An Ocean of Fire- Supercorp AU

23- Day Three: Honor/ A Battle of Reckoning

Seven Days Before the Festival

"So the first day is Duty, then Charity. What is on the third day?" Lena sipped her drink slowly and watched a smile overtake Kara's face.

"Ah. The third day is Honor." Her chest puffed slightly, and she tried to hide her grin. Lena raised an eyebrow at her over the rim of her drink.

"And what are you so excited about, Princess?"

"The day of Honor involves tournaments! Feats of strength, agility, endurance, skill in combat. It is my home arena, and I am very confident."

Lena squinted at her, slowly lowering her glass.

"Why would Honor be associated with combat?"

Kara cleared her throat and looked down, straightening the edge of her tunic.

Lena narrowed her eyes. "Kara Zor-El."

Blue eyes met hers and teeth worried her lower lip before she pursed them in defeat.

"Kryptonians enjoy combat as a sport. In sports there are... prizes. Winning one would be... a great honor."

Realization settled into Lena's chest, heavy and exasperated.

"No. Absolutely not."

Kara's eyebrows shot up. "No? What do you mean?"

Lena set her glass down on the table, harder than she intended to, and shook her head.

"I am not a prize to be won in a tournament, Kara! I will not be paraded about for show and fought over by sweaty, bleeding warriors."

Kara reached for her hand, covering it gently. "Please, you misunderstand. You are not the prize."

Lena stared at her warily.

"The honor of marrying you is the prize." Kara patted her hand.

Lena rose to her feet and threw her hands in the air. "That is the same thing, Kara!"

The blonde looked up at her in confusion, scooting to the edge of the couch. "You do not think that marrying you is an honor, Princess?"

Lena paced the room. "Well of course I do! But it isn't one that is meant to be fought over! I... it is... we... we're already bonded!" She sputtered angrily.

The Kryptonian frowned, settling back against the couch and tilting her head to the side. "You're... upset because we're already bonded?" Her eyes widened. "Oh! Are you concerned that I will lose? I won't lose, Princess. I'm a very skilled warrior-"

"No! Ugh. No, Kara." She sat back down, turning her body to face her. "I'm upset because... I don't know, really. It just feels strange, to be fought over. It feels like... like something Lex would arrange."

She dropped her hands to her lap and rubbed the pad of her thumb over the back of her other hand. It was soon covered by Kara's. She looked up into concerned blue eyes.