Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hal knew that Bruce knew that Hal was staring at Bruce, but Hal couldn’t help himself. In fairness, he was at least trying to be discreet. Quick glances in the Bat’s direction were doing approximately zero harm to anyone. Hal figured he was allowed a few moments to admire the Dark Knight’s fine physique, endearing scowl beneath the cowl, and the absolutely smoking hot way he drove his fist into the faces of the bad guys they were currently beating up.

“Me next,” Hal found himself thinking in a daze. He shook himself, trying (and failing) to slow the rapid flutter of his heartbeat. There was no way in hell, on Earth or on Oa that he was falling in love with Bruce Wayne, and he would happily stay in denial for the rest of his life.

Well...

Maybe he did have a teeny-tiny, eensy-weensy little crush on the guy. Only a small one though. And pretty much everyone loved Bruce Wayne.

“Damnit, Jordan,” Hal scolded himself. “At least I didn’t say that out loud.”

“Say what out loud?” asked the Flash as he whizzed past him in a blur of red.

Hal startled. “Uh, nothing!”

“Watch yourself, GL!” The Flash swiftly pushed Hal to the side as one of the goons fired his gun in their direction. The bullet hissed past.

“Thanks, Flash,” Hal mumbled, forming the construct of a mallet and whacking the goon into the next universe.

Barry patted his shoulder with a knowing grin and whizzed off.

“Concentrate, Green Lantern,” came the Batman’s deep, gravelly, intoxicating voice in Hal’s earpiece. “You would’ve ended up with a bullet in your skull if not for the Flash.”

Hal’s lips curled distastefully. There was something about Bruce’s icy cold treatment of him that got to him. There was a part of him that wished Batman would at least just smile at him. Then again, that might be asking too much. Batman doesn’t smile.

“I’m concentrating just fine, Spooky,” Hal retorted. He whacked away another goon and turned his grin over to where Batman was fighting off five goons at once. “See?”

Batman didn’t even glance in his direction. “I mean, concentrate on fighting, don’t concentrate on me. You've spent approximately two-thirds of this mission staring at me. I appreciate the admiration, but it’s gotten to be a little unnerving.”

Hal’s face flushed furiously beneath his mask and he heard Barry chuckling in his earpiece. “Pfft! I’m not staring at you, Spooky,” he said indignantly. “Sorry to deflate your ego.”

“Hey, guys,” piped up Barry. “This night has been fun and all, but I’m getting tired of toying with these morons. Besides, I've got the love of my life to get home to, and believe me, she will not be happy if I return after midnight again.”

“Flash is right,” Hal said. “Let’s pack it in.”

The three Justice Leaguers swiftly took down the rest of the goons. In the distance, police sirens could be heard. A little tardy, Hal thought, but better late than never.

He smirked at his fellow Leaguers and dusted his hands off on his glowing green suit. “Well, that was a fun little outing with my bros, don’t you agree?”

“Lantern, watch yourself,” Batman began.

Hal spun round, only to be met by a loose goon and his giant blaster gun...

***

There was an annoying, high-pitched ringing in his ear. Hal wished it would shut up. It was a struggle to open his eyelids, but he managed. He realised he was lying flat on his back and the world above him was spinning like mad. It was making him feel a little nauseous.

Two faces slowly emerged in his vision. They were blurry, but he recognised the red mask of the Flash and the angry black cowl of the Batman.

“Bruce?” Hal slurred, tongue heavy in his mouth.

“Don’t call me that when we’re on a mission,” came Bruce’s stern reply.

“Can you... stop... spinning please?” Hal mumbled. “Makes it... harder... to see your... beautiful face...”

“Man, you got hit hard,” came Barry’s voice, though it sounded faint and far away. “That’s gonna leave one nasty bruise.”

Hal’s limbs were like limp sacks and he felt paralysed in place. He tried to sit up and ended up releasing a wheezy groan instead. “Ouch. Guess I should’ve... been concentrating... eh, Spooks?” He tried to grin but it hurt. He could feel himself fading away.

A gloved hand cupped his sore face and that familiar gravelly voice entered his ear. “You’re okay, Lantern.”

Hal’s brow furrowed. Bruce sounded almost... gentle? But he had barely any time to dwell on that thought as he slipped into a dark, cold abyss of unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Hal had never been one for paying attention during League meetings, but that night, his meagre attention span was having to fight for its life. Perhaps it was to do with the big, ugly purple bruise on his face. Not to mention the fact that it hurt. A lot. Although, according to the emo Bat, it was “not bad enough for painkillers.”

