Tastes Like Caramel
Hello there super-reader! The name's Hype. I am an Arrowverse writer, who writer primarily for The Flash. Although, I also have grown as a fan of Supergirl ever since its pilot episode. At first, I shipped WinnAra. But now, I'm more of a KaraMel shipper. Because dang, their chemistry is off the Krypton/Daxam charts! This very cheesy story obviously takes place during Christmas. Hope you enjoy the one-shot!
Fun Fact: This is one of the two longest one-shots that I have made for my Christmas writing marathon, with an estimate of 5K words—which is a really big achievement and milestone for me. So please rate and review of what you think about it!
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the rain, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight. Walking in a Winter Wonderland.
The Michael Bublé cover played throughout National City Park. It was the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas. Every kid in National City are out of their houses either caroling, or playing in the snow. Whilst every adult, is trying to find the best Christmas presents for each of their loved ones. And every alien, trying to fit in with all of the cold and delightful surroundings around them. But for that one Daxamite, he was trying to learn what Christmas is.
Mon-El browsed the internet almost fifty times a day these past few days on what Christmas is. Like, how it's celebrated, why it's celebrated, what to do on Christmas, and what to give to people on Christmas. He wanted to do the same thing he did on Thanksgiving, which was to surprise Kara with a gift.
Mon-El had romantic feelings for Kara ever since he started to realize it. He slowly fell in love with her. Despite their arguments about how Daxamites and Kryptonians differ, despite how many times they have fought, and how many times he was rude to her, he still couldn't have the blind spot to not notice his deep feelings for Kara. She was a cute, strong, witty, and quirky Kryptonian.
"Maybe this is what I should get for Kara," Mon-El thought as he saw picture of the gift he was planning to give to Supergirl. "I should put a little more of design." He checked his wallet to find that he had enough Earth Money to get one custom-made.
"Hey," A familiar voice said behind him. "What are you doing on the computer?" Mon-El turned and saw the greatest I.T. man in the D.E.O. himself, Winn Schott. He quickly put the computer to sleep mode when he saw him.
"Nothing much, just finishing up on some research," Mon-El covered up.
Curious, Winn asked, "You're not watching anything . . . are you?"
"What would you think I'd be watching?"
Winn gave him a look that said, "You know what I'm talking about." But coming to the realization that Mon-El doesn't know it due to him not discovering it for himself yet, Winn just shook and said, "Nevermind."
"Okay," Mon-El nodded.
"What are you researching anyways?" Winn questioned as he kneeled to one of the control panels in the room.
"Just some stuff about Christmas and all that," Mon-El answered.
"And what are you searching about Christmas?" Winn queried.
Trying to keep the blushes to himself, the heart-throbbing Mon-El replied, "You know, what to do on Christmas, what you give your loved ones on Christmas, things like that."
"Lemme guess, you're trying to find out what to give Kara tomorrow?"
"What do you mean?" Mon-El gulped.
"I mean, you have feelings for Kara. No?" Winn gave him a grin. Making Mon-El blush even more, but this time feeling busted.
"How did you know?" He wondered.
"Well," Winn stood up and walked towards the Mon-El and continued, "remember that time when you asked me and James about Kara being chosen as someone's mate and we said no? Yeah, pretty much you gave us a hint about it."
"Okay, yeah I do have a 'crush' on Kara. And yes, I WAS trying to find the perfect Christmas gift for her."
"Well, what do you plan to give her?"
When Mon-El told him his gift to him, Winn raised his eyebrows, surprised that he could've thought about that when he was crushing on her.
"What?"
"Dude, I am 100% sure that it will be the best gift that she'll receive this year. Hell, it's a better gift than what I had in mind," Winn stated. "I'm sure Kara will love it, but what I'm more sure of is that she will love you more than the gift."
"How could you say?" Mon-El bobbled his head.
"Obviously, how she acts around you, how she speaks about you, the undeniable alien tension you guys have when having an argument . . . pretty much J'onn also figured it out."
"I just hope she doesn't spurn me," Winn shot him a confused look. "On Daxam, when a girl doesn't like or accept the boy as her partner, she spurns him."
"Well, first of all, on Earth we call it rejection. Second, I'm sure Kara won't reject you," Winn said. "I know Kara too well, I can see it in here eyes when she has fallen for someone."
"Thanks, bro," The Daxamite thanked. "Hope she'll love it." He smiled as he hoped that Kara would admire the gift.
