Chapter Text
When Adora thinks about it - really thinks about it, it was never supposed to go this far. Their “deal” was less of a deal and more of a...well, a joke, actually.
Or so Adora thought.
She met Glimmer in college and they were freshman year roommates who hit it off instantly. Glimmer was loud, bubbly and just fun. They had a lot of fun, especially in the beginning of their friendship, but as their four years at university were coming to a close and the real world loomed ever-closer, Adora realized she had to get serious.
So she buckled down on her studies, got the right internships and landed a full time job after graduation while Glimmer….Glimmer had more fun, actually. And Adora played the role of mom-friend, trying to clean up the mess her best friend left behind while silently hoping that one day, Glimmer would realize it was time to get serious, too.
Glimmer’s parents, Angella and Micah, also shared the sentiment. As the founders of Bright Moon Health, they were eager to pass the helm of the agency down to their daughter but were refusing to do so until she had, more or less, gotten her shit together.
The freshman year drunken offer of “hey, if we’re both single in five years, we should get married!” then became an opportunity for Glimmer to show her parents that she was serious, ready to take on the company and settle down.
Their friendship had never been anything other than platonic - and their marriage would prove to be no different. Adora is fine with that, more than fine, actually. She loves her career as an athletic trainer, she loves her friends and she loves her life.
What she doesn’t love, however, is all of the pressure everyone puts on her to “meet that special someone” and “settle down”.
By marrying her best friend, she gets to keep living her life exactly as is while also fooling everyone around her so they get off her back. Really, it’s the best of both worlds. The only people who will know the truth about their arrangement are their close friends from college.
Glimmer’s family and everyone on the outskirts of Adora’s life, annoying co-workers and the like, will be none the wiser. And thankfully, Adora has next to no family to worry about, because she’s really not that great of an actress in the first place.
The arrangement may have started off as a joke and it certainly wasn’t meant to lead to Adora sitting in Glimmer’s car in the blistering summer heat of some random vineyard - a few miles outside of Plumeria while Glimmer is inside, probably arguing with the vineyard owner about something as minor as what hour of the day will guarantee them the best lighting for photos.
It’s mutually beneficial. Nothing can go wrong. Adora loves her best friend, and this is a great idea. She reminds herself of these truths as she huffs impatiently, feeling the heat swelter on her pale skin.
Eventually, she has enough and decides to barge inside and either reign Glimmer in from whatever trouble she’s caused, or join her fiance’s - god, that feels weird to even think - side and heckle the owner.
Bet The Farm Winery
est. 1986
She snorts as she walks past the sign. Bet the farm - it’s a good pun.
Adora is expecting to walk in on some violent argument when she opens the door to the vineyard’s main building, or maybe find Glimmer crying for the sake dramatics - but what she doesn’t expect is to see a woman - a very attractive woman, standing behind the till with a bored look on her face and no Glimmer in sight.
“Glimmer? What’s…” All the words die in Adora’s throat when she looks the woman over - tan skin, cropped hair, blue and yellow heterochromatic eyes. Those eyes - she’s seen them before. She knows them. “ Catra?”
Adora isn’t wrong - unmistakably she knows who is looking back at her with an amused, almost knowing smirk. Catra. The Catra. The same person who Adora is pretty sure she had a crush on for her entire life, right up until middle school, when her maternal grandmother finally got legal custody and adopted her out of the foster home - separating the two of them until…
Until now, apparently.
If Catra is at all surprised by Adora’s appearance, she doesn’t show it.
“What’s the matter, Adora?” Catra asks, coolly. Her eyes are twinkling with amusement but she isn’t sputtering or confused, not like Adora. Of course she’s calm about this - Catra never lets her guard down.“Surprised to see me?”
“I-what? What are you doing here?” Adora asks, still recovering from her shock when Catra’s smile only grows in response.
“You’re going to walk into my vineyard and ask me what I’m doing here?” Catra asks, folding her arms over her chest, leaning back against the wooden pillar behind her like it’s just a prop.
“This is - you own this place?” Adora looks around wildly before settling her gaze back onto Catra.
