Blue was back.

And suddenly, everything was more vibrant and colorful and alive. Bart found himself with renewed energy and a bounce in his step.

Just seeing the words "Back in town. Meet up at the WT?" flash up on Bart's screen had brought him back from the dead.

"Someone's in a good mood," Joan remarked that morning as Bart darted around the house, humming to himself.

She set his plate down on the dining table, and Bart wolfed down the eggs and bacon in less than ten seconds. "Wow. Amazing. Thank you!"

She blinked at him as he sped to the kitchen and speedily rinsed his plate. "What on earth is going on that's got you so excited?"

Bart beamed at her. "Jaime's back!" Before she could respond, he dashed to her side, planted a quick kiss to her cheek, and sprinted out the door. "Love you! See you! Bye!"

OoO

Bart glomped onto Jaime the moment the Zeta-Beam energy faded, and he nearly took him out after running full sprint at him.

Jaime staggered slightly, huffing, and he twisted in Bart's embrace, patting him awkwardly on the back.

"You almost took me out, hermano."

"Sorry, sorry." Bart clutched onto him tightly, smiling into his shoulder. God, he'd missed him so much.

Cassie snorted when he didn't move. "You've got yourself a spider monkey, Jaime."

"More like a leech," Jaime teased, prying Bart off of him with a little more gentleness than usual. He grinned down at him, shaking his head. "You're so dramatic. I was only gone for a month."

Bart raised his brows. "Yeah? A whole month! You left me alone with these two lovebirds!" He pointed accusingly at Tim and Cassie.

Tim scowled, opening his mouth to respond, but Cassie grabbed his hand to placate him. "We were a bit…much," she admitted, shrugging. "You know how it is at the beginning."

Bart didn't know.

"You had Virgil," Jaime reasoned.

Virgil shook his head, arms crossed over his chest. "Nah, man. He didn't."

Bart made his best, I told you so, face.

Jaime sighed heavily. "Fine. I'm sorry I left for so long. But I'm here now."

Bart grinned up at him. "Did you miss me?"

"Surprisingly…yes." He glanced to the side and smirked. "The Scarab says hi, by the way."

And hell, just like that, any resentment Bart had felt toward the older boy for leaving him had vanished.

He had his friend back.

He had Jaime back.

OoO

Ed hadn't seen Bart in over a week, and he couldn't help worrying that he'd ruined things.

He'd put the kid through a lot of pain the last time they'd seen each other. Why would Bart ever want to come back after that?

"Ed, you have to stop torturing yourself," Neut said once the counseling session was over.

Ed scowled. Neut was way too observant. "I think he hates me."

Neut chuckled, folding up the metal chair. "Bart does not hate you. The kid is obsessed with you."

Ed didn't like the connotation of that word.

Obsessed.

Neut had already teased Ed for becoming so soft and mushy around the speedster. He couldn't afford to let him think there was even a hint of romantic feelings involved.

Not that there was.

"Then why hasn't he come by? He used to visit almost every day! It was annoying as hell." Annoying, yes, but Ed had loved every second of it.

Neut sighed. "He's been texting you, hasn't he?"

Ed shrugged as he helped Neut put away the rest of the chairs. "Yeah. I guess. The usual memes and things. Not as much though. And never about getting lunch or hanging out."

Neut placed his hand on Ed's shoulder and squeezed, brown eyes soft and reassuring. "He's probably just been busy, Ed. If he's still texting you, then he's still thinking of you."

"Or he's just pulling away."

Neut furrowed his brow. "Ed, this is Bart we're talking about. There's no way he'd throw away your friendship over what happened before. The kid doesn't have a mean bone in his body."

Ed nodded along to appease his friend, but his heart felt even heavier than before.

Neut had no idea about the darker side of Bart, the real boy under the bright smiles and jokes.

Who knew what Bart really felt?

OoO

Bart had forgotten how easy it was with Blue.

Their dynamic had evolved from Bart pestering Jaime and forcing him to lower his defenses (quite literally), to Bart cracking jokes and Jaime rolling his eyes in that amused, fond way he did. Flashing that barely-there smile.

That smile was a drug. And Bart was addicted.

He loved making Jaime snicker and sigh and...react. He wanted to see more and more of the boy behind the walls, beneath the armor. Because that boy was special. And he deserved everything Bart had to give.

As they spent the next few days catching up, playing video games, and training together, Bart realized he'd forgotten how good of a feeling it was to be with him.

He'd forgotten how much he felt.

OoO

Another week had commenced without Bart, and Ed was beginning to think he should just show up at Bart's house unannounced and ask him outright if he still blamed him for the trauma on the lawn.

Because that had to be it, right?

That...or Bart had just grown bored of him.

Ed swore at himself. He needed to stop thinking about that short, lovable, copper-headed—

A whoosh of cool air blew in through the front doors of the Center, and with it came a blur of reds and whites and blues.

And no. It was not the American Flag.

Bart hugged him so quickly that Ed hadn't even realized what was happening until it was over. He stared at those big green eyes in awe.

"Bart. You're here."

