Author: Ashley

Title: Contractually Yours

Rating: M - Mature

Part: 14/?

Pairing: Mon-El and Kara Danvers (Zor-El)

Word Count: 3,516

Summary: Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supergirl, DC Comics or anything related to such things. The ideas, dialogue and plot points of this AU were inspired by the show, but they are my own. Plagiarism isn't nice. Please don't steal my ideas.

A/N: Hi everyone!

Sorry it took me so long to get this update out. I've been slammed at work, and working more overtime hours. By the time I get home, I'm too tired to even think about posting an update, and I've been sick for a while (yay stomach ulcers!) so that hasn't improved my writing mood.

But even when I don't post for a while, don't get worried! I have every intention of completing this story, and I have an outline, so it'll be done. I just can't always promise consistency in updating when this is essentially an unpaid job, and unfortunately can't be my top priority. I'm currently finishing writing Chapter 27, so I can at least confirm this will get that far ;)

Thanks, as always, for reading and I hope you enjoy Chapter 14!

Chapter Fourteen: Courtship Rings and Fluffy Blankets

Day Fifteen

Breakfast was quiet. Alex had joined the four of them, and they all sat silently and ate. Nobody asked Alex any questions; nothing about where she'd met Kara, about their lives growing up together, about anything that she enjoyed or was looking forward to doing on this planet. Nobody seemed to care to chat and Kara wasn't going to bring anything up.

As their plates were being cleared and the girls stood up to leave, Rhea finally spoke.

"At noon we will all meet back here for the first meeting regarding the wedding. We'll be discussing the invited Wedding Party and the ring choices we have available for you both. Alexandra, you are welcome to attend as we assume you will be a part of the Wedding Party."

Alex looked to Kara and she rolled her eyes to say, 'obviously'. "Yes…uh, your Majesty. I'd like to attend if that's okay with everyone," she nodded, her eyes flicking to Kara to ensure that she addressed her properly.

Rhea seemed pleased and waved a hand in their direction, signalling that they could leave for the time being. Mon-El stood and left without a word at all.

By the time noon rolled around, the girls found themselves back at the conference room table; the room that reminded Kara about the awful day the contract had been slid across the table toward her; the contract that changed her life forever. Alex sat next to Kara, who sat next to Mon-El, and both sets of parents sat across the table. Kara was smiling at her parents and they were smiling back. Mon-El parents on the other hand looked far less pleased to see their son and Kara couldn't help but feel bad for him in a way.

She may be stuck on this planet and in this house, but at least she wasn't related to those awful people who seemed to hate their own flesh and blood.

"First thing's first," Lar Gand started. "We will need to discuss who will make up the Wedding Party. Kara, we understand Alexandra will be standing up with you."

Kara nodded, "Yes, please."

"Alexandra," he turned to the girl. "You'll be required to wear the dress chosen for you by my wife, but the colour choice will be Kara's. Should you have any preferences, you are advised to share them with her, however, she is not required to suit your desires. Mon-El, we understand Winn is to be standing up with you. The same rules apply, however his suit and yours will be chosen by your mother."

"Whatever," he sighed. "I know I have no say in this damn wedding anyway. I still don't know why I have to even be here for this."

"You're required to be here because you are the husband-to-be," Rhea snapped. "You need to know what is expected of you because you will not be ruining this day and putting shame on our family for it."

He sighed heavily again and didn't say another word.

Lar Gand continued, "We all, as your parents, will sit in the front rows of the Great Hall. The left side will be for Princess Kara's family and chosen guests. The right side will be for ours. All guests will be vetted by us of course, but you ultimately may choose who you wish to invite."

"Now, for the rings," Alura started excitedly. "We have some selections for each of you. As was noted in the contract; the rings currently on your fingers will be removed and replaced by a gold band."

"Kara looked down at the ring on her left hand; the ring she didn't choose, the ring Mon-El didn't choose, the ring that was literally thrown at her before she slipped it on to her own finger. It was plain; nothing to it really. She hoped her parents had chosen some options they thought she might like so she could at least have some kind of favourable choice. She'd hate to have to wear something for the rest of her life that Rhea had picked out. Wait! What was she saying? Not for the rest of her life. For the rest of the contract. Then she could take the damn thing off."

