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#what au should i do if i get another one. snow day? childhood au? aliens? Space pirates? jester prince? YouTube au?
ceilingfan5 · 8 months
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🌹
[vampire meal deal au]
Kravitz, still dazzled, tucks a little closer, and Taako can’t resist letting his head accidentally fall against his chest, can’t resist bathing in the warmth of his living body, can’t resist tuning into the symphony paced along by the newly undomesticated drum in his chest.
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spaceorphan18 · 6 years
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Twelve Days: Steve/Peggy Fic Complete
Rating: T
Word Count: 15,007
Summary: AU - Steve Rogers gives Peggy Carter the perfect proposal. A year later - Peggy decides to up the ante and give Steve the perfect wedding – enlisting the entire Avengers crew in on it with out Steve knowing.
A/N: Written for @ckerouac - Merry Xmas Dear 💕
Warnings: Might be totally about Tony Stark. You never know. ;)
***
It’s the dusk of a Sunday evening. There’s a fresh layer of snow on the English countryside, and the ice of the frozen river glitters brilliantly in the golden sunlight. The afternoon had been lovely -- hot cocoa, ice skating, snowball fights, and relaxing in the park, huddled close together to keep each other warm. And now, Steve and Peggy walk hand-in-hand up to the old gazebo -- a place Peggy knew in her childhood. It’s one full of happy memories for her, warm summers playing in the river, lazy days off, and family get-togethers. It’s home. But for him, it’s like stepping into a storybook -- a place he would only hear about in old tales and movies.
But just like those old stories -- this day would have a happy evening, too. Because the moment’s perfect. There would never be a better chance than this. As much as Steve is nervous, and god he’s nervous, when she smiles up at him with those deep brown eyes, he knows this felt right. There would never be a better time than this.
They’re both quiet as they step up into the gazebo. They’ve chatted all afternoon, and really, every chance they could get. But now, words don’t need to be said. The grins on their faces say everything for them.
“Ms. Carter, may I have this dance?” Steve holds out his hand.
“There’s no music, Captain Rogers. You may need to remedy that if you insist on making such an offer,” Peggy replies, biting her lip, but taking his hand.
“Well, I’ll hum then.” He pulls her close, swaying slowly to a beat that isn’t really there. “What will it be Glenn Miller or maybe some Benny Goodman?”
“I’m afraid your vocal skills don’t live up to, well, the rest of your talents. So, I think I’ll just stick to my imagination for now.”
He lets out a chuckle. “Ah of course, I suppose I should just stick with what I’m good at.” He dips her and smiles and she relaxes into his embrace. He’s comforted by how she feels in his arms, his nerves beginning to fade. He can do this. He can.
He rests his cheek against hers, and closes his eyes, and for that moment there’s nothing but the two of them.
“I love you,” he says barely a whisper.
She pulls away from him, slightly, to grin up at him. Adoringly. “I love you, too.”
“Peggy.” His heart races as he clasps both her hands in his. “My love. My favorite friend. We have been through so much together -- alien invasions, time travel, The Starks… And through it all you have been my rock. The person who has taught me what real courage is all about. And I love you. I love you more than I thought one person could love another, so, Peggy…” Steve kneels. Peggy lets out a gasp. “Margaret Elizabeth Carter. Sorry - Agent Margaret Elizabeth Carter…”
Peggy chokes out a laugh, though it’s clear there are tears in her eyes. She nods, waiting…
He pauses to take it all in before he pulls out the small box he’s been carrying for forever. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes -- yes, of course I will.”
With shaky hands, he places the ring on her finger then moves to sweep her up in a most passionate kiss.
“I don’t think anything could ever top this moment.”
“Why, Steve, that almost sounds like a challenge…”
***
READ COMPLETE STORY ON AO3
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brenli · 6 years
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[28]
Tagged by: @goddamnitkastle​ (YAYAYAY ANOTHER ONE!)
1. how tall are you? 5′3″
2. what color and style is your hair? Dark brown. A couple of stray silver strands. When the light hits it right you can see natural auburn-y red highlights/tones in it, especially near the ends. I wear it long, down to my lower back, usually parted in the middle (sometimes on the left) and with bangs. Usually blunt-cut across my brows, but I'm not as good about trimming them as I ought to be so they usually end up growing out long enough that I need to brush them off to the right.
3. what color are your eyes? Brown
4. do you wear glasses? My cat-eye specs are basically part of my identity at this point.
5. do you wear braces? Nope
6. what is your fashion style? I have contempt for this question that likes of which you cannot believe. XD I guess in the most general sense it's rock-chic. Rock/metal girl elements mixed with glamorous or feminine elements/silhouettes. But this is MASSIVELY boiling down my massive wardrobe and I've certainly had moments of departure from the rock-chic umbrella depending on how I'm feeling. I dislike strictly adhering to specific style labels; I find it stifling.
7. full name? Brenda Lee Larson. My maiden name is cooler to be honest; I only changed it because I was more interested in sharing a surname with the Honey and I know I can still use my maiden name for other things.
