"Right By My Side."

Chapter 16

"Let me know if we have to build an underground bunker just to be able to talk in private."

"Hey! I already apologized Catra, what makes your think I'm not going to worry about you? Especially with everything that's been going on." 

"It would really be easier if you all didn't care about me like before." Catra seethed through gritted teeth. Pacing angrily back and forth in a straight line in Glimmer's room. 

They had just gotten back from the Whispering woods, and the second Adora was in her room and out of earshot, Catra snapped, more so at Glimmer. She only lightly scolded Scorpia. 

Glimmer was seated comfortably on a floor pillow and Bow was hunched over on the door frame trying to catch his breath after running around the castle trying to prevent Glimmer from bothering Catra and Adora. 

"Catra, I wouldn't be this worried about you if I didn't care about your safety. You're one of us now, and we look after each other."

"Just like you looked after Entrapta?"    

The air around them immediately got heavy and Catra did a double take, she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth and squatted down in frustration. Glimmer looked away with a pained look in her eyes and Bow nervously glanced between the two. 

"I shouldn't have said that, that was crossing a line. I- I'm sorry." Catra said, moving her hand away from her mouth and instead used them both to comb through her hair.

"No, I understand you're upset and annoyed with me right now. I know you didn't mean it." Glimmer offered the hybrid a sympathetic look that Catra gratefully received. 

Bow decided to change the topic, "Is Adora still in her room? She still has the tendency to leave her room in the middle of the night sometimes and explore the castle a bit."

"She hasn't done that since Catra's been here." Glimmer countered. Oblivious to the fact that Bow was trying to hint towards Catra to take this time now to head back and have their much needed conversation.

Catra did get the hint, however, and silently slipped out of the room. Walking down the hall a bit and tiredly making her way into Adora's room. Said blonde was sitting in her bed with her knees tucked close to her chest with a unrecognizable expression on her face, oblivious to the figure who had entered her room. It wasn't until Catra had showered, gotten into a fresh change of clothes, and plopped down heavily on the bed face first did she finally notice. 

"Oh hey, when did you get here?"

Catra really had to resist the urge to face palm, "Adora, I've been in your room for an hour now. Cupcake for your thoughts right now?" 

Adora sat criss-crossed and Catra followed her movement, sitting exactly how the blonde is. 

After a moment of silence, Adora finally spoke, "We really need to talk." 

Catra fidgeted a bit before giving Adora a firm nod, "Do you want to start this time?" 

Adora stared at the space between them and shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe we can talk about where our relationship stands now?" 

Catra held back a sigh of great relief, beyond happy that she wasn't the only one who thought that that topic was something that needed to be discussed.

Thinking on it now though, they were no longer arch enemies, that was established weeks ago. Friends and best friends didn't really sound right either, now the words just felt foreign to her. She knew she wanted to be more than that, hell, she wanted to become something more with Adora when they were still horde soldiers. But she was never able to really find the confidence to cross that line because she didn't know what Adora wanted, and the blonde was never really one to voice her own needs.