The last few days had been nothing but lessons and teachings for Kara Zor-El, being brought back to the Fortress of Solitude where she was to stay until she was ready... By Clark's word.

How introduction to Batman was... Very rocky, she found herself strapped to a medical examination table where Batman had ran a scan about her, she costed Batman a computer which Superman conducted to put the bill on him. A reporter's salary.

It came to no surprise that Clark wanted Y/N (and Glace) to help Kara learn how to speak English, since Y/N looked around Kara's age, and was the same age as her... Despite him being immortal with his Ghost alongside him. She was very interested into knowing him more, probably the first friendliest face outside family she's encountered on Earth so far.

And so... He became Kara's guide to the Human language, Glace taught her knowledge about Earth toward Kara as well, contributing to helping someone new out.

It was a surprise knowing that Kara had learned the English language within a day and a half, it shocked him at the slightest about it all that she vowed to learn another language next, she had this cute remark with her words every time she spoke.

It made her sound so innocent when she would get something wrong.

She began to remember most of what had happened before she was rocketed off Krypton, how her father's plan was to work with her going to Earth, the same time baby Kal-El was, there was a plan in store that Kara's mother would also go with but it mattered too late when Krypton exploded last minute. Unfortunately... A piece of Krypton, a Kryptonite Meteorite, collided with Kara's pod, knocking her off course which her ship was stuck onto the space rock.

Before eventually arriving to Earth... Which crashed into the Gotham Bay a few nights ago...

Now... Kara is the Last Daughter of Krypton, like how Clark is the Last Son of Krypton as the point stands. She found comfort knowing Kal was alive and well as of this moment, and the comfort of not only having company outside family with her within the Fortress, company within the Guardian and his Ghost.

It seemed a bond began to grow between her and Y/N, she showed interest in knowing more about him, despite how confusing it sounded to her, he put it in the best way he could explain it all.

But as of right now? Kara was looking at through the Intergalactic Zoo her cousin had up within the Fortress, looking at the many different species of animals that had made its way to Earth on strange occasions, but thanks to this Zoo? They all have plenty of space to live in, and the environment that suited them.

She found it cool that he had this type of zoo within the Fortress, giving these creatures from different shapes and sizes, a second chance without feeling threatened by predators and dangerous mammals that hunt them for food.

It was then that the girl smiled, upon hearing a familiar heartbeat approaching her. "I can hear your heartbeat, Y/N, you sneaking up on me isn't going to work" she smirked, looking toward her left as Y/N appeared in her eyesight the next, exiting Void Invisibility.

"You're getting good at detecting heartbeat signatures, good job" the Guardian complimented with a smile, approaching the girl.

"Thanks" she took his compliment with praise. "But... I'm not exactly great with controlling my strength yet... Broke another door just earlier" she looked away, saddened.

"Hey, you'll get there" he placed a hand on Kara's shoulder, gaining her attention. "You'll get there eventually, just takes practice".

"Practice... Yeah... Practice" she repeated, looking back at the alien creatures within the Zoo in front of them, as a question was brought up through Kara's mind. "Where's Glace? She usually pops up every time you and I talk" she asked curiously.

"Oh, she's with Clark and Bats, they're translating the text found on your pod as of right now" he informed.

"Cool" she simply smiled before it disappeared. "I've heard him talk about me".

"Who?".

"Batman... I don't get it... Why doesn't he trust me? No matter how many times I've explained where I'm from, he still thinks I'm lying" the girl crossed her arms with a frown, showing frustration.

"Well... How do I put this..." Y/N scratched his head for a moment. "Batman can be... Uh... The mood-killer in a way, very sceptic and he chooses to play his cards right, trust me Kara, he was like that when I first arrived" Y/N explained his view about him. "I respect it... But I'm gonna be brief with you, I've never seen him smile... Once, but Clark says he has smiled before, it's just rare".

"Well, I find that complete bullshit..." Kara covered her mouth like she'd been caught red-handed with the cookie jar, as Y/N widened his eyes a little at her, not expecting to hear Kara's first curse word come out... Especially in English.

"Uh... Did you just?..."

