Work Text:
It’s a bad day.
First off, Adora woke up late and a little bit hungover, had to rush to get ready, and then found her car with a parking ticket left on it. Then work was a drag, her misogynist asshole coworker was even more of a misogynist asshole than usual, and then she got stuck in traffic on her way home.
By the time she pulls up in front of her apartment building, Adora is ready to drop. She traipses into the building, says a less-than-enthusiastic hello to old lady Razz, and pushes the elevator button at least ten times before it shows up.
When the doors finally open, she drags herself into the elevator and waits for it to take her up to her apartment so she can crawl into bed and hope tomorrow is better.
The doors are just shutting when someone sticks their arm between them, making them pull open again. Adora rolls her eyes, because of course something else would happen to delay her reunion with her bed. She ignores the other person as they push the button for whatever floor they’re headed to, and hopes that it’s not a lower floor than hers so she doesn’t have to stop again.
Slowly, the elevator whirrs to life and pulls upwards. To add another cherry on top of Adora’s shitty day, the music playing through her headphones cuts out. Adora pulls her phone out of her pocket, but it’s completely dead.
Whatever. At least she’s almost home.
Or so she thinks. The elevator judders to a halt, but the doors don’t open. Adora frowns, pushing the open door button, but nothing happens.
“Oh, no,” Adora mutters to herself, pushing the button again, “not today. Please no.”
Adora starts hammering the button, hoping that the doors will somehow respond, but she stops when she realises there’s another person in the elevator with her. She turns around, hoping that she doesn’t look insane, and meets the gaze of the most gorgeous woman she’s ever seen.
Flawless golden-brown skin, a dusting of freckles across cheeks, side of the most perfect mouth tilted up in a half-smirk are the first things Adora registers. Then she looks up and meets heterochromatic eyes, and realises she knows this beautiful stranger.
Well, kind of. Not personally, anyway. But she’s seen her face in all the magazines and on the billboards around the city. Catra, the most sought after and very first openly lesbian supermodel in the modelling industry, is leaning against the opposite side of the elevator, watching her in amusement.
Adora isn’t exactly the best around beautiful women. The last time she tried talking to a girl she found attractive, she tried to say ‘are you having a good day’ and ended up asking her if she was having a good gay. And now the universe has decided to stick her in a broken elevator with a literal supermodel.
Adora catches a look at herself in the elevator’s mirror. She looks completely exhausted, and no doubt she’s probably sweaty after the multiple personal training sessions she’d carried out today.
Of course the universe would pick today to trap her in an elevator with a supermodel.
She feels Catra’s gaze leave her, and chances another look up. Catra is pulling her phone out of her pocket, and a few moments later, she puts it up to her ear. The elevator stays silent for a couple more seconds, but then she speaks, and Adora thinks her voice is just as beautiful as her face.
“Hey, Scorpia,” Catra says into the phone, “yeah, I’m on my way up to your place but I think the elevator broke down.”
Adora hears the quiet murmur of a voice on the phone, but she can’t make out what the person is saying. She can work it out by Catra’s next response.
“No, don’t worry, I’m fine,” Catra says, and she’s silent for a few moments before she shrugs and says, “no, some girl is in here too. I don’t know. Yeah, that’d help. I’ll see you in a little while. Hopefully. Bye.”
She hangs up the phone, and Adora quickly tears her gaze away, pretending to be very interested in the elevator buttons.
“Do you want to call someone?”
For a moment, Adora doesn’t realise that the attractive supermodel is talking to her. But then she realises there’s nobody else except herself and Catra in the elevator, and she tries to respond before she looks like some kind of weirdo.
“Uh…” Adora looks down at Catra’s outstretched phone, then up at the beautiful woman holding it out. She doesn’t know who to call – the only number she knows off by heart is Glimmer’s – but she takes the phone and flashes an awkward smile. “Thanks.”
