#I’m terrified I won’t be able to work out student aid and lodging and class schedule at all!!

[void-tiger]

Disability, cptsd, and adhd really has turned me into…egh. A planner. Not because I want to be. But because I either need to figure things out well ahead or I forget or avoid them, or because I can’t set them down mentally.

[thalergetic]

I loved ur Spiderman au i was hoping if u could do another one. No pressure tho

ask..... and you shall receive

(link to part one)

Wind whipped by Adora as she swung her way through Manhattan. She was sure her grin would be visible even though the mask, and Catra’s voice crackling over the comms unit in her ear — which, at the moment, was a souped-up version of a Bluetooth headset — only made it widen.

“Alright, take a left here,” Catra said. There was a rustling in Adora’s ear as she flipped the pages of what sounded like a map. “And then a right two blocks down.”

“You know,” Adora started, sending a web across the street with a thwip, “if I end up at the wrong location again, it’s gonna be really embarrassing for me.”

Catra huffed, setting down the map. Adora could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “It’s not the wrong location. That was one time.”

It had been a few months of this new arrangement, and honestly, Adora had never been more comfortable in her superhero life.

Having Catra on the line was... new. It was nice, in a way— it meant Adora could worry less about finding the grocery store being robbed and more about taking care of the robbers.

The cops still didn’t like her, but that wasn’t a surprise. Catra was helping her with that, too. She’d been able to fix Adora’s suit, help her design a better one, and overlay a police scanner frequency.

In other words, she was the reason Adora had stayed alive for as long as she had.

Catra knew basic first aid, as she’d told Adora once after a particularly grueling hostage scenario that she’d taken a class after finding out her secret.

As soon as Adora made it to the site of the robbery, she got the feeling she’d probably need it.

There were many reasons for this. One, there were several of them and one of her, and she’d never been very optimistic. Two, she was still in recovery from three weeks of injuries, and between stopping crimes and studying for her finals, she was spread pretty thin.

Three, they had guns. Big guns.

Adora released the web she’d been swinging on with another thwip, and landed gracefully on a nearby lamppost. She dropped into an easy squat, eyes flicking around the scene ahead.

“Alright,” She said, squinting a little. “So I’m seeing four— no, five guys. Three are armed.”

“And the other two?” Catra asked. There was a thin vein of concern in her voice.

It almost made Adora smile. It was sweet: Catra always got nervous when she was about to fight people. “The other two aren’t gonna be a problem.”

“That’s what you said during the last robbery,” Catra said, trying very hard not to let her worry show. “I almost had to call an ambulance.”

It was an exaggeration, but... not by much. Adora hadn’t quite gotten out of the way of a knife, and was still healing a nasty scar on her lower abdomen.

Adora winced at the memory, pressing her fingertips to it. “Well, it won’t happen tonight.”

Catra was quiet for a second. “Cops are on their way already, Spidey. I... I dunno. I have a bad feeling about this one.” She sighed. “Look, don’t get yourself killed. Alright?”

“Who, me?” Adora asked, standing up. “Never.”

If Catra responded, Adora didn’t hear it as she leapt off the lamppost. In an almost graceful move she’d been practicing for years, she landed feet-first on the back of the nearest robber.

For obvious reasons, it took him by surprise. He was knocked flat under her. She fired two webs in quick succession, pinning both him and his gun to the concrete.

Adora couldn’t resist a little quip. It was kind of her thing, after all. “Oh, sorry,” She said, dusting gloved hands off. “Hate to break it to you, but Mom said it’s my turn with the gun.”

The action seemed to get the attention of the other two (unarmed) goons. Adora thought idly that they really should’ve known better by now. She’d been Spider-Man for almost five years now, after all.

“Guys, come on,” She said, dodging a poorly-timed punch easily and countering with one of her own. “Taking on a superhero unarmed? Really? I mean, you could’ve at least brought a knife. I’m—I’m hurt. Really, I am.”

She made short work of them, and had them lying flat and webbed to the ground moments later. When the click of a pistol sounded behind her, Adora let out a sigh. “Really? Already?”