"Sorry" she uncovered her mouth, looking ashamed the next. "I... I didn't mean to-"

"No no no, it's okay! It's alright!" the Guardian chuckled, placing his hand on her shoulder again. "That's actually progress if I say so myself, not only can you speak fluent in English within a day and a half, but you've learnt what the curse words... Just don't use em too often" he added on, seemingly comforting her which worked like a charm.

Her innocent smile grew back as she thought of hugging him, but held back on the idea due to her strength... And personal space, she didn't want to invade someone's personal space without permission.

"I won't... I promise" she nodded her head instead. "I do want to know something that's been bothering me".

"Sure, go ahead" the Guardian answered vividly, happy to answer whatever Kara wanted to ask.

"Who is this... Cayde you've been mentioning?" Kara asked innocently, she had heard him talking to himself, repeating a name whenever he looked at his gun, that would be held by his mechanical holster.

Kara's question however... Made his heart sink, not in anger... But sadness and grief, his eyes showed the sorrowed grief he held in him, not expecting such a question to fall upon him this quick...

The question ringed in his head a few times as the day of Cayde's death flashed in his head, hearing his very last words along with it.

"You tell... Zavala and Ikora... *labored breathing* the Vanguard... is the best bet... I ever... Lost"

Kara saw the pain in his eyes and instantly regretted what she asked. "Did I... Did I offend? I'm so s-sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No... It's alright" he painfully smiled at her. "It's just... It had only been a few months after it happened".

"What, happened?" Kara asked, again her naïve side showing.

"When he died" he bluffly responded, the pain in his tone showing that he was still grieving the loss of his best friend and mentor... Who was his Teacher when it came to being a Hunter.

Kara didn't know what to say, her she thought she was the one carrying a form of grief and pain of losing her planet and people. Now she's just found out that Y/N, her Teacher, her first friend, was also going through it... Seemingly rough.

The memory brought him back to when Cayde blurted out bad jokes during one of Y/N's earlier days of being a Guardian just to get a chuckle out of Y/N, when Y/N himself was but a rookie New Light at the time, hearing Cayde's voice over his com link is what he missed as much as he missed hearing his old fireteam's voices.

Kara wasn't sure how to provide comfort, as she saw a stray tear fall down from Y/N's right eye from where she stood as he let out a shaky breath.

"Y/N" the Kryptonian girl called his name, putting a hand on his shoulder which got his attention drawn to her, seeing his face as another tear fell down from his other eye.

"Sorry... Sorry" he spoke out lowly chuckling, wiping away the tears on his face. "I've been strong for so long... I didn't think now would be the time to show my more... Vulnerable side" he remarked. "Maybe... You being around me just... Makes me more vulnerable, takes me back to what Clark said the other day".

"What?" Kara asked with a cooing tone of voice.

"That you and I have... Some sort of... Bond growing between us" he informed.

"Like a... Friendship?" Kara said quizzically.

"Pretty much".

"Can you not be a Teacher and befriend that same person you're teaching?" she asked so innocently, making the Guardian chuckle a little.

"It doesn't work like that here... In my experience at least... I'm more helping you learn to speak different languages which you pretty much seem to have covered on your own, rather than me teaching you" Y/N smiled. "Though Clark wanted me to actually help you train with your powers alongside him. You're showing good progress already though".

"Really? You'd be there to help me train with my powers?" Kara was unsure about the idea, she wasn't even sure if she wanted these powers in the first place, to be like her cousin?

It scared her at the slightest.

"Yeah, though you've still got a lot to learn about Humanity, I think your cousin can help you with that, because to be honest? I don't really have a clue what the Pre-Golden age was like back then" he informed, showing his weakness in knowing about this Earth's humanity.

'Pre-Golden Age? This guy seems way more interesting than I originally thought, must've been from where he came from' Kara's indoor voice spoke. "When do you think that's gonna happen? Being outside the Fortress and going to the city my cousin works at?" Kara pondered toward the Guardian who also thought the same thing too.

"To be clear? I have no clue, but I'd give it a few weeks, and I know it may seem long but at least I'll be around to chat with you on things you want to know, my Ghost can help as well".

