A/N Hey guys! First bluepulse/speedbuggy/whateveryouwanttocallit! I tried my darnedest, and constructive criticism is always appreciated! Also the title is sort of lame so if you have a better suggestion I will definitely take it into consideration. Reviews are always lovely!

The moon was barely visible, clouds obscuring its pale, battered surface and leaving the dim streetlamps to illuminate the streets of El Paso. The flickering light of one old bulb flashed in through a window and across the face of an increasingly annoyed Jaime Reyes. He kicked the thin sheets off his sweaty legs and sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees and palms on his eyes. Sleeping off his stress was clearly not working out, especially when every time he fell asleep he saw the future that Bart had warned him about. Even in his dreams - or rather, nightmares - he had a hard time imagining Bart as anything but cheery and bright-eyed. But when the speedster was hauling Jaime's weak, worn body out of that horrible pod, his friend had never looked more serious. It was hard to even look him in the face when the meaning of the words hit him through the fog of his disoriented state.

Blue Beetle becomes the biggest, baddest big bad in history. It was too much to process. First his friend Tye goes missing, then he gets kidnapped by a former leader of the team, and when he comes to after some weird alien testing (or possibly just torture, they didn't seem too concerned about the difference), Impulse tells him about an apocalyptic future in which Blue Beetle is an oppressive villain and tyrant and-

Breathe.

Jaime stood up and tugged on his sneakers as he walked through the room, grabbing a shirt that had been carelessly slung over the end of his bed on his way. He dressed as he went and hopped up and out his window into the cool night air. Just keep moving, he thought.

It was hard not to get overwhelmed, but his thoughts kept coming up with contradictions. Jaime understood that Bart would feel the need to keep an eye on him, to save the future and all that. But what puzzled him most was Bart's geniality toward him. Why was he bothering to be nice? He could have easily just asked the League to keep an eye on Jaime, especially with his connections to Barry and Jay. But it was no different than how he was around everyone else. In fact, he seemed the one who the anachronistic boy chose to spend the most time with, save for probably his family. Even when he awoke again in the Bioship, it was Bart who was standing by his side, dismissing him when Jaime spluttered out that it was him, he was still Jaime, not some monster; it was still him. "Course it is," Bart had said, smile never faltering.

Thinking back, it was odd how Bart never seemed phased about the appearance of Jaime's armor, despite the obvious sameness of the evil future Blue Beetle. How can he stand to look at me? How can he look into my eyes and not remember a lifetime of agony? Jaime couldn't come up with a good reason.

Despite how far he had walked to get there, Jaime only vaguely registered the change in his surroundings when he got to his destination. He had been to the Point so frequently that finding it was second nature to him, even in the cool, shadowy darkness. The Point was an overlook that had a view of El Paso, and Jaime liked it best at night when it wasn't swimming with hikers and tourists and sightseers. Something moved out of the corner of his eye and he whipped around to see what it was, while simultaneously suppressing Khaji Da's attempts at a preliminary strike. A twig snapped somewhere to his left and he turned again, and shouted for whoever was out there to show themselves. The figure that approached him was shorter than he thought it would be, and his surprise only grew when a few moments later when the recognition hit.

"Bart? Hermano, what are you doing here? It's like one in the morning!" Jaime exclaimed, bewildered, though relief was clear on his face.

"I come here all the time?" Bart tried. He knew Jaime wasn't stupid, but it was the first thing to come to his mind, which was not as fast as his mouth. He looked into the unimpressed teen's eyes and sighed. "Okay, fine, you got me. I came to see if you were okay. I asked D- er, Nightwing where to find you and he said you came here a lot. I know what I told you is a lot of weight to carry around, but don't worry! We're gonna fix it, all of it. That's what I'm here for, right, amigo?"

"How can you be so nice to me all the time? I mean, not that I'm complaining, ese. In your past- my future- Blue Beetle made your life hell! How do you still see my face and not want to punch it?" Jaime blurted out. He didn't really mean to ask Bart that, but it was on his mind and after midnight each tick of the clock blurred the lines and words in his head.

"Fair question. First, you're not the same now as you, or someone else, will be in the future. You, sixteen year old Jaime Reyes, are a super nice, cool, hot, funny, heroic guy." Wait, did he just say hot? Jaime thought he must be hearing things. "Dos, you're fun to hang out with! Have you ever hung out with you before? Also, you can keep up with me better than anyone else on the team. And fly! Flying is cool."

