Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If Jaime had learned anything during his time as the Blue Beetle, it was that falling asleep in the armor was a bad idea. It was one thing to activate the suit and let it encapsulate him, and entirely another to wake up trapped within it. This was especially the case when he was enroute from the Zeta tube back to his place in El Paso. There was nothing more terrifying than opening your eyes only to find miles of freefall between yourself and the ground. 

He’d learned that lesson the hard way.

But sometimes it was hard to stay awake. Between his exhausting superhero work/training, his tedious dentistry studies, and the time designated for family and friends; his schedule was often brutal. It almost always felt like he was chasing sleep.

And he was currently at an all time record, barely functioning on no sleep across three full days.

He would have been impressed had he had any energy to spare.

The one and only thing he could bring himself to care about was the fact that he was finally on his way home and had the entire weekend to recuperate. Saying that he desperately needed it was an understatement. But there was one thing that could ruin it all.

If he were to jolt awake mid-air again, he’d flood his body with adrenaline which would keep him awake even longer. 

And he couldn’t have that, so he resorted to crossing off another item on his to-do list.

“Scarab… Call Má.”

[“Historical analysis indicates that the Bianca Reyes is most likely asleep by now. Recommended tactic: wait until tomorrow.”]

Jaime blinked hard, noting that the only thing that felt heavier than his body were his eyelids.

“Just do it. I haven’t called her in a while and it’ll help me stay awake.”

The beetle beeped and the dial tone began to ring in his ears.

His eyes drooped shut with each ring before he rushed to open them again.

And on the last and final ring, his mother answered.

“¿Hijo?” There was a brief rustle on the other end of the line. “¿Está todo bien? Normalmente no llamas tan tarde.”

“Lamento llamar tan tarde… And I’m fine. Just tired.”

“You sound it.”

Jaime chuckled weakly before moving on, “¿Cómo estás?”

Bianca sighed before recounting her day, “Estoy bien. Tuve un turno largo hoy, pero después preparé la cena y me relajé frente al televisor.”

“That’s good. How’s Pa and Mils?”

“Alberto is at an automotive convention in Chicago, and your sister has been driving me loca all day.”

Jaime grinned as he thought about the boisterous little girl running around in piggytails.

“It’ll only get worse as she gets older.”

“As long as she doesn’t get superpowers, I think we’ll be fine.”

It was meant as a lighthearted joke, but Jaime couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at the reminder of what he’d put his parents through. It hadn’t been easy for them to raise a teenager who had been as closed off as he had.

He’d told countless lies to cover up the fact that he was a superhero. Their imaginations had run wild with upsetting theories about his unexplained absences in the middle of the night and the bruises he’d returned with in the morning. 

But when he’d come clean on his sixteenth birthday, everything had turned out alright.

That was until the next secret he’d been harboring began to cause tension within his relationships. He’d held strong for five years before snapping and coming out as bisexual to pretty much everyone in his life; and that had also worked out too.

There was a small part of him that had regretted having waited so long.

But it just seemed to be the way of things. He would lie and keep secrets from his friends and family, but the truth would eventually make itself known and everything would work out okay for him anyway. And he was grateful for it.

Apparently he’d remained silent for too long, and his mother had taken the opportunity to clarify their standing.

“I know it hasn’t always been easy for you Jaime, but we all love you. And we’re all very proud of all the heroic work that you do.”

Jaime almost felt like he’d been smothered in a warm blanket and smiled to himself for a moment.

“Gracias, Má.”

“That being said, I hope you’re still leaving time for a love life.”

The warm feeling vanished and was immediately replaced with a loud groan of exhaustion on his part as he mentally carved another strike into the prison wall that was this particular topic of conversation.

“ Ay, Má. Por favor-”

Raising her voice to convey her annoyance, Bianca drowned out the complaining.

“You can’t spend all your time saving lives, mi hijo.”

“I know-”

“Sometimes you have to put yourself first. And you deserve to have someone special in your life. And as your mother, it is my job to make sure that you’re happy.”

Reaching up, Jaime went to pinch the bridge of his nose before realizing that he couldn’t because it was hidden behind the faceplate. Sighing at how tired he was, he let his arms dangle loosely as Khaji Da increased the power on the jetpack to get them home faster.

“I am happy, Má.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Flailing a little, Jaime sobbed in exhaustion, “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I want you to agree to letting me set you up on a blind date.”

Jaime suddenly felt a lot more awake, and the panic was just making him feel even worse.

“No! You can’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because…”

Jaime knew it was a terrible idea, but it was time to continue weaving the unhealthy pattern of deceit. He was so tired he couldn’t even care if it was immoral. He just wanted to get his mother off his back, and telling a lie was the quickest way to do it. So that’s what he did.