"Hmm... At least it's better than being alone" she spoke her mind, crossing her arms as she then looked back at Y/N. "Sorry for the amount of questions, I just... Need to know" she awkwardly smiled next.

"Don't worry about it" Y/N winked at her. "I can tell you more about... Cayde later if you want, he would've loved to meet you and be here. I can just imagine what he'd be doing right now" he smiled at the thought.

"Is that why you talk to the gun half the time?".

"Yeah... It was his before I took it back from his killer" Y/N revealed. "Story for another time".

The duo began to walk quietly down the Intergalactic Zoo slowly, each taking a turn to smile at one another, Y/N knowing Kara had another question brimming in her head as they shared a smile again.

"I can tell you've got another question" he smirked.

"Heh, yeah... Um... What does it mean to be a Guardian like yourself?" Kara asked the brimming question, indeed being a good question at best which surprised the Hunter.

"What does it mean to be a Guardian?" he asked. "Heh, well... We take our first breath, not remembering who we are from before. Knowing we are the nexus to the Light. We fight, we die, we live again. Forging a path to a better and brighter future. We know we were chosen for a greater purpose, something greater than ourselves... To fight for a future that we will protect. Shaped by the fires of battle... To fight for a better tomorrow. Through that... Comes Devotion, Devotion inspires Bravery, Bravery inspires Sacrifice, Sacrifice leads to Death. We Guardians are the walls to protect Humanity from a growing Darkness. Where we are shaped like an edged tool to drive back the enemies that threaten Humanity... That's what it means to be a Guardian" Y/N explained his view for Kara, who was interested visibly.

"Devotion, Bravery and Sacrifice?" she pondered for a moment. "I... I didn't think of it that way, about being a hero".

"I don't usually call myself a hero" he admitted to her, surprising her. "But... Morally a protector of Humanity, but I guess people have different views on what defines a hero" he shrugged.

"Exactly" Kara agreed. "It... Makes me scared, what if I don't want to be a hero like Kal?" she pondered.

"Let's not worry about that right now, you're thinking two steps ahead. First, you need to learn more about Humanity's life styles and Earth's history, then we can worry about that later, okay?" he placed his hands on her shoulders to comfort her uneased mind.

"Okay... Okay" she smiled a little as he took his hands off of her shoulders.

"Can I let you in on a secret, Kara?" Y/N unexpectedly asked out of the blue.

"Uh... Yeah?" she scrunched her face up a little.

"I'm... Actually a big hugger once you get to know me, you may think I don't have vulnerabilities but deep down I do... Like earlier on" he shed some light about himself.

"You're a big hugger?" she asked as she pointed briefly as he nodded. "I admit, I wanted to hug you earlier after you... Broke down a little, but I don't want to hurt you accidentally".

"I'm not easily breakable like a normal human being, though technically I am human, I'm just... Different from the normal human being" he went on. "And plus? You could use a hug as much as I do" he smiled sweetly with Kara beginning to smile also, seeing him extend his arms out. "Bring it in, I won't bite".

The girl was hesitant however but she gave in and sped into his arms, he felt a little impact on his torso but tanked it as Kara melted into his arms. Think she really did need a hug after all.

She rested her head on his shoulder a little, though he was slightly taller, she went on her tippy toes to do so while smiling. She felt a sense of comfort in his arms.

The Guardian wrapped his arms around her next, smiling after her.

"I'd be more than happy to have you as my first Earth friend" Kara softly spoke out, making the Guardian smile bright.

"Same here, Kara... Same here" he agreed, though he doesn't much see Batman and Superman as friends but just allies, he could really use a friend from this Earth, which now was fruition. "Here, I'm gonna check on the others soon, thought they'd have translated the text by now".

"Can we... Keep this hug going for a few more minutes?" Kara seemingly pleaded. "Please...".

Y/N could only chuckle lightly, seemed like he just converted Kara to be a big hugger than he was, instantly smiling at her question.

"Of course we can... I've got plenty of time in the world"...

* * *

To be continued...

Word Count: 2467