The Nyanny - Ch 8

Rating: T

Relationships: Catra/Adora

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Modern Etheria (She-Ra), mutual pining, fluff, hurt/comfort, Adora and Adam are siblings, Pov Catra, Pov Adora, Adora is bad at feelings, lesbian disaster Adora, lesbian disaster Catra, Adora has issues, Adora has a big family, Catra goes to therapy, Catra has a great mum, Adora has a prosthetic arm, Past minor character death, Amputee Adora

Finn was the centre of Adora's world. She worked so hard to juggle her father's company and being a single mother but she couldn't accept help from just anyone. But she would do anything to make sure Finn got what they needed. She just never thought that this new addition would be just what she needed as well.

--

The weather was warming up and Catra couldn’t wait for the hot summer months. She loved the warm sunlight for napping but she couldn’t wait to get a chance to go to the beach. She had such sweet memories of her childhood when she would spend all summer at the beach with her friends. They would swim all day and then spend fifty cents on a lemonade icy pole just to cool down on the walk home. It was days like that which made her always love the warmth of summer. 

The photos she took that summer were the reason she fell in love with photography, looking at those blurry images of smiling faces reminded her of how it felt to be in those moments. Since then, she strived to capture those sweet moments filled with nostalgia. 

Catra carefully dressed Finn in lighter clothing to help them keep cool. She laid out a few options and Finn picked their outfit. They were wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a baggy top that had the round face of a narwhal on the chest. Finn always looked tiny when they wore baggy clothing but this shirt in particular looked like it might actually belong to Ms Grey. 

Catra wondered how Adora would look wearing the shirt, it was hard to imagine but she would like to see it. 

Finn’s dentist appointment was the first thing on their agenda and it was making Finn nervous. Finn was scared of the dentist because they believed that they would have a cavity and need a filling. Catra did her best to reassure them that because they always brushed their teeth they wouldn’t have to have a filling at all but they were still worried. 

Catra promised Finn that she would be with them the whole time and that seemed to help. Finn held her tail during the whole car ride to the appointment, running their little fingers through the longer fur at the tip as they looked out the window quietly. When Catra took them out of their car seat they refused to walk themselves inside as they buried their face into Catra’s neck to hide. Catra didn’t fight it, just purring to sooth them as she carried them into the building.  

The dentist office was fancy and it looked a little like a space ship, it was high tech and clinical, no wonder Finn was nervous. The man at the front desk was welcoming and prompt to get them signed in as Catra held Finn. Catra found a seat and adjusted Finn on her lap to cuddle. There were other kids here but none of them seemed keen to play with the toy as they stayed close to their parents. Catra looked at the other children and noticed they were looking at Finn enviously. She knew from her experience with kids that some children weren’t allowed to show that they were scared and would not be comforted even if they did. One lizard folk child was trying to get their mothers attention while she looked at her phone and Catra wished she could give them what they wanted. But it wasn’t her place to do that. Catra could remember her own aversion to the dentist when she was young and she wanted it to be a positive experience for Finn. 

Juliet stood nearby as she always did when Catra and Finn were out of the house together. The waiting room was reasonably large and full of other people so Juliet was standing close. Catra had originally thought it was embarrassing to have a body guard following them around but she liked Juliet and it felt normal now that they knew each other better. 

The dental assistant called out for Finn and they clung to Catra tighter in response. Catra hefted them into her arms as she followed the assistant to their room. Juliet paused at the door, the room was small with only one seat for a parent to sit with their kid. Juliet looked conflicted about going into the room because of the small space. 

“I’ll call if we need you,” Catra offered and Juliet nodded and stood outside the door. 

With some soft reassurances, Catra was able to get Finn to reluctantly stop clinging to her. They sat in the dentist chair and Catra moved her own chair closer without being in the way. The dentist was great with kids, offering Finn a Magicat toy that mimicked a soothing purr to help them relax. They explained things to Finn so they didn’t feel as scared and Finn finally relented to them looking inside their mouth. 

Thankfully, Finn’s teeth were in perfect health and Finn didn’t need any fillings. The dentist mentioned to Catra that one of Finn’s baby teeth was a little loose and to keep an eye on it so the tooth ferret could bring them a gift.   

Finn was excited by the news and Catra made a mental note to look for a gift worthy of a Magicat tooth. 

