Hello! Thank you for reading and I really love reading the comments y'all give me. They are very much appreciated! I'm gonna try to write more stuff instead of concentrating on just the couple of stories I have going on and I gotta say, I'm really loving the supercorp fandom at the moment. Might try to write something for that but I'm not sure where to go with it. I dunno. Any ideas?
BTW, as I'm watching the 2nd season of Supergirl, once again, let my thoughts on this subject be known: Mon-El can go back in that fucking spaceship and got shot into the Phantom Zone. Give me Krypto any day. Or Streaky the cat.
Alex stood in the shed, shuffling her feet nervously. Kara had avoided her for… almost a whole week. Kryptonians didn't need to eat, they could live off the sun forever. So Kara came to the dinner table to say hi and still set the table, but she would disappear as soon as possible and avoid looking at anyone. Eliza and Jeremiah had tried to talk to Alex about it, but realized that their daughter already felt horrible enough about what she said and left her alone.
Alex should've felt… happy that she was let off easy. She had to cancel the sleepover at Rebecca's, but she was still allowed to go out surfing with her friends and train for her competition. Her parents didn't yell at her, didn't say anything, except Alex knew that they were disappointed by how she had acted. But even worse, they had hope that she would fix this mess by herself and tried to make ALEX feel better. Which only made Alex feel horrible all over again. She had failed so miserably to be nice to Kara, why didn't her parents yell at her?
Because of this whole debacle, her parents also spent a little bit more time with Kara, which Alex didn't mind, not one bit, not like how she minded at the beginning when Kara had come to stay with them. Alex swore she wouldn't mind ever, if Kara would just look at her again.
Alex had tried to talk to Kara, tried to catch her so Alex could grovel and apologize but the blonde would disappear before she could get a hold of her. Kara would talk to Jeremiah and Eliza alone, but Alex never seemed to be able to get a hold of Kara. Kara kept her head down and avoided Alex as much as possible. Even in the same car, Kara would train her eyes outside and not even glance at Alex's reflection, looking plaintively at Kara. But Alex was nothing if not tenacious, and finally caught Kara while she was in her pod. So the older girl stood there waiting for almost two hours, but knew Kara would have to come out for dinner.
Almost nearing a third hour of waiting, the brunette perked up at the sight of Viox's top yawning open to allow Kara to swing a leg over the edge of the cockpit and start clambering out, not seeming to have noticed that she wasn't alone. But when Kara raised her head, she startled violently when she locked eyes with the older girl. The little Kryptonian froze at the sight of Alex, then turned around to glare into Viox.
"You didn't warn me that she was outside!" Kara complained in Kryptonian.
"Lady Kara, you did not ask me to." Viox replied primly. Viox was very quickly trying to close up the opening so Kara couldn't retreat back into the pod, but had left just enough space so Kara could still pull herself out. Alex stood in front of the shed door and there was no other exit inside the shed that Kara could use. She was effectively trapped.
"Hey." Alex waved awkwardly. "Can we talk?"
Kara watched Alex warily, fear evident in her eyes.
"No. I… I don't think I want to." Kara said softly.
"Oh." Alex didn't know… what to do. "Oh."
There was a long, awkward silence. Not as horrible as the silence right after Alex had said those hurtful things, but still… the silence felt like a stone settling deep in Alex's stomach.
"Okay." Alex took a deep breath. "Okay, you don't have to say anything. I'm just going to talk."
"No." Kara clamped her hands over her ears, she didn't want to listen. "I don't want to hear it."
"Please, Kara." Alex took a step forward and Kara shrunk backwards. "Please just let me-"
"Please stop." Kara was crying and the tears finally halted Alex in her tracks. "Please, Alex… please. Please don't."
"Okay, okay." Alex's breath hitched in her chest. She didn't know why she felt like crying, too. "Kara, why are you crying? Please don't cry-"
"You're right." Kara blurted out through her tears. "You're right. I'm-I'm n-not of the House of Danvers. I-I shouldn't be s-sad. It's the t-truth."
"Kara…"
"I d-don't belong here. I d-don't belong anywhere now." Kara said through her tears. "H-How I am… it's not a-appropriate. I can't… everything's too h-hard. Even Kal-El doesn't k-know what to do w-with me."
Alex wanted to hold Kara and tell her everything was okay and tell her she was sorry and just a complete asshole. She wanted to do that but another few steps away from the door and Kara was able to slip past her using her super-speed and escaped.
