Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Barry thought he was going to die. Like actually, genuinely, die. Heart-stop, blood-flow cease, brain-off die.

It was nice to know Oliver was with him though, or, more accurately, on top of him.

He just couldn’t stop shaking, it was shaking his ribcage and eating away hands as they tried and failed to stay still. All he could do was press his forehead to the godforsaken field and try to tuck impossibly closer to Ollie.

They were going to die, and it was all his fault.

Oliver gasped.

Not able to help himself, Barry lifted his head, following his brother’s gaze to what he assumed was the end of the line, preparing himself for some creature straight out of a horror film.

Instead, he saw a girl.

Or at least something that looked like a human girl. She had blond hair that barely met her shoulders and was dressed in what looked like a gray spacesuit, but it was very thin so it was doubtful that just that could have protected her. Some observations flew by, but something that was hard to ignore were her eyes, they were a piercing, pure blue. It was almost like they were glowing.

No, they definitely were glowing. And staring right at them.

She moved her mouth and more of that odd sound came out. Barry bet it was another language. An alien language. A language untouched by any of the languages on Earth.

Barry shuffled around, but his brother only tightened his grip.

“Ollie,” Barry hissed. “We need to move.”

“No,” Oliver’s eyes were still fixed on the girl.

“Yes,” Barry replied, moving again and this time Oliver’s grip loosened. “There is nothing to be gained from staying still. We don’t know who or what this is, our best hope is to communicate.”

“You watch too many movies,” Oliver whispered, but ultimately relented, his grip slack. “Do not die, Barr. Please do not die.”

There was something so terribly bare about Ollie’s voice that it made Barry just want to curl up in his arms again, but Oliver couldn’t talk to people to save his life, and that was the opposite of what they needed right now.

He stood up slowly, hands up and palms open. When he took a small step forward, Barry heard Oliver wince, but the girl only blinked.

“Hello,” Barry said, trying to find a tone loud enough to understand but not deem a threat. He stood there, still as stone, waiting for the girl to make the first move.

Suddenly, she opened her mouth and said something unintelligible. The wonderful world of linguistics burst into Barry’s head, but he pushed it aside to focus on getting back to their home alive.

Barry made an exaggerated confused face and shook his head, hoping the girl would get the message. She blinked again, this time with more understanding than confusion.

The girl spoke again, this time a different, softer language, but not one that Barry could comprehend, so he repeated what he did before.

The next time she spoke, her words were crisp and wafted into the air like heavy smoke.

“Can you understand me now?”

“Yes!” Barry nodded vigorously. “I can!”

“Where am I?” This time, she gazed around, but never turned her back to the boys.

“Somewhere between National City and Star City, but where exactly I’m not quite sure.” Barry carefully lowered his hands, not missing the way the girl eyed him as he did so. He kept them still, at his sides.

“And where is that?”

Barry could slap himself. She literally just crash landed from outer space, of course she didn’t know what those two cities were.

“Earth,” he said, softly.

Surprisingly, she didn’t seem shocked. In fact, she looked relieved, her shoulders dropped and she began digging around in the pit of her. . . ship.

Holy shit. It was an alien ship.

Barry had to stop himself from jumping up and down, using all of his energy to keep his feet frozen to the ground. While she was searching for whatever she was looking for, Barry turned to his brother, not shocked to see that Oliver had not moved.

“Ollie,” he hissed. “Get up.”

Oliver shook his head but ultimately relented and Barry turned back to the girl as his brother got to his feet.

“I’m Barry,” he said, motioning to himself, then pointed behind him. “And that’s Oliver, my brother.”

The girl lifted her head out of her ship, sharp eyes staring them both down. There was something in her hand that was glowing slightly, but she hid it behind her back before Barry could see what it was.

“I am Kara Zor-El, of Krypton.”

“Krypton?” Of course Ollie would choose to speak now. Barry rolled his eyes. “What is that?”

Barry watched Kara Zor-El recoil, as if his brother had burned her.

“It was my home,” she whispered, eyes downcast. “Until it was destroyed.”

Barry refrained from spewing questions about space and alien culture, instead focusing on the fact that Kara Zor-El had lost her family, her planet. He heard Oliver inhale quickly, as if in shock, too.

The dark settled heavily around them, the headlights from their car harsh against their back and in Kara Zor-El’s face. She didn’t look much older than Oliver, assuming the people from Krypton aged the same as humans.

Kara Zor-El opened her mouth to speak when Barry saw something in the distance. He hushed her, hoping she understood that it wasn’t out of malice, and squinted into the dark.

There were shadows moving on the field. Granted, it was dark and could have been literally anything from a coyote from the poor farmer who was on this land, but the shadows moved precisely and way too fast for it to be anything other than a car.

“Fuck me,” Barry said, and he looked back at Oliver. “Turn off the car lights!”

His brother looked confused, so Barry repeated himself. “Ollie! Turn off the car lights!” He couldn’t help the tremble in his voice and watched as fear seeped out of his words and onto Oliver’s face. “And start the car, but leave the lights off!” He whispered loudly after him.

“Kara Zor-El,” the alien stiffened at her own name. “I think someone is here to take you away, and not somewhere nice, I know you just met us, but please, come with us.” It sounded like he was begging.

She looked pensive, and when the lights from their car finally flipped off, the engine ticking to life behind him, all Barry could see was a slight glow from the item she still held behind her back.

If Barry was right, and he really wished he wasn’t, then people were coming for her, and definitely not people that would respect her autonomy. He looked back at his brother in the car, unable to see much but the vague shape of the vehicle.

They had to go, and they had to go now, but Kara Zor-El still seemed frozen.

Barry rushed forward, opting to drag her along with them because there was no way he was going to leave her alone. He gently grabbed her forearm, tugging her slightly towards him.

She glared at him, and Barry ignored the shiver that shot down his spine.

“One condition,” she said, eyes serious and narrow.

Barry nodded vigorously.

“Help me find my little cousin.”

Barry’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, it definitely wasn’t what he was expecting. Plus, it meant that there was another alien on earth, and apparently had just landed, too.

