Serve and Protect

Chapter 13

Catra didn't remember the walk home. One minute she was pouring buckets of water over the smoldering remains of her illegal bonfire, and the next she was trudging down the hallway to her room. She stopped at Adora's door. She stared at it without blinking, her mind filled with white noise.

As if possessed, her hand seemed to lift of its own accord. She knocked. There was a shuffling on the other side of the door, followed by the sound of the deadbolt sliding. Adora yanked the door open and her face split into a wide and warm smile.

"There you are!" she said brightly. Her eyes scanned Catra's face and her brows furrowed. "Yikes, what happened to you?"

This broke the spell. Catra blinked. "Huh?"

Adora laughed and laid her hands on either side of Catra's face. "You're filthy and you reek of gasoline. What is this?"

She wiped her thumbs across Catra's cheeks, and time seemed to slow to a crawl. Catra's skin crackled with an invisible electricity under Adora's touch. She wondered if she could feel it. And when Adora pulled her hands back, Catra felt herself aching to pull them back.

"Is this... soot?" Adora asked, examining the smudge on her thumbs. "Did Shadow Weaver have you cleaning chimneys today or what?"

Catra blinked. She wiped a hand down her face and saw that it came back smeared with black ash. It hadn't occurred to her that she'd been wearing the evidence of her day's work.

"Oh, yeah. I was burning stuff today."

"Really?" Adora's interest seemed immediately piqued. "What?"

It was an innocent enough question. Under different circumstances, Catra wouldn't have thought twice about it. Hell, she would have asked the same thing.

But now, with Shadow Weaver's warning echoing in her mind, the question made Catra's stomach drop. She swallowed drily.

"Just trash," she lied. Her heart pounded. "I guess it's easier to burn it than haul it down to the dump like normal people."

Adora smirked. "Yeah, well, there's nothing normal about the Horde, is there?"

"I guess not," Catra mumbled. She stared at her hand to avoid looking at Adora. She felt sick.

"Hey, princess," Octavia called from down the hall. She was standing by the bathroom door, wrapped in a towel and dripping water all over the worn carpet. "You're up."

Adora responded with a nod, then turned her attention back to Catra. "Wanna switch? I don't mind showering last if you want to get cleaned up."

A flood of warmth flooded Catra from the bottom up, buoying her spirits just enough to drown out the doubt. Of course Adora was willing to give up her claim to what little hot water remained — that's who she was. Adora was good and caring and there was no way in hell she was double-crossing the Horde. Catra knew Adora would never hurt her like that. Shadow Weaver was just going to have to deal with the fact that her source fed her bad intel.

"Nah, I can wait," Catra replied with a smile. "You go ahead."

"If you insist!" Adora grabbed her towel from the back of her door. "I'll make it quick — I actually have another quick assignment tonight, but I want to hang out a bit before I have to leave. You can chill in my room if you want."

The nagging uncertainty surfaced yet again. Catra felt her conviction falter. She waved it off and covered it with one of her practiced cheeky grins as she pushed her way into the room.

"I'm gonna rub my sooty face all over your pillow."

Adora laughed. "Please don't."

Catra watched her disappear behind the door. She sank to the floor with a sigh and considered the situation. There was nothing inherently suspicious about an evening assignment; it's not like being a Force Captain was a 9 to 5 job.