On the other side of this story, Kara was in the mall, strolling with Alex. They were also trying to find gifts for their friends and family. Alex already knew what to give Maggie for Christmas—a special gun used by the D.E.O. with some modifications. Whilst Kara, was trying to find the best gift for Mon-El. She had never been this troubled in finding the best clothes for a guy. At first she thought of shoes, but Mon-El would get it dirty easily. Then a shirt, but Mon-El might outgrow it. Or perfume, but Mon-El would finish it in a matter of weeks.
"Argh," She groaned in despair.
"What's the problem?" Alex asked her looking-stressed step-sister. "You've been making those sounds for 10 minutes, and that's just in one store."
"I'm sorry, Alex. It's just that I never expected trying to find the perfect gift for Mon-El would be difficult."
"Wow, so you're getting a gift for your adorable Daxamite crush?" The D.E.O. agent smirked.
Kara started blushing faster than a millisecond, and asked, "What do you mean adorable Daxamite crush? He's just my friend."
"Yeah, friend that you've fallen in love with," Alex cheered. "It's pretty obvious—well, to me—that you like like him."
"How could you even think of that?" She became redder than before.
"Well, you're acting all quirky right now, and not to mention the way you talk about him, how you act around him, and how you congratulate him when doing a good job on a mission," Alex pointed out. "Oh, and that scrumptious kiss you guys shared while he was dying a month ago."
Kara flushed. She didn't know what to say. She felt like she was just caught red-handed. "Ok, fine. I gotta confess, I do have . . . feelings for that handsome Dax."
"I knew it," Alex smiled even more. "But why him? First, it was Winn. Then next was, James. I don't get why you chose him to be your interest of heart."
"It's not a matter of choosing, to be honest. My heart just drew near him for some reason. He just makes me smile a lot, he even makes me happy—and then unexpectedly, the next thing I know, poof! I fall in love with him," Kara says to Alex, letting some of the little thoughts that she keeps to herself.
"That's what you call the power of love. Or like I'd like to call it, the fate of love," She stated. "You will never know when you fall in love someone until you feel it. And you'll never know the reason why you fell until you explore it. It can be with or without any reason."
Kara just stood there looking at her sister, smiling. Alex was right. Kara fell in love with him for some unknown reason—which she hopes she'll find out, sooner or later—and that she was attracted to him because of it. "Thanks Alex, your the best problem solver," Kara gave her a smile. "I'll keep that in mind."
"You're always welcome," Alex smiled back. "Now, why don't I help you try to find the best gift for your Daxamite." And from there, she helped Kara on what to give Mon-El the following day.
December 25, 2016 / 19:00
Kara's Apartment
"Hey! Glad you could make it," Kara said to J'onn, as she welcomed him into her apartment.
J'onn smiled at the cheerful Kara when she greeted her. She always happened to be one of the greatest sources of happiness during special occasions. "Well, it's my pleasure. Plus, it frightens me—knowing that your sister will do at nothing into convincing me to join you guys," J'onn claimed, making Kara chuckle.
"Oh, come on. It's not like I texted you every 10 minutes today—and yesterday—about it," Alex chimed in, as she was walking to James and Winn.
The two boys were already there, preparing the table and food. Everyone was wearing tops that have relation to Christmas. But all of them just picked the easiest color, which was red. Winn was wearing a red polo. James wore a red v-neck shirt. J'onn clothed himself with a red sweater. Kara was wearing a fit and flare dress with leggings. And Alex was wearing red fit dresses.
Kara followed Alex to ask her, "So, where's Maggie? I thought she was coming."
"Oh, she's not coming. She took a vacation in Hub City with her parents and sister," Alex reasoned.
"Well, that's great. It's good to see that she still cares about her family," Kara said.
Saddened, Kara said, "Speaking of family, the only one missing in the party is our dear Daxamite friend, Mon-El."
"Really, Kara? One out of five people in this room knows that our dear Daxamite 'friend' is more than a friend to her," Alex teased.
At the second when she ended her sentence, a knock thumped on the door. Kara tended to it immediately. And when she opened it, she saw the person who she hoped who'd be there, Mon-El. Who was wearing glasses and a red v-neck sweater over a clean and white polo.
"Mon-El!" She greeted so very happily. "I'm super glad you made it! I thought you'd never come," Kara said delightfully.
"Well, I didn't wanna be alone for Christmas. And please, at least for tonight, call me Mike," Mon-El requested. "I'm not late, am I?"
Kara responded, "No, in fact, you're right on time, Mike."
