Modern AU, but everyone looks the same. TW:being trapped in a burning building

Enjoy :)

If you asked Catra, she blamed Kyle. It started from the kitchen. The smoke didn't alarm anyone at first. Smoke coming from the kitchen was relatively normal for the bar Catra worked at. She'd been bartending all night, having the late shift. The usual customers came and watched the game on the tv, Catra kicked out the rowdy drunks that got too handsy with her when she had to fill in for a server for a bit while they were on break. Luckily, Scorpia, the bouncer and Catra's best friend, was quick to back her up. It was a usual night.

Catra sucked her teeth, annoyed. The bar had already run out of lemons. Guess someone had forgotten to stock up for the day. Tossing her towel onto the bar, she looked over at Rogelio, her partner for the night.

"Gotta get more lemons and limes." She told him.

She got a thumbs up before she walked to the back room. She grumbled under her breath, grabbing the crate full of said fruit. She hauled it onto a nearby counter top. Grabbing a knife, she got to slicing a good amount of the yellow and green fruits in halves, tossing the sliced ones into a metal bowl.

Catra paused when she caught a whiff of something. Sniffing the air, looked towards the door that led back to the main part of the bar. Was that smoke? Catra rolled her eyes, returning to her task.

"I swear if the kitchen staff burns this place down, I'm kicking their asses." She grumbled. "What do they do back there? Use gasoline?"

A loud explosive noise made Catra jump. She turned and rushed towards the door. She stopped when she looked out the little window on the door. Her stomach dropped when she saw flames. Fire was raging everywhere. Had there been an explosion? What the fuck was going on?

Catra noticed the flames spreading over the bar, quickly climbing up the walls of the building. Catra backed away from the door. Smoke seeped into the room from the cracks around the door.

Catra's phone buzzed in her pocket. With shaking hands, she fished it out of her back pocket.

Scorpia.

Catra immediately answered. It was a video call. Scorpia's panicked face filled Catra's screen.

"Wildcat! Where are you? Did you get out?"

Catra looked up at the door, the only obstacle keeping the fire from getting to her.

"No. I'm in the back room of the bar. You know, where the supplies for the drinks are stored? I'm trapped inside."

Catra looked back at the phone. Scorpia cursed out loud. If the situation wasn't so serious, Catra would've commented on it.

"The fire department on their way! It's gonna be alright. Just stay on the phone, okay?"

Catra nodded. She suddenly remembered something. Rushing back too the counter, she grabbed a rag. Turning on the faucet, she soaked it with cold water. This would help keep any smoke out.

She thanked the universe for her girlfriend, who actually was a firefighter. Adora, her girlfriend, taught her that. Never thought she'd ever have to use it. However, the black smoke was quickly covering the ceiling above Catra, and filling the room. Catra got low to the floor, getting as far away from the door as possible, the rag covering her nose and mouth.

"The fire department's here!"

Catra looked at her phone. Scorpia was looking at something. Catra could hear the sirens in the background. Help was close, but not close enough for her liking. It was getting increasingly harder to see anything in the room. Catra's eyes burned.

"Keep talking to me, Catra!"

Catra was starting to feel lightheaded. She looked at her phone. Scorpia was freaking out.

"They're hosing the fire. Adora is coming. Stay with me, Catra!"

Catra nodded. She was beginning to feel tired. She lying on the floor, lungs aching. The rag could only do so much.

"M'tired, Scorps." She said, her vision blurring.

"Don't you dare fall asleep, Catra! Fight it! Stay awake!"

Catra's hand fell from her face, the rag dropping to the floor. The air was scorching hot. Catra was wheezing for air. The only thing keeping her awake, was the fear. Fear of dying.

Catra weakly looked at her phone. She had let it drop to the floor, the call still going. Picking it up, she looked at her best friend.

"I love you. Tell the others that too." She wheezed before coughing.

"I love you too, but save your strength, Wildcat. Adora is inside the bar! She's going to get you out, Wildcat. Can you hear the firefighters?"

