Chapter Text
It’s been half a year since they’ve gotten together, and their relationship isn’t perfect.
In their civilian lives, Brucie and Halio are constantly scrutinized by the media. Bruce is among the richest people in the world. He is infamous for his ex-playboy persona and stupidity, but he is praised for his charity. In the media’s eyes, Hal is just a lucky guy who won a raffle and became a friend-turned-lover.
Those who hate Brucie are waiting for him to fail, and those who love him believe Halio isn’t worthy enough for him. On the flip side, some believe Halio is too good for Brucie or believe that their love is just a short-term fling. The media is constantly waiting for a scandal to pounce on. The media’s favorite is Brucie’s “fondness” for Batman- especially with his exorbitant spending as the Dark Knight’s longtime personal sponsor and benefactor of the League.
Hal thinks it’s funny that they believe Bruce is cheating on him with himself. Bruce is just glad that Hal and the kids find it entertaining. Sometimes, Barbara likes to stir the pot by releasing rumors and fake tips to the media she and the kids create.
In their hero lives, Batman is created by fear, and Hal is created by a lack of it; of course they fight. Fighting is another form of communication, and boy, do they communicate. There have been close calls with their own lives and each other’s lives, fights about plans, excessive time spent heroing, paranoia, and recklessness, but it all stems from love.
They’ve never had reasons to doubt each other’s love.
With Batman and Green Lantern trusting the Justice League with their civilian identities and everyone else quickly following suit, it’s no wonder they all become closer. Close enough that Bruce has even let Clark and Diana meet the kids (who are still upset that Barry and Ollie met them first). Bruce, Hal, and the kids have never been safer or more loved.
In their true, personal lives, Bruce and Hal are imperfect people in an imperfect relationship with an imperfect love, but that, in itself, is perfectly fine with them.
Bruce trusts Hal. He trusts him more than he thought he could ever trust someone. Trust is a powerful form of love from him.
Hal no longer defines himself by his identity as Green Lantern. Before, he had a routine: be with Carol, fight, break up, lose his job when he fucks off in space for a few months, and come back and get her and his job back. Just before recognizing Bruce, he didn’t have a real connection to Earth with his estranged family and Carol with a fiancé, but now he does. He has reasons to come back, not to be so reckless, and reasons to feel so very treasured, wanted, appreciated, and loved.
Hal does not doubt that even if he were no longer useful as Green Lantern, he would still matter to his friends and loved ones.
If anything, his relationship with Bruce has only strengthened his other relationships. Now that Bruce’s identity is out to Barry and Ollie, he’s never been closer with the two, able to tell them everything. He’s been talking to his younger brother, Jim, regularly, and he and Carol work well as friends- better than they ever did in a relationship. He’s been getting closer to Clark and Diana, too!
They also gave him a shovel talk, and Diana happily brought up Hal’s confident, “When they see how much I love you, they won’t have a thing to worry about, babe,” the man had told Bruce minutes before, before thanking him for watching out for Bruce. Clark, slightly less enthusiastic but pushing himself to be friendly, offered to watch a Coast City Angel vs Metropolis Meteors game with Hal. They ended up enjoying that night out, and Bruce told them how glad he was they were getting along with a rare, unburdened smile.
Hal sometimes likes to show Bruce edits of Brucie on TikTok and once drunkenly confessed that that was how he recognized his lips. Bruce told him that Barbara had sent Hal’s accounts and search history weeks before and that he had been flattered at the notion. (The pilot embarrassedly drank more that night.)
Now, Hal spends an obnoxious time on Brucie Wayne edit pages and fan pages, sometimes just to embarrass Bruce or piss him off when he brings up stories wildly exaggerated by the media or dumb things relating to his Brucie persona.
When Bruce catches Hal watching edits (Hal’s favorite place to watch them is in bed with Bruce), the billionaire gets jealous of himself for taking away Hal’s attention. He’ll deny it, but Hal affectionately remembers Bruce using a cheesy line like, “You have the real thing right here.”
It’s great, but also it’s not.
Hal has gained a lot of love and a lot of worry.
Though a lack of fear defines Green Lantern, Hal confessed to Bruce that he’s afraid sometimes.
“I’m afraid that one day I’ll fuck it up like I always do,” Hal had admitted, leaning on Bruce’s shoulder, sitting on the sofa, the movie on the TV screen long forgotten. “I’m afraid one day I’ll lose everything all over again. All it takes is one thing going wrong, one wrong thing done or said, a dangerous mission, one night gone wrong— everything I have and love could instantly disappear. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I know I can't lose you either.” Bruce reached over and took his hand in his own, squeezed it, and lifted it to kiss his knuckles- much like Hal had done to Bruce’s on their first date. “Hal, I know what it's like to live with fear—especially the fear of losing the people you care about. But you’re not going to lose me. I’m not going anywhere.” He stared Hal in the eyes and continued, “I need you too, Hal. More than I ever thought I could need anyone. We’re in this for the long haul.”
