Work Text:
One
Catra probably had the worst day of her life yesterday. Not only were the tips extra shitty—she hates working the night shift—she'd left her purse on the subway. The moment she realized she's called the metro authority and the rep basically laughed in her face when she'd described her problem. She doesn't have her ID or her money, and she'd also left the business card of the one industry connection she'd made up to now in her purse for safekeeping. It couldn't get any worse.
She's going to have to get her driver's license again—unclear with what fucking money or time—and she's pretty sure she doesn't have enough money in her bank account to make rent next week, let alone put food on the table. Her eyes water against her will. It feels so hopeless. She'd come out to Bright Moon to try her hand as a screenwriter, but the longer she's here, the more she feels like that was a silly pipe dream. She should have listened to her mother. As shitty as she is, she's right that Catra isn't cut out for this.
Her moping is rudely interrupted by a knock on the door. She opens it, determined to yell at whoever decided to bother her late at night, but she's practically shoved as a short woman comes barreling into her house. She looks like a fairy factory exploded on her, with bright purple hair and some glitter body lotion that's probably been discontinued since the nineties.
The stranger doesn't seem to find anything wrong with barging into someone's apartment. She barely glances at Catra as she makes her way in. "Boss found your wallet, cooed at the picture of your cat for five minutes then gawked at your driver's license." The woman tosses her leather clutch back at her. "Here you go, by the way. Try not to leave your purses in the subway, will you?"
Catra is speechless, the woman's abrasive personality at ends with her kind gesture. "Thanks, I guess?" Catra still isn't sure why she's in her apartment.
The woman waves her off, her eyes darting around the apartment, her nose wrinkled in disgust. Catra feels self-conscious—she'd only been moved in for two months and only had enough money to buy a mattress and a few kitchen supplies. Her place looks pretty abandoned and it's clear the woman has thoughts about that. "Don't mention it. Boss would've come, but you know how it is. Busy running the streets and making deals."
Catra tilts her head and stares, hoping that some of this will click in her head because she has no clue what's happening. "I'm sorry. Who the fuck are you talking about?"
The stranger rolls her eyes as if Catra is slow to pick up on cues even though she's the one that makes no sense. "My Boss." She sighs. "Don't worry too much about it, I doubt I'll be back."
Before this woman leaves, she opens her purse to make sure her shit really is in there. Although, she's not sure why someone would bother to return it if she'd stolen from it. As she peers into her clutch, Catra's eyes widen. A wad of bills she definitely didn't have sit inside. It's more money than Catra has seen in one place in a long time. "You've made a mistake."
"Is that not your purse?" The woman raises a brow. "The picture looks like you. Catra, right?"
She should be spooked this chick bothered to learn her name but she just waves the clutch uselessly. "It is, but that definitely isn't my money."
"It is now!" The woman gives a two-finger salute, walking out of Catra's home. She glances around one last time. "Use it to buy some furniture or something. Bye!"
Catra blinks at the door, wondering if maybe she had a fever on top of losing her wallet.
Two
Catra made rent because of the money that had been packed into her purse—it was what she made over three months. She counted it twice to make sure. She chalked up the whole incident to some cosmic event and moved on with her life. She didn't expect to open her door the next week and find the same woman lifting a box at her door.
"Sparkles?" It's what she's taken to calling the woman who showed up at her apartment that bizarre night. Some sparkly and annoying fairy godmother.
She rolls her eyes, seemingly more irritated than last time. "That's not my name. It's Glimmer."
Catra can't help her smirk—of course, her name is Glimmer. "What happened to not coming back?"
She shakes her head. "I made the mistake of telling Boss you don't even have a TV in your living room. Living like animals here." Glimmer doesn't bother to ask for permission, instead pushing the door open wider with her hip and walking right into her apartment as if she owned the place. Which, to be fair, she'd technically paid for this month's rent so she had a fair argument.
Catra then realizes that there's a man on the other side of the box. He smiles brightly, easily lifting the box into the living room. "I'm Bow! Nice to meet you." At least he is polite.