So from there, the party started. The Christmas Party started with dinner. With the help and use of Kara's heat vision, Christmas Ham and all other foods were heated up flawlessly and perfectly. They all said their prayers, of course, before eating. Thanking the Lord for the food and celebrating his birthday. Mike was completely out of it, since he didn't choose his religion yet. The group ate peacefully, they had chats about Daxam, Mars, and Krypton. They also talked about how life can change with a pod crashing on Earth.
After Dinner and putting the dishes in the dish sink, they gathered for the opening of gifts at the Christmas Tree, which was just near the living room. Kara was the first one to give a gift to the team. She got small boxes from the fridge and inside it were cupcakes of her own recipe. And after eating one cupcake, they did their best to stop themselves from eating.
James received a shockproof and waterproof modified G-Shock watch that could call out an emergency signal to Kara or to Clark. It was from the team and enhanced by Clark himself. Whilst James and Winn's gift to each of them was, coincidentally, a Guardian S.O.S. device. At first they were all confused, until James finally confessed to them that he was the vigilante known as Guardian. They all took it all well and swell. Kara, being the most surprised. But separately, Winn gave James the ultimate gift—a big upgrade to the suit. The suit was now white instead of its dull and dark color. Winn said that it would give netizens and citizens a 'hopeful' impression of him as The Guardian.
Winn received his own smartwatch an D.E.O. badge from the team. But what excited and made him happy the most was a photograph of him and Superman. He must've gotten too drunk because of the wine, because the instant he saw it, he almost passed out. Making the team laugh. J'onn was surprised when he received a gift from the team, which was an upgraded Martian Manhunter Garb. It can give him 23% health regeneration attacks and 30% defense from attacks that are thrown at him. And J'onn couldn't be prouder. J'onn gave the team no gift, but instead a big thank you and appreciation for what they have helped him with that year.
Alex's only gift was to Kara was a cute white sweater with a red outline of the symbol of the House of El. Kara loved it and was very content with what she got, making Mike more than nervous. Acting as a gift from them, was a letter from Jeremiah. It was given to Kara when she was trapped at one of Cadmus' facilities that was shut down a month ago. She was overwhelmed and brought to tears of joy to read in her father's handwriting on how much he misses the whole family, and that he'd return one day.
Last person to give a gift was Mike. "I'm sorry guys, I don't really have a gift for all of you. I hope you guys understand, since I'm really out in the cold about Christmas. But I do have a gift for one person, which I was able to get," Mike said. Winn gave him a smirk and an eyebrow-raise. Whilst making Kara, rather anxious. "Kara," He called upon her attention, as he got a red box from his pocket and gave it to her. "I believe this is for you," the Daxamite smiled.
"Mike," she blushed. "How could you . . . "
As soon as she opened the box, she was dead-frozen in blush world. She saw the best of gifts that she'd receive this year. Her breath was taken away for a few seconds. It was beautiful. When she removed the real present from the box, everyone else were amazed. Each of them muttering a 'wow.' It was a necklace with a small pendant shaped as the symbol of the House of El, and the word 'Kara' engraved into it."
"How were you able to get that made?" Alex asked with a chortle.
"Well, I learned a few shops here and there," Mike answered.
Kara tried to put it on herself, but couldn't. So as Alex was about to get up and do it for her, Mike got his way there and helped Kara. Making her blush even more than ever. After Mike did her necklace, he joined the group as they gazed on how beautiful it was. "Mike, thanks. It's perfect," Kara expressed her gratitude with a hug. Wherein everyone just tossed each other a smile because of the two.
"Which reminds me . . . " Kara trailed off to her room with her superspeed and got back as fast as she could. She was holding a bag—which contained two boxes—and handed it to Mike. "I couldn't decide on what clothes to give you. So I started from scratch and thought of a better gift to wear, since you have been saving people these past few weeks by my side."
When Mike opened it, he was in awe and raised his eyebrows. He looked at Kara with a surprised face. "You serious?"
Kara replied, "I decided it was time that you had to get your own suit, Superboy." Mike pulled out the suit from the box. It was dang awesome. The suit was colored red, with a white cape and gold attachments to keep the cape locked on to the suit. And when he opened the second box, he obtained his red boots.
"Cool name," he smiled. "This really means a lot to me, Kara. Thank you."
And after that, Alex invited everyone for the last thing to do for the night. Which was drinking her mom's special eggnog. Everyone loves it. While Mike was drinking eggnog, Kara came by him and they talked.
"How were you able to make that suit all by yourself?" Mike asked her.
"I didn't, Winn made the suit. But I designed it myself."