After the dentist, Finn went back to their carefree self and was excited to visit the toy store for their reward. When they arrived Finn knew exactly what they wanted and went to the wall of oversized plushies and proceeded to hug each one in order to see which gave the best hugs. Juliet was standing nearby as Catra looked at the strangely breakable glass statue on the higher shelves with interest. 

“You're family, right Juliet?” Catra asked into the silence that had settled between them. Catra pulled her eyes away from the statues to look at the woman in question. Catra knew Juliet was family, but she didn’t remember how she was related to Adora.

“Yes Ma’am, Adora is my niece” Juliet explained.

“Great, do you know if she is a dolphin girl or a horse girl?”  Catra asked looking back at the crystal statues, one of a horse and one of a dolphin. Juliet followed her gaze before she answered. 

“Oh, horses, definitely,” Juliet said with a small laugh.  

“Hm, interesting,” Catra said, glancing over at Finn who was holding a teddy that was bigger than them as they hugged it.  

“Why do you ask?” Juliet asked.

“Curiosity,” Catra said with a shrug. She was curious to gather all the puzzle pieces of Ms Grey that she could find, especially now that it was turning into such a pretty picture. 

“Do you like horses?” Juliet asked casually and Catra glanced at her. 

“I’ve never met one before, but they are beautiful,” Catra said with a shrug.

“They are. The Grey’s own a ranch full of them in the Crimson Desert, you know,” Juliet said and Catra blinked at her. 

“They own a ranch. Why?” Catra asked in disbelief. 

“It was a gift to Mr Grey,” Juliet said and Catra scoffed. It was a wild concept that a large property like a ranch could be a ‘gift’ to the Grey’s, but with the kind of money they had, it shouldn’t really surprise her. 

“Miss Catra, can I have this one please?” Finn called and Catra’s attention was captured by the small blond. Finn decided to get an emperor penguin toy because it was not only life sized but Finn claimed that it was very soft and gave good hugs. 

Catra was paying for the toy while Finn watched the cashier struggle to put the giant toy in a bag so it wouldn’t drag on the ground when Finn carried it. 

Catra glanced at the items around the counter as she waited and a fat little unicorn stress ball caught her attention. She smiled a little and added it to her purchases. She knew an horse girl who might like that. 

[...]

Catra was making lunch and Finn was trying to put some of their own clothing on their new toy. Catra was watching them from the kitchen as she cut up meat when her personal phone started to ring.  

Catra looked at the ID and it was her mum. Catra was tempted to call her back, but answered anyway because she was worried something might be wrong. She was seeing her mum on Wednesday so maybe she needed Catra to bring something.  

“Hey mum, how are you?” Catra asked as she wedged the phone against her shoulder and ear. 

“Right as rain, how are you?” C’yra asked, her tone light and airy. 

“Good, pretty busy at the moment. Did you need something?” Catra said, trying to work out if something was wrong as she continued to cut food. 

“Oh, sorry love, are you still coming over on Wednesday?” C’yra asked, sounding far too casual for Catra’s liking. 

“Yes, I am, did you want me to bring anything?” Catra asked, trying to work out what her mother wasn’t saying. 

“No no, just yourself,” C’yra said and Catra rolled her eyes, her mum was up to something. She was terrible at hiding it, as usual. 

“Sure, I can do that,” Catra said slowly as she tried to think of a way to get her mum to spill the information. 

“Miss Catra, look!” Finn called from the living room, their ears pointed with excitement before they realised she was on the phone and they ducked their head awkwardly. 

“Oh! They look great!” Catra responded to the presented penguin in a sailor suit. She didn’t even think about if she should respond Finn while on the phone to her mum. 

“Oh my! Its Monday! I forgot this was your day at child care, I’ll talk to you later,” C’yra said in a panic. 

“Its alright, love you,” Catra said, she would work out what was going on later. 

“Love you,” C’yra parroted and hung up the phone. Finn put down their toy and walked into the kitchen to watch Catra making food. 

“Who was that?” Finn asked curiously. 

“That was my mum,” Catra offered and Finn’s ears twitched with interest. 

“Is she nice?” Finn asked curiously and Catra smiled. 

“She’s very nice,” Catra assured and Finn grinned. 

“That’s why you love her, right?” Finn asked innocently. 