Curse you, Spooky, Hal thought to himself as he slouched in his chair, chin propped up by his fist. Superman was droning on about the gang of drug dealers he and Wonder Woman busted. Batman had already given his report on their mission. Unfortunately, in true Batman fashion, he didn’t fail to mention the blaster gun to the face that Green Lantern received.

Trust me for falling in love with the guy who hates my guts and humiliates me on a daily basis, he thought. Realising that he’d just thought the ‘love’ word, he hastily corrected himself. “I’m not in love with him.”

“In love with who?” came Barry’s voice as the Flash sidled up to him.

Hal jumped. “Jesus, Bar. Stop sneaking up on me,” he hissed. “And I’m not on love with anyone. I just said that.”

Barry raised a pointed eyebrow. “Really? I disbelieve. I saw the way you were making eyes at the Bat out there.”

“What?” Hal squeaked out. A few Leaguers turned to give them funny looks. Hal shot them a sheepish grin and lowered his voice as Barry tried to hold in his laughter. “What are you talking about, you doofus? I wasn’t-” he rolled his eyes and finger-quoted for emphasis- “making eyes at Batman. You're delusional.”

Barry released a giggle. “You’re the one who’s delusional, flyboy. You're convincing exactly nobody.”

Hal opened his mouth to defend his honour when Bruce’s voice cut through. “I can’t believe I’m having to say this to two fully grown adults, but can you both be quiet and pay attention? What Superman is saying here is very important and it’s vital that you listen to it and quit acting like children.”

Both Hal and Barry reddened like a pair of tomatoes.

“Sorry, Batman,” mumbled Barry.

Bruce gave Hal a pointed look.

The Green Lantern sat up straighter and folded his arms. “Yeah. Sure. Sorry I wasn’t listening to this boring mission report that’s exactly like every other mission report because all we do these days is take down smalltime crooks. No offence, Supes,” he added hastily. “Your storytelling is absolutely riveting.”

“None taken,” replied Superman. He was glancing between Bruce and Hal with a half-fearful, half-amused expression on his face.

The Batman glared down at Hal and Hal could see the sharp daggers in the older man’s ice-cold eyes. He shrank back slightly.

“My apologies if this is keeping you up past your bedtime, Jordan,” began Bruce, voice stone cold. “But taking down these ‘smalltime crooks’ is still an essential part of being a member of the Justice League. Believe me, if a worse threat attacks our planet, you’ll start wishing they were just another smalltime crook. Now, pay attention.”

Hal couldn’t think of a reply. His scowl deepened, causing the bruise on his face to twang, and he listened to the rest of Superman’s report in fuming silence. It was always “pay attention, Jordan” or “concentrate, Jordan.” Hal had no idea how this dark, grumpy Batman was supposed to transform into the charming, flirtatious billionaire Bruce Wayne. It was like the two were completely different people. Although, even when he was Bruce Wayne, it still seemed to Hal that he treated him like nothing more than dirt on his shoe. Hal knew that he wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, with his stubbornness and his childishness and his hot temper, but he had nothing but respect (and love- no, don’t say it, Jordan) for Bruce. He just wished the feeling was reciprocated.

After the meeting, Hal sped out faster than the Flash could run to the nearest bakery and get a bagel for Iris. All he wanted to do was go home to his shabby apartment, crack open a beer, grab another one as an ice pack for his bruise, and fall asleep on his couch while watching crappy romcoms.

He sighed to himself as he willed away his Green Lantern uniform, revealing the jeans and t-shirt he’d been wearing when he’s received the alert from Spooky.

Aw, man, he had work tomorrow! Maybe he could call Carol and come up with another excuse-

No, he’d been too absent lately, since being a member of the Green Lantern Corps often required him to head off-planet for prolonged periods of time. And he couldn’t bail out on Carol like that. He owed her too much.

Hal tiredly scrubbed a hand down his face, wincing as he came into contact with that nasty bruise.

All of a sudden, as he rounded the corner, he found himself careening into the buff chest of the most handsome man in the world. Bruce was out of his silly bat costume, now dressed in black pants and a turtleneck with the sleeves rolled up to elbows. Damn him, he looked good.

Hal felt strong hands clamp down on his shoulders, steadying him.

“Watch yourself, Jordan.” Bruce’s voice had lost its gravelly tone but it was still as heartmeltingly deep as ever.

Hal sealed his lips before he could blurt out, “I’d rather watch you, Spooky.”

Bruce arched a brow at Hal’s uncharacteristic silence. “Is something the matter, Jordan? Did you receive any other injuries during the mission?”

Hal shook off Bruce’s hands. “No, I’m all good, Spooky. Just tired, y’know? Anyways, see you tomorrow. Or in a few months. Depends on if I get a call from Oa.”