8. when were you born? July 24, 1987
9. where are you from and where do you live now? Technically born in Coupeville on Whidbey Island, WA, USA and spent the first 4 years of my life bouncing around different naval stations because my family was about that Navy Life, but the majority of my formative years Spokane, WA, USA so my assumption is that would be more accurately where I'm "from." (Hawaii is where my heart wants to say I'm from though as that's where my earliest memories take place~) After some years spent CA (first in the Bay and then in LA), I'm currently living just south of Seattle, WA. So. Basically I've been wiggling around the West Coast my whole life, including going so far west I ditched the mainland for a spell.
10. what school do you go to? I WORK at a school currently, Cornish. Freelancing as a house manager for 3 of their 4 venues. The 4th one never seems to put on any events that require one of us from the house management roster, otherwise I'd work gigs at that one, too. XD
11. what kind of student are you? Some of you who make these questionnaires clearly cannot think beyond life-after-schooling and it shows. XD I was an above-average student for the vast majority of my years in schooling but I started falling off a little toward the end, largely because I was very keenly aware of what areas of study pertained to me and my interests/goals, and I had no patience for areas of study that did not. I left before it got too bad.
12. do you like school? I liked the parts of school that spoke to me~
13. what are your favorite school subjects? Literature/English was always the major go-to throughout all of my years of schooling. I was in Choir up until highschool; this was when Theatre became available to me and I wasn't able to participate in both, so I parted ways with Choir and focused on Theatre all the way up through my last years of schooling. Other subjects of interest, in highschool: Photography, Psychology, Forensic Science, World History. In college: Creative Writing, Journalism, Japanese.
14. favorite TV shows? The major ones have been racy period dramas The Tudors and The Borgias. I grew up on Star Trek TOS and as such it has a very dear place in my heart despite it not being a racy period drama. XD I also am quite invested in the Netflix MCU with Daredevil and The Punisher being my two favorite shows (Frank is my everything!). More currently I've been expanding my Sanada-san filmography-binge thanks in large part to @anagraves​; I recently finished the 1993 Koukou Kyoushi and am through episode 10 of Konna Koi no Hanashi. What I've been learning from this - Hiroyuki Sanada knows how to break hearts whether he's being soft and vulnerable to cold and cruel and anything in between, but that's exactly why I love him.
INB4 "you post Snow White everything so why isn't OUAT on here" I do enjoy OUAT a lot, but I don't know if I would consider it a favorite show overall. I'm more fond of the earlier seasons than the later seasons and it's that ambivalent feeling I have for the later seasons that make the show not a favorite - but still very good overall.
It's also at this point that I should probably explain what my blog description does not - my blog started running a Snow White-themed queue LARGELY as part of an inspiration-drive for a Snow White AU project that I haven't actually touched in a long time. I REALLY should do something about that; I just keep getting pulled in other directions and now it's years on and here I am with what's basically a Snow White queueblog. XD If I can ever get my dumb head in gear and FINISH what I've started, that would honestly result in the queue being mass-posted and then probably altered to suit whatever the next project would be. That's always been the intention, anyway.
15. favorite movies? While I'm still feeling the chilly gaze of my Snow White queue, my favorite Snow White movie thus far is Mirror Mirror. I think it's massively underrated and that makes me sad.
As far as Disney is concerned, while I have a HUGE amount of respect for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, my favorite film growing up was Beauty and the Beast (and my Rococo-loving ass does adore the live action remake). Surprise??? XD More recently, Moana is the film of my heart; it's the closest Disney has gotten to making a Princess culturally-relevant to me as a half-Filipina so my tropical islander ass is just utterly enamoured with Moana. ((Listen Disney if you ever decide to make a super fun colorful precolonial Philippine film THE PERFECT PRINCESS EXISTS FOR THAT, I submit for your consideration - Urduja!)
Because of my rather open-door childhood with regard to media, my earliest favorite movies are actually Nightmare on Elm Street and Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors. Freddy is my Nightmare King Murder Boyfriend and I'm prepared to face judgement for that. XD
Fondness for Star Trek TOS has resulted in an affection for the AOS movies~
But a movie that speaks to me very much is What Dreams May Come.
Currently I've gotten re-ensnared into The Last Samurai, in correlation with the most recent AU project. Because I am hopeless, Grumpy Samurai is Best Samurai, and I've been spending time manically fretting and pretending that because Ujio drops before the gatling guns are brought out, maybe he SOMEHOW managed to survive in SOME way and he can have tons of cool battle scars. Right? ... RIGHT???
16. favorite books? If manga counts then it's Angel Sanctuary. Hands down. No contest. It's easily woven itself into my life in the form of fanfic that is/was well-received within the fandom, and a weirdly HUGE list of AUs that somehow burst out of nowhere. (Currently all of it, AU work included, can be read via my FF.Net account under brenli. I have a placeholder page on AO3 that's currently empty but may end up holding all my content there as well, in time. If I can ever make the time.)
I was and am really into Sue Harrison's Ivory Carver series, particularly My Sister the Moon.
