#and sure. i was louder. and yeah it was probably slightly more razzing than i normally would. but i DO NOT FUCKING GET how those two things

[hemogobbler]

Madame Razz’s Tea Party for Real Sad Lesbians

Thanks to @spop-prompts for this EXCELLENT idea: 

Madame Razz can be a bit kooky, but Adora finds that she enjoys the older woman’s presence and kindness, so she starts hanging out with her when she has the time. One day, Razz begins to talk about Mara, the woman whom Razz loved more than anyone else. As Adora listens to Razz tell her story, she can’t help but think of her own relationship with the person she loves...

Read it here or on Ao3!

Adora found that the best way to make Razz lucid again was to mention Mara. Razz’s eyes would grow bold, her posture would shift, and an easy smile would lift her cheeks.

She was one of the kindest people Adora knew. The butterflies that always danced around her like tiny white petals must have sensed this, and chose to stay in her radiant warmth. She was also one of the smartest, but given Adora’s selection of friends, that wasn’t saying a lot.

Adora felt wrong in probing the elderly woman’s weak spots for information, but she told herself that the fate of the world may depend on what she could learn about harnessing She-Ra’s power. Truthfully, Adora just couldn’t take another story about invisible talking animal companions that probably didn’t exist. She was much more interested in the idea of them.

“What was Mara like?” Adora made sure to speak a little louder and enunciate the name. “Outside of She-Ra, just… her?”

Razz leaned forward, and the chair she sat in, the floorboards of her house, and possibly also her bones, creaked. For how tired her body was, she spoke with all the energy of youth: she was eager and happy to have a listening ear, yet serene in her wisdom and only slightly touched with sadness.

“To be honest, my dear, I’m not so sure anymore. When my Mara was herself, it usually meant we weren’t doing so well. The war was constant in those days. The moments where I could simply be with her were rare… but we always made the most of them,” She gave a sly smile that went over Adora's head.

Adora nodded, understanding too well how a relationship comes crashing upon the rocks of war. She took a sip of the fragrant tea Razz made and felt her mind relax.

“My Mara was so tender. The safest place in Etheria was in her arms. Her friends were everything to her, and she made sure you knew it. I felt like she was beyond my reach - ‘out of my league,’ as the kids say? I asked her what she liked about me, and she said my eyes.”

Razz tapped her glasses with a finger, and Adora saw there were tears running under them.

“I was insecure like a silly young witch is, and she knew it. I don’t know how. Maybe I gave it away; I hated relying on these glasses when I had so much magical power at my fingertips! Stupid, I know. She took my glasses off; I closed my eyes; she kissed them, and put them back on. Now I can’t stand to be without them.”

Razz wiped her face with a hand, and with a finger traced one of her closed eyes. Adora stood up and went over to hand her a tissue. She knelt down in front of Razz and gently touched her leg. When Razz reopened her eyes, she was struck by the sight of Adora.

“And she was beautiful, just like you, Adora,” Razz took the tissue and dabbed her eyes. With her other hand, she held Adora’s in a remarkably tight grip. “You really do look like her, you know?

Adora nodded, the slightest pink emerging on her cheeks, “You’ve said.”

“Though my Mara didn’t quite have arms like that!” Razz patted Adora’s muscles and inspected them with glee. “If she had, I would have made a move a lot sooner! The princesses must be clinging on for dear life, and falling over their dresses to get to you!”  

They laughed, but Adora felt a wave of guilt strike her. She went back to her seat and took a generous amount of tea. She started to speak softly, but quickly realized she would have to increase the volume as Razz was not hearing any of it.

“Honestly, She-Ra does most of the work - she’s a real hit with the ladies. Everyone but the one I want, anyway.”

Razz’s eyes lit up at the words, a matchmaker hobbyist emerging in her old age.

“She hates She-Ra, she’s… I’m... just a symbol of betrayal to her. I’m a traitor in more ways than one. I should be breaking down the Horde’s walls to get her back!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Razz looked pained. “Are they holding her prisoner?”

“What? No, she’s a Horde Force Captain.”

“Oh! My, how saucy!” Razz clasped her hands together in excitement. “That is quite a pickle, my dear!”

“Yeah… anytime I try to get closer to her she just pushes me away. Also, she tried to kill me.”

Razz’s eyes widened for a split second, but her grin was getting bigger.

“Ah, to be young again. Sounds like a passionate one.”

“Definitely. The Horde messed us up pretty bad, but she got the worst of it. I was supposed to be there for her, but She-Ra pulled me in one direction and the Horde pulled her in the other. Sometimes I think about what would’ve happened if I had stayed.”

“But you do not regret leaving?” Razz asked.

“No. I don’t. It feels awful: I want to regret it, but I don’t. A lot more people rely on me now, not just her. It’s like I’m sacrificing her for the world, but will the world be worth it without her?”

Razz shook her head, “It won’t. So save her as well. Good reason to fight, yes? Does she want the same as you?”

The rosiness returned to Adora’s cheeks, and she started running a hand through her hair.

“I - I don’t know. I think so? I hope so. Probably not... anymore. She’s a career girl now.”

“Well, this is the first step, my dear. You must find that out. Shared feelings engender mutual trust. Kids today rely too much on letters, pictures attached to arrows, truth-harvesting sorcery. Talk to her, Adora,” Razz took a long sip of tea, evidently proud of her work already.

“What if she doesn’t listen? If she doesn’t feel the same? What if I have to fight her?”

Adora was frustrated. Nobody understood the dynamics of her relationship with Catra, least of all herself. She thought herself a fool for expecting an easy answer from Madame Razz.

“Why would you fight her, Horde or no, if you belong together?”

“Pretty sure I mentioned that she tried to kill me?” Adora shivered, remembering the look on Catra’s face.

“Did she? Why? I know her not, but in a dependent relationship such as what you have described, why would she sever her one attachment to happiness?”

Various thoughts went through Adora’s head. Abandonment issues, an inferiority complex, a bluff, because ‘dependency was a weakness,’ and Adora’s personal favorite: just plain being a dumbass.

“...A momentary lapse of reason?” Adora concluded.

“Ah, yes, I have many of those! But the sun goes down and comes back up, and Loo-Kee tells me it is Thursday, and so we continue as normal!”

Adora’s mouth opened and closed, unable to find a suitable response. There was a point there, Adora supposed. She had fallen victim to Catra’s mindset, so alluring in our darkest days, that all is hopeless. But they were both alive, and Adora knew what day it was.

“Do you…” Adora began, hesitant to continue, “...Resent Mara for leaving you?”

Adora immediately regretted uttering the words. It felt as though she was forcing her baggage before Razz and twisting an old knife in an older wound.

“Not at all,” Razz was smiling. “My Mara did what she had to, and everything she could, for everyone, including myself. I am forever grateful to her. And besides, she is always with me.”

Madame Razz tapped her glasses again.

From that moment Adora felt a resolve bathe her heart in warmth. She’d fight for Razz and Mara, too. Peace would be their long-overdue legacy. Adora drew Razz into a deep, lingering hug, and heard her whisper Mara’s name. When they withdrew, Adora left a kiss on her cheek.

Adora threw a thumb over her shoulder, indicating to her back.

“Catra didn’t leave me with any nice souvenirs like that. Just scars all the way down.”

“My dear!” Razz exclaimed, nearly spitting out her drink. “The youth today are so racy! That is a story I’m going to need more tea for!”

Adora was glowing red and rushed out of the room to put the kettle on.