With that response, he bobbled his head. "So this is what humans do during Christmas? Give gifts and have special meals . . . stuff like that?"
"Mhm," she replied. "Not to mention, there is a special thing that lovers do on Christmas."
Mike lightened up, "Really? What is it?"
"Well—it's not really just for lovers but for two people—, there's this plant called a mistletoe. And if a couple is under one, they must kiss."
"Wow, that's peculiar."
"I know right! Like, why would you expect two persons to kiss under some kind of plant?" she giggled.
"No, not because of that. Because look what's on top of us right now," Mike firmly said. The Kryptonian looked what was above of them, and unexpectedly, there was a mistletoe top of them.
"Okay, who put this here?" Kara said to the glaring audience, who were looking at them.
"Definitely not me," Alex kept the laughs to herself when Kara shot her a look.
The tension was in a heart-throbbing romantic state for the two. Kara and Mike both stood still for a matter of seconds. They were both staring deep into each other's glistening eyes, not knowing what to do. They didn't want to do it, even though they do want to. Kara and Mike couldn't deny that they liked one another, even though they were too awkward to say it.
With everyone looking at them and waiting for something to happen, the aliens couldn't even think. And when I say "couldn't even think" I literally mean that. Because the next thing Kara knew, Mike's lips touched hers in a split second. A stolen kiss, like others would call it. Everyone just cheered when one started it. Mike was smiling, just going wherever the flow of love would take him. While Kara on the other hand, was still in a trance of surprise of what just happened.
"Did I do anything wrong?" Mike asked her. "I was just following earthly customs. I'm sorry if-"
Kara cut him off, "No, it's okay. I just . . . " she stepped back, "Excuse me, I just need some fresh air to take this in." And with that, Kara ran to the balcony. Due to that happening, everyone told Mike to go chase after her. Knowing that they all had the same thinking, which was Mike having feelings for Kara.
After a few seconds, trying to find the right room which had the entrance to the balcony where Kara was staying. When he did, he quietly walked to her. After getting near enough, he broke the silence between them.
"Hey," he caught her attention as she was looking at the stars above them.
She looked back at him and said, "Hey."
Noticing that she seemed rather upset, Mike questioned her, "What happened to you back there? It looked like you were upset with what happened."
"I was not upset; it was just unorthodox for you to kiss me," she answered. "Not just that, but also surprising."
"Why would you say that'd be unorthodox when it should happen?" Mike asked her another question.
"Well, it's really kinda optional if you will kiss that person. If that's what I know," she states.
"Oh . . . " Mike trailed off his sentence. Like how he gradually trailed beside her.
"Yeah," she bit her lip.
But Mike knew something was up, so he kept the questions coming. "But something else is bothering you, what is it?"
"What do you mean?" she stopped biting her lip.
"If there's one thing that I know about you, Kara Zor-El, it would be that when something—that is really huge—is bothering you, you bite your lower lip for a period of time. But usually when something less significant is, you just purse your lips. Right now, you just bit your lower lip, not just pursing," the Daxamite made a clear and thorough explanation. Which was very astonishing for Kara; amazed that he knew one of the secret things about her. "So you gon' tell me or not?"
It took a few breaths in and out for Kara until she spoke the truth. She didn't really want to say it, but it seemed an ideal moment for her to tell Mon-El what really happened. She freed herself from the chains of lying and said what needed to be said.
"Ok, look. Umm . . . remember a month ago when you were unconscious from the Medusa virus?" he nodded. "While you were dying, you never really drooled all over yourself. That was just a cover-up for what really happened," she admitted. Making Mike intrigued of what the truth was. "You might not know this because of what Eliza did to you, but do you remember about you waking up the first time?"
Clueless and still being shaken, Mike threw a question back at her, "What do you mean . . . the first time?"
"You woke up, before I went and chased down that missile. And we talked about how it was sort of my family's fault that you were like that then-"
"Your family's fault?"
"Long story short, Medusa virus was made by my father."
"Oh."
"Yeah . . . and after that, you saw that I felt sad and disappointed at myself. So you tried to make me feel better in a sort of way that literally took my breath away," Kara paused, letting Mike take some of the tension and heartache consume him. "You kissed me."
And with those three words, Mike's world exploded, just like Daxam did. His heart felt like it was being squeezed—no, even worse, like an arrow was through it. He couldn't even utter a word for that brief second because of how much it was for him; he kissed a woman that he loved. Sure, he may have kissed his mate before on his home planet, but not the one by his choice. One of the special things about Kara was that she was a woman that his heart chose. Not what his parents nor family chose for him. It was not forced love. But Kara was a woman that his heart truly loved. A woman that his heart would really live and die for. And hearing that Kara knew about his feelings that he even did not know about, was heart-pinching.