“One of many reasons,” Catra assured them. 

“Am I nice?” Finn asked curiously and Catra grinned. 

“You are so nice and sweet Finny, one of your many good qualities,” Finn grinned and purred at the compliments before stealing a slice of ham and running back to the living room. Catra laughed and returned to her lunch preparations. 

[…]

Adora hated meetings with Mystacor, because they were five hours behind Bright Moon. The meetings were too early and that meant she couldn’t cuddle with Finn before work. The meeting was uneventful but unfortunately had new discussions of the technology that was specific to She-ra. Adora hated talking about She-ra. Her father had made She-ra for Adora, and no other prosthetic they made was like it. It had the most advanced technology the company could afford, but the price of those advancements were far beyond consumer budgets to be marketable. 

The military had a very different budget than normal consumers, but Adora wasn’t interested. She wasn’t going to allow She-ra’s technology to be manipulated for war. Adam and Adora still held controlling shares in the company and despite how the investors begged, Adora wasn’t going to entertain this advancement. Their profit margins were already substantial, so everyone was already making plenty of money and she wasn’t going to allow them to get greedy.  

Adora’s early meeting was the reason Finn needed to be delivered to her office by Catra for lunch on Tuesday. Adora could spend some time with her kitten and Catra could get an hour to herself, even if Catra didn’t seem to mind. Catra stayed for a few minutes to talk to Mermista before she went to find something to do with her freedom. 

Finn came into the office once Catra left and carefully placed a small ball in Adora’s lap. Adora picked up the ball to look at it. It looked like a round unicorn with too much stuffing, but it was soft to squish in her hand. Adora looked back at Finn as they settled into their chair and started arranging their pencils by colour on their desk. 

Adora had a few things to finish up before they went to lunch and Finn knew the drill.  

“Whats this?” Adora asked and Finn looked up. 

“Miss Catra bought it for you,” Finn said and Adora’s eyes widened at the information. 

“Miss Catra did…” Adora said looking back at the stress ball. She felt her cheeks warm, wondering if Catra bought it because she knew how stressed Adora was. Adora couldn’t imagine Catra giving a gift maliciously like that, she wasn’t Melody after all. 

“That was nice of her,” Adora said and Finn grinned. 

“She bought me a penguin because my teeth were good,” Finn explained and Adora smiled. She didn’t remember a payment for the toy store coming off Catra’s company credit card. Adora knew Catra rarely used it, but surely buying Finn a reward was a work expense.  

“You take good care of your teeth so its no wonder they are so good,” Adora praised Finn and they beamed, showing off their sharp white teeth. 

“Yeah, they said I have a loose one, so I might get a present when it falls out,” Finn continued and Adora chuckled. 

“I’m sure you’ll get a great gift for a tooth as special as yours,” Adora assured them and Finn’s tail lashed with excitement as they considered the information. Adora would look into getting something special for when Finn lost their tooth, she knew losing teeth was special to Magicats as a sign of their growth and maturity. 

“Yeah! Maybe two penguins,” Finn said starting a drawing with a black pencil in a big circle on the page. 

“You’ll have a whole colony in no time,” Adora said, watching them with affection. 

“Two mommy ones and a baby one is all I need,” Finn said and Adora’s stomach dropped. The older Finn got, the more it felt like the gap of what Adora could give them widened. She was only one person after all, and Finn needed another parent to help them grow and develop. As much as Adora wanted to do things on her own, she couldn’t do this and she owed Finn better than that. 

“That sounds good,” Adora said and let Finn focus on their drawing. Adora wasn’t blind to the benefits of having a partner to rely on. She knew finding someone would be easy if her romantic heart didn’t wish for someone that she could also love. She wanted what was best for Finn, and finding someone for them would be easy. Finn was adorable and kind and friendly, and anyone who met them fell in love instantly. But finding someone to love Adora was harder. She wasn’t afraid to care for her partner and give them everything money could buy, but she was afraid of that being all she was good for. She wanted to be romanced, to be swept off her feet and to feel loved like she never felt with Melody. 

She just didn’t know how to find that, or more importantly, how to open up enough to let someone love her like that. 

[…] 

The family dinner at the Grey Skull Moon’s to celebrate Angella’s birthday would be a sight to behold. Catra was sure it would be a hell of an event with so many people. Catra had spent most of her afternoon playing at the park with Finn expecting them to be tired enough to nap on the way to Angella’s but they were buzzing with excitement instead. 

