The Brightmoon Institution (Catradora Boarding School AU)

Spoons

 Adora hugged a quick goodbye to Catra for the night, her gaze snagging on the worn leather jacket. Catra had worn it almost everyday, and now the fabric had faded and was close to tearing in certainplaces.

Adora tried to control the sharp intake of breath, but her face did little to hide her thoughts.

"Why do you look like you just solved the worlds hardest math equation?"

"Because I just did...in my head...I'd been thinking about it for a while."

Catra narrowed her eyes in suspicion, scanning Adora up and down like a human lie detector. Adora tried not to gulp, hoping she'd buy it.

"Right, uh huh."

Catra nodded slowly before turning around, Adora softly closing the door behind her. She quickly called Bow.

"Bow, I've got it!"

"Got what?"

"Catra's present, duh."

A pause.

"Did we not figure that one out a few hours ago with Razz?"

"Yeah, we did, but it didn't feel like enough for Catra, so I thought of something to go with it."

"Which is? Hang on, I'm with Glim, I'll put you on speaker."

"Hey Glimmer," Adora smiled, taking a seat at her desk while opening her sketchpad. She hadn't designed something in a while, the past few Textile classes centered around making a pencil case.

"Adora!"

Glimmer's muffled voice came through the phone and Adora suppressed a laugh.

"Okay, now tell me. What is it?"

Adora raised her shoulder to meet her phone, allowing both her hands to be free as she grabbed a pencil lying on her desk.

"You know the leather jacket I made Catra?"

"The one that looks fifty years old, yeah."

"Well I was thinking I could make her a new one, but cooler."

She drew a figure outline, sticking her tongue out in thought as she tried to envision the jacket. Leather, definitely, but not a replica of the one Catra currently owned. She'd make it baggier, a looser fit, yet still cropped to reach her waist. Adora wanted this coat to have buttons rather than zips, and she wanted to sew patches similar to the ones on her own letterman jacket Catra had made for her. She grabbed her own one for reference, the soft threads stitched seamlessly onto the dusty red fabric.

Adora thought of Catra, and the objects that had came to her mind when she was brainstorming with Razz.

Certainly a 'C' for her name, and a grey cat for Melog, maybe something dark and edgy...Catra adored dark and edgy. Maybe something maroon?

"Ooh, good idea. Her current one is so musty now, if you didn't make it for her she would've donated it ages ago."

Adora paused in her sketch, finding this observation startling. She'd never thought about it. Why else would Catra wear that tattered, faded things so goddamn often when she could so easily afford something worth twice the money? Because Adora had made it for her.

"Yeah...yeah."

She spoke absentmindedly, running through the last minute reminders for Glimmer regarding the party as she finished the sketch. She planned to give Catra her present on her actual birthday, rather than her party, so she still had a few days to finish the jacket and collect the shoes.