Work Text:
Opening the door to Glimmer's room, the first thing Adora does- like usual these days- is worry.
“…Glimmer?”
No answer. Easing inside, Adora shuts the door and scans the field of battle.
It doesn’t look good. Papers cover the desk, dripping down to the floor and spreading out across just about every flat surface. All personal items and furniture have already been overwhelmed by sheer numbers, soft hues blanketed with the endless ranks of blank white sheets and harsh black ink.
Frowning, Adora feels a deep crease cut between her eyes. The single document in her hands suddenly seems both very inadequate and also like far, far too much.
At least she doesn’t see any person-sized lump lying on the floor this time.
Lifting her voice a little, she calls again. “Uh- Glimmer?”
“Rrgh.” Comes a groan from above. Paper whispers and cascades over the edge of the hanging bed in a fluttering waterfall.
“I’m not here. Come back when the Horde attacks or someone accidentally sets fire to the royal solicitor’s office...”
Adora watches the last drifting papers settle on Glimmer’s floor. “I finished the draft report on best methods for quickly disseminating counter-Horde tactics to the general Rebellion public.” She lifts her document helpfully. “Do you still want to go over it first before I file it with the General?”
Another groan. Then a hand pops into sight, waving limply from the hanging bed. “Up.” Glimmer calls.
The floating steps are mostly in place today, only a few repurposed as midair shelf space, and Adora knows them well enough to read over her report one last time as she climbs.
At the top she finds a young woman in fine clothes and a state of clear disheveled disheartenment. Glimmer is staring blankly up at the ceiling. Her eyes, pupil-less pink and iridescent where they catch the light, look somehow dull and empty. There are papers blanketing her bed, more papers lying on her chest. An smudge of ink stains one cheek like a bruise. Little bandages in colors white, pink, and pale blue cover half Glimmer’s hands, hinting at papercuts and threatening to turn her fingerless gloves into full ones.
She looks exhausted. “Report.” She also sounds exhausted.
Standing on the last step next to the bed, Adora hesitates. “I could revise it again. Come back in another hour or so.”
“Report.” Glimmer repeats lifting a hand an waving it vaguely in Adora’s direction. “It’s important. And knowing you, you’ve probably already rewritten three times.”
“Five times.” Adora shuffles the document, double checks the spelling in the sentence-long header.
A head of fluffy pink hair, extra fluffy and with fewer sparkles in it than normal, lifts from the bed. “Five times? But I only asked you to start writing it this morning! That was only three hours-”
“Ten.” The stain glass windows of Glimmer’s room glow softly with evening light.
“-ten hours- What?” Paper crackles as Glimmer jerks upright, twisting wildly to get a view of her main window.
Outside the second evening moon is starting to rise over the mountains. Glimmer looks down at the shadows stretching across her floor, painting the scattered papers warm fuchsia pink and cool periwinkle blue. It’s beautiful, but Glimmer’s expression is horrified.
Adora feels the crease between eyes deepen. “You didn’t come to lunch. The kitchen staff said they’d bring you something here.”
Shoulders drooping Glimmer sighs. “Someone might have knocked at some point. I think I told them the same thing I told you, only maybe with more yelling. Possible also some cursing…” Another sigh, this one deeper and frustrated as Glimmer turns forward again, burying a hand in her short hair. “Great. Now I need to fit apologizing into my non-existent schedule.” Her free hand curls into a fist, crumpling an unlucky page of what looks like finances.
Seeing Glimmer like this sinks a lead weight in Adora’s chest. “Oh.” She sits on the edge of the hanging bed and clasps her hands on top of the report in her lap, hiding as much of it as she can. “Can I help?”
“It’s fine.” Yank, a few sparks wink out as Glimmer tugs at her hair. “Or no it’s not fine but it’s not like I was actually doing anything anyway- Not doing anything all afternoon apparently- so it barely even counts as a missed meal!” Glimmer glances up through spiky bangs, anxious. “Don’t tell my mom? Or Bow?”
“I won’t.” Adora says firmly. “But Queen Angella might already know.”
A snort. “If she did she’d be banging down my door and passing a law that not having lunch is punishable with a month of being grounded.”
Blonde ponytail slips over on shoulder as Adora tilts her head. “I thought you’d have immunity now.”
