Author: Ashley

Title: Contractually Yours

Rating: M - Mature

Part: 16/?

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

Word Count: 4,962

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,

Back again (finally!) with a new chapter. Now, I'm not sorry that I took a break from writing/editing to have some time for myself, because I had a great and SUPER JAM PACKED summer of fun. But, I am sorry that I unintentionally took time for a break with this story just when things were actually about to finally get somewhere (yay! slow burn!)...

In any event, thanks for reading, welcome back, and enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen: Downtown

Day Forty-Seven

It had been three weeks.

Hopefully that was enough of a cooling off period for Kara to actually listen to him. She'd barely spoken to him during that time, other than what was required at meetings about the wedding. Those invitations just wouldn't end! He could swear to Rao that there were going to end up being five hundred people at this damn wedding. And of course, hand written invitations for everyone! The Daxamite servants had to copy the letters from a template that Kara had written for them for the Kryptonian guests and it was taking twice as long.

Nonetheless, the wedding was getting closer by the day, and he knew that he really shouldn't put off showing Kara what the commoner Daxamites were living like for much longer. Maybe then she wouldn't think that she was so superior in comparison to him. As much as he hated the idea of marriage to a Kryptonian, and as much as he knew that his parents didn't care about people other than themselves, a part of him knew that he had to fulfill this contract in order to help save his own planet from deterioration, and to help save the Daxamites barely surviving here. So he stood in the doorway of Kara's room, eyes locked on her form, but she refused to look up at him.

Kara could sense him standing there, but decided to wait for him to speak first. When he didn't say a word and just kept standing there staring, she sighed heavily.

"What is it now?"

"I want you to come for a drive with me."

Kara's eyes still didn't leave the book in her lap. "Why would I want to go anywhere with you? And why would I care about what you want anyway?"

"Kara…"

She finally looked up at him and she noticed his attire. He was dressed down compared to what he usually wore; scuffed shoes, torn denim, a jacket with a visible hole in the cuff of each sleeve. Why would a Prince even own clothes like that?

"Why are you dressed like that? That outfit…" she asked confusedly.

"Because I'm taking you downtown. We have to fit in there so that nobody recognizes us or figures out who we are." He threw a pile of clothes on her bed beside her. "Put those on."

She looked down at the pile beside her, and she slid the bookmark back into her book before closing it. "Why are you taking me downtown?"

"I'll give you five minutes. Hurry up and change. I don't want my parents catching on to what we're doing." He grabbed the doorknob and closed her door for her as he left.

She picked up the hooded sweatshirt on the top of the pile. It was clearly his; oversized and just as ragged as the one he was wearing. She wondered how often he went "downtown", but knowing what Argo City looked like downtown, she didn't know why they had to dress like this. A pair of denim pants torn at the knees; a long tear down part of the thigh. She slid the fabric through her fingers. Denim; they'd long since given up on the making of the material on Krypton after spotting it on Earth. It was far too expensive to even try to replicate; too many other uses for its ingredients, and it was scarce on Krypton. Here, apparently even the disheveled lower classes living downtown could afford it? She eyed the closed bedroom door.

She didn't like him much; couldn't stand him most of the time, but a part of her said to trust him. That look on his face alone…

She decided to change into the outfit and give it a shot. Maybe he'd show her something worthwhile. When she came out of her room in her change of clothes, he was sitting on the edge of his bed, hands clasped together, knee bouncing…nervously?

He noticed her and quickly stood. "Ready?"

"Yeah, but Mon-El, why are we-"

"Wait here," he said before nearly running to the window at the side of the room. He looked down and nodded. "Shut the door," he instructed her and she looked to his open bedroom door. She closed it before turning back to him.

"Why are we being so secretive about this?"

He pushed open the window panes and told her, "Because my parents forbid me from going downtown without an escort." He hooked a thumb behind himself, signalling below them. "I have a pod waiting downstairs."

Her eyes widened. "Are we going to jump out the window?"

"Of course," he said, his eyebrows furrowed at her.

Her eyes widened more. "What?!"

He rolled his eyes. "Kara, there's a ladder attached to the wall outside." He waved his hand at her to get her to come closer.

"Why is there a ladder attached to the Palace?"

"How do you think I used to sneak out when I was a teenager?" He grinned at her.

"Of course that's why you had a ladder attached to the wall," she rolled her eyes back at him. "But why are we doing this at night?"

He looked at her incredulously. "Because it's easier to sneak out in the dark of night than in the middle of the day..."

He stepped out of the window, his feet secured on the ladder as he began to climb down. She watched his form slowly start to disappear, and when only his eyes and the fluffy hair at the top of his head remained, he held out his hand. "Come on, Kara."

