Takes Two To Tango

After breakfast, Kara walked into her room humming, ready to catch up on her reading material, when she noticed an invitation from the Queen accompanied with a large gift box. The great royal family of Daxam never wasted a good opportunity to throw a party and a ceasefire deserved a ball. Kara was surprised that the invitation was for the same night, but then again, Daxamites did nothing more efficiently than organize parties. She opened the box to uncover a little black dress, the top put together with straps and strategically placed bits of cloth, with an asymmetrical layered chiffon skirt, teasingly short in the front and falling to her feet at the back. She was getting accustomed to daxamite attire but she found it a bit much for her taste. When she held it and saw her reflection in the mirror, she found the idea of wearing it secretly titillating.

Later, that evening… Stefan played casually with his favorite dagger while Mon-el sampled the feast, the pair of them regally dressed in matching closed-neck black Daxamite suits. "Can you put that dangerous antique away? I prefer your fingers attached to your hand," Mon-el requested, eyeing him judgmentally.

"I don't tell you to put down whatever book you are obsessed with at the moment just because I prefer your eyes on me!" Stefan tucked the beautifully carved blade into its equally exquisite sheath, hanging on his hip.

"Yes, you usually just toss it to the side whenever you want attention!" Mon-el retorted, grabbing two goblets of Zakarian Ale from a server.

Clinking glasses, Stefan noted, "Hey your future wife is here!"

"For Rao's sake, can you stop joking about Kara?" Mon-el begged, shaking his head in disappointment.

Stefan raised his eyebrows before taking a swig at his drink, "I was referring to the swarm of women who consider your mother a role model," Stefan pointed his goblet in their general direction, "but it's interesting that your mind went straight to Kara," he smiled mischievously.

Kara walked into the ballroom, her hair up in a bun, uncomfortably pulling at her dress. The moment she felt slightly comfortable with the length of her dress, she noticed how generously the neckline was cut and immediately pulled her dress back up. There was not a single person in that room who felt less at home in their own skin.

Mon-el caught a glimpse of her struggle while chatting up Stefan and he couldn't help but smile at how endearing it was. She was a vision in that dress but it was clearly his mother's way of torturing a newly minted Kryptonian diplomat with kindness. He made a mental note to make sure she has access to clothes she might find appropriate.

Kara was definitely impressed by the feast that was put together at such short notice. Belly dancers were fluidly undulating and shimmying in the center of the room. Couples danced gracefully around them and people feasted and drank on the sidelines. She quickly spotted Mon-el and Stefan in a corner close by.

Kara walked up to Stefan and Mon-el, beaming, "I thought the two of you would be stealing the spotlight on the dance floor right about now."

"I don't… dance…." Stefan grumbled. Eyeing her head to toe, "You look stunning in that dress, by the way," Stefan smirked before slowly sipping his ale.

Kara's smile stretched ear to ear. Did Stefan just compliment her? That was a much unexpected first and it was truly spectacular to witness him go from hellhound to puppy over the course of one day. Maybe puppy was a stretch for Stefan, Kara thought as she caught a glimpse of Mon-el's endearing smile. "Thank you. You look very handsome without armor as well," she nodded. "Actually both of you look very handsome tonight," she smiled at Mon-el.

"I wasn't in armor this morning either," he corrected, pointing her goblet at her.

Kara pressed her lips together, trying her best to repress that memory further, "I'll book a memory wiping session as soon as I get back to Krypton."

Stefan dramatically clenched his chest, "I would be hurt if I hadn't noticed your jaw drop earlier."

Mon-el stretched his arms between them, "I almost enjoyed you two getting along, momentarily. Let's take five on the sass contest before the positive development is reversed." The pair of them almost looked offended by Mon-el's insinuation when Mon-el offered his hand to Kara, "Dance with me…."

Kara offered him her hand in return, "I would love to." They proceeded to sway gracefully on the dance floor, hands clasped together while her other hand rested formally on his shoulder, and his on the small of her back. They soon noticed Stefan dancing with the blonde woman Kara saw walk out of Mon-el's bed chambers that morning, "Didn't he just say that he doesn't dance?" she asked.

