Irhaboggle Pride (2024) Pride Fourever

Nitro Grand Prix

I crave the most innocent parts of a relationship, like holding hands and forehead kisses and being able to tell someone how much I absolutely adore them. And absolutely slaughtering them at Mario Kart. (Tumblr)

In the cozy, dimly lit living room of their shared apartment, Adora and Catra lounged comfortably on the couch, their faces illuminated by the glow of the TV screen. It was a lazy afternoon in the summer, too hot to go outside, so they had decided to settle an ongoing battle about who was the superior Mario Kart racer.

"Nitro Grand Prix, or Retro?" asked Catra as she scrolled through the option on the screen.

"Nitro," Adora replied. "Cuz we spend so much time on Discord. And also, Retro is for old folk." She winked suggestively at her girlfriend. It was a running gag of theirs—and by "theirs" Adora meant "hers at Catra's expense that she forced Catra to put up with because it was funny"—that she called Catra "old" because, as a cat, she had nine lives.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Catra had once protested, ears twitching in annoyance and embarrassment. "What if I'm on the same life as you? What if we're both on our first life, or something like that?" Here Adora was, acting like she used to ride dinosaurs.

Idiot. Acting like we didn't grow up together! Catra pouted as she selected the Nitro Grand Prix. For a split second, the cursor on the screen hovered over the Retro Grand Prix... But Catra ultimately decided to play nice (shudder) and select the race Adora wanted.

"Ready to get your butt kicked, Adora?" she couldn't help but smirk, eyes gleaming with mischief as she selected her character, Wario.

Adora chuckled, leaning in to nudge Catra with her shoulder. "We'll see about that, Kitty Cat. I'll drive so fast we'll be able to go back in time and meet the first of your nine lives!"

"What?" Catra snorted, looking over at her girlfriend right before the race began. Just which of my lives do you think I'm on?!

The first race took place on the familiar Luigi Circuit, a straightforward track that allowed them to ease into the competition. Adora quickly took the lead, expertly maneuvering around corners and dodging banana peels with ease.

"Ready to go back in time, Catra?!" she taunted. Catra, however, was not far behind.

"Don't get too comfortable up there, Adora!" she grit her fangs, claws deftly manipulating the controller. As they rounded the final bend, Catra's chance came when she snagged a Red Shell from an item box. With a triumphant cry, she launched it at Adora, who could only watch in dismay as her character spun out just meters from the finish line. "Yes!"

"Awww, what?! No fair! That was just dumb luck!" Adora pouted while Catra wiggled her furry eyebrows at the other woman.

Next up was the Coconut Mall, a spacious map that, as its name suggested, took them all around a mall. Even though the map was spacious, the roads and turns were narrow and tight. Adora was determined to make a comeback.

By the power of Gayskull... Eyes narrowing and fingers flying all over the controls, the blonde zoomed ahead at the start. She would strategize later, but for then, she wanted to drive as fast and recklessly as she could to maximize the distance between herself and Catra.

Catra struggled a bit with the sharp turns, her character bumping into walls. "Stupid, stupid!..." she muttered, her brow furrowing in concentration as her claws continued to click, spin, and glide across her controller. "Gah! I hate these controls!" At one point, she looked seconds away from jumping up and hurling the control into the TV screen. She hissed, and Adora noticed some of her fur starting to stand on edge.

She couldn't help but giggle. "Having trouble, Catra?"

"Shut it!" Catra retorted, eyes glued to the screen as she leaned closer and closer to it, frantic. She cursed in her head, urging her player forward. Then at last, she managed to drive in a straight enough (ha, ha) line and swipe another item box. Bullet Bill rocketed her through a good portion of the track, bringing her dangerously close to Adora and making up for all the lost time from seconds earlier.

"Not this time!" All the humor was gone from Adora's face and voice as she, like her girlfriend, leaned closer and closer to the TV. "OH, YES!" Four seconds later, she dropped her controller to clap in triumph. Catra was unable to attack her at the finish line like last time, so Adora won, sailing smoothly beneath the flag half a second before Catra's car could do the same.

"We're only halfway there," Catra reminded Adora grimly, trying to rain on her girlfriend's little (pride) parade.

Maple Treeway was third, a lovely, autumnal map with an insane amount of jumps.

"If only it was this cool outside!" Adora sighed, casting a side-glance out the window as her character raced through a downfall of pixilated leaves.

"Eat my dust, Adora!" Catra grinned at the same time as her character slammed into Adora's and continued to drive by.

"Oh, Gayskull, that was homophobic!" Adora slapped her forehead, then she grit her teeth as she struggled to get her character chasing after Catra's again. "Also, don't you mean "leaves" and not "dust"?" she added dryly.

She finally got a shot at revenge when luck was kind to her and left her an item box near the end of the last lap of the race.

"Ooooh, karma!" She gasped and turned to Catra gleefully as she snagged a Lightning Bolt.

"No fair!" Catra protested, her voice a mix of frustration and amusement as she and the rest of the nearby racers spun out, temporarily stunned. Now it was Adora's turn to sail past them, smirking. "Then... Best I can do is... ensure you don't take Rainbow Road!"

The two locked eyes. It all came down to this. The fourth and final race of the Nitro Grand Prix. And it was perfect for Pride month.

"Nuh-uh!" Adora growled dangerously. "That Rainbow Road is mine! By the power of—!"

The horn blared, signaling the beginning of the race. Adora cursed while Catra laughed tauntingly, pedal to the metal. Adora could do nothing but cut her losses and focus on catching up to her feline girlfriend as fast as she could.

The race was neck and neck, Adora and Catra exchanging positions multiple times, each employing every trick and item at their disposal. Catra's sharp reflexes kept her from falling off the track, while Adora's steady hand ensured she maintained speed and control as she fired on ahead, as aggressive as Catra was cunning and stealthy. As they approached the final lap, Catra managed to pull ahead, but Adora wasn't far behind. She used a Star power-up, zooming past Catra and taking the lead. The finish line was in sight, and it seemed like Adora had it in the bag.

"Ha! Three out of—!" Her character was suddenly airborne, flipping over and over. "What the—?!"

"Ha, ha! Yeah! Thanks, Bowser!" Catra pumped the air as she raced through the finish line. She didn't come in first—that was Bowser—but at least Adora hadn't won the Rainbow Road either, pulling through the finish line at the same time as Catra. The TV, though, registered her as coming in third. The blonde glared daggers at the screen as she pouted.

"Wanna try real drag racing?" she asked, half-joking and half-serious.

Catra only smirked and said, "let me savor my victory first, and to the victor goes the spoils!" Then, unusually bold, she suddenly leaned forward and kissed Adora's cheek. Adora's eyes shot open, and then she forgot whether or not she or Catra came in second.

AN: For my slow friend, Snorlax891, who didn't place his requests until a week after I already finished the anthology :P

Also I know the Grand Prix technically has 16 races, but I just chose one from each of the four cups.