Alex let out a mini-scream of frustration.
"Alexandra Danvers, might I speak with you?" Viox's voice hummed out.
"Are you angry at me, Viox?" Alex was more than a little anxious at having Viox mad at her. Making Kara cry and Kara not wanting to speak to her was already making Alex feel lower than dirt.
"No, Alex." Viox's voice lowered soothingly. "But my Lady is upset and I want to know how I can fix this."
"It's all my fault." Alex said miserably. "I was angry that she was trying to stop me from going out with my friends and I just… said those things. Did Kara tell you?"
"She did. Those things are true." Viox said matter-of-factly. "If my Lady was acting like her normal self, she would be able to accept what you said and process it accordingly."
"What do you mean?"
"The energy from Earth's yellow sun would be the culprit I suspect. Kryptonians are a calm, rational people. They feel emotions, but not in the same way humans do. Under Rao, Kryptonian emotions are… muted, if compared to human emotions. They feel, but not so much. Here, Lady Kara is prone to outbursts that would be unheard of on Krypton. I do not believe what you said would have affected her, if she was under Rao's light. Your logic is sound and she should have accepted that without emotion. Kara is nothing to you and you are nothing to her, according to Kryptonian society."
"So it's more a physiological thing?" Alex's mind turned to science, relieved that there was an explanation besides the fact that she was horrible. It also helped take away the sting of Viox's words, that Alex was correct and Kara and her were not in any way connected in a substantial, Kryptonian sense.
"Yes. So when her feelings are hurt, Lady Kara reacts very much like a human would. It is interesting and I am trying to gather more information on this, but Lady Kara is my only subject on this matter. Kal-El has always been on Earth so he would not be a reliable subject though I do 'keep tabs' on him, also."
"So what can I do to make her feel better, Viox?"
Viox hummed again, a sign that it was thinking hard. "I do not know, Alex. I was hoping you could tell me. I feel like watching television programs and YouTube videos are not good ways of learning about how to deal with human emotions."
Alex barked out a tired laugh, stepping forward so she could press her forehead against Viox's cool exterior.
"I have heard communication is key."
"I'm trying, but she doesn't want to talk to me."
"That is quite difficult. We cannot resolve this if she is avoiding you." Viox said. "Have you tried your human way of holding up a 'boombox', and then standing outside her window-"
"Viox, no." Alex rolled her eyes at the AI.
"You could bribe a marching band conductor to play the song 'Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You', by Frankie Valli, co-written by Bob Gaudio. Then you can sing the song to her when she is playing soccer-"
"Viox," Alex frowned. "That's… our marching band sucks. And are you… are you just taking scenarios from romantic comedies?"
"They assist me in understanding human relationships. I am quite certain that the human way of 'wooing' a romantic interest would be well received by Kara and would make her more open to having a conversation with you." Viox replied, then threw in another suggestion. "Have you tried going to 'prom'? You should invite her. She would enjoy the choreographed dance. The artist 'Usher' could 'DJ' at this dance."
"That's not real life, Viox." A smile pulled at the corners of Alex's lips. "You're just pulling my leg, aren't you?"
"I do not have hands or arms to do so, Alex. And what would that accomplish?"
Alex narrowed her eyes at the spacepod. "You're doing this on purpose."
"What am I doing on purpose?" Viox asked innocently.
"Viox." Alex chuckled. "But… I think I have an idea."
"Please elaborate." Viox sounded excited also.
"I'm going to order pizza and have a night in, just the two of us." Alex said excitedly. There was a long silence before Viox spoke.
"That is not exciting. Your gesture, to be 'frank', 'sucks'."
"No, she'll love it." Alex argued. She hurried to the door, but then came back quickly to give Viox an awkward pat on it's hull. "Thanks, Viox. I'll fix this."
"I have the utmost faith in you, Alexandra. But this 'date', if one can call it that, 'sucks'."
"This isn't a date and now I *know* you're really doing it on purpose."
Alex hurried back to the house, quickly making plans in her head. All she had to do was get her parents to go out and then she could lure Kara out with food! And it seemed like things were working in her favour as she found her parents coming up the stairs from the basement.
"We have to go to work, something urgent came up." Jeremiah was already handing Alex a couple of bills from his wallet. "Hold down the fort, Alex? Grab some food, me and your mom won't be home for dinner."