Catra could only hear the flames and the sounds of things collapsing. She was lying on her side, facing the door. She beginning to lose hope and consciousness. Out of nowhere, the door bursted open, a small group of firefighters coming in. The flames from the main bar licked at the doorway.

"Over there!" She barely heard one of the firefighters shout, rushing towards her.

The person ran over to her, dropping to their knees beside her. Catra weakly gazed up at the person. Through the mask, she could see two fear-filled blueish gray eyes staring right at her. Adora was here.

Catra would smile if she wasn't going on the brink of passing out. Strong arms picked her up, slugging her over her shoulder. Catra was barely coherent or strong enough to care. Her limp body was draped over Adora's broad shoulders. The two along with another firefighter rushed out of the room, and into the main part of the bar. Fire was raging everywhere. There was no air to breathe. Catra's head spun.

What felt like an eternity later, Catra could breathe. She struggled to get in air, her lungs burning. She could feel her body being moved to a bridal carry. Peeling her eyes open, she could make out loud screaming and chaos. Looking around, she saw a crowd and emergency vehicles with sirens blaring.

"It's gonna be alright, Catra."

Catra looked up at the source of the familiar voice. Adora was looking down at her, her mask now gone. Catra would say somethin if she could. Her mouth and throat felt like a desert. She only reached a hand up and touched her girlfriend's face.

Adora was here and she was safe. Catra let her head fall against the chest. She was loaded into an ambulance, a person talking to her, which Catra only half understood. Something was placed onto her face. She found it suddenly easier to breathe. Just a little.

Catra noticed Adora was sitting with her, holding her hand. Catra liked that. Adora stayed. Adora was talking to her, though Catra couldn't make out most of the words. She was so tired. The last thing she saw was Adora's face before she blacked out.
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Adora couldn't take her eyes off of Catra. The young woman was lying on a hospital bed, an oxygen mask on, covered in soot. It had been over an hour and still no sign of waking. Adora was sitting in a chair next to Catra's bed, arms on her spread legs, head down. Her jacket and head gear were on the chair next to her. She was was still wearing her work boots and baggy fireproof pants along with her fire department uniform shirt.

Her team was still putting out the fire, having gotten everyone out. Adora's friends were keeping her up to date and she was keeping them updated on Catra's condition. She'd inhaled a ton of smoke and suffered first degree burns. The doctor said Catra would've died if Adora had been just a few minutes late. That shook Adora to her core.

Getting the call, that The Fright Zone was up in flames. Adora, of course, was worried, knowing Catra worked there and was on shift tonight. However, arriving at the scene and Scorpia frantically telling them that Catra was trapped inside that burning building was another level.

No one stopped her from going in, her partner, Bow, by her side. There was fire everywhere you looked. Adora was used to the scene, having gone in quite a few burning buildings. However, going into a burning building, with the goal of rescuing your girlfriend, who was still inside said fire, made it so much scarier. Adora and Bow found Catra, lying on the floor, nearly unconscious. Adora remembered how limp Catra felt in her arms, not having the strength to talk or make any sound.

Looking at Catra now, in that hospital bed, reminded her of why she did what she did. This fire should not have happened and Catra had almost died because of it. Adora knew she couldn't save everyone, but times like this, a successful rescue, made it worth it. If she hadn't been there in time, Adora didn't know what she'd do with herself.

The sound of movement made Adora look up at the bed. Catra was squinting, looking around the room, clearly disoriented and confused.
Adora sat up, relieved at seeing Catra finally awake.

"Hey. Catra. Can you hear me?" She spoke up softly.

Catra turned her head towards Adora. She smiled tiredly at her.

"Hey, Adora." She greeted her, her voice hoarse.

Adora moved so she was sitting on the bed. She grabbed the remote that every hospital room had, and pressed the 'Call Nurse' button. Setting aside the remote control, she turned her attention to her girlfriend.

"How you feeling?" She questioned.

Catra shrugged. Her brows furrowed. She brought a hand up to the oxygen mask on her face. Adora reached out and gently took the hand away.

"It's alright. It's just the oxygen mask. You inhaled a lot of smoke when you were trapped in the fire."