She slides over to the other side of the elevator and dials Glimmer’s number. She waits as the phone rings, and rings, and rings… and then immediately goes to voicemail.
“Sorry, uh,” Adora looks up to Catra as she pulls the phone away from her ear, “do you mind if I text? My roommate almost never answers the phone when she knows who’s calling.”
Catra shrugs, and it’s effortlessly cool. “No problem.”
Adora nods, tearing her gaze away from the overwhelmingly attractive woman to type in Glimmer’s number and send a text.
Oh my god Glimmer the elevator broke down on my way up and you’ll never guess who I’m trapped with!!! Catra!!! THE SUPERMODEL!!!
Oh also it’s Adora btw hahaha
SUPERMODEL!!!
She deletes the text thread immediately after all three messages send, and she passes Catra’s phone back over to her.
“Thanks,” Adora says, “I usually get home around now, so it would’ve taken Glimmer a couple hours to worry where I am.”
She doesn’t know why she’d given Catra that extra piece of useless information, but Catra doesn’t seem too bothered about it. In fact, she shrugs again and offers up something of her own.
“I’m just here visiting my friend,” Catra says, “but she’d send out a search party if I was five minutes late, so…”
Adora laughs politely, and nervously. She doesn’t know how to act around gorgeous women as it is. Never mind one whose literal career is being gorgeous.
“Anyway, she said she’d go notify the building manager,” Catra says casually, “we should be out of here in no time. I’m Catra, by the way.”
Adora pulls the words I know right back from the tip of her tongue. The last thing she wants is to creep out the woman who is literally trapped with her. “I’m Adora.”
“Hey, Adora,” Catra says, and Adora almost swoons at how amazing her name sounds in Catra’s voice. “So, did you just get finished with a workout or something?”
“Why, do I smell?” Adora blurts out, self-consciously sniffing her own armpit. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t think I’d get trapped in an elevator with someone…”
Catra laughs, and Adora is hit with the sudden realisation that she just sniffed her own armpit in front of a supermodel. “Uh, no. I asked because you’re wearing workout clothes.”
“Oh,” Adora realises, and her face feels embarrassingly hot, “right. To answer your question, I’m a personal trainer, so… I kind of just got done with multiple workouts.”
“Not surprising with arms like that,” Catra says casually, and Adora is so surprised by the compliment that she almost doesn’t hear what Catra says next. “Were you an athlete in school or something?”
“Yeah,” Adora says, trying to keep cool, “I played soccer and did track. Sports were always my passion, and I got into weight training when I was a teenager. I figured there was no better career path than following my passion, you know?”
Catra hums quietly in response, and Adora is almost brave enough to ask her for her number. But then she remembers that her phone is dead in her pocket, she doesn’t have a pen or paper to write it down, and on top of that she’s incredibly socially awkward.
Instead, she sits down on the probably filthy elevator floor and says, “I wonder how long it’s going to take to get out of here.”
Surprisingly, Catra sits down too. She laughs softly and asks with a devastatingly gorgeous smirk, “bored of my company already?”
Adora knows she’s blushing so badly that she probably somewhat resembles a tomato right now, but she tries to play it cool. “Maybe you need to start asking some interesting questions.”
Catra looks mildly impressed by her response, but then she smirks and Adora realises she’d basically opened herself up to a Q&A with the hottest supermodel on the planet.
“Okay,” Catra says, humming in thought, “if you could get transported to any fictional universe, which one would you pick?”
It’s not a terrifying question – she’d almost expected who’s your celebrity crush – so Adora relaxes.
“I don’t know,” she answers, “most fictional universes have some kind of terrifying monster or great big war to fight. And all I want from life is a little house, a girlfriend, and maybe a couple pets.”
Catra raises her eyebrows. “Interesting.”
“Let me ask a question now,” Adora says, and she can’t entirely believe her own confidence, “if you could be anything, career wise, what would you be?”
