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It’s times like this when Bart can breathe easily, head resting on Jaime’s shoulder and listening to his boyfriend’s steady breathing. Somehow they always ended up shirtless during bouts of prolonged cuddling, but that was as far as they’d both go. They had this unspoken agreement that they just weren’t ready to take it any further.
For someone who took things in strides of a mile, Bart was surprisingly okay with this “taking it slow” thing. Maybe it was just the fact that he’d been rushing his entire life, running, stressing over everything, that these moments of peace where he and Jaime just laid in silence and enjoyed each other’s company was perfect and he didn’t need anything else.
Bart sighed softly as Jaime ran his hands over the bare skin of his back, pausing over a scar, which he slowly traced with his fingers, leading into new scars until Jaime was drawing patterns over Bart’s skin tenderly, and Bart couldn’t help but relax. It was as if Jaime’s fingers soothed a residual ache that remained from the long-gone injuries.
Bart glanced up at Jaime’s face, a frown gracing his soft features. Jaime must’ve noticed Bart’s staring because he spoke the question he hadn’t asked since the first time he’d touched Bart’s bare skin and tensed at the elaborate scars covering Bart’s too-young body.
“Who did this to you, hermano?”
Bart felt his shoulders square defensively, reliving the memory of every wound.
You.
Bart could never say it out loud. If he did, it would no doubt sound more hateful than he meant it to.
He felt no resentment towards Jaime. Jaime had been nothing but kind to Bart, nothing but concerned for his wellbeing. Hands that had once meant nothing but pain brought comfort and peace.
All of Bart’s hate rested with the Blue Beetle of his time. But he knew Jaime would never see it like that. He’d always believe that Bart would hate him for something he never actually did, no matter how much Bart reassured him.
So Bart kept quiet. He just shook his head and shifted from half-laying on Jaime to laying on Jaime completely, tangling their legs and pressing their chests together.
Damn, Jaime was really warm.
“Don’t worry about it,” Bart smiled reassuringly, planting a small kiss on Jaime’s lips.
Yes. Don’t worry about it. It was in the past. Or rather, it was in a future that was never going to happen.
Jaime slowly wrapped his arms around Bart’s waist, reflecting the youngest speedster’s grin before initiating another kiss.
They always ended up shirtless, skin against skin, but they never went further than that. They weren’t ready. They both knew that.
And everything was perfectly okay.