He could see the outline of the cars in the distance, gaining speed as the space between them shrank exponentially.

“I promise, now come on!”

With that, the two abandoned the giant rock, Kara Zor-El’s ship, and bolted for the car. Barry flung open the door, basically shoving Kara Zor-El into the passenger seat so he could squeeze into the back, uncomfortably pressed against the items they managed to grab before running from their campsite.

“Go, Ollie!” Barry shouted. “Go go go!” He flew backwards, hitting his head on some miscellaneous item, as Oliver slammed on the gas and turned them around.

Barry looked to Kara Zor-El, who seemed frightened and confused at what exactly was happening. She was clutching something tight to her chest, and only when Oliver swung the car to the right was Barry able to see it as Kara Zor-El struggled for balance.

It was a crystal, blue, sharp, and shining, reminding Barry of her eyes.

A painful fifteen minutes passed, full of a roaring engine, panting, and desperate looks out the back window.

Eventually, Barry caught Oliver’s eyes in the rearview mirror, and his brother gestured frantically with his eyes to the girl in the passenger seat. Barry furrowed his eyebrows.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Barry didn’t know what to say. She said she was looking for her cousin, right? That would be a safe bet.

“So, Kara Zor-El,” he began, watching the speedometer fall from a hundred to the seventies. “What’s your cousin’s name? Do you know where he is?”

She turned around, like completely around, back to the windshield and chest to the back of her seat. Oliver flashed Barry another look, but said nothing.

Barry tried to keep the surprise from his face.

“Just Kara,” she said, rubbing her thumb unconsciously against the crystal cradled in her lap. “And his name is Kal. I left shortly after him, so he should have landed already but I do not know where.” She looked up at him, hopeful. “You promised to help me find him, were you telling the truth?”

This time, before Barry could answer, Oliver jumped in.

“Barr, what the hell?” Oh, yay. He was annoyed.

Barry really did not want to have this conversation in front of Kara, it seemed almost rude, but clearly Kara had no concept of Earth societal norms so it couldn’t be too bad.

“What? She needs help!”

The glare his brother gave him suddenly made him appreciate Kara being there to prevent him from being murdered.

“Ollie, she is an alien, being chased,” Barry readjusted himself, moving things out of the way to properly sit down. “It was either that or let her be taken!” He couldn’t help but raise his voice. Why couldn’t Ollie understand why they needed to help her?

“We don’t know who or what she is,” Kara’s eyes flashed at that, “and now she is in our car and someone is probably going to come looking for her and those are not people we want to meet.”

“So you’d trade our safety for her life?”

A twitch of Oliver’s eyebrow told him all he needed to know. Kara remained unmoving, except for looking at whoever was speaking, head moving as if she was watching a tennis match.

Barry just pursed his lips and looked back to Kara, determination settling into his words if only to spite his brother.

“Yes,” he said. “It was the truth.”

Kara seemed to nearly melt, yet her shoulders still held a line of tension. “Thank you.”

✩

If the alien didn’t kill Barry, then Oliver might.

He thought his brother was smart, but their current situation proved just how stupid he was. Kara Zor-El was probably going to use them and then drop them, and not without a few bruises.

Oliver just didn’t want his brother to get hurt.

The two continued their conversation, Oliver was just focused on putting miles between them and whatever Barry saw in the field. Kara Zor-El was sitting with her back to the windshield, but that was definitely not the strangest thing that Oliver had seen in the last twelve hours so he kept his mouth shut.

There was a fucking alien in his car, and Barry had invited it in. Had told her he’d help her despite knowing nothing but her name, and that could be a complete lie. Oliver had grown up with people who only wanted to take advantage of him, his family, and his money, and it had left him more broken than he realized before meeting Barry.

He was not going to let his brother experience the pain of realizing someone you trusted didn’t care about you at all. Oliver let almost half an hour pass before swerving to the side of the road, Barry flying around in the back seat and Kara Zor-El ending up on top of the center counsel. He pressed himself against the door.

“Ollie!” Barry screeched, glaring at him through the rearview mirror. “What the hell?”

Oliver glared right back. “Setting some things straight.” He killed the engine and flipped off the lights, not taking any chances of someone they didn’t want seeing them.

“I want to set something straight.” Oliver said with a sharp tone, looking at Kara. “I do not trust you. The only reason I am not freaking out even more than I am is because he,” Oliver jerked a finger at Barry, not taking his eyes off Kara, “wants you here, but if you lay a finger on him, I am calling whoever is after you and making sure we never see you again.”

Barry made noises of disapproval, shuffling around in the back seat and Kara simply blinked.

The light was minimal, and if it wasn’t for the slight glow of Kara’s eyes he would not have been able to tell where her eyes were.

“Okay,” she finally said.

“Okay?” Oliver repeated.

“Okay. I understand you want to protect your little brother, and I admire that about you. But do not doubt my character or my motives, once I find my cousin you will never see me again, and that is a promise.”

There was a small gasp from the back seat, but Oliver kept his eyes steady with Kara’s.

“Deal,” he said, and started the engine again.

He felt calmer knowing that there was an endpoint, but there were still some leftover nerves that were screaming for him to stop the car and run away as fast as possible.

The fallout from their conversation was palpable. Oliver could see his brother avoiding eye contact through the rearview mirror and feel the indignation wafting through the air. All he did, though, was grip the wheel a little tighter.

After a couple ten minutes passed, even Kara seemed to feel the tension.

“I have a question,” she began, and Oliver rolled his eyes. “You said you are brothers, yes?” She looked to Barry, who nodded. “On my planet, siblings have a more similar appearance. Are you blood brothers?”

Oliver flinched. First, an alien is in his car, and next, she’s asking about their pasts. He flicked his eyes up to the rearview mirror, trying to get a glimpse of Barry, but his brother seemed more willing to answer the question than recognize that now was not the time nor place.

“No, we aren’t related by blood, but he is still my brother.” Barry said it like it was a challenge, firm and expectant, like he was waiting for Kara to tell him otherwise.

It made Oliver’s chest squeeze, and suddenly some of the tension between them vanished.

