The question just wouldn't leave his head, as he sat there in dismay: Why does he have scars? Aren't speedsters supposed to heal with superspeed?

The scarab's armor overtook him, and he gasped a little in surprise, and Bart turned around and looked at him weird.

Mierda! What are you doing?

Increasing vision by...1600%. Target locked: scars located next to the jugular vein.

"Jaime?"

"Uhh, just testing out the armor! You know me, just...always..." It was harder to coordinate two conversations at once than one would think. And Jaime never really was good with cover stories.

Report: inflicted roughly 489 days ago. Due to repetitive scarring, the tissue could not heal correctly.

"489 days..." Jaime mouthed, staring at the scars that were currently magnified in his vision. That's not so long ago. Who inflicted them?

Interrogation necessary for response.

"Look, if you want to be in costume, I can go get mine in like, two seconds. I-"

He forced the armor to retreat, getting off the bed. "No. Let's just go down. Sorry. You know how the scarab is. Always wants to do things..."

Bart made a face, obviously imagining something more grotesque. Jaime just shook his head and opened his bedroom door, letting Bart out, and they walked down the stairs together.

Needless to say, his mother looked angry, his father, furious. He shrunk under their glares, but Bart didn't seem to notice at all, happily stuffing his face with the plentiful food. Finally, Milagro broke the awkward silence, "Jaime! Hábleles acerca de su novio!"

He really didn't know what to say. Yes, Bart was his novio, his boyfriend, but...Bart had just said he didn't want to tell anyone, yet. So what was he supposed to do?

"Usted es un gran problema," his mother snapped.

"Why," he moaned, holding his head. There was no need to be discussing this at the dinner table...especially in front of Bart.

His father finally spoke, voice trembling with what seemed like totally unnecessary rage, "Mentiroso."

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Bart frowned, looking from person to person.

"I didn't lie, Papi!"

"I have a feeling this is because of me. So, I think I'll just go. It's been crash, meeting you all." Bart pushed an empty plate to the center of the table, brow furrowed, spreading his fingers in a wave, then walking out much faster than a normal human.

"Bart, wait-"

His father stopped him from getting up, grabbing his arm. Normally, he'd cry. But he was too mad. "You hurt his sentimientos! You talk about him like he's not even here," he yanked out of the grip, and pointed angrily at Milagro, "And you! Mocosa! You have no right to be so rude! Estoy dejando! Enjoy your dinner!" No one could stop Jaime from storming out of the dining room and out the door to find Bart. His armor instantly coated his body, and he flew into the sky, hoping to still be able to catch him. At his speed, however, it was unlikely...

He had never yelled at his family like that. Ever. He loved Milagro. He loved his mother and his father. But something was weird, just...just the way he felt: the anger that was coursing through his veins. He had never felt anything like that before, and sadness hit him as he realized he was one step closer to becoming the tyrant of the future.

Jaime Reyes.

"What?!" he snapped at the scarab, really not wanting to take his crap at the moment.

I have located the Impulse's heat signature: 31.7 East, -106.47 South.

"Fine...direct me there."

Affirmative.

The jets in his feet lit up and he was pushed towards with what he recognized as the route up to Scenic Drive. His heart racing, with anxiety and relief, he let himself down."Bart, you're still here, I thought you would have left, I thought..."

"Jaime..." he stared down at the necklace, fumbling the lightning bolt around in his fingers, "...I'm sorry. I caused a rift between you and your family. I don't want that."

"No, I don't care! Bart, I don't care!" He hugged him so tight, armor dissipating. He never wanted to let him go. "I thought you were mad at me, I thought you wouldn't come back, I thought you had left."

"I'd never leave you," the younger boy muttered, rubbing Jaime's back, trying to soothe him. Lately, Jaime had been much more emotional than he would have ever thought he'd be. But that was strangely okay...and scary at the same time.

"I'm sorry they're so stupid, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be..." The hug was becoming a little too much, too suffocating, but he'd never say that. He just stood there, letting Jaime squeeze and hold him until he was content.

