Chapter Text
“Can I have your ticket please?” Catra said in a bored voice, blowing a large pink bubble with her gum and letting it burst with a loud pop. The booth was way too hot, and this girl was way too perky for a time before noon.
“I don’t know, can you?” The blonde girl raised her eyebrows, smirking.
Catra narrowed her eyes, leaning forward off the edge of her seat. “What, are you an English teacher or something? Give me the f- give me the ticket already.” She had not gotten very much sleep the previous night and this was testing her nerves at a level she was not prepared for.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to talk to customers like that,” Blondie said, passing the ticket across the counter. “And I’m not an English teacher, I just appreciate good grammar.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Catra waved her hand, then glanced down at Blondie’s Bright Moon University sweatshirt. “Thank you for your business, and have a nice day, Princess.” Catra passed the park wristband over the counter, into the other girl’s waiting hand.
Blondie laughed at that. “You too,” her eyes flicked down to the ticket girl’s name tag, “Catra.”
And with a bright grin, she ran off to join her friends, leaving Catra to deal with the next customer.
“Hey, Wildcat!” Catra’s friend and manager, Scorpia, joined her in the break room, arms opened wide for a bear hug that Catra reluctantly accepted. “How’s your day going?”
“Alright.” Catra shrugged, returning to rummaging through her locker for a hair tie. “They still haven’t fixed the air conditioning in the ticket booth.”
“If it’s not fixed by tomorrow, I’ll do it myself,” Scorpia promised, going over to the communal fridge and pulling out her sandwich.
“Thanks, Scorp.” Catra finally wrestled a hair tie from her backpack and turned to face her friend with a small smile.
“So, any interesting customers so far today?” Scorpia asked through a mouthful of sandwich.
“Well, Entrapta tried to come steal bolts from the roller coasters again,” Catra said as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “Security got her, threatened to cut her hair off if she comes back. Same old, same old. And, uhh…. there was a girl who corrected me on my grammar?”
Scorpia’s body shook with laughter, and she literally slapped her knee. Catra hadn’t thought it was that funny.
“What exactly did she say?” Scorpia choked out after a minute, wiping tears from her eyes.
“Um, I said ‘Can I have your ticket please’, and she said, like, ‘I don’t know, can you?’” Maybe it was actually more funny than Catra had realized. “Like, who says that?”
“Oh, gosh, Wildcat, I-” Scorpia suddenly stopped laughing and set her sandwich down on the counter. “Wait, what did she look like? Describe her to me.”
“Blonde ponytail, big blue eyes, Bright Moon sweatshirt, about ye high?” Catra raised a hand to a point roughly two inches above her head. “Why do you want to know?”
Scorpia’s eyes brightened, and a smile spread across her face. “That’s Adora Grayskull!”
“Her name is Adorable?”
“No, Adora , silly.” Scorpia giggled, picking up her sandwich again. “She goes to my gym. She’s very nice.” Scorpia’s gaze flicked up to meet Catra’s eyes. “And single.”
Catra laughed incredulously, backing away until her back hit the lockers. “Oh, no no no. We are not doing this again.”
“Why not?” Scorpia protested, setting her sandwich aside and walking over to grasp Catra’s hands. “You haven’t dated anyone in forever.”
“I don’t need to date!” Catra snapped, yanking her hands away and walking away from the lockers, picking up Scorpia’s sandwich and taking a huge bite.
Scorpia ignored the antagonism and followed Catra to the fridge. “Of course you don't need to date. But don't you want to?”
Catra shook her head, taking another bite of the sandwich. “I'm fine on my own.”
Scorpia grabbed her sandwich out of Catra’s hands and downed the rest in one bite. “We’ll see about that, Wildcat.” Then she glanced at the clock. “Didn’t your break end five minutes ago?”
“Shit, you’re right.” Catra brushed the crumbs off her red ‘Etherian Adventure Theme Park’ shirt and headed for the ticket stand once more. She paused at the doorway, looking back to meet Scorpia’s eyes. “Scorp?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t do anything crazy.”
“I won’t,” Scorpia said with a wink. This did absolutely nothing to assure Catra, but she turned and left anyways.
The next morning at eleven sharp, Catra rolled up the ticket booth window to find Adora standing there, a huge grin on her face.
“Hi,” she said, stepping up to the counter. The Bright Moon sweatshirt was gone, replaced with denim cutoffs and a hideous blue and orange Hawaiian shirt. Her hair was still back in a Betty Cooper style ponytail.
“Hi, welcome to Etherian Adventure Theme Park, where happiness is guaranteed.” Catra smiled, closed-mouthed, as she unlocked the back door to the booth and stepped behind the counter. “ May I have your ticket?”
“Why yes, you may.” And she looked so pleased with herself that Catra wanted to lean over and smack the grin off her face.
“You sure you’re not an English major?” Catra asked, bending down to pull out a new box of wristbands and cutting the tape across the top with one long black fingernail.
“Definitely not.” Adora reached over and placed an elbow on the small counter between them, fingers tap tap tapping to a rhythm only she could hear. “I’m pre-med.” She shifted closer, trying to catch Catra’s eye. “What about you? I haven’t seen you around at BMU.”