But Kara only nodded.

“I understand,” she said. “We have relationships like that on Krypton, and some bonds forged by choice are ten times the strength of those given through blood.”

Distrust and acceptance danced somewhere between Oliver’s ribs, his brain yelling at him how illogical it was to give someone he had never met his trust, but his heart in the backseat of the car melted under the warm understanding of Kara-Zor-El’s words.

“I do not have blood siblings, and everyone I know is now dead.” She said it so casually that Oliver wouldn’t have thought it mattered to her if it wasn’t for the sniffle and an attempt to discreetly wipe at her eyes. When she spoke next, she met Oliver’s eyes. “You two are very lucky to have each other.”

Oliver looked away, back to the road. The weight of her gaze was way too much.

“My parents were killed, too,” Barry whispered, and Oliver ignored the way Kara’s eyes widened. “A man in lightning killed them. I wound up in Star City and Ollie found me. So I understand losing people who love you.”

“You are kind for taking him in, Ollie.”

He snapped his eyes from the road to Kara’s face, ignoring the way the car slightly swerved.

“Only he gets to call me that.”

“Oh,” she seemed surprised. “I understand,” a pause. “I still consider you kind, Oliver.”

Either she was being genuine, or was in it for the long run. Oliver said nothing, choosing instead to give all of his focus on slowing down and taking an exit, but that did nothing to deter Kara’s determination to ask personal questions.

“What of your parents, Oliver?” Her tone was not malicious, it held no bite.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, sarcastically. “Mom’s on the moon, Dad’s somewhere in Spain!”

“Ollie,” Barry warned.

Oliver huffed. “Mom’s prone to avoid and appease, and Dad’s an asshole with fists. My sister is a stranger with the same last name.”

“I see,” was the only response he got, and finally, the car resumed its silence. Although, it was a little less tense than before.

The conversation had taken up more time than Oliver realized, because within the next few minutes they were in a part of the city he recognized, and soon after he pulled into the empty lot behind their apartment.

Kara seemed in awe. “This is your home? It’s large and,” she scrunched her nose, “tasteful.”

Oliver killed the engine and got out of the car, leaving his brother to correct her. He just wanted to get home, go to bed, forget about the last twenty-four hours and the alien trailing him up the stairs to their apartment.

When they arrived at the door, Oliver didn’t hesitate to turn the key and push the door, but he stopped to watch Kara’s reaction, to make sure there wasn’t a slip in her potential façade. He also eyed the crystal she was cradling in her hands, unsure of what exactly it was supposed to be.

It was a normal reaction, whatever a normal reaction for someone seeing your apartment for the first time is. Barry yapped for a bit, motioning to random things around the living room, and then began to move down the hallway where the bedrooms were.

“Don’t go into my room,” Oliver said.

“I wasn’t going to, Ollie,” Barry said, sounding tired of Oliver’s distrust. “Relax. You can sleep in my room, Kara. Just try not to knock over anything that’s glass. Or the dioramas on the ceiling. And if you hear a bubbling noise coming from my closet, don’t worry about it.”

“Bartholomew,” Oliver rubbed his hands on his face. “What did I tell you about science experiments in your room.”

“Um,” his brother pretended to think, Oliver could tell by the way he glanced up. “Don’t do it?”

“Or else. . .?”

Barry hung his head a little. “Or else my clothes might catch on fire. Again.”

“Does this happen often?” Kara asked, looking at Oliver.

“More than you’d think,” he mumbled.

“Either way,” Barry said. “I’ll sleep on the couch, and you take my room. It’s safe to sleep in! I promise, I do it all the time.” He grinned, and Oliver suppressed a laugh. He was supposed to be the suspecting older sibling, but his brother’s smile was just. . . silly.

“No you’re not,” Barry’s smile dissipated, so Oliver elaborated before he could start a rant. “You are not sleeping on the couch. I’m not against Kara taking your room, as long as you’re with me in mine.” The so I can keep you safe went unsaid.

“Okay.”

Oliver ignored the way Kara’s eyes fell, expression morphing into one that Oliver knew all too well. He’d seen it on Barry the first day they met.

“If you need anything, Kara,” he offered. “Knock on the door and wait for us to open it, and we’ll help you.”

She gave him a small smile, nodding. “Okay.”

Barry ran into his room and returned with a t-shirt and sweatpants which Oliver recognized as his missing laundry and extended them to Kara. They fit, barely, and Oliver realized that they might have to shop for her, too. Damn.

Kara and Barry exchanged goodnights, and Oliver closed the door to his room, ready to put on his own pajamas. He tossed some clothes to Barry and warned him not to steal those too, which was met with an uncommitted grunt.

As Oliver pulled on his shirt, he realized he hadn’t showered since before they left, but didn’t care enough to do anything about it yet because if he didn’t get in his bed in the next minute he thought he was going to die.

His twin bed stared back at him, too small for what they needed.

“I’ll take the floor,” Barry said, retrieving a blanket from the corner of the room and stealing a pillow off Oliver’s bed.

“No you’re not,” Oliver responded. “You sleep on the bed, I’ll sleep closer to the door.”

Barry looked at him from the corner of his eye. “You know, she isn’t planning to kill us or anything.”

“You can’t know that,” Oliver stole the pillow from Barry’s hands and tossed it to the ground, followed by a blanket. He sat down and began to arrange himself under the blanket.

“I do, though,” Barry stated, softly. He sat on the edge of Oliver’s bed. “She’s the same as us, Ollie, lost and alone and looking for something to grab onto. Except we have each other and she has no one.”

Oliver went quiet, trying to fight the truth of his brother’s words. To protect his pride, he simply laid down and turned away from him, pillow uncomfortably flat on the ground.

“Don’t forget the lights,” he murmured, closing his eyes.

The bed creaked, and the lights clicked off, the inside of his eyelids going black. But instead of Barry climbing back onto the bed, Oliver heard a soft thump beside his head and he opened his eyes to see Barry laying down next to him, his own blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“What?” He said, when he noticed Oliver’s eyes on him. “It’s lonely up there.”