Before Hal could walk away, Bruce’s voice rang out and stopped him in his tracks.

“Hal.”

“Yeah, Spooky?”

“Despite your blunder at the end, you did well tonight,” Bruce said after a beat of silence.

“Gee, thanks, Dad,” Hal snarked in reply. He immediately regretted it (Bruce Wayne just complimented him after all!) and added, “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. Like I said, I’m tired.”

Bruce nodded and the expression behind his icy blue eyes was unreadable. “Get some rest, Jordan. I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Lookin’ forward to it,” Hal called over his shoulder as he walked away.

***

His phone was ringing. Loudly. Hal grunted out a slew of curse words and rolled over in his bed, reaching for his bedside cabinet. He groped around for a bit before realising that he’d left his phone on the kitchen counter.

“Damnit,” he grumbled. Curse whoever was interrupting his first good night’s sleep in months. Still half-asleep, he dragged himself out of bed, dressed only in boxer shorts and a t-shirt, and shuffled over to the kitchen counter.

The name on his phone screen read ‘Spooky’.

Hal answered and growled out, “Why the hell are you calling me at this time of night, you bastard?”

“Hal, it’s the afternoon,” came Bruce’s smooth reply.

Hal blinked and glanced up to see streaks of sunlight poking through his permanently closed curtains. “Oh. Right. Sorry for calling you a bastard.”

“I called to let you know that I’m going to be AWOL this weekend,” said Bruce.

“You’re going to be a wall?” Hal quipped, chuckling at his own shitty joke. “Spooks, don’t you know that you’re already a brick wall?”

Hal heard Bruce sigh on the other line.

“I’ll be away this weekend,” Bruce continued. “And I need someone to watch over my kid.”

Hal nearly choked on air. “What? You have a kid? Oh, shoot, yeah. I forgot billionaire Bruce Wayne had adopted that orphan boy.” He paused for a moment to process what Bruce said and when he realised, he nearly choked on air again. “Wait, are you asking me to watch over your kid?”

Bruce sighed again. “I must admit you weren’t my first choice. But I need a friend, somebody I can trust.”

Hal was feeling a little dizzy. He gripped the counter for support. Bruce had just said ‘friend’. And he seemed to believe he could trust Hal. “Oh, God, Bruce, are you okay? Are you an imposter? Are you dying? Please don’t tell me you’re dying. Man, I feel sick.”

“Calm down, Jordan,” came Bruce’s stern tone. “I am okay, I am not an imposter, and I am not dying. All I asked was if you could babysit my kid for a weekend.”

“What about your butler?” Hal asked.

“Alfred is coming with me.”

“Clark?”

“He’s dealing with stuff in Metropolis.”

“Diana?”

“She’s got business in Themyscira.”

“Barry?”

“Busy with Iris.”

“What does that-”

“Don’t ask. You'll regret it.”

“Hell.” Hal dragged a hand through his tousled brown hair. “What about Arthur?”

“He’s currently underwater.”

“Damnit, Bruce, do you seriously not have any other friends?” Hal angrily shot out.

“Look, Jordan, can you or can you not look after my son for a couple of days while I’m away? I can pay-”

“No,” Hal replied, a little harsher than he meant to. “I mean, I don’t want your money, Spooky. And yes, of course I can babysit your kid, if you need me to. I’ll-” he almost said “I’ll do anything for you,” but stopped himself just in time. “I’m great with kids.”

“Good,” Bruce said, though he sounded like he was already regretting asking. “And thank you, Jordan.”

“No problemo, amigo,” Hal replied, a cheery grin spreading onto his face, even though Bruce couldn’t see him. “Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

Chapter Text

Hal had never really been afraid of heights, being a pilot and a flying Green Lantern and all, but when his ring flickered to signal that it was almost out of charge while he was mid-air above the cold, harsh city of Gotham, he started feeling a little panicky.

“Should’ve taken a cab,” he muttered. The chill in the air started seeping into his suit as it weakened with every moment. He quickened his pace. Luckily, he was almost at Wayne Manor.

By the time he arrived at the dark, imposing building where the big Bat himself lived, his ring flickered off entirely and his glowing suit dissolved. Hal yelped as he tumbled out of the air. His body smacked into the branch of a tree and he landed on the grassy ground with a loud thump. For a few minutes, he lay there, gasping for breath.

“Ouch,” he groaned and raised his arm feebly to glower at that blasted ring of his. He knew he should’ve charged it before he left.

“Jordan.”

Hal sat up and realised he had an audience. Bruce, his butler, and a small, dark-haired boy were staring at him.