“We own this place, actually,” Another voice comes from the back room, a younger man stepping into frame. “Wait - Adora?”
“Bow?” Adora looks back to him, bewildered.
It’s been years. She hasn’t seen Bow since -
Glimmer.
Glimmer, who trails behind him with hearts in her eyes and - yeah, that explains what exactly has been taking so long.
“Hold on - you’re here to book a wedding - rather annoyingly, might I add,” Catra restates, looking to Glimmer pointedly before turning to Adora, “And you - you’re with her? You two are getting married ?”
If there ever was a time for Adora to say no, now would be it - with her lifelong crush staring at her expectantly while Glimmer all-but hangs off the arm of the man she pined after for the first three years of college.
This deal really was doomed from the beginning.
“I, uh - I mean,” Adora sputters, looking to Glimmer nervously, “I guess?”
“Way to sell it Adora,” Glimmer huffs, straightening herself and finally deciding to give Bow just a fraction less of her attention, “Really, I hope you pull it together better when my parents are here!”
“Are you planning to say ‘I guess’ at the altar?” Catra challenges, crossing her arms and looking suddenly very displeased at the situation. “Be still my beating heart - romance isn’t dead after all.”
Bow shifts from side to side, nervously.
“It’s not like that,” Glimmer says, “It’s just - we’re just - friends, but I needed to get my parents off my back and show them I’m responsible now -”
“So lying to them and faking a marriage is responsible, now?” Bow asks with a frown, “You know Glimmer, I really thought you might’ve actually changed - “
Adora grimaces at that. She feels the same age-old pinch to advocate for her best friend, knowing very well how things ended between her and Bow in the first place, but Glimmer beats her to it.
“Bow, no! It’s not like that,” She tries to explain, but he’s already half-turned away.
“Catra, can you finish handling the reservation?” Bow asks her.
“Uh, sure,” Catra mumbles, looking like she’d truly rather do just about anything else.
Bow makes an exit and, unsurprisingly, Glimmer is not far behind him. The attempts at reconciliation between the pair had been nothing if not messy.
She’s pulled out of her train of thought by Catra sighing loudly and flipping through the reservation forms.
“Well. Guess you haven’t changed either, huh?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Adora asks.
“Little Miss Priss over there,” Catra gestures to where Glimmer is animatedly trying to argue her case to Bow, “Gets to prove to her parents that she’s all grown up now by marrying you. Remind me what you get out of this deal, again?”
“Uh,” Adora thinks for a minute, “I mean - I don’t know, I want to help my friend?”
It’s not the right answer, apparently. Catra manages to look even less impressed with her.
“Yep. Still a people-pleaser. Even if I believed there was nothing between the two of you - “
“There’s not!” Adora cuts in quickly, “We’re literally just friends!”
This is so not how Adora pictured reuniting with Catra would go. Not that she pictured it - but, you know, if she did, it wouldn’t be like this. Awkward, tense, talking about the thing that matters the absolute least to Adora right now.
“Just friends who are getting married,” Catra says.
“Friends can get married!” Adora attempts to justify.
And, well, they can. They just - don’t. Often.
Maybe for a reason, Adora is beginning to suspect.
“Yeah, if you’re this offended over me insinuating there’s something romantic between the two of you, then you’re really not going to like how this whole marriage thing is going to turn out,” Catra deadpans, looking thoroughly unamused.
Adora opens her mouth to argue, but Catra cuts her off again, “Actually, never mind. This is none of my business anyway. I don’t really care what you do. Let’s just get this over with.”
The air between them sours, any excitement from their very sudden and very random reunion has been cut. Catra is acting like this twist of fate is nothing special at all, and that’s not something Adora is willing to tolerate.
They were best friends for years, they had plans, and then they got separated but - now. Now they’re not.
She is listing off information about pricing packages when Adora blurts out, “You’re, like, a ghost.”
That gets Catra’s attention long enough for her to stop. She stops flipping through the information forms, looking up to Adora in surprise.
