Scene 8 - Confusion: Part II

This was totally unexpected. She did not foresee herself talking to him that soon after their previous encounter. All she could do now was to sit on the sofa across from him and fumble with her hands to distract herself from the awkward silence.

Kaldur was seated as well and appeared to be deep in thought with his head looking down at the floor and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. His mind struggled to find the right words to say as he kept inhaling and sighing repeatedly. Finally, he found his voice. "I am sorry if my actions made you uncomfortable."

Brianna looked up at him with surprise and she saw how sincere he was with his apology. "It… It's alright, Kaldur." She replied back shakily, still a little embarrassed and shy. Tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, she asked a question, "May I ask why… do you li… like me?"

Clenching his fingers into a fist, he was worried that his answer may freak her out. "I know this may seem rather superficial but I developed feelings for you after you saved me. It's hard to explain," Kaldur'ahm replied uneasily while looking at Brianna for a reaction. The brunette just stared at him blankly, slowly taking in his words and thought of something. She had to ask this one question. Brianna had to know.

"So, if Artemis or M'gann saved you instead of me, would you have fallen for them?" Brianna asked and Kaldur shook his head.

"No. My feelings for them have always been that of family and friends. I treat everyone on the team, including you, as such. Perhaps I had always liked you subconsciously and that incident triggered my emotions to think of you in a different light." The poor Atlantean was now embarrassed with himself.

It took a few moments for Brianna to think about his words but she was satisfied and blushed faintly. Doing the unpredictable, her hand reached forth to cover his. "Thank you for being honest with me, Kaldur. I acknowledge your feelings for me…" Before she could finish her sentence, Aqualad's eyes lit up and covered her knuckles with his free hand.

"Please hear me out," Ember interrupted the tender moment, feeling a little unused to his affectionate gesture. "I am unsure how I feel about you. I've never thought of any guys on this team in a romantic light. Maybe we should take it slow. Get to know more about each other first, establish a firm friendship."

Kaldur'ahm was slightly disappointed and loosened his grip. She didn't reject him outright but it still hurt to hear Brianna say something along the lines of 'being friends'.

"Don't give me that look, Kaldur. It's not like I issued a restraining order on you. I am still willing to hang out with you. Besides, a smile looks better on you compared to a frown." Brianna teased and gave him a smile. The blonde Atlantean chuckled a bit. He now remembered why he liked her so much and this reaffirmed his belief that he picked the right girl to have feelings for. Giving her a grin, he stood up and she followed suit by hovering at her usual height. Realizing their hands were still together, he awkwardly released them and coughed shyly.

"Well, should we go help M'gann and Artemis in the kitchen? I think they need some help fending Wally off from the food," Kaldur'ahm asked and Brianna nodded, flying alongside him with her hands behind her back.

The rest of the team were gossiping about the outcome of their leader's conversation with Brianna and were expecting to see them together hand in hand. Much to their surprise, they noticed that the pair weren't acting all lovey dovey and were at respectable distance from each other.

"Aww…" Most of the team voiced out their disappointment.

"I think you owe me $50, Wally." Robin stretched out his hand towards the speedster.

"You were betting?!" Brianna asked with a half-amused and half-disapproving look. Kaldur'ahm could only shake his head and roll his eyes at his friends' antics.

Author's Note: Wally & Dick being mischievous as usual. Hehe.