Mon-el circled her to take her place and get a good look at what she saw. He laughed, "That's Caroline and she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to! Can you believe that she organized this wonderful party on such short notice? If she didn't have to leave town soon, I would hire her as our in-house event manager." He locked eyes with Kara, who was rolling hers, unimpressed. Kara quickly grabbed a snack from a passing server, "Anyway, Stefan wasn't lying. He truly despises dancing, but that woman," Mon-el took a good look at Stefan and Caroline and moved his gaze back to Kara who had her mouth full at the moment, "I'm pretty sure she's a dominatrix."

Kara instantly chocked on her food. Mon-el ran a hand over her almost bare back, caressing her smooth skin, as she recovered from her coughs, "Are you fine?" he inquired, grabbing a glass of water from the attendant who came rushing to her aid.

After clearing her throat, Kara took a deep breath and placed the empty glass on the tray, after which the attendant quickly departed. He flicked a loose strand of hair edging close to her eyes and eased her back into his arms. "You have one complicated love life, Mon-el of Daxam," she quipped, shaking her head in disbelief.

Mon-el tilted is head in confusion, "Complicated? It's as simple as it gets, if you can even call it a love life!"

Kara closed the distance between them and wrapped her arm on his shoulder, around his back, "What else would you call the lovers' march I witnessed this morning?" she whispered in his ear.

"The pursuit of physical pleasure with strangers, ships passing in the night," he casually shrugged his shoulders.

"I never really understood Daxam's casual objectification," she looked away, equal parts frustrated and intrigued.

"That's an arranged marriage culture for you, when most people's romantic futures are predetermined at birth, then anything that happens before the age of latching holds little to no meaning," there was a twinkle in his eyes, reminiscing of his own youth. "Rarely people like Stefan and I end up in a unique position of not having a mate, be it due to tragedy or the circumstances surrounding ones birth and seldom when they decide to latch, we throw parties in their honor." He looked at her with such soft eyes, letting out a breath, the hopeless romantic in him peeking through the façade.

"And you judge Krypton's system of choosing ones career in the birthing matrix," she retorted raising an eyebrow.

Mon-el smirked, "That's an excellent comeback. I guess this is Daxam's way of keeping things less messy and keeping our perfect balance of emotional numbness and hedonism intact just like Krypton seals its people's fate for efficiency." He dipped her gently and pulled her back closer, wrapping an arm, that was gently resting between her shoulder blades earlier, around the small of her back.

"Personally, I would never marry someone I don't love," she said placing a hand over his shoulder and the other reaching for his raised palm.

Mon-el entangled their fingers almost instinctively when her palm reached out to his, "You make it sound so bad. I loved the fact that when I began courting Katherine before marriage, I knew that we belonged together forever and my love for her only grew with every passing day." His gaze grew distant as he recalled the first time he danced with Katherine in this very ballroom as man and wife. "People in arranged marriages do find love almost as frequently as people who marry for love, fall out of it."

"But why does it always have to be about getting latched? You and Stefan have something special and even if he doesn't believe in getting latched, it doesn't point towards the lack of a love life. You two are dating, as casual or open the relationship may be." She stressed with such adorable conviction.

"What do you mean by dating?" Mon-el shook his head in confusion.

Kara's feet stopped abruptly as she collected her thoughts, "On Krypton, dating is like courtship on Daxam, without an assurance of marriage but to get acquainted with a potential mate. It is usually monogamous but occasionally people have a much more casual dynamic, like you and Stefan." Taking the lead this time, she moved gracefully as Mon-el focused on nothing but her words, "Sometimes people decide that they will never get latched, like you two, but mostly they just wait to see if it leads to a deeper commitment. If one or both come to the conclusion that they aren't a good match, they fall apart and move on to someone else."

"Is there a set timeline for the courtship period?" he inquired.

"No! Some people get latched in a few months, some fall apart after years of dating," she said wrapping both her hands around his neck, as he held her waist with his.

