beginning notes.

this is the second in a series of short fics im planning to do about she-ra post-canon — following the events of season 5.

second up, killing two birds with one stone: glimmer and bow (with king micah)!

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way back home

if the unknown have to,
wait one more day.

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Suffice to say, things were less than ideal.

Glimmer paced about her bedroom, a bundle of nervous energy.

While the original plan among the four — the self-proclaimed best friend squad — was to go on another intergalactic adventure, it wasn't long before they realized how much they were needed back at Etheria. There was a need to rebuild; to restore order and balance after all the chaos Horde Prime left in his wake.

There was still so much that needed to be talked about.

One such matter, something that particularly required Glimmer's attention, was the matter of royal succession to the throne of Bright Moon.

With King Micah — her dad — having returned from apparent death, the question remained on everyone's minds:

Following his return, who would lead the people of their kingdom?

In the spirit of full honesty, she knew what she wanted to happen.

But she also knew that what she wanted was selfish, and not fair to so many people; especially to those she cared about most.

Glimmer sighed, moving over to her window. She looked outside— the vast expanse of her kingdom and the forest making itself known to her. This was her domain. This was where she ruled . Even at this point, it still felt unreal.

Queen Glimmer still didn't sound quite right to her.

It was the sudden shot of an arrow that disrupted her thoughts, the arrowhead only a hair's breadth away from piercing her own.

Then, it unraveled:

Look outside!

Biting back laughter, she glanced downward, already knowing what to expect as an all-too-familiar figure came out of the shadows; a bright smile on his face, waving almost maniacally. "Hey, Glimmer!"

She fought the smile that threatened to form on her own. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned, then shouted back: "What did you say? Come down here!"

Glimmer rolled her eyes. Now that was a little too familiar.

Without even a moment's hesitation, she teleported to him, grabbing hold, before teleporting the two of them back to her room.

"So, what are you doing here?" Glimmer finally asked, immediately letting him go and turning around after realizing their close proximity.

"My Glimmer senses were tingling."

She turned back at him, a confused eyebrow raised. "Your… Glimmer senses? "

He smiled. "When you're upset, I get that feeling in my bones. And I have to come to you." Bow replied, then paused. "It's today, isn't it?"

The queen sighed, sitting at the foot of her bed, patting the side for Bow to sit next to her. " Yup. " She simply responded, popping the 'p' for emphasis. "We're going to make the decision by tonight, then announce tomorrow."

"... have you told King Micah what you wanted?"

She shook her head. "Definitely not. I don't want to stress him out or do this to him— I mean, he is my dad, and I just got him back, and it'd be so selfish …"

Two hands shot out to grab hers, which she barely noticed were already shaking. "Hey," Bow started, turning to face her directly, as he intertwined their fingers together. "It's not selfish."

Glimmer looked down, pointedly ignoring him. "But it is!" She only responded; softly, almost helplessly. "I can't tell him I want to keep the throne."

"Why not?"

At that, she almost exploded, standing up to throw her hands in the air. "Because!" She cried, shaking her head. "He's lost so much ; all of this must be so confusing for him— coming back from almost-death, then realizing his wife— mom , is gone, and that I was kidnapped, and that the entire planet was being taken over by the Horde, I can't— I just can't be the one to take his kingdom away from him too."

"Besides," she continued, voice barely above a whisper. "During the short amount of time I was queen… well, we both know how it ended up. I don't know how anyone could have messed up that badly so quickly."

"It wasn't that ba—"

"I doomed Etheria, Bow." She pointed out, flatly. "I brought an intergalactic threat to our planet, and it was almost destroyed. I could have been the cause of the destruction of our entire universe ." She was on the verge of crying, now. "If you and Adora and Catra and everyone else weren't there…"

Before Glimmer could continue, she felt herself get scooped up in a sudden hug. "But we were there, Glimmer." He started. "And we're still here for you now. All the princesses, King Micah, me … we know how hard you've been working to protect us. You only did what you thought was best."

"And I was wrong! I was so close to costing so many innocent lives, all at my hands!"

"You made a mistake ," Bow stated, sternly. "You were doing what you thought was best for your people; even if it was wrong and pretty misguided." He smiled, tightening his grip around her. "But all that really proves is that you should listen to your friends more. Especially me. I'm always right."

