Engrossed in darkness... Mon-El lay awake disconcerted- enraptured with the distant historic sounds that swirled freely, listening intently to every pitter patter that fell against the glass of Kara's bedroom window. Sighing.. breathing deeply... it was at minuscule moments such as this deep within the midnight hours that his mind would fire rapidly... questions flying too and fro but still no answers to give... that he dared to figure out.
Head lulling to oneside, body rigid- the cities incandescent glow shined through both vibrant and neon. Mighty bold colours wrapping around the apartment furniture and Kara's woven threaded sheets. It's funny really how something so mundane as to how the light reflects here in this era could be so illuminating.. and not-not just in the literal sense of course but to put simply.. the sensationof the light during it's refraction, the nature of it's enchanting spectrum.. it's colouring.. it was just.. so subtly off, different compared to the stilted shades you'd find contained within the 31st century... the ones that were stale.. tinted yellow and polluted.
Wet eyes glistening, shedding a few ignored often unexplored tears... lost to the brevity of time, his throat bobbed as he tried to quell the chaos he still held clamped down around his insides. Wholly focussed on hues of deep rich orange... funky punchy purple and vivacious salacious pinks... it was exquisite, it was beautiful.
But admittedly not as beautiful as the woman that he slept alongside.. the one that he was so throughly enamoured with it quite frankly hurt. It hurt because it was only now that he was able to actually be here... their moments absconded, forcibly replaced to a past without her. Turning over... sliding silently until his head dipped back onto the plush pillow.. now on his side, the soothing scent of freshness and fabric softener hit the back of his nasal canal, nerve endings lighting up revelling in a level of satisfaction.
Stormy grey irises glinted swarming in the ambient night, dark- foreboding and honest.. a real rawness showing, pupils reacting blown wide to the utter vision that lay beside him. Kara Zor-El.. his guide, his motivation... his comet infused stunning wandering lover... nude apricot skin exposed and sweetly perfumed reminding him of a now foreign concept.. one of fragrant Daxamite forest flowers aromatic and enticing... and quite possibly the only eye-catching and remarkable thing on Daxam. Glittering golden hair cascading downward like a fairytale that was shadowed- showered in stardust accenting the spectacular lines and crevasses of two silently splendorous and fervently fire instilled shoulders.
Biting... teeth pulled against his lower lip, quivering Mon-Els vantablack eyes followed transfixed on the line of her sharpened spine until it reached the quilt. Just barely grazing, hanging loosely gracefully over an obscured and sinfully sublime hip bone. Another surge of emotion rose up as he watched her body lift on inhale.. a cute little stream of wispy puffs following not far behind.
Hesitantly- he held a fingertip just a hairbreadth away from the expanse of lusciously soft and decadent skin. Brushing lightly revelling in the velvety feel of her against hardened daxamite hands. Furrowed he didn't want to wake her, to be seen by her like this.
He felt... stuck, trapped between two earths.. two worlds... one that for so long didn't seem like the same orbiting sphere he'd come to know and love. The future was hopeful but it still wasn't the same, it wasn't the place he'd originally landed... the perky.. exotic place full of human creativity and exploration.. the newbies on the block hyper to get started and to expand their horizons, change civilisation for good... gather their knowledge.. to experience life the way they should.. exuberant and joyful.
No the future was as dim and frail as it was still intrinsically hopeful. Old and worn due to the measure of time. People were reckless.. unbothered about learning more, because why should you? When they already know so much... when technology had expanded beyond at least his understanding. In his opinion they really didn't know all that much at all..because I mean what is it to be human without Shakespeare? the Mona Lisa... Bon Jovi... without true human ideals. And to be honest without any government body, without the age of heroes... it wasn't real.. not until the Legion at least ... and even then.. after- it was like living on an event horizon, there was no escaping the black pit you were forcefully being dragged into, barely surviving each day by scraping up the last of your oxygen, using the reserves and hoping for a miracle. Without control, structures in place often people where left on the wayside, to deal with their own issues and problems because... nobody had enough empathy to help you, to provide a sense of safety. It was an isolating lonesome lost environment that if you didn't know your way around throughly it could be distasteful... yet... always still there where those subtle reminders pointers as to why he continued striving forward performing his duty amicably when all he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry.
LCorp for example had propelled itself into the only source of Technological, Medical and Scientific advancement within the milkyway galaxy ... translucent billboards hanging hovering in the skies chilling' beside clouds talking of the next cure, the oncoming 'revolution'... they weren't exactly wrong... Lena Luthors legacy had lived on for good, for more than they ever thought possible. Looking up they had always made him smile.. in melancholy, in reverence and reverie about the time he was almost betrothed to their founder. That made him chuckle with a kind of instantaneous smile bathed in the bittersweet aftertaste about his mother. Remembering a more stable time when they tag teamed and subsequently fled finding a way out of that precarious battle and as always Kara Supergirl had come to their rescue. That strange sense of glee would suddenly fall turning straight into heartache, a twisting turning scalding poker reminding him of the life he'd never get to have with her.
