothing,â Adora responded truthfully. Her mind rarely just emptied without some sort of herbal assistance â and even then, there was something going on â but right now, she was content. Her mind was quiet. Having her wife wrapped up in her arms in a place that meant something to them was a good feeling. âIsnât that the point? No braincells?â
âNo braincells,â Catra echoed in agreement, turning her face to nuzzle up into Adoraâs cheek and scent. Sheâd taken the last few patrol shifts so her wife could just settle at home and spend time with Finn, and it wasnât exactly a break â watching the kid was a job in itself, they both acknowledged that â but it seemed to do her some good. Finn was extra fun now that they were roaming around on their hands and knees, and their smiles and giggles were contagious.
Having the chance to step out of Darla without Finn being her top priority throughout the day had been a nice change for Catra, too.
Adoraâs lips pressed to the bridge of Catraâs nose and she smiled down at her. The change of pace had done them both some good, she thought. She liked stepping back from patrol and taking care of Finn. And she knew that letting Catra take over her shifts was helping her get some of the frustrations and restlessness out of her system.
âWhat are you thinking?â she countered.
âAbout the dumb kids we used to be when we spent time up here,â Catra supplied easily, closing her eyes as she let her face rest against Adoraâs. âI think I was just so gung-ho about wanting to take over and rule with you because I didnât know that getting married was a thing, and world domination with you seemed like the only way I could spend my life with you.â
It was kind of funny looking back. She wasnât bringing it up to be a downer or anything; at this stage in her life she could look back at things lightly and accept the weight of it all without harping on about it to the point of devastating depression. It wasnât always a perfect practice, but she had it down well today.
âIâm happy we found a better way,â Adora murmured. She knew what Catra meant, though. For a long time, sheâd believed the only way theyâd be together forever, the only chance they stood of making the Horde a better place, was to take over and rule. And not just the Horde and the Fright Zone â the whole of Etheria. They were at war for a reason, werenât they? Those meddlesome princesses were destroying the planet.
Oh, how wrong she had been. How brainwashed.
âI hope we have it at home, too,â she added. âWith Glimmer, and Bow, andâŠâ She heaved a very dramatic sigh, tipping her head away from Catraâs. âEven Scorpia.â
âBabe,â she huffed, reaching up to grab Adoraâs chin for a playful shake. Catraâs eyes opened. âIf I have to deal with your loser friends, you have to deal with my loser friends. At least back there, anyway. You just get me allll to yourself now.â
Adora grinned even through the shake of her chin. She was kidding, of course. It was no secret that sheâd had some issues when it came to Scorpia in her time here in Vallo, a lot of which she attributed to jealousy in sharing her time with Catra, but she held no bad feelings toward her. She would deal with her in whatever form she came in whatever universe they ended up on because she meant something to Catra. That was all it took.
âAnything for my very hot wife and mother of my child,â she replied and closed the small space to seal that promise with the kiss.
Catra took that kiss, and took it slow â and maybe a little scandalously, deepening it with controlled hunger â until she broke it to wrestle Adora onto her back. She sat on her stomach, triumphant, and grappled her wrists. âHot wife also still insists you quit your job,â she brought up, an eyebrow quirked with a smile. âBut we donât have to talk about that now if all you want to do is keep your brain cells non-functional for now.â
She was always going to push Adora to be a little selfish. They were surely being roped into all sorts of galactic drama and nonsense trying to restore magic back into the worlds Prime ravaged. Theyâd won, but there was so much work to still do. They werenât tied to that here. Adora wasnât tied to that here.
But she was also entirely content to stay here and keep kissing her. Which she did next by leaning down, kissing the tip of her nose first before claiming her lips for another one.
Adora didnât put up much of a fight when Catra started shoving her down onto her back. With all the flowers and plant life that had made its way up here during the past couple of years, the space was much cozier than it used to be. Laying down on it, hair splayed and wrists pinned â well, it could have been much worse.
The kisses served as a good distraction from the suggestions offered, too. She knew Catra meant it sincerely when she said they didnât need to talk about the work situation. She also knew she wouldnât have brought it up if it wasnât something she was thinking about, or worrying over her about, so taking the out seemed unfair.
The adult thing to do was talk it out and come to a conclusion. She hadnât entirely sorted her thoughts out about it; the inner conflict had been, for the most part, pushed aside. Catra could insist all she wanted, but they both knew that this wasnât a situation in which Adora would bend so easily to her will. Her brain never made something like quitting her job such an easy task. No matter how much she thought about what she wanted, how sure she felt, fear and guilt automatically followed.
âDefense is already low on numbers,â she murmured when they parted. âI donât feel right stepping aside.â
Catra didnât quite stop kissing her. The lips were avoided. Adora needed her mouth to speak, and so did she â didnât mean she couldnât press soft butterfly kisses against her cheek, against her jaw. The sweet spot on her neck that should wear a perpetual bruise with how often she took a nibble there.