It was part of my middle school/junior high reading curriculum but I honestly DID really like The Diving Bell by Todd Strasser. Even if the cover art of Culca coming up out of the ocean looked A LOT like me and resulted in my class calling me Culca for the entirety of our unit on that book. It's fine. Culca is a badass queen of pearls and seawater so I'm happy to be associated with her~!
Every now and then I remember a book that clearly really resonated with my as a child if I still remember it, but the problem is that I don't remember the title or the author, or even any of the characters' names. It was about a Roma girl who lived in the American south - I wanna say Tennesee? - who was discovered for her talent playing guitar and singing country music. The book essentially details her struggle between her traditional roots as a Roma person, including the arrangement for her to be married young, and her interest in pursuing music as a career but feeling alienated by an industry and a society at large that is wealthier than her and has a different culture from her own. The book ends with her running away but it isn't made clear what her ultimate fate is. To this DAY it bothers me that I don't remember the title or the author because I honestly go through periods where I want to reread it. And yes, this was the kind of stuff I was reading as a child. XD I also read My Sister the Moon for the first time when I was like. 11 years old. If you're familiar with the content of that book then you're aware that certain scenes are really not 11-year-old friendly, but. If I can watch gratuitous 80's slasher horror at age 4 then I can read about a young woman surviving sexual abuse at age 11.
17. favorite pastime? Writing at this rate, honestly. Which probably speaks more to my inner tortured artist than anything else. XD
18. do you have any regrets? I feel like everybody has at least one regret and anyone who says otherwise is either very very young, or lying. XD It's not about whether you have regrets, it's about not letting them hold you in the past.
19. dream job? Telling stories, in any and every way attainable to me.
20. would you like to get married someday? I already am~
21. would you like to have kids someday? Absolutely not. I don't feel like my life is conducive to childrearing, and INB4 "you're never truly ready" and "you make it work" the key factor here is I'm not WILLING to become ready and I'm not WILLING to make it work. That's how I know my life is not conducive to childrearing. XD (I'm at that age where tons of people are asking me this and feeding me words meant to encourage me to consider and it's honestly EXHAUSTING by this point. I can't wait for when I'm menopausal maybe people will finally shut up about it because I'll be past my prime~)
23. do you like shopping? I mean, yes, but I usually avoid it because I'm aware of how impulsive I am.
24. what countries have you visited? I'm tempted to say that Hawaii should count because it's so far away from the mainland. XD But honestly I've never been outside of US territory. It's in the plans to try for Japan during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I'm not sure if we'll make that goal but if not, I figure it won't hurt to continue saving up anyway and making a Tokyo trip post-Olympics. Prices will be cheaper post-Olympics, anyway, so~
25. what’s the scariest nightmare you’ve ever had? At the risk of raising weird red flags I've gone through periods where I'll have reoccurring nightmares about being actively pursued by someone who very obviously intends to do harm. It happens often enough that the Honey wonders if I'm mentally suppressing something. XD I did have a standalone dream though, where me and the Honey were asleep in bed and then I become aware that someone's broken into the house and is approaching our bed. I'm walking through every possible option in my head with my eyes shut; if the Honey and I both lunged at the attacker we could possibly overpower them just because it would be two against one. But I know that I can't possibly wake up the Honey and make him aware of the situation without the attacker immediately acting and resulting in at least one of us being injured or killed. I realize that I have no choice but to try and take the attacker by surprise by myself and hope that is enough. I make peace with that. I can feel the attacker leaning over me. I suddenly lunge at them in full primal adrenaline-filled rage.
I wake up.
26. do you have any enemies? I guess that I have a few, yes, but honestly at this point I've gotten probably a little too used to being vilified. Barring physical assault or turning the animosity on innocent third parties in my life, I am prepared to weather the metaphorical lashes.
27. do you have an s/o? I have my Honey~
28. do you believe in miracles? I believe in miracles that aren't the overt surface-level wish-fulfillment-from-above which I think most people expect a miracle to be. I think that sometimes luck plays out via a slim-to-none chance and that can be a miracle. I think that sometimes a person works very hard at something or for something and when they achieve it, that can be a miracle. I think that the butterfly effect is a double-edged sword, but sometimes that little flutter of a butterfly's wings is a miracle.
Tagging: @yacky-jackie​ @halorecoil​ @anagraves​ @benevolentqueenofstars​ @lesbomancy​ @candybunnieholic​ @lemonedscream​ @tinathefish​
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karamelsecretsanta · 7 years
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This is dedicated to Nicole @kaiho. Happy Xmas my darling, if this isn’t what you had imagined, drop me a message and I will write something more suitable J 
--  @chelseaellie
AU Kara and Mon-El never kissed in ep 8, and they are friendly but nothing romantic has happened, cannon to Ep 7. Alex and Maggie are dating, as are Lena and James.
8888
Late December, the trees had long since shed their leaves and the darkness of winter had started to draw in. Alex was loved up and busy with Maggie, and Kara felt as if she was adrift slightly. Everyone was partnering up and Christmas was coming, she was happy for Alex, and happy for Lena and James with their new romance.
But felt so lonely missing her family more at this time of year. Missing her aunt, and her home. It was a lonely time of year.
