Of course I will, you dummy (Adora Rainbowfist)
| Of course I will, you dummy (Adora Rainbowfist) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 26 February 2024 |
| Location: | A Flashback |
| Synopsis: | Adora dreams of a perfect day, and it is the last thing she needs right now. |
| Thanks to: | The She-Ra cast, for being amazing. |
| Cast of Characters: | Adora Rainbowfist |
| Tinyplot: | How the Adora Crumbles |
(For the sake of this cutscene, the flashback sequences are indented)
It was late when Adora got back to the abandoned Dojo she'd been hiding out in. Her encounter with Bow had shook her to the core, and now she had more questions and more things to worry about. The old Dojo was less dusty then when she'd began sleeping there after the Bus Stop Encounter, but it was still a mess. Old equipment and boxes were stacked along the walls under the windows, and the fight ring sat alone in the center, the ropes drooping from misuse.
She stumbled to the pile of old blankets that served as her bed on the floor, and the girl sprawled atop them. With a growl she peeled her flannel off of her shoulders and tossed it aside. She then unlaces her boots and set them at the foot of her 'bed.' The blonde flopped back and stared up at the dark ceiling high above her.
Her happy ending had been taken from her. That's what Bow had said. She hadn't thought about it like that before, but it was true. Everything had worked out for her, and then it had all been stolen away. The girl brushed her fingertips along her cheek to her chin. Even her features were slightly different here. She'd lost several years of her life when she came her. Sure, it wasn't a massive de-aging, and it was something she hadn't mentioned to anyone...but it was something she saw every time she looked in the mirror. She hadn't seen this face for several long years until arriving on Earth.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. It was a long, fitful time coming, and when it did it brought memories she'd rather not recall. Not in this mindset. Not right now.
Everything was so beautiful. The blue sky stretched on forever in every direction, and the green of the grass was broken only by fields of flowers and towering, wild-seeming trees. It was a perfect day, which is why Adora had chosen it for what she was planning. Spring in Etheria could be wet, but the rainclouds had fallen broken before dawn. It would be perfect, the woman hoped.
The couple walked together across the field of flowers, fingers entwined as they lightly bumped shoulders here and there. Adora's long blonde hair was partially pulled back, with the rest falling to the middle of her back. Her white and gold cloak hung from one shoulder, trailing behind her. A flowing dress of light blue looked good on her, especially since she'd grown more fully into her form.
The girl with her had dark hair, and it fell to her shoulders, parted by her furred ears and her pretty, if mischevious and feline face. Her top hung from one shoulder, and her sleeves were long and open. A pair of comfortable, but pretty pants finished the outfit, and like always Catra went barefoot.
"For the twentieth time, why are we way out here? I haven't been out this way since...well..."
"Yeah, I know, kitten. Since before. But you haven't seen it since the magic came back to the world and I wanted to show you." She turned her head to flash a wide, comforting smile to the other woman. "It's been a few years since it all fell, right? I think it's time."
Catra rolled her eyes and bumped the other woman's shoulder again, her tail giving a little flick behind her. After awhile further, the couple crested a hill, and the former Fright Zone came starkly into view. Catra gasped, and Adora smiled.
They both remembered this place, of course. They'd been raised her. Hurt here. They'd relied on eachother here. Blasted black rock and towering buildings of alien design, with neon lights glowing against the constant gloom. Smog pumped into the sky by the war factories. Troops marching in line, boots thundering past tanks and canons. The smell was something Adora had taken a long time to forget.
Now, there was beauty. The Horde's buildings lie in ruins, the tanks long abandoned and the entire place reclaimed by time and nature. When Adora had returned magic to Etheria, everything had changed. The ground was green and smattered with wildflowers, and moss and trees wrapped up along the buildings, windows smashed and flowers blooming where violent eyes once stared out. The sky above, once clogged with pollution, was as blue and perfect as the rest of the world.
Adora squeezed Catra's hand and guided her down the hill, walking past forgotten watchtowers and out buildings. "You've talked to me about the things that went on here after I left," the blonde said softly. Catra frowned and began to say something, but Adora waved it off. "Nono, no apologies or anything. We're not gonna dwell on that today. That's not what this is, okay? Just...follow me and...and listen."