“I’d work with animals,” Catra says, “I mean, I love the job I have, but if my life had to go an entirely different path… I’d choose that.”
It’s an answer Adora hadn’t expected. To be honestly, she figured Catra would just say her current career. She travels the world and makes millions just from looking pretty. Adora goes to ask her something else – she’s not going to have any chance after those elevator doors open – but Catra’s phone buzzes in her pocket and she pulls it out.
She reads the message on her screen with a raised eyebrow and snorts with laughter. Adora wonders what’s so funny, but then Catra holds the phone out in her direction. Adora’s stomach drops slightly, realising that Glimmer has the number to that phone. And Glimmer’s favourite hobby is teasing Adora.
“Your friend responded to whatever you sent,” Catra says, “and she says not to embarrass yourself in front of the hot supermodel.”
Adora cringes, taking the phone from Catra and already starting to plan out the angry rant she’s going to direct right at Glimmer the moment she gets home. She also vows to take the next opportunity that arises to annoy her best friend. Maybe like eating her leftover takeout, even that’s totally against Adora’s strict training diet. Right now, though, she sends a scathing THANKS SHE READ THAT text and then apologises to Catra.
“Sorry,” she says, “you probably get a lot of people, like… making everything about your career. Treating you like some kind of conquest, you know? I didn’t want to come off like that, but…”
“You didn’t,” Catra says, and when Adora chances a look up at her, there’s a small smile on her face, “I mean, you came off a little awkward, but in a cute way.”
“Right,” Adora lets out an embarrassed laugh, “to be honest, I’m like, really single. Like, I can barely even talk to women I’m attracted to.”
Catra smirks easily. “You’re attracted to me?”
Adora realises what she’d said and cringes even more. Case in point, she thinks to herself, and gets ready to write this whole interaction off as a failure. Maybe she should’ve said yes to Glimmer when her best friend offered to give her some lessons on flirting. Clearly, she needs it.
“I didn’t mean for it to come out like that,” Adora cringes, “or, you know, at all.”
Catra smiles quietly to herself, and there’s a mischievous spark in her eyes. Adora expects her to say something, maybe not something bad but something embarrassing for Adora for sure. But instead, she tucks her phone back into her pocket.
“Want to play rock paper scissors?”
That mischievous glint is still shining in her multicoloured eyes, and Adora wonders if that was an innuendo of some kind. She’s bad at reading women, but she’s especially bad at reading women who are absolutely out of her league.
“You know,” Catra says, “just to pass the time.”
“Sure,” Adora says, trying to relax again, but now all of that is out in the open it proves impossible. She shifts to face Catra, still not sure if she’s actually serious, but then the elevator jolts and Catra lets out the most adorable little noise and grabs Adora’s arm tightly. Adora feels nervous butterflies in her stomach at the sudden contact.
The elevator stills again, and suddenly Catra is the one looking embarrassed. She lets go of Adora’s arm, blushing and shuffles away from her slightly.
“Okay,” Catra says quietly, “that was embarrassing. Sorry. It just—”
She stops talking when the elevator moves again, squeezing her eyes shut. Adora is the one to make the first move, sliding over to the other woman. She doesn’t think about it at all when she puts an arm around her in an attempt to comfort her.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Adora says, “we’re probably just trapped between floors. It’ll be the maintenance guy moving it.”
Catra blinks one eye open – the amber one – and winces as the elevator jolts again. “I know. It’s just…”
“You can’t help thinking that we’re going to end up plummeting to our deaths,” Adora says, and when Catra opens her eyes long enough to give her a deadpan stare, she realises, “sorry, not helping. It’ll just be the maintenance guy. Don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay,” Catra says quietly, “you’re right. Sorry for being so lame.”
“It’s okay,” Adora says, and she realises that she’s had her arm around a supermodel for a whole entire minute without freaking out. She remembers something that Bow told her once, that Adora is the most comfortable when someone needs help, and realises that he was completely right. “Takes the attention off me being lame.”