âThe locals put efforts into keeping this place safe,â she reminded gently, brushing her nose against her ear. âOutlander Defense numbers are low, but that doesnât mean the slack isnât picked up elsewhere.â
Adoraâs shoulders immediately scrunched up when attention was lavished on that specific spot on her neck, accompanied by a pleased little hum. It was all involuntary but not a bad reaction in the slightest. Catra knew how to work her over, and it was showing. But she wasnât complaining.
It kept her from saying what was on the tip of her tongue, anyway â which was, do they? Sometimes it felt like the Outlanders were the ones fighting the biggest battles, and all they were getting for their trouble was swathes of loss. Richie. Alex. Dan. Adam. Teela. Every single one of them was gone, and the locals were probably happy to see them go. They didnât want them here â that had been made abundantly clear lately.
She didnât say any of that. She didnât say anything, just nodded without a word and let her eyes fall closed.
Catra didnât get a reply, but she assumed Adora was thinking. Once the words started, she knew it was going to be difficult for her to turn her brain back off. But she tried not to poke and prod to coax more of a conversation out, and kept kissing her. A few more to the neck, and then up to tug at her earlobe with her teeth â and then a kiss to her cartilage, her temple next.
She brushed her lips over her forehead, and down the bridge of her nose, and came back to her mouth for something quick and chaste. Her hands slid up her wrists with the purpose of threading their fingers, locking Adoraâs into hers.
âYou look comfortable,â Catra observed, smirking down at her.
âItâs nice here,â Adora replied, eyes fluttering open to meet her wifeâs smirking face. She accepted the interlocking fingers and squeezed them briefly. âNicer than it ever was when we actually lived here. Peaceful, too.â
Nothing ever seemed to bother this island, at least not that theyâd ever been made aware of. People were comfortable enough to come camp here, explore, and they hadnât run into any crazy wild beasts racing around. That meant something to her. She liked that the Fright Zone finally felt like a place someone could be at ease.
âI want to bring Mom here,â she said. âWe talked about it, and sheâd like to see it. I thought we could make a day of it, maybe, but we donât have to. Itâs up to you.â
Huh. Now that was a thought.
Catra didnât look surprised, but it wasnât something she truthfully expected. There was a curious cock of her head to the side, all that wild and loose hair sliding in that direction. She didnât think Marlena would entertain stepping foot here. If she were in her shoes, sheâd want to burn it all down â because the idea of having Finn ripped away from them, to be raised in a place like this? All sheâd leave behind was scorched earth and ash.
âWhy are you leaving that decision up to me?â she asked, squeezing her hands right back.
âNot the decision,â Adora clarified. âNot the coming here. Iâll bring her on my own.â They had already decided it was something Marlena wanted to do, for her own reasons. She had made the decision, and Adora would honor that. âIâm leaving it up to you if you want to come. And if you think we should bring Finn. Mom suggested bringing Darla out here to make sure sheâs still in good shape on the flight end of things.â
âWell,â Catra hummed, dipping back down to press a kiss to each of her cheeks, and on that second kiss, she murmured, âI am here. I donât have a problem with it. But the Finn part is â itâs weird.â
It wasnât a no. It was obvious she had her reservations, though, because the last place sheâd ever thought to bring their child was here. The place that they grew up in, that molded them, that hurt them. Nothing here could harm Finn, but there was also this knee-jerk, primal instinct that they needed to protect them from this place.
(And sometimes, maybe, she thought about kids being brought into the Fright Zone, and how young and vulnerable they were, and as a mother now it hit her tenfold and made her mad even with everything being said and done.)
âI guess I justâŠâ She sighed. âNever pictured having a kid before all of this so I sure as hell never pictured bringing the kid here. Itâs a new thought.â
âYeah,â Adora murmured. âI know. Iâve been thinking about it a little bit since my talk with Mom, but Iâm still not sure.â Part of her never wanted to let Finn set foot here, but it was a part of their history. And she was sure back home, with Etheria on its way to repair, that they were bringing Finn around â assuming they had them. It was Scorpiaâs kingdom, and that meant it was more than just a lot of big hunks of metal falling into disrepair.
Maybe. Anything she could come up with about home was purely theory at this point in their lives. They hadnât remembered a single thing since the end of the war. For the most part, that was fine. But she knew there was more to their lives there, and if she thought too hard about it, it didnât take too long for an incomplete feeling to follow.
âThe island itself, maybe? It really is beautiful here. Finn would have so much fun crawling around.â
Cata slid her fingers from Adoraâs hands, gliding them down her wrists, her arms, before sitting upright with a heavy sigh.
She combed her claws through her hair, separating any knots from how her curls had been tousled by the wind. The gears in her brain were turning as she did it, her tail swishing like it wanted to express all the thoughts bubbling in her head.
âIt should be fine,â she decided, dropping her hands onto her thighs with a slap. Catra second guessed the words the moment they were out of her mouth, but she was choosing to commit to them. The war was over. The Fright Zone didnât take lost children to shape into disposable weapons. Nothing would happen to Finn. Their moms would always make sure of that. âThereâs areas I wouldnât want them to be in, but we can show them both our old little nooks. Iâm pretty sure seven-year-old me carved our initials into the corner of, like, four walls.â
Catra brought her finger to her lips, hushing out a soft shhhh.