When they arrived at the Moon Mansion Catra got out of the car and went to get Finn out of their car seat. Catra pulled Finn out to put them on the ground as they wiggled with excitement.

“Mama!” Finn yelled and ran up the steps to the house. Catra looked up as Ms Grey scooped up the little blonde bundle into her arms. Catra smiled at the sight. Ms Grey always looked so happy with Finn in her arms. 

Catra looked around as another car pulled up to the estate behind them and Ms Grey walked down to meet her.

“WILDCAT” Scorpia’s voice boomed and Catra jumped at the loud sound. She closed the door to the car and it pulled forward to park. 

“Scorpia? What are you doing here?” Catra asked as Ms Grey approached Perfuma to press a kiss on her cheek and share a hug. Finn seemed unsure but reluctantly participated in the hug. 

Scorpia came straight over and wrapped Catra in a careful hug which she returned as her brain tried to fill in the details.  

“It’s family dinner so Perfuma invited me,” Scorpia offered.

“Oh of course, I forgot Opal is dating Angella,” Catra said with a little laugh and Scorpia grinned. 

“Small world right?” Scorpia offered and Catra nodded. “Are you joining us for dinner?” Scorpia asked as Perfuma and Ms Grey joined them and Scorpia shook her hand in greeting. Scorpia was a hugger, so it was strange to see her shaking hands, but it all made sense when Catra glanced at Finn who was hiding shyly from Scorpia.  

“Oh, um, no, I’m not,” Catra said awkwardly, she was just here to deliver Finn and go home to make dinner for herself and maybe read.  

“You are welcome to join us,” Ms Grey said and Catra felt butterflies fill her stomach as a warm look came to Adora’s eyes. Catra was so distracted by the expression that she forgot to think of any reason at all to say no. 

“Oh…ok,” Catra said, softly, a little stunned. She could see Perfuma and Scorpia look at each other in the corner of her eye but she couldn’t look away to understand their expressions.  

“Great!” Scorpia said with excitement and looped her arm with Catra to drag her into the house. Catra was suddenly filled with nerves and glanced at Perfuma who just looked incredibly pleased that Catra was joining them. 

Once they were inside Ms Grey put Finn on the ground and they ran up to Catra to grab her hand. 

“Come play with Mama and me in the game room,” Finn said quickly and looked at their mother. Adora nodded her head. 

“I’ll be in shortly, I just need to advise the staff of our new addition, and find your grandmother,” Adora said. 

Scorpia and Perfuma followed Finn through the house and Ms Grey disappeared into the maze of halls and rooms.  

“How have you been, Catra?” Perfuma asked gently as they entered the games room. Angel was already in the room playing with the train set and a small fluffy dog. 

“Angel!” Finn crowed with excitement and ran to tackle them. The little fluffy dog barked excitedly as Angel yelped and laughed. Once the hug was over Finn crouched to speak to the dog. “Hi Pixie, how are you?” they asked and the dog ran in circles excitedly. 

“I’ve been good. Mostly just busy,” Catra said. Finn wasn’t focused on playing with Catra yet so she turned her attention to Perfuma.

“A live in position is hard to not be busy,” Perfuma said as Scorpia immediately set to making friends with Pixie and talk to Angel and Finn until they allowed her to play with them. 

“Yeah, it is. How have you been?” Catra asked in return, and Perfuma talked about her cafe with equal parts serene love for her job and exhaustion. She talked about Scorpia’s work too and how she's been caring for triplets lately and they were a handful. After a little chatting and some games with the kids, Angel warmed to Catra quickly but they didn't get much time to play before everyone was called to the dining room. 

Entering a room of almost twenty people was a little overwhelming but at least she knew some faces. Adam was already sitting in a seat that had been turned towards the family members still standing. There was also an elderly man and woman sitting at the table talking quietly to each other. When Catra entered the room the elderly woman with giant glasses tapped the man's hand quickly so he would look over. 

Catra was relieved when she saw Ms Grey look at her and excuse herself from the conversation she was having with Adam and Mara. Looks were exchanged between Adam and Mara when Adora departed but Catra was focused on Adora. Her face was relaxed and her smile was gentle. 