"So you want to be my friend and simultaneously save the future? I still don't get why you choose to do both."

"Are you implying that you don't want me around? Because that is just hurtful, bro." Bart said, theatrically stabbing himself in the chest with his fist clenched around an invisible dagger. Jaime started to protest, but he was cut off. "I'm just kidding! Don't be so humble, you'll bum yourself out."

"Yeah, I guess it's just late and I've had a lot on my mind and… Hey, let's just sit and watch the sky for a little bit, sí? The clouds are clearing up." Bart nodded sympathetically and they walked over to a large smooth rock, and they both lay down, looking up at the stars.

"You can't see the stars where I come from." Bart said absentmindedly.

"No?"

Bart was silent for a while longer, and Jaime didn't push the conversation further. Bart turned his head to look at Jaime, who stared at the thinning clouds shifting and swirling above them. He studied the way that Jaime's brown eyes shone faintly in the growing moonlight, the soft color of his skin, the way he seemed at ease as his chest rose and fell slowly with the breeze. Jaime turned to look at Bart, and saw the younger boy's eyes up close- they were old beyond his years. In a moment of calm Bart dropped his guard, his peppy charade, and Jaime saw the history in his face, and the lines that had gone unnoticed before. Green eyes were peering through untamed strands of hair that looked a dull chestnut in the night.

Suddenly Bart sat up, and Jaime slowly did the same.

"Something wrong?" Jaime asked carefully.

"I thought I heard something." They both looked around, and then saw a flashlight bobbing by the road near the overlook.

"Mierda," Jaime swore under his breath. Bart shot him a questioning look. "Rangers. We have to go." His explanation was brief, but Bart understood immediately and scooped up his friend without thinking and raced in the opposite direction, and the shouts of "Hey! You kids get out of here!" were lost as rushing air filled Jaime's ears.

It took him a few moments to catch up. After a couple of seconds he realized his eyes were shut and his face was buried in Bart's chest. Which was mildly embarrassing, but there really was no other way for him to be, as Bart had picked him up bridal style, leaving very little wiggle room. He looked up at Bart's face, and when Bart looked back he was grinning. He winked playfully, which Jaime's brain decided to describe as cute, and he looked away as he felt his cheeks begin to warm. When they were only a few blocks away from Jaime's house, the speedster put him down and they began to walk at a normal, human pace.

"Your cheeks are a little pink there, hombre." Bart was smiling, cleary amused.

"Uh, it was, the wind is really fast." Lame, thought Jaime. Bart stifled a laugh.

"Really? For a minute I thought you were blushing, but the wind is a good excuse, too." Seeing Jaime's mortified expression, he continued. "I can hardly blame you, I am pretty irresistible. I mean, look at this gorgeous hair! And I'm from the future. It doesn't get any more crash than that!" Jaime was suddenly very interested in the lawns of the passing houses, realizing that they had quickly reached his own.

"Well, uh, g'night, Bart. See you later, I guess." Jaime mumbled. He was still thoroughly flustered. He turned to the side of the house his bedroom window was on, but felt a hand grab his wrist. He twisted around to face Bart, who promptly pulled him in and pressed their lips together, standing on his toes in order to do so.

The contact was short, but sweetly exhilarating all the same. Bart stepped back and let go of Jaime. "Night, Jaime," he said simply. Jaime stood still, dumbfounded and unable to find his voice. Eventually he got to realizing that Bart was waiting for him to 'get home safely' so he retreated to his open window, trying to be as casual as possible about it, but failing miserably. He kept looking at Bart, trying to figure out what had just happened, and Bart was standing on sidewalk, still smiling every time Jaime turned his head. When he climbed in through his window, he poked his head out one last time to see Bart wink and give a two-fingered salute before dashing off down the street.

As Jaime peeled off his clothes and stumbled back into bed, he realized he was smiling. Bart had kissed him, straight on the mouth. He wasn't sure, but he thought he felt…good. All of a sudden he was awake, filled with the thrill that one gets from having a crush. There was no way he could fall asleep now, with the image of Bart being so close to him still fresh in his mind. Eventually a breeze flew through his open window and carried Jaime off to sleep, a smile and the memory of a boy from the future still on his lips.