Inevitably over the years he'd come to hate those billboards, they'd bubble and churn connect him to the faded memories of passionate thrilling moments on the couch, of a potential Davers-Matthews family and their sheer love for one another, Kara's adorable cheeriness about oldage musicals... everything everything that made his life whole.
Instead he chose to remember her by honouring her the only way he knew how... by staying committed to his promise.
Embracing the two souls that had actually showed him compassion in this universe, the woman born of titan who'd come to represent her colony pushing for its best interests after they'd encountered him within its encompassing skies.
Querl Dox... who had administered the cure after Mon-El had breached the space-time anomaly... they'd sought him out, the genius, the scientific mind a sentient computing life form who'd stood beside and stayed behind to analyse, to not only give him a way to live on earth.. courtesy of a Luthors legacy but to help find a way back to his own eagerly awaited time.. 2017. Although after years of exhaustive complex research and zero breakthroughs they had eventually given up, Mon-El had settled a little more unwilling, somewhat uneasy but inevitably choosing demanding to sacrifice his dreams, only to that of a higher power... a calling that was much more important.
The Formation of the Legion.
Descending into chaos, earth and titan at odds... on the precipice of destruction... a need for unity Mon-El had inspired Imra with stories of the old ways, of a Kryptonian she knew he longed for, of how one woman stood braced with the burden of a whole world on her shoulders... standing chanting leading the way for love, hope, help and compassion to be the national anthem. Seeking out those in need and fighting for the upmost vulnerable like an ancient warrior.. even when at times in the darkest of days... when they thought nothing else could be done... she carried on because of HOPE...
... hope was her motto.
With that newly discovered drive they trained, they learned from each other... they wielded their powers for the betterment of their society and held tense suspense filled talks and peace accords... eventually... it came down to one thing... trust... Titan and its league of noble houses that existed much like krypton didn't trust Earth.. hadn't for centuries and they didn't know enough about this new formation of superheroes to believe that honour was what they stood, thrived for and so reluctantly both Imra and Mon-El did what needs must, what he knew in his heart Kara would do if it meant saving the billions of innocent lives that would die if war broke out.
... they married... arranged... honour bound... a display of duty and values... a moral obligation and a commitment to that of both Titan AND Earths future together.
It was grim and transparent... the early days nothing but a fallacy, he tried his best to be respectful.. to listen, understand and be the husband she deserved because he didn't want to be that boy from Daxam.. the misogynistic selfish womaniser who only cared for himself and no other.
This may have not been the life he'd envisioned nor what he'd wished deep down but he'd cared for her... he vowed to try to love her... make sure to be there for her because that was a role of a husband.. and she deserved nothing less.
Eventually the blight came... obliterating whole planets throughout the quadrant. This was were everything changed, within their relationship the moment they grew close... as they consoled each other continuously on nights where the body count had been too great or they'd faced foes worldkillers that'd shredded any hope they held onto.
When fire raged and skin burned and their lungs lurched with the feel of blood on their tongue. Those where the days they grew to love each other.. found contentment and familiarity within their perilous circumstances.
They took out their anger... their resentment... their loss on each other through lustless passionate angst ridden sex.
So yes... Imra- Imra was more than she once was... she was a friend a confidante... but she wasn't Kara.
And that's the bottom line... she'd never be able to fill his heart like that, fill his stomach with errand butterflies until its bursting.. packed full with a desire... a warmth a home like nothing else... nothing he'd had before..
...because he'd never be able to forget... forget what was.. what has come to pass... every time he looked to her he was reminded of that fact.
Kara on the other hand his mind went blank... his flesh lost to the aura of peace and happiness... of a community and a closeness no other could reciprocate.
They just... understood each other.
Slamming back from his thoughts... Mon-El let out a wavering sob.. silent but vicious.. memories too excruciating to compartmentalise... to distance himself and internalise like he usually would.
Hand still brushing a section of Kara's back, desperately needing her warm passionate comfort and not wanting to add to her burdens... she woke up anyway.
Sensing something, feeling the partial palm flat against her she shifted, silky covers crinkling against beige undertones until her head rested next to Mon-El nose to nose blinking blearily, eyes connecting her demeanour exuded bright unadulterated happiness, until she was struck by his sadness. Lifting a palm up... azure orbs wavered over his pink cheeks, a tender arm manoeuvred until she was able to stroke at his beard.. her own heart constricting as she watched his tears flow.
Speaking hesitantly, face contorted in concern.. etched within the corners of two gleaming eyes "Mon-El?"
Lungs frigid and unmoving.. he gasped quietly because even after soooo many years she was just breathtaking... his emotions were so conflicted... being here with her, it was more than he could ever have asked for.. like he'd been awarded the most spectacular prize in the universe and he couldn't help but feel like he didn't deserve it... not after everything... after some of the choices he'd made.
Noticing his apparent lack of oxygen, the staccato of rhythm within the only organ that mattered his heart. Kara looked to his chest smoothing a warm hand over the now erratic beating drum, they moved in closer until his head lay resting on her shoulder and their naked bodies smothered together until their was no room left between them. Then she held him.. caressing the small of his back feeling him tremble and shake... his warmth oozing by the gallon.
