The three of us (karamel baby AU)

Alura Alexandra Danvers (Part 1)

(Quick note to say a big thank you to everyone who's left feedback and votes on previous chapters. It means a lot to me! ♥️)

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It'd been a while since the last time Mon-El had been on his knees, hands clasped together and mouth mumbling a prayer he'd never really believed in. Kara would do it often, her faith in Rao remaining unwavering throughout the years, but he was a different story. And although they believed in the same god, although they shared some of the rituals, he never felt the need to call upon deities he had long ago grown indifferent to.

So when he kneeled beside the blonde that afternoon and closed his eyes, the beginning of a psalm already forming on his tongue, it came as a surprise to both of them. Nevertheless, Kara didn't speak, didn't interrupt him. She did, however, take one of his hands and squeezed it in her own; a gesture meant to be encouraging as well as comforting.

The language they were speaking didn't match, the words clacking against each other. Kara's mother tongue was smoother, breathier, while Mon-El's was sharper and louder. But they were both turned toward the yellow sun, chasing the memory of a red one that didn't shine upon them anymore. And while the first one was asking for guidance and expressing gratitude, the second was asking for forgiveness and expressing remorse.

Mon-El pulled his hand back, before slowly raising both to his face. He slid his open palms from his forehead to his chin, whispering an ancient prayer Kara could recognize. He repeated the action a few more times, seven if her memory served her correctly, before standing up without another word.

"Love?"

"Hm?"

"Was that the zhalish prayer?" she asked, standing up too.

The hero nodded in response.

"What are you asking forgiveness for?"

"Everything," he said but stalled before adding another word.

Noticing his hesitation, Kara stretched a hand, her fingers inviting him closer. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she assured.

Nodding again, Mon-El watched her hands lift up to his face and melted into her touch. "I have to seek forgiveness, to be absolved, before I can give a name to my child," he explained. "Otherwise she won't receive Rao's blessing."

"Is this the daxamite ceremony you talked about?"

"Part of it, yes," his eyes bore into hers, "I'm not a priest, so there's a ritual I have to perform before the naming ceremony. It's how we did it on Daxam."

"On Krypton, mothers named their children. There was no ritual involved," she said.

"I'm pretty sure Daxam favored all these ancient traditions because it gave us another reason to throw a feast and drink. But-" Mon-El faltered for a brief moment, "I don't know," he shook his head, a crease forming between his brows, "I never really believed in this stuff, but it feels wrong not to do it," he admitted and his body twitched in obvious unease. "Maybe at some point all of it held some meaning, or maybe I'm just too desperate to find something good to hold onto from Daxam, because I don't want my daughter to feel ashamed like me."

A sigh slipped from his mouth and Kara brushed his hair away from his forehead. She stood on her toes and pressed a kiss there, then between his eyes, then to his firm lips. Slowly, the tension melted from his face and gathered on his shoulders, but she'd expected that, so she massaged the rigid muscles until they started to grow lax underneath her gentle fingers.