Oliver chose to not point out the fact that Barry slept in his own bed, in his own room for almost the entirety of the time they’d been at their apartment, instead choosing to simply lift his blanket up so Barry could shuffle under.

His brother curled in close enough so Oliver could feel his body heat, but not close enough to touch. Oliver threw his arm over Barry’s back to bridge the gap and closed his eyes again.

“I am very thankful I have you, Barr.”

“Me too, Ollie.”

The floor was hard and his neck was bent at an odd angle, but Oliver was more comfortable than he’d been in a while.

Chapter Text

There was no discussion of the meteor on the news, and that worried Barry.

Him and Oliver had woken up at the same time, groggy and so tangled up it was hard to tell who’s limb was who’s. Barry could tell the exact moment that Oliver remembered why they were on the floor, and who was staying in their apartment because he had never seen his brother move that fast.

They had found Kara sitting on a pile of blankets right by the window, bathing in the sunshine and still holding the crystal close to her chest. Barry itched to know what it was, what it meant.

She must have heard them approach, as she opened her eyes when Barry had walked into the room and stood near his brother.

“Good morning,” she smiled. “Your sun is wonderful.”

Kara reminded Barry of a cat, lounging in the warmth.

Barry had watched Oliver’s face run through a variety of emotions, for being so stoic, sometimes his brother wore his heart on his sleeve. Eventually, though, Oliver seemed to have settled on acceptance.

Maybe it was because they were no longer being chased, and Barry was finally seeing Kara clearly for the first time, but something was. . . different. It wasn’t a physical difference, but Barry had felt it.

Now, Barry sat on the couch watching the unexciting news about a robbery that had happened a few streets over and the upcoming weather. Nothing about the meteor一Kara’s ship. No one revisited the story that was so breaking it interrupted the normal programing, and it worried Barry for the same reason he never told Oliver when he broke something: he didn’t want him to know.

Meaning, the people who were keeping this under the rug wanted to keep it there, and Barry understood that as there were scientists or government people who knew that this ‘meteor’ wasn’t a meteor at all. They knew something or someone was going to land on that ship and had figured it out after sending out the message, probably.

He would have bet that the same people keeping this from the spotlight were related to the people chasing them last night, and that sent a tremble of worry down his spine.

Damn, that was just last night. They left hoping for rocks, and instead came back with a whole person and a lifetime’s worth of secrets.

The fridge door slammed, and Barry turned to see his brother placing the milk on the counter, next to three bowls. Barry smiled and began to make his way to the counter.

“C’mon, Kara,” he said, taking the middle seat. “Breakfast time!”

Barry watched Oliver eye Kara get up and walk across the room, then Barry stared at his cereal, wondering how long it would take for his brother to understand that Kara was just someone who needed help. Sometimes, Oliver could be a little bit too protective.

“Cereal!” Kara exclaimed as she sat, immediately picking up a spoon and digging into the cereal. Barry raised an eyebrow.

“Do you like cereal?” He asked.

She nodded, mumbling something that Barry couldn’t understand due to the amount of Fruit Loops she had shoved into her mouth.

“We had our own variations, however I was also instructed on the importance of breakfast to an Earthlings diet,” she clarified between bites.

Oliver sat down to Barry’s right and poked at his own food, quiet yet listening.

“So you learned about Earth on Krypton?” Barry asked.

“Yes! At least a little, because when the. . . the end was coming, I hadn’t finished my studies yet,” she glanced down, a new heaviness weighing on her shoulders. Barry patted her on the pack in what he hoped she understood as a friendly gesture.

“It’s okay, we can teach you!” Barry heard Oliver grunt, so he elbowed his brother in his side. Hard.

Oliver grunted, but relented. “Yeah, we can help.”

Kara’s blue eyes lit up, almost literally. Barry was going to have to ask her about that later, if she was even aware of it.

“That would be amazing! Thank you!”

Barry nodded. “Of course.”

“Humans are so nice.”

“Not all of us,” Oliver corrected. “You have to be careful, most people would have turned you over to whoever is hunting you just to take the heat of their backs. Most would cheat on their wives or kill an innocent kid's family.” He pointed at Kara with his spoon. “You got lucky.”

Barry shuffled in his seat, put off by his brother’s words. “Ollie, chill it. Although,” Barry looked to Kara, “he’s not entirely wrong. Some people are awful, some are good, you just have to be careful.”

Kara’s eyebrows furrowed, and Barry worried Oliver had permanently altered the way she viewed humans, but she soon nodded.

“I understand, humans come in many ways, just like my people. We are not so different,” she commented.

Oliver seemed to accept that response, and Barry caught his eye to glare at him but was only met with a shrug. His brother needed to lay off the heat.

“I’ll start looking for you cousin today, Kara,” Barry said, hoping to change the topic. “I have some ideas on where to start so we just need to head over to the library later.”

“Excellent! I will help you look there, perhaps outside.”

Barry heard Oliver laugh through a bite of cereal. “No we aren’t physically looking for him,” Barry corrected. “I’m going to search the Internet, on a computer.”

“Okay, I will still help you look!”

“No offense Kara,” Oliver said. “But I don’t think we’re going to be much help with this, it’s best to just let Barr do his own thing.”

“Oh,” Kara sounded dispirited. “Can I still come with you?”

“Of course!” Barry said, at the same time Oliver said, “No”

The brothers glared at each other. God, Oliver was so frustrating sometimes.

“Ollie, we have to stay with her, and either she comes with us, stays here by herself, or stays here with you.” He knew that Oliver would not be okay with staying with her alone, but even less okay with Kara staying in their apartment by herself. That left him with one option.

“Fine,” Oliver relented, but not with ease.

When Barry turned back to Kara, something in the corner of his eye on the TV caught his attention. It was the same newscaster that had delivered the breaking news about Kara’s ship, except this news was much less exciting.

“Federal authorities are searching for what is believed to be a group of individuals after a local farmer woke to his field destroyed. Right now there is limited information available, so any help would be appreciated. Contact the number below to. . .”

“That is where I landed,” Kara interrupted the TV, frowning. “Why would the authorities be looking for me?”

