Chapter Text
She walks into her advanced literature class with some pep in her step. This was her last semester taking all the dreaded prerequisites before she could jump into her major, but she managed to squeeze in this fun elective—fun to her at least. She loves to read, and the professor is queer, so they're supposed to be analyzing a queer perspective which she really—
She stops in her tracks as she enters the classroom, her eyes zeroing in on a problem. Her gut drops when she spots someone sitting in her preferred seat. The first hiccup of the semester and it was only her second class of the day!
She contemplates just leaving it alone. But that seat is just so good—in the third row you can hear the professor, see the board clearly, but you don't have to deal with the stigma of being a first-row nerd. Additionally, the inside seat gives you room to spread your legs because you only have one neighbor, and you don't get hit with the AC vent. It's the perfect seat for productivity and learning. Adora is just going to have to ask this girl to move, she resolves.
"Excuse me. Would you mind scooting one over?" She asks politely, hoping that will be enough for this semester to continue to roll on smoothly. No such luck.
The girl doesn't even look up from her phone. "Ha, no I'm literally sitting here, you take the next seat over." She volleys back.
Adora's about to protest but she's caught looking at just how gorgeous the seat thief really is. She's sitting with her legs spread in distressed jeans and boots. She's leaned back, elbows propped up on her chair as she smirks up at Adora. She has a cute, upturned nose, gorgeous eyebrows, and a soft jawline that looks entirely too kissable.
The girl continues to stare at her expectantly until Adora realizes she's been stunned to silence. She considers her options and decides to press forward, ignoring her attractiveness.
She takes a deep breath, trying to focus on a part of the girl that won’t make her red in the face. "This is my favorite seat. I sit here every semester when I have an auditorium class, in every class since freshman year. And—"
"What are you now?" She asks as she looks down at her nails nonchalantly.
Adora picks up steam, it seems like the girl is receptive to listening. "Finishing up sophomore year—anyways, I think it'll be best if—"
"What's your name?" The infuriating girl interrupts her again.
Adora throws her a glare. "Adora, now will you please—" She might be screeching now but she just wants to get a full sentence out before—
"No blondie." The girl says shortly, but her eyes dance with mirth. She seems to revel in Adora’s slack-jawed expression.
"What—then why did you let me work up to asking again?" She asks, confused. For a moment there she thought she would get her seat.
"Because I wanted to see what you'd say about it." Her grin turns impish as she basically admits to just toying with Adora.
Adora feels angry now. She's never been played like this before, especially by some girl she’s just met. "I—"the bell rings signaling the start of class and Adora doesn't have her seat or her notebooks open.
"You aren't getting your seat today, princess. But it was fun distracting you." She leers.
Adora huffs, taking the seat behind the girl glaring at the back of her head with all her might. She will get that seat and defeat this smug girl, even if it kills her.
After trying to get to her seat first a few times and failing, she's decided that she needs a new tactic. She's showing up right as the other class ends so she can swoop in and leave the annoyingly attractive seat thief on the outside looking in. Adora would get the last laugh today!
As the stream of students from the previous class filters out, Adora practically shoves her way in, paranoid that the other girl will somehow still beat her even though Adora’s the first one into the auditorium.
And then her nightmares come true, and she's sitting there just oozing confidence and smugness which lights Adora’s soul on fire. It's unfair that she can sit there so cocky and victorious while Adora can't help but think of how hot she is—
"What are you doing here?" She demands, staring as the girl is somehow in her seat, rolling her pen between her fingers.
"Is the princess upset that she can't get what she wants?" The girl taunts.
Adora can feel the rage boiling under her skin, begging to be let out. "Listen you—"
"Catra" she supplies smugly.
"Catra," she says her name like a curse. "I just want to sit in my seat I don't know why that's so difficult for you."
"It's not your seat." She replies evenly, humor dancing in her eyes. "There aren't assigned seats."
"But how did you beat me! I came early just to make sure—" She cuts herself off turning red at how much she exposed herself.
"Oh, princess you didn't know?" She coos, her eyes racking up and down Adora's frame. She ignores whatever feeling that invokes and focuses on her anger instead. "I'm in the class right before this one too. So you're never going to get here before me."
Adora groans audibly. "You're evil." She tells Catra who just laughs at her as Adora moves to sit behind her for the third week straight.
So Adora tries a new approach. Sitting behind Catra has given her the data points she needs to implement a new strategy.
She knows that Catra loves everything having to do with chocolate, hates coffee, that her handwriting is surprisingly loopy and pretty for a girl who looks so badass, that Catra's really smart—she always writes down the correct answer in her notebook before the professor even finishes asking the question—but she's really shy about public speaking and—
Anyways.
Adora has her notes compiled for research purposes only. She'll do something nice for Catra and it will break through Catra’s evil, evil, heart and she will get her seat back. It has to work.