âI had the biggest crush on you,â she whispered. âItâs so gross.â
Adora laughed, sliding her hands up Catraâs thighs. âSo gross. Not like I literally married you or made a baby with you or anything.â
There was some relief in knowing Catra was okay with bringing Finn out here with her mom. Sheâd show her around on her own if Catra wasnât interested, but she wanted to have her wife with her. This was a big deal for both of them; even if all Catra did was act as support to help her get Marlena through this, it was something she desperately needed. Finn likely wouldnât remember, and there might be a whole other showing when they were much older, but she planned to spend as little time as possible inside when they had the whole island spread out before them.
âThank you,â she murmured, hands squeezing around those thighs. âYouâre my favorite wife, you know.â
Part of Catra could see Finn enjoying the Fright Zone as they got older. From what she experienced running around in it just today, it felt like an obstacle course - a lot of space to sprint around in, a lot of climbing opportunities. She liked that as a kid. She just didnât know at that time what sheâd been searching for - what they needed - was something innocuous as a playground, something she felt like every kid should experience for play and not some structure that doubled as a war machine, spouting pollution that could give them lingering coughs if they were too close to certain valves.
Scorpiaâs history was here too, hidden behind a lot of the modifications. Theyâd worked on clearing it when she was here. Maybe that was something she could still do for her friend in the scenario she ever came back.
She was enjoying the hands on her thighs though; they brought her back down from her floaty thoughts. âAwww,â she cooed, narrowing her jeweled eyes into devilish slits of blue and gold, âam I? You like me better than your future hot wife that was so sappy she quoted you lame Taylor Swift lyrics in our kitchen? I would never.â
âMy hot future wife is my hot current wife which means, eventually, youâre definitely gonna quote Taylor Swift lyrics to me,â Adora retorted, letting her hands slide steadily further up Catraâs thighs. âYou could start that now if you want. Get your practice in.â
It was hard to tell if the squirmy huffiness Catra had was due to those hands, or Adora having the audacity to tell her that she was destined to quote sappy lyrics at her. âOh shut up,â she groused, rolling her eyes into the fifth dimension. âI donât listen to Taylor Swift.â She paused, and then added guiltily, âoften, or whatever. Sheâs got some ear wormy kind of stuff every now and again, thatâs it.â
âI love Taylor Swift,â Adora chimed in. They hadnât had a wide variety of music to choose from back on Etheria, but here there were worlds upon worlds to choose from. She wouldnât call herself a Swiftie by any means, but she was a fan. âAnd it doesnât ruin your badass image if you do, too.â
âHow about you quote me Taylor Swift lyrics instead, you cheeseball??â demanded Catra, shoving her hands into Adoraâs stupid, beautiful face. âI already draw and paint so many things about you in dumb, romantic ways â itâs your turn!â
âYouâre so obsessed with meeeeee,â Adora sing-songed with a big old grin, tilting her head away from Catraâs pushy hands. She pulled her legs up and planted her feet, pulling herself upward so she could press her nose right into her wifeâs cheek. âDoes that count?â
âThatâs not a lyric,â she countered, closing an eye as if Adoraâs nose was in danger of poking it out for being so close. Catra decided to get bossy and push her back down, pinning her shoulders against the flowerbed that covered their spot. âIâm never making doodles of you again.â
âYeah, you are. How else are you gonna illustrate me being dumb for Finn?â Adora countered. She put up zero fight against the hands on her shoulders, though, smile never fading. It did soften as she nudged her knee into the small of Catraâs back to coax her downward. âNow kiss me, please.â
âFinnâs going to see you trip over yourself plenty of times throughout their life in person, they donât need doodles for that,â Catra shot back with ease, allowing herself to lean down but not granting Adoraâs request just yet. She plucked a few flowers from the ground, sprinkling it across her forehead like floral confetti. âAnd geez, Adora, has anyone ever told you that youâre obsessed with me? How many kisses do you demand of me a day?â
And she did brush her lips against her cheek, but teasingly. It wasnât a kiss. It was an almost one. If she moved an inch and a half, it would almost be on her lips.
The flowers raining down on her were just a bonus as far as Adora was concerned. They felt gentle against her skin, smelled nice, and looked pretty, especially as they splashed through her wifeâs gorgeous dark curls. âNot nearly enough,â she answered, her voice coming out just a touch whinier than usual as she turned her head in an attempt to catch those lips.
Catra gave her that win. Their mouths met in a kiss, and she was grinning through it - fang poking out, catching on Adoraâs bottom lips in its typical, familiar way. She lowered herself completely, wild curls curtaining around them as they were chest to chest. And like this, she purred.
âMâgonna keep you to myself a little longer here,â she murmured, smoothing her hands down her wifeâs side in that slow, purposeful way.
âMmm,â Adora hummed, wrapping her arms around Catraâs back. âKeep me as long as you want, baby.â She smiled, letting her eyes fall closed as their lips reconnected again.