“Hi,” Hal said. “I’m not late, am I?”

“Five minutes,” Bruce grunted. “Alfred and I were just leaving.”

“Oh, okay.” Hal staggered to his feet and dusted himself off. He held his hand out for Alfred to shake. “Hi, sir.”

“Hello, Master Jordan,” the old butler greeted him in his posh British accent. “You’re not hurt, are you? That was quite a fall.”

Hal chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “Nah. I’m good. Happens all the time.”

The dark-haired boy stepped forward with an eager grin. “So you’re Green Lantern, huh? Bruce talks about you all the time.”

Hal was slightly taken aback. “He does?”

The boy nodded. “Yep. Mostly about how reckless you are on missions and how much of a pain in the ass you are.”

“Language, Master Dick,” scolded Alfred.

Hal felt his shoulders dropping. “Oh. Right. Yeah, that sounds like me.” He gave Bruce an accusatory glare. “A pain in the ass.”

Bruce’s brows furrowed but Hal didn’t know what he was trying to say with his expression. He'd never been that talented at reading body language. Bruce placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and said, “Hal, this is my son, Dick Grayson. Dick, this is Hal Jordan. He'll be watching over you while I’m away this weekend.”

Dick crossed his arms. “Sure. I don’t know why I need babysat, though.”

Bruce arched a brow. “It’s because you’re still only thirteen. A kid. And you know fine well I can’t trust you in a big house all by yourself.”

Dick released a bark of mischievous laughter.

Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “To be honest, I’m not sure I can trust either you or Hal in a big house by yourselves.”

Hal mock-saluted. “Don’t worry, Spooky. I’ve got this.”

Bruce gave him a withering look as Dick smirked like an imp beside him. “I really hope you do, Jordan.”

***

Bruce and Alfred left shortly after introductions, with Bruce muttering about how he didn’t want to keep the private jet waiting (billionaires, right?), leaving Hal and Dick all by themselves.

Hal stuffed his hands into his pockets. “So... whatya wanna do, kiddo?”

Dick smiled slyly. “You’ve had a long journey from Coast City to here, Hal, why don’t you rest for a bit? I can occupy myself. It's a big house; there’s loads to do.”

Hal narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, I’m not falling for that, kiddo. I’m not as stupid as I look. You want me out of the way so you can sneak out?”

Dick cackled, which was an answer in itself.

“What even is there to do around here?” Hal asked. “I’ve never thought of Gotham as a city with loads of fun things to do.”

Dick shrugged.

“How about I take you shopping?” Hal suggested. “Kids like shopping, don’t they? I don’t suppose you have your own allowance, do you? Because I’m broke.”

Dick shrugged.

“Or how about we go get some pizza?” Hal tried again. “Kids like pizza, I’m pretty sure. And I’m really hungry. What time is it?”

Dick shrugged. He gave Hal a questioning stare, blue eyes piercing into Hal’s soul. “Why did Bruce ask you to babysit me? You don’t seem to know what you’re doing.”

Hal puffed his chest out. “I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m great with kids. My brother has a kid and she likes me. And anyway, there was nobody else available.”

Dick blew out a long sigh and began walking away from Hal. “If I’m to be babysat, I’d rather it was with Uncle Clark, or Diana. They're way more fun.”

“Hey, I can be fun!” Hal called after Dick. Damnit, he thought to himself. Carol was right when she broke up with me: I’d be a terrible father.

“Dick!” he called. The kid turned round slowly, a miserable look on his face. “Grab your jacket, we’re heading out for pizza. Maybe you can also show me around Gotham.”

“Okay then,” said Dick with a shrug. “Look forward to a whole lot of nothing.”

***

Dick was being dramatic. Gotham during the day wasn’t all that bad. And the pizza was pretty good too, if a little greasy. Hal wiped his greasy fingers on the napkin and glanced up at Dick. The kid was already scoffing down his last slice.

Hal raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That was quick.”

“You should see my friend, Wally,” Dick replied. “He eats faster than the Flash. And he eats a lot, the greedy pig.”

It took Hal a moment to place the name. “Wally’s Kid Flash, isn’t he? And you're... Robin.”

Dick nodded, a glimmer in his eyes. “The one and only.”

“Spooky told me about your little group of sidekicks,” Hal said.

Instantly, Dick’s face darkened into a scowl. “We’re not sidekicks. We're our own heroes.”

“Right.” Hal swallowed. “Sorry. It's just... the way Bruce was talking about you...”

“Yeah, B doesn’t take us seriously either.” Dick sounded annoyed. “Nobody does.”