“I- I met someone.”

Bianca inhaled with excitement and couldn’t decide which emotion to explore first. She was thrilled, curious, upset, angry and more. 

Meanwhile, Khaji Da chirped a few electronic sounds before appearing in Jaime’s mind.

[“Proceed with caution Jaime Reyes. Deceiving or misleading another for one’s own selfish gain can damage a relationship if you’re caught out.”]

“I had no choice, Scarab! I’m not going on a blind date!”

[“Blind dates are statistically more effective to end in a romantic relationship than pining from afar.”]

Jaime was about to argue that he did not pine over the man he gazed at in the Watchtower, but then he came back down to Earth and realized his mother was yelling at him.

“¡¿Por qué no me lo dijiste?!”

“I didn’t tell you because it’s still fairly new!”

“ Okay. Then tell me how long you’ve been seeing this person?”

Jaime blew air through his lips as he tried to think of a fake number, and blurted the first one that came to mind.

“Six months?”

“SIX MONTHS!”

Bianca cursed her son’s name - and he did too - before muttering to herself.

“Debería pegarte con mis chanclas.”

“Má-”

“I want to know their name , how you met , and whether you’ve met their family yet?”

Jaime sighed, “His name is Bart. We met on a mission. And no, I haven’t met his family yet.”

There was nothing but silence for a moment, but when Bianca spoke up again she at least sounded a little less angry.

“If you met on a mission, does that mean he’s a superhero too?”

“Sí. He’s a superhero.”

“Do I know of him?”

“¿No sé? He’s on the news a lot. So, maybe?”

“What’s his superhero name?”

There was no turning back now, so he finally admitted his crush’s alter ego out loud.

“Impulse.”

Bianca hummed for a moment as she racked her brain. She could definitely recall having seen a news segment that had mentioned the name. If she could call correctly, it had something to do with a Flash museum.

“Is he part of the Flash family?”

Jaime had actually been hoping that his mother wouldn’t recognize the name, but sadly she had. He sighed again as he leaned back into an upright position and began descending towards his backyard once the scarab had given the all clear.

“Sí.”

“Well, I look forward to meeting him.”

“Má- He’s not meeting the family!”

“Why not?!”

“Because! He’s busier than I am! And he lives in Central City! We’re just… I don’t know… Dating casually . Meeting the family… It’s- It’s too soon!”

“Mi hijo-”

“Má .” The desperation in his tone surprised even himself. But he knew as he got closer to the ground he had to be more quiet lest he attract some unwanted attention. “Por favor… I’m so tired. I’ve been awake for like three days. I’m almost home now and I just want to sleep.”

Bianca sighed in defeat, “Fine. I’ll let you rest... Buenas noches hijo mío.”

“Buenas noches Má.”

Khaji Da terminated the call a moment before he landed on the grass, and he immediately willed the armor away. Surging forward before he fell asleep outdoors, he made his way to the backdoor and slid it open. Everything was dark inside as he hadn’t left any lights on, but fortunately he managed to make his way down the hall and veer left into his bedroom.

He collapsed on the bed and groaned in relief.

“Night Scarab.”

[“Goodnight, Jaime Reyes.”]

…

Chapter Text

Bianca woke up feeling rather unsettled the next morning. She had tossed and turned a lot throughout the night, undoubtedly due to the shocking news that her son was dating someone and hadn’t seen fit to tell her. She was mortified to think of the potential reasons or excuses that Jaime had used to keep Bart from meeting them all. Which was an insult in and of itself. The Reyes family were nothing but loving and supportive. 

Bart would have been treated like family had he been a guest in their home.

Sitting up, she ran her hands over her head to pull all the loose strands of raven hair back behind her head where they belonged. After slipping on her glasses, she focused on the time showing on the alarm clock, noting that she still had two hours before she had to be at the hospital for her shift.

Settling into her morning routine wasn’t as easy as it usually was, and she eventually found herself leaning against the countertop in her scrubs staring down aimlessly at her coffee.

So many questions were swirling around in her head like all the shades of brown in the mug.

Why hadn’t Jaime told her about Bart? Why hadn’t her son - or his boyfriend - felt comfortable enough to meet one another's families yet? Was Bart extremely shy, quiet and timid? Would he fit into the Reyes family? Would their family fit in with Bart’s family?

The questions just kept coming until she came to the conclusion that there was only one way to get all the answers her sanity needed.

She needed to meet Bart.

A plan began to brew as she rubbed her hands together over the warm surface of the mug.

She just prayed that Jaime would forgive her for overstepping. But ultimately, she didn’t see how Bart meeting the family could hurt the pair’s relationship. And Alberto was out of town, so at least that would be less overwhelming for Bart should her plan work out.