Oliver swore under his breath.

“Someone probably knows you’re Kryptonian, or not from Earth. Someone knew that that wasn’t a meteor streaking towards Earth, but you,” he said. “And knowing our government, they don’t want to just ask you questions.” Oliver shoved more cereal into his mouth.

“Aliens are not common here,” Barry explained. “In fact, they’re kind of mystified, or一maybe that’s not the right word. But, the fact is that you are an unknown factor to our government, and although they preach justice, I doubt what they want from you is just.”

“So, they are looking for me because they are afraid of me, and they want to control what they don’t understand.”

Barry paused, meeting Kara’s eyes. “Yeah, that’s a good way to put it.”

Kara just shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve encountered someone or something like that. As long as I find my cousin before they do, I will be content.”

“That’s right,” Barry commented, remembering their earlier conversation. He finished off his cereal and drank the milk (don’t waste, kids!) then moved to put his dishes in the sink. “You said he’d be an infant?”

Kara nodded. “He will be small, yes.”

“Alright,” he said. “Then let’s get dressed.”

Twenty minutes later, Kara was dressed in more of Oliver’s sweatpants and t-shirts, which Oliver had tossed to her with a “keep them”, so Barry took that as a sign that they’d definitely have to go shopping for her soon if Oliver wanted to have any clothes left over.

She understood the concept of a library very well when Barry had explained it to her in the car, turning over from the passenger's seat to talk to her in the back. The ride to the library was much more peaceful than the last time they were all in the car together; it felt like a bunch of siblings being dragged out to run errands.

✩

Oliver was stuck between a rock and a hard place. There had been three options, neither of which he was particularly happy about.

Yes, Kara had grown on him. . . but still. It was like he was babysitting a toddler who had no concept of societal norms. Which she didn’t, he guessed.

He leaned against a bookshelf in the kid’s section of the library, essentially monitoring Kara as she pulled every book out of the shelf, flipped through it, and placed it back where she had found it.

A glance to his right told him Barry was still typing away at the computer.

“Your literature is fascinating!” Kara exclaimed, and Oliver quickly hushed her. “What?” She whispered, confusion written across her face.

“You have to be quiet in libraries,” Oliver said, and before she could even ask why he continued. “I don’t know why, it’s just quiet.”

She seemed to accept the answer, and Oliver let out a quiet sigh of relief because he wasn’t sure how much more he could explain weird things that humans did. Oliver lifted himself off of the bookshelf, and made his way to a poorly stuffed orange bean bag in the middle of the kid’s room, still keeping his eye on Barry.

“So,” Kara said, quietly, this time. “What is Barry doing?” She plopped herself down in another bean bag.

“Looking for your cousin,” Oliver answered, shortly. When he didn’t get a response, he looked over to Kara, who’s blue eyes seemed dimmer and was working away at her cheek.

Maybe it wasn’t fair to always judge her based on an arbitrary set of standards that he didn’t even know the exact definitions of. A slither of shame wriggled around his chest; she was lost and confused and Oliver was not improving the situation. His brother was the only one actually working to help their new friend, and Oliver seemed to be hindering that.

Suddenly, the image of him leaving Barry in that alleyway flashed across his mind.

He lurched forward so fast Kara asked if he was okay, but all Oliver could do was grip his knees and stare at the floor, pushing back against what could have happened if he had never helped Barry. Honestly, Oliver didn’t know if he’d still be alive一 Oliver or Barry.

Kara placed a hand on his back, making him jerk upwards again, and she pulled her hand back.

“I’m sorry,” she said, and something flashed across her face, but before Oliver could read it, it was gone. “I was only trying to help.”

He shook his head. “No, you’re okay.” Oliver took a deep breath and leaned back, wanting the bean bag to swallow him whole. Once he was sure the world was still there, he continued. “He’s, uh, using the computer to look for other meteor or asteroid landings in the area. We find those, we’re closer to finding your cousin.”

“Wonderful. I can’t thank you both enough for this. I miss him terribly. He’s all I have left of home.”

“Krypton,” Oliver said.

Kara nodded, smiling sadly. “Yes, Krypton.”

Her gaze snapped ahead of her, and Oliver followed it to see his brother walking towards him, a small stack of papers in his hands and an uncertain look on his face. Oliver knew what was coming and he didn’t have the heart to look at Kara while Barry delivered the news, instead he played with the ends of his shoe laces.

“Kara,” he heard Barry start, and then pause. Seems his brother didn’t know what to say either. “I couldn’t find him.”

“What?” Shock, disbelief. Loss and pain.

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, imagining a world where his parents had felt that much fear when they couldn’t find him. Just because he ran away didn’t mean he didn’t want to be missed. He opened his eyes to Kara’s eyes brimming with tears and Barry’s own starting to get red as he crumpled and uncrumpled and crumpled the papers in his hands.

“I-I checked the local and national news sources for anything falling from the sky and there’s nothing. You said you left right after him, right?”

Kara nodded. A tear slipped down her cheek.

“Then I,” Barry sniffled and Oliver’s heart dropped. “I checked all the way up to the last five years. So either the landing was covered up o-or your cousin, he一”

“Never made it,” Kara finished.

Oliver opened his mouth in an attempt to share any sort of consultation but before he could get the first word out, Kara doubled over and let loose a cry that gutted Oliver. The fact they were in a library didn’t cross his mind as he moved to slide himself next to Kara on her bean bag, almost replicating how he’d held Barry all those years ago when he finally told him the truth about his parents.

Barry did his best to console her, too. He was awkwardly leaned over in a little less than a hug, silently crying.

Tears streaked down his brother’s face, and although Oliver knew he wasn’t hurt, something inside him screamed to fix fix fix. He lifted the hand wrapped around Kara’s back to cup Barry’s face, wiping away what tears he could reach. Barry leaned into his hand.

On some level, Oliver recognized that he clearly wasn’t as sad as either of them, and he felt guilty for it, like a dilapidated building was finally ready to crumble but Oliver sat there at the base like a stubborn pillar refusing to crack.

