Chapter Text
2:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Adora yawns and shakes her head, a cup of fresh coffee beside her. With heavy eyelids, she struggles against her physical exhaustion at the end of such a draining day – or a draining week, to be more accurate. It may be late, but this isn’t the time to relax. Not yet, anyway. Tomorrow is too important for that. Besides, relaxing was never really Adora’s thing. She’s pretty sure that even if she went to bed now, she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. Her body may be tired, but her brain is too hyperactive and filled with concerns about her professional future to be able to rest.
Restless fingers drum across a page of her notebook, tracing the notes and diagrams scribbled all over it. From a distance, her office desk looks like an obstacle course in the middle of a war zone: books, sticky notes, magic markers, pens and pencils, headphones, flashcards and her laptop barely fit together on the tiny piece of furniture.
She is debating if she should take another look at her notes on equine anatomy or canine behavior when her computer beeps. The familiar custom notification sound rings like Pavlov’s bell to her ears, making her dispositions shift in an instant. Her lips are pulled into an instinctive smile, her heart is racing, and suddenly the idea of studying seems almost irrelevant.
So, full disclosure? Maybe Adora isn't up at this hour just to study for tomorrow's exam. Maybe there's something else keeping her awake.
The message pops up before her eyes and she senses her anxiety turning into eagerness.
“what are you doing up so late, shera?”
Adora glances at the clock on the left side of her computer screen. It’s 2:05 in the morning here, which means 9 AM on her end. She can’t pinpoint exactly when this habit started, but the time conversion happens spontaneously in her brain now, without her even noticing that she’s doing it anymore.
Hands on the keyboard, she licks her lips like she's just been caught.
“Busted. Can’t sleep.” She admits, fairly sure that she must be blushing and silently thanking the fact that she doesn’t have to show her face in this kind of interaction. “And good morning to you, ForceCaptain 😊”
“morning. or… night. heh. whatever. time has no meaning.”
“why can’t you sleep, though?”
“something wrong?”
All three messages flash at the same instant and there's something strangely gratifying about them. Adora is more used to taking care of her friends than the other way around, so having someone worried about her for a change is unusually endearing. ForceCaptain may be nothing more than an avatar on the internet but her concern feels real and comforting.
With a smile, Adora types.
“Thinking of —” She types, then deletes. “Anxious about –” She changes her mind again. “Just wanted to talk to yo–” Nope, won’t be saying that. “No, nothing wrong. I’m just very awake. 🤪 Thank you for asking!! 🥰”
For some reason, Adora’s fingertips are tingling when she presses the return key. A part of her feels silly with her cheeks burning up and all, as if she were a clueless teenager who can’t even understand why she’s so on edge to begin with. She takes another sip of her coffee, but of course that only accelerates her blood stream even more, as coffee is not exactly the kind of beverage you should drink when you want to stay calm.
ForceCaptain is typing…
Ah, there are those three insufferable little words again. Adora leans forward and flexes her fingers, her eyes glued to the torturous indicator showing at the bottom of her computer screen.
“are you nervous?” The question pops up after what feels like an eternity. “about your licensing exam tomorrow, i mean.”
Yes, Adora is. Incredibly nervous, as a matter of fact. This exam has basically been the only thing on her mind all month, even more so these last few days.
“A little 😩” She replies, though a little is quite the understatement. She has been working all her adult life for this, and failing is not really an option in Adora’s book. “I went over my notes like a million times already, but I still feel underprepared.”
“relax, princess.” Adora half-smiles at the suggestion, wishing it could be that simple, but feeling her body unclench at the same time. “i mean, i know it’s easier said than done, but try to take a deep breath, okay? it’s a big day, so of course you’re nervous, right? it’s only natural. but i’m sure you’ve got this.”
Adora gives the advice a fair try. Obediently, she closes her eyes and counts her own breaths: from one to ten, then from ten to one - a coping mechanism she resorts to on occasion, whenever an anxiety attack threatens to creep up. One, two, three… after a few rounds, her heart rate starts to decrease.
“I hope so…”
“you’re gonna do fine,” ForceCaptain adds, and Adora tries to believe her. “this exam is all you’ve been talking about for the past month. if you study any harder, you’re going to be brain damaged, I fucking swear.”
With a light scoff, Adora grins. She may not have a lot of confidence in herself, but she decides to trust the words of her long-distance online friend. It's weird how easy it is to talk about her insecurities and vulnerabilities to a stranger she met playing online video games. Her best friends, Glimmer and Bow, are extremely supportive listeners, but ForceCaptain makes her feel… less pressured, somehow.