"This doesn't look very safe…"

"Kara!" he shouted at a hushed whisper. "It's important. Please, let's go…before they hear us."

Kara looked back at the closed bedroom door. "Okay, fine, but if I fall off this ladder and die, you're gonna have hell to pay." She reached for his hand.

"At least you'd be out of the contract…" he joked and she sent him a look that said she was about to push him off the ladder.

He laughed, let go of her hand and pointed to one of the ladder's steps. "Foot here," he instructed and she followed suit.

"I know how to use a ladder," she insisted.

"I wasn't sure," he responded sarcastically. "Close the window, but not all the way. We'll probably have to climb back in when we get back later."

She pushed the window panes almost all the way back to their original position. "Okay."

"Alright, come on down," he said and she moved before he could, her foot landing squarely on his fingers.

"Ack!" he exclaimed as he pulled his hand out from under her foot, and she shrieked as she slipped, her foot falling off the step, her hands clutching the sides of the ladder tightly. His sore hand rushed to her behind, cupping her to hold her upright against the wall.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," she repeated at a harsh whisper as she tried to get her bearings. She hadn't noticed his hand gripping her behind until he moved it away.

"Can I move before you move, please?" he asked.

"Sorry," she continued. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Kara. Just…keep the shrieking to a minimum, please."

"Okay, I'll wait. Just tell me when to climb down." He couldn't stop the smile from slipping onto his lips while he watched the nervousness move across her face as she looked down at him.

"You've clearly never climbed out a window before, have you?" he asked as he started to descend the ladder again.

"I'm not dying to escape my wicked parents every five minutes…so no," she confirmed. "I have never climbed out a window before."

He continued down the ladder, foot after foot, moving with ease until he was halfway down. "Okay, come on down."

Kara exhaled. "We're climbing down from the second story window of a giant mansion…" she muttered to herself in disbelief.

When she ran out of steps, she turned slightly, hands still clinging to the ladder as she saw him standing on the ground beneath her.

"Where's the rest of it?" she called out to him.

"Rest of what?"

"The ladder! It just ended!"

He looked up at her from the ground. "It's like three, maybe four feet from the ground, Kara. Just jump."

"I'm not jumping four feet down to the ground, Mon-El."

"It's four feet, Kara. You won't die."

"I could break a leg! Twist an ankle!"

"You're being dramatic."

"Mon-El," she whined as she carefully turned around while on the ladder to face him.

"If you're not gonna jump, I'm just going to leave you here-"

"No! Mon-El!" she stomped her foot on the ladder.

He laughed. "Kara, just jump. I'm literally right here. I'll catch you." He held out his arms in emphasis of his promise.

She hummed for a minute, seemingly debating whether or not she could actually trust him to catch her before she closed her eyes and leapt toward him. She landed solidly against his form, chest bumping his, arms successfully wrapping around his neck as he smoothly wound his arms around her waist.

"See," he whispered and her eyes fluttered open. "Caught you."

"Only 'cause I have good aim," she whispered back and he grinned, lowering her body so that her feet sat flat on the ground.

"You're welcome," he said before he let her go. He stepped away and moved toward the pod, his hand swiping across the side as it opened for them. "Get in," he instructed as he began to program a destination while he stood outside the pod.

"Where do I sit?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed as she analyzed the pod in front of them.

"Inside?" he questioned back with confusion.

"There aren't any seats…"

"You don't need a seat. You just get inside, sit down, stretch out your legs in front of you and you're in." She hopped in the pod as he'd instructed, legs stretched out in front of her. He finished pressing some buttons on the screen of the pod before looking at her.

"Your legs can't be like that, Kara. Spread them. I have to sit between them."

"What?"

He pushed her knees apart. "I have to sit here to steer. I didn't put in coordinates for an exact location; just a general area. I still need to guide the pod." He moved to get inside. "See? Have you never ridden inside of one of these before?"

"Ours have seats…"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess. We're two people cramming into a solo pod in order to escape in the middle of the night, so you're gonna have to try something new." The glass windshield appeared, forming and closing them inside the pod as it sped off into the sky.

They had driven for a long while before Kara broke the silence in the pod and spoke up.

"This is taking forever. Where are we going?"

"I told you already. Downtown," he answered simply.

"This doesn't look like downtown. It looks like you're taking me to where the homeless Daxamites live."

He didn't answer her. He just kept guiding the pod as it took them to their destination. When he finally found a spot where they could park hidden in the darkness, Kara's eyes widened.

"Ew, this place is creepy," she stated. "Why did we have to park here? And which way is it to downtown?" She asked as she took in their surroundings.

