Team Catradora

53 -Photos

After the cookie baking, they played board games for awhile. As they competed, christmas music chimed in the background. Though, the music became static to Adora's ears as she played. It was always that way, wasn't it? The game was always her motivation.

Though...Adora, did make an attempt. Though she did lose a few rounds of pictionary, she had a lot of fun beating everyone at other endeavors. And to their credit, nobody seemed to mind that Adora was good at games. They were too busy talking. 

And, really, Adora talked too. It took an effort not to lose herself in the game, but she somehow managed to add in a bit of words to the conversation. Still, she always had the game in the back of her mind. It was hard not to. It was how her brain as wired. 

After awhile, even Adora grew tired of games. It was late, much later than Adora was used to, so she fell asleep fairly quickly. She woke around nine-and considering she was used to waking at five or six, she nearly jerked when she saw the time.

Angella had already made breakfast, so there was a fluffy atmosphere. Her mouth watered at the smell: pancakes! 

"Is that what I think that is?" Adora asked. "Did you make breakfast?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." Angella said, like proud gamer over their high score. She handed her a plate, slightly warm from the pan. She lowered her voice, people were still asleep, and Bow's room was right beside the kitchen. It was even more obvious, since his snoring was softly in the distance. " I really watched them to make sure they didn't burn, so I hope you kids eat it up."

"We will, I'm sure."

"Good, good..." Angella took a seat across from Adora, arms rested on the table. "So, how are you holding up?"

"Okay," Adora said. She bit into the pancakes, and forced a smile. They were...really doughy, but it was the thought that counted. And besides, who was Adora to turn down free pancakes of any kind? "Really, I'm okay. I feel a little weird, but so far, it's okay. Thank you for taking me."

"It's no problem." She sipped her coffee. "It's been a lot lately, and so I'm glad I could do something that makes you feel a little better..." When Adora looked at her plate, Angella took her hand. "Hey, I know you didn't get the answers you wanted."

"I got her name. At least I got that."

"Could you...google her?" She asked. "Everything is on the web these days. Maybe if you know her name it could help."

"Right...why didn't I think of that?" Adora grinned. "I just have to google it." She pulled out her phone, and-oh, god. 

Was she going to cry if she found out more about her mom? Adora's hand hovered over the button, but she couldn't do it. Not around Angella. She had dealt with enough stress-she didn't need to see Adora cry. That would make her such a failure. 

She couldn't let her see it.

"Um..." Adora shook her head. "Can I go?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just...nothing."

"Adora-"

"These are good pancakes. Mmm." Adora shoved a handful to her mouth. "They're so good that they're all I want to talk about."

Angella nodded. "Right, of course. I might have to try one now, too..."

...

About half an hour later, Adora found a spot in her room, where she typed the keys. She hesitated over the search button. 

The results showed, and she bit her lip. A group photo lit the phone screen. Mara's eyes burned through her own, as she smiled brightly. 

She looked so young! And...she looked a lot like Adora, anyway. Even if they didn't have the same hair, or eye colour, they had the same smile, at least. And she wore her hair in a ponytail! So that was something. They all wore Brightmoon Uni hoodies, arms linked. 

She was only a few years older than Adora. 

Beside her was another woman, with blue hair. Their arms were linked, and she beamed at the lady. It felt so familiar. 

Adora zoomed in, to their faces, and felt a strange sense of longing. 

There they were. Nearly the same age as her, right now. 

Her throat tightened. Their faces...she could see them, alive and young, just like her. Their lives were so fragile. So...so mortal.

You really could die at any time. They didn't deserve it, but here they were, anyway. 

"Morning..." Angella said, and Adora jumped. "Sorry, I just wanted to check on you." She carried two coffees now, and offered one to Adora. Adora took it, gripping the sides so hard the lid almost popped. Angella peeked over her shoulder. "Is that..."

Adora nodded, and blinked fast-her eyes were too moist, and she was afraid of crying. She handed the phone over, and Angella observed the pictures with a smile. 

"They're beautiful. I can see you in them! They look so...sweet. And is that BCU?" She pulled up her phone. "It looks like there's another facebook page linked. Do you want to look?"

"No." Adora's arms had slid around her knees, but now they reached for the phone. "I..."

"Oh..." Angella grimaced. "Am I embarrassing you?"

Yes. "Uh...I just need a minute." She swallowed. "Okay, let's look."

Angella knelt beside her in the snow. She huddled next to her for warmth. "Hm...well, that's a cute outfit-and is that a video game system? I see where you get your love of games!"

She flipped through them in succession, feeling Angela's gaze like a cannon. Mara was in a lot of videos with that girl-and the older they got, the more she placed their faces. She knew for certain they were her parents, and she found herself flipping faster and faster the newer the photos got. 

There was...there were paintings after paintings on the page. Mostly of watercolours, and landscapes. Colourful, and imaginative. There was a dragon, and a sword, and a lady...

Oh, god. She-Ra. Everyone loved She-Ra. It didn't matter. They were so beautiful. Every watercolour looked like a photograph, so perfect in design and picture. 

"I didn't know she..." Adora shook her head. "She was really good at painting."

"I think that was her major," Angella said. "It's beautiful, like a-"

There was a baby in one of the photographs.

Tears fell, and Adora tried to cover them with her hand, but Angella already saw. She wrapped her arms around Adora. "it's okay, I'm fine."

But there she was. The last piece of the puzzle. It was good, and terrible, at the same time. She swallowed. "I know I shouldn't feel guilty, but...they were so happy, and I took that away."

"You didn't do anything," Angella said. "Come here."

It felt really good to be in her arms. She finally, let herself cry, until she couldn't anymore. It felt like an eternity, though it was perhaps only seconds. Maybe she didn't only feel safe with Catra. She could feel safe with her mom, too.