“i know it’s normal to feel underprepared and whatever, but from what I know of you, i’m pretty sure you are way more prepared than you think.”
Adora’s smile grows wider. Five, four, three, two… A final long exhale and she takes a good look at the pile of books lying around the table, at the insane number of notes and colorful stickers that stick out of almost every page. Her jaw unclenches and the tension accumulated in her upper back starts to ease.
Reassurance runs through her. She is ready.
“but if you don’t go the fuck to sleep right now, you will end up passing out in the middle of the exam”. The comment makes Adora snort-laugh quietly. “would be hilarious, but i think it would ruin your whole plan”.
Leaning on one elbow, Adora rests her chin on her hand as her fingers stroke across her own cheek. “Yeah, yeah, I know… 😅 I know. You’re right.”
“always am.”
And that sentence is what it takes for Adora to melt completely in her office chair. She is not willing to put too much thought into it, but she briefly acknowledges how good she feels. So safe, so comforted, so… happy. How can a person she has never met have that effect on her?
“Thank you 🥰”
“don’t worry about it, dummy. did it help?”
“Yeah. It helped a lot, actually.” Adora smiles and glances at the clock again, aware that she really should be sleeping, but at the same time unable to say goodbye. “Still sleepless, though.”
ForceCaptain is typing…
“want to play a quick round of despondos to see if sleep comes to you? i bet i can kick your princess ass in less than 5 turns.”
The light from Adora's computer screen illuminates her smile as it turns into a smirk. “Oh, yeah? We'll see about that.”
The amazing motherofchimeras and ramenfever surprised me with this collab art piece and I have no words to thank them :)
****
00:14 AM – 7:14 AM
Click. Adora is laughing while snapping the photographs, so much so that they mainly come out as useless, shaky blurs. “No! Swifty, no! Hah- Bad, Swifty! Leave it alone!” She yells, and although she knows her laughter is definitely undermining her authority, she can’t control herself.
Click. Click. Click.
Still chuckling, she reckons the pictures are good enough to send.
"The horror! 😱 I came home to find that Swifty ate all my notes!!! 😅”
The images show what's left of Adora’s notebook after most of its pages were ripped to shreds; the shameless chaotic Beagle appears in the background, torn sheets of paper still in his mouth. Giggling, Adora cleans up her dog’s mess and heads to the bathroom to take a shower, not expecting to get a response at this hour. It's seven AM wherever she is, and Adora already knows that ForceCaptain is far from a morning person.
But then…
ForceCaptain is typing…
Oh. Oh! Adora’s heart bounces inside her chest.
She's awake!
“oh no, bad swifty,” ForceCaptain replies. “See, this is why i prefer cats.”
Yeah, so, tonight Adora has learned that apparently one’s mouth can hurt from smiling too wide.
Now realizing that she's standing in the middle of the hallway, Adora goes back to the office. Just before taking her seat, she glances at her newly framed veterinarian license on the wall.
A part of her still can’t believe it’s real.
“Yes, but the good news is… I don’t need any of these notes anymore!”
“that’s right, princess.” Adora smiles tenderly. “you’re a licensed vet now. you can burn the rest of those notes if you want 🔥🔥”
“Yaaaaaaaaaay!!! Well, of course I won't do that LOL!” And in case you are wondering, while she types that line, Adora is really laughing out loud. “But it's nice to know that I CAN!"
“well, congratulations again, shera. you deserve it.” ForceCaptain replies, and Adora is taken over by a strong feeling of self-accomplishment. This, she knows, is not a common feeling, and one that she doesn’t plan to take for granted. A proud smile hangs on her lips as she tries to find an animated GIF that can fully convey her joy, but none of the available options seem to account for what she feels.
Adora wishes they could be in the same room right now, savoring this victory together over drinks with Glimmer and Bow, or maybe even alone. This might be strange, but it isn’t the first time such a wish has claimed her thoughts. As ForceCaptain progressively becomes a more constant presence in her life, Adora realizes she is beginning to occupy a more privileged place in her heart.
Which place exactly is it, however, is too soon to tell.
Adora moves the conversation to her laptop and checks the time again, furrowing her eyebrows when realizing how unprecedented it is for them to be talking at this specific hour. She didn’t by any chance wake her friend up, did she? Well, probably not-- when ForceCaptain is asleep she usually replies a few hours later. But of course, now that Adora contemplated that possibility, she won’t stop thinking about it until she asks.