“Hm?” Glimmer grunts. “Immunity to what, my own mom?”
“No the, uh.” The strange word stumbles on Adora’s tongue. “The grounding. And having to take orders from the Queen of Bightmoon. If you don’t have independence already then we need to bring that up at the next meeting.”
A look of confusion, then understanding. “Oh, you mean because of the whole ‘got voted new leader of the new Princess Alliance’!” Glimmer laughs. “That thing!” Her laugh is sharp and not at all happy. “The thing slowly driving me insane and that I’m almost Definity messing up right now as we speak!”
Adora nods, stops. Frowns instead. “You’re not ruining the Alliance.”
Up comes the fist with its crumpled paper victim. “Well I’m sure not doing a good job running it.” Glimmer waves the paper as an example. “Ten hours reading, sorting, trying to figure out what ideas are most important and who needs to talk to who about getting what done when, and do you know what I have to show for it?” Releasing her hair Glimmer uses both hands to ball the paper up, crushing it furiously. “A mess!”
Hauling back she throws. Adora’s head swivels, following the paper ball as it smacks into one of the many posters on Glimmer’s walls, striking a crudely drawn Hordak square in the mouth.
“Good shot.” Adora turns back as Glimmer buries her face in her hands. “Those decisions have too much to do with the Kingdoms and non-military governing for me to help with, but I could organize a little if you want.”
“Organize?” Glimmer’s voice comes out muffled. “Adora, my room looks like someone set off a bomb in a printing press.”
Unclasping her hands Adora scoops up the nearest mess of papers. “You’ve been laying things out so you can reference them easily. All that needs is a system. Maybe some color coding. Bow brought me ‘the whole rainbow in sticky notes’ after he saw my Princess Prom workshop, so we have the materials already. We can get started right after dinner.”
Slowly Glimmer lifts her head. “You’re serious.” Her eyes are wide, disbelieving.
Adora nods. “It’ll help. Probably.” Scraps together a tentative smile. “At least it’ll look good.”
“Like organization, like organizer.” Glimmer shakes her head at Adora’s confused look. “Nevermind. Don’t you have other reports to make? Other peoples’ reports to look over?” She points accusingly at the report lying abandoned in Adora’s lap. “You spent a whole day doing just one of those, you don’t have time to clean my room on top of all that! You need stuff like food- and sleep!”
“So do you.”
Glimmer pouts. “I get half my energy from a magical shiny rock. One missed dinner won’t kill me.”
Adora mimics her pout. “But it’ll make me sad.”
“Oh hush.” The corner of Glimmer’s mouth quirks up even as she said it, Adora notices. “Still. Five hours on ONE report. Not good! You need rest.”
“Actually I spent one hour working on a different report, took a lunch break, and did some five minute sword exercises whenever my hand started cramping up.” Setting down the now neatly stacked papers, Adora meet and holds Glimmer’s gaze. “This would help me too.” She promises. “With the reports. I won’t have to rewrite them so many times if I can get a better idea of how things work in and between the Kingdoms. Which is basically your job, now.”
Glimmer’s hand falls. “Right… You do know my mom was running the Alliance for years and I only got started yesterday. If you have questions, ask her not me.”
“She isn’t the one who’ll be setting new policies going forward. Also.” Adora gives Glimmer a look as the princess opens her mouth to interrupt. “This isn’t the same Alliance your parents founded. It can’t be. The war has changed, your way of fighting it has to change too.”
“Our.” Glimmer corrects instantly, frowning. “Our way of fighting.”
The papers scattered around Adora are suddenly very interesting. She picks another sheaf up and looks it over, a vaguely agreeable sound rising in her chest. “Mm.”
There’s quiet in the room. No fountains or water features here, just the faint whisper as Adora turns over a page, still reading.
Then the bed shifts and Glimmer carefully moves the newly stacked papers to the side, making room for herself. Legs dangling next to Adora’s she hunches forward, arms braced on her knees, hands tangled tight together, still frowning.
“I hate that stupid vote.”
Papers settle on Adora’s lap, instantly forgotten. “You don’t want to lead the rebellion?”
“I guess I do?” Glimmer worries at her gloves, tugging the fingers, picking at the band aids. “I just never pictured it happening this way. Or being like this.”
Adora leans forward too, hands clasped between her knees, mirroring her.
