"You should have seen me," Bow is saying. "There were two coming from behind, and one cutting me off in front, and I was like PEW! WHOA! BARREL ROLL! And I totally dodged them, it was dope."

"And you only hit three asteroids on the way," smirks Glimmer. "Just, smashed straight through them. It was almost impressive."

"Fine, you can drive next time then," huffs Bow.

"We could have been depressurized and died instantly, but Darla's shielding held up perfectly!" chirps Entrapta. "Ohhh, I'm so proud of her!"

Adora's face is brimming with excitement as she watches Catra take another bite of the bun. "So? What do you think?" she urges, her eyes glowing with anticipation for Catra's reaction.

"It's...good," mutters Catra. Then, seeing Glimmer shoot her a reproachful look, she adds, "Really good. Thank you."

Adora's face falls a little with disappointment. "Just good?"

"I mean, Sparkles isn't exactly a five-star chef," smirks Catra, earning herself an elbow in the ribs from Glimmer. "What? I said it was good!"

"I just thought you'd have a bigger reaction than that," mumbles Adora. "The first time I tried real food outside of ration bars, it blew my mind. I couldn't stop eating it."

Catra raises an eyebrow. "Adora, you know I've had food besides ration bars before, right? There was a ton of contraband in the Fright Zone if you knew where to find it. You were the only one square enough to not even try."

Bow and Glimmer laugh, and Catra feels a little flicker of warmth. She's not used to people laughing at her. Not in a good way, anyway. Adora flushes, embarrassed. "Are you kidding?" she mutters. "I've been waiting for years for you to join the Rebellion so I could see you try real food. And you've been eating it the whole time?"

Just like that, the flicker of warmth vanishes, and all that's left is a surge of crushing cold. Bow makes another joke, but his voice sounds muffled and far away. She feels like she's drowning. Without a word, she stands and leaves the circle.

"Catra...?" Adora's voice is the only one that pierces the roaring in her ears, but she doesn't turn back. She can hear Glimmer murmur something, and she knows she's telling Adora to give her space.

As soon as she's out of the room, her legs get weak. She's almost made it back to her room when they give out altogether, and she stumbles against the wall. It feels like her lungs are being constricted by the heavy pressure on her chest; it feels like all the blood has been drained from her body. She slides down the wall to the floor, gasping for breath, and then her gasps turn to wracking sobs, so deep and heaving that they're almost soundless.

I've been waiting years for you to join the Rebellion...

She'd said it so casually, like it had really been that simple. Like Catra could have just chosen to walk away from the ceaseless misery of the Fright Zone any time she wanted, chosen to eat good food and be with Adora and be happy. And she could have, couldn't she? Every sleepless night, every torment inflicted by Shadow Weaver or Hordak, every rage-filled breakdown clawing at the walls and her bed and her own body. It had all been pointless. It was all just wasted time. She could have walked away from her pride and her rage and her need to destroy. Instead she'd let herself be consumed by it until there was nothing good left in her and the world was burning around her.

What if it's too late?

The pressure in her chest has settled in her stomach; it makes her feel like she's going to throw up. She's retching with every breath, but nothing comes up, just more sobs. She lets them come.

She cries until she's empty. Her eyes ache and her body is sore and heavy; she lies there, too exhausted to move. She hears someone coming around the bend in the hall, and she tenses — she doesn't want Adora to see her like that. But it's not Adora.

Entrapta's eyes are fixed on her tracker pad — she almost steps on Catra before noticing her.

"Oh, sorry," she says brightly. "I was just on my way to see how Darla's reboot is going." Then she notices Catra's tear-streaked face and her eyes widen. "Oh. Um. Are you...all right?"

Catra doesn't answer right away. Entrapta fidgets, clearly incredibly uncomfortable with the situation. "Do you need medical attention? I'll just, uh, go get someone..."

"Entrapta," says Catra at last, raising her head. "How'd you do it?"

Entrapta cocks her head quizzically. "How'd I do what?"

"How'd —" Catra swallows, her throat raw. "...how'd you get them to forgive you? How did you forgive yourself?"

Entrapta considers the question, playing with the ends of her pigtails. "I don't know," she admits. "Adora and Bow came to rescue me even after I messed with the Runestones. Even after I made robots to hurt them. Even when my portal machine almost destroyed reality."

Catra flinches and looks away, curling in on herself, shivering. Entrapta sees the reaction and panics — she does the first thing she can think of and lunges for Catra's hand, holding it in an awkward grip. Catra's teary eyes meet hers, shocked. Entrapta looks shocked too, then she decides that she needs to commit and squeezes Catra's hand a little more firmly.

"I think they came back for me because they believed that I could be better," she says, clearly choosing each word as carefully as she can. "They wouldn't leave me, even when I asked them to. So I decided I wanted to be the person they thought I was. At first, I didn't know how. I kept messing it up. But they didn't give up on me. I don't think they've given up on you, either. I think you just have to...keep trying."