“Hey… I didn’t wake you, did I? I just noticed it's super early in your time zone.”
“no, you’re good.” Adora exhales in relief. “the cat me woke me up a while ago. i was just getting out of bed to make some coffee.”
“☕️”
Adora beams a little smugly at the screen, feeling good about her cunning emoji reaction choice.
“what about u, were you out celebrating?”
Adora’s fingers run through her own hair to undo her ponytail; she tucks some loose blond strands behind her ear to keep them from her face.
“Yeah, sort of! I went out with my friends Glimmer and Bow! Or… That was the plan. But there was not that much to do in the middle of the week, sooooo we just hung out and binge-watched the first season of Following the Peekablues 🤪🤪”
She also sipped a glass of celebratory sparkling wine, but they don’t seem worth mentioning.
“you seriously need better friends.”
“watching reality trash about superficial rich people is hardly what I would call a decent celebration.”
Although Adora can’t see her counterpart’s expression, and despite the fact that she doesn’t even know what her face looks like to begin with, she imagines that ForceCaptain is rolling her eyes on her side of the conversation, a grumpy smirk showing on her lips.
“but I’m glad you had fun.”
It crosses Adora’s mind to ask ForceCaptain what she would consider to be a decent celebration, and it’s not clear why she refrains herself from actually posing the question.
“I did! And well, it is only Tuesday, so it’s not like we had a lot of options 😅”
“even so, there are better things you could watch that are more worthy of your time and your brain functions. assuming you have any, that is.”
Adora snorts, and an offended ‘seriously?’ escapes her lips.
“Oh, yeah?! And what would you suggest for me to watch, oh thou creature of immaculate intellect?” She grins wickedly before sending the next message, as she knows she is about to push one of ForceCaptain’s most sensitive buttons. “Mara?”
ForceCaptain is typing…
With a smile, Adora braces herself for the testy reaction she knows she is about to get.
"oh, shera… you really don’t want to go there. i would hate to be the one who crushes your spirit on a day you should be feeling good about yourself.”
“but you know you can't even begin to compare those two things, right? i mean, one of them is an iconic work of art and the other is a piece of pure junk."
Biting her lower lip, Adora realizes how much she relishes this dynamic of theirs – mutual teasing and friendly banter, each of them trying to poke the other one’s most competitive side.
“Oh, I wouldn’t go so far as to call Mara a piece of pure junk, but now that you mentioned it, I guess I agree!”
“…”
“don’t push me, princess.”
Triumphant, Adora beams and wonders how her friend must look now. Frustrated? Challenging? Playful? Sleepy? Why can’t she stop trying to picture it?
“I’m just saying, everyone deserves to have a way of turning off their brains without feeling judged about it”.
The next reply takes a little longer than usual to show up.
“yeah. of course.”
“that’s fair.”
“i’m sorry.”
Adora reads into ForceCaptain’s apologetic tone and realizes that she probably sounded more serious than originally planned. After all, it’s not like her counterpart can see the way she’s smirking at the screen, right? Ugh, online interactions are hard. She takes her index finger and thumb to her lips, pinching them lightly before typing again.
“You know I'm just messing with you, right? 🤪”
A few more seconds.
“well… even so, you’re right. no one should feel guilty for appreciating something.” She replies, and Adora is glad that they can agree on that. “and since we’re on the subject, you should really watch mara one of these days. it's seriously a crime you never watched it and i fucking swear that you’re gonna like it. if you don’t, at least you can tease me about it with actual knowledge.”
She smiles as they bounce back into one of ForceCaptain’s favorite topics: Mara, the Dragon Tamer and how Adora has never seen it.
A warm feeling settles into Adora’s chest, the way it always does when they are talking to each other. If it matters that much to her friend, she might as well give the 25-year-old television show a chance. At the very least, she will get to know her a little bit better, and that’s always something to look forward to.
“Ok, ok, I’ll tell you what.” A fair bargain crosses her mind. “I’ll watch Mara if you tell me your real name.”
Shera and ForceCaptain met when they were the two last remaining contenders at The Battle of Bright Moon, a competitive tournament of the strategy video game Escape to Despondos, about four months ago. After Adora emerged victorious from that glorious match, they began playing together regularly, though always on opposite sides. That arrangement lasted for two months before they decided to move their conversation to instant messaging apps.
Since then, they've been talking to each other almost every day. But other than her pronouns, her time zone, her television, music and literary preferences, Adora doesn’t know a lot about her friend’s true identity.