“Hey, I’ve heard about some of the work you do,” Hal said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “You guys are great. You're doing some really good work, making the world a better place.”

There was a small smile on Dick’s face. “Thanks, Hal. Maybe one day we’ll be as cool as the Justice League.”

Hal laughed. “Nah, you’re already way cooler. The League is full of a bunch of losers.”

“Like Bruce?” said Dick, something teasing in his tone.

“Like Barry and Ollie,” Hal corrected. “Bruce is a lot of things, but I don’t think he’s a loser.”

Dick leaned forward, propping his chin up on his hands, wearing a smirk on his face. “Oh, yeah? What is he then?”

Hal could tell he was falling into a trap. He could see it in the mischievous sparkle in Dick’s eyes. And yet, he couldn’t help blurting out, “Your dad is incredible. Incredibly annoying, incredibly grumpy, and sometimes a little mean. But incredible all the same. I-I mean,” he started to stutter, “he’s Batman, after all, right?”

“Funny,” Dick murmured. “He once said something similar about you.”

“What?” Hal was only half-listening. “That I’m Batman?”

Dick merely rolled his eyes.

“Here.” Hal shoved his plate towards the kid. “You can have my last slice. I’m full. Gotham pizzas are bigger than I expected.”

Dick grinned. “Thanks. Hey, Hal, you wanna see something cool?”

“Um, sure?”

Without warning, Dick leapt onto the table of the diner and started walking on his hands over the pizzas.

“Jesus, kid, careful!” Hal said, holding his hands out in case Dick toppled over. Bruce would kill him if anything happened to his son under Hal’s supervision.

Dick laughed and gracefully landed back in his seat. “Relax, Hal, I’m an acrobat.”

Hal released a breath and leaned back in his seat. “Right. Of course. Just... don’t go doing handstands on tables. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, Hal,” said Dick with a sheepish grin. “You sound just like Alfred.”

“Alfred’s sensible,” Hal replied. “You ready to go?”

“Sure,” said Dick and they both stood up. Hal waved over a waiter so that he could pay the bill. Luckily, the pizza wasn’t too expensive, otherwise he would’ve had to ask Dick to pay for it, and it would’ve been a little awkward if the thirteen-year-old had been richer than him.

As they walked along the sidewalk, Dick kept showing Hal his cartwheels and flips. He babbled on about his time in the circus, albeit with a little sadness, and Hal recalled the tragic accident that befell the kid’s birth parents. He also spoke of what it was like being Robin, being Batman’s partner-in-crime. Hal found himself smiling and laughing along with Dick. The kid’s cheery bubbliness was incredibly infectious. The complete opposite of Bruce.

“Hey, Hal, I know a short cut back to the manor,” said Dick, tugging on the sleeve of Hal’s jacket. He was pointing towards a dark alley.

“Are you sure?” Hal said uncertainly. “I could just call a cab.”

Dick groaned. “Traffic here is terrible. It’d take us way longer. Come on, Hal.”

“Kid, I don’t think-”

“Bruce and I go this way all the time. Trust me, Hal, let’s go.”

The kid was persistent. Hal sighed. “Okay. Come on. This better be quicker.”

Hal wished he had his ring with him. He felt naked without it. It’s fine, he tried to reassure himself. Dick and I both know how to fight if anything happens.

But he still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling as they delved deeper into the dark eeriness of the alley.

Hal froze all of a sudden and gestured for Dick to do the same. Understanding immediately (probably thanks to Batman’s training), Dick tensed and his face turned grim.

Out of the shadows, a group of figures emerged.

“Grab the Wayne boy,” one of them growled. “And kill the other one.”

The figures lunged. Hal lost sight of the kid as his vision was filled with fists. He hoped Batman had trained his Robin well. Even though Hal mostly relied on constructs from his ring, that didn’t mean he couldn't throw a hard punch.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of thugs grab Dick and pin down his limbs. One of them yelped when Dick bit down on his hand.

“Shit, boss, you said the kid wouldn’t cause any trouble!”

“Well, duh! He’s just a kid!”

“Dick!” Hal cried. He tried to reach for him but one of the thugs landed a blow on Hal’s stomach. He doubled over with a wheeze. Rough hands grabbed him from behind and he watched helplessly as a thug clamped a cloth round Dick’s mouth. The kid’s blue eyes rolled back and he slumped.

“Dick!” Hal yelled, earning another blow to the stomach.

Dick was dragged away into the darkness and the leader of the gang stepped into Hal’s view.

“So who the hell are you?” the leader asked. He pulled out a gun and used it to tilt Hal’s chin up. “You the Wayne boy’s nanny or something? We've been watching you since you went into that diner.”