It was a long shot, but she was going to try.

She had to. For her son.

She reached for her mobile and pulled up a browser before searching up the Flash museum in Central City. A quick visit to their website revealed a phone number which she quickly dialed. It connected through pretty quickly, until she realized in all her haste that they weren’t open.

“Thank you for calling the Flash Museum. Unfortunately, we are closed at the moment. Press one to hear our opening hours, or press two to leave a message.”

Bianca hastily pressed the number ‘2’ on the keypad and waited for the beep before speaking.

“Uh, hi. My name is Bianca Reyes, and I’m the mother of Jai-” Bianca bit her tongue the second she realized she was about to blow her son’s secret identity. She was about to course-correct and say ‘Blue Beetle’s mother’, but then realized that still allowed someone to trace Jaime Reyes back to her. So she tried again.

“I’m the mother of Impulse’s boyfriend…”

And as the words left her mouth, realized she had just provided anybody who knew that the pair were dating, a way of finding out who Blue Beetle was.

Mierda.

She just had to hope that there were enough Bianca Reyes’ in El Paso to make the search difficult. And that’s when she realized she was calling from her mobile. Apparently she hadn’t thought this through... And the worst part was, she didn’t know how to re-record the message. All she knew was that the second she hung up, the recording would be sent. She briefly considered dunking her phone in the tea, but she knew deep down it probably wouldn’t help.

Sending a quick prayer, she prayed whoever received the message was honorable and discreet.

“I was really hoping you could pass on a message for me. I know you probably get a lot of calls from fans asking the same thing, but I would really like to speak to Bar- Impulse . Gracias.”

She hung up and quickly set the phone down before dragging a hand aggressively over her face.

“Ay dios mío. Eso podría haber ido mejor.”

Shaking her head in shame, she sighed and then hurriedly consumed the rest of her coffee. As penance for having nearly blown both her son and Bart’s secret identities in the course of one phone call, she decided to go to work early and not claim the overtime.

The drive didn’t do much to distract her, and neither did the familiar sights and smells of the hospital as she paced inside. She made her way directly to the nurse’s quarters and greeted her colleagues before diving into things.

She did manage to lose track of time shortly after hand-off and from there it was all a blur of patient care, preparing medication and charting. It wasn’t the most glamorous of jobs, but it helped her to feel good about her place in the world. She was doing everything in her power to help keep people healthy and alive. 

Much like her son did.

She was in the middle of heading back to the computer to do an EHR review when her phone started vibrating in her pocket. After fishing it out, she looked at the number and did a double take at the area code. 

It was for Central City.

She must have looked like the most suspicious person on Earth as she snuck into the storage room, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She quickly pulled her mask down and answered the phone hoping it was Bart. But she had to be careful, just in case it was a super villain that had tracked her down to investigate the authenticity of her claim.

“¿Hola?”

“Uh, hi! Is this Bianca Reyes?”

Bianca was no fool. She had been around long enough to know a friendly voice when she heard one. And this young man sounded like he was smiling on the other end of the line. And it just made her want to put a face to the name even more. She’d looked up tons of pictures the night prior of course, but between the open-cowl and the visor there weren’t many good pictures of Bart. 

And that applied to the ones where he wasn’t just a red blur.

“Sí, is this Bart?”

“The one and only.”

Bianca shuffled excitedly before rushing to introduce herself.

“It’s so nice to finally speak to you! I’m actually a little shocked that you received my message!”

Bart chuckled before quipping back, “Well when I hear through the lemon-line that someone almost blurted out my real name in a voicemail, then I get a little curious.”

The speedster hadn’t sounded angry, so Bianca took that to mean that her son’s boyfriend was the laid back type; which was a huge relief. Nevertheless, she definitely needed to apologize.

“I am so sorry about that. It’s always been difficult trying to remember not to blow my son’s cover.”

“The son of which I am supposedly dating?”

Bianca wasn’t sure why Bart had worded it that way, or why he sounded so amused, but she ignored it in favor of getting straight to business.

“Sí. He told me about you last night. How the two of you met on a mission and have been dating for six months… I hope you don’t mind that he told me, or that I’m reaching out to invite you over to dinner to meet the family.” She quickly rushed to clarify the main selling point on the surprise she’d just inadvertently dropped. “But it’d just be me and my daughter. Jaime’s father is away on business at the moment. Would that be alright?”

Bart grinned wide and settled his free hand on his hip.

He knew who Jaime Reyes was. It was the name of the man beneath the Blue Beetle. He’d never actually seen the guy without his armor, nor did he have any clue as to why the man had told his sweet-sounding mother that the two were an item. But either way, this was not an opportunity he would pass on. And it was mainly because of one thing…

“If there’s one thing you should know about me, Missus Reyes… It’s that I’ll never turn down an invitation that involves free food.”