“Like, a social media ghost,” Adora clarifies, “I’ve looked for you like - everywhere. At least once a year, if not more. We never - I could never figure out a way to contact you after Razz came for me. I always thought one day I could probably find you online, but I’ve tried every variation of your name I could think of. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and nothing.”
“Well, that’s just because Facebook is for old people,” Catra explains with a smirk, “I got banned from twitter for cyberbullying J.K. Rowling and I don’t have an instagram.”
Well - that explains that. Adora feels her face fall.
“But Melog does.”
“Melog?” Adora asks, gut twisting with dread. And a bit of jealousy. Even if she has no right to be jealous - she’s literally here to plan her own wedding. But Catra has never been one for sharing, and if she’s so dedicated to someone that she shares a social media account with them - well. That’s a lot of information for Adora to process.
“Yeah, my cat,” Catra smiles, like she can see right through Adora’s fluster to the misplaced envy poking underneath, “That way they get all of the internet attention they deserve and I get to creep on people without anyone creeping on me in return.”
“Oh,” Adora exhales with relief, “That’s - uh, kinda ridiculous, actually.”
“Is it?” Catra questions, “It stopped you from creeping on me, didn’t it?”
“I wasn’t creeping!” Adora tries to justify, “I just - missed you. And wanted to find you. I mean, we never even really got to say goodbye.”
A somber attitude falls between them, the memories of Adora being pulled out of school early one day and told to pack her things, being forced out of the home before Catra could return - she feels a bit misty eyed. Catra must feel the same, only blinking slowly at Adora in response.
“I...I missed you too,” Catra says, voice barely above a whisper.
Adora perks up, just a bit, at the confession, “What are you doing after this? Can we - I don’t know, go somewhere, catch up maybe?”
Catra glances between Bow and Glimmer and then back to Adora before laughing humorlessly, “You - you’re dangerous, you know that?”
“Dangerous?” Adora echoes, feeling confused. How can she be dangerous? She double knots her shoes, checks both ways before crossing the street -
“You show up here after years of us not talking, telling me you miss me and what? Want to hang out?” Catra rolls her eyes, “As if you aren’t getting married in...let’s see here, two weeks?”
“I told you, it’s not a real marriage,” Adora huffs.
“Okay, then let me ask you something,” Catra says patiently, “Are you both going to St. Peter’s Chapel on August 20th?”
“Yes.”
“Are you both wearing white?”
“ Yes.”
“Exchanging vows?”
“I mean-”
“Signing a marriage license?”
“Yes but-”
“Are you going to say I do or I guess at the altar?”
“I do, but-”
“Then it’s a real marriage,” Catra determines, tone leaving no room for argument.
“Catra, come on,” Adora tries again, “We used to be best friends.”
“ Used to be,” Catra repeats, “It’s been a literal decade, Adora.”
“So? Just means we have a lot to catch up on,” Adora bats her eyes hopefully.
“No. It means we are two people who were close until life got in the way, and now it’s just - some weird, coincidence,” Catra brushes her off. “Besides, I think I’m caught up enough in your life already.”
Boldly, Adora takes her hand from across the counter and gives her best pleading look, “Okay, so you know a part of my life. But I mean, you own a winery now? How did that happen? I want to hear it all.”
Catra looks reticent, torn. She opens her mouth to say something, when Bow and Glimmer re-enter the room.
“Adora! Lets go,” Glimmer chirps, linking their arms together.
“Wait, what?” Adora glances between the two of them, but they both seem rather happy, “But Catra and I - “
“Wait. You’re Catra?” Glimmer stops her sing-songing for a second to look over the woman behind the counter, “Like. The Catra? The one Adora’s been obsessing over -”
“I haven’t been obsessing!” Adora squawks at her best friend while Catra snickers.
“The one and only,” Catra says, aiming for disinterested but Adora can see a flicker of something across her face.
“You two can catch up later,” Glimmer decides dismissively, “Bow already has everything taken care of for us, don’t you Bow?”
“I sure do,” Bow says with an easy smile, giving Catra a look that says I’ll explain later.
The look that Catra shoots back is easily discernible as, You fucking better.
