Alex had always wanted a sibling growing up, but when she had one thrusted unexpectedly into her life, she had just wanted to send her back to the planet she'd been sent from. Normally, a person had a good few months to get used to having a new baby sibling or even time to come to grips with having someone adopted into a family. Not for the Danvers. No, Kara had been adopted into their family immediately and had invaded Alex's whole world.

She suddenly didn't want a sister anymore.

"Alex! You can't act like that!" her mother shouted after her.

Alex didn't care. She stomped up the stairs anyway yelling at her mother that she was ruining her life. She was well aware of how dramatic it was, but it felt right in that moment. As Alex gripped the bedroom door, she spotted Kara sitting on her bed in the room they now shared. Sighing, she didn't even bother slamming the door, which somehow made the whole situation worse. There was no escaping this alien sister that she was being forced to spend every moment with.

How was Alex supposed to teach Kara to be human?

She looked the part.

She sounded the part.

She even mostly acted the part.

There were just some things in life that came only from experience. Alex couldn't cram all of that into Kara and her brain in the short amount of time they had before school started there in Midvale. Kara was weird and Alex didn't think there was anything she could do to shake that weirdness out of her.

Alex moved to her bed and fell face first onto it and grumbled into the thick comforter. This was going to be the worst summer and she had no excitement about school starting. That was going to be worse.

"I heard Eliza say that you have to clean as a punishment," Kara said quietly.

Her head popped up and she glared over at Kara. "Yeah? So?"

"I could help you."

Alex groaned. "It's supposed to be a punishment...for me. That means I'm supposed to do it all on my own. Why isn't that a concept you can grasp?"

Kara just frowned in silent response.

"Geez...fine...if you really like to clean or something, I guess you could help...just don't tell my mom that I made you do it or something," Alex told her before letting her head flop back onto the bed. "She'll think I'm telling you things I shouldn't or forcing you or something."

"I'll just tell Eliza the truth," Kara said matter of factly. "It's not your fault in the first place."

Alex's head popped up again and she eyed Kara. "What?"

"I tried to explain it to her before, but she did not listen."

"You're her favorite anyways…"

"I'm not her child."

"Oh, you are," Alex said. Which was fine, it meant that her mother wouldn't force her to try to learn or like things that Alex just had no interest in. It meant that she could spend more time with her dad. She'd always been a daddy's girl and she was more than okay with that. It was pretty much the one gem that came with having Kara as part of their family, her mother could spend all the time doing things Alex never wanted to do with Kara.

"No...biologically-"

"But in her heart," Alex corrected.

Kara seemed to go silent, taking that in.

"Adopting someone into your family is more than just a new last name or a piece of paper that says you're part of our family," Alex said. "It's opening your heart to loving someone…"

"Do you love me?" Kara questioned.

She should have expected that question. Her mother had been trying to get Alex to tell Kara she loved her since she practically landed. Alex hadn't found those words easy to say, especially to Kara. She loved her parents, even if her mother could drive her a little crazy...but Kara...that was different. "I don't know," Alex admitted truthfully.

"I don't know if I love you," Kara put out there.

"Well, I guess we're on the same page at least."

"Is that bad?"

Alex shrugged. "I guess as long as we don't hate each other…"

"I definitely do not hate you," Kara said sweetly.

Alex was fairly sure that there was no one and nothing in the universe that could make Kara hate. It was something that Alex often wondered was a Kryptonian trait since her cousin, Superman, seemed like such a do-gooder as well.

Eliza had assigned Alex to clean the bannisters, stairs, and upstairs hallway. This was a job that Alex was used to having to do, whether it was a punishment or a chore. She was fairly sure that they just changed what it was considered depending on if she was in trouble or not. Nevertheless, she knew exactly how to do this job and it was going to be so much quicker with Kara helping her.

Her mother had obviously been surprised to see both of them moving into position to start with rags and the proper cleaning supplies in hand. Eliza started, "Kara, Sweetheart, you don't need to-"

But Kara interrupted Eliza, which wasn't something that was a common occurrence at all in their house. "It's okay, I want to. After all, Alex being punished is my fault since she shouldn't be in trouble in the first place." The way that Kara said it, so sweetly and politely just left Eliza in a confused silent state.

The two of them worked quietly at the bottom of the stairs together. Alex only whispering here and there to explain to Kara how it was properly done. Her mother had standards when it came to cleaning and Alex had learned that it was much better to do it right the first time rather than have to do it a second time. Most of the time, though, she'd see Kara watching her for a moment and then figuring it out from how Alex was doing it rather than actually ask.

By the time they were upstairs, they were talking. Alex wasn't sure if it was just because cleaning bannisters was such a time consuming task or if it was merely because they weren't around her mother anymore. "I wish you and Jeremiah would include me in your discussions," Kara brought up quietly as she wiped down a section of the wall (apparently they'd left marks on the wall from touching them, Alex swore that they weren't there).

"Eavesdropping?" Alex asked as she gave Kara a disapproving look. "I thought you're not supposed to use your powers?"

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Kara said slowly and with a frown. "I just...your mother only talks to me about cooking and clothes and stuff like that… I am interested in other things, too."

"What were we talking about?" Alex questioned.

"The ethics of cloning," Kara responded.

Alex shrugged. "Well, you're a member of the Danvers family now, Kara. You've got to learn how to speak up. Tell my dad about the things you want to talk about...even my mom...they've got degrees and they know all kinds of stuff, but I think my mom likes to keep from talking about the heavier stuff because she thinks it might be above our heads."

"I just don't want them to be upset with me."

"Well, I'll teach you a trick to please my mom right now when it comes to cleaning," Alex said. She squirted some lysol onto a rag and bent down to wipe along the ledge of the baseboard. "Spots everyone, even my mom, forgets to clean," Alex explained. She walked the entire hallway and watched Kara do the same on the other side. She then lifted herself up on her toes and wiped along the top of the door frame's ledge. Alex looked over at Kara. "Seriously, speak up. My parents aren't going to be mad at you for telling them what you like to talk about or for changing the subject, if anything...you'll surprise them and maybe they'll stop treating you with kid gloves."

"Kid...gloves?"

Alex smiled over at her. "Yeah, it means that they're careful with you. They don't want to upset you or set you off. Walking on thin ice. That kind of thing."

"But you don't?"

Alex shrugged. "Maybe that makes me a bad person," she stated. That was definitely something her mother had brought up. "Or maybe it makes me insensitive. I just feel like you're not a baby...and you can speak up for yourself… You're not going to learn how to fit in here on Earth if we over protect you. You've got to learn and make mistakes for yourself. It's all about experience."

"I agree."

"So just...speak up." She saw the look that Kara was giving her, it was like she was honestly scared. As much as she'd really not loved having Kara be apart of their family when she'd first gotten there, she found herself liking her more and more...the more she opened up. "What do you honestly think is going to happen?"

"I-"

"They're not going to get mad, Kara," Alex pressed. "And they're not going to call up your cousin and send you off with him…" She shrugged. "You're stuck with us…"

That seemed to brighten Kara a bit. "I'm okay with that."

There was slowly a bond forming between them. Maybe they weren't sisters yet, but they were definitely working their way towards something more than strangers…

The End.