"This is downtown," he answered.

"This is downtown?"

He opened the pod. "This is the middle of the city." He gestured around them. "This used to be where everything in this city happened; gatherings, festivals, parties and stuff."

"Where are the plants?" she asked as he stepped out of the pod. "The trees? The benches? The younger groups playing around and hanging out late?"

"Not here, that's for sure," he said as he held out his hand to help her up and out of the vehicle.

"From the looks of it, I thought this was the bad part of town," she said as she hopped to the ground.

"This whole planet is full of bad parts."

Kara tugged at the pants on her hips; they were large and kept slipping. "The clothing choices seem to make sense now…"

"This was our City Hall," he said as he pointed to an obviously abandoned building. "It closed down a long time ago. Now people just come to our Palace with their issues. Not that my parents care much, if at all, about democracy or the rights of Daxamites." He pointed in the opposite direction. "That used to be a park…where your precious trees were. Now the only trees I know of are in the planting rooms of the Palace or the half dead ones outside on the land of our property."

They walked for a long while, Kara's mouth gaping open most of the way in surprise at the decimated and destroyed city in front of her. She knew the Daxamites needed her people's help in reconstructing the planet, but she didn't know it was this bad.

"Does the whole planet look like this?" she asked. "That mall we went to…where I went with Alex and my parents and you that one time...it was so nice, clean and well taken care of."

"Because it's for the upper classes; for Royalty," he told her. "What's ours, we keep well." He shrugged. "We don't put effort into the places on the planet that we don't travel to."

Kara spotted a group of male Daxamites standing nearby as they walked along what was left of the sidewalk. They were the first people she'd seen since they left the pod. She accidentally caught the eyes of one of them and he immediately stepped toward her.

"Mon-El," she spoke, fear noticeable in her whisper.

Mon-El caught the movements of the shady looking character and he grabbed onto Kara's hand, lacing their fingers together tightly. "It's okay. Keep holding my hand. We'll just tell them you're with me."

Kara nodded as she avoided the eyes of the Daxamite coming toward them.

"Back off," Mon-El told him. "She's mine." Kara held Mon-El's hand tighter as she leaned into him and away from the man.

"Then what's she looking at me for?" His words sounded slightly slurred and he was speaking in the Daxamite language from what Kara could make out.

Mon-El switched over to his own language, too. "Accident. It happens," he shrugged. "She's not interested."

"Yeah? You're not interested?" the man asked, stepping into Kara, his knee bumping her leg as she tried to back away. Mon-El's hand landed squarely on the guy's chest as he pushed him off of her.

"Not interested," Kara repeated in the foreign language as best she could, her eyes meeting the man's again.

"So, you're interested in this guy?"

She nodded and Mon-El interjected. "Yes, and we have somewhere to be, so we're going to go now."

Kara looked up at Mon-El who let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist, turning them back in the direction of where they were headed before.

"Yeah, whatever, you're missing out, Princess," he laughed as he returned to his group of equally as rough looking friends.

Kara's eyes widened as she was ushered away by Mon-El. "Did he know?" she asked him at a whisper.

"Did he know what?"

"I don't understand too much of your language, but I think he called me Princess. Did he know who we were?"

"No, he said that because he thinks it's a compliment, and he used it in a sarcastic way as if he's not offended that you turned him down. He said it as if you acted like you were too good for him. And you are," he smiled. "Besides, most people don't believe that they're interacting with Royalty in a casual conversation, never mind when we look like this. No one will figure it out."

"Oh, okay," she nodded as her eyes continued to jump from scary looking building to condemned building to abandoned building as they walked. Mon-El's arm slipped from her waist and she reached for his hand again before he could get too far, her fingers locking with his.

"I think I'm ready to go back to the Palace now," she said quietly. "I don't like it here."

"I know, but I just need to show you one more place," he insisted.

They didn't have to walk far before he pulled her to a stop in front of a large metallic building; outer walls that must have been smooth and sleek at one point, but now were rusted and dark.

"What is this place?" she asked.

"This is a school."

"This is a school?" she asked, her face twisting into one of horror. "This is where Daxamite children come to learn?"

"Well, yeah, but they don't learn much. Only the elders know much of anything anymore. They teach our culture…Daxamite customs. They don't learn much else here." He looked over at her and their eyes met. "All the teachers left years ago…when your people were chased out, since most of them were Kryptonian. The well-educated Daxamite elders are highly respected and they teach at the other school across the city, and at the universities in that part of the city, too…where we live; where the upper classes learn. I'm not exactly sure how it works in all of the other cities on the planet, but I'm pretty sure it's much the same way."