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar anyway.
She walks straight up to Catra, her offerings shaking slightly in her hand.
"Oh, hey Adora." She greets, leaning forward in her chair. Today she's wearing a leather jacket she only wears on Thursdays, but it's been haunting Adora’s dreams nightly.
"I brought you something." She says as she bites her lip.
"Did you now?" The way Catra’s lips wrap around the words feels suggestive, but Adora can't even begin to explain why.
"Yes." She nods, placing a chocolate croissant and a hot chocolate in front of Catra.
"Why this? Why not a coffee." She eyes Adora suspiciously as if Adora would poison her or something. Which, isn't a terrible idea—
"I overheard you say you don't like coffee." She explains, feeling slightly awkward at fessing up to overhearing Catra’s conversations.
Catra eyes her for a moment more before relaxing into her seat, tugging on her leather jacket a little bit. "Thanks." She picks up the croissant and takes a bite, eyes not leaving Adora's. She continues to eye the other girl expectantly. "Anything else princess?"
Adora's silent for a beat more, her face feeling redder by the minute as she realizes her plan was doomed to fail from the start.
Catra catches on and like always goes right for the jugular. "Ooohh you were hoping I'd give you your precious seat, right?" She teases, her body turned so she's fully facing Adora now.
"No! I wasn’t." She denies it, even though there’s no other reasonable explanation for why she brought Catra a treat before class. "I was just trying to be nice!"
Catra scoffs. "Yeah, yeah, I believe that." She leans her head forward onto her hand. "I can't be bribed princess, you have to try harder than that."
Adora barely maintains her composure slamming her books a little too loud on the seat behind Catra. She can hear Catra laughing a soft thing that can hardly belong to such an evil human.
She resolves to ignore Catra—at least when Catra's paying attention. The second-best seat is the one behind her, so Adora can't help but notice her when she's in class.
She smells so nice and the little noises of acknowledgment or amusement she makes under her breath are so distracting, that Adora has no hope of really ignoring her. The more she sits behind Catra, the more she realizes she's funny, smart, and witty with a wickedly dry sense of humor. If she wasn’t actively terrorizing Adora about her seat, Adora might even say it would be nice to be her friend. Or something.
When she walks into the auditorium that day, she does a double take. She doesn't see Catra’s wild curls and ripped jeans where she expects them. Instead, Catra is sitting next to her usual seat, looking nervous of all things.
Adora slows her pace as she gets to the third row, grip tightening on her notebook as she looks uncertainly at Catra.
"Hey Adora." She says softly, her face strangely vulnerable. "How are you?"
"Um I'm... good?" She says with a confused tilt of her head. "Catra, what's going on?"
"I realize that maybe I was a little hard on you." She concedes. "So this is me apologizing." She points to the chair.
Adora now realizes that it has a snack on it—a bagel smothered in cream cheese and a coffee. Adora’s favorite, which she’s brought into class exactly twice this semester. She looks at Catra, stunned.
Before she can respond, Catra continues. "I thought that things between us were fine and then you started ignoring me. I talked to a friend that pointed out that maybe you didn't appreciate my flirting style. So, I'll just go sit in the back now." She finishes quietly, eyes downcast.
Before Catra can turn around fully, Adora grabs her hand. It's soft and warm and does things to Adora's heart that should be illegal.
"Wait. That was—you were flirting with me?" Adora says disbelievingly. There's just no way someone as hot and smart as Catra likes her.
She notices Catra shrinking under the scrutiny, looking nothing like the confident woman Adora knows her to be. She doesn't like it.
Adora squeezes Catra’s hand reassuringly. "I didn't realize." She admits.
Catra freezes for a moment. "Well, that's kind of awkward."
"What were you hoping would happen? Like besides teasing me mercilessly?" She grins and Catra relaxes a fraction.
"I don't know maybe you'd threaten to sit in my lap to shove me out of the chair and I'd just let you and it would somehow work out?" She furrows her brow. "To be honest I didn't think much farther than how hot you are when you're mad."
It’s Adora’s turn to smirk. "You think I'm hot?"
To Adora’s delight, Catra sputters and flushes bright red, and—yeah maybe she can understand why Catra was having fun before.
"Yeah. So um, class is about to start I better go." She nods for Adora to sit down but instead Adora stands closer.
"I don't want the seat anymore." She says resolutely.
Catra’s eyes widen in disbelief. "No? You've been badgering me about that thing for ages!"
"I'm thinking, maybe you stay in your seat and I sit next to you?" She says, hoping that she's reading this right for the first time since the semester started.
Catra gives her a soft smile that makes Adora think that giving up her seat this semester is totally worth it.
"I'd love that princess."
They both sit down and Catra's leg brushes against her. Adora doesn't think she'll be able to pay attention in class at all.
Totally worth it.