And come to think of it, even though she usually overshares about her own life, Adora has never disclosed her own name either.
ForceCaptain is typing…
A quick look at the clock. The excruciating seconds turn into a full minute, then two, then three. This may be the longest time it has ever taken her to respond to one of Adora's messages.
“well played, shera.”
Adora smiles. “Sooooo, ForceCaptain… 😏 What’s it gonna be?!”
“you know i’ll quiz your knowledge afterwards, so you won’t be able to trick me.”
“I promise I’ll watch it!! I give you my princess word of honor 🤚 You can quiz me all you like.”
ForceCaptain is typing…
Adora is so ridiculously nervous all of a sudden, giggling and biting her lips like a child about to receive a much-desired Christmas gift.
She feels Swifty’s wet nose against her fidgeting fingers, then his tongue and teeth trying to bite off the hair tie wrapped around her wrist. “He-, no! Swifty, cut it out!” Adora’s still prying the dog away when she hears the familiar beep that pumps a renewed surge of adrenaline through her veins.
“my name’s catra.”
The newly licensed veterinarian grins widely.
“Catra,” she says out loud, as if to make sure that the name sounds real. Such a unique, interesting name. Adora decides that she loves how it sounds. “Ca-tra,” she repeats, happy to finally put a name to the catgirl profile picture.
“Hi, Catra!” She greets with a dorky smile, and because it's only fair that she repays the favor... “Adora here.”
“hey, adora.”
Heh.
Okay. Adora senses her hands getting clammy, but they couldn't possibly be sweating, because that wouldn’t make any sense, right? She couldn’t be sweating over words written on her computer screen by someone she barely knows, someone who might not even be real.
Could she?
No, it's probably just Swifty’s slobber. It would be stupid to get this excited over a silly thing like an online friend calling her by her real name.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“well, you’ve earned it, dummy.”
“don’t make it weird.”
Oh, but it’s a little too late for that.
****
5:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Beep.
A sequence of messages pops up on Adora’s phone.
“hey.”
“sorry for texting you so early. are you there?”
Adora has always been an early riser. More than that, she is the kind of person who actually enjoys mornings. It is the time of day when she is most productive, which is why she tends to organize her schedule in a way that most of her activities happen in the morning.
After three months interacting nearly every day, she’s pretty sure that Catra already knows all of that. Even so, she still asks if Adora’s available whenever she is the first of the two to start a conversation, and Adora thinks that is extremely sweet.
Her answer is a photo of her overly excited Beagle holding his leash in his mouth.
“I’m about to go jogging with Swifty in the park near my apartment!” She finishes typing the message and chooses her Songs that make you feel like you’re eight-foot-tall playlist as the soundtrack to her morning workout.
Ponytail up, trainers and earbuds on, and Adora’s ready for another day. The phone is still in her hand when it vibrates again.
“oh ok.”
“i admire your bravery, haha.”
“have fun.”
“I’ll be taking my phone with me if you want to keep talking! 😊” Adora types as she heads to the door. “How has your day been treating you so far?”
“eh, can’t complain.”
ForceCaptain is typing…
Adora takes the elevator and greets her neighbors without really taking her eyes off her cell phone.
"i have a meeting with an editor in a few hours, they're going to give me feedback on a manuscript I sent them some time ago."
“That is awesome, Catra!” Adora is beaming with pride while she types the message.
The elevator stops on the ground floor, and the door opens. With her eyes still glued to the screen, Adora walks across her building’s lobby. “What’s the manuscript abou —” Wait, no. Okay, she is super curious, because up until very recently she didn’t even know that Catra is a published novelist, but she quickly realizes that this interaction is not about the content of the manuscript. Catra may not be very forthcoming about her emotions, but Adora senses that this is about her state of mind. “Hey, I’m sure it will be great. I’m so excited for you!”
After nearly banging her head against a pay phone, Adora figures that looking straight ahead is probably a good idea. She crosses the street and walks another block to reach the entrance to the Whispering Woods Park, humming along to the song playing in her ears while Swifty leads the way.
Her heart flips over when she feels her phone vibrating in her waist pack.
“thanks.”
“it’s kind of a big deal to me.”
“i hope i don’t screw it up.”
“i have a talent for messing up good things, so…”
Adora feels as if her heart has shrunk in size, immediately seized by an overwhelming urge to hold Catra. Her arms clench and she finds herself wondering how it would actually feel. To hold her, I mean. What is Catra's body like? Tall, short, wide, thin? How is it molded? Triangle, round, pear, hourglass? How would it feel against her skin? Would she like being held by Adora or would she resist the touch? Would she surrender to her embrace and feel safe in Adora’s arms? Would their bodies make a good fit? Adora wants to think they would.