"Can't you just merge this school with the nicer one?" Kara asked as she ran a hand along the outer wall of the building, and watched as some silver flaked off. "Get these kids out of this place?"

"These people here can't afford it. My parents made sure of that. Travel costs, school uniforms, the education itself."

Kara shook her head in disbelief. "Why would your parents do that to these people? These are their people after all."

He knew he wasn't a great person. His parents had made sure of that, too. He knew they had no interest in helping anyone but themselves, but instead, he sighed, "I don't know."

"This is crazy," Kara said at a whisper.

"Kara, I know you hate me and you hate living here on this planet, but these are the other people you'll also be helping by fulfilling this contract. I just thought that you should know that too before this went any further."

That's when she realized they were still holding hands. She only noticed because she felt him pull away, letting go and releasing her hand as he shoved both of his hands in his own pockets.

"We can head back to the pod now," he stated as he began to walk back in the direction of where he knew they were parked. Kara silently followed beside him.

When they found themselves standing in front of the pod, "Do you want to ride in the front on the way back?" he asked. "Better view."

Kara looked at him with wide eyes. "I don't know how to drive a Daxamite pod yet."

He shook his head with a smile. "You can relax. I can input the coordinates for the Palace. You won't need to steer if I tell it an exact location to end up in."

"Oh," she smiled. "Okay, sure."

"Okay," he said as his hand swiped along the side of the pod, the vehicle opening for their entrance. "Just let me get in first."

When he was seated, he spread his legs and held out a hand to help her step in. She debated for a moment, sitting between his legs seeming somewhat personal in comparison to the reverse on the way over here. But she reached for his hand anyway, and stepped inside. She felt him shifting, his right arm moving to press at some buttons on the screen in front of her. She felt his breath softly hitting the back of her neck on an exhale. She thought that surely he could have put in the coordinates before she got into the pod…

Of course, he could have put the Palace's coordinates in the system before she'd sat down in front of him, but he liked being able to feel the heat of her body against his chest for a few extra moments while he programmed the vehicle. "All set," he whispered near her ear and she felt a nervous shiver run down her spine.

She cleared her throat, "Cool," she stated as firm as her voice would allow.

Mon-El sat back inside the pod, as much as the crammed little vehicle would let him. When Kara didn't move back, too, "You can relax against me, you know. It's a long way home and your back is gonna feel that posture soon," he said, a finger poking at her spine in reference.

She rolled her shoulders. "It's fine."

"Okay," he shrugged. "Just know that the offer stands the whole way home."

"Note taken."

They were quiet for a long while, Mon-El watching Kara's head turn back and forth as she watched the buildings going by outside. Eventually she'd relaxed back against him; subtly, barely any pressure of her body against his, but it was enough to make a smile slip onto his face. He chose not to say anything about it each time she relaxed further against him. He didn't want to scare her off. They had almost made it the whole way back to the Palace in silence before he finally spoke.

"This city is a shithole, but sometimes it's kind of nice to fly at night. Not many lights, but the stars are really easy to see from this planet," he sighed. When he didn't hear a response from her and barely felt a flutter of movement, "Kara?" He moved slightly, his head turning around hers to catch a glimpse of her face. Her sleeping face apparently. No wonder she'd become so relaxed against him, her rigid I still don't like you much posture seemingly having disappeared completely.

He struggled to reach around her again, fingers stretching to tap the screen in front of them. One-handed, he typed a message into the communicator aspect of the vehicle intended for the servants at the Palace. It'd probably be easier to get one of them to quietly open the front door and make sure the coast was clear rather than have him try to get a sleepy Kara to climb back up that ladder and into their room.

A few (entirely too short) moments later, they ended up parked back on the grass near the side of the Palace. It wasn't long before Rhys came out to get the pod and guide it back into the garage storage.

"My Prince," he nodded at Mon-El in greeting as the glass windshield of the pod disappeared.

Mon-El looked down at Kara basically sleeping in his arms. One of his hands went to the side of her face, tucking her hair behind her ear. Then both of his hands moved to her sides as he started to get her back into an upright seated position.

"Kara," he whispered in her ear. "We're home. You gotta wake up," he encouraged softly.

Kara stirred, momentarily thrown by his hands changing her position and the cool night air hitting her face. She blinked sleepily as she righted herself, her eyes landing on Rhys standing near her.

"Rhys?" she asked quietly.

"Good evening, Princess Kara," he greeted in return.

She turned around to look at Mon-El before rubbing at her eyes with the palms of her hands. "Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay," he shrugged. "I didn't mind."

"Did your parents find out we left?" she asked, nodding her head in Rhys' direction.