“I don’t know what ‘this’ is…” She confesses as she watches Glimmer slowly peel off a strip of adhesive, ducking her head a little to see every line pinching between Glimmer’s eyes. “…unless you mean the paperwork.”
A hollow laugh as Glimmer flicks the band aid away to fall into the mess below. “No, I about knew that part. It’s more the sitting around for hours thing. Doing nothing. Alone.”
The light in the room is fading but instead of standing out brighter the sparks in Glimmer’s hair seem like they’re dimming along with it, like the darkening room is squeezing the life out of them.
The thought squeezes something in Adora’s chest.
“You don’t have to.”
Adora’s fingers creak as she clenches them together, staring down at them, wishing for her sword and a problem simple enough to cut through.
“You have Bow and your mom.” She says instead, as if Glimmer could’ve somehow forgotten that. “Perfuma, Mermista, Entrapta, Frosta- and Swift Wind would stay for an afternoon, if you asked. Castaspella always wants you to visit. Spinnetta and Nettossa have the most field experience of anyone…”
Out of the corner of her eye she can see Glimmer looking at her. Listening. Waiting.
Adora takes a deep breath. “…and me.” She tacks on softly, “I’m here, too.” Clearing her throat she decides she will never not have her attention on her own white-knuckled hands. “I can organize papers. If you want.”
The room is full of shadows. The last light of the bight moons has drained away-
-but a there’s a faint glow besides her, Adora realizes suddenly, painting her own shadow faintly on the far wall, lighting the room with soft and shimmering sparks.
A bandaged hand reaches over and brushes her tight knuckles.
“I’d like that.” Glimmer says, already smiling as Adora glances over at her. “You sure though? I mean. It’s paperwork.”
“I’m sure.”
Adora confirms, the lead weight in her chest melting away along with the lines of tension in Glimmer’s shoulders.
“Anyway.” The words slips out too fast for her to review them. “The only thing I like being around more than paperwork, is you.”
“Oh?”
Heat burns Adora’s face. She tries to at least keep her expression straight as Glimmer’s smile breaks into an enormous grin.
That gets a lot harder as Glimmer pries one of her hands free and takes it gently in hers.
“Well in THAT case!” With a hop and a twirl Glimmer lands on the first of the floating steps, still holding Adora’s hand, still smiling in way that makes Adora’s neck prickle and her stomach swoop with vertigo even though she is very clearly not falling at the moment.
Then Glimmer bows, sweeping her cape aside with her free hand, silly and graceful- and now Adora is grinning too.
“Join me for dinner, your highness?” Glimmer asks with a playful wink.
Still grinning, Adora snorts. “Yes. And I’m not royalty. Maybe a bureaucratic officer.”
“Madam secretary, then.”
Adora looks pointedly around at the paper-strewn room. “Does the Rebellion even have those?”
“We do.” Glimmer un-bows herself and tugs, and Adora lets herself be pulled to her feet. “They’re just busy with non-top-secret stuff. But I’d make them a thing, if we didn’t have them already. For you.”
Her eyes really do shine don’t they? It isn’t just reflected light- there’s dream-like moon glow to them that Adora always somehow forgets about until she’s face to face with Glimmer again and staring down at her like this.
…maybe she should stop staring.
“Maybe you still could.” Adora muses aloud, still staring. “Make them a thing. The bur- the secretaries. Maybe I could be your top-secret secretary.”
A squeeze on her hand, a laugh from Glimmer, bursting and bright as she teleports them.
“Alas!” Glimmer sighs dramatically even as the sparks clear, “that’d probably be some really big work code violation. You’ll have to do volunteer work, I’m afraid, at least until after the war and someone else gets voted in as head of the Rebellion.”
Adora settles back on her heels on the solid floor and blinks. “After the war? Someone else?”
“Sure.”
Glimmer says it as easily as breathing as she steers them both towards the door.
“We’ll need to renamed it. Something less rebellion-y, more unity-y, but- You can help Mermista or whoever with paperwork during the day, since you like it so much. And I’ll take you out to dinner each night!”
Dinner each night? Ah, then that would be- “Sounds like on of those ‘date’ things Bow was telling me about.”
Glimmer freezes, free hand on the door handle.
“Um. A- a date, yeah.” Tentatively she glances back up at Adora. “If you, if you want?”
