#kjdflash

It’s the first time visiting Bart at his apartment, but Harry hardly even notices where he is as he strides up to the door, file in hand. He’d considered bringing a tablet so he could show Bart the scans but - he wants Bart to have a copy to keep for himself. He’ll have copies and backup copies of course, but Bart should have some too. It’s his knee after all.

He pauses at the door and knocks frantically, unable to contain his emotions. It’s something he’s usually good at, but when it comes to people he cares about he can’t always keep himself in check. As soon as he got the results he knew he had to come straight here and let Bart know what was going on. Nothing could possibly be more important right now.

Jaime Reyes, I do not understand your emotional distress. Jaime snorts out loud at Khaji’s comment, shaking his head. You changed my body! You can’t just do stuff like that, you should’ve told me you were going to make me something else! He knows it’s pointless, there’s nothing they can do about it now - even if the scarab could undo the changes, how would that leave him? Would that do more damage than good to his body, to try and remove the enhancements? What if they can’t remove them at all?

He hears the door open but he doesn’t really register it, staring blankly at the images on the table in front of him - by the time he realises it’s Bart it’s too late, the speedster’s already behind him and Jaime has to scramble to try and sweep all of the images and papers together. “Oh - hey, sorry. In my own world. How was work?”

Jaime: Did you see these posters?

Jaime: Part of me hates them but

The cab pulls into his parents driveway and Jaime takes a deep breath, looking up at the front door. He knows this house back to front, he grew up here, it’s his home even though he’s moved to New York. It’s good to be back, it is, but.. he’s still nervous to be doing this.

He turns to Bart and offers him a small smile, reaching to take his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze in case he’s nervous too. “You ready for this?”

As soon as Bart finished work they made their way over to the shelter hand in hand and Jaime can’t wait until Bart gets to meet this dog. He’s hoping it all goes well, that Bart sees this dog and the answer is yes he’s perfect let’s take him home right now. “You ready?” Jaime asks with a grin, squeezing Bart’s hand as they approach the shelter. “I called ahead, he’s still here. If we meet him and we like him, we can take him home. But only if you really like him, and you have to be honest with me. Alright?”

Now that they both finally have the time, Harry’s glad Bart agreed to come in and have it looked at even though he’s nervous. They’re at the hospital, but Harry’s made sure they have enough time to do the scans they need to do without being disturbed. “Y’know, hospital gowns suit you.” Harry jokes gently, hoping to help Bart relax. He’s kept the team as small as possible for a reason - the last thing is for Bart to feel like he’s part of some kind of experiment when he’s not.

“It’s just going to be a few scans, alright? Just to see what kind of condition your knee is in. If there’s any sign of deterioration, we’ll consider what you wanna do from there.” Harry rests a hand on Bart’s shoulder, offering him a smile. “How’re you holding up?”

They’ve been playing for an hour or two now, Jaime’s not really sure exactly how long, he lost track of time at some point. Half the pizza’s gone, mostly forgotten when they really got into the game. More specifically, when Bart got so fixated on winning, and Jaime just couldn’t let that go, he had to win. Just because Bart’s faster than everyone in real life, doesn’t mean he’s faster in Mario Kart too, and Jaime’s gonna prove it.

BART WASN’T THE BEST WHEN IT CAME TO understanding what to do to comfort someone else. He fully blames his time in the virtual reality machine for doing this to his brain. He tried his best, and there was a better understanding of it now compared to when he was younger. He saw his friend crying, and he was proud of himself for NOT freezing up. “Hey man, I know you’re feeling the mode, what’s wrong? Is there something I can do? Do you want to talk about it? You don’t have to, but I’m here for you.”

Harry hadn’t intended to fall apart like this - he’s been shaken and on edge for a couple of days now, ever since he saw Gwen again. He thought maybe seeing someone like Bart would help - a friend, someone so positive and energetic, maybe it’d make him feel better or at least distract him, but instead all he’s done is break down on the poor kid. Some friend he is.