Bianca broke out in a beam and silently thanked the heavens.

“¡Muchas gracias! Te prometo que será una gran velada.”

Bart chuckled and decided to show off by speaking some Spanish himself. It was only two words, but it was better than nothing.

“De nada.”

Bianca cringed a little at the pronunciation, but found it endearing nonetheless.

“When would it best suit you to come over?”

“I’m free tonight?”

Bianca was admittedly a little taken aback that Bart was free on such short notice, especially given Jaime’s claim that the speedster was busier than her son was. But she wasn’t going to complain because she knew her son was also free in the evening too. 

It was all working out perfectly.

“Tonight sounds great! Do you have any food preferences or allergies I should know about?”

Bart couldn’t help but laugh a little, “I’ll pretty much eat anything.”

“Wonderful! I’ll text you the address! Oh and- if you don’t mind… Could you please not tell Jaime? He’s not going to be very happy with me when he finds out I’ve done this, and I’d rather you were there to help smooth things over.”

“My mouth is on-mode. You have my word.”

Bianca had no idea what that meant, but she was ecstatic regardless. She was finally going to meet her son’s boyfriend and make him feel welcomed into the Reyes family. She really wanted this relationship to work out well for her son, and she’d do everything in her power to impress the speedster. And in order to do that, she had plenty of cleaning and cooking to do. There was no time to waste. She politely brought their conversation to a swift end.

“Thank you for having called me, Bart. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it… I can’t wait to meet you in person this evening.”

Bart smiled to himself, “No problem. And same goes.”

“Adios, Bart.”

“Bye!”

Bianca promptly ended the call and hurried out of the storage room. She made a bee-line for her supervisor and before she knew it, she’d blurted out some long-winded excuse about not feeling well and was on her way back home.

She should have been concerned by the time she was setting the keys down on the kitchen counter, because she had virtually no recollection of the drive back home. All she could think about was the very long to-do list she needed to complete before dinner time.

Starting with the most important item on that list, she texted the Reyes’ home address to Bart along with the requested arrival time of half past five. Dinner was usually served around six, but she wanted a small window to get to know her son’s boyfriend before said son arrived.

Knowing full well that Jaime would still be asleep, she sent a text to the king-of-sleeping-in requesting that he attend an important family dinner at six. 

With the guests of honor both invited, she hurried into the kitchen and opened her recipe book.

…

Bart zipped into the living area of the Watchtower and found all his friends sitting together on the adjacent sofas surrounding a green coffee table. Tim was fiddling away with an electric gadget while Cassie was wrapping up her golden lasso. Kon however, was just lying back with his arms behind his head trying to get some rest. But he had exciting news that warranted interrupting all their respective activities.

“Hey guys! You’ll never guess who I’m going to see unmasked tonight…”

Tim put the gadget down and teased his friend, “Well I know it won’t be Batman.”

“Unfortunately, no. But this will still be pretty crash .”

Kon didn’t even open his eyes or move as he answered, “It’s Blue Beetle.”

Bart’s arms shot out in front of him in shock, “What?! How could you possibly know that?”

Kon smirked before explaining, “On the few occasions that you’ve spoken to him, or even looked in his direction, your resting heart rate was no longer… well, resting .”

As Cassie and Tim grinned, Bart pointed a cautionary finger at the napping hero.

“Hey! That’s kinda moded of you dude… But anyway, how could I not be into the guy? He’s ripped, has that sexy accent, and none of us have ever seen him without the bug suit! I bet he’s a total smokeshow under there…”

Cassie leaned back on the sofa and folded her arms across her chest, “Way to be shallow.”

Bart rolled his eyes, “I’m not all about the looks, Cass. He genuinely seems like a good guy.” Shaking his head fondly, he continued, “And it’s super cute how embarrassed he gets when he gets caught talking to the bug.”

“Yeah, I straight up thought he was insane the first time I heard him arguing with himself.”

Bart chuckled as he relived similar memories, but was quick to get to the point.

“Either way, wish me well because I’m going on a date with him tonight!”

Tim nodded slowly trying to piece it all together, “I’m surprised he asked you out...”

“He didn’t. He lied to his mother about us dating and she invited me over for dinner tonight.”

Cassie reached up and adjusted her headband with a look of concern, “Maybe he really is insane.”

Bart laughed, “Nah. I’m sure there’s an explanation. And I look forward to hearing it tonight.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks! I’ll fill you guys in tomorrow.”

Bart waved a hand at all his friends before disappearing in a blur of speed.

…