“Spooky and Flyboy?”
“Spooky and Flyboy,” Bruce smiled.
Hal would later call Barry and tell him he decided on Harold Jordan-Wayne should Bruce one day ask.
Hal and the kids have never been better. He’s been to numerous breakfasts, dinners, galas, a couple of Cass’s ballet performances, and family movie nights.
Damian and Hal finally visited the Coast City Marine Mammal Center, where they met the sea lion that Hal had adopted. Inspired by the visit, Damian chose to adopt a sea lion himself, with Hal’s blessing, and named it Haidar— a name meaning "lion" in Arabic, symbolizing a warrior with bravery and nobility. As they toured the center, Damian enthusiastically shared his extensive knowledge about the various mammals, and with the boy’s passion and expertise shining through, it only deepened Hal’s affection for him.
Though Duke and the pilot’s conversations can still be stilted at times, Hal will still come over and binge-watch Quentin Tarantino movies with the kid. Recently, he’s been trying to learn how to play Magic: the Gathering since Duke enjoys collectible card games, and Magic is the game that inspired all the others. Hal has observed the kid’s competitive streak, and he honestly can’t wait until he’s ready to challenge him.
Tim and Hal don’t “hang out” per se, so much as they exchange information. Tim sometimes tells Hal things about Young Justice, a boy named Bernard, how patrol went, and new gadgets he’s been thinking about. In return, Hal will sometimes talk about how boring the most recent JL meeting was, unbelievable (and only slightly exaggerated) stories from space and about the Lantern Corps to impress the kid, and advanced alien tech. Every once in a while, Tim will “just so happen” to stumble across old pictures of the family and start - a conversation with Hal by showing him them.
Stephanie and Hal are the definition of a chaotic duo. Their previous pranks have included glitter bombs going off in training, Hal distracting Bruce while Steph simultaneously modified Batman’s voice modulator to a hilariously high-pitcher setting, which made him sound utterly unserious like a member of Alvin and the Chipmunks, and most recently, recording a song, burning it onto a CD, (Hal is appalled when Stephanie reveals it’s not like second nature to her), and putting it in the batcomputer’s CD player. Bruce fondly keeps their “Who’s the (Bat)Man” original song at the desk, and their less-than-perfect singing never fails to warm the man’s heart.
Jason and Hal unexpectedly bonded over motorcycles. It wasn’t something anyone saw coming, but it happened naturally. It all started when Hal playfully conjured a green construct of a cruiser beside Jason, who was busy tinkering with his bike. The gesture sparked a conversation, and Hal shared how, when he was younger, he had his eye on a stunning cruiser he never entirely managed to save up for. Now, with his ring, he can create that dream bike whenever he wants. From then on, talking became easy between them, even when the topic wasn’t Bruce. Though they rarely dive into the heavier subjects— like their losses, betrayals, clashes with Bruce, or the struggles of being the middle sibling— they both know that the other understands in a way that doesn’t need words.
Cass and Hal train together. While Cass kicks his ass in combat, he learns a lot from her. She’s improved his punches, taught him to be less predictable, adjusted his breathing patterns when fighting, and taught him how to read opponents’ body language better. When Hal revealed his ability to create constructs of people, she efficiently pointed out mistakes in their body language and patterns. With her help, he can confidently make a more accurate version of his Bruce construct to practice fighting with and apologizing to when needed. On top of that, Hal is a dancer! He’s not a great one, but he used to dance with Carol on dates, and with Cass, though he’s much less fluid, he’ll do the Mamba, Salsa, Cha-Cha, or anything else that can repeat a pattern. It’s fun for both of them.
Dick likes to joke that Hal has been winning over the Batfamily left and right, but honestly, he’s the one closest to Hal. With Justice League missions involving Nightwing and the Titans more often now with Dick’s identity being revealed to the League, they’ve helped each other out both on and off the field. They both check in on their teams, work well with the not-kids, and care deeply for Bruce- something that’s bonded them together as the ones who need to stop him from overworking himself (while they both hypocritically push themselves) and mask their weaknesses or hurt with witty banter or sharp sarcasm. According to Dick, the Batfamily has rarely been so aligned with each other as they are when they spend time with him, and after years of complicated sibling rivalries and secrets, Hal is a refreshing change.
Barbara, the one he’s most recently met, is someone he’s still figuring out how to talk to. Sometimes, he’ll just communicate with her through his Google searches like “Hello, I know you’re seeing this” and “Dude, this meeting is so boring. Please save me :(“ and every once in a while, he gets a response on his hacked phone and laptop’s notes app. Dick and Cass seem to like him, which is probably the only reason Barbara entertains him. When he found out she was Dinah’s friend, it opened up a can of worms when he brought up Ollie, who he didn’t know she hated, and he wisely never did so ever again. Yikes.