"That seems rather cruel, to dangle the promise of forever in front of a person for an uncertain amount of time, while holding the power to crush their heart at any given moment. And how does anyone even decide if they've found their mate or not?" he looked at her like a hopeless lost puppy.

"It's not cruel, it's exhilarating!" She beamed letting out a dreamy breath, "Speaking from personal experience, there comes a moment when you realize that no matter how drawn you felt to the person, you two are just not meant for each other," her gaze fell in despair. "But I've heard from people that when it's meant to be, there comes a moment of clarity when you just know..." her eyes met his, "be it the first time you met or years down the line and it's absolutely magical."

There was something so warm and comforting about the idea, that all he could think about was how insanely blue her eyes grew to be as she talked of love, just like comets. He wasn't comfortable with this new assortment of emotions that he felt at the moment and his first instinct was to drown them in Zakarian ale to bury the discomfort in intoxication. There was something masochistic inside of him, that didn't want to swim back to the safe shallow waters, but to dive in and explore unchartered territories.

Thankfully the soft music slowly faded away and made way for an upbeat sensual number. Suddenly returned to his comfort zone, a wicked smile danced upon his lips.

"Urgh! I was dreading this the most," Kara whined.

Mon-el pumped his eyebrows, "Come on! What's the point of coming all the way to Daxam and attending a Daxamite party, if you don't even tango?" One of his palms abandoned her waist and he stretched it out or her to follow suit, "I can lead, but it takes two to tango," he winked.

Kara embraced the spirit of tango and slowly slithered her palm across his arm to join his palm, leaving goose bumps under his jacket of which she was completely unaware. His other hand slowly sneaked up her bare back; causing a mild shudder. In a quick dexterous move, he circled their upper bodies, slightly dipping her before he pulled her close with a jerk. She could feel his muscular abdomen crash against her and she dragged the nails of her free hand softly from his temple to his beard, which was surprisingly soft. They glided around the room with grace with perfectly timed kicks.

"You're a natural," Mon-el complimented as he let go of their joined hands and she gracefully plunged to the other side, her back arching over his forearm. With a slight push, her fingers clasped the side of his palm and they bent their knees, as their legs on the other side were smoothly sliding out together, until she was almost dropped to the ground. He towered over her, their hands raised up together, momentarily frozen in time, "That drop was too perfect for you to be dreading this at all!"

Embracing her inner hedonist, Kara's free hand found its way to the back of his neck as she rose, toying with the negligible hair length few inches above. "Oh I'm good at it, I just don't enjoy it as much," she lied, sensually drifting across the room with him.

Mon-el laughed, leaning back a little when Kara folded her leg and rest it over his thigh, her angle on his knee, stretching her other leg behind her for leverage, "Sure! It's pretty obvious how much you hate this," he teased. The palm resting on her back, slowly sliding over her rib cage, edging close to her breast as his arm wrapped around her back. Their lips were just touch of a hair away when her heart skipped a beat.

He moved back, creating some distance between them to cut the tension, he pulled her closer by their clasped hands until she was almost sitting on his thigh, his knee bent. The hand that was previously joined with hers was resting on her back, hers wrapped around his shoulder for support. Against her better judgment, her other hand moved on its own accord and held his face. His other hand slowly grazed over the leg that was slightly crossed over the other. She opened her eyes to gaze into his, as his hand gently swept up to her thigh. It was Kara's turn to fear her feelings, ranging from a visceral hunger for his hand to move further up to a deep vulnerability that the fragility in his eyes echoed in her.

His fingers dug into her thighs, too close to her hips as he pulled her back up. The leg he was holding onto wrapped around his waist instinctively as she gripped his back with both of her palms. His other hand slowly sneaked up on her back, leaving gooseflesh in its wake and she let out a ragged breath, an image suddenly popping into her head of her back against a wall, his hips grinding into hers. She shook her head instantly, reminded herself that the only relationship she wanted to cultivate with him was a professional one.