"I kissed you?" he asked for his own clarification.
"Yeah, you did," Kara replied. "That's why it was so surprising for me that you'd kiss me just now. Because I know that kiss wasn't just to follow earthly customs, but to actually kiss me because of what you feel about me."
Mike nodded slowly and gently. So with nothing else left to say, he confessed, "Can I say something to you? Something that I hope that I will not feel guilty of."
"Sure," she assured him, "go ahead."
"Kara . . . before I couldn't . . . I mean after . . ." Mike tried to gather his thoughts and form words that he hoped he wouldn't be ashamed of. "When I was stuck in that Cadmus prison, I thought I was going to die. I thought that it was the end of me. And in what I thought were my final moments, all I could think of was you. I tried to avoid the thought of you. But for some reason you just kept on coming back to me. Then the next thing I know, you were brought into the cell next to me. When I saw you getting brought into the cell, I screamed your name and asked if you were okay and the guards said yes, much to my demise. I couldn't breathe until they answered me. I couldn't even think of anything, but you're wellbeing. Then it hit me. I realized and got the answer to my question on why you've been in my head those past few weeks. And it was that I have fallen in love with you," he paused for a second to catch his words and notably, his breathe. "Despite what the universe says about us—that we're different just because of our planets making us never meant to be, I love you."
Kara looked once more deep into his eyes, sensing on how much his heart is breaking for her at the moment. She was in admiration of how much his heart needed her. No man has ever said such words like that; words that could make her heart burn so badly. She already sought this coming, because of her knowing about his feelings for her. But she never really came to think on how heart-throbbing it was for her to conquer everything that he just said. She never really brought it up to thought because she was in fear of loving him. Because after Winn, Adam, James . . . she was afraid that her heart will have to deal with such a wave like that ever again.
After a few seconds, Mike uttered his words and started to leave. "No please don't," Kara said in her thoughts. She didn't want him to leave. She didn't want to be alone at that moment. And at that moment, her whole world suddenly slowed down. So without giving it a second thought. She let it all go. As he was about to leave, Kara murmured his name, "Mike."
He turned, "Yeah?"
Kara walked towards him and smiled as she declared her love for him, "That's everything that I wanted to her you say." Mike tilted his head in "Mon-El . . . ever since that talk with my mom on Thanksgiving, I never stopped thinking about you. It was like you were in my head every second since then, trying to get you out. And I didn't want to face the fact that you like me the same way, because of how broken I am. I didn't want to tell you at first. I didn't want to tell you about how I felt. Because I thought that I'd be more than broken if we ever got together with all that's happening with me," she said. "I thought that growing attached to you would become painful, and that's what I'm still fearing right now. But that doesn't change the strong fact that I love you," she ceased in her words in its track for a second or two and smiled. "I love you Mon-El, clear as day and black as night. As strong as Superman, and as dark like Batman, I am in complete endearment with you." Mike beamed up and kept his smile on. It took a few instants until he would say a word, because it was a lot to take in.
"Kara, first of all, you could've said that to me sooner. Secondly, if you don't want to do this yet, I will understand. And thirdly, I will wait for you, if that's how it's going to be," the girl smiled at his last sentence. She would never believe that I man like him would wait for her, but now she does.
"Please," she affirmed with him holding on until she'd be ready.
And now, neither of them knows who was leaning in, but they were. But soon eventually, they felt their lips latched together. Mike put his arms around her waist as she put hers around his neck. The kiss was full of passion, want, need, and most importantly, love. They felt the magical rush—the spark that was putting their heartbeats in sync—with that simple touch. The starry Christmas night sky above them, and their eyes closed to savor how special and diverse it was. With the feeling of not wanting to lose each other, not wanting to make themselves alone anymore. After a few seconds, they gently set their lips apart, letting them gaze wonderfully at one another.
"I love you, Mon-El."
"I love you too, and I promise that I'd wait for you."
"You know, somehow your lips taste like caramel," Kara said, making Mike chuckle. Then she acknowledged him with a smile, "Thank you for making the decision on waiting for me."
" Of course, anything for my princess."
With that saying, they both went back to the party, hand in hand. Knowing that each of them loves each other, with one going to wait and the other never letting go. And that they will—on one fateful day—be together forever.