Stars, she’s beautiful.  

Finn pulled at Catra’s hand and she looked away from Adora to see their ears flicked back. Catra could see in Finn’s blue eyes that they were getting tired. Finn motioned silently before being picked up and placed on Catra's hip. She looked back as Adora arrived before her.

“Let me introduce you to everyone,” Adora offered and Catra smiled in relief. She knew the names of each family member but putting a face to the name would have been tricky without help.  

“That would be great, thank you,” Catra said and Adora motioned to follow her. Adora started with the closest group, which consisted of Juliet and another women who seemed to be around Angella’s age. 

“You know Juliet but this is Casta. Casta this is Catra,” Adora offered and Catra adjusted Finn on her hip to offer her hand to shake. Casta shook her hand and looked her up and down but Catra wasn’t sure how to take the look. 

“Both Casta and Juliet are my aunts. Juliet is my late mother's sister, and Casta is Angella’s late husband’s sister. But they have been dating for about 10 years at this point,” Adora explained the strange dynamic.

“Eight and a half,” Casta corrected and Juliet rolled her eyes. 

“It's close enough, love,” Juliet said and Casta pouted.

“It is not, I would have knitted you a 10 year sweater if it was 10 years,” Casta said and Catra grinned at the cute interaction. It was nice to see Juliet relaxed when she wasn’t working and the look she gave her partner was absolutely smitten. 

“Stars forbid that happens,” Juliet said, pulling Casta closer by the waist, causing her to blush. “It’s nice to meet you Catra, we’ve heard a lot about you,” Casta continued and Catra glanced at Juliet at that admittance. 

“Oh yeah?” Catra asked curiously. 

“Not by me, I am sworn to secrecy,” Juliet said with a smile. Catra glanced at Adora, wondering if she had said something about Catra to her aunt. 

“Angella loves to gossip,” Casta explained with a laugh as she leaned closer to Catra as if she was about to tell her something juicy. Catra was surprised when Ms Grey put her hand on Catra’s back to steer her away instead.

“Anyway, lots of people to meet,” Ms Grey said and Catra allowed herself to be led away. Adora leaned down to speak into her ear. “It's best to not get them started, they can talk for hours about gossip,” Adora said and Catra felt her cheeks warm as she looked at Adora. 

“I know someone just like that,” Catra said, thinking of her mother. 

“Don’t we all,” Ms Grey said, putting distance between them but not removing her hand. They stopped at the group which had Mara, Adam and a woman Catra hadn’t met yet. 

“You know Adam and unfortunately Mara,” Adora said with great affection for her older sister. Mara scoffed theatrically. 

“Rude. We got along well, didn’t we?” Mara asked before she winked at Catra. Ms Grey’s hand moved from her back abruptly and Catra adjusted Finn on her hip carefully. Finn was finally getting sleepy after spending most of the afternoon at the park. 

“If you call getting told off ‘getting along’,” Catra said playfully and Mara grinned. 

“I call that getting along very well,” Mara said with a playful smile in return. Adora cleared her throat. 

“This is Teela, Adam’s wife,” Adora said and Catra offered her hand and Teela shook. Teela was tall and toned with long red hair, she honestly looked like a supermodel. 

“Great to meet you Catra, I’m glad you could join us,” Teela said and Catra smiled. 

“Thanks, it’s nice to meet you too,” Catra said, adjusting Finn again as they started to become a sleepy dead weight on her hip.   

“Do you want me to take them?” Adora offered, already moving to get them, but Catra moved so she couldn’t. A soft purr springing to life in Finn’s chest as she refused to give them up warmed her heart.  

“I played at the park all afternoon to get these sleepy cuddles. You wait your turn,” Catra said playfully and Adora looked surprised before a small smile came to her lips.

“Fine, but tell me if you need help,” Adora asked and Catra nodded.

“I will,” Catra said, bouncing the sleepy bundle she held as she rubbed their back. 

“Is Demetre coming?” Adora asked Mara and she shook her head. 

“No Dad’s in Dryl at the moment, on some project,” Mara said, rolling her eyes and Ms Grey nodded. 

“I assume Abigail won't be here then?” Adora asked another name that Catra knew from the list but hadn’t met. 

“Granny’s not been well. The dementia is getting pretty bad so Dad put her into care so she couldn’t hurt herself,” Mara said, her brows creased with concern. 