"Please forgive me."

"It's me who should be apologizing. I'm sorry. I wreck every-"

"Bart!" Jaime pulled away from the hug, instead clutching on to his shoulders a little too tight, "You never wreck anything. So don't say that."The speedsters cheeks went a little red and he scratched his cheek nervously, looking out at the spectacular view that he could probably never get used to. Jaime's hand dropped from the shoulder and instead moved to his waist and he gazed out at El Paso. "I just don't want you to ever leave."

"I won't. I knew that when I came here, it was a one-way trip. I wouldn't ever be going back, and I was okay with that. I just..."

"Tell me. Tell me more about it," Jaime begged, suddenly gripping tighter on to his waist, fingernails digging through his shirt into his skin. Bart just shifted uncomfortably. It was almost sick of him to ask for what had happened to be repeated.

Almost.

"You never paid any particular attention to me. I was just another 'meatbag'."

He couldn't help his mouth from quivering, and his throat was getting tight and dry. He wanted to look down at him, but he couldn't. He just stared out at the cityscape, almost blankly. He couldn't imagine himself like that, like Black Beetle, on mode, he...he just couldn't.

Ask about the scars.

"How did you get the scars on your neck?"

Bart moved away, the pain in his side becoming too unbearable. He looked up at Jaime, looking nothing but sad. "It's nothing."

"Those aren't just any scars."

"They're from you, okay? But I don't want to talk about it."

"I just want to know..."

"Blue, sometimes-"

"Don't call me that. You know you can call me Jaime. All the time." His hands were on him, again, clutching on to his shoulders, and it was starting to get a little overwhelming, because Bart really didn't like the way he kept grabbing on to him like he was...

"Right, hermano...I'm sorry," Bart whimpered, looking down at the necklace once more, "I just want to take things slow. Get used to things around here. Get used to us."

"Okay. That's..." he sighed, "...fine." He let go.

Meat.

"Jaime, are you going to speak to us?"

"No," he growled, kicking off his Osiris shoes and running up the stairs to his bedroom. And he didn't want to even think about confronting his family right now. They were all jerks. They had no right to judge him or Bart...

He pulled off his hoodie and got into his pajamas, figuring that he'd shower later. Whatever. He crawled into his bed. And he couldn't sleep. All he could do was roll over on his side and look at his phone, making sure that there were no new texts from Bart. And of course, there weren't. Probably because Jaime didn't text him in the first place.

His mother opened the door. "Jaime?"

"What?" Great. "Not a good time to talk, Mami."

"Please, Jaime. We were all so happy to see you so...so involved. You haven't been sharing much with us lately, and he is a very nice boy-"

"Leave me alone!" He stood up, lifting his hand like he was going to hit, but he never would. He instantly felt pretty guilt-stricken, so he added, "Please." She took the hint and left, closing his door and running down the stairs, probably to report the incident to his father.

Whatever.

Picking up his cell phone, he saw that there were indeed no texts. His fingers trembled as he moved them across the keypad on his cell phone. 'I miss you', he wrote, and sent it to Bart.

Jaime Reyes: you have not gotten sleep in roughly 47 hours.

"I don't care."

Take advantage of the Impulse's absence, and get some.

"No." He stared at his phone, tapping the screen with his thumb every time it started to dim. He laid back in bed, pushing his feet under the blue covers, curling his toes and biting his lip. Nothing was happening. But he wasn't going to give up.

'What are you doing, my amorcito?' he sent, shifting on to his side, continuing to stare at the phone. "Come on, you're supposed to be fast..." Jaime muttered, dropping his phone on to his pillow, next to his head, running a hand through his short hair. School was tomorrow, but he was seriously considering skipping. At the same time, with the way he just spoke to his mother, she probably wouldn't be letting him get away with things for quite some time.

Still, the bright light of the screen started getting to him, and he closed his dark eyes instinctively. Sleep overtook him, and he couldn't help it, he was exhausted. It felt so nice to lay there, warm in his bed, nothing but the sound of his ceiling fan, not even the scarab's annoying voice in his head.