Then she finally realizes what's going on. "Are you two carrying a TV into my house?" This doesn't happen to normal people, and certainly not to Catra.
Glimmer lowers her end of the box, looking a bit winded as she puts her hands on her hips. "Carry and install." She shakes her head. "That's why I brought him. I'm not dealing with this shit." She looks at the man. "Sorry, babe."
Bow doesn't seem to dampen at all. "No problem! I'd actually been wanting to see one of these up close." He looks at the barren walls and lack of furniture. "Huh. You weren't kidding about this place." He mutters under his breath.
"You see? It's depressing!" Glimmer bursts out. It sounds like she's continuing some conversation they had dropped before.
Catra crosses her arms across her chest. "Would everyone stop judging my minimalist lifestyle?"
Glimmer side eyes Catra, shaking her head. "Lifestyle is one word for it."
Before she can get into it with the bratty woman—and maybe toss her out of Catra's apartment for good this time—Bow claps his hands loudly. "Catra, say you had a couch. Or anything to sit on." He clears his throat. "What direction would you want it to face so I can figure out where to hang your TV?"
"Did you say hang?"
He nods rapidly. "Don't worry, I brought a wall mount!" He furrows his brow. "Well, sort of. It brings its own wall mount and I have all the tools. It's going to be great!" She has never seen someone so excited by a home installation project.
She looks around at her bare walls, thinking. She'd honestly never thought of this place as a spot that she would make homey—it was meant to be a place to survive until her manuscript took off and she could afford something better. But maybe investing in her own comfort isn't the worst thing in the world, especially if it is on someone else's dime.
She points at one of the walls. "There."
Bow nods, giving her a thumbs up. Without much fuss, he starts opening the box, opening another small bag he brought with him that must have whatever else he needs to secure the TV. Meanwhile, Glimmer looks around the apartment again. "Do you have any chairs?"
"Nope." Catra sits down on the floor. "What's the deal here? Am I going to get someone claiming I have a stolen TV next week? Is your boss some type of drug lord?"
Bow and Glimmer both laugh, Glimmer sitting across from Catra and leaving Bow to assemble. "No drugs. Boss hates those, finds it to be an unrespectable trade." There's humor in her eyes as she takes in Catra. "I plead the fifth on the stolen TV though."
Catra genuinely can't tell if Glimmer is lying. Before she can call her out, Melog comes out of hiding, curling into her lap. She pets them, watching as they look way too curious about the box on the far side of the room. "Stay out of the box, Melog." She scolds lightly. Even still Melog meanders over, curiously eyeing Bow. "But seriously. No one just gives away free shit like that. And I'm not a charity case." Catra might be struggling but she can totally figure out her own shit. Probably. Maybe.
Glimmer is resolutely ignoring her in favor of snapping pictures of Melog darting between Bow's legs and making it that much harder for the man to do anything. She turns to Catra after a moment. "Look, I can't explain it any more than you can. I just follow orders. Boss isn't typically this soft about things but it isn't my place to ask questions." She shrugs. "You might as well enjoy it. No one is going to ask for it back if you say no."
Even if Glimmer does come back and asks for the TV that wouldn't be the end of the world. It's the money she can't return once she's spent it. "I don't know that I can trust you won't come hassling me for the money back."
"Well, Boss has more money than a normal person knows what to do with." Glimmer makes a face. "Oh! Also, Boss wanted me to tell you that the gifts come with no strings and to think of it as a tax write-off."
She shakes her head. When she looks up, Bow is almost done. The TV practically looks painted on the wall it's so thin. "Shit, that's a nice TV."
"Yup!" He packs up his stuff, including putting all of the protective packaging back in the box. "Glimmer, we have to make it out to Huntara's for that delivery now." He reminds the short woman.
She claps excitedly. "Yes! Some action. I feel like I haven't seen anything good in months."
Catra furrows her brow but doesn't ask. These two are just weird. "Can I trust that I actually won't see you two ever again this time?"