Just as soon as Kara seemed to wilt into her seat, she jolted up right, her cries softened yet still fast with tears still flowing relentlessly. Distantly, Oliver realized that aliens could cry, too.

But that didn’t seem as important anymore because right now his hands were full of not one but two crying siblings.

“I have to go,” Kara whispered, pained, and as soon as the words were uttered, she got to her feet, threw Oliver off of her and pushed his hand off of her lap. Oliver heard Barry let loose a sound of surprise. She left them frozen, as she sped walked towards a door, which Oliver wasn’t sure if it went even outside.

“Ollie, what happened?” Barry started taking shallow and quick breaths and in order to prevent what usually followed, Oliver quickly pulled Barry’s face down, making him kneel over the bean bag to make sure his words went straight to his brother’s head.

“Not sure, Barr,” he made sure to speak softly. “But I don’t think she could find her way back to us.” The news announcement flashed through his brain. “We have to find her,” he realized.

“We have to find her,” Oliver repeated, stronger this time. “I know, I know this is like whiplash, but we have to focus on finding her, because if someone other than us finds her, she won’t be safe anymore.” Barry nodded as he grabbed Oliver’s wrists. Barry squeezed his hands.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “Let’s find her.”

Oliver nodded, releasing his grip and their hands fell away.

“I’ll take here to Main, you take here to Cherry. Call or text if you find anything.”

“Or ‘one’,” Oliver grinned, his brother grinned back.

“Okay,” Barry said, a determined look settling on his face.

“Go!”

✩

He was gone一 GONE just like that and she was supposed to be there一supposed to be here and she just wasn’t and why was the sky so blue and it hurt her eyes but the sun, she really loved the sun.

Every shine felt like kisses on her skin and Kal would never feel anything this wonderful because he was GONE.

She sobbed, wiping part of her shirt under her nose as she turned down another street she’d never seen before in a world that wasn’t her own. She needed a secluded area dark and big because otherwise it wasn’t going to work, and right now, she needed it to work.

Because her baby cousin was gone and she was supposed to be there. But she wasn’t.

And now she didn’t know what to do. That’s why she needed a space where she could talk to her mother.

Her vision started to blur, so Kara wiped her eyes, noticing the dark spots on her一Oliver’s一shirt.

After a couple of minutes of meandering aimlessly in a town, and planet, she didn’t recognize, Kara noted a boarded up building, which was a weird way to decorate something, with its door propped open.

She held her hands to her chest and took a look around, no one was paying much attention to her. Although, there was barely anyone there to begin with.

Kara backed up to the door, reaching an arm out behind her to push it open more, and then squeezed herself inside. When she tried to shut it, she noticed the door was at the wrong angle for it to close all the way, so she just left it as close as it could get, letting in a sliver of light into the dark and dusty space.

The floor was wood and light pink paint was peeling from the walls, leaving behind traces of green spots that made Kara’s nose wrinkle. There were also wooden bars mounted to one of the walls opposite of one that made her jump when she saw herself stare back.

A mirror, that’s what they called it.

Paper taped to the windows let some sun through, and Kara was tempted to rip it all down just to feel something that would make her happy. But she had something to do that required the dark.

Carefully, Kara walked over the creaky wood to what she thought was the middle of the room and gently uncupped her hands, pulling her arms away from her chest to gingerly set down her family’s crystal, or at least the part of it she had.

Her father had chipped part of the Crystal of El into smaller pieces, one for each of the descendents. It was a radical choice, one that sent ripples through the community as Kara was gifted a family crystal, the first woman in generations to receive one.

It shimmered blue, refracting light that danced across the wood and reminding Kara of her mother’s eyes.

She touched it once, right in the center. Then, she backed away.

The air above it rippled, and Kara collapsed to her knees with a sob as her mother appeared in front of her.

It was a tortuous kind of relief to see her mother like this, because she could see her, talk to her, but she could not hug her or touch her, could not cry in her arms. A piece of her home and her heart were floating in front of her, light-years away from where they should be.

“Kara, my darling?”

“Mom, mom,” Kara sobbed, and this time didn’t try to clean her tears. There was no point. “He’s gone, Kal is gone and you're gone and father is gone and everyone is gone and I don’t want to be the last one left.” She got to her feet and walked as close as she could to her mother. “I miss you, so so much.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Alura cooed, and cupped a transparent hand on Kara’s cheek, a touch that Kara would never feel again. “It is alright, I miss you too. Kal being gone is a tragedy, but you will survive, you will persist.” Her mother smiled slightly, keeping her eyes glued to Kara’s. “Who are we, as Kryptonian women, if not survivors.”

Kara clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides, trying to find the words to explain to her mother just how helpless everything was and how little she could do while retaining herself from throwing herself into her mother’s arms. She sniffled, finally taking a sleeve to clear off tears and snot that had collected on her face.

Her mother was patient, not saying another word until Kara had used up all of her tears. The next kind of sadness was more horrible than the first: a crushing realization that everyone she knew and loved was truly, actually gone.

Kara was utterly alone, and nothing felt worth it.

“Are you certain Kal did not land?” Alura tested. Kara cringed, knowing that in some way it was her fault for her cousin’s death, and nodded.

“Yes, Barry checked their technology and looked five years into the past and found no arrival parallel to mine.” Just saying the words aloud cemented them in her heart, making it too heavy to carry.

“Who is this ‘Barry?’”

Kara exhaled through her nose, almost tempted to let a soft smile break onto her face.

“Barry Allen and Oliver Queen,” Kara clarified. “They are chosen brothers, and were there when I emerged from the pod. They’ve kept me safe, let me live and eat with them,” now, Kara couldn’t help the smile from shining through. “Barry is younger and very intelligent, he takes everything to heart. Oliver is older and stubborn, but he cares just as much as his brother, he just doesn’t like to show it.”

“They sound kind, my dear,” her mother’s eyes had the same old crinkle when she smiled. Some things death cannot change. “I am very grateful you have each other.”

Kara nodded. “But. . . what do I do now? Kal is not here, you are not here, and this place is not my home.”