“I’m at Horde Community,” Catra said as she ripped open the plastic bag and pulled out Adora’s wristband. “I’m an art major.”
“That’s really cool.” It was so innocent, those big blue eyes full of genuine interest.
Catra looked away, instead lifting Adora’s wrist and fastening the bright red band around it. “Let me know if you need any more help, and enjoy your Etherian adventure!”
“Hey, wait a second,” Adora said, not making any move away from the ticket booth. Not that it mattered, since she was the only one at the park.
“ What .” Catra responded in a tone flatter than soda left out in the sun for two days.
“Uh, what time does your shift end?” Adora’s fingers drummed against her thighs as if she was playing the piano.
“Why do you want to know?” Catra put one hand on her hip, eyes narrowing. “Wait, you didn’t talk to Scorpia, did you?”
“No?” Adora’s forehead wrinkled. “I mean, I said hi to her at the gym this morning, but we didn’t have a conversation. Why would you think that I had? And how do you even know her?”
God, this girl was obnoxious. “She’s my manager.” Catra tactfully ignored the first question.
“Oh.” The lines of Adora’s face softened, her gaze warming once again as she propped one elbow up on the counter. “Well then, I don’t suppose you’d want to-”
“Excuse you!” A middle aged woman with a wedge blonde haircut all but shoved Adora out of the way. “My family has been waiting for several minutes.”
“But you only just arri-”
“I’m the one here with three screaming children, and I get priority in this line, young lady,” the woman interrupted Adora.
Catra peered over the woman’s shoulder to find three children standing stiffly in silence behind her. “I’m sorry, ma’am, you can’t just cut in line. Adora was-”
“No, it’s fine. I should probably go ride some coasters or something anyways” Adora flashed a quick grin at Catra, reaching up to tighten her ponytail. “See you around.” And when the woman turned to fuss with her kid’s shirt, Adora mouthed ‘good luck’, those blue eyes sparkling. Catra watches as she leaves, her ponytail bouncing as she runs.
“Hello, ma’am?” This woman actually snaps her fingers in Catra’s face. “I’m over here.”
“Right, sorry. May I have your tickets?”
But as she’s fixing a wristband onto some sticky child’s wrist, Catra’s mind is firmly focused on her peppiest recurring customer. Why was Adora at an amusement park for the second day in a row, right at the opening, alone? What had she wanted to ask Catra?
And most importantly, was she going to come back?
“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Catra whined. She was sprawled across the couch in Entrapta’s basement, her work shirt pulled off and resting across her forehead like an artfully arranged damp towel. Entrapta was still hunched over her interconnected web of monitors and cords, typing at one keyboard with each hand.
“I will offer my advice if you allow me to record you, for posterity’s sake.”
“Ughhhhhhhh.” Catra tossed an arm over her eyes, curling her other arm around her stomach. “Fine.”
“Basement log day 13,” Entrapta said, lifting a small tape recorder to her mouth that Catra suspected had been recording the entire time. “Catra has come to me for advice, troubled by a mysterious customer named-” She paused to look over at Catra. “What is her name?”
“Adora,” Catra mumbled.
“Speak up for the recorder!” Entrapta had already turned back to her monitors, Catra no longer worthy of her attention.
“Adora Grayskull.”
Entrapta spun around in her chair, beaming. “I know her!” She squealed, flapping her hands excitedly. “We went to high school together! She always shows kind intentions toward others.”
Catra lifted her arm off her face, tilting her head back a little and smirking at Entrapta. “Yeah, she’s great, I’m sure. Polished, good grammar, possibly perfect…”
“That sounds like Adora!” Entrapta leaned in close, her attention fully captured now, hand recorder hovering over Catra’s face. “So, what is the issue?”
“There’s not an issue , exactly,” Catra explained, rolling onto her stomach and propping herself up on her elbows, her shirt falling gracelessly onto the floor. “She just… keeps coming by. The first time was two weeks ago, and she’s been by every day since then. She always arrives right when the park opens, and usually she’s by herself. She always says hi to me, and yesterday she even brought me a bagel for breakfast?”
“I do not understand the confusion. It seems as if she wants to be friends.”
“Yeah, but like, why ? What does she want from me?” Catra stuck her tongue out and growled a little. “Last week she even asked when I got off my shift, and I think she was going to ask if I was free. Like, is she some kind of assassin?”
“Based on extensive research, that sounds more like an expression of romantic interest.”
Catra laughed. “That’s obviously not right.” She glanced down to pick at a stain on the couch, and when she looked back up, Entrapta was waving a sheaf of printouts in front of her face.
“According to this pie chart, questions about scheduling indicated that the questioner wants to spend time with the person they’re asking about, and 95% of the time, this is desired to be romantic.”
“Well, Adora is the 5%.” Catra pushed the papers away from her face. “Trust me. She’s some kind of pre-med muscular blonde goddess who spends way too much money at a crappy oceanside amusement park. She’s not someone who would be interested in me.” Someone with a smile like that would never like Catra.