Zor-El picked up a box from the side of the table and opened it, sitting the base inside the lid. It was filled with eight rings; four thin and feminine looking bands alongside four thicker bands.

They sparkled under the light as he pushed the box toward the centre of the table. Alex leaned into Kara as she tried to get a look inside the box.

"Ooh," she cooed, and she received a glare from Rhea.

"Alexandra, you have no say in the ring choice."

Alex looked up at her startled. "I know," she said with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm just admiring them."

Kara scanned the rings in the box. Her eyes landed on one in particular. It was a very thin band; braided yellow gold. It had no diamonds, no real sparkle. It was subtle. She wasn't excited about having to wear a ring to represent a marriage to a man she didn't want. It would almost blend in on her hand and be barely noticeable, but the craftsmanship was gorgeous. She was about to point to it; to slip it from its spot in the ring box and try it on when Mon-El reached over and pointed.

"I think that one," he said quietly and her eyes shot up to meet his. He shrugged before looking away. "It's small…I mean, subtle. I know you don't like the idea of wearing it. People will barely notice this one, but when they do, they'll be impressed."

She had to pay close attention to keep her jaw from dropping open. His finger had pointed at the braided gold; the ring she'd chosen herself for the same reasons he'd named. She nodded and moved to take a hold of the ring.

"I was going to say this one anyway," she said quietly. "I don't want anything too flashy." She pulled off her silver ring and sat it down on the table before slipping the gold one on. She moved her hand around, the ring catching the light. "Yeah," she nodded. "I like this one."

"It's really pretty, Kara," Alex whispered beside her.

"The choice has been made," Lar Gand smiled. "Mon-El," he nodded at the box and Kara slid it closer to him. She took the new gold band off her finger and replaced it with the silver one again.

He looked down at the box, his eyes flicking between the four male rings. Kara stared at them, too. They all looked the same to her; solid, yellow gold bands. No etchings, no diamonds, nothing distinguishing them from each other. He finally pulled one out of the case.

"This'll do," he sighed. "They all look the same to me." He held out a gold band before sliding it onto his finger to replace the silver band, the same way that she had done mere seconds before. The edges curved into his finger and it was shiny enough without being obnoxious. He slid it back off and slid it along the table toward his parents. He put the silver ring back on his finger and looked up at them.

"Are we done here?"

"A final thing for today," Alura started sweetly. She looked at Kara, "Sweetie, you have to start thinking about your dress." She looked at Rhea and Lar Gand. "We've discussed it and have decided that the final dress will be your choice. Whichever you want to wear. We may narrow down the choices due to having to be respectful as the Royal Families of this new cohabitating planet; nothing too scandalous or obnoxious…not that we'd expect that from you, of course, but the final dress you wear will be of your choosing."

Kara let a small smile slip onto her lips as she nodded at her mother. "Thanks, Mom." She looked to Rhea and Lar Gand, "And you too, thank you."

"And now we're done?" Mon-El questioned as he began to stand.

"For now," Rhea stated firmly and he turned to leave the room.

"Kara," Alura started. "We'd like to take you and Alex out for lunch today and we're going to do some shopping at the mall in the city. Queen Rhea has advised that you require more clothing, specifically without our family crest on it. We're trying to ease you into the community without any hostility and the crest may come off as rude at this point in time." She turned toward the Daxamites. "We'll have them back in time for dinner and we'll return again tomorrow for the next short meeting about the wedding."

The girls stood and eyed each other. The mall! Finally getting out of this Palace and doing something fun with people she actually liked for a change.

"We'll meet you at the front door in ten!" Kara smiled before she and Alex rushed back upstairs to get ready.

Mon-El wandered the hallways of the Palace. It was no more quiet than usual, but he felt like something was missing. It had only been just over two weeks since Kara had started living with them, but since she and Alex had been out with Kara's parents for most of the day, the house had felt somewhat empty the entire time. It was getting close to midnight and he hadn't seen the girls since dinner. Kara wasn't in her room and he didn't know which guest room Alex was staying in. Curiosity got the better of him and he found himself moving about the Palace looking for where they might be.