“I know, and I am so regretful about what happened to our planet. But, just because you don’t have a home now does not mean you cannot make one. Did you get the chest from your ship?”

Her heart dropped. “What chest?”

Alura’s face fell. “Your father and I packed a small chest full of things to remind you of Krypton, assuming you’d be able to retrieve it.”

“No, no, people were coming so we had to leave,” Kara shook her head, disbelieving. “All I had was you一the crystal一and myself. I had no time to search the ship,” she met her mother’s eyes. “I am so sorry! Oh stars, I’m so sorry.”

Kara wanted to cry, needed to, but she couldn’t.

“Sh, sh,” Alura tried to calm her down, but Kara couldn’t help but hyperfocus on the things she didn’t even know she had yet still lost. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You can try to get them back, but ultimately the loss stays the same, do you understand? Yes, they would have helped ease the pain, but they would not bring back our home. You’ve come this far, so don’t dare to turn back now.”

Kara knew her mother was right, on some level, however it was as if she was handed a piece of her home but just before her fingers could grasp the edge, it was torn away from her.

She’d just have to get it back. Maybe not now, and maybe not in the near future, but eventually.

She would get back part of her home, her family.

“Kara, love, I’m just now realizing how little we told you,” her mother sounded desperate. “And I’m sorry we could not do more.”

Then, Alura smiled, knowingly. “But how do you like their sun?”

The sun! She could tell her mother all about the sun.

“It’s incredible! Their sun is so warm and enveloping,” Kara motioned with her hands as she talked, eager to share her experiences with one person who would be just as excited as she was. “I feel so energized just by laying in it! It’s truly amazing, mom.”

Alura laughed, and for a moment it was like her mother was right there with her.

“I knew you would love it, Kara. Just know, their sun is not the same as ours, so you might experience different. . . well, things, but just know that is normal, okay? And you are still the same as you were when we sent you off of Krypton.”

“What kind of things, mom?” She knew the sun was nicer than the one back home, but she wondered if she should be worried about laying in it too much, if it could harm her somehow.

“Well, we aren’t completely sure, but we noticed that一who are you?”

Her mother’s tone switched from loving to on-guard, taking on an edge that Kara recognized all too well. Kara spun to face the entrance, not even having noticed the door creaking open and more light streaming in. Her heart froze, aware of everything that was on display.

Relief swept through Kara’s body and mind as she recognized who had just come in.

Oliver stood in the doorway.

✩

Kara was okay.

That was Oliver’s first thought. The second?

Who the hell was the floating woman next to her and why did she look like an older version of Kara?

“Hi, Oliver,” Kara said, her shoulders dropping. She seemed relieved.

“Hey Kara,” Oliver shuffled his feet, looking back and forth between Kara and whoever was glaring at him. “Am I. . . interrupting something? Should I leave?”

“No! It’s okay,” Kara quickly said, waving him forward. Oliver eyed the projected woman as he approached, shuffling across the rotted wood.

“Mom,” Mom? “This is Oliver, the older one.”

Kara’s mother, apparently, nodded in understanding. “Ah, the stubborn one.”

Heat rushed to Oliver’s face.

So many things had happened in just the last fifteen seconds that his brain was struggling to process it all.

First off, Kara was safe. Second, she was talking to her mom, and third, her mom was somehow on earth. Oliver followed the beams of light downward, finally taking note of Kara’s crystal that had been placed on the floor, releasing the projection of Kara’s mom.

“That’s what that is,” he meant to only think it, but instead he said it aloud.

“Oh, yeah, I guess I’m not very good at hiding things.” Kara started to walk forward, as if wanting to protect the source of her mom’s projection, but seemed to think better of it.

Oliver shrugged. “Barry and I figured you’d tell us in your own time. You literally crash landed so we had more important things to worry about.”

“That’s very kind of you,” the woman said, and Oliver had to stop himself from jumping. He’d almost forgotten she was there. “My daughter was right, you do care.”

“Oh uh,” Kara rushed to say, “Oliver, this is my mother, Alura Zor-El. Mom, uh, you know who he is.”

Oliver stuck out his hand before remembering that she was a hologram so he just settled with, “Nice to meet you.”

A second passed.

“If you, uh, don’t mind me asking,” Oliver started, and Kara quirked an eyebrow at him. “How are you. . . here?” He motioned around them.

Alura smiled softly. “It’s Kryptonian technology, magic, whatever you want to call it, but our family crystals allow us to save our consciousness into the stone so that our wisdom and love may pass on. Plus,” she looked at Kara. “I wanted to see my little girl grow up.”

And this was the only way she’d be able to do that, through a stone.

Oliver nodded. It seemed he couldn’t do much else. Should he apologize for what happened to Krypton? He didn’t want to overstep but it also felt like an unavoidable topic.

Thankfully, Kara broke the awkwardness.

“Is Barry okay?” She asked.

Shit. He’d forgotten to text Barry that he’d found her. Oliver quickly pulled his phone out.

“Yeah, just worried about you. And that reminds me, I have to text him.”

“Wait,” Kara put her hand over his phone, and Oliver met her gaze. The dried tracks of tears were easier to see this close to a light source. “Please. I don’t want to worry him anymore, and I believe I got what I came here for.” She turned to her mother, and Oliver felt like an idiot.

He should leave.

“Okay, I’ll wait outside.” And he left the mother and daughter to finish their conversation.

Only a couple minutes passed before Kara creaked open the door, and Oliver pushed himself off of the wall he had been leaning on.

“Are you okay?”

Kara nodded. “Yes, I think so.” And she seemed to really mean it. She cradled the crystal in her hands.

“Okay, I’m going to call Barry, then.”

They reunited at an intersection, with Barry, as always, forgoing personal space and throwing his arms around Kara, nearly crying himself.

“Why did you leave?” He asked. “Was it something I said?”

“No no, of course not,” Kara responded. “I just,” she met Oliver’s eyes. “Was overwhelmed and needed time to myself.”

Oliver understood the message, and although he didn’t like keeping secrets from Barry, because they didn’t, he’d do it for Kara.