The joke actually makes Catra laugh, and Adora smiles proudly. Catra grips to her tightly as the elevator jolts downwards again, but she doesn’t seem as terrified anymore.
“I’d appreciate it,” Catra starts, gritting her teeth as the elevator keeps stopping and starting, “if you didn’t tell any tabloids about me being such a wimp. Thanks in advance.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Adora says, “but I will tell my clients at work tomorrow that I saved a supermodel from plummeting to her death. Just to make myself sound cooler than I am.”
Catra snorts, but when Adora meets her gaze, she’s smiling. “You know, confidence looks good on you.”
Naturally, any confidence she did have flies out of the window for an awkward, stammered, “oh, uh—I mean—thanks.”
Catra laughs quietly at her reaction, and she sits up as the elevator drops one last time and then the doors start to creak open. She jumps up, and Adora wonders if it’s because Catra doesn’t want anyone to see her cuddled up with some random woman. But then Catra holds out her hand and says, “come on.”
Adora takes her hand and lets Catra help her up, and after a few lingering moments, she lets go. The elevator doors finally open fully, revealing the old, balding repair guy standing with Glimmer, Bow, and a tall, muscular woman with a short crop of blonde hair.
“Oh my god, wildcat,” the woman rushes forwards and pulls Catra in for what looks like a bonecrushing hug, “are you okay? God, you must’ve been so scared. I bet you’re hungry! You were probably starving in there. Hey, I’ll make you some snacks…”
The woman continues on like that, and Adora tunes her out as she heads over to join Bow and Glimmer. Glimmer looks slightly impressed. “To be honest, I expected an awkward silent Adora to walk out of there.”
“Glad to know you were worried about me,” Adora says, and in a lower voice she adds, “I didn’t appreciate that text you sent.”
“I told her not to,” Bow says, holding his hands up, “but someone doesn’t listen.”
Adora glances over his shoulder and sees Catra saying something to the tall woman who’d met her at the elevator doors. She quickly thanks the repair guy and takes one last look at the gorgeous woman before following her friends towards the stairwell.
“Hey!”
Adora stops dead, hand gripping the stairwell’s door handle. She turns around in surprise and sees Catra walking towards her. Bow and Glimmer exchange a look and then Bow grabs a smirking Glimmer by the arm and says quickly, “we’ll meet you back at the apartment, Adora.”
Adora watches as the two of them slip through the doors to the stairwell, and she just barely catches Glimmer’s loud, “oh my god,” before the doors shut behind them.
Then, she turns to face Catra. She smiles, suddenly nervous, and says, “hey.”
Catra raises her eyebrows, folding her arms across her chest. “Well?”
“Um,” Adora frowns, because Catra is the one who stopped her from leaving, “well, what?”
“Okay, seriously?” Catra laughs quietly. “You really are bad with women you’re attracted to, huh?”
Adora blushes, rolling her eyes. “Okay, did you stop me just to embarrass me, or…?”
“I stopped you,” Catra says, “because you were trying to disappear without asking me out.”
“You…” Adora blinks in surprise, “you want me to ask you out?”
“Oh my god,” Catra laughs, reaching out and pushing her lightly, “duh. But I guess I have to do everything myself around here, huh?”
Adora’s stomach flutters anxiously, because that’s a sign even she can’t second guess. She smiles, rolling her eyes slightly, and says, “Catra… would you like to go out with me sometime?”
“Adora,” Catra says, “I would love to.”
“Okay, suddenly the worst day of my life just turned into the best,” Adora says, and then realises she’d said that out loud, “wait, I didn’t mean for that to come out.”
Catra laughs softly. “You’re a dumbass, you know that?”
“Trust me, I’ve been told. Like this one time—”
“Just give me your number, dummy,” Catra says, “you can tell me all the other instances of dumbassery later.”
Adora smiles, taking Catra’s outstretched phone. “It’s a date.”