Adora smiles and nods. “After the war, we’ll have dinner together every night.” After. Huh. What a weird thought. “It’s a date.”
What a strange light that suddenly flares in Glimmer’s face.
“Right. One sec.”
A flash and Glimmer is back on her bed, frantically grabbing up handfuls of papers and stuffing them into her arms.
Still smiling, Adora shakes her head and calls up. “Remember dinner? I'm filing it under "critical resource management priorities". You said you’d eat first.”
“I will!” Glimmer says from the rising flurry of papers. “I will I will, I’m coming, just-”
Flashing back down she grins sheepishly over her pile of haphazard documents.
“Don’t wanna fall behind on the war-winning.” She laughs, then coughs as Adora beams back at her, and finally awkwardly holds out her elbow- the only part of her arms not already occupied. “A-anyway. Shall we?”
“Sure.” Adora eyes the offered elbow for a second before carefully tucking her hand into its crook, the way Glimmer did with hers sometimes. “Like this?”
“Ye-p." Glimmer pops the 'p' with giggle. "Exactly like that.”
All that paper gathering has left Glimmer a bit red in the face. The flush doesn’t go away as Adora opens the door for her and they slip out into the hall, falling in step side-by-side.
In fact Glimmer’s face is still a little pink as she coughs again and asks.
“So uh. Not to pry but- WHEN was Bow talking to you about dates? No, wait- why. WHY was Bow talking with you about dates.”
“I don’t know why.” Adora admits, making a mental note to check Glimmer for fever if she’s still flushed an hour from now. “It was right after the three of us went on that wilderness training exercise. The one where everything was fine because Bow had the map, only then suddenly we didn’t have Bow, and then it was night.”
“Oh.” Gimmer winces. “That.”
“Yes. We had to cuddle up together for warmth, remember? And then Bow found us the next morning-”
“I remember I remember!”
“Well.” Adora nods, happy to be on the same page. “It was right after we came back from that.”
“Okay good. Great." Glimmer mutters. "Very normal.” Mumbles to herself. "Noooo ulterior motives there." Growls softly. "Jerk." Sighs. "I hate it when he's right.."
Listening vaguely, Adora watches how rather than fading, the redness in Glimmer’s face only gets worse. She shortens her steps a little- Glimmer might still be winded from paper gathering, she might need the extra breath to get oxygen into her blood and finish recovering. Basic aerobics. Something she understood.
But since Adora herself does not need to recover and there are other things she doesn't understand, she continues cheerfully.
“Bow was also talking about vehicle stability versus streamlined design, I think." She's been wondering why ever since. Maybe Glimmer understands? "Specifically the redundancy of a third wheel, for some reason.”
"He was WHAT!?"
Glimmer's yelp sends an avalanche of paper cascading from her arms and all over the floor. It is another ten minutes before they finish gathering, and re-stacking, and can start walking towards dinner again. It takes that long for the renewed flush in Glimmer's cheeks to fade away.
Adora is smiling the whole time.
And, despite her earlier alarming sound of distress, Glimmer is smiling too.
Dates are nice, Adora decides, linking arms with Glimmer again as the head off, especially if they help Glimmer relax.
Hmm....maybe we should have a few more, before the end of the war? She considers the thought carefully. As a moral booster. Or a maintenance procedure. For strategic purposes...
Glancing down at Glimmer's bright eyes and easy grin, Adora feels her stomach forget where the floor is again.
... and not because I feel better looking at her.
Glimmer catches her staring and winks.
Adora grins back weakly. Well. Keeping my own moral up is important too, probably...
...
I'd better put that in a separate folder though.
Somewhere a safe distance away, Bow sneezes.
“Gay,” he blesses himself, and smirks. “Speaking of- I bet they’re finding excuses to snuggle up with each other right now. I bet Adora went to make sure she had dinner, and Glimmer didn't throw a hairbrush at her," he rubs ruefully at the oddly overly neat spot in his hair, "and then she got all clingy, and- Ahh.”
Bow sighs, leaning back on his chair with his arms tucked behind his head. "I love peace and quiet. And I love being right~"
He was and they were, but he wouldn’t know that for sure.
Not until two hours later, anyway, when Glimmer exploded into his workshop and imploded into excited sparkles about it.