"Kara?" Eliza was calling up the stairs and the blonde appeared at the top of the stairs, sad blue eyes darting to Alex briefly, making Alex feel like she had just been punched in the guts. Then those eyes moved away from her and Kara kept her gaze on Eliza.
"Yes, Eliza?"
"We're going out. Alex will get something to eat for the both of you."
"I don't need to eat." Kara replied. Before Eliza could reply, the blonde had disappeared back into her room again. The parents sighed and looked over at Alex, who winced under their gaze.
"Alright, honey. Call us if you need anything, okay?" Jeremiah hugged his daughter, using the proximity to whisper in her ear. "Try to talk it out, okay?"
"Yeah, dad."
Eliza kissed her daughter on the forehead and the two were gone. The house was completely quiet and Alex, screwing up her courage, made her way up the stairs to Kara's room.
"Kara?"
There was no reply on the other side of the door, so Alex tried again, hoping that Kara was listening.
"Kara, I'm going to order some food now."
There was silence on the other side of the door and Alex was about to turn around to leave when Kara called out.
"I'm not hungry."
"I'm ordering pizza. You love pizza-"
"I'm not hungry." Kara repeated. Alex stared at the door, feeling just a little bit hopeless. She continued staring at the door for a few more seconds, then her mouth firmed into a determined line.
Alex was, if nothing else, tenacious.
The eldest Danvers girl stomped down the stairs, dialing the number for the pizza place in town, and placed her order quickly. She called 'So Good' restaurant right after.
"Hello, So Good!" Sharon answered the phone.
"Hey, it's Alex."
"Alex!" Sharon sounded happy to hear from her science club friend. "What's up? This is the restaurant number, why didn't you call my cell?"
"Oh, sorry, Sharon, I'm just ordering food."
"Oh, I see how it is." Sharon chuckled, not offended. "What can I get you?"
"Well, last time Kara came to your house, she said you guys had um, potstickers or something? She really liked those." Alex lowered her voice, hoping that Kara couldn't hear her and that she could surprise the younger girl.
"Oh, yeah, sure, I can put in a couple of orders for you? Anything else?"
"Is there anything else she liked?"
Sharon helped her pick a couple more dishes and Alex confirmed the order before she hung up. While she set up the TV and got the movie ready, she went to the kitchen and brought out the small popcorn machine that the Danvers family had used only maybe a couple of times since they got it. Alex also found a couple of packets of corn and placed them on the counter, too. It didn't take long for the pizza to get there and for Sharon's mom to show up at the door after that, with the Chinese take-out.
"Alex!" Mrs. Pan always seemed really happy to see Alex. Sharon had explained to the other girl that her mother liked Alex because she was a good influence.
"Hi, Mrs. Pan. How are you?" Alex greeted politely, quickly taking the take-out bags from Sharon's mom. They were the only Chinese restaurant in town and the whole family worked at the restaurant together.
"Good, good! Very busy!" The woman replied cheerfully. "Where is Kara?"
"Oh, she's upstairs-"
"Oh, she's probably busy doing homework, don't bother her!" Mrs. Pan nodded happily. "You two, such good girls. I have to go before my husband asks why I go and take so long. You're such a good girl!"
"Oh, uh, bye Mrs. Pan."
Mrs. Pan waved again before getting into her car and leaving. Alex went back inside with the food and set everything on the coffee table, feeling a bit more optimistic about this whole thing.
"Alright." Alex said aloud, just to psych herself up. All she needed now was Kara.
"I'm not hungry." was Kara's reply when Alex knocked on her door again.
"But Kara, I got pizza. And I also ordered Chinese food." Alex knew maybe she was treating Kara like she was simple, but Alex was just hoping that this would work. There was almost a full minute of silence before Kara answered.
"I… I'm. I'm not hungry."
Alex huffed out a frustrated breath of air. Kara obviously wanted to eat, but Alex was definitely the problem. The older girl wilted a bit at the thought, but straightened up imperiously. Alex was nothing, if not tenacious. And she was not going to give up and she was going to FIX THIS. And from her many sessions with Viox, she understood that Kryptonian society functioned with a high amount of ceremony and rituals that were taken super seriously.
"Kara. I am cordially inviting you to a human… ritual. I've prepared the ceremonial food and drinks. If you don't come out and eat, you'll be offending me." Alex lied through her teeth. "And… that's… shameful. For me. And you."
There was silence on the other side of the door. Just when Alex was going to try to figure out another way to get Kara to join her for dinner, the door opened and the blonde stood there nervously.
