They've always been more physical with each-other than their superiors have liked, so nothing's changed in that regard. Catra still half-shoves Adora playfully out of the way when they leave the dorm for morning drills and breakfast, and they still tussle outside of the locker room and spill into it laughing. The only thing that's different is that now when Catra's arm swings around her shoulders, Adora's flush and giggle tell her that she feels the tingle of it, too. She hadn't expected Adora's giddy mood to last this long, and Catra spends a good part of the day feeling so chest-warm and fluttery that she has to make sure she's extra brutal when she eliminates Kyle from the group spar as soon as the starting buzzer sounds. (It only takes one pivot on the heel of her foot to slam the other into the green glow of his chestplate, and Catra hears even their supervisor groan. Less than a second on the clock, sadly not even a new record.) And then, like always, she ignores the other two to focus on getting points over Adora.

She wonders if Adora's finally feeling the pounding as they dodge each-other and clash their staves together. If when Catra knocks hers from her hands and lets her own go flying after it, she also feels that coil of excitement.

She definitely feels something when Catra pounces on her to claim her victory, her palms on Adora's shoulders and her knees on either side of her legs. The heave of their chests sounds so loud in the echoing chamber of the training room, and Catra's world narrows down to just Adora beneath her on the dark floor. That familiar pulse of heat tightens between her thighs again, and she watches Adora's lips part in slow-motion, as if for Catra to press the blanket between them--

--Then her laughter breaks the spell, and Catra shoves off of her as a hot blush blooms on her face, pounding on her chestplate hard to mark her as Eliminated and snapping at her to shut up for like, the billionth time that day. Honestly, it's like Adora wants people to get suspicious.

And it's like that all through dinner too, though Catra is the one who knocks Adora's knee with her own under the table, and it is the curve of Catra's tail that brushes the back of Adora's neck when Catra slides into the seat next to her. Adora just really can not keep anything on the low-down. It's a good thing that they have such a history of mischief together, or someone might've been more inclined to question her weird behavior.

So Catra still crows out a burst of laughter when Adora asks her to race to the rooftop, which is not even a competition.

"You wanna lose again already?" She taunts, shoving her shoulder back into Adora's and cramming the last of the brown bar into her mouth. Someone's arm around a shoulder had turned into a headlock had turned into wrestling in the corridor on their way here, and they'd wound up too late to grab any of the grey ones. But not even the gritty taste of disappointment had dampened Adora's, and therefore Catra's, mood. "I'll give you a head start," she says; but it's muffled around the crumbs of the ration bar as she talks through the mouthful, only the scrunch of her eyes and her mocking tone making it through clearly.

Then Catra proceeds to do the exact opposite of giving Adora a head start, instead putting her hand on her shoulder to keep her down while Catra stands on her chair. She's too quick for the soldiers on duty to scold, and has already hopped over Adora's head and bolted out the door before any of them take more than a few steps to stop her.

So what, she's a bit of a liar. Cheating is what makes it fun.