Catra chewed her lip and nodded, though she paused long enough to give a Horde helmet a hard kick, sending it flying. "I mean, it's been a few years now. I mean, since we broke Prime's grip and destroyed his fleet. We've all been taking trips out into space every few months to take out any remnants and explore other worlds. We've been talking to other planets and making allies." Adora tucked blonde hair behind her ear as she tried to find the right words.
No, Adora thought. Please not this. Let me wake up. I don't want to relive this.
"I couldn't keep your boots on-world if I nailed you down, you idiot," the beastgirl replied with a loving smirk. "But, I mean...yeah. We've been doing good things out there. And things are only getting better here, too. Queen Sparkles is kicking butt. I hate to say it."
Adora laughed as she rolled her eyes. "No you don't." She gave Catra's hand a squeezed, and she led her around a corner. The barracks loomed into view, overgrown and empty. She tugged the woman through a now eternally open doorway, and they found themselves walking across a bed of moss as they navigated the halls.
"Well, anyways..." Her heart was hammering in her chest and she could feel her throat was tightening, as if trying to squeeze her words off before she could let them out. "We started dating...officially...three days after Prime fell. Remember?" Catra blushed a hint before she nodded. She'd been the one to officially ask Adora out, in the end. They'd been awkwardly circling the question of what they were to eachother after the love confession, and she couldn't take the awkwardness anymore.
"And it's been two years since -that-. Our anniversary was last month, -as- you recall." Adora grinned softly. "Glimmer and Bow left the whole wing of the palace alone for a week. It was...it was nice." Catra smirked widely at Adora's sudden blush, and she nudged her shoulder harder. They hadn't grown less playful over time. If anything, they'd only grown moreso as the comfort really set in. "But I wanted to go back to where it all started."
They turned another corner, stepping into a long room. The bunks were overgrown with moss and ivy, and it looked almost nothing like what they'd endured for so many youthful years. Adora walked with Catra to the second bunk, and the pair stared at it in silence for a long time. Catra's tail had grown less twitchy, and had fallen into a gentle, peaceful sway.
"You hated sleeping in your bunk, remember? You'd always climb down after lights-out and curl up at the bottom of mine." Adora couldn't fight her smile. "Years. Years like that, and we were both too dumb and closed-off to realize." The blonde released Catra's hand and nudged her until she was leaning back against the foot of the bunks, peering at Adora with a confused look in her pretty, mismatched eyes. Adora stood before her, holding her gaze.
No. No, please. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
"We got over that weirdness and confusion and things have been good for the last few years. No, no they've been amazing. Best years of my life. But...I don't wanna risk another second of that confusion. I wanna make up for years that we were at eachother's side and didn't really see eachother...or the years at each other's throats."
Adora knelt in front of Catra, withdrawing a small, white box from beneath her cloak. "I fly out next week for that trip to Verin 4 and I won't be back for a month. I...thought about waiting, but there was no way. I would have been a mess the whole time."
Catra's eyes were wide as saucers. Adora held the box out and opened it. Inside was a simple, beautiful ring with Atop it, two gemstones, small and carefully cut, were wrapped about eachother. A topax and a sapphire, matching the beastgirl's mismatched eyes.
"So...I'm asking you to marry me." She looked up at the woman, and she offered that wide, eager smile that made the cat fallen in love with her in the first place. "Y'know, if you marry me...you get to be a Princess, too. Well?"
Catra laughed that raspy, eager laugh that Adora had fallen in love with in the first place. "Of course I will, you dummy. ...But my reign is gonna be a fierce one..." She reached down, not for the ring, but Adora, and the woman pulled her up until their lips met. It was the perfect kiss in the perfect moment.
One week later she'd left Etheria on an exploratory mission. They were ambushed. She'd been rent from her world and her happiness. She'd had her happy ending stolen from her, just like that.
Meanwhile, Adora slept. She slept, and she dreamt, and her dirty cheeks had ribbons cut into them by fresh tears. She had told Catra so much about their future, and the girl hadn't believed a second of it. She had almost told her about this specific memory, but she couldn't take that raspy laugh in return.
The laugh that had begun to cut her heart out, instead of comfort it.
