Scene 41 - Couple Time
Finally, they found a brief respite in between missions to go on a proper date. The invasion had been quite unpredictable so far and kept the Team on their toes. However, ever since the rescue of the kidnapped teens from the Reach ship, things appeared to be fairly quiet and their enemy were probably recouping their losses. Due to her injury, she had some downtime from the Team and she used it to complete her work at the hospital.
Conner was a little preoccupied with both schoolwork and the Team but he decided to call her to arrange a date over the weekend.
"This Saturday? Sure! Where should we go?" The brunette asked enthusiastically and there was a brief silence before Conner replied, "Erm… Movie and dinner? I'll pick you up around 2pm or so."
Those were safe choices.
"Okay, I'll see you then! Take care, Conner," Brianna bid him farewell and set her phone aside, a little excited about their first official date. She had been on plentiful dates before but the prospect of going on one still excited and made her happy. Call it a girl's natural reaction but it was good for her to move on.
Saturday arrived and the pyro was glad her parents were still out of house, she did not want them to be grilling Conner as her father swore to be a lot more protective in her next relationship. Brianna briefly wondered what Malcolm would say if he found out the actual reason why Aqualad broke up with her. Would he praise the Atlantean for keeping his precious daughter out of harm's way or would he be outraged that he belittled Brianna's ability to take care of herself? She sighed and decided to set those thoughts aside and focus on the day ahead. She had picked out a simple blouse to be paired with her favourite jeans along with her jacket and boots. After all, Superboy was always wearing his black Superman shirt and jeans so she decided to wear something casual as well.
The doorbell rang and to her surprise, she found him decked out in a navy blue v-neck sweater that had a white collared shirt underneath with a red tie along with a pair of black trousers and shoes.
"Wow, you look really good. I feel a little underdressed," Brianna praised him as he handed her a big bouquet of red roses and a box of chocolate, "You look beautiful."
His girlfriend blushed and accepted the gifts, "Thanks, Conner. Let me change into something more appropriate, I'll be right back." The brunette immediately placed the chocolates in the fridge and raced upstairs to change out of her jeans into a knee length skirt. Now she looked a little more presentable.
"Sorry it took so long," Brianna said as she flew down towards the living room. The blue eyed boy shook his head and he took her hand in his.
"Pa allowed me to borrow his Volkswagen for today," He said as they stepped out of her house and he guided her into the vehicle like a gentleman. The car was vintage but had a really unique charm.
"That means you came here by the other bigger Zeta tube?" The brunette mused and Superboy nodded as he started the car and proceeded to drive them to a seemingly dilapidated tunnel near the train station.
As they passed through the tube, it brought them to Happy Harbour. "Sorry, this is the only place I'm really familiar with," Conner apologized and Brianna laid a hand on his, "There's nothing to be sorry for. I kind of miss the food and atmosphere here on date nights."
Reassured by her words, he pulled into the parking lot of the theatre in town, "I've already purchased the tickets." She stepped out of the car, thanking him once more and the brunette decided to purchase the food and drinks.
Stepping into the cinema, they found good seats in the middle of the theatre and when they sat down, he immediately laced their fingers together, making it a little difficult to eat the popcorn and drink the soda but Brianna didn't mind it. It was a little perplexing that throughout the movie, he still held her hand… Once the show was over, the brunette gently slipped out of his hold to stretch and then looped her arm around his elbow, "That was a good movie, wasn't it?"
Conner nodded and they got into the car so he could drive them to the other side of town for good pasta.
In the restaurant, the couple flipped through the menu, spoiled for choice. "It's been a while since I had this. All of them look so good, Conner! What would you like?" Brianna asked and the Boy of Steel replied, "Whatever you're having."
The brunette looked at him oddly, "How about we order two different dishes so we can sample a little more of the menu?"
His blue eyes widened, as if such an idea was unheard of, "Uh… sure. Whatever you like."
Raising an eyebrow, the girl asked, "Is something wrong, Conner?"
He shook his head, "Nothing's wrong. It's just different. I always followed whatever M'gann ordered… She was the one who made all the decisions when it came to food."
So that explained his behaviour.
