Thank you! I am back from the ether. It makes me all warm inside that someone rereads my writing, never mind reads it for the first time!

I'm ngl, I haven't opened the document for WCBFIYW in months - partly because it somehow got corrupted and I'm dreading to see what was last saved, and partly because the idea of writing was giving me The Fear.

Summary:

At sixteen, Catra and Adora run away to join the military, hoping to escape their abusive foster home. At eighteen, they’re recruited into the Special Forces. At twenty-one, they’re sent on a suicide mission that will supposedly end a thirty-year war. Neither of them expects to survive, but they do. Their friendship doesn’t.

Adora hasn’t seen Catra since that fateful day five years ago. Now a teacher, (and infamous ex-war hero) at Brightmoon School, she knows the new Literature teacher a little too well. A lot has happened in five years, but Adora is set on fixing a broken promise from long ago.

Preview:

But that wasn’t the only thing that she noticed.

Catra.

Specifically, how she felt about Catra.

Adora had friends, and she would do anything for them. She would take away all their pain and put it onto herself if she could.

And yet, it didn’t feel like this.

Up until now, Adora had never realised that her centre of gravity, the person keeping her rooted and focused on her hopes, her dreams, and her future, was Catra. This was what she was fighting for, wasn’t it? She wanted to do the right thing. She didn’t want anyone else to suffer. She wanted their country to heal, for civilians to be free and safe, away from the clutches of the Horde.

But she also wanted Catra – she wanted Catra to be safe. Catra to be free. Catra to be away from the clutches of the Horde.

Preview: 

“Look at my neck!” Adora said, gesturing to the bruises. “I can’t go to work with this!”

Catra feigned disinterest as she looked upon the marks of her own doing. “You’re right. You can’t. You’ll be the talk of the school.”

“Catra!” Adora complained, collapsing on top of her to rest her chin on the brunette’s chest.

“Hmph. So whiny.” Catra’s sharp nails trailed along Adora’s scalp. “Maybe you should stay in bed with me all day instead.”

“We’re friends with the principal. We can’t get away with excuses.”

“So, we tell her straight: sorry, we can’t come in today. I’m marking the other side of Adora’s neck so it matches.” Catra laughed as Adora playfully pinched her arm. “Hey! It’s your fault for being so unbelievably–”

“Don’t –”

“Annoying.” Catra’s eyes sparkled. “Or sexy? Annoying and sexy.”

“You’re a brat,” Adora argued, pouting. She sat up, subconsciously hiding her neck with her hair.  

Preview:

Over the years, Catra had only seen Adora cry a handful of times. Even when they were kids, and she was sick or hurt, Adora never shed a tear. Unsure of what to do, Catra wiped her hands on her jeans and took a big breath to calm herself. She watched as the tears freely flowed down Adora’s pink cheeks and how she angrily wiped at her eyes with the back of her good hand.

“Sorry,” she said, voice shaking. “I didn’t mean – I got carried away. Sometimes I want” – her blue eyes flicked towards Catra and away again – “things I can’t have. It’s stupid of me.”

Catra’s heart was beating so intensely that it echoed in her head. She thought back to the song and how Adora had looked at her in a way she had only ever dreamed of.

So soft and hopeful and wanting.

Preview: 

“A tequila shot,” the waiter told Adora, smiling. “From the woman on table four.”

Adora’s eyes were the size of plates. This didn’t happen often. She looked from the waiter to the shot glass, and back up again, as if searching for a clue as to what to do. She didn’t dare look in the direction of table four, or the woman who had sent her the drink. “Oh, uh – I – I don’t –”

Catra reached across and picked up the tequila shot. “Thanks!” she called over Adora’s shoulder, raising the glass at table four, and knocking back the drink in one swift motion. Without reacting to the burning liquid, Catra said loudly, “Can’t she see you’re with me? That’s so rude.”

Adora wanted to turn invisible. She wanted the earth to swallow her whole. “You uh –” she swallowed. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“Are you kidding me?” Catra hissed. She stared at the number on the napkin as if it had personally offended her. “Who sends a drink to someone who looks like they’re on a date?”

“Wow, okay.” Adora didn’t know whether to laugh or continue blushing until her entire body was just a red blob. “A lot to unpack there. First, you’re establishing dominance –”

Summary: 

At sixteen, Catra and Adora run away to join the military, hoping to escape their abusive foster home. At eighteen, they’re recruited into the Special Forces. At twenty-one, they’re sent on a suicide mission that will supposedly end a thirty-year war. Neither of them expects to survive, but they do. Their friendship doesn’t.

Adora hasn’t seen Catra since that fateful day five years ago. Now a teacher, (and infamous ex-war hero) at Brightmoon School, she knows the new Literature teacher a little too well. A lot has happened in five years, but Adora is set on fixing a broken promise from long ago.

Preview:

That was the question, wasn’t it? Back when Catra swore never to forgive Adora for her apparent betrayal, she told herself that she was done with everything to do with her. But that had never been the case, had it? Catra tried to destroy their relationship because it was something she could never have. It was safer to hate her than love her and lose her.

In short, no. Catra had never stopped loving Adora. Her feelings had changed, somewhat; they had matured, they were more nuanced. She was either in love with Adora, in love with the idea of her, or in love with hating her. There was no in between.

As for Adora? It was clear that she never had true feelings for Catra. She had even struggled to answer the question when Catra had asked her. And that was okay; Catra could live with knowing that for a split second, at the end of their universe, Adora had chosen to kiss her. Had chosen her.

Summary: Adora and Catra haven’t seen each other in five years since Adora’s betrayal. Now both teachers at Brightmoon School, they must come to terms with their military past and the promises they broke trying to protect one another. Meanwhile, Adora has another secret, and this time there will be no second chances. 

Chapter 11 Preview:

Adora’s resolve felt its first crack.

“I have,” she blurted, like it was forced from her.

There was a moment of silence in which Adora thought Catra hadn’t heard her.

Then Catra clicked the light on Adora’s bedside table.

Squinting, Adora sat up to look at her as her eyes adjusted to the change of tone. Catra’s stare pierced through her, cutting her to shreds. “What?!” she hissed.

Adora wet her lips. “I’m part of the Heart of Etheria project.”

Catra leapt from the bed. “Adora – wait, what?! Since when?” She wiped a hand across her face. “Is that what you were talking to Captain Creep about?”

Adora nodded.

Preview:

Adora slept well, but she woke up anxious. As she blinked against the dark, her fingertips ghosted her lips and she had only one thought: Catra.

She couldn’t make sense of it. Catra, beyond all reason and doubt, still wanted her. Catra wanted her. After everything that had happened between them, Catra still cared.

And it broke Adora’s heart.

They had finally found a time where they hadn’t missed each other like ships in the night. They could be happy; they could have each other. That’s what had happened last night when they kissed – the realisation that they could and they should, because why not? What was stopping them? They’re two grown women who can make decisions for themselves.  

Adora’s hand then trailed over the failsafe scar where it was etched onto her chest.