Mon-El shook his head back at her. "While you were sleeping, I sent a message home to get help getting you back inside. I thought it might be easier than trying to carry you while climbing the ladder back up to the window. Probably safer, too. I know how much you like safety," he smirked.

Rhys held out his hand for Kara and she took it, standing and moving to step out of the pod as Mon-El followed suit. "Thanks, Rhys," he said to the man.

Rhys nodded confusedly. Kara was still a little sleepy, but it was still obvious even to her that Mon-El had never referred to or acknowledged Rhys with the use of his name.

"Someone's at the door waiting?" Mon-El asked. It seemed like this wasn't his first time sneaking back into the house either.

"Mira, my Prince," Rhys nodded.

"Great, thanks," he reached for Kara's hand and she didn't object as he tugged her back toward the front door. He knocked once lightly against it and the door quickly swung open, Mira obviously standing quietly on the other side waiting for the signal from him.

"Welcome home, my Prince," she bowed at him before turning to Kara. "Princess," she greeted.

"Thanks for this," Mon-El nodded.

"Please, come in," she said as she stepped away from the door. "Before the storm arrives. It's expected any minute; you've returned home just in time."

"Storm?" Kara asked nervously, suddenly wide awake at the mention of a storm. Mon-El pulled her inside.

"Shall Maeve and I make you two something to eat?" Mira asked, and with perfect timing, Kara's stomach grumbled eagerly. Mon-El laughed as he looked at Kara who smiled embarrassedly.

"I think we could use something to eat. Bring it to the entertainment room in the east wing?"

"Of course, my Prince," she bowed again before turning to head to the kitchen.

It wasn't hard to tell that the mention of the anticipated storm made Kara nervous. Mon-El hadn't known her very long, but he already knew that Kara hated storms. It was one of the first things he'd learned about her. He also remembered what she had told him about how her mother helped to take her mind off the frightening occurrences.

"I think we should watch a movie while we eat," he paused. "If you don't mind spending a little more time in my presence, that is."

Kara could feel the palm of his right hand in her left; the way his fingers intertwined with hers with such ease. The way his thumb was moving ever so slightly; a gentle, barely there caress against her own. She felt herself nodding before even fully registering what offer he was proposing.

He smiled at her; a soft smile, one without any funny ideas and without hinting at anything else; no sarcasm to be detected anywhere. She followed his lead up the stairs to the entertainment room and she watched as he dimmed the lights, picked a movie and set it to play while she sat on the sofa.

It wasn't long before they had both ended up changing into their pajamas. Maeve had brought two full plates to them, Mira following behind her closely with tables to unfold and set up in front of the sofa. Kara was surprised at how easily the conversation flowed between them while they ate with the distraction of a movie in front of them. Especially in comparison to the daily meals in silence with his parents in the Dining Hall.

Kara jumped at a clap of thunder and Mon-El saw it from the corner of his eye. "This sofa reclines you know," he said suddenly, his arm reaching to the side of the sofa, fingers pressing a couple of buttons before he turned back to her. The sofa smoothly began to move, leaning backwards just enough for them to get comfortable. He stretched his arm out along the back. "See? You can make yourself more comfortable," he stated while she laughed at him.

"I know you're just trying to make me feel better about the storm; trying to take my mind off of it," she said quietly. "Because I'm well aware that the sofa reclines.

He shrugged. "Worth a shot."

She smiled at him. "Thank you."

He turned to look over at her. "You're welcome." He felt the cushions dipping slightly as she shifted next to him on the newly reclined sofa.

Then he felt the ends of her hair tickling his outstretched hand and he had to mentally restrain himself from reaching out and tangling his fingers in the strands. They just looked so straight; so smooth. He almost had to pinch himself when, midway through the movie, he felt her leaning into his side. She looked sleepy; her eyes heavy lidded, her breathing slowing to even, quiet breaths.

Kara sighed. She was just so warm and cozy and her eyelids felt heavy. She couldn't even imagine having to get up and walk all the way over to her bedroom now. Before she knew it, her eyes were slipping closed and she was off to dreamland.

Mon-El let out a yawn, his free hand coming up to cover his mouth before he rubbed at his eyes. It was probably late enough and they should head back to their rooms; the storm dying down outside. He looked down at Kara and noticed that she'd managed to fall asleep completely. He grinned.

It would just be rude to wake her up now. He clicked off the television screen with the remote next to him and relaxed back into the sofa; his body slouching slightly, his head resting against the back of the sofa. It didn't take long before he, too, was fast asleep next to her.

A/N: Please leave some love if you have the time.

Twitter: _ashleymaria_

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