Scene 24 - Uncertainty: Part II
Brianna remained fairly unresponsive throughout the whole musical and that did not go unnoticed by Kaldur'ahm. Even her clapping was a meaningless repetitive motion that had no life to it. After the show, the Atlantean began to steer them towards a burger shop when his girlfriend mentioned that she was not hungry and wanted to return back to Mount Justice. The walk back to the Zeta tube was quiet and he could not bear with the silence any more.
"If you are angry with me for being late, I apologize but please, eat something. Starving yourself is not good for your health."
The brunette looked at him silently with an unreadable expression and she let out a sigh as she stepped into the transporter to be beamed away. Her mind was a rocking sea of emotions right now and she did not know how to broach the topic with the blonde teen. Like clockwork, her feet carried themselves to her room where she just collapsed on the bed to wallow in depression.
Aqualad returned shortly after her and immediately went to the kitchen to whip up a few sandwiches and two mugs of hot chocolate. He then carried the tray towards her room where he knocked on the door with his elbow, "Brianna, I made us some food." The door did not open for a good thirty seconds and he was on the verge of breaking it down when it swung open to a solemn looking Ember.
As she closed the door behind them, he laid the tray on her table and walked over to her to lay a hand on her forehead. "You do not have a fever. What's wrong?" His voice was a worried whisper and Brianna gazed into his green eyes before saying, "Do you love me?"
The blonde pressed a kiss on the top of her head in response, "Of course I do."
"You love Tula too," She said with a bit of coldness in her voice as she backed away from his arms.
"What? I do not. She is like family to me. I love Artemis, M'gann, Zatanna, and Raquel as sisters too. It is platonic." He explained and wondered what had happened that made Brianna react this way. The girl in front of him shook her head and stared at him defiantly, "I have seen the way you have looked at our female teammates. The gaze you give them is platonic. The way you look at your mother is familial love. The one you give me is romantic love and it is exactly the same look when you're talking to Tula. I can see it in your eyes, Kaldur. Please do not lie to me."
That statement stumped him and he sat down on her chair in confusion. He willingly gave his love and soul to Brianna but indeed, when Tula came along; his heart was all a flutter and he felt like a shy young boy again. He thought the excitement was due to his friends finally being a part of the surface world.
"Roy told me you had your heart broken in Atlantis. It is Tula, am I right?" Her voice was quiet and he could hear her sniffling slightly.
Swallowing thickly, he replied, "Tula was my first love but she never returned her feelings. I thought I would be never able to love again but I met you, Brianna. I fell in love with you." His words were earnest but the problem was still there.
Inhaling a deep breath, Brianna did her best to keep her voice from breaking, "I know that, Kaldur. I can see Tula's love for Garth so plainly and he returns it wholeheartedly. Yes, you do love me and you prove it with your actions daily but I don't think you realize that you're also in love with another girl at the same time. I cannot be a third party in my own relationship."
There was more awkward silence at the teens looked around uneasily. "Are you breaking up with me?" Kaldur'ahm asked with sadness while tears rolled down the brunette's cheeks, "T…temporarily until you sort your feelings out."
He looked at up at his girlfriend and his heart went out to her that he just stood up to give her a hug, "I love you, Brianna. I'm sorry for hurting you. I promise that I'll make it up to you once I clear my head." Her body shook as she sobbed and she buried her face into his sleeves, staining them with her tears.
"I know you will," She whispered hopefully after a few minutes of crying and gently pulled away from his hold. "Thank you for the sandwiches, by the way." The brunette said as she slipped a plate and a mug into his hands, a signal that he should leave her room.
Realizing that they were separating for real, he gave a small smile and walked away reluctantly, "You're welcome. Take care." He willed his feet to lead him out of the room to give both of them space. The door swung close behind him and he proceeded to the kitchen to eat his food in solitude. Love may be hard but good things come to those who wait.
Author's Note: A short chapter for this scene. Don't worry, there will be a couple more parts after this. And as you know, the break up isn't permanent. =P
I had a tough time choosing between making Brianna jealous or taking another route. In the end, I decided to do something a little different. If you watched "The Legend of Korra", Brianna is sorta behaving like Asami when she finds out Mako kissed Korra. Brianna does like Tula but she can't bring herself to hate the girl at all. I ultimately decided that this is a private matter between two people so I didn't want others involved.
To AthenaKeene: Greg said even if Kaldur told Tula of his feelings sooner, the answer is still open-ended. I hope you won't hate me for toying with your feelings in this chapter. Everything will work out in the end I promise!
To GoodStory: Thanks for the idea, I really wanted to write that but I chose a different approach for the whole jealousy aspect.
To piggythelaw: She's jealous and suspicious. Lol at the boys being a strange species. Men will say the same for women as well. =P
To Eszra: Tula is very affectionate in front of Garth, I think that makes her feelings towards her boyfriend quite obvious. That's an interesting OC you have there, I hope you have fun with your story!