Entrapta watched Catra with unblinking eyes. “Subject appears to display romantic interest in discussion topic Adora Grayskull.”
“Wha- I do not!” Catra retorted, moving to a sitting position and crossing her arms over her chest. “You can acknowledge that someone is attractive without being attracted to them.”
“So, you are not attracted to Adora?”
“Mmm.”
“Inconclusive answer. Subject is likely trying to push aside affections due to belief that it is not deserving of affection.”
“I’m she , Entrapta, not it,” Catra snapped, picking her shirt up and tugging it over her head. “And as you’re no help, I’ll go talk to someone else.”
“Once again, the subject runs from the truth,” Catra heard Entrapta say as she slammed the door shut behind her.
The day after her talk with Entrapta, Catra for once found herself stationed inside the park. Lonnie was out sick, and Scorpia had rotated the shifts so that Catra found herself scanning wristbands in the line for Etheria’s most popular rollercoaster, Eternia, which looped over the ocean and sent sea spray up into the rider’s faces (according to Scorpia, at least; Catra had never ridden it). Idly, Catra wondered if whoever was stationed in the ticket booth today would find the bag of gummy bears stuck against the underside of the counter.
And as she glanced up at the darkening sky, Catra wondered if Adora had stopped by.
“Catra?”
Catra turned back to the winding line of thrill seekers, at the very front of which stood a familiar blonde, flanked by the two friends she’d come with on the very first day.
“Hey, Adora.” Catra lifted her scanner, pointing it at Adora's nose until she winced and looked away. “Wristband, please?”
“Why aren't you at the ticket booth?” Adora asked, holding out her wrist to be scanned. “I brought something for you, but, um. They wouldn't let me bring it in. I thought you might be sick.” She squinted down at Catra. “Are you?”
“No, I'm fine. Just filling in for someone.” And maybe Catra batted her eyelashes a little, but it was just instinct. “Miss me?”
“Maybe.” And maybe Adora's face was a little red, but that could have been from roller coaster fear or something.
“You two are holding up the line,” the short Asian girl next to Adora scoffed, holding out her wrist to be scanned. “Adora, is this the girl who-”
“Yeah, yeah, this is the girl who works at the ticket booth with the bad grammar, which is all I have said about her, right?” Adora said through gritted teeth.
“Totally.” The black boy in a crop top next to her winked, holding out his wrist to be scanned. “Nice to meet you, Catra. We have heard absolutely nothing about you!” He winked again, and Catra barely held back a laugh, opting for raised eyebrows instead.
“No phones, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, the park is not liable for any injuries including those related to the ocean. Capisce?”
“Capisce.” Adora smiled, and as she walked past Catra onto the coaster, Catra felt Adora slip something into her free hand.
Only after the coaster zoomed away did Catra look down at the small plastic baggie of gummy bears. Catra really couldn’t resist smiling at that. Adora had seen her eating gummy bears that one time and remembered it, held it close, and did something about it.
Maybe, like Entrapta said, Adora did want to be friends.
Even though it started to rain, Adora dragged her friends back to the coaster another six times, right up until the park shut down for the day.
Maybe, like Entrapta said, Adora wanted to be a little bit more.
“Catra, hi!”
She was there again, third week in a row. She still managed to surprise Catra every day, with her bright grin and a drink clutched in her hand.
“You know you’re not allowed to bring outside food and drinks into the park.”
“Yeah, I know.” Adora set it on the counter between them, bouncing with excitement. Catra flushed slightly as their fingers brushed. “It’s for you. I didn’t know what flavor you’d like, so I just went with my favorite.”
Catra took a loud slurp. Strawberry milk tea with boba - not her style, but not something she’d ever say no to. “You don’t have to keep buying me all this stuff. I promise I do actually eat food,” she said as she took Adora’s ticket.
“I want to!” Adora twirled a strand of hair around her finger, cheeks heating. “Hey, Catra, I was wondering if you maybe-” She paused to check behind her for other customers, then continued. “Wanted to go to the park with me sometime, maybe?”
Catra raised her eyebrows. “I go to the park every day, Adora. I work here.”
“Yeah, but not with me.” Adora attempted a casual lean against the wall of the ticket booth, which did not look at all casual but did look incredibly cute. “I thought maybe it could be, like, a date.” Seeing Catra’s widened eyes, she hastened to add, “Only if you want, I mean.”
“I want!” Catra’s face burned. “I mean, um. I would like to go on a date with you, yes. And I’ll pay.”
“You don’t have to-”
“I want to.” Now it was Catra grinning, throwing Adora’s own words back at her. “Here, give me your hand.” And Catra hated how fastening that wristband on Adora’s wrist made her heart stutter, but maybe she loved it a little too.
“When are you free?”
“Tomorrow night at 7? We can meet here.”
Adora beamed, nearly glowing with excitement. “It’s a date, then.”
“I guess it really is.”
They just smiled at each other for a moment.
And then there were other customers, and Adora was turning and running into the park, and Catra was watching until she was out of sight.
Catra could be alone, she knew, but maybe she didn’t have to be.