She turned to see the remaining two men pointing their guns at her.

“Easy, fellas,” Adora said, eyes lingering on the barrel of the shotgun trained on her. “Put those down. We can talk this out—”

“You think we’re that stupid?” The one holding the shotgun interrupted. He shook his head. “No stalling. We know the cops are already on their way.”

They weren’t holding any jewelry, Adora realized. She put her hands up slowly, frowning under her mask. “You guys are pretty terrible robbers,” She said carefully. “Kind of counterintuitive to break into a jewelry store and not steal anything.”

“I’m sure it would be,” Pistol Guy said, lips curling into a sneer, “if that was the reason we did it.”

Adora swallowed. “Well, don’t leave me hanging,” She said, eyes flicking between the two of them. There was a gnawing ache of dread welling up in the pit of her stomach. “What was the reason?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Shotgun said. “Gettin’ rid of you.” He raised the barrel up again. “Kingpin sends his regards.”

Catra’s voice crackled suddenly over the comms unit. “Shit, fuck— Adora, get out of there—”

Whatever she said next was muffled by the sound of a gunshot.

Adora tried as best as she could to duck under it, but even she wasn’t quite fast enough to dodge.

The force of a bullet lodging firmly in her stomach sent her staggering back until she nearly tripped over the prone body of one of the other men she’d taken out.

Her blood was pounding in her ears, and even though Adora was faintly aware of Catra yelling high and terrified through her comms, all she could focus on was the blood.

For a second, she was just grateful the suit was red.

She didn���t wait for the second gunman to shoot before she sent up a web and tried her best to swing away.

Moments later, she found herself collapsing in the alleyway across from her apartment building.

Adora finally allowed herself to focus Catra desperately calling her name over the comms unit. “Adora? Adora, please come in, I—”

“I’m here,” Adora rasped. She coughed, feeling blood come up in her mouth, and lifted up to take off her mask before she spat it out onto the concrete. “Jus’ resting. I tried to get as close as I could to the apartment.”

“Are you hurt? A-Are you injured at all?”

Adora looked down at the tears in her suit. “Uh... yeah. I-I didn’t dodge that one.”

“Fuck,” Catra breathed. “I-I have your location. I’m on my way. Just— fuck, Adora, keep pressure on it. Don’t you dare leave me.”

“Ha,” Adora laughed weakly. She winced as she put a gentle pressure on her abdomen. “You care about me.”

She heard Catra let out a wet, half-sob of a laugh. “Idiot. Of course I do. You—” Catra cut herself off. “I’ll tell you when I get there.”

“That sounds nice,” Adora said, blinking away the sleep at the corners of her vision. “I like your voice.”

There was movement on Catra’s end, followed by the sound of wind rushing as she ran. Seconds later, she slid to a stop at one end of the alley, and nearly dropped her phone at the sight of Adora slumped against the wall.

“Hi,” Adora said. She lifted a trembling hand to wave.

Catra’s expression shifted between horror, fear, and nausea. “Stay still,” She said, voice trembling. “You’re gonna be okay. Glimmer is a med student, right? You told me once that she—she lives in the apartment across from you.”

Adora found it hard to speak through the blood in her mouth, and gave a weak nod.

“I’m calling her,” Catra said, already typing a number furiously into her phone. She could tell Adora was starting to lose consciousness.

Catra put a hand on her cheek, trying to shake her back awake. “Adora? Adora, listen to me,” She said frantically, shaking harder. “Hey. Stay with me until Glimmer gets here.”

“Hey, I really like you,” Adora slurred. “Jus’ saying. If I don’t get a chance to tell you later, I want you to know—”

“If you do tell me later, I’ll let you kiss me.” Catra’s eyes were red from crying, and she gave her best attempt at a watery smile. “Because I really like you too. So stay with me,” She pleaded, barely above a whisper. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” Adora said, wincing as she shifted to sit up straighter against the brick. “Yeah. I’ll stay.”