"And here I thought we were bonding." Glimmer says with a grin. "I'm done being a delivery girl so you can bet that you won't catch me doing this again. Nice meeting you though!"
"Same, I guess. Thanks for the TV."
"I'll let Boss know you like it." Bow adds in before grabbing the empty box and hauling it with him.
"Please tell your boss that I don't need any more gifts." She's not wild about being indebted to a stranger. It's such a weird situation she finds herself in.
"Yup, that too. Bye, Catra." The couple make their way out quickly.
She looks into her living room. It looks so weird, a huge TV hanging on the wall without anything else. She notices the screensaver is a paper with a quill and finds it odd. She kind of likes it. "Maybe I do need to buy some furniture."
Three
The next time Glimmer shows up, she shakes her head and tries to force the door closed. "I really can't accept any more gifts. This is absurd." The more Catra thought of it, the more she realizes there was something going on that is not above board. She'd be smart to stay away from it.
"Well, this one isn't for you." GLimmer grunts as she nudges the door. "Now let me in!"
To Catra's surprise, she does just that. Glimmer is like quicksilver, making it inside before she can blink. "What?"
She hands over a huge box. "It's for Melog."
"How do you know the name of my cat?" Catra is sure she didn't mention it the last time she'd barged into her life.
"It was written on the back of the picture." Glimmer sighs tiredly. "Boss would die for Melog and it's a valid position. Can't really fault that one." She shrugs like being attached to a cat you've never met is a normal thing. "The video I took of Melog is simply irresistible."
Catra sighs, curiosity winning her over. "What is it?"
"Scratch post, some food, treats, toys... I think there's a basket and a blanket too so you can carry Melog around in it."
"Tell your boss I say thank you. And that I don't need any more gifts." She repeats the mantra from last time, hoping it'll stick.
"I don't think Boss is going to stop unless it makes you uncomfortable. I think there's some attempt of a message in all this but I'm not sure what." Glimmer's tone is loaded, as if she knows exactly what her boss is trying to accomplish but isn't trying to out him.
Catra cringes. She doesn't need some old dude lusting after her. She hadn't really thought about Glimmer's boss that deeply but now she feels stupid for not realizing what was happening. "Well, I'm a lesbian." She informs flatly. "So, if it's something romantic he wants, he should really just take all this back." She shoves the box back into Glimmer's hands.
Glimmer laughs loudly, pushing the box back at Catra. "That's convenient because she's a lesbian too. A useless one." Glimmer points at the TV then at the box of cat treats. "Hence, the expensive and thoughtful gifts without an indication of what she's thinking."
She blinks at Glimmer. "A girl? Why won't she just introduce herself then?" Maybe she's old or ugly. Both, knowing Catra's luck.
"I don't know, she's being cagey about it. I think she's feeling shy." Glimmer rolls her eyes. "It happens to her sometimes. Not frequently in our line of work, but you know."
"Your line of work," Catra repeats, hoping that Glimmer will say something on the subject.
"You'll figure it out." She takes a step back. "If Melog doesn't feel like saying hi, then I'm going to go now." She stops her hand on the door frame. "Do you really feel skeezed out by the gifts? She'll stop if you're serious about it."
She sighs seriously thinking about it. Part of her token resistance is because she feels uncomfortable with the idea of being a charity case. "I don't want any expensive gifts." She qualifies. Now that she knows the person on the other side of these gifts is a woman, she can't deny she's curious. "Just no more electronics."
Glimmer nods. "Alright. Either way, I'll try to be out of your hair." She quirks an eyebrow. "Nice apron by the way." Catra looks down and realizes she's still in her uniform.
"It's for work. Waitressing isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know?"
Glimmer groans in sympathy. "Girl, been there. I love what I do so much better now. Pays better too."
"Think your boss will hire me?" She cracks the oke, only half serious.
"Oh no, she'd trip all over herself if you were in the office every day." Glimmer's lips twitch in amusement. "Bye, Catra. Hopefully, see you never."
"See ya, Sparkles."