So she flung herself into her work, both jobs. Longer hours, taking all assignments. It kept her busy however today Kara was frustrated it was a quiet day in CatCo. Well a quiet day in National City, not even SuperGirl was needed, so she was left to edit the horoscopes. She sighed deeply, and looked at her pile of notes. Madam Nicole was a highly rated psychic, every newspaper wanted her on their books, but she was a nightmare to work for. Her columns were always written in short hand and needed a lot of explanation.
She had been working on the corrections for 30 minutes when she realised she needed clarification and decided to speak to Madam Nicole. Grabbing her note pad she decided to brave the psychic.
Madam Nicole was a pretty young girl, dark hair and green eyes, calmly dressed in a black knee length dress, and kitten heals. Kara had expected bright colours and an older woman, a little eccentric. She was anything but. She was as normal as any other young woman.
“Hi. Just poof reading, but I’m not sure what you mean by this?” Kara asked. She was nervous, but wasn’t sure why. She had braved Snapper, and Cat, and survived, anyone else was simple.
“The famous Kara Danvers” Nicole commented in an almost sing song tone, smiling a charming smile, “I’ve heard so much about you” she looked Kara up and down.
“Thanks, I think” Kara responded with a sense of nervousness she rarely was subjected to.
“You are unsure to believe my powers” Nicole tilted her head, “you are lonely, your sister is in a new Romance, her first, you are scared that you will never find a love like that. Scared that she will forget you, as you are not true blood. She won’t, there is a bond with you, greater than that if blood.”
“I don’t know” Kara confessed
“You are scared to love, you lost too much, too many people, places, you feel as if your world was destroyed, as though nothing you have will ever last.”
“I guess” Kara pretended to be indifferent yet felt unsettled, everything was too true to be a guess.
“There is someone for you, your soul mate. The one person who is perfect for you. You already know him, your own Prince Charming, when the clock strikes 11 on the 24th you will understand. You will know when he gives you a gift of something from your childhood. Trust how you feel in that moment, don’t second guess yourself. You need to live in the now. Grey is the colour that matters”
“Ok, thanks I think” Kara had no idea what was happening, cryptic clues for something she hadn’t asked for. She smiled falsely and walked away.
8888
She walked home, her head full of what had been said. No idea about what Madam Nicole had told her, she was happily sceptical of this type of thing, and more so now. But the possibility of a guy that she could be paired with was interesting. She was struggling to think who it could be. She discounted J’onn and James right away J’onn as he was her boss, and James because he was dating Lena. Winn, well he was like a brother, but nothing more, there was Steve in IT, he was sweet but a little geeky, David, Chris and Jeremy in the combat teams, they were nice guys. Was she just thinking about this because of something that was suggested?
Almost in a daze she walked into the DEO, Winn, Dana and Mon-El were looking at a monitor and laughing. This was normal, Dana had always been very interested in Mon-El and often made excuses to be close to him. Kara was surprised they hadn’t started dating, relieved but surprised. She wasn’t sure why she was relieved.
“Hey Kara” Beamed Mon-El noticing her presence and she smiled at him and went to join them.
“What’s up?” she always enjoyed their company.
“Winn was trying to work out if Father Christmas had a space ship with transporting powers if that was how he delivered the gifts” Dana explained as though this was a normal consideration.
“Is it normal for one person to monitor all people on the planet?” Mon-El asked
They all looked at him
“Well if he knows if everyone is naughty or nice, he must monitor everyone” the Daxamite queried innocently.
“It’s not quite like that buddy” Winn raised an eyebrow, trying to judge how to answer him.
“What’s it like?” asked Mon-El looking very innocent and childlike, Kara felt a wave of affection, remembering how strange she found Christmas her first year.
“More a threat to make kids behave” Winn confirmed.
“Just as well, as surely naughty and nice is subjective” Dana shifted slightly closer to Mon-El looking him up and down, “Kara thinks you are naughty, I know you are nice” she winked and walked off. Kara stood slightly open mouthed at the clearly flirtations comment.
“Dana has a thing for you” Winn laughed, softly punching Mon-El’s arm.
“Well as we say on Daxam, the more the merrier” he laughed slinging his arm around Winn, Kara just watched them. Bemused as to how the boys had bonded, they were pretty inseparable these days. Often found after work having a kick about in the park or playing computer games, or in a bar attracting female attention. A slight pang of jealousy surged over Kara, Winn was meant to be her best friend and Mon-El was her mentee. She should be the focus, yet was rarely involved with them. She looked sadly as the boys laughed and walked off.  
88888
Reaching the steps to the training room, she felt a familiar arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him.
“So fancy some sparing? I’m pretty sure I can take you”
She turned and smiled at Mon-El, bemused “I don’t think that will ever happen” she winked, mischief glittering in her eyes, but pleased that he was spending time with her.
“If I win you have to come to help me get my Secret Santa gift”
“And if I win?” she replied
“What do you want?” he smiled slightly seductively, but he used that smile on all females he wanted to persuade.
“You have to wear a Christmas jumper that I pick to work tomorrow, and it will be a bad one”
“You are on Supergirl” he chuckled, “But I’m winning” he winked at her with a playful look.
