"Calm down Speedster." Jamie called over his heavy winter coat to the boy in front of him.
"Then you hurry up!" The boy turned around. "Don't you have a jet back or anything that scarab can give you? You're so slow!"
The two boys ran down the isolated hill, covered in a thick blanket of snow. They hadn't had time like this…well…since Mount Justice came down. Everything had been tense and on edge. Then Jamie got captured. When Bart saved him, feeling stirred inside. Hope and longing mixed with a sense of safety. He hadn't felt safe in anyone's' arms in a long time.
Impulse took off running down the cold mountain and the Blue Beetle follower close on his heels. Impulse was a speedster, no doubt the grandson of Barry Allen. But Jamie was an individual, sometimes for the worse. He had no one to confide in, no one to talk to about this blessing and curse.
Bart slowed down too look at the setting sun on the horizon, mixing a soft purple with orange over the bay, while Jamie made his move. He silently extended the Beetle's mechanical wings and dropped directly onto Bart's back.
Bart feel face first into the snow with his arms extended outward like he was trying to catch himself but didn't. Jamie let out a laugh as the speedster flipped himself over. Jamie sat comfortably on top of his hip, pulling the wings back in.
Bart really was very adorable. Especially with the snow that matted down his hair and clung to his cheeks, turning his face a bright shade of red. His breath came out in little puffs and smiled from ear to ear.
"I got you." Jamie folded his arms and stuck his tongue out at Bart. "Admit it. I'm faster."
"Never!" Bart said dramatically, raising a fist to the sky. "You cheated, I had my back turned. Teammates sparring don't sneak up on one another, it's not fair!"
"You talk too much." Jamie pushed Bart's hands down into the snow beside his head.
"And you're crashing my mode." Bart smiled and laughed at his own lame joke. Jamie loved seeing Bart happy. He knew that Bart had come from hell. He knew that Bart had emotion buried deep inside him that he tried to never let out.
"Oh come on future boy." Jamie leaned down, hovering over Bart, letting his hair fall forward. "Don't you have any new moves?"
Before Jamie could utter another word the boy moved so fast he could barely see it. In hindsight, he could tell that egging on a speedster was never a good idea, but it was just so much fun. Jamie landed with his back in the snow with an audible thump as Bart sat on top of him.
"That's new." Jamie's arms were pinned over his head with Jamie's free hands. The scarab was going crazy in his head, planning all sorts of attacks against Bart, but he ignored it and let himself relish in the moment. He felt the soft snow underneath his back and the Bart's warm body pressed against his.
"You underestimate all I can do." Bart leaned down, smiling at Jamie. "I know all the tricks. Tricks you haven't even heard of! I have learned from the best of the best, amigo! I got it all figured out. I can teach you how to maneuver over glass, ice, and-"Jamie cut him off.
Bart felt the warm lips against his cutting him off mid-sentence. He couldn't say he didn't expect it. He had grown fond of Jamie. In reality it was probably not a wise decision, but he didn't care. It felt good, warm, loving. It felt…safe.
He let Jamie's arms free and placed his left hand next to the Beetle's ear to steady himself. He felt Jamie weave his hand in his hair, pulling their bodies closer.
Jamie's free hand roamed Bart's body. Over his stomach muscles and his chest before tracing is fingers up Bart's neck and pulling his head closer. Jamie arched his body up to Bart's and Bart could have only reacted in a chemical way. He lowered himself down so their chests were touching and brought his free hand to Jamie's jawbone, clutching him close.
Everything else was forgotten in that instant. They were together, alone. They only had each other. And nothing was certain. One day, either of them could be gone, forever. They let themselves go to pleasure and ecstasy. After, they could only have this one moment, it was all so uncertain. Life was fragile, and they were damn sure that they weren't going to waste it waiting.
Their hands met somewhere in the heat and they clutched to each other, knowing that when they let go, it could be gone forever.