Four
She's barely surprised when Glimmer knocks the next time. Catra is surprised, however, when she's only carrying two small boxes.
"I thought I was seeing you never?" Catra almost feels like she's gloating as Glimmer trudges in.
"Shut up." She's irritable, although it doesn't feel directed at Catra. "My skills are languishing from disuse because I have to run Boss's dumb ass errands." She presses her four fingers to her thumb as if making a puppet. "I can't send anyone else, Glimmer. What if Catra is afraid? You're the one she's seen the most it'll be weird if I send someone else." She rolls her eyes. "As if she isn't already being a weirdo."
"You're really selling her, you know." Maybe Catra is kind of warped but it does sound cute, this woman she's never met fretting about her comfort.
"Well, if she wanted good PR, she would have sent Bow." She grabs the larger box of the two and hands it over to Catra. “I had to help guess your size but I feel pretty good about it.”
She cautiously eyes the box and opens it. Inside are a pair of understated sneakers in her size. She touches the insole and it feels like they are made of clouds. Way better than her tattered pair. "These look so comfortable."
"Yeah, when I told Boss you moonlighted as a waitress, she figured a pair of comfortable shoes might be helpful." It's oddly thoughtful in a way that the gifts before didn't seem. Way more thoughtful than a gift from a stranger had any right to be.
"Tell her thanks. My work shoes are kind of a wreck so this is great." She sets down the shoes and looks at the other box. When she opens it she's immediately wary—inside is another box, one that's black and sleek. The type you might find jewelry in. She glances up at Glimmer, alarmed.
Glimmer raises her hands in surrender. "Don't look at me. She didn't tell me what was in this one."
Catra slides the box open and lets out a small gasp. Inside is a gorgeous fountain pen, the type that you usually get when you graduate or meet some professional marker. When she graduated with her college degree, her mother didn't bother coming. She feels a strange mix of flustered and undeserving. "Damn." She whispers as she looks at it. In the corner of the box, she sees a paper creased into the corner of the packaging. She slowly pulls on it and realizes it's a handwritten note. The writing is neat but big, the letters almost looking like they're in small caps.
Catra,
Please accept this conventional gift from an unconventional source. I don't know what you're writing, but I can tell you love it. I didn't mean to, but I stumbled on a few of the notes you kept in your purse when I was trying to figure out how to best return it to its owner. It's admirable to have a passion like that—and I could tell it was passion just from a few loose scraps of paper. Thank you, for accepting my gifts with kindness, as odd as they may seem.
-A
Catra stares at the note, agape. She'd forgotten about some of the notes she had stuffed in her purse—she always ends up with notes everywhere because she writes things down whenever an idea strikes. The tone of it is nothing like what she expected. It feels earnest and humble. Sweet. She'd thought someone sending gifts like this would be cocky or awkward. The last thing she'd expect is an admirer of her writing.
"What does it say?" Glimmer tiptoes as she tries to read the note over Catra's shoulder.
"No!" She clutches the note to her chest, glaring at the shorter girl. It feels private, a genuine expression of admiration that wasn't meant to be seen by anyone else. "If she'd wanted you to see it she would have showed you."
"Ugh, you're no fun. This is like the only payoff I get." She complains mildly but she doesn't push. GLimmer heads to the door like she always does after she finishes dropping off whatever it might be. "Alright, I have shit to do. Any last words for Boss?"
"Tell her thank you. Really. Especially for the note." It means more than the shoes and the pen. "Also, tell her that Melog has taken to sleeping in the basket, tucked under the blankets."
Glimmer squeals. "Oh my god, is that happening now? Can I see?"
Catra lets out a laugh and gestures for Glimmer to move deeper into the apartment. "There's a good chance. Let's check, Sparkles."
Five
The knocking on her door is thunderous, making her run to reach it before the hinges pop off.