But this is not what she should be thinking. No, it absolutely isn’t. With an exhale, she pushes away those useless thoughts and focuses on what matters.
“You won’t screw it up. You will do great and then brag to me about how impressed they were with you.”
“haha, i wouldn’t bet on it.”
“but we’ll see.”
They may not have known each other for that long, but Catra was there during very stressful moments of Adora’s year – her licensing exam, the discovery of Swifty’s heart condition, her search for a new apartment. Even if only virtually, Catra has been a constant and meaningful presence in her life, one she found she could rely on.
More than a feeling of inherited debt, Adora wants her good friend to feel as comforted and reassured about herself as she deserves to be.
She knows she can’t physically embrace Catra, but she still wants her to feel embraced.
So, instead of jogging...
“Do you want to talk about it? Maybe I can help.” She releases Swifty in the dog playground and finds a bench. “I don’t know anything about the publishing industry, but I know a thing or two about strategy, as you know 😏”
“hah!”
“oh, please, just because i let you win in despondos a couple of times, don’t think you’re all sun-tzu or whatever.”
“Don’t be a sore loser, force captain Catra.”
“bite me, princess.”
The next hour is spent with Adora trying to distract Catra with silly jokes and discussing her fear of failure, and it seems to be working well. It’s admittedly hard to tell through a screen, but from what she knows about Catra, she seems more relaxed.
A random stray cat jumps on the bench and curls up in Adora’s lap, and she thinks it’s a good idea to send Catra a picture. “Is this why you prefer cats?”
When Catra’s answer doesn’t come, Adora starts to second-guess her impulse.
It’s the first time they exchange any visual evidence of their real existence, and she is suddenly very self-conscious about how she looks.
Oh, Lord. Why didn’t she think this through?
She rechecks the image she just sent. Does she look sweaty? Is there something on her face? Is her hair poof in place? Does her smile look natural enough? Is she showing too much cleavage? Will Catra think she looks good?
Wait, wait, time out. Why should Adora care? They are just friends trying to boost each other’s confidence and cheer each other up. There’s nothing more to it.
Right. Right! Friends. Ahem.
Of course.
Beep. Adora’s cell phone vibrates and her entire body actually shivers.
“holy shit, adora.” Is Catra’s response, and Adora’s eyes widen at the comment. Then, after another few excruciating seconds…
“you definitely gave me something else to think about now.”
Adora’s breath is caught in a hitch, she takes her hand to her chest. Her tingling fingertips sense just how fast her heart is beating, the cat in her lap stares at her curiously.
She has no idea how she’s supposed to reply. In fact, she has no idea how she’s supposed to fucking breathe. She stands up (the cat is not amused with this decision) and walks from side to side, one hand holding her phone, the other holding her chin as she tries to figure out what to say.
“LOL!! I bet –” No, too goofy. “Oh, so you think I am—” Too smug. “Glad to be of serv – ” Oh, for fuck’s sake, Adora, snap out of it. This reaction is surreal. Her brain is clearly misinterpreting the signs her body is sending her.
“I hope that’s a good thing 😊”
When the cell phone beeps again, she almost tosses it on the floor in sheer panic.
"well, i have to say that it is.”
“the cat left a really good impression."
Adora is still too nervous, but a smirk starts to show on her lips. “The cat, huh?”
“yeah, obviously.”
“you know how i feel about great looking cats.”
It’s an indirect compliment at best, but Adora accepts it. With her cheeks heating up, her tension turns to a rush of exhilaration she vaguely recognizes. This is a highly magnified, superpowered version of how she feels when she’s attracted to someone.
But that wouldn’t make sense, would it? She couldn’t be attracted to Catra. How could she? No. No! That would be ludicrous.
“shit, i have to go, meeting’s about to start.”
Adora smiles warmly. “Good luck! 🤞 You’re gonna crush it.” She bites her lower lip. “In a good way, of course.”
“thanks, princess. i’ll tell you all about it later.”
And as Adora notices just how fast her heart is beating, how dry her mouth is, and how weak her knees are, she realizes that she’s positively, completely screwed.
There's no telling how many laps she'll need to run now.
But she knows it’s time to start running.
The amazing motherofchimeras and ramenfever made this lovely collab fanart piece and I have no words to thank them :)