There's a long moment of silence, Entrapta doing her best to hold Catra's gaze even though it's clearly killing her. She doesn't let go until Catra gives her a small, wavering smile, and squeezes her hand slightly in return. Satisfied that her gesture was successful, Entrapta extricates herself and steps back. Catra watches her.

"You've come a really long way," murmurs Catra.

"Thank you!" says Entrapta proudly. "I learned the hand thing from Bow, it seems to really comfort people." She sizes Catra up, then nods decisively. "You need new clothes. I'll make you some. A spacesuit, too. Do you want your helmet to have ears? I'm giving it ears." With that, Entrapta shoots off down the hall, jabbering happily into her voice recorder about "another successful emotional connection!"

Catra is too tired to stand. But her chest doesn't hurt anymore. The sick feeling in her stomach has abated. She feels numb, sore, heavy...but also...better, somehow.

For the first time in a long time, she thinks she can see a way forward.

Her eyes drift closed and she falls asleep, not fifteen feet from the door to her room. She's sleeping so heavily that she doesn't even wake up when Adora finds her some time later and lifts her in her arms, but when she lays her carefully on the bed, she stirs, her eyes cracking open drowsily.

"Hey, Adora," she mutters.

Adora grins that stupid, dopey grin. Idiot. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. Really tired, though. I think I need to sleep."

Adora nods and starts to pull away, then stops. Catra's hand is wrapped around hers — gentle, claws retracted, but firm. She doesn't say anything, doesn't even meet Adora's eyes, but she doesn't let go, either.

Adora takes a risk.

"Hey, Catra?" she whispers at last. "Is...is it okay if I sleep in here tonight? I think Bow and Glimmer are making out in the bunkroom and I don't want to go back there." Catra chuckles, a low rumble, almost a purr. Adora smiles. She likes making Catra laugh.

"If you want," Catra murmurs. Adora stands up, triumphant.

"I'll go get another blanket. I can take the floor." She's heading for the door when Catra's voice stops her.

"Adora."

Adora looks back questioningly. Catra's looking at her now, her blue and gold eyes bright in the dim room.

"Don't be an idiot," Catra says at last. "The bed is huge."

Wow.

Slowly, carefully, Adora lowers herself onto the bed beside Catra. She lies stiffly on her side facing Catra, but they don't touch. She stares at Catra, eyes wide, as if she'll move too quickly and scare Catra away. After a tense beat, the corner of Catra's mouth curls up in a small smirk, baring one pointed fang.

"Take your stupid ponytail out, dummy," she says. "You're going to lose all your hair before you're thirty if you keep sleeping with it."

Adora glares at her, but relaxes, yanking out her hair elastic and slipping it around her wrist. Her hair falls around her face, messy and sweaty. She shoots Catra a there, happy now? look.

She looks tired, too. Catra holds her gaze. She blinks slowly, wondering if Adora even remembers what that means.

Adora reaches out suddenly, and brushes the short bangs framing Catra's face. Catra jumps a little at the unexpected touch — Adora quickly withdraws her hand, self-conscious. "Sorry," she says. "I just...I like it. The hair."

Catra rolls her eyes, trying to be nonchalant. "I guess that's one thing I should thank Prime for, at least. Giving me a nice haircut."

"No." Adora sounds horrified at the thought. "I just meant —"

"Adora. It's okay." Catra curls towards Adora, just a little, still not touching her. "It was just a joke. I'm glad you like it. It feels...lighter." They're holding each other's eyes, unwavering, neither wanting to be the first to look away. Not sure what to say next. Then...

"Thanks," whispers Catra in the silence. "For saving me. Thanks for coming back."

Adora's eyes widen in shock. She's so dumb. Every emotion she feels written across her face, easy for anyone to read. Maybe Catra could learn to be a little more like that.

"I couldn't leave you," Adora whispers back.

"I'm going to be better," says Catra, squeezing her eyes shut. "I've hurt you a lot. I'm sorry. I'm not going to do it again. But I know sorry doesn't fix everything. And if you ever want me to go, I'll go."

Catra feels the mattress shift as Adora shuffles closer, close enough that Catra can feel her breath on her face. "I don't want you to go," she says. "I want you here. With me. I really missed you, Catra."

That's when Catra bridges the gap. It's not much — a slight brush of her tail on Adora's leg. Light enough that it could've been accident. But she doesn't move it. She leaves it there, an unspoken request, until Adora gets the point.

Adora slides closer and curls around Catra, draping an arm around her, pulling her close. Catra tucks her head under Adora's chin, nestling into the warmth of her chest. The embrace is a little awkward, not as easy and careless as it had been when they were children. But it doesn't matter. It's a start.

Catra can't keep her eyes open anymore. And as she drifts off into the deepest sleep she's had in years, Adora can feel the soft, creaky buzz of Catra's purr vibrating against her chest. She can't believe this is happening. But she's too tired to question it. She buries her face in Catra's hair and lets her purring lull her to sleep.

The ship moves quietly, peacefully, through space, on its way home.