"Oh… Well Conner, not all girls are like M'gann. I like trying new things by sharing," Ember said gently and she could see his face was turning red with embarrassment, "I'm sorry Brianna."
The brunette shook her head, "Like I said earlier, stop apologizing. Since we just got into a new relationship, we're still learning. I know more about you every time we're together."
She then reached over to grab his hand to reassure him that he was not screwing things up. "How about this, I'll order the food this time and for our next date, it would be your turn."
Conner looked up at her gratefully and really liked her character a lot more, "Alright. Thanks, Bri." The girl ordered two different soups and pastas as she said she wanted to get ice cream later. Both of them made some light hearted conversation and Brianna found Conner's shyness endearing but she knew he had a good heart. The way he interacted when they were just teammates was entirely different from how he was talking to her now. All his dating experiences only came from one relationship so she had to give him space for him to learn and grow. The food arrived and it was as delicious as she remembered.
"This is really good! We were always having the mushroom soup but this chowder is amazing!" Superboy exclaimed and eagerly slurped up the rest of his soup which amused Brianna greatly.
"I'm not sure if your brother would approve of your table manners though." She teased him gently and he smirked, "He can be quite a messy eater back home. I suppose it runs in the family."
Their main course consisted of lasagne and ravioli, two dishes that were new to Conner as he only ate spaghetti. "I can't believe I've missed out on so much good food. I always thought going to a restaurant over and over again meant you could only order the dishes you had before," The half-Kryptonian said as he spooned more meaty and starchy goodness into my mouth.
Once more, the brunette chuckled, "I'll bring you around to more interesting places next time to broaden your cuisine knowledge." He was vaguely reminding her of Kaldur'ahm, who was initially a stranger to a lot of surface world foods. It almost felt like he was back again but in a different body… The young adults finished their food and her boyfriend paid for the bill before she instructed Conner to head to The Sweet Scoop for ice cream.
As they stepped into the ice cream parlour, the scent of waffles was still in the air, just like how she remembered all those years ago. "How about we get a sundae to share?" Conner said and Brianna nodded, allowing him to have free reign on their ice cream and topping choices. She waited at a couple's booth, different from the one she once shared with her ex-boyfriend, and smiled fondly at Superboy. It really was quite a beautiful coincidence and miracle that she was able to love again.
The blue eyed gentleman brought the sundae glass over and they shared it eagerly, occasionally feeding each other and smearing whipped cream every now and then. They were truly having a fun time enjoying each other's company. The night was slowly dragging out and it was time for them to head home. Both of them were reluctant to leave each other but they knew there were more dates to come. The couple stood at the front door of the Dian home and it felt like they were teenagers breaking curfew.
It felt like they were staring at each other for a while but Conner made the first move and he leaned in to gently brush his lips against hers to wish her goodnight. Brianna touched his cheek in return as she returned the kiss.
Pulling away, both were giddy with young love and the brunette said, "Thank you for such a wonderful date. I look forward to more."
The Boy of Steel smiled, "Likewise. I'll see you around." He then walked back to his car as Ember stood on the porch to wave him goodbye. The vehicle pulled away and when she couldn't see the back lights any more, she lowered her arm and entered the house.
All seemed well.
Author's Note: Brianna and Conner went on their date during the "True Colors" episode. Hope you don't mind this light and somewhat fluffy chapter. We need a little breathing room in between the heavy chapters. =P
They're politely sweet, aren't they? Don't worry, it's not going to last that long, I promise.
To Molly Grace 16: Near the end of "Cornered", Conner is seen knocking on the door of Manhunter's apartment and M'gann opens it and lets him in. I assume he found out the truth during the private confrontation as two episodes later in "The Fix", he tells Nightwing that "M'gann fried his brain" and Dick is surprised.
Well, Brianna was kept in the dark after all. She has all the right to be angry. ;)
To mudercrowther: Thanks!
To piggythelaw: No worries! School is more important so focus on that before reading my fic. It's a good thing I only update twice a week. =)
To Eszra: Ah, I've not seen much fics of Jim, this sounds very interesting!
Thanks! There's only so much episode recapping I can do before it gets a little boring.
To keller75863548274483: Ember isn't a telepath who can fix Kaldur's broken mind so Artemis would leave her alone.