“Okay,” Barry accepted her answer, taking her hand in his and reaching out his other for Oliver.

He threw his hands up in the air. “Nope.”

“Ollie come on, don’t be lame.”

“No, this is one boundary I will maintain. I’ll just walk behind you guys as we go back to the library.”

Barry groaned but started moving anyway and Oliver smirked, taking up stride behind them.

It was a nice day, considering the fact he’d lost a sibling for a little bit一

Sibling.

Shit.

Barry was rubbing off on him.

But Oliver found he couldn’t fight it, especially remembering the relief he felt when he finally found Kara unharmed, and especially right now, watching Barry swing their hands back and forth with way more force than necessary.

Oliver shrugged to himself. He hadn’t had a sister in a long time.

Then, he walked right into them, not noticing that they had stopped.

“What’s一oh.”

Barry’s hand was tight around Kara’s, who looked confused as the three of them came face to face with a boy that was no older than Barry.

Oliver didn’t recognize the boy, but Barry seemed to. His shoulders tensed and Oliver watched him tighten his grip on Kara’s hand.

The boy had on a gray tank top and basketball shorts, and with the buzzcut he was also sporting, it made it appear as if the boy had just gotten out of jail.

“Oooh, Barry, is this your girlfriend?” The boy teased, and not in the way Oliver teased him. This kids' words were laced with malice.

When the kid took a threatening step forward, Oliver finally moved, bolting around Barry to stand in front of his siblings.

“Who the fuck are you?” Oliver sneered.

The kid’s eyes got wider, and Oliver realized that he was a fifteen year old probably about to beat down with a kid who had just started puberty. The kid recovered, though, and puffed out his chest.

Oliver resisted the urge to snort.

“Tony.”

“Wow, what a boring name for a boring kid. The ‘rents couldn’t come up with anything with more personality? Maybe help you out a bit in the character department, because you are greatly lacking.” Oliver took a step forward, too, and didn’t miss the way Tony leaned back.

“And don’t talk to my brother like that.”

“Or what?” Tony smirked. “You gonna fight me?”

“He won’t,” said a voice to Oliver’s right. At some point, Kara had stepped up beside him, putting Barry behind them both. Oliver glanced at her. She was staring him down so hard that even Oliver wanted to back away. “But I will.”

Kara closed the space between them and punched him.

Oliver heard Barry gasp as Tony not only fell backwards but flew backwards at least three feet, landing on his back with a groan.

“Oh shit,” Kara murmured. Oliver had never heard her swear in English before. Maybe they were rubbing off on her. She looked frantically at him. “I didn’t mean to do that, I just thought I’d, I don’t know, scare him a little?”

Oliver’s body caught up before his mind did, grabbing Kara in one hand and Barry in the other and yanking them past Tony towards the library, wanting to get out of there. But, before Oliver completely walked past Tony, who was groaning with his hands over his sternum, he paused, wanting to tell him one last thing.

“Or that’ll happen,” he hissed. “And if you tell anyone, it’ll be worse.”

He really didn’t want to threaten the kid, but if Tony went talking about what happened, then people would be looking for them which would put their identities and Kara’s life at risk. So, whatever it took to keep them safe.

Then, they ran for it.

✩

Only when they made it back to their apartment did Barry feel like speaking.

“Thank you guys,” he said as they all sat in various locations around the living room. He and Oliver were on the couch, and of course Kara was by the window, under the sun.

Oliver nudged him with his foot. “Of course, Barr. Anything for you.”

And Barry knew he meant it, too. Usually, his brother was all bark no bite, but today seemed to change that a little.

“Think of it as an exchange,” Kara said, smiling. Her eyes were glowing again. “You save me, I save you.”

“Yeah,” Oliver agreed. “That’s what family does.”

Barry’s head shot towards his brother, who had taken a sudden interest in their ceiling.

After a few moments of silence, Oliver finally relented, making eye contact with Barry.

“What,” he said.

Barry raised an eyebrow.

Oliver shrugged. “I haven’t had a sister in a long time.”

Then a weight landed on Barry, who’d been too busy staring at this newly evolved Oliver to notice Kara leaving her spot to run and jump onto the couch. He’d been sitting up, resting his feet on the coffee table, and Oliver had been laying down, his head on the arm rest of the couch.

Kara landed over Barry’s lap and onto Oliver’s chest, which made Barry realize just how tall she was.

“I am very grateful for you both,” she said, ignoring their grunts as she moved around.

When she accidently pressed an elbow into Oliver’s thigh, Barry couldn’t help but laugh, which got him a glare from his brother. Barry coughed instead.

A thought popped into his mind.

“Hey,” he said, getting his siblings’ attention. “We should pick a last name.”

“Are you sure?” Kara asked, finally sitting up. “Surnames are important, so changing ours would be, too.”

Barry nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I’ll always be an Allen, that’ll never go away, but I want something that ties me to you guys, too.”

He looked to Oliver, who was clearly thinking. He always pursed his lips when his mind was working overtime.

“Okay,” he eventually said. “I’ll make Queen my middle name, then.”

“You have middle names?” Kara asked. “Why?”

Barry shrugged. “Not sure, but mine’s Henry, after my dad.”

Kara looked to Oliver.

“Nope,” he said, pulling his legs out from under her to stand up. “You’ve gotten enough out of me for one day.”

Oliver walked to the kitchen and grabbed something out of a cabinet, then returned to the living room and tossed the phone book on the table.

“Let’s pick,” he said.

Kara grabbed it off of the table and began flipping through the pages.

“Applebaum?”

“No.”

“Azen?”

“Cool, but no,” Barry said. “I have an idea.”

He snatched the book out of his sister’s hands and started flipping through the pages.

“Tell me when to stop.”

“Stop?”

Barry stopped flipping and instead began to point his finger at random spots on the page without looking at it.

“Okay, tell me when.”

“When?”

Barry paused, his finger over a name but he didn’t look down yet. Kara seemed confused, but Oliver knew what he was doing. His brother walked over and read the name under Barry’s finger.

“Danvers,” he said. “We are now the Danvers.”