He was jolted awake when he heard his phone vibrate uncomfortably loud next to his head. He wasn't sure of how long he had been sleeping. Or if he had really just fallen asleep at all. But that didn't matter, Bart was texting him!

'Im reading a spanish dictionary...se te ha impresionado? idk how to do that upside down ? on here.'

Jaime smiled, feeling so relieved. 'Yes, thats really good but I wish you were here to cuddle with me. My queirdo."

'I have no idea what that means but it always makes me feel happy when you call me those names.'

He bit his lip in pure bliss, feeling so excited that Bart was responding so quickly. It hadn't even been a whole minute...typing as fast as his fingers would allow, he replied, 'I like caling youthem too.' Some typos this time, but oh well, he had already sent it. Sitting up in bed, he stared at his phone, bringing his knees to his chest as he waited for the reply.

This is preposterous.

"Callate."

School was boring. Monotonous. Lifeless.

He just kept staring out the window, thinking about the same things he's been thinking about since the night before: Bart, being on mode, Bart, his family, Bart, his vacation off the team, Bart, being on mode...

And of course, Bart.

Bart was just so perfect. His pale skin against his own tan, the little freckles that dotted it, the way his big, green eyes blinked up at him, the way he dressed, his thin, toned, runner's body..

Still, Jaime got the feeling that he didn't feel that way about him. And that sort of hurt. And he wondered how he could become what Bart wanted. He looked down at his own hand and he dropped his pencil on to his notebook, not even hearing his Algebra teacher.

He had searched for every reason Bart wouldn't want to go farther in their relationship, and that was the best answer he had, because-

The bell rang. Gracias a Dios! He scrambled to gather all of his materials and throw them into his backpack, bolting out of the classroom and out the front door. As expected, Bart was waiting for him near the sidewalk. His face lit up and he resisted the urge to use the suit to get to him quicker. "Hi!"

"Hermano! Que pasa?"

Jaime laughed and pulled him into a big hug, smiling so big it almost hurt. "You really were practicing, huh?"

Bart smiled, resting his chin on Jaime's shoulder. He saw students staring at them and wondered if Jaime was aware that they were in a public place in which many people knew him. Probably not. And that was sort of really cute.

"Totally. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Yeah, hey, I'll take you to the place I go with all my friends." Jaime pulled away and Bart was a little relieved

"What's it called?"

They started walking. "The Jumping Goat."

"The Jumping...?"

"Goat. Trust me, it's crash." Jaime put his hands in his jeans pockets, not being able to stop staring at Bart. He looked so beautiful in the sunlight like this. And he thought back to when he had told him that he never really got to see a blue sky. Was the future really so desolate?

He smiled again. With Bart by his side, the world could never be desolate.

"I told Wally about us."

His face fell. "What?"

"I told him! Said Dick knew for weeks. In fact, everyone knew. Even Gramps!"

"Really," he half-asked, half-stated, in a daze. He was right: everyone really did know. It was obvious. "So..the team, too?"

"Yeah, everyone! Isn't that crash? Makes everything so much easier."

"I...I guess. But I thought you were worried about-"

"Yeah, I dunno. I was a little moody yesterday. I'm good now, though. I mean, everything happens for a reason right? And there's no hiding it if everyone already knows."

"Then, my parents-"

"Yeah, your parents. We can tell them, ese," Bart smiled.

He thought back to when he yelled at his mother and felt even more guilty.

"Something wrong?"

"No, uh, no. Nada. We're almost there."

"Really? It's so close to school?"

"'Course, that's why we always go there..." Jaime paused, looking at Bart's neck. He was still wearing the necklace, and that thought made his cheeks go hot and red. "You're...still wearing that?"

The speedster looked a little confused, then he followed Jaime's eyes and smiled as he picked up the polymer lightning bolt off his chest. "Doi!"

He couldn't deny the utter happiness he felt inside him. "Well, here we are."