Her own tears falling... gently, as he gripped her tighter, super strength coming in handy... soothing him she hummed, anchoring him with an old Kryptonian melody... one she was sung to as a child.
That allowed him some time for adjustment... to clear his mindscape of the haunted moments from the past seven years of when he'd felt incarcerated.
Eventually his lungs and heart evened out... coming down to a more reasonable pace... she kissed him... his cheek, his neck.. ran her hands through his hair and wiped away the watery remainders. Kara showed him that she loved him... through delicate movements, gestures that so often go unnoticed in the light of day but meant everything right now.
Waiting patiently... they lay in complex silence full of mannerisms, legs wound- entwined until he finally spoke up... turning to plant himself onto his back looking away somewhat shyly... embarrassed he said "I'm sorry."
Furrowing she sat up leaning on an elbow... "Mon-El look at me..."
He closed his eyes he couldn't.. bringing her arms reaching out she moved his head until he faced her again... he glanced wow she really did a number... exuding, emanating pure love... compassion... distress.. it hit home how much he really did affect her and vice versa.
...he wished it wasn't like this... that everything he was feeling could be switched off, that for a few stray encompassing ticks he would be without the baggage of his legionnaire status... that he could go a day without breaking down...in private but if anything he was glad to be a witness, to be on the receiving end of Karas overwhelming comfort... it was a privilege.
She asked whispering touching discreetly "Do you want to talk about it?"
...The concept of sharing felt like a cotton ball on his tongue, reeling back to all of the times he'd flung himself headfirst into battle without a moments pause... sat at the bedsides of fellow Legionnaires as they had died... in combat or at the hands of the blight... a merciless plague that took them one by one.
He was thankful they where able to save some... suspending them in fluorescent orange, within the tubules inside the Legion cruiser.
It was a blessing but nowhere near enough...
Looking to Kara he could tell her mind was working a mile a minute, through all viable possibilities, trying to understand... but he'd walked through fire.. and she didn't know it. He hadn't told her.
Insecure he asked "Why do you still love me?"
She blanched eyes wide... gaping... it took a moment until she sured herself, confident and no room for objection she made certain he knew "Because your still the man I fell for all of those months- um years ago... I see the good in you.. but not only that, when I'm around you I feel a sense of calm, a tranquility... a relief that's never been there before, You ground me... give me family.. fill me with emotion I never thought possible, living without you... it's been... tough and being here with you now I've never been so certain of the fact we're meant to be together."
Shuffling exhaling... he mumbled "...but when we first got here... you said I-I was different.." ashamed he looked down until he glanced over to her fierce expression...
Defiantly "you may have changed Mon-El... you may have gained knowledge, grown and gotten wiser, quieter with maturity but even I can see what's in here..." she tapped at his chest "and it's exactly the same."
At that his body softened features relaxing in acceptance and he beamed... chuckling wetly as they both laughed Kara smiling softly.
Curled up... he sighed the stress of his thoughts baring down upon him... he decided to share the weight.. just this once... if she allowed him.. and so he told her of why he'd been crying, why he still sometimes can't sleep at night... why he often stares up at the ceiling for hours at a time and she listened... laughed when he shared the eccentricity of brainys more awkward blunders with human conversation, respected the moments he still cherished with Imra because of what they'd gone through... cried when he told of his journey of survival... relying only on gut instinct and intuition to get him through moment by moment, second by second.
She was filled with heartwarming appreciation when he mentioned just how her legacy had thrived throughout the centuries ... of how he'd used her ideals... her message to bring people whole civilisations down from the edge. How he'd created his own version of hope and inspired a whole new generation to be better. How he'd used her compassionate nature and welcomed a group of stranded strangers refugees into his home.. made an extended family.. until one day they where just vanquished by the blight.
At that they choked up sobbing together, holding caressing loving each other... they made tender love... trying to take away the heartache and misery that comes with loosing it all.
Come morning they were throughly worn out, Kara's affections only blossoming now that she'd discovered the true depths of his heart. She was happy to stand beside him not only as a partner but as an equal for he was wise.. more experienced than her... he had the heart of a hero... and not one person could object and say otherwise.
And thus finally...
The tick tick tick of the grand master clock, the one that had hummed holding up the fabric of the universe had stopped- frozen between them, suspending them between the cracks of space time forever. He no longer had to anticipate when it'd come calling... alarm bells blaring yearning... tugging at him to go back because this was his home. His duties no longer lay with the Legion.. they'd get by well enough without him... he'd chosen to fight alongside Supergirl as Valor protecting National City from benevolent foes and wicked villains.
They lay sweaty... blankets strewn around them... hair ruffled hazy and finally finally they felt like a big weight had been lifted. There were no more secrets.. no more stifled jealous grumbles when talking of ex partners... wives, no more pain from what she'd gone through for he'd been through it too... no more continuous apologies. They were finally able to let go, move forward towards a closer future... not one in a different millennia but one were she could be his 21st century wife...
Sitting up the colours of dawn lighting up the room like Rao... hands enclasped together he asked...
"Marry me..."
And she said...
"...Yes"
Fin.