It's finally BluePulse week! Here is my entry for Day One: Love Wins. I'm thinking this goes pretty well with my Pride series, hmm?


On June 25th, Bart spent the whole day running about, making sure Oracle and Aqualad knew he and Blue Beetle would be unavailable for missions, and calling Jaime (twice) to remind him of their date the next day.

He knew he was acting suspicious. He knew the team was whispering behind his back, trying to figure out what he was up to, but he stayed quiet, and didn't let anything slip.

Well. Except to Tim. And Kon.

But that was it. And really, he didn't even tell them all that much. He briefly mentioned that the 26th of June was a big day for a lot of people, and then he shut up.

But then Tim asked what was so important that Bart knew about it from several years in the future.

"Queer people exist in the future, too, you know," he had said, and Tim and Kon's eyes doubled in size, and because they both paid attention to politics, Bart had bolted before he could say anything else.

On the 26th, at 6:30 in the morning, he was woken up by his Grandpa Barry because of all days, the Rouges decided that June 26th was the best day to hold an early morning robbery at the Flash Museum. It took an hour to deal with, and Bart was so annoyed he threatened to bust their game of pool next time they got out of jail.

Immediately after sending the Rouges away, Bart gave a small salute to his grandfather before running off to El Paso. He didn't stop until he reached Jaime's door, where he changed as quickly as he could, and rapped his knuckles against the wood until he heard the lock turn.

"Bart?" It was Jaime's mom, and Bart grinned widely in greeting.

"Good morning, Mrs. Reyes," he said, trying to glimpse behind her into the house. "Is Jaime ready?"

She glanced back into the house with a raised eyebrow before giving a small laugh. "I'm afraid not. He's still in bed."

"What?" Bart gaped and rocked back on his heels. "But I told him I'd be over first thing in the morning."

Bianca Reyes gave an amused sigh. "I don't think he realized you meant eight in the morning, chico."

"I guess it's a good thing I got here later than expected, huh?" He smiled brightly, and Mrs. Reyes laughed before motioning him inside.

"Go on upstairs, Bart," she told him. "I'll be leaving for work soon, but if you need anything, just ask Alberto, alright?"

"Gracias!" Bart called, racing up the stairs at a slightly faster than average speed. When he entered Jaime's room, he was careful not to scare the scarab. Last time he barged into Jaime's room, he was nearly blasted out the window.

"Jaime," he whispered, kneeling next to the bed and carefully poking at his boyfriends cheek. "Jaime. Wake up."

He got a mumbled complaint in reply before the older teen rolled over.

Bart groaned. "Come on, dude. I have a huge day planned for us. Gramps told me about this awesome diner in North Carolina, and then there's this ice cream place in New York, and then we're going to-"

"Bart. CariƱo. Por favor, be quiet," Jaime begged, tugging the blanket up over his head.

The younger pouted, and jumped up on the bed. "Come on, Jaime. I've been planning this for months. I told you I had a whole day planned, and you aren't even out of bed yet."

Slowly, Jaime peeked out from underneath the sheet, and for a moment, Bart got his hopes up.

"The scarab says you're too loud."

He glared. "Well tell the scarab he's an awful alarm clock."

"He says it's not his job," Jaime reported.

"Well tell him that-"

Jaime grabbed him by the arm and yanked him so that he was sprawled out partially on the bed and partially on Jaime.

"I am not your guys' messenger," Jaime sighed, cuddling up to Bart. "I mean, I guess I technically am, but not right now. It's too early."

"But my schedule-"

"How about we do brunch instead?" Jaime compromised. "There's this really cool buffet my family and I went to a long time ago, and they have breakfast food out all day."

Bart chewed his lip in thought before sighing. "Okay. But seriously, we can't be late for D.C. later tonight."

Jaime gave him a confused look, but nodded. "Just lay with me for a while."

Bart sighed before snuggling closer. It didn't take long for Jaime's breathing to deepen, and Bart tried to match his breathing.

But he was restless. He kept checking the time, and once, he found himself vibrating. Not enough to wake Jaime, but enough to make Bart blush.

Eventually, he gave up, and started poking at Jaime's nose.

"Psst," he whispered. "Hey. Wake up."

Jaime huffed and opened one eye. "All right, Bart," he sighed. "You win. Let's go."

With an excited giggle, Bart jumped to his feet, yanking his boyfriend with him. "Okay, okay, go get ready. We're already behind schedule, so hurry up."

Jaime rolled his eyes before kissing Bart's forehead and leaving the room.

After Jaime was out of the shower and dressed, Bart dragged him out of the house, barely stopping to say goodbye to Jaime's father and sister. In no time, they were racing through the country.

They stopped for breakfast in North Carolina like he plamned, then rushed to New York. Bart took one look at all the screens in Times Square, and decided he wanted ice cream from Rhode Island instead.

Jaime followed along, asking a million questions, which Bart dodged. They spent the rest of the day at a zoo in St. Louis, and a park in the Rocky Mountains, where they had stopped at to rest.

"Look, I promise, you'll love it," Bart said, checking his watch.

"Bart, did you piss off Arsenal again?" Jaime asked. "Because I feel like we're on the run."

"No!" Bart squaked. "Can't I just plan a nice day for the two of us?"

"You could," Jaime agreed, "but last time I left date night up to you, we got kicked out of not one, but two different buffets."

"That was one time," Bart protested. "Besides, it's getting late. We need to get to DC."

"And another thing, ese, what's so important about DC? That's all you've been talking about, but you won't actually talk about it." Jaime raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?"

"Jaime, it's a surprise," he reminded. "Come on. The sun's set on the East Coast by now, which means it's time."

With a tired groan, Jamie stood from his spot on the ground. "Okay. All right, lead the way." The blue and black armor slid over his features, and Bart jumped to his feet as well.

"Race ya!" he shouted, and was gone before Jaime could blink. After a few seconds, he rose into the air to follow.

Bart slowed his pace to stay even with Jaime, and the two easily made their way to the capitol. As they drew nearer, Bart could see the crowded streets and bright colors.

Faintly, he could hear Jaime ask Khaji Da what was going on, and Bart grinned as he came to a stop in an alley, where no one could see. Jaime landed next to him a moment later, looking at him curiously as he powered down.

"Bart, what did you do?"

The younger stuck out his tongue. "I didn't do anything. The government, however, legalized same sex marriage today."

Jaime blinked. "They... they what? How did you...?"

Bart grinned, took Jaime's hand, and pulled him out onto the street. "Come on. There was this guy back in the future who's supposed to be in DC today. I want to fact check him on something."

They made their way through the crowd, holding hands and weaving through people, Bart leading the way. Jaime followed, not knowing where they were going, but along for the ride nonetheless.

When they stopped, it was so sudden that Bart felt Jaime bump into him from behind.

"Cool," Bart breathed.

"Whoa," Jaime whispered.

There, in all its glory, was the White House. Colorful spotlights covered the brick, making it anything but white, and the two boys stared in wonder.

"It's wonderful, isn't?" a voice said, and they turned to see a guy a little older than Jaime looking at the colorful building as well. "I'll be honest, I never thought it would happen. But to see this... There's hope for us yet, huh?"

And Bart recognized him. He didn't have wrinkles, or that hopeless look in his eye, but it was the guy from the future. The old man who had always went out of his way to share stories of better times, to share happy stories with anyone who would listen.

"I think," Bart said, tightening his grip on Jaime's hand, "I think that things can only get better."

Jaime smiled. "I think so too."