He walked by one of the entertainment rooms on the main floor and he noticed that the room light was still on; the television set to a channel that frequently played various Daxamite movies; low quality, cheesy films most often, but it was easy to get engrossed in them. The lights and television were on, and there were the two girls, but they looked to be sound asleep. Kara was on the sofa directly in front of the television, lying on her side, curled in a tiny little ball. Alex was on the other sofa perpendicular to Kara, stretched out along the cushions, a blanket draped across her body.

He moved toward the end table by Kara and picked up the remote for the television set, pressing a couple of glowing buttons that made the television screen dim and fade to black before disappearing completely. He set the remote back down on the table and the noise of it hitting the top made Alex's eyes flutter open.

Alex's eyes adjusted to the bright lights in the room before she slipped her eyes shut again. She had noticed Mon-El standing there, and she cracked her eyes open just a peek; wide enough that she could see his movements without him noticing she was awake. He was just standing there staring at Kara and Alex was intrigued.

He watched Kara for a moment; slow, steady breaths moving in and out of her body. Her knees were curled into her chest, a small pout on her lips, with a slight furrow to her brow. It occurred to him that she might be cold. He reached for a fluffy blanket draped across the back of the sofa she was sleeping on and he shook it out in front of him. He carefully draped it across her body, tucking it gently under her chin and making sure to cover her entirely. His hand reached out and he brushed a lock of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear before taking a step back.

She did something to him. He didn't really understand it, but when he looked at her, he felt something inside of himself light up. His parents, his life, this Palace; it all made him angry, annoyed, exasperated. It made him scoff at people, be sarcastic, be rude; say things that made himself feel better about the crap he had to live through daily. But when he looked at Kara…even with her utter disdain toward him, there was something about her. She made him feel a little lighter.

That was probably just because she was stuck in this damn place with him, too. He had to face his obnoxious parents every day, and now so did she. It was a little easier to do knowing that you weren't doing it alone; even if she never really said anything out loud against his parents.

He watched as she stretched out a little under the blanket, the furrow of her brow softening. He sighed lightly before turning and leaving, his hand flicking off the lights and closing the door before he went.

Alex lay on the sofa, a small smirk on her face as she looked over at Kara. She was still dead asleep, having no idea of the way Mon-El found that blanket and caringly arranged it over her body, tucking her in. If she wasn't half asleep, she would have laughed out loud. Kara hated the guy, but clearly he was warming up to her. Her eyes slipped closed. She'd have to fill Kara in on this in the morning.

Day Sixteen

Alex's last day at the Daxamite Palace was the day that Kara had dreaded the most (well…for now, at least). She'd tried to be excited all day about their trip to the mall, their lunch outside of the Palace, and also for dinner with her parents, but it was hard to be excited about something that she knew was ending in merely a few hours' time.

After their dinner, Kara's parents were going to return to their hotel room, pack up their things and then come back to the Palace to pick up Alex and return to Krypton. So, she and Kara sat in the library to spend their last hour or so together before Kara had to go back to her unfortunate reality.

"So…" Alex started with a grin on her face, staring at Kara from a lounge chair on the opposite side of the library.

"What're you so happy about?" Kara asked, her eyebrows crinkled together. "My parents are coming back any minute. How can you even manage to smile right now?"

"I assume you were fast asleep last night and didn't see who came in to turn off the lights for us?"

"What're you talking about?" Kara thought back to last night. Right! She hadn't slept in her bed last night. They'd both fallen asleep on the sofas in the entertainment room. "I forgot we fell asleep watching that awful movie. Why? Who came in?"

Alex wiggled her eyebrows at her. "Mon-El, that's who."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Oh, who cares? How nice of him to turn off the lights in his own home without the assistance of a servant."

"Karaaa," Alex whined. "He came in and he turned off the television. The noise woke me up and I noticed he was just standing there next to you watching you sleep."

"Creepy," she stated.

"No, Kara," she laughed. "You must have looked cold or something because he took a blanket from the back of the sofa and covered you up with it; tucked it under your little chin and everything. Brushed your hair from your face with his hand." She sighed exaggeratedly. "It was adorable."

