Metal Has No Heartbeat (A Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes [Young Justice] Fanfiction)

Twenty Five: A Little Bit Crazy

His skin is especially smooth looking when he is sweltering under the sun, hands on his knees, hair dripping as he tugs his jersey up to wipe at his face.

Gorgeous.

"You are so obsessed with him," Harper complains from beside me.

"Everyone knows that," I wave her off.

He glances over at me on the edge of the field. He doesn't smile, probably because he's exhausted, but I smile at him.

"Honestly Harper, you didn't have even the slightest crush on him when you two were growing up?" I ask as the whistle blows and Jaime launches back into action.

She scoffs, "No. That's gross."

"Oh," I say, taking a sip of my ice tea with a devious smirk, "Just Tye then?"

Harper's body convulses, her eyes snapping away from where Tye is kicking the ball to Jaime. I don't have time for her, however, as we reach Alberto, Bianca and Milagro.

"Mahiko!" Milagro shouts, jumping up from her lawn chair and sprinting over to me.

"Hey you," I grin, hugging her back. Luckily Harper isn't suspicious. Before, they all thought I was staying with Jaime. A little white lie about me staying with my uncle fixes that.

I'd never stay with my uncle and his family though. They're horrible people, who want me to bring my mom back too El Paso so they can pray her back to consciousness.

Bianca and Alberto are very wrapped up in their son's game, but they do say hello to me before they go back to cheering on my boy. Their love for him makes me smile. It's pure and never-ending.

"Do you want food?" Harper asks as Milgaro pulls me down onto her chair.

"I'm good," I say. She shrugs and heads off to the field canteen. My eyes move back to Jaime.

He moves a great deal better than he used to, because of the Scarab. Every now and then he glares over his shoulder, I assume because he is being told off for his tactics. At some point it distracts him enough that he misses a pass from a teammate and it gets stolen.

Bianca yells something along the lines of It's alright mijo! before settling back into her chair with a frown on her face. Milagro is still screaming her support and Alberto has gone eerily silent.

I watch with concern. He doesn't exactly get back in the game. He stays on the edge of the playing field with that same frustrated look on his face. It makes me want to try hacking Scarab so I can give him a little peace.

Trying to live a heroes life with a talking alien in your head is hard enough. But a normal life, with family, school, soccer, a relationship... I think I've been so concerned with myself and the Metal Men I haven't been giving as much as I receive.

Feeling their eyes on me, I turn to Alberto and Bianca. Both seem suspicious of me. 

Before I can speak, Alberto does, "You know." He sounds scandalised.

"Alberto," Bianca snaps, glaring at him.

Oh. 

"I'm on his team," I explain, swivelling around in Milagro's chair. 

They share a saddened, surprised look. 

I give them a smile, "I had to leave here because I...ended up with powers."

I've never been sure how to explain what happened to me in a soft way. In the past it has been other people like Doc and Batman explaining for me.

"Did something bad happen? Did something attack you too?" Alberto asks in a panicked whisper. There isn't exactly anyone around us but in this town, people here things they shouldn't.