Glimmer bit back the laughter that threatened to bubble out of her mouth. Instead, she looked up at him, eyes filled with doubt and anxiety. "Are you sure I could do it?"

"I know you can," he responded, confident. "And I'll be by your side the whole time."

She smiled. "Thank you, Bow." Bow smiled back, about to let her go, until he felt her hands tighten around him, refusing to let go.

"... Glimmer?"

"Bow." She started, almost hesitant. "I know we haven't said or talked about it after defeating Horde Prime because we've been so busy, or maybe you didn't really feel the same way and it was just adrenaline talking, but I—"

"I love you too, Glimmer." He cut her off. "And I definitely feel the same way." Bow continued, a light laugh escaping him. "I just didn't want to pressure you with all this while you had all this other things to think about. I didn't want this to be a burden."

Glimmer smiled, leaning closer to him than they already were. "This— you — could never be a burden. And I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

Bow smiled, moving closer, lips only inches apart…

Until the door slammed open.

"Glimmer, my wonderful daughter, we still need to talk about that issue of who will rule Bright Moon, those stuffy council members are practically hounding me with questions and... Oh! I— uh— sorry to interrupt, I'll be on my way, please go on as if I was never here and…"

"... Dad?!"

Glimmer was horrified, immediately pushing Bow back as he tumbled over and hit the foot of her bed. " Ouch?!"

"I'm sorry, Glimmer, I didn't know Bow was here in your bedroom and—"

" Dad…"

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you, I used to sneak in the castle to go and see Angella— your mother, we were both growing and you know how that goes…"

" Dad…!

"What? I know you're not my little girl anymore, you are Queen of Bright Moon, and we do need little princes and princesses— though not any time soon, I hope… you're both too young, please keep it PG—"

"Dad, shut up! "

Glimmer finally fumed, shocking the other two men in the room into silence. She was the color of a tomato now, and about ready to disappear. "Bow and I aren't doing anything like that. We're just…" She paused, fumbling over the right words to say. "We're still figuring things out, and!"

King Micah laughed, a bright smile on his face. "Oh, don't worry. I was just teasing." Then, he winked. "Though I do think that Bow would make a fine king of Bright Moon one day."

At that point, Glimmer wasn't the only blushing mess in the room. "I— uh— thank you, King Micah."

Then suddenly, she looked up, eyes filled with confusion. " Wait … you still want me to be queen?"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you'd want to be king again. After all, it's your throne."

King Micah only smiled. "No," he started, walking over to his daughter. "Not anymore. It's yours now." He looked up, stretching his arms. "I've had my time ruling over this kingdom. And besides, I've been gone for years . Things have changed, and I'm still catching up!" He laughed. "What Bright Moon really needs now, more than ever, is you . Along with your friends and Princesses, you saved Etheria, and I couldn't be prouder of my daughter."

A pause, and a wistful glance. "I'm sure your mother would be proud, too."

At that, Glimmer started tearing up again, wrapping her hands around her father. "Thanks, dad." She managed to say. "I really miss her."

King Micah hugged her back. "I miss her too." He replied. "But I'm sure that wherever she is, she's watching over us." He pointed at Glimmer's heart, then to his own. "And she'll always be in here. The love she has for us will always be in our hearts."

Glimmer laughed, softly, before letting go; as King Micah offered his hand to her.

She turned to Bow, who only nodded, a supporting and loving look in his eyes.

"Shall we, my queen?" Her dad asked.

Glimmer smiled.

"Let's go."

end notes.

this was meant to be a glimbow fic i have no idea why king micah showed up akdfjs . o well moving on,, queen glimmer in season 4 was a: Nightmare, but i still like the idea of her working to be better instead of abandoning ship completely (disagreeing with me is completely valid, though!). also- king bow is good content and i would Very Much like to see it.

anygays, i'm not sure if anyone cares about my opinions on this ship but at first i was ? very lukewarm about them ? lovers are great but platonic soulmates are good too! i was still happy with how it ended up though ,, so i win either way ig :D (even if i kinda hate the ship name im so sorry why use glimbow whe is RIGHT there.)

thank you for reading! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～