Kara tried to think back. All she remembered was that boring movie they were watching, they having been unable to find anything else worth paying attention to, and the next thing she knew, she was waking up this morning, face smushed into a decorative pillow, a crick in her neck, and an arm hanging off the sofa, knuckles resting against the carpeted floor. She did remember a blanket, but she couldn't recall where it came from. She hadn't thought anything of it when she'd woken up.

"So?" she asked with a shrug. "That means nothing."

"Oh, come on, Kara." Alex got up and moved to sit next to her on the oversized lounge chair. She nudged her over as she moved to sit. "I think he likes you." Kara gave an exasperated sigh in response. "He got his mom to let me stay here, he took care of you last night when you didn't even ask him to, he knew that you wanted that gold braided ring out of all the others before you could even hint at it."

"Again, why are you pushing this so hard, Alex?"

"Because before I'd started staying here, I'd just heard you talking about him and telling me how awful he was. But now I've seen you two interact. You may want to hate the guy, but you don't actually hate him. I think a part of you might actually be connecting with him. Or maybe a part of you just feels sorry for him…having to live in this house, having the parents that he has."

"Well, I do feel bad for him, and then he goes and does something selfish or annoying or disgusting and it makes me change my mind."

"Don't even try to tell me that you weren't already eyeing that braided gold ring before he chose it. Before you even said anything, he'd thought it was perfect for you. He knows you, even after this short of a time!"

"Okay, so maybe he's learned a few things about what I like and stuff. He can pick out a ring that I don't detest. I don't think that's enough to get me to want to marry him, thanks."

"Anyway," Alex started as she wrapped an arm around Kara's shoulders. "I'm tired of sounding like a broken record, so I'll stop telling you to go for it…after this last time. Kara," she turned and looked her straight in the eye. "Go for it! You've got nothing to lose."

"That's because I've already lost everything."

"Exactly," she agreed. "So, would you rather mope around here all miserable all the time, or at least try to see if you two can get a real connection? I see potential," she noted.

"Miss Alex," Mira interrupted from the doorway. "The Kryptonian King and Queen have come to take you back to Krypton."

"Mira," Kara stood up. "You can just call them my parents."

"I'm required to-"

"Never mind," she sighed and Alex stood up, too.

"I'll see you soon?" Alex asked.

"The first possible chance we get," Kara nodded as tears began to form in her eyes.

Alex cupped her friend's cheeks. "Stay strong, babe," she encouraged. "Before you know it, we'll all be living on the same planet. Hey, maybe I could move in here. This place is big enough for like at least ten families."

Kara laughed through her tears. "I'd actually really like that."

They held each other's hands as they walked to the front door. Kara both greeted and said goodbye to her parents after they'd met with the Daxamites for a quick wedding discussion, and she watched them walk out to the car provided to them by the Daxamites to take them back to the transmatter portal to Krypton. Kara sadly closed the front door behind herself.

All alone again.

Mon-El lay in bed; his eyes wide open and focused on the ceiling above him in the darkness.

Kara was crying. Again.

He had hung out with Winn that evening, but they hadn't made it out to the club so he came home solo. Now instead of being able to focus on the naked body of one or more women in his bed, he was forced to listen to the sound of her crying all night.

He knew she cried a lot. Particularly at night. Her sobs muffled by her pillow or her blanket or perhaps her hand. She likely thought she was being quiet, but he always heard her. Usually he was just better at ignoring her.

Maybe tonight she was being louder than usual? Her parents had left the hotel and gone home, taking Alex with them. She was only here for a few days, but they were basically inseparable the entire time. Yeah, come to think of it, she probably was more sad than usual.

Normally this wouldn't bother him. Since when did her happiness matter to him anyway? But the sound of her cries did something to his heart; a little twinge inside of him that made him want to open her door and tell her she didn't have to cry; that he would take care of her if she'd let him.

Wait.

He didn't mean that, did he?

That was just his extreme tiredness talking for him. What he wanted from her was for her to stop crying so that he could get some damn sleep around here. Instead of going to check on her, he squeezed his eyes shut, folded the ends of his pillow up around his ears and forced himself to shut down for the night.

A/N: Sending lots of love to you all!

Twitter: _ashleymaria_

(also, check the #ContractuallyYours tag on Twitter if you'd like to see pictures of the final ring choices)