“Alright! Let’s go, we have a lot of things to do today!” Glimmer says before tugging Adora along.
“Wait, hold on,” Adora shrugs her off, “Just - give me a second. Go start the car and I’ll catch up?”
Glimmer smirks at her, the little shit, before waving goodbye to Bow, “I’ll see you Monday!”
Monday. Great - they’re definitely going to have a talk about that later.
They have a lot of things to talk about, really.
Adora ignores it for now, grabbing a pen from the counter and scrawling her number across one of the forms up top.
“Just...think about it, alright?” Adora looks up at her, hopeful eyes shining the way that used to sway Catra all the time growing up.
Catra looks down at the number, “I might think about the possibility of maybe texting you.”
Adora takes another risk - calling on the light of one of their fonder childhood memories:
“You promise?”
“No. I don’t.” Catra says abruptly. Too quick to be true. She’s blushing in a way that gives Adora all the confirmation she needs.
“If you say so,” Adora says before turning around and walking towards the door.
She hears Catra mutter the word dangerous under her breath as she leaves.
“What. Did. You. Do?” Catra demands the second Adora’s - no, Glimmer’s - no, Adora’s fiance’s car rips out of their parking lot.
“You know how you’ve been saying that a great way to expand the business is to offer direct coordination with caterers and florists for our clients?” Bow asks, grimacing as Catra scowls down at him.
“No. I remember saying that customers who go through third party vendors from outside of Plumeria always wind up getting screwed in pricing or quality and it would be better for us to cut out the middleman and handle it ourselves.”
“Right, so, that’s what I offered!” Bow pushes excitement into his voice, probably hoping it’s contagious or will at least wear down Catra’s foul mood in the slightest.
It won’t.
She knows the world has it out for her - that much has been made abundantly clear in the last twenty-five shitty years of existence, but this is next level.
The universe dangling the person she’s sort of been kind of in love with ever since she was a child in front of her only to rip her away to marry some pink, sparkly, stuck up -
It’s fucked up.
And she doesn’t have much hope for people, not anymore, but she was at least counting on her business partner not to be one of the people who actively screws her over.
“I’m assuming you charged her accordingly then?” Catra asks in an even voice. They haven’t really established pricing for this sort of thing - it really was a throw away suggestion Catra had made after a disastrous wedding last month.
“Well, uh, here’s the thing,” Bow scratches the back of his head nervously, “This could sort of be like our guinea pig. If it works, then we’ll start working out pricing models. If not, then really, no harm done.”
“No harm done?” Catra scoffs, “It’s not like Ms. Sparkles Up Her Ass can’t afford it - “
“Hey,” Bow’s face turns a little serious.
“No, don’t hey me! I’m hey -ing you!” Catra cuts off with venom in her tone, “What exactly are you thinking?”
“Catra, it’s not a real wedding!” Bow argues, “So really, what’s the harm?”
“Oh my god,” She looks at Bow in shock, her mouth slightly dropped. She knows who The Shining Menace is; she knows exactly who she is. She’s the girl who stood Bow up - the only human on Etheria that Catra might dare to describe as sweet and undeserving of such shitty treatment - she’s the one who broke his heart so bad he nearly drunk Catra out of the bar on the night they met. “You can’t be serious.”
“What? What do you mean?” Bow asks - but he gulps in a way that tells Catra he very well knows what she means.
“You still have feelings for her,” Catra accuses. Maybe it’s hypocritical, but hey - she’s not the one who signed them up for this shit. Bow simply sputters in response, half hearted ‘no’s’ coming out of his mouth, “You’re a fucking masochist, you know that?”
“I am not!” He refutes indignantly, “Look, I know Glimmer. I believe her, her parents can be...kind of intense. And I know Adora - “
Catra bristles and he fixes her a flat look. “How many times have I offered to connect you two, only for you to refuse?”
“I know,” She mutters, averting her gaze to the floor.
She didn’t think Adora would want to hear from her. Adora - even when they were young, was the shining star. Catra didn’t need to keep tabs on her to know she was wildly successful and happy. She wouldn’t even be able to tell that much because her instagram is on private - but still.
