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“Adora!” Springing out of nowhere, Catra tackled her from behind as she walked down the passageway, sending them both to the floor. Wrapped in Catra’s embrace, Adora rolled a few times before coming to a stop on her back, unharmed, Catra releasing her to plant her hands on either side of Adora’s shoulders. “We’re free! Rest day!” A purr rumbled in her throat. “So. Whaddaya wanna do?”“I was just on my way to train for a bit—remember that move I couldn’t quite get down yesterday?” Adora tucked a straying strand of hair behind her ear.“Oh my god, it’s rest day. We are explicitly not supposed to be training.” Catra punctuated the words with an exaggerated eye roll. “Hmm, maybe I should be proud that you’re willing to break the rules, though…” She raised a thoughtful hand to her chin, and Adora took the opportunity to roll out from under her and scramble to her feet. Catra was up and by her side in a moment. She dropped an arm around Adora’s shoulders and steered her in the opposite direction from the training center. “I have an idea that’s way more exciting than that. There’s something I’ve been wanting to show you.” As they walked, her hand slid down to loosely grasp Adora’s. “Come on, this way.”With a smile, Adora let herself be led. Soon they emerged onto one of the catwalks, and Catra hopped up to saunter along the railing. “Is this what you do when you disappear?” Adora asked, glancing around for any disapproving eyes. “Just go gallivanting all around the Fright Zone?”“Yeah.” Catra flashed a grin back at her. “Why not? There’s no rule that says we can’t.”“I feel like maybe it’s an unspoken rule, though?”Adora’s steps lagged, and Catra turned back to face her. “You think Shadow Weaver goes in for unspoken rules? Believe me, if she wanted to tell me not to do something, I would have heard it a long time ago.”Adora’s lips pursed, but she didn’t argue. “So, what’s this thing you’re going to show me? More stuff we’re not technically banned from doing?”Catra glanced back to flash a grin. “Nah, this one is definitely banned.”“Catra!”“Come on, it’s nothing that actually matters. You were all set to break the rules about training, anyway.”“That was different,” Adora muttered, but she continued to follow.Wending through the metal maze, they eventually reached a rusted gate barring the way forward. “Hmm.” Adora stopped to regard it with folded arms as Catra paused. “It’s not like there’s a sign saying we can’t go on…”“Exactly!” Catra continued along the railing, and after another moment of hesitation, Adora scrambled over the gate.Ahead, one of the Fright Zone’s metal spires loomed up, taller than any of the others. Catra stopped by its base—where, blending into the rest of the rusted form at first glance, there was a door.“Here we are!” She hopped down triumphantly and reached for the handle.“What’s in there?” Adora asked, leaned forward.“See for yourself.” Catra pulled the door wide and stepped in. Before she shut it after Adora, the light from outside revealed a ladder bolted to the wall, leading up into shadow.“Come on!” Catra leapt to the third rung and quickly disappeared.“I don’t have night vision, you know,” Adora called as she felt for the ladder and started to climb.“You don’t need it to climb a ladder, silly.”Only the click of Catra’s claws against the metal assured Adora that she should keep climbing. When the clicks stopped, she did likewise. A creaking groan came from above, and then light was pouring in, temporarily blinding her.“We’re here!” came Catra’s voice. “Come on.”One arm shading her eyes, Adora stepped up another few rungs until a furred hand reached for hers. She took it gratefully and a moment later she was stepping out onto a small platform. “Whoa.” Her eyes scanned all around as she turned in a slow circle. “I’ve never been this high before.”“See? Gallivanting pays off.” Catra folded her arms in satisfaction.“I wish we could see more, though. It’s still just Fright Zone, Fright Zone, Fright Zone. Except over there—is that… a forest?”Catra shrugged. “Could be. I dunno. Too bad it’s cloudy; this would be a great place to lie down in the sun, close your eyes…”“When did you find it?” Finally, Adora tore her eyes away from the view to glance at Catra.“Last week.”“Wow. I wonder what else we don’t know about this place.”Catra frowned slightly and shifted away, gaze moving to another direction.“Thank you,” Adora went on, not noticing, and Catra looked back to find Adora’s smile pointed at her. She stood up straighter and scratched her head.“Sure, yeah. Couldn’t keep this all to myself.”