Hal spat in the man’s face.

The man snarled and punched Hal, right where the fading bruise from the League mission was. Hal bit back a wince.

“What do you want with the kid?” Hal growled.

The man threw back his head and laughed. “Money, why else? The billionaire daddy’s gonna pay shitloads to get his golden boy back.” He lifted the gun to Hal’s temple and Hal felt his heartbeat quicken. “Anyway, now time to get rid of you.”

“Wait,” Hal said, desperation rising to his throat. “You don’t want to kill me. I could be valuable. It’s money you want, isn’t it? Well, I’m a good friend of Bruce Wayne. That's why he asked me to look after his kid. We're really close.”

Perhaps he was stretching the truth a little, but how was he supposed to get Dick back if he was dead?

The man narrowed his eyes. “I suppose you do look like one of Wayne’s boyfriends.”

“I...” Hal hesitated. “Yes, that’s exactly what I am. Bruce would do anything for me.”

The man tightened his grip on the gun and Hal’s breath hitched. “You know how to fight but you don’t look as if you’ve got any brains in you. Yeah, I guess we can use you.”

The gun was lowered from his temple, and, without warning, the leader rammed his gun straight into Hal’s groin.

He was filled with an overwhelming pain as his legs gave out beneath him. The world spun and nausea swirled in his stomach. Hal gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, praying for the agony to subside. He wrenched his arms free from his captures and cupped his throbbing balls.

“Son of a bitch!” he ground out. “What the hell was that for?”

Without another word, the leader slammed his gun into Hal’s temple and his vision turned black.

Chapter Text

“Hal. Hal. Wake up. Sheesh, are you dead or not? Hal!”

He groaned at the sound of a persistent voice in his ear. His eyelids fluttered rapidly as his vision slowly grew less blurry. He felt like a mountain had just toppled over onto him and his entire body was an explosion of pain. Everywhere ached: his head, his abdomen, his face, his groin of all places.

“Hal? Are you awake?”

He craned his neck and a pair of concerned blue eyes filled his woozy vision. “Hey, Dick. Tell me something—what the hell just happened?”

“We’ve been kidnapped,” Dick answered with a concerning amount of nonchalance in his tone, as if this sort of thing happened quite regularly (it probably did, Hal realised.)

The rush of memories came flooding back into his brain. He recalled the dark alleyway, the group of attackers, a painful hit to the balls.

Hal noticed his wrists and ankles were tied together, and both he and Dick were tied to rickety wooden chairs.

“Well, they kidnapped me really,” Dick was saying. “No idea why they kept you alive. Maybe they thought they could get more money out of it.”

Hal felt heat rise to his cheeks as he remembered how he had persuaded the kidnappers to keep him alive. Dick didn’t need to know that little detail. He turned his attention to their new surroundings. They appeared to be in a dimly lit warehouse. There were a few of the kidnappers loitering around, each armed with a gun or a knife, but they all seemed quite bored and nobody was paying any attention to the kidnapped. Clearly, they were awaiting money from Bruce, though Hal doubted they would receive any. Bruce was AWOL after all; he probably hadn’t even received the message that his son had been kidnapped. It seemed like it was up to Hal and Dick to get themselves out of this mess.

Hal glanced down at his hands and cursed at the lack of glowing green ring on his finger. “I really should have charged that stupid thing.”

“Hmm?” said Dick distractedly. Hal could almost hear the cogs whirring in the kid’s mind.

“My ring,” Hal told him. “I left it behind at the manor. It’s out of charge. Dunno how we’re supposed to get out of here without it.”

Dick let out a bark of laughter, startling Hal. “Did Batman never teach you to be resourceful and make use of what you’ve got?”

“Well, no,” Hal answered with a slight scowl. “Batman didn’t teach me shit. I wasn’t raised by him.”

“He seems to think he’s teaching you something,” said Dick. “To make sure you stay alive out on the battlefield. He’s terrified you’ll get yourself killed.”

“I won’t get myself killed!” Hal exclaimed indignantly, earning a few glares from their kidnappers.

“Shut up or I’ll cut your balls off, queer!” one of them barked.

Hal, feeling slightly intimidated by the threat, lowered his voice and added, “I don’t need Batman to look out for me. I can take care of myself. In fact, it’s kind of insulting.” But also kind of sweet, said a small, annoying voice in his head. Maybe Bruce cares about you after all.

Dick replied with a suggestive smirk and said nothing more on the matter.