"Good, you're here." Glimmer did not sound like that was a good thing. "I'm done with this shit." She complains, crossing her arm as she comes in. Behind her are several men with huge boxes, bigger than anything else that's been brought into her apartment. "Do you know how hard it is to coordinate a furniture delivery to a third-floor apartment?" Glimmer shakes her head continuing before Catra can respond. "Of course not, you hadn't even heard the word furniture before we showed up."
"I thought she'd gotten the picture? No big gifts?"
Catra feels a little disappointed by this. In the note, she'd thought she'd caught a glimpse of someone genuine. Someone who might understand. Catra might be stuck on the night shift making ends meet but she isn't looking to be bought by anyone. Maybe this woman doesn't see that.
"This actually did fall off the back of a truck so technically, it was free!" Glimmer points out as she directs the men to start assembling whatever it is. They are pulling out wooden legs and leather cushions, sorting them on the ground before starting assembly.
"Free? Off the back of a truck? Sounds shady as all hell."
Glimmer rolls her eyes. "Because everything up to now has seemed so normal?" She asks with a challenging stare.
Catra runs a hand through her hair, pushing a curl back into place. "You got me there." Nothing about this has been conventional or normal.
"She did say something about how you're probably always tired from being on your feet all night. Comfy shoes, a place to rest." Glimmer shrugs, gesturing toward what is now shaping up to be a couch in her living room. "I think it tracks in that sense. But she didn't buy this. At least, not in a store."
"That is not as comforting as you think it is." Catra shakes her head. "Is this woman just planning to send me things weekly for the rest of my life without ever meeting me?"
"I don't know how sugar babies work." Glimmer offers flippantly, leaning against the wall as she supervises the men.
"I'm not a sugar baby!" There's an edge of panic in her voice as she denies it. She hasn't met this woman, how could Catra be her sugar baby? Was she a sugar baby this whole time and she didn't realize it? That would make her really bad at it, wouldn't it?
Glimmer laughs. "I know that but I guess you don't." She eyes Catra, shaking her head before laughing again. "Look, you're a sweet girl and I'm glad that Boss has a crush, but I didn't join this organization to be a courier pigeon for the romantically impaired."
"I'm not romantically impaired either." She contests more hotly.
"Yeah, no you actually seem well adjusted. Boss on the other hand?" She winces and makes a so-so gesture with her hand. "Clearly needs some help."
"Well, I don't know what you think I can do about it. Maybe you should quit your job?"
"Please, do you know any other employer in Bright Moon that includes dental?"
"Shit, you have a dental plan?" Catra asks, momentarily distracted.
"Yeah. I had to have emergency tooth surgery last year. Zero out-of-pocket payments." She nods her head. "Besides, I do love the job. I just like to complain too." She grins before turning to look at the living room. The leather couch is built out across from the TV, with a small side table next to it. It actually looks like a living room for the first time. "Anyway, it's in your place, so I'm done now."
"See you next time, maybe?" Catra has started to look forward to Glimmer's visits, if only because it usually unravels something about her mysterious boss.
"Absolutely not. I am putting my foot down. Maybe she'll send Bow." Glimmer shakes her head ushering the men out, again taking all the packaging with them. "I have to admit I might miss seeing you though. Maybe I'll wander by in my free time."
Catra rolls her eyes. "I won't let you in."
"As if that's stopped me before."
And One
The knock on her door is gentle, but Catra isn't expecting anyone and it's been about a week since the last time Glimmer darkened her doorstep. She opens the door, expecting Glimmer or maybe Bow. What's waiting for her is something entirely different.
Her eyes widen as she looks up at the woman standing at her doorstep. She doesn't try to shove in like Glimmer has all these weeks, she just shifts her weight from side to side. Her eyes are sky blue, nerves tightening them around the edges as she sways. She's wearing a white button-down that looks unfairly good on her, highlighting her strong arms and proud back. Her head snaps up and her eyes lock on Catra, a wavering smile on her lips.
"Are you lost?" Catra blurts out. There's no way this blonde is meant to be in her doorway.