Jaime held the door open and Bart looked around with a grin on his face. "Wow this is...sooo retro!"

"It's a diner, ese. It's supposed to be retro!"

The young couple sat down together at a table. Jaime flagged down a waitress by holding up his hand half-heartedly. She came over and smiled at him, giggling, and only staring at him. "Hi, Jaime! What's up?"

Bart swore she purposely gave her abnormally large breasts a purposeful jiggle. He looked at Jaime to see his reaction, and with a relief, he saw that there really was none. He was just politely smiling.

"I'm just hanging with my buddy, Bart."

"Hi, Bart. Haven't seen you around here before." She smiled at him, but it wasn't as genuine.

He gave a nod and tried his best to smile.

"So what would you guys like to drink?"

"Orange soda."

"Water."

She smiled and strutted back to the drink machine, preparing their beverages.

Bart instantly frowned. "I don't like her. Why is she hitting on you?"

"Hitting on me? What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you see the way she was trying to get you to look at her boobs?!"

The Impulse really thinks we are so clueless that we would be distracted by such nonsense?

"Uhh..."

"You're clueless," Bart held his head.

"It doesn't matter anyway, Bart. You know I'm not attracted to that."

She put the drinks down in front of them, smiling. "I'll give you a couple of minutes to order, Jaime."

Bart rolled his eyes and glared at her back, taking a sip of his soda. "I don't like her."

"Don't be so jealous."

"I-I'm not jealous, okay? By the way, you're paying...right?"

Jaime sat down on his bed cross-legged and Bart crawled to the middle of the bed and sat with his legs spread out, on either side of Jaime's sides.

"I missed you so much today." He held on to his hands tight, smiling at him as he watched him squirm and blush. "I've been thinking about you all day long. I couldn't focus on my schoolwork." Jaime leaned forward, kissing his forehead, but there was something about Jaime's grip, kisses, and constant praising that was starting to get into Bart. It felt weird, forced.

But he had to do it. Because if he didn't, Bart would think he was a terrible person. And he could never let him think that...because Bart was his everything. Losing him was not an option.

His kisses moved lower, the side of forehead, then his cheek and ear, and then down to his neck, making sure it wasn't the side with the scars, and started to suck and knead the skin gently between his teeth, wanting so bad to give Bart a hickey, even if it only would last a minute or so. But it seemed he wouldn't even give him that satisfaction. He pushed his head away and nodded no.

"I want to make you mine," whined Jaime, hands moving down from his shoulders to his chest, where he felt the little heart inside beating rapidly. It made him uncomfortable, so he kept moving, down to his lap, where he rested his hands, waiting for Bart's reply.

"It would heal in a flash..." he muttered, not adding the fact that Jaime had already marked him in more than one undesirable way.

His hands crept up the back of his t-shirt, closing his eyes as he kissed Bart, rubbing his hands in little circles, hoping it was comforting to the younger teen, who mewled quietly in response. Closer, they were getting closer...

Bart pushed him down, smiling at him as their kiss broke, and he in turn shoved his hands up his shirt, touching the dark chest underneath him. Jaime grinned.

"You're sexy."

He just smiled, feeling around the toned muscle.

Jaime's face fell, and he started to wonder why Bart wouldn't say the same to him.

Bart caught on this time. "What's wrong?" His hands froze.

"Do you..think I'm sexy, too?"

"'Course."

He didn't like that answer. It seemed fake. "Would you please tell me about the future?"

The younger teen made a face and his hands pulled out from under his shirt. "You seem to only care about the future. What about now?"

"I just..."

"When I first came here, I didn't think we'd be friends, let alone boyfriends," he was already on the other side of the bedroom, hand on the doorknob, and Jaime's heart was starting to race, his throat getting tight and his eyes itchy, "Jaime, if you can't accept the fact that you hurt me, and that maybe it's a little hard for me to trust you completely, and if you can't give me time to, I don't think we can be together."

A/N: The Jumping Goat is from the Blue Beetle series~I always thought it was a cute diner.