"What… what kind of ritual?" Kara asked quietly. Alex grinned at Kara and took the young Kryptonian's hand in hers and tugged her along. Kara followed easily, her eyes trained on their entwined fingers.
"It's the… uh... ritual of family." Alex glanced back at Kara as they walked down the stairs. Now Kara looked at her, confusion in her eyes and the furrow of her brows. Alex remembered a time when Kara didn't even know how to make facial expressions.
"Come, sit down. Eat."
"What is this ritual of family?" Kara sat down warily. Her eyes widened with glee at the sight of the food and finally, a tiny smile pulled up the corners of her lips. Alex grinned, happy to see that Kara was at least pleased with the food.
"It's like… a lot of tiny things." Alex picked up a slice of pizza and started eating to buy herself time to think up something and gestured for Kara to eat. The blonde did so eagerly, but tried to restrain herself to two potstickers in each hand, her eyes trained on Alex to figure out this 'ritual of family' she was talking about.
"Alex?"
"Well, we can't rush this." Alex pointed at Kara. "You stay and eat, let me get us some popcorn. You'll love it."
"But I-"
"It's part of the ritual and we can't rush it. Just… enjoy yourself." Alex lied, desperate to keep Kara here in her company. Alex fled to the kitchen preparing the popcorn by herself, but Kara's curiosity, however, overwhelmed her wariness of Alex. As Alex ripped open the bag of popcorn kernels, Kara stood at the entrance to the kitchen, watching Alex carefully.
"It makes popcorn. We've never gone to the theatres I guess, because we were always afraid of the noise level for you." Alex blathered on, completely unlike herself. But Alex was hoping if she kept talking, Kara wouldn't run away. Kara didn't leave, just kept watching warily. However, when Alex turned the popcorn machine on, the loud motorized whirring sound that suddenly filled the kitchen made Kara jump and grasp onto the kitchen doorframe, cracking it.
"It's loud." Kara commented.
Alex nodded, suddenly realizing this was a bad idea. "It's making popcorn. Just… relax, Kara. Concentrate on me."
Kara jumped again at the sound of the popping, looking to and fro frantically.
"Kara," Alex held out her hands. "Kara, don't be scared, it's just-"
But in a flash, Kara was gone, the whirlwind from Kara's exit temporarily blinding Alex. When Alex opened her eyes again, Kara was gone and she wanted to scream. She had been so close and now Kara had run away again! Alex was going to try and drag Kara back, but a whimper from under the kitchen table caught the teenager's attention.
Alex ducked her head low and could see Kara hiding underneath the kitchen table, hands pressed against her ears and rocking back and forth. Clicking the power button on the popcorn machine, Alex all but ran to Kara and slid under the table, gathering the teenage alien into her arms.
"I've got you, Kara. The popcorn-"
Kara shook her head, able to concentrate on Alex and speak. "It sounded like… just it was too much. The popcorn, it was like Krypton. I don't know, just-explosions-"
"Shh, shhh…" Alex rubbed Kara's back soothingly. "I've got you-"
"Alex," Kara had her eyes closed tight and Alex finally noticed the Kryptonian was quivering. "Please. Alex, please don't…"
"Kara, what's wrong? What am I doing?" Alex pleaded, putting some space between them so she can look Kara in the eye, encouraged by the fact that Kara wasn't catatonic like usual after too much stimuli.
"Tell me. What's wrong?"
"You're… hurting me." Kara's breath hitched, tears in her eyes.
"Kara…" Alex drew her hands back immediately. "I'm sorry. I-how's that even possible-"
"In here!" Kara pounded a fist against her own chest, the thump loud and violent. Kara hit herself again, in the centre of her chest, sobbing. "It hurts and I can't stop it! I don't know what it is and Viox says it's just my e-e-emotions, but I can't stop it!"
"Kara," Alex was speechless. She didn't know what to say.
"Why does it hurt to be around you?!" Kara hissed in Kryptonian, eyes closed in pain. The hurt was unlike anything she had never felt, as different and new as the pain of losing Krypton. Different, great, but the same in how it pierced Kara so thoroughly. It was the alien nature of Earth and how it affected her. Everything was just so much… more, here on this little green and blue planet.