88888
Kara landed on her back with an almighty thud, shards of concrete sprinkled over her like snow. She tried to shake the dust from her hair, but Mon-El pushed her to the floor and pinned her down. She squirmed under him, but couldn’t push him off. She was frustrated, something was clearly off. Any other time she would have beaten him without a seconds thought.
He beamed looking down at her, a twinkle in his eyes, “So will you admit defeat Kara Zor-El”
“Urrr” she grunted, trying to wiggle away, but his legs pinned her to the floor and he held her arms above her head, “No”
“Well we could be here a while” he matter of factly stated.
“I will get out of this” she insisted, not sure she really wanted to, she was having fun.
“Well while we are stuck lets chat, I will tell you all about festivals at the Great Palace of Daxam” he moved slightly to be next to her ear “Or you can accept I won” he dropped his voice so it was soft and husky.
She shivered slightly, their sparring was often physical and close, but this was new, it felt more intimate. She realised how much she missed that, or longed for it. His breath on her neck felt nice, his smell, the weight of him pressed on her. She hadn’t realised how lonely she was, and hoped that maybe Madam Nicole was correct, her soul mate was close. She sighed deeply and he looked sadly at her, then jumped up and held out his hand. She eyed him curiously.
“Let’s call it a draw. I get it, you don’t want to be beaten by a Daxamite, or go shopping with me. I won’t make you”
“No it’s not that!” she was horrified that he thought his race was a problem, though considering their past it was clearly on his mind. “I just have a few things I’m thinking about, I don’t care where you are from. I want to go shopping with you, I don’t get to be human much”
“So you accept that I win” there was the trademark Mon-El charm, the poor Earth women she thought, no wonder he seduced so many, if she was not immune to his charms things could be bad, but she was immune, or at least she told herself she was.
“Yes you win” she chuckled, and grabbed his hand, she kicked out at him and pulled him to the floor, he landed in a pile next to her.
“Cheat” he laughed, turning to face her, a bemused smile lighting up his face. She smiled back at him, wishing she could meet someone like him.
“So who did you get in the secret Santa?”
“Your sister”
“Oh, I understand why you need my help”
8888888
Kara was shaking her head at the baby pink dress Winn was suggesting, it was the 4th poor suggestion he had made, while Mon-El was transfixed by the many options for bath products. The poor boy looked scared, it was hard enough for men to navigate the art of Christmas shopping for women, but an alien having only been on the Planet a few months shopping for women was daunting. Winn suggested another pink item of clothing, and Kara looked bemused, enough was enough time to rescue them. She linked her arm through Mon-El’s and dragged him over to the book section.
Half an hour later they were sat in a little coffee shop out of the way of the main hustle and bustle, drinking coffee and the two aliens had a few slices of cake in front of them. Winn was proud of how much they could eat.
“So we must be close to finishing” Winn sighed, “How is any of this fun, all these people buying cheap rubbish that will never be used. Ignoring that Christmas is just about being with your family and friends”
Mon-El looked at Kara and smiled “Do you remember the festival of ummm, I can’t remember the word for it. Was midwinter, when it was dark and cold and your people used to celebrate family and friends, would have meals and invite the lonely to our homes. I know you celebrated it on Krypton as well because I was there when I was about 7 and visiting. I had kicked up such a fuss about missing out, it was my favourite time of the year, and I was so cross that we were off world at that time. But we arrived there and they were celebrating, and we had treats around a fire, and games and ate and played, it was the best time of my life”
“Oh I remember it well, would make gifts from nature for those close to you, and share with those who had less” she bit her lip remembering fondly.
“One big happy family” Winn gushed wrapping his arms around the pair of them, who exchanged confused looks
“No more Egg-ogg for you” Mon-El declared
“Nog, EggNog” corrected Kara wrestling the remaining liquid from Winn, whose grip was very tight when it came to food he wanted.
888888
A few days later she was relaxing in the break room at the DEO looking at the tree, which was decorated by Jenna and Clara two of the younger admin girls. They had been all excited about Christmas and had persuaded J’onn to have a department tree. He agreed mostly to stop them bugging him, but on the proviso that anyone was welcome to add their own decorations. There were a few sprinkled amongst the well planned colour coordinated blue and silver design. These made her smile, pictures of children, hand drawn animals, painted pine cones. She missed home, missed her family, she loved Alex and her adopted parents but there were moments when she missed her family.
“Hi” Mon-El said softly, almost too softly that she didn’t notice
“Hi, are you ok?” Kara looked at him, he looked shyer than normal, less confident
“Well, I don’t really understand Earth customs, so I hope this isn’t out of line”
Kara raised an eyebrow, “I don’t understand Earth custom some times and I have been here 13 years, I’m sure is fine”
“The other day when we were talking about our childhoods I thought we needed something to remember home by, so I found this for you” he handed her a small box wrapped in silver sparkling paper, smiling shyly. She hesitated and they gazed into each other’s eyes for a matter of seconds, it felt like forever, she nearly stopped breathing. He shook the gift slightly edging it more towards her.