“It’s beautiful.”Adora’s eyes returned to the horizon, but Catra’s stayed on her. “Yeah,” she mumbled back. “Beautiful.”***The trapdoor groaned behind her, but Catra didn’t turn. “There you are.” Adora climbed out and stepped to her side. Catra was perched on the platform’s railing, hands hugging her knees to her chest, tail curled around her ankles.“Yeah, here I am.” She let out a sigh, still not looking at Adora.“I know Shadow Weaver was hard on you today.” One of Adora’s hands lifted to hover over Catra’s shoulder, finally settling on it softly. “But you know it’s just because she wants you to improve, right? She wants to see you live up to your full potential.”“No.” Catra hunched further. “She’s never liked me. She humiliated me on purpose!”“No, Catra, I’m sure she wasn’t trying to humiliate you…” Adora leaned closer to peer into Catra’s face.Catra pulled away and hopped down to the platform, turning her back. “Of course you don’t think so. You’ve always been her favorite; you have no idea what it’s like…”A moment later, Adora was at her side again, standing close but not touching her. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I don’t.” Her gaze dropped to the floor.“It’s all right, though.” Catra’s voice lightened, and she leaned toward Adora to give her a shoulder bump. “Because I’ve totally got this. Just wait till she sees what I can do with all this raw potential of mine. It’s gonna knock her socks off.”Adora laughed and leaned back against Catra, and Catra took her hand. “Come on, we should get going before she notices her favorite cadet’s gone MIA.” At the concerned look on Adora’s face, she rolled her eyes. “Relax, I’m just kidding.”“Okay.” With a smile, Adora pulled Catra toward the trapdoor.***“You know, I don’t think about it very often, but every once in a while… I wonder who I am.” Sitting cross-legged next to Catra, watching the sunset, Adora shivered at the chill in the air. “You know, who my parents were. Where I came from.”Catra shifted closer. “It’s really not all it’s cracked up to be. My parents are happy to have me gone. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve got seven siblings.”Adora turned toward her, but Catra cut her off before she could speak. “It’s fine. Really. I got used to it a long time ago. No big deal.”With a sigh, Adora lay her head on Catra’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter, really. I’ll never know, and you’re right, it’s probably better that way.”Catra patted Adora’s head. “Yeah, right? Who needs them? Honestly, who needs anybody?” Her arm slid around Adora’s shoulders.“Mmm.” Adora nestled against her, eyes falling shut. Catra sat very still and kept her gaze on the bleeding red of the sky.“Getting sleepy,” Adora mumbled after the sun’s last sliver had slipped out of sight. “I guess we should head in to bed…” She raised her head to give Catra a questioning look, blinking her drowsy eyes, and Catra turned to look back, their faces inches apart.“Guess we should,” Catra answered, but she didn’t move, and neither did Adora. After a moment, Catra leaned closer—and so did Adora. Their lips met and Catra’s hands flew up to grip Adora’s face, a purr humming deep in her chest. Her eagerness sent Adora flinging out a hand to support herself, and then she let Catra lower her to the floor. Catra threw a leg over her, teeth still grabbing at her lips, and Adora’s head lifted to press back. Catra’s purr rose to a roar.“Catra.” Adora turned her head away, breathless, and Catra pulled back. “We have to go back. It’s dark.”Catra hadn’t even noticed the last of the light fading away, but now a few yellow-gray streaks on the horizon were all that remained. Glancing back at Adora lying beneath her, parted lips redder than normal, her face warmed and she scrambled to her feet, stepping away. “Right. Come on, if we hurry, we can still make curfew.”Adora reached out a hand, and Catra pulled her to her feet. When Adora’s eyes met hers, she offered Catra a shy smile. Catra let her hand slip away as they turned to the trapdoor.“You know, we should probably stop coming out here,” she remarked as she pulled it open. “Someone’s gonna catch on eventually. They already know I’m a delinquent, but we can’t risk you getting slapped with that label too.”“Oh.” Adora stepped down onto the ladder, giving Catra a quick glance before her eyes dropped to watch her feet. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”Catra waited until the shadows had nearly swallowed Adora, then stepped into the opening herself. For one long moment, as the sounds of Adora’s climb grew fainter, she stared out at the last bits of lingering light before ducking her head and pulling the door shut.