Hal shifted in his bonds. He was stiff and uncomfortable and also incredibly bored of sitting around and being kidnapped. He also needed an icepack for every area of his body. He began drumming his fingers on the chair and turned back to Dick. “So, kiddo, any ideas on how we can escape?”

Dick gave him a look. “Don’t you have any? You're the adult here after all. You're supposed to be babysitting me.”

The reminder gave Hal a headache. Oh, God, how the hell was he supposed to explain this to Bruce?

“Bruce is so going to kill me,” he groaned.

Dick’s lips quirked. “Stay whelmed, Jordan. And I was only messing with you anyway. I already have an escape plan. We just have to wait for them to arrive.”

Hal blinked at him in confusion and wondered if he had a concussion. “Huh? Who's they?”

Dick grinned wickedly. “They should be here any minute.”

Chapter Text

As if on cue, an explosion rang through the warehouse, throwing many kidnappers off their feet. Hal winced and instinctively curled in on himself, but the explosion wasn’t mean to kill them. He turned towards Dick, jaw slack and eyes wide, but the chair next to him was empty. He could faintly hear the kid’s familiar cackling echoing throughout the burning warehouse.

There was yelling and gunshots and fighting but Hal could hardly make any of it out. He squirmed in his chair, feeling positively useless without his ring.

“Dick!” he yelled, voice hoarse.

A figure appeared in front of him. A kid, Hal realised, probably only a few years older than Dick.

“Don’t worry, Mr Jordan, we will get you and Mr Grayson out of here,” said the kid in a deep, calm voice. “My name is Aqualad.”

Aqualad. Hal racked his brains as the guy slashed through his bonds and helped Hal to his feet. Oh! He was Arthur’s sidekick, an Atlantean. Hal then noticed the other kids, who were all locked in combat. Kid Flash zipped past in a blur of red and yellow, while a blonde girl in green yelled at him and shot arrows at attackers. There was another girl, one with green skin and red hair, floating in the air above Hal. She turned towards something and gasped.

“Superboy! Watch out!”

Hal watched, wide-eyed, as a large chunk of rubble landed on another kid, one dressed in a Superman shirt, crushing him. Before Hal could rush over to check if he was okay, there came a roar and the guy shoved the rubble off him before barrelling towards another attacker.

“What in the absolute fuckery?” Hal gasped in disbelief.

Aqualad fixed him with an amused smile. “We are Young Justice, Mr Jordan. We may only be the sidekicks of the great members of the Justice League, but I wouldn’t underestimate us.”

“Yeah, of course not,” Hal replied, still in somewhat disbelief. He watched as these kids kicked everybody’s asses, almost as effortlessly as the Justice League.

“Miss Martian!” Aqualad called to the floating girl. “Get this civilian to safety!”

Hal grabbed his arm. “Wait, I can help. You know who I am, don’t you?”

Aqualad gave him another enigmatic smile. “Yes. But without your ring, GL, your life is at higher risk.”

Hal scowled. “I’m not completely useless without my ring, you know.”

“Leave it to us, Mr Jordan,” said Aqualad and rushed off as Miss Martian approached.

Hal muttered a slew of curses under his breath. Damn kids.

Miss Martian led him to a safe spot away from the warehouse. She said their bioship was parked there, but all Hal saw was nothing. Perhaps their bioship was just really, really small.

Soon, the fight was over and Hal watched as the kids rounded up all the beaten-up kidnappers and deposited them somewhere for the cops to retrieve them. They acted like professionals, he realised. They were a coordinated team, with Aqualad as their leader, and they all seemed pretty close with each other. Much closer than what members of the JL were with each other. There was something in this team of young heroes that was lacking in the JL, though Hal couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He had to admit though, these kids were awesome.

“Nice team,” he murmured to Dick as the others approached him and Miss Martian. “You didn’t fancy leading them like Batman?”

Dick shrugged. “Maybe one day.”

“We will take you both back to Wayne Manor,” said Aqualad. He nodded to Miss Martian.

Hal couldn’t contain his gasp as a rounded red airship suddenly materialised in the empty space before them.

“Bioship,” Miss Martian simply explained in an almost giddy voice.

“All aboard,” said Kid Flash, zooming inside.

Hal simply shook his head. “You kids are crazy.”

“Thank you!” Miss Martian replied with a bubbly smile.

Chapter Text

The ride back to Wayne Manor was quiet and peaceful. The kids seemed tired after that little rescue mission and Hal was glad of it. Dealing with one hyper kid was more than enough for him. He wouldn’t know what to do if all of a sudden, five more of them started running around between his legs.

Maybe I’ll wait a few more years before having kids myself, Hal thought to himself.