"Uh, no I don't think I am." She raises her hand to go behind her neck as she bites her lip gently. Catra feels an irrational urge to bite the woman's lip for her. "Catra, right?" She lets out a soft laugh and rolls her eyes self-deprecatingly. "I mean, I know that. I'm Adora. Glimmer's employer?" She asks uncertainly.
“You’re—Glimmer’s boss? ‘Boss?’” She puts the last word in air quotes.
"Yeah." She clears her throat. "I'm the one who sent you the gifts." She looks shy as she says it.
No way. There's no fucking way she's this lucky. "Do you have a wife?"
Adora sputters, blood rushing to her cheeks. "Absolutely not."
"DUIs? Other criminal charges?"
She hesitates for a moment. "I don't have a criminal record." The way she emphasizes the word tells Catra there's a story there. She sighs. "You know She-ra?"
"Duh. Of course, I know of the biggest mobster in the city." The police and larger companies were always putting out wanted posters, which was silly given they didn't even know what the kingpin actually looked like.
She winces. "Well, that's me." She gestures to herself. "Although, I prefer 'bandit' over 'mobster'. Hasn't caught on though."
"Oh shit." She looks at the woman again. She isn't old at all or ugly. And really, Catra could have suspected that she was in organized crime. Although, she never would have thought of someone as notorious as She-ra. "So, why did you send me the gifts?"
Adora looks almost embarrassed. "I mean, I found your purse and I wanted to return it. I'm not in the business of stealing from people who can't afford it, you know?" Her eyes look far away for a moment, a small smile on her lips. "I've never seen so much personality fit in a small clutch. You had your cat who is adorable and then you had some doodles. What really caught my attention were your notes. What are you writing?"
"I write screenplays. I'm shopping my manuscript around right now."
Adora's answering smile is devastatingly bright, knocking the wind out of Catra's lungs. "Screenplay." She murmurs to herself. "Well, the notes were dynamic and they had so much life to them, and then—" She strutters over her stream of thoughts. "—I mean, who has a right to look that good on a driver's license." She pushes through, red in the face as Catra smirks at her. "So anyway, I really wanted to give you your wallet back in person. But I got caught up with work and I had to send Glimmer. I didn't want you to worry about not finding it."
Adora is really fucking cute. "That explains the purse return, but not the gifts."
She lets out a sheepish laugh. "Well, the wallet looked really empty. I figured if nothing else you could spend it on your cat if you didn't need the money for more important stuff." She sighs. "Then Glimmer kept going on about how she'd never seen an emptier apartment, that it barely looked lived in. And I know it wasn't any of my business but I figured it could hurt to give you something for your living room." She blushes again. "And one gift turned to two and suddenly I had no idea how to approach you after I'd given you a bunch of stuff without even meeting properly."
"So what made you come here today finally?" She wishes Adora had shown up that very first day. It feels like a crime, not knowing that she was on the other end of the gifts.
She grins wide. "Glimmer said she'd murder me and become the boss herself if I asked her to deliver so much as a flower petal." She says it proudly, like attempted murder is something to celebrate. Which, given her job, maybe it is? Those are details for Catra to figure out later. "And she's right. This was getting a bit ridiculous so I thought I'd introduce myself officially."
"I'm surprised you're empty-handed." Catra can't help but joke.
"Well, I'm not technically." Adora brings one of her hands forward and presents Catra with a blue tulip. "Glimmer said you didn't want expensive gifts. The lady at the flower shops said these represented uniqueness." She swallows thickly. "I got it because I have a feeling I might not meet someone like you again."
It's so tooth achingly sweet and Catra's heart feels like it might vibrate out of her chest. She takes the flower, staring dumbly at the blonde. "Are you sure you aren't married?"
Adora laughs loudly at that. "No. Why do you keep asking me that?"
"There has to be a catch."
"Mob boss isn't big enough of a catch?" Adora's eyes crinkle when she smiles. Catra puts it on the list of things that are cute about her.
"Honestly, it's kind of hot." She readily admits. Adora's eyebrows shoot up in surprise but her shoulders drop in relief. Catra swings open her door. "Do you want to come inside?"