Point is - all Catra had ever done was drag Adora down when they were kids. She sure as shit didn’t need that now that they’re grown. And Catra didn’t need Adora to tell her that, either.
Life in the foster home, with fucking Shadow Weaver, was bad before Adora got whisked away to live with her grandmother - with only an old t-shirt left behind to remember her by. But it got even worse after she left.
The night before her eighteen birthday she packed her shit into her beat-up $500 Jeep Wrangler and drove as fast and as far as she could. Turns out the farthest she could get was the off-road winery a few towns over from the Fright Zone in Plumeria. Luckily, Mara and Light Hope were kind enough to let her stay - working for them until she met Bow and they decided to buy the place from them.
Which - reminds her:
“Look. I - Glimmer hurt you,” Catra says - far more earnestly than she would like. She doesn’t enjoy feelings and vulnerability and all of that other crap. “Like. Real bad. Are you sure helping her throw her wedding with someone else is that great of an idea?”
Bow frowns at her, brown eyes shining ever so slightly. He knows that she’s right. “I don’t know. Maybe it’ll be really, really bad. Or maybe it’ll give us all a chance to reconnect.”
“Reconnect?” Catra raises a brow. “If you wanted to be a third in a marriage that badly, you should’ve told me. I know a few people -”
Bow looks at her flatly, “Catra. It’s not real.”
“It’s not real, then why are we doing this?” Catra crosses her arms. “You always just try to see the best in people, Bow, and honestly? Sometimes it’s endearing - ”
“Wow, endearing?” He grins wide at the compliment.
“Shut up. My point is: you’re going too far this time,” Catra snaps.
“Look, maybe you’re not convinced it isn’t real - but they both know it’s not! And I know it’s not,” Bow argues, “So maybe..maybe we can help our friends realize it’s a bad idea before they do something permanent like marry each other.”
“Ever heard of divorce?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I really don’t,” She shakes her head, “This sounds like a bad idea, all around. If you - and I mean you alone, because I don’t want anything to do with this - can convince Shimmer not to marry Adora, then we lose money on planning all of this shit. And if you don’t, then you just bought yourself a front row seat to her wedding, for fucks sake.”
“Okay, when you put it that way, it sounds kinda terrible.” Bow relents, “ But - I know them. And Glimmer’s parents. There’s no way they’ll be able to keep this up. And they’ll still pay us, regardless. So really it’s no harm done.”
“Except you get hurt,” Catra points out. The truth - we get hurt, doesn’t need to be spoken. Bow knows how she feels about Adora - Bow knows her probably better than she knows herself, at this point.
“Just - trust me,” Bow pleads, giving her that same sappy look when he proposed they buy the vineyard with what meager savings they had scraped together.
And, well. Trusting him then didn’t turn out too badly.
“Take a chance.” He prods again.
Catra glares at him for a few more seconds - just because it’s fun to see him squirm. Then she acquiesces with a roll of her eyes.
“Fine. But when this backfires majorly - you’re cleaning it up by yourself.” She says before turning away.
“You won’t regret this!” Bow calls after her as she makes her way into the back of the shop.
“I know I won’t,” she turns to him sharply to remind him, “Because I’m not getting involved. Remember?”
“Got it!” Bow gives her a thumbs up - and well, fine. He can placate her all he wants.
Catra knows better. She isn’t getting involved. She’ll coordinate vendors, prepare the venue for the reception. She’ll do her job - and she’ll do it while avoiding Adora.
This is a recipe for disaster. And when Bow inevitably gets himself hurt again, she’ll be there to pick up the pieces - because, against her better judgement, he’s somehow wormed his way into her heart - but she isn’t letting herself get hurt.
Not again.
As she steps into the back room, a ray of sunlight hits her face - causing her to squint as her phone goes off with a little ding!
She fishes it out of her pocket and groans involuntarily at the Instagram notification:
ado_ra has started following melog.official
Closing her eyes, Catra pinches the bridge of her nose and wonders how they could’ve possibly gotten past the point of no return when they haven’t even started yet.