And just like that the trance was broken, and he was nervously holding out his hand. She smiled and took it. With that he shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced down. The unwrapping felt like it took years, as she nervously opened it. Inside the neat wrapping was a plain white box. Kara felt cheated, something else stood in the way of this gift. She eased it open, and beamed.
Inside the box was a glass blown red star, with gold flecks, and slight swirls of colour. Kara was rendered speechless. Tears formed in her eyes.
“I’m sorry” Mon-El stuttered “I just wanted a connection to our home here, I didn’t mean to cross the line”
“You didn’t” she smiled, “Its perfect. Thank you, it’s the most thoughtful gift I ever received” She hugged him pressing close and savouring his scent. He wrapped his arms around her. She felt comfortable and safe. Then they sprung apart, looking slightly shell shocked, hugging wasn’t their normal behaviour. “Thank you, I know what to do with this” and she floated slightly to the top of the tree to place the star on the top. She landed on the floor and looked proudly at it, sharing a thankful smile with Mon-El. She was about to talk to him when Alex appeared.
“Hi Kara, are you ok?” she asked looking at her slightly tear filled eyes.
“I’m happy, look” she pointed to the star, “It’s from Mon-El to remind us of home, the star Daxam and Krypton shared” and she glanced around to see he had gone.
“That’s sweet, he’s a nice boy” she looked at Kara again, “are you sure you are ok?”
“Just feeling a bit lonely, you have Maggie and I wish I had something like that, and I met a psychic who said I would find my soul mate on Christmas Eve”
“Kara you know better than that” Alex shook her head, Kara was always the more sensitive of the two of them.
I know, just wonder what it would be like, to find a love like you and Maggie share.”
“You will find someone when you least expect it” and she pulled her sister in for a hug. They stood there arms around each other, thankful for finding each other and the bond they enjoyed.
888888
Christmas Eve
The season of goodwill had clearly hit National City, it was peaceful. Normally Kara would be restless, but this time she was very excited about Christmas, more so by the pile of gifts under the Christmas tree at the DEO. Secret Santa had been very successful, and there was a huge pile of gifts waiting to be collected. In reality Kara’s hyper level passion had meant most people were scared to collect their gift until today. She was known to scold anyone who tried to claim theirs early.
The break room was filled with festive snacks for people to have during their shifts, aware than a full sit down meal was unlikely with the nature of their role. Kara was acting as Father Christmas and handing out gifts of chocolate to each staff member. As much as Alex had told her to forget about what Madam Nicole said she couldn’t forget it, and was using this as an excuse to check out all the men at the DEO.
As the shifts ended people left to be with their loved ones, a Skelton crew would cover Christmas day, with everyone doing a maximum of 4 hours to allow them to spend some time with their friends and family. So the gifts started to filter out as did the staff. Kara had narrowed it down to David, Charles or Steve, all were single, relatively handsome and she didn’t hate their company.
She was sat at a table with a cream covered hot chocolate and Alex who had a plain black coffee.
“You are not still thinking about that Psychic are you?” Alex sighed after five minutes of silence, which felt unsettling given Kara’s normal chatty excitement.
“UMMMM no” lied Kara.
“You are, Kara Danvers, you have a serious tell when you lie” Alex chuckled, she loved her sister, but she was a terrible liar.
“No I don’t” she protested pointlessly.
“Oh you do” Alex chuckled, “Mon-El, Winn, over here” she shouted at the two boys who were looking for a table.
“Hey” Winn smiled, “What’s up?”
“Does Kara have a tell when she’s lying?” Alex teased.
The boys laughed “She has a crinkle in her forehead” Mon-El smiled softly.
“She really does” Winn gasped with amusement.
Kara glared far from impressed.
“See everyone knows when you are lying?” Alex responded “So ‘fess up”
“Grrr, I guess I am a little more hopeful, it would be nice to find my soul mate” she was resigned  to this being public.
The boys looked confused by this statement.
“Kara saw a psychic who said she would meet her Prince Charming today, so she’s on the lookout” Alex explained.
“Prince Charming?” questioned Mon-El still was struggling with Earth culture.
“Her perfect match, different to your Prince, this isn’t a real Prince, mostly a good guy who she falls in love with and who saves her.”
“Ok” nodded Mon-El not really understanding, “Princes on Daxam were real, and tend to marry anyone my Mother decided they should marry, didn’t really save anyone” he still looked a bit unsure.
“We are not on Daxam, and the Prince isn’t here, thank Rao” Kara replied ignoring the clear slip in comment he had made.
“Yes, just as well, see you around” and he walked off uncharacteristically short in his conversation.
Alex and Winn looked at each other with clear interest. “I’m going to follow that up!” Alex stated bluntly as she walked after him.
“Good call” replied Winn, “So Kara who are your options?” and he slumped in to a chair, luckily she was too focused on her love life to pick up on what Mon-El just said.
“Well I think it’s between David, Charles or Steve. They are all nice guys, but…”
“But?” what Winn asked watching her reaction.
“But I don’t have feelings like I should for them” she protested
“So are you just considering them because some psychic told you that you would meet someone?”