He turned to Dick who sat beside him in the bioship. Dick had explained to him already that no one but Wally, Kid Flash, knew his real identity, which was why Robin hadn’t shown up for the rescue mission.

“You okay?” Hal asked Dick.

“Sure,” the kid replied, mustering up a smile. “That was pretty asterous, wasn’t it?”

“I have no idea what that means but yes,” Hal said. “Pretty asterous indeed.” Louder, he added, “I’d heard of you guys before but I had no idea you were at this level of skill. Don't tell my colleagues but I honestly think this team is way better than the Justice League.”

“Thank you,” said Aqualad. “Your opinion is valued highly here.”

“I’ve never heard of this Justice League thing,” added Dick with slight laughter, “but they sure as hell can’t kick ass like you guys.”

“Language,” Hal scolded instinctively. He glanced around the bioship and up to where Miss Martian appeared to be commanding it. “Say, is there perhaps room for one more on this team? The JL is full of a bunch of morons.”

“Sorry, Mr Jordan,” said Kid Flash with a laugh. “There’s an age limit here. You're way too old.”

“Gee, thanks,” Hal grumbled.

They settled into silence once more. After a while, Hal turned back to Dick, who looked as though he was about a fall asleep. “You know,” he murmured in a low tone so that the other kids wouldn’t overhear, “Bruce is so proud of you.”

Dick gave him a sleepy smile. “He likes you, you know. Even when he’s acting like a grumpy bastard. He says you’re a pain in the ass but I think he secretly likes having you in his ass.”

Hal turned a vivid shade of red. “Jesus, kid! Have you no shame?”

Dick laughed and after a moment’s hesitation, leaned his head against Hal’s shoulder before drifting off to sleep. Hal wrapped an arm around the small, dark-haired kid and thought to himself that Bruce Wayne must be the luckiest man in the world to have a kid like Dick Grayson.

***

Thankfully, there were no more life-threatening incidents for the rest of the weekend and by the time Bruce and Alfred came home, Hal and Dick had both agreed to never mention the kidnapping fiasco to Bruce, lest Hal wished to face the Batman’s wrath upon him.

When Bruce and Alfred returned, Hal and Dick were poring over a jigsaw puzzle on the floor. At the sound of footsteps, Dick immediately rushed up and flung himself into Bruce’s arms, taking the older man by surprise.

“Hey, chum,” he said, ruffling the kid’s hair. “Nice to see you.”

Dick pulled himself away from Bruce’s arms and treated Alfred with the same enthusiastic greeting. Hal couldn’t help smiling at the sight of it.

Bruce turned his attention to him and instantly, Hal felt himself blushing as the older man’s dazzling blue eyes burned into him. “Jordan. Everything go okay?”

“Yep,” Hal replied brightly. “What about things on your end?” He noticed Bruce was sporting a fresh bruise on the jaw.

Bruce merely grunted in reply. Hal translated that as, “You should’ve seen the other guy,” and took that to mean that everything went as smoothly as one could expect.

“Well, I guess you’ll no longer be needing me,” said Hal, getting up off the floor. “Bye, Dick.”

“Bye, Hal,” said the kid with a wave. “Try not to get into too much trouble without me. And don’t forget to charge your ring.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Hal turned to Bruce sheepishly, who was eyeing them both suspiciously. “Kids and their audacity these days, amiright?”

Bruce said nothing in reply.

As Hal packed up all his things and was just about to leave, Bruce caught him in the hall.

“You sure nothing happened this weekend?” Bruce asked him in an almost accusatory tone.

Hal kept his voice light and casual. “Nope. It was quite dull actually. No accidents, no injuries, certainly no kidnappings.” He let out an awkward laugh. Damnit. He was a terrible liar.

But if Bruce could see through Hal’s shitty lies, he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he said, “Thank you, Hal. I really appreciated this. Dick seems to like you as well.”

Hal shrugged but couldn’t stop the smile from spreading to his lips. “Yeah, well, your son’s a great kid.”

“I know that,” said Bruce.

Hal arched a brow. “Does he know you know that?”

“Are you giving me parenting advice, Jordan?”

Hal held his hands up. “God, no. Don't ever come to me for parenting advice.”

Now it was Bruce’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “I thought you were great with kids.”

Hal waved him off. “Well, I’m leaving now. Don't call me in for the next JL mission. I want a nice long nap.”

The corners of Bruce’s lips quirked, and Hal prided himself on getting an almost-smile out of the Batman. “Goodbye, Jordan. Thanks again. And take care of yourself.”

Hal turned away so that Bruce couldn’t see the loony grin that took up half his face. “You too. I’ll see you around, Spooky.”

END.