Catra's expression relaxed a bit. She raised a hand up, looking at her ash stained fur. Adora bit her lip.

"The fire was pretty bad, from what my team tells me. It's still being put out right now."

Catra stared back at her, a million thoughts racing in her head. Adora wondered what she was thinking. A knock on the glass sliding door got their attention. . The door slid open and a woman walked in, wearing scrubs. She liked her head in.

"Everything alright?"

She saw Catra looking right at her. She stepped in further into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Oh good! You're awake. How you doing, girl?"

Catra gave a shy smile and shrugged. The nurse did an evaluation, checking her lungs, blood pressure, and reflexes, asking basic personal information that Catra should know.

"Had your girlfriend worried there." She commented to Catra, nodding her head in Adora's direction. "She hasn't left your side since you came in here."

Catra blushed. She suddenly flew into a coughing fit, her throat extremely dry from all the smoke she inhaled. She sounded awful. Like a smoker of fifty years.

"Drink some water. It'll help." The nurse told her.

Adora had a water bottle ready for her. Catra took a few sips before nearly chugging the whole bottle. The water felt like heaven to her.
After the nurse left, the doctor came and checked up on her, pretty much going through the same routine, asking even more questions about Catra's experience of that day. Once it was all done, the doctor decided to keep her for a few more hours, just to keep an eye on her lung function.

She left the room, leaving the two women alone. Catra sighed, closing her tired eyes.

"This was not how I pictured my shift to go." She muttered unhappily.

Adora snorted.

"You're telling me? Imagine getting a station call for a bar fire and then finding out it's the same bar your girlfriend is on the clock at and then finding out when you get there that your girlfriend is still inside the burning building."

Catra gave her a look.

"Imagine being the girlfriend trapped in the burning building." She retorted.

Adora had to give her that.

"Yeah. You win."

She reached out, taking Catra's hand. She was quiet for a moment.

"I was so scared, Catra. Scared that I hadn't gotten to you in time. When Scorpia told me you were still inside and trapped, I felt this dread and unshakable fear inside me. I kept hoping and almost praying that I wasn't too late."

Adora took a moment to collect herself, clearly emotional.

"I remember going into the bar. Everything was burning and I could barely see. I relied on memory to get to where you were. All I could think of was, 'Is she conscious? Can she breathe? Is she injured? How scared is she, all alone?' You were in my every thought. Finding you in that room, nearly unresponsive, was the scariest feeling ever. There was a part of me that feared it was too late."

Adora ran her thumb over Catra's knuckles. Catra stared at her, silent, clutching the hand in return.

"I carried you out, just needing to get you to safety. You were struggling to breathe and I rushed you to the ambulance. You were barely conscious after that, going in and out before passing out. Scorpia was sobbing with relief when she saw you. She was worried you'd died in there. I'll text her to let her know you're awake. Everyone's been blowing up the group chat, asking about you."

Catra smiled.

"Good idea. Is everyone else okay? Did anyone else get hurt?"

Adora shook her head.

"Miraculously, no. The fire started in the kitchen."

Catra raised a brow.

"Kyle?" She asked.

Adora snorted.

"Yeah. Oil fire got out of control. He's lucky to come out unscathed. Not sure how he didn't catch on fire. Guess the rest of the kitchen staff got him out of the way."

Catra rolled her eyes.

"Typical."

She then gave Adora a smug look.

"So, Ms.Firewoman came to save the day, huh? Rescued the damsel in distress like always."

Adora grinned, chuckling.

"Mhm. Mighty brave if you ask me." She shrugged. "Carried you out over my shoulder and everything."

Catra rolled her eyes, though the love in her eyes was unmistakable.

"My hero."

"All in a day's work, ma'am."

Catra laughed.

"Get that smug look off your stupid face or I'll smack it off." She threatened. "And when did you become southern?"

Adora shrugged, still grinning.

"The moment I saved your beautiful face, little miss." She said with a southern accent.

Catra groaned.

"Throw me back in the fire, would ya? Shut up!"

"Then I'd have to save you again. I have no issue with that, darling."

"You're an idiot."

So yeah. Lemme know your thoughts :)