"Is Kaldur here?" dryly stated an unknown teen, whose fingers were webbed like Aqualad's. The straner shook before Conner, but it wasn't cold enough outside or in the sea to explain his shaking. The temperature was hot: the humid and rich heat found in forests beaming with life. The sun was still up, slowing falling, yet still illuminating the sky with an orange hue.
Superboy had left Mount Justice towards the beach, seeking silence away from a hovering Megan. Both her toxic cooking and awkwardly flirtatious personality pushed the clone away from her; the emotional disconnect between them only strengthened itself over time. Walking barefoot along the beach to bask in the relaxing warmths of its sands, the clone had not expected for a random fish-boy to walk out of the water, wet from more than just the sea; the unknown Atlantean's eyes were bloodshot and even Conner could recognize his sadness. The Atlantean's eyes were bluer and more pained than Kaldur's, ruining the positive and comforting atmosphere of the beach. Unlike the short and now sheltered life of the clone, this stranger had experienced life.
"No. He hasn't returned from his king."
"Oh," the Atleantean rasped, the last lingering traces of happiness deflating and washing away with the waves. His eyes darkened and his face paled at the mention of Kaldur's absence.
"Is there something you want to talk about to him?"
"He wouldn't want to talk to me."
"Kaldur…is a good leader. He would talk to you. He puts up with me talking to him."
Conner tried comforting the stranger, but the situation felt awkward. Even Megan could have handled it better. Perhaps even Wally…
"What's your name?"
"Garth," the Atleantean stated while eyeing the clone suspiciously, wondering if he should stay and wait for Kaldur to return.
"I've been told that talking with others is good for your problems."
Garth's hoarsely laughed, "Wow… I don't know. Maybe I should go."
"Stay. I was walking to get away from Megan. I wouldn't have returned by now anyway. You interest me."
"Okay. I'll stay?" Garth's voice cracked, fearing Superboy's reaction, but no response came from the clone of the man of steel. Conner remained calm and friendly towards the Atlantean, nothing like the rash reaction of Kaldur when Garth had confessed his feelings.
The Atlantean sat with the clone on the beach, watching the waters in silence. The sand still contained a faint warmth, but a chilling breeze rippled through the beach.
"Talk," the clone commanded deeply, staring at Garth until the Atlantean was unnerved enough to do anything to stop that look.
"Okay…Kaldur, Tula, and I were always the best of friends. I liked Tula, well everyone did, but I began to recognize that I liked Kaldur more. I wanted him to be more than my best friend. Do you get what I am trying to say?"
"A lot of people like Kaldur."
"What? Not that…I mean I love him…or loved him."
"And?"
Garth's eyebrows rose in shock, "And? Do you know how wrong that is? He loved Tula anyway. Perfect, beautiful Tula. She was a woman and was perfect in his eyes, despite how shallow she was, but she wouldn't give him the time of day and she still won't."
"The G-Gnomes taught me that same-sex relationships exist, but aren't common. I don't think Kaldur would have biases towards you."
"Part of the reason he was so eager to leave for the surface was because I told him."
"So what did you do?" Conner was shocked, but tried reaming calm and comforting for Garth.
"I wanted revenge, so I started flirting with, then dating Tula. Like i said, she was shallow and easy to manipulate into liking me. When I was with her, I felt closer to Kaldur in a sick, twisted way. I could never be with him, but I could be with the object of his affection."
"What did Kaldur say?"
"Nothing at all. When he met us yesterday, all he did was give us his blessing. Like everything was somehow normal... Like I was somehow normal again even though I had stolen his girl."
"You shouldn't date Tula."
"Wow. Really?" Garth spat sarcastically at the clone.
"I'm being nice. I'm not the one who came crying to a stranger about their crush."
Garth shut up, staring down at the sand shamefully. His webbed fingers traced swirl patterns in the sand. Conner watched the sand graze up against the Atlantean and cling to his fingers as if attempting to mar the perfection of his body. Where as Kaldur was tall and muscular, Garth was fairy-like and had slight curves to his thin figure.
"You could find someone else. You are attractive by human standards. Very…proportional."
Raising his right hand over his supple lips, Garth tried muffling his laughter. Unlike Megan, Garth's laugh was more infectious and sounded alluringly light and airy. Eventually, the Atlantean stopped chuckling and looked away blushing. The rosiness of Garth's cheeks contrasted with his tan skin and watery blue eyes so cutely that Conner was too distracted to speak.
"And what if I don't want a human?"
"Kaldur will not do," Conner returned to his senses and focused on the conversation, unconsciously inching closer to sit by Garth.
"What other non-humans do I know?"
Conner wasn't one to be embarrassed or to shy away from anyone. Suddenly and without any forewarning, he flung himself at the Atlantean, pressing him down against the sand in a kiss. The Atlantean's lips tasted a little salty, but as Conner continued nibbling them, a rich sweetness erupted into the clone's mouth. The taste only propelled Conner to bite more skin and jam his tongue further into Garth. The Atlantean was too vulnerable to resist.
The two broke apart, Conner still laying on top of Garth, their heads pressed together as they struggled to breath.
"That was a lot better than I ever expected Kaldur to be."
"What do humans do from here?" Conner continued studying Garth like some foreign, exotic creature, noticing the unnatural smoothness of his skin.
Garth shifted Conner slightly to the side, sucking on his ear. "They go on dates."
"Do you want to go on a date with me?"
"I might just say yes."
"And you might just stop dating Tula?"
"Yes…Fine."
"Come with me, back to Mount Justice."
"It could have been me, you know. I could have been Aqualad, choosing to journey to the surface in service for my king."
"You're here now and that's all that matters."
"Or you could come with me away from the Justice League. Sink down with me into the sea." Garth rose towards the waters, submerging his legs within its depths. His right hand gestured and curled its fingers.
Conner rose towards Garth, pulling him out of the water. "Stay with me, please?"
"You make too much sense for your own good." Garth stepped back onto the beach with Conner, eagerly smiling as they walked back to Mount Justice.
AN: One-shots are addicting. Sorry for not going more into the Kaldur/Tula/Garth situation, but this is a one-shot. Should I write more one-shots with Garth?