“I’m sorry to hear that. How is she taking it?” Adora asked and Mara shrugged as she smiled. 

“She loves it, she's been out socialising everyday and she got in trouble for selling snacks to the other residents. So, she's having a blast,” Mara said with a mischievous smile.

“Sounds like Abigail to be honest. I’m glad someone is watching her,” Adora said with a small chuckle that sent a shiver racing down Catra’s back. She adjusted Finn to cover her reaction but the heat that came to her face was harder to hide. Adora’s soft carefree chuckle was quickly becoming Catra’s addiction.  

“Razz would love to go to a retirement village but she doesn’t want to leave her garden,” Adam said casually as Finn perked up from their sleepy state to look at their uncle. 

“Uncle Adam,” they said with excitement and Adam grinned. Finn leaned like they wanted Adam to take them and Catra looked at Adam for confirmation.

Adam moved in his seat carefully and reached out to take the blond from Catra. Adam carefully put them on their lap and Finn was excitedly explaining their day at the park to them. Adam looked completely captured by their stories just like Adora was when Finn told them tales. 

Adora was talking to Mara about someone called Razz and Teela was nodding along. Catra glanced over at the table to the two elderly people were sitting talking before the woman spoke up loudly. 

“I can hear you talking about me,” She said, scowling at Mara and Adora. Mara laughed, but stopped their discussion regardless. Teela leaned closer to Catra to whisper.

“Razz is known for her selective hearing,” Teela said softly and Catra smiled.  

“The perks of getting old, I guess,” Catra said and Teela laughed. Catra felt a tug on her sleeve and half expected to see Finn but was surprised to see Frosta instead. 

“Oh, hey Frosta,” Catra said and Frosta crossed her arms. 

“The petting zoo idea got approved. Mum will send you details of when it's happening so you can bring Finn,” Frosta said, like her mum was her secretary or something and Catra grinned. 

“That’s great to hear, you should tell Angel as well, they might enjoy it too,” Catra suggested and Frosta considered it for a moment before nodding. 

“Good point,” Frosta said, walking away towards the Moon family.

“I think that's the most I’ve ever heard Frosta say,” Teela said softly and Catra looked at her with surprise.

“Really?” Catra asked, she had hardly heard Frosta stop talking since they had met so it was hard to believe. 

“Yeah, I think it's hard for her being the youngest,” Teela said and Adora turned to Catra. 

“You’ve met Bow and Glimmer, so I’ll introduce you to Archie and Razz,” Adora said and Catra nodded. Finn seemed content with their uncle so she followed Adora to the table. 

“Papa Archie, Grandma Razz, this is Catra,” Adora introduced and Razz looked at Catra with consideration. 

“Oh yes, your girlfriend, we’ve already met dear,” Razz said and Catra blushed. Adora made a strange sound in her throat that seemed like a mix between a whine and choking.

“Oh, no Razz, this is my Nanny, she takes care of Finn,” Adora rushed to explain and Razz looked at Catra through her thick glasses before she turned to look back at Adora. 

“That's ridiculous. Why would you bring your Nanny to family dinner?” Razz said and Adora was blushing, caught off guard. 

Stars, she was so cute. 

“She has a point,” Catra giggled, realising how funny this really was now that Ms. Grey was as embarrassed as she was by the accusation. Razz motioned to Catra like ‘see’ with her hands.

“Don’t agree with her,” Adora said in a firm tone that absolutely ruined Catra. Catra’s eyes widened as her body had a very unexpected reaction to her tone. Catra’s fur fluffed up as lightning raced down her spine. Adora thankfully read her reaction as a surprise and rushed to explain. “Sorry, she gets confused and if you don’t correct her she will remember it forever,” Adora explained and Catra nodded. 

“Sorry, I didn’t realise,” Catra said, recovering quickly and offering her hand to Razz to shake.

“I’m Catra. I’m the Nanny, not a girlfriend,” Catra said and Razz watched her critically before she took her hand.

“Hm, not yet then. My mistake,” Razz said cryptically and Catra frowned in confusion. 

“Archie,” Adora said, a little louder, touching his arm. He looked towards Adora and smiled brightly. 

“Adora, my dear girl, and who's this?” Archie asked, looking at Catra curiously. 