“I guess so”
“And had the psychic not said anything what would you be doing? “
“I don’t know, teaching Mon-El about Christmas, hiding the alcohol from Alex, teasing you about something” she smiled fondly.
“So let’s do that, if you were meant to be with any of them you would know them more than you do, so don’t force things, let things happen naturally”
She nodded and smiled, he drew her in for an embrace. She sunk into him. “You are such a good friend” she smiled into his neck, he pulled her closer. Winn was like the brother she always wanted.
“I know” he chuckled, “Let’s find your sister and find out if we are having Christmas with a Prince”
Kara looked at him, and her eyes opened in shock, “NO NO NO NO NO, he’s not!”
“I’m sure we will find out soon” shrugged Winn. Having been suspicious of his friend’s heritage for a while, a few slips and his behaviour was not what he expected from the guard to the royal family. Yet he had never pressed to find out as it didn’t change who he was now.
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Alex was stood on the balcony, lost for words. The cool winter air had nothing on the chill between her and Mon-El.
“So you can see why I never said anything, plus now it’s not really important, my planet is gone, my family are dead, who I was 35 years ago is nothing” the was a defeatism in his voice she had never heard before.
“Do you not think harbouring the Prince of Daxam could put us in danger? If someone wanted to kidnap you?” she attempted a scolding tone, failed because of her empathy and compassion for the lost Prince over powered her wrath.
“Not really, none of the Aliens in the Dive Bar have recognised me, I’m assumed to have died on Daxam. Kara is the closest to anyone from our galaxy. She had no idea who I was. They are looking for someone in their 50s or older. I have powers, I’m stronger than most people on this planet. It’s not a problem”
“Ok, J’onn may disagree but he can have that conversation with you” she conceded, now was the time for emotions not practicality.
“Look, I like your sister. Really like her, she’s pretty and kind and inspiring, but she hates my people, she hates my family and she hates me. The first thing she did when she learnt I was from Daxam was to attack me and lock me in a cell, accusing me of a crime. Once we got past that I explained how I escaped Daxam, and said the Prince saved me, and she used that as a reason to insult the Royal Family, my family, but my saviour in the story I told. No matter what happened I would never live down her perceptions. I like being part of your group, being friends with Winn, and you. I have no family, and you made me feel welcome. As long as I was just a guard, you welcomed me, so I stayed just a guard. I like being normal, or as normal as an Alien with super powers can be. I made friends who liked me for me, not because I was the Heir to the Throne. I got to do things I never had a chance to do. I get it, it was fun while it lasted” he was defeated, the new life he created on Earth was everything he longed for on Daxam, he never asked to be the Prince, or picked the family into which he was born, this was the life he wanted. Real relationships.
“Look Mon-El, I understand, just wish you felt you could be honest earlier”
“Yeah, me too” He took a deep breath, “For what it’s worth, I liked being a normal guy, I got to be who I wanted, not who I was expected to be. I am sorry” He walked out past Kara and Winn, with his head down and tears forming in his eyes.
Winn ran off after him. Kara sank to the floor in shock. Not sure what to think or how to process this.
“Kara are you ok?” Alex looked worried
“I don’t know” Kara shock her head, “I don’t know” as her sister hugged her close.
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Winn sat next to Kara, he waited in silence for a few minutes, then decided to say his piece.
“Look Kara, I don’t know Daxam like you do. I don’t know Krypton like you do, but I know I have met one Daxamite. He’s probably my best friend, kind, loyal, supportive and does everything to try to be the best person he can. Yes he started off a bit of a frat boy, but he’s far from that. I have meet a few Kryptonian’s not the nicest people, they tried to mind control the whole city into doing their bidding. I know you, you are everything that is good, loyal, kind, caring and compassionate. If I was to take what I knew or heard I would avoid you, but I knew you first. My dad killed people for revenge, I hid that, I hid it from everyone I didn’t want people to know who I was in case they judged me from what he did. Mon-El is the person you fight-flirt with most days, the person who gets you drunk and the person you team up with because you trust. You can judge him on stories, or what you know.”
He stood up and walked away
“I don’t flight flirt” she stropped, not sure if he was trying to upset her or not. Not sure why this was the thing she decided to pick up on.
“Oh you do, you smile and glow around him, don’t let this get in the way” Winn walked out of the room, leaving Kara to wonder if she really flirted with Mon-El, no way was that possible, she tried to convince herself. He was a friend, nothing more, just a lost Alien like her.
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Xmas day
Kara arrived for her shift, the original plan had been for her J’onn, Mon-El and Winn to cover a few hours at lunch time and then have their lunch after. The events of the night before still hung in the air, Kara and Mon-El had not yet spoken. He was giving her space. Winn was conflicted between the two friends. There was an air of tension, Mon-El sat at the computer terminal watching as scans processed and came back clear. She walked in and walked past him, and went to the break room. Her stomach churned feeling a little unsettled.
“Hi Kara, can we talk?” Mon-El caught up with her, slightly less composed than normal.
“I’m not sure that’s a good plan” she stated trying to move away from him.
“Because of who I am and where I’m from?”
“Yes, I’m not sure I can ever be alright with that” she snapped.