"Heck yeah I am! It's been too long, amigo. How are you? Doing good? Woah. Did you get a haircut? The floof seems less floofy."

The whirlwind of questions left Ed blinking down at his friend, uncomprehending.

He'd come.

He was here.

He didn't hate him.

"I'm fine, Rojo," he breathed at last, smiling at Bart, who smiled back.

Oy vey. Had the kid become more attractive in the last two weeks?

How was that possible?

"How have you been?" Ed asked, realizing that he was probably standing a little too close to Bart, but not quite ready to step away.

"As a famous bat child would put it, I've been feeling the aster, my dude." Bart turned to the doors then, beaming wide, and Ed followed his gaze in confusion.

A teenage boy walked through the glass doors. Latino. Cropped brown hair and a slim build.

Jaime Reyes.

Or, as Ed had previously known him, Blue Beetle.

Ed felt his own smile falter.

"Ed! Look who's back!" Bart exclaimed, speeding over to Jaime and ushering him inside. "I wanted to show Blue here the amazing work you're doing. I mean…look at this place, Blue! Isn't it crazy cool?"

Jaime smiled weakly, nodding. "Yeah, it's great...uh, Ed. Looks totally different from before. You guys have done a lot of work here." He frowned and looked to the side, chin to his shoulder. "No, he's not. No. He's not."

Ed raised his brows. "What?"

Jaime glanced up at him, shaking his head. "Uh. Nothing."

Okay…

Bart darted around the room in speedy bursts, pointing to various items and talking too fast. Jaime and Ed exchanged knowing glances, and then blinked at one another.

Right.

Ed forgot that Jaime knew Bart as well as he did. And probably better, a bitter part of him pointed out.

"So it's going well then?" Jaime asked. "The Center?"

Ed watched Bart disappear down a hallway, completely oblivious to the awkward situation he'd left them in. "Yeah. It's slow work, but I think we're seeing some progress." He felt obligated to ask, since Jaime had initiated the small talk, "How was Mexico?"

Jaime sighed heavily. "I mean…seeing the family was great, but they grilled me on this whole hero business, since the Reach outed my identity and all. My abuela was not pleased…"

Ed smirked. "The chancla?"

Jaime chuckled. "You know it."

Ed hated how easy it was to like this kid. They were too similar. Both reserved, but sociable. Mature. Responsible.

And somehow, they both had a soft spot for the enigma, Bart Allen.

"Thanks for keeping him company, by the way," Jaime added, nodding toward where Bart had run off to.

Ed shrugged, tensing up slightly. "It's not like it was a chore. We're friends."

Jaime tilted his head at him. "Really? I thought Bart was just saying that. He thinks he's friends with everyone, so I'm never really sure, you know?"

Ed knew he was just trying to be friendly, but that last bit almost felt like a dig.

Did Bart really treat everyone like this? Did he invade everyone's physical space? And shoot them those dazzling smiles?

Ed had a feeling he did. That maybe…he'd read everything very, very wrong.

Bart returned a moment later holding a bag of Chicken Whizees from the vending machine.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I thought I told you that you're not allowed to eat the vending machine food here anymore. The kids always complain about there being no Whizees left in the building!"

Bart raised his arms. "What, a man's gotta eat."

"Yeah. A balanced meal. As in, not Chicken Whizees every day of your life."

Bart huffed, turning to Jaime. "Blue, can you believe this guy? He's trying to make me healthy, moded lifestyle."

Jaime looked between them curiously. Then his eyes widened, and he lowered his voice. "Wait, seriously?"

"Pshh, I know, right!" Bart complained, chomping down on another handful of calories.

Ed was pretty sure Jaime hadn't been speaking to Bart, but...he was all sorts of lost right now.

Why had Bart been gone for so long with no explanation?

Why had he brought Jaime here when the boy had seemingly very little interest in the place?

"Come on, Blue," Bart said, grabbing hold of Jaime's wrist and dragging him down the hallway. "We're going on a tour, amigo. But we have to be stealthy because Ed's dad not-so-secretly hates our guts. So no talking."

"Thank god," Jaime murmured.

Bart snorted. "Whatever. You love my voice."

"Like when it shuts off?"

"Rude."

Ed watched them wander down the hall, side by side—Bart smiling all the while—and he suddenly understood.

OoO

Ed lay on his bed, throwing a ball up and down. Trying to work through the knot of disappointment in his chest.

It was probably for the best he realize it now and not later down the road. Besides. It wasn't like Ed had planned on acting on his feelings. Whatever those feelings were. He just…he'd felt as if he and Bart had a connection. Something unique.

He'd even thought…with the way the boy looked at him sometimes…that Bart actually….

Ed closed his eyes.

Whatever. It was for the best.

He hadn't seen Bart that happy since…well, ever. He glowed around Jaime. And Ed, despite his best efforts to help Bart, had come nowhere near the kind of joy Blue gave Bart.

Jaime made Bart happy.

That was all that mattered.

Ed could kick his feelings under the rug now. Some place his father would never come looking. He could focus on the Center. He could stop sneaking around and lying to his friends.

This was good.

This was safe.