“Catra, the nanny,” Catra said, offering her hand to shake again, he took it and kissed the back softly like the old fashion man he was.  

“How lovely. Nice to meet you,” Archie said and Catra smiled. Archie’s eyes were dark, almost black but they held great warmth to them. His face was round and friendly with many years of laugh lines etched on his face. He had deep lines on his forehead like he was often surprised but rarely angry. What a sweet man. 

Adora cleared her throat. 

“Grandma Razz is my late father's mother, and Papa Archie is Angella’s father-in-law,” Adora explained and Catra nodded her head in understanding. “Great, we have some more introductions to make, so please excuse us,” Adora said and put her hand on Catra’s back to lead her away. Catra tried to keep her breath even from the touch but it was short lived after the unusually high number of heart racing things Adora was doing. Adora was in her element and Catra felt so blessed to witness her in such a state without being intoxicated. 

“They can be a lot,” Adora explained simply.

“It's sweet. They clearly care about you greatly,” Catra said and Adora nodded in agreement.

“Have you met Opal?” Adora asked, leading Catra over to the Moon and Plum section of the family. Bow grinned brightly at Catra as she approached and Angel looked tired as he leaned on his dad's leg. Glimmer was talking quickly to Perfuma about something Catra couldn’t catch and Opal and Angella were talking and making goo goo eyes at each other. 

“I have once or twice,” Catra said and they didn’t need to explore that further because the butler announced that dinner was ready. Adora left Catra’s side to help Mara adjust Adam’s chair to sit correctly and Teela helped Finn to their chair. Catra approached the table, unsure if there were seating arrangements when Angella appeared at her side. 

“Catra, I’m glad you could join us,” Angella said, her expression open and warm like every time Catra had met her. Catra smiled. 

“Thanks for having me,” she said and glanced at the table again, her confusion clearly showing. 

“Let me show you to your seat,” Angella said and Catra felt a sense of relief. Catra quickly saw a pattern emerging as people sat at the table, the siblings on every second chair and their partners on their left. There was a kids table too which was more appropriately sized for Finn, Angel and surprisingly Frosta to enjoy their dinner. 

Catra noticed Adora take the seat at one head of the table and Catra could only assume it used to be her father's chair. Angella led Catra to the seat at Adora’s left. 

“Angie,” Adora said firmly as she noticed whatever Angella was doing. Ms Grey frowned and Angella simply shrugged. 

“What? It's the only available spot,”  Angella said, waving down the table as everyone settled into their chairs. 

“That's not true, the spot beside Mara is empty,” Ms Grey argued and Angella looked half way down the table to the empty seat in question. 

“Oh, you’re right, would you rather sit with Mara?” Angella asked, looking at Catra with amusement. Catra wasn’t sure what was happening but she would rather sit with Adora than Mara. She was sure Mara and her would bicker all through dinner, no one wanted to see that. 

“It's fine,” Adora interrupted, and motioned for Catra to sit. Catra wasn’t sure what she had missed but Adora seemed more tense than she had been only moments ago. Was Catra doing something wrong? 

Angella looked pleased with herself before she went to the other end of the table to her seat beside Opal. Catra paused before she took her seat at the table. 

Teela was sitting across from Catra and winked at her, like Catra was meant to know what all this meant. Catra smiled and glanced at Adora who was watching Angella down the table with a displeased look on her face. 

Dinner was nice and conversation flowed easily enough. Luckily for Catra she had Glimmer on her left and Teela across from her, and they were both very interested in her upbringing and what she was studying. 

Ms Grey didn’t talk much through dinner but she was obviously listening to Catra tell stories about her childhood and her mum. Teela asked plenty of questions about her studies and Catra explained her masters project with enthusiasm. 

Catra didn’t notice until the table fell silent that more people were listening to her ranting about the importance of supporting children and families trying to do the right thing. She blushed as she realised everyone was watching her and fell silent. 

“It’s very admirable work,” Adora said, breaking the silence and Catra smiled at her gratefully. 

“Well someone has to do it and I have experience, so who better to do that then me?” Catra asked and Adora gave a small smile and nod. 

“What do you do on your days off?” Glimmer asked and Catra turned her attention to her. 

“Usually read. Tomorrow I’m seeing my mum,” Catra explained as chatter resumed on the table and Glimmer tipped her head. 