“I understand, I’m sorry. Thank you for everything you did for me. Im just sorry I wasn’t born on another Planet.” and he walked away with purpose. His words hung in the air surround her for a while.
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Under the tree were a few lonely gifts not yet collected, she gathered them up to put them on each person’s desk. In the mist she spotted a small box, wrapped in red shiny paper, with her name on the gift tag. She was confused, she had already received her Secret Santa gift, it had been a tasteful light green jumper, she assumed from Kevin in accounting, it looked like what his wife wore.
She picked up the box and took it to a table to open it. Curiosity overwhelmed her. It was a 4 inch  metallic circular disk, and a post-it in on the middle saying press here. After waiting a few minutes she decided to obey.
An image appeared in hologram form, taking a few moments to complete. It took up the whole of the table. As it crystallised she realised what she was seeing images of Krypton, her red sun and Daxam, and all their moons. They danced around each other in orbit. Her eyes watered. She hadn’t noticed until the tears dropped to the table. She felt content, and adored.
“He had that made for you, has been organising it for months, it took a while for us to work out how to make Earth technology work with what he wanted” Alex was stood in the door frame. “He was going to give you it at midnight”
Kara looked sadly at her, not needing to ask who he was. “I was a bit harsh wasn’t I?”
“I don’t think there was any ‘a bit’, he is the person you know, you laugh and smile with, but you made it clear to him how you feel” big sisters know best and Alex was smugly proving this.
“What if I was wrong?” Kara trembled
“Tell him you are sorry, you are fire and passion, and when you calm down you see things more clearly, you know who he is, you always have. You know what matters, you know what to do”
There was a rush of wind and Alex realised Kara had gone, she smiled finally Kara may see what she and Winn had known for months.
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Mon-El was pacing in the corridor. Replaying everything in his head, maybe he should have told her earlier maybe he should have pretended it was a mistake. This was all such a mess. He paced uncomfortably.
“So you are a Prince” Kara suddenly appeared in front of him, eyes slightly red from the tears. He misread this as anger.
“Yes,“ he replied sadly, turning slightly away from her.
“THE Prince?” she accused attracting his attention.
“Yes” he dropped his eyes from hers and swallowed nervously.
“I’m so sorry….” she started
“You are sorry?” he questioned looking up and confused.
“Yes me, please hear me out.” He nodded as she carried on. “I was cross when I first heard that you were not who you claimed to be. But I realise that part of how I acted towards you created that situation. I have never treated anyone like I treat you, everyone else I give a chance to prove that are not who they are perceived to be. But I locked you away because of where you were from. Yet I fought to defend others less worthy of a chance. I judge your family from hearsay and stories I heard as a child, and I am ashamed. Worse that, I know better. You are not the person I heard stories about. You are incredible, and caring and brave. But most of all you are my friend. Just over a week ago, I meet a psychic who told me that I would find my soul mate. I took that to be a new boyfriend, but I think all the clues are about you, Prince Charming. Well you are both a Prince and can be charming. That grey would be significant and you have the greyest eyes I have ever seen. That he would give me a gift of my childhood and I should trust how I feel in that moment, and your gift was something special”
“How did you feel in that moment?” he asked nervously. Fiddling with his fingers.
“Like I couldn’t not have you in my life, in some form, I needed to let you know you matter to me. I don’t care who you were” she looked up into his eyes, unaware that whilst speaking she had been stepping closer and closer to him, there were inches between them if that. She could smell the coffee on his breath.
“You matter to me as well” he smiled, biting his bottom lip slightly, as she realised she had been staring at his lips. The alarm on his watch beeped, and he glanced at it. “Eleven, time to set the scans”
“Don’t go” she almost whispered, he looked at her quizzically. She pointed to the ceiling, “Mistletoe.” Then moved in for a kiss, brushing his lips with hers. Wrapping her arms around him, he returned the favour once the shock passed, their lips parted to deepen the kiss as they tasted each other, there was more urgency. Her fingers were in his hair, trying to get as close to him as she could. He returned the favour squeezing her tightly towards him. Then his back hit a wall, as they tried to stabilize each other. It made them pause and laugh. Neither was sure who was more surprised.
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this at work” he chuckled very aware that this was not normally accepted behaviour.
“You are right” Kara flushed slightly, “Stay at mine after Xmas dinner so we can carry on with this” with a cute wink. Not sure she could wait that long, wondering why she hadn’t realised that she cared for him earlier.
“If you can control yourself that long” he teased, walking off to start his scans. She caught up with him and slipped her hand into his, intertwining fingers. She smiled at him.
“That’s going to be a challenge” as she leant up to place a kiss on his lips. Which he gratefully accepted.
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Madam Nicole, smiled at the image she was viewing via her crystal ball, and sprinkled glitter over the ball. “Ah True love, maybe I was a few hours out”
“A few hours is far from a problem” Alex hi-fived her
“On to the next couple who need a wake up” Nicole stated and she covered the crystal up, and ticked off a list. Shutting her case she revealed her wings and flew away. Alex smiled “Happy Christmas Kara” she whispered 
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