Hal is happy.
Even when he’s not with them, he’s constantly reminded of his found family.
His apartment used to be sparse, a barren wasteland of necessities and forgotten hobbies barely visited. Now, he’s upturned the photos of him and Jim. He’s got new photos: him with Barry and Ollie, the printed images of him at the amusement park with Bruce and his kids, a picture of Bruce and him gifted by Tim (with Bruce in his jacket), one of him and Bruce on a double date with Carol and Nathan, an inconspicuous picture of him, Kilowog, and Bruce standing together (hidden in his bedside dresser), and some sketches from Damian hung on the walls. The kids even leave some stuff at his apartment, using Bruce’s Zeta Tube to travel to California- dropping off extra clothes, snacks, and other personal belongings. Bruce has a whole section of Hal’s closet and dresser belonging solely to him.
His apartment finally feels like a home for the first time.
Bruce’s home screen wallpaper is a picture of Hal and the kids enjoying a family breakfast, Alfred smiling at the camera as he expertly balances multiple breakfasts with his hands. Now that the public is allowed to know about his and Hal’s relationship, his lock screen rotates between photos of him and the man together. His favorite is a domestic picture of Hal in his stretched-out I ♥︎ Gotham shirt, the material clinging to his toned form as he raises a glass of coffee to his lips, leaning against the counter, a sleepy smile on his face as he looks at Bruce. Whenever Hal sees it, he pleads for Bruce to replace it with one where his hair is styled, but the billionaire always refuses, tucking his phone close to his heart- keeping that image of Hal safe.
Now, Hal lies beside Bruce in bed, spooning the Gothamite and gently tracing the skin folds of his neck with his finger. He chuckles to himself when the man lets out a tired groan, stirring awake.
“Morning, gorgeous,” Hal softly greets, finger trailing down Bruce’s neck to his scarred back before going lower when he rests his hand against the man’s hip, switching to rubbing circles into the skin with his thumb.
“Mm,” Bruce grunts in reply.
They stay like that for a few moments before Bruce shifts onto his back, pulling Hal to rest his head over Bruce’s heart.
“Someone’s cuddly today,” the pilot notes, amused. “You trying to stall?”
Bruce sweeps his fingers over Hal’s mussed bangs, brushing them to the side. “No.”
“Mhm, sure.” Hal lets out a disbelieving but satisfied huff when Bruce wraps his arms around him. “Jim, Sue, and the kids expect us to be there in an hour, y’know. We should get up.”
“Tell them we’ll be late.”
“No can do.” Hal lightly pinches Bruce's side, getting an irritated grunt in return. “I haven’t seen Howie and Jane in over a month. Besides, that wouldn’t be a good first impression of you.”
Bruce presses a kiss to the pilot’s hair. “I haven’t spent a morning in bed with you for longer.”
“Yeah, well, we have the rest of our lives for that. Come on, big guy.” Despite his words, Hal doesn’t move.
“Five more minutes.”
“It’s never just five more minutes with you.” The pilot gently pinches him again. “Come on, I gotta fill out some paperwork.”
“You? Paperwork?” Bruce teases.
“Shuddup.” Hal’s brows furrow, jokingly offended. “Carol called,” he feels Bruce’s arms tighten slightly in reflexive jealousy, “Relax, gorgeous. She just offered me a test pilot gig for Ferris Air’s newest project. You know, the one you’re funding,” he reminds the man.
“Oh.” Bruce’s voice has a slightly surprised lilt, something only someone who truly knew him would recognize. “It was approved?”
Hal huffs a chuckle. “Yeah, Tim, Lucius, and I worked out some details in your schematic. You really like creating things that have drag to it.”
“It was an old, outdated blueprint.”
“Excuses,” Hal taunts.
“Who’s the smartest in the League?”
“It’s about to be me if I need to look at one more ‘old’ and ‘outdated’ blueprint with drag, babe.”
They both smile.
Hal Jordan is unashamedly head-over-heels for Bruce Wayne, and Hal Jordan is a threat for the sole fact of how much he means to Bruce and his family.
They complete each other in many ways and are happy– incandescently so.
“Hal, is something wrong?” Bruce smooths a thumb over Hal’s cheekbone, and the pilot looks up into his lover’s eyes. “You went quiet.”
“I was just thinking about how much I love you.”
There’s a pause, and Hal can feel the slight hitch of the man’s breath before he looks up just in time to see his lover’s cheeks flush. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Hal feels safest in Bruce’s arms. “I love you, Bruce.”
Bruce’s gaze and voice soften at the affection, “I love you too, Hal.”
Bruce Wayne is the smartest in the League, but Hal Jordan is the luckiest because he’s the most loved.