“Do you like shopping?” Glimmer asked and Catra shrugged a little. She took a bite of her chicken and it melted in her mouth like it was made of butter. The food had been amazing all night, blowing her mind with every new dish that came out. 

“I don’t mind it, but I like second hand shops better than boutiques,” Catra said and Glimmer looked curious.

“I’ve never been, maybe we could go together some time?” Glimmer asked and Catra smiled. 

“Me too, I’d love to get something vintage for the baby,” Teela said and Glimmer gasped.

“What baby?!” She asked and Teela grinned. 

“Oh, we’re pregnant!” Teela said now that she had the table's attention. Everyone jumped up and dinner was quickly forgotten in the rush to congratulate the expecting couple. 

Adora was watching her family with a small smile on her face and Catra felt herself smiling to match it. Catra didn’t have experience with big families herself, but she wondered if this was what it would have been like, if she was born into a family so large and full of love.

[...]

Catra arrived at her mum’s house just after six to find dinner was already made and set out on the table. Catra gulped nervously, she had seen this method before. 

The last time Catra saw her mother use it, she had been trying to get information out of Catra about a girl she had been seeing. Catra wasn’t one to kiss and tell, she liked to keep things between herself and her partner. Unfortunately, for her, her mother loved to gossip and loved to hear all about Catra’s love life. Catra had no idea what C’yra thought was going on, but Catra wasn’t seeing anyone right now. 

Catra greeted her mother with a hug and a purr as she rubbed her cheek to her mothers. She had barely sat down at the table before C’yra couldn’t hold back any longer. 

“How was your trip to the zoo?” C’yra asked and Catra blinked at her in confusion. Catra was sure she hadn’t told her mum about her zoo trip with the Greys. The trip itself wasn’t worth mentioning because in reality it would only cause more questions for Catra.

“…Good…How did you…?” Catra asked confused and C’yra grabbed one of her magazines which was still on the tablet and flipped it over to show Catra a photograph.

Catra looked at the image. The visit to the zoo was burnt into her memory so she hadn’t forgotten the moment shown in the picture, but it was strange to see it from an outside perspective. They looked like a couple.

“I think its a rather good photo of you. I might frame it,” C’yra teased. 

Adora, Catra and Finn visited the bird section of the zoo during their trip. They entered a large cage to look at the birds in a more natural environment. Finn had run slightly ahead of them to look at the strangely coloured ducks in a little pond. 

Catra and Adora had been walking side by side on the wooden path when a parrot had swooped at Catra. Catra wasn’t super into birds, especially the swooping kind, but when she was startled she ducked into Ms Grey’s side to hide. 

Ms Grey had simply put her hand out to the bird and it landed there like she was some kind of Disney Princess. A photo of Catra tucked into Ms Grey’s side without Finn visible made them look like something they weren’t.  

“Oh…” Catra said, her brain running through a million options of how she could avoid telling her mother about her job and delaying her masters program.

“You didn’t tell me you knew Ms Grey!” C’yra said like this was a tragedy. “How did you meet? Is this a date?” C’yra asked excitedly as she put her hands to her cheeks and leaned forward to listen. 

“No. It's not a date. I uh…” Think, think, think. “Ms Grey’s kid is a Magicat. Scorpia knows the family and mentioned me, so she asked for help with Magicat stuff for Finn,” Catra said, scrambling for a lie to tell her mother that wouldn’t break her heart like the truth would. That Catra didn’t get a scholarship for her masters this year and she was lying about getting free accommodation. 

“Oh! That’s so sweet. You should bring them around, I would be happy to help. Mother to mother,” C’yra said excitedly and Catra smiled. 

“I’ll let her know,” Catra said and C’yra took the magazine back to look at the picture. 

“You two sure seem cuddly in this picture,” C’yra said, smirking slightly. 

“We’re just friends,” Catra assured as colour bloomed over her cheeks. She did not need her mother to read into this any more than she already was.

“Uh huh,” C’yra said, looking unconvinced “Well, I look forward to meeting your ‘friend’ and Finn,” C’yra said getting to her feet and going to the kitchen to pick up the scissors. 

“What are you doing?” Catra asked curiously. 

“Cutting out the picture, my daughter is famous!” C’yra rejoiced and Catra rolled her eyes.