Scene 9 - Practice
Ember used all of her arm strength to push herself over the obstacle before running and ducking behind a wall. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath as she slid a throwing knife out from her wrist compartment. Peering around the corner, she readied a shot and just before she was about to hurl it, her weapon got intercepted by a batarang. "Ow!" The girl winced as she rubbed her wrist from the force.
"Good job but you're still a little slow. Don't draw your weapon so close to the edge of the wall. I could see the glint of the metal," Robin replied as Ember stood up, still massaging her wrist.
"Alright but you didn't have to throw your batarang that hard."
The Boy Wonder gave an apologetic shrug, "Sorry, it's a habit." He gave her a pat on the back before waving over to Miss Martian. "M'gann, you're up next."
The Martian was about to fly over when she remembered that she wasn't allowed to use her powers for this practice so she sprinted over quickly.
Ever since Brianna got rescued, the team decided it was best for the members with powers to learn how to adapt in situations where they were without their special abilities and roped in Robin to help train them. Artemis decided to join in the training to further improve her skills. Over time, each super-powered team member managed to find a non-superpower related ability they could use in times of need. For Brianna, she was pleasantly surprised to find that throwing knives suited her. Maybe she could tweak the knives a little to handle fire so she could hurl flaming projectiles at her enemies under normal situations.
Taking a seat on the bench beside Kaldur, she gave a small sigh. "No one is going to beat Robin at stealth. I swear the boy is a ninja!" The Atlantean smiled a bit at her words as they watched M'gann's run from the side lines.
"Well that means Robin is a great teacher for that, isn't it?" Kaldur'ahm replied and the brunette he had a crush on nodded reluctantly.
"Still, I wish he wouldn't be so hard on us. My wrist is kinda sore." Brianna complained and kept rubbing her hand.
The Atlantean looked at her with concern, "If you want, I could help ease the soreness with my magic after this practice."
Ember smiled and waved a hand of dismissal, "Thank you for the offer Kaldur but I think I would be fine. If it does act up, I promise I will look for you." Why must she always know the right words to say to warm his heart? The blonde blushed faintly as M'gann was finally done with her trial and Robin wrapped up the training session for the day, "Alright, that's all for now. Hit the showers and we'll meet back in the lounge to debrief."
Brianna picked up her towel, "I'll see you later, Kaldur." The girl flew off with a wave and headed straight to the bathroom to get clean while the rest of the team had barely taken two steps. The boys on the team just blinked, a little dumbfounded but still walked off to the shower rooms to freshen up.
Aqualad was the first to be done. Being an Atlantean, he wasn't used to taking showers. What they did underwater was to wipe themselves down with this essence from a sea creature that removed any grime and made them smell fresh. He knew showering was a hygiene practice humans adopted so he took one out of respect for his teammates. Plus, it was nice having some water rejuvenate his skin and gills.
He sat down in the lounge to wait and decided to make his teammates some hot cocoa. They were always indulging in some food or beverage after training and the drink did remind him of his favourite food. He walked to the kitchen and stared at the pantry with some confusion. Where did M'gann keep the hot cocoa powder and the rest of the utensils, for that matter?
The leader opened and closed numerous cabinets and finally found a tray of mugs which he took out in preparation for drink making. "What are you looking for?" Brianna asked as she walked into the kitchen, hair still damp from the shower as she dried it with the towel around her shoulders.
"The hot cocoa pre-mix. I thought I could make some for the team when we're having our briefing." Kaldur turned toward her and replied. She looked quite adorable with her hair down.
Brianna walked to another cupboard and opened it, passing the hot chocolate box to Kaldur. "M'gann keeps the drinks in here."
The Atlantean muttered thanks as he began to scoop out the powder into all the mugs, doing his very best not to get distracted by the scent of her shampoo as she stood close to him. He brought them over to the hot water dispenser and soon, the scent of hot cocoa filled the air. "Mmm, smells good." Brianna said as she took a whiff.
He laid all of the cups on the tray and proceeded to bring it to the lounge. "No whipped cream and marshmallows?" Ember asked and Aqualad shook his head, "I am unfamiliar with those two ingredients."
She gave a sly smile and took out a can of whipped cream and a bag of marshmallows, "You're missing out on the finest drink of life without them."
Puzzled, Kaldur laid the tray back on the kitchen counter and wondered what she was going to do. Shaking the can, she gave each cup a little squirt of whipped cream, covering most of the surface of the drink and added in the marshmallows. Thinking she was done, Kaldur stepped closer to grab hold of the tray but was surprised when her hands lit up with fire and he cautiously took a step back. "What are you…?" Before he could finish his sentence, he was shocked when she aimed the flames over the cups, giving the cream and marshmallows a very slight char.
"Why did you do that?" Kaldur asked, his eye wide like saucers.
"To give them some flavour. They taste pretty good when they're melted just a bit." Brianna picked up a cup and took a sip, slurping up the creamy goodness. "Mmm, this is good. I love your hot cocoa making skills, Kaldur," She said as he noticed a smear of cream just above her lip. He grabbed a tissue and wiped it off her mouth while Brianna quietly enjoyed the moment.
Awkward silence over, she handed a cup over to him and raised a toast, "Cheers, Kaldur." They clinked their cups and Kaldur'ahm drank his handiwork. It was absolutely delicious and seeing how such a simple thing was making her smile made him all warm and fuzzy inside. Maybe with more practice and experimentation, he could personally make some more chocolate treats for her.
Another item added to his list of favourite surface world foods and he looked forward to sampling more with her. Her presence simply made everything taste better.
Author's Note: A quiet, shippy moment between Brianna and Kaldur. ^_^ I think she unconsciously accepts his feelings and unknowingly flirts with him. ;)
To Guest: Hehe. I like his style too. Thank you for the compliment and keep fangirling. ^_^
To Anime1hime: *blush* I am honoured that you think it's one of the best. Thank you.
To T. R. Blessing: Yay! =D
To Star Outlaw: Thank you for being my beta and supporting me with my fics. =)