"Trust me?" he asked as both his arms quickly trailed up her sides and her arms, removing her palms that were clutching onto his back. Her leg, wrapped around his waist, begrudgingly found its way onto the floor when she nodded in agreement and stepped away. His hands slid down to her waist again and he swiftly picked her up like she was weightless and raised her over his head. Kara stretched out her hands and legs to strike the perfect pose. As he lowered her, she wrapped one of her legs over his back, her knee locking over his shoulder, until she was almost perched there. He rotated and Kara raised her hands up in the air as they moved magnificently. He held onto her waist tightly when he stopped to expertly dip her, Kara hung upside down, her knee firmly locked over his shoulder.

So much for her plans to cultivate just a professional relationship. At this point she was consumed by a very primal hunger for his mouth between her legs and he could almost smell her arousal. She let her hands fall freely and closed her eyes to block everything out. In that moment, there was complete and utter silence in the room and the only sensation that existed was his hands on her and her body against his.

He lifted her back up and she released the leg locked over his shoulder. He slowly pulled her down and it felt as if they were the only two people in the room, she held his face tenderly with one hand and her other palm hovered over his rock hard chest, which suddenly flexed underneath her palm. Smiling, Kara allowed herself to breathe in the intoxicating smell of his cologne for the first time that night, when he bit his lower lip in response. She noticed how it came out plump, colored and wet when he released his lip, she moved her gaze up to look into his confused eyes as she inched closer to the lips she was too thirsty to drink in.

The music stopped abruptly as Queen Rhea took to the stage to address her guests. Mon-el and Kara clumsily moved apart, so cruelly ripped from the paradise that was their little bubble. The silence between them was deafening as they eyed each other awkwardly. Kara tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear and looked away to listen to the Queen's speech.

Mon-el shook his head; there was no way that Kara almost kissed him. It was definitely the theatrics of the dance.

Mon-el noticed Stefan nodding his head in the direction of the exit, "Please excuse me… I have some urgent business to attend to…" Mon-el quickly walked out of the hall, his Jade Jaguar statue falling out of his pocket and at Kara's feet as he left.

Kara had never seen anything like it, the substance looked it was from another world. It was the shape of the object that she was taken aback by, she had never quite seen anything like it. She quickly picked it up, but just as she decided to follow Mon-el to return it to him she heard the Queen call out her name.

"Diplomat Zor-El… Kara… There you are! I would especially like to thank you for negotiating the ceasefire, a great first step in establishing peace between Daxam and Krypton," she laughed. "Let me not get ahead of myself; let's see how diplomatic Krypton's current General is…" Kara zoned out and politely smiled. She tried to leave but she was caught up with dinner, diplomatic duties and a follow-up conversation with the Queen laced with back-handed compliments and prejudicial remarks about Krypton, as if she was specifically searching was Kara's threshold. Thankfully, Kara was too happy and distracted by untamed thoughts of Mon-el.

A few hours later, when she finally had the opportunity, she sneaked away from the party. She had to return the tiny green statue to Mon-el and ask him what it was and where it came from. Mostly, it was a convenient excuse for her to visit his chambers. She hoped he didn't have company tonight because she really needed to talk to him about what just happened between them. Haunted by doubt, she walked through the east wing, observing that other than the guards at the entrance, there were no guards in the wing. She walked past her suite to get to the end of the corridor to Mon-el's room, when she noticed that the door to the hall right before Mon-el's was slightly ajar. Peeking inside, Kara noticed a mostly empty circular room occupied by hooded figures, Stefan and Mon-el in the center addressing them and a hologram between the two of them, a beautiful woman with brunette curls.

Kara's mind was on overdrive but she still couldn't come up with any rational explanation for this gathering. The more she thought about it, the more questions surfaced, with no answers to be found. She quickly pressed a button on her pendant to click a picture and quickly moved away to back up against the wall beside the door. Resting one hand over her heart, in an effort to calm herself, she absentmindedly rubbed her fingers over Mon-el's mysterious little green statue. Kara had her work cut out for her tonight; she was going to get to the bottom of this.