Suddenly reaching out, Kara grabbed onto the collar of Alex's shirt pulling the older girl in so their foreheads were pressed together. "You're nothing to me. You're not mine, Alex. I have no-one left! Clark is my family but he's barely a Kryptonian! And you… you're not mine. We are nothing to each other. And it hurts. It hurts, Alex… I… I have nothing. I have nothing left."
Alex carded her fingers through Kara's hair clutching at the blonde's head and mimicking the ferociousness of Kara's hold on her.
"I am yours and you are mine." Alex's words stunned Kara into opening her eyes, looking into Alex's. If Kara's eyes were the bright true blue of Earth's sky, then Alex's were the colour of the universe, Kara reckoned. Flecked with galaxies and golden suns.
"The ritual of family is many things." Alex wiped away Kara's tears with the pads of her hand. Ever patient with Kara, ever steadfast. "The ritual is food. The ritual is time together. The ritual is defending you. It is being there for you. It is caring for you. This is Earth tradition. And it… it will give you something."
Kara laughed, full of wonder. Alex was speaking to her in her native Kryptonian! Alex smiled at the sound, holding Kara's face carefully now.
"On Earth, this is how we make family. It will be something for you, not to replace, never replace. But to hold on to. Yours. It's a work in progress, always. And sometimes, we will hurt each other." Alex licked her lips, Kryptonian clumsy on her lips, but she knew her practice with Viox had made her pronunciation near perfect and she held on to that, hoped Kara understood. "I can't promise I won't hurt you, but I promise I will always try not to. But if I do hurt you again in the future, I will always try to make it better. Family always tries. And I will never give up on you, Kara. And I am sorry for what I said before and for hurting your feelings."
Alex blew out a breath in frustration, her Kryptonian still not as fluent as she would like. Kara's hand on her cheek and the tears in her eyes brought Alex back to the present.
"How did you learn Kryptonian?" Kara asked breathlessly.
"Viox was teaching me in secret. I wanted to surprise you." Alex said earnestly. "I'm sorry I upset you before."
"You were telling the truth." Kara smiled at Alex, the pain she had been feeling before subsiding. "You are right. Krypton… Krypton is gone. But we are on Earth and we have your Earth rituals. And you are mine and I am yours. I apologize to you, my reaction before was inappropriate."
"You were sad. I made you sad and you don't have to apologize to me." Alex hugged Kara close. "I...I was a jerk. I shouldn't have said that to you."
"You're not a jerk." Their transition from basic Kryptonian to English, seamless. Kara's smile was back in full force and to Alex, it was like the sun finally coming out from the clouds. "This is just how families are, right? It's a work in progress."
"I'll work on being less of a jerk." Alex laughed.
"Come, Alex." Kara crawled out from under the table and helped Alex up, too. "Let's… not have this popcorn today. Show me the ritual you have planned."
"Uh, it's a part of the family ritual." Alex, fumbling and trying to center herself in the touch of Kara's hand in hers. Alex had made up this ritual on the spot, so she continued weaving her well-meaning fake-ritual. "Uh… It's sister night-like… a sister ritual m-mixed in with my apology. So, uh, movies or TV shows, food we like, and me and you. We just, uh, repeat this ritual. Every week. Every Friday night, if we can. It doesn't have to be this all the time, sometimes we can go out. And if we can't do this all the time, there are always other things we can do. The main thing is being together."
"I like this ritual. Especially the part about the food we like. And being together." Kara's smile brightened again, even though Alex had been certain it was already at full power. "You even ordered potstickers!"
"Only the very best for mine." Alex held Kara's hand and pulled her back to the food while Kara blushed bright red. 'Mine' in Kryptonian was a word that needed special care. She would have to speak to Viox about teaching Alex that word, as possessive as it is, it came with certain… implications. As did certain things Alex had said. But right now, Kara would bask in this affirmation that only companions gave.
"I am yours and you are mine." Kara said aloud, in English. Just to be sure Alex knew those words in English, that the human wasn't mistaken in what she said.
"You are mine and I am yours." Alex's response was immediate. The two girls grinned at each other, unabashedly, then turned to the food, collecting what they wanted and retreating to opposite sides of the couch. They didn't need to be physically close to feel that bond stretch between them, the beginnings of something unbreakable.
"I'm sorry, for what I said before." Alex repeated, still feeling a bit anxious. The blonde nodded, really taking in her apology.
"It's okay, Alex. Everything is okay."
Alex held Kara's gaze for a second longer, then turned her head back to the TV, hitting the play button on the remote in her hand. Everything was going to be okay.