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From a young age, Hal Jordan had his eyes glued to his wrist. Well, he had them glued to his wrist after each interaction with someone else that could be his soulmate, waiting for the number here to change.
His eagerness to see the 0 on his skin morph into new numbers made his parents laugh. The numbers on their skin kept changing, and there were now eight of them.
They had met in primary school and started dating in high school. It was no wonder that little Hal Jordan was certain that each girl that said “hi” to him was going to start up his counter. It was even worse when the new boy triggered Will’s counter in eighth grade and Hal realized that his options weren’t limited to girls.
In high school, his desire for a soulmate had weakened. Having a soulmate hadn’t saved his Dad. Jessie Marks didn’t have any number on his arm, not even the customary zero of people who hadn’t met their soulmate yet, and it didn’t seem to bother him much.
His successive girlfriends and boyfriends didn’t mind, and some of them have progressing numbers on their skin. Hal had never dared to ask if they were cheating on their soulmates or if their relationship with them was platonic. Maybe they had just exchanged a few words with them and didn’t know who it was. It happened.
Sometimes people would trigger your counter and you would only realize hours later.
That was what happened to Hal. It happened the day he had met what would become the Justice League. He had gone to some bar in the evening and met a pretty woman who had been ditched by her date.
They had talked for a bit and shared a drink or two. She had talked him into coming to her place. She had made some coffee and Hal had complimented her on her decorative tastes.
She had laughed, saying her ex-girlfriend was the one who deserved the compliment - she was a young designer.
It was obvious where the evening was going to end but Hal really enjoyed talking with Inez. They had been laughing for a good half hour when she pushed Hal’s jacket off his shoulders.
He wrapped his arms around her and -
“Hal !” the woman winced.
“Sorry,” he said, massaging her skin where he had held her too tight. “You’re okay ?”
Inez backed away a bit, putting some distance between them. Her stance was a bit tense.
“My neighbour knows I’ve taken a guy home and she’s a cop. If I scream, you can be sure she’ll be here in five seconds. Also, I have been taking self-defense classes and I am rather good at it,” she said. “Maybe it’s better if you leave.”
Hal looked quite puzzled.
“What ? Oh. I am really sorry, but I didn’t mean to hold you like this, I just realized that my counter had started up !” he explained.
Inez looked frankly relieved and genuinely pleased.
“You did ? That’s great !” she said, smiling.
Hal looked at his arm again.
“Could it be you ?” he asked.
It would be great. She was nice, pretty and she seemed to like him. She shook her head in rejection.
“Oh no, Hal. Mine stopped when I was in college. And look, yours doesn’t change even if I am speaking to you,” she said, pointing at his arm.
Indeed, the black 104 hadn’t moved an inch. Hal wondered if he should offer his condolences. He opted for a light squeeze of her knee.
“It’s fine. We haven’t known each other for long when he overdosed.”
She had folded her sleeve. A 1813 was written on her naked skin.
“Do you want more coffee ?” she asked before covering it.
Hal felt embarrassed. His cheeks had turned pink. He had created this weird situation, and it was not easy to navigate for either of them. They were near strangers sharing intimate information.
“Is it your polite way to ask me to leave ? I can, if you want to,” he offered.
Inez tilted her head.
“Don’t you want to ? You have a soulmate to meet.”
Hal could almost see the interrogation mark in her eyes. He smiled at her.
“I don’t know who they are. Maybe I’ll never meet them again. I liked spending time with you, though. If you’ll have me, I’d like to stay for a bit.”
That was how Hal had ended up in a short-lived relationship with a woman who wasn't his soulmate.
It was days later when he realized the numbers had changed. 129.
It took him some time to realize that his soulmate was part of the League. 151. 183. 200. 208. The changes happened after their meetings and fights. Well, during probably but Hal couldn't really check his wrist back then.
Not long after, he noticed that his conversations with his soulmate were expanding. The number of words per League event was increasing.
Strange. He hadn't noticed having more interactions with anyone. Well, of course there was his occasional fight with Bruce and him ranting about it to Barry afterwards.
Oh. It was obvious ! Barry. It made sense.
Well, if Hal found out, Barry will. Soon, probably. Maybe it was best to let him figure it out so he didn't freak out.
Weeks passed. A month. Two.
Hal didn’t mind. Extensive stays in space had made him more patient than he used to be.
Hal and Bruce argued in League meetings and sometimes in the field. Hal bitched about it in Barry's flat in front of a match with a beer and a pizza. Hal looked at his wrist in the shower when he went home. The numbers grew. It was a bit repetitive but Hal didn’t really mind.
He tried to pay attention to any hint Barry could drop about them being soulmates but the speedster never said anything. Their friendship kept growing comfortably, so Hal didn’t say anything.
He thought he could just wait but it had been nearly ten months - nearly five of them that Hal had spent off Earth - since he had figured it out now. Barry was an intelligent man, he should have caught up by now.
The curious thing was, Hal didn't feel as much as he should for his soulmate. Barry liked spending time with him and sharing anecdotes or laughing at something or another.
Everything was nice and friendly between them but Hal didn't yearn for him when he was off planet. If anything, what Hal missed the most when he was in space was his petty fights with Bruce.
His competitive streak was acting up, probably.
It was a stupid thing to miss and made Hal feel a bit like a masochist. It would be more normal to miss Barry's smile or something.
One day, when they were back at Hal’s place after a meeting, he decided to voice his thoughts.
"Barry, I think we're soulmates," he said.
His best friend would have spilled his beer if his reactions weren’t so quick. He turned to Hal, who was studying his features.
"Are you drunk ?" he asked, and maybe he was a bit concerned.
Or amused.
"No !" Hal protested.
Barry showed his wrist to Hal. The only visible number on it was a 0. It hadn’t started up yet. He still had to meet his soulmate.
"I don't know what gave you the idea, but we're not."
Hal looked confused. Truth is, he was - he had been absolutely certain that Barry was his soulmate, and hadn’t stopped for a second to think of anyone else who could be.
"But it's a member of the League. The numbers are increasing and I always go to you when I argue with Bruce, it has to be you ! There's no one else I speak so much with," Hal whined in confusion, his head between his hands.
Barry was looking at the ceiling, maybe praying for exterior help in this situation. Hal nudged him to elicit an answer from him, maybe a lead. Or a piece of advice.
"Oh my God, Hal. You know that denial isn't just a river in Egypt, hum ? Hopefully he's not as dense as you," Barry said, ruffling Hal’s hair.
"He ? It could be a woman."
Barry laughed for two minutes full, holding his ribs, before he was able to talk again.
"Pretty sure it's a man under this cowl, though," he said, hiccuping.
Oh ! That was why - Hal laughed too.
"Bruce isn't my soulmate."
Barry looked dead serious now, and that worried Hal quite a lot.
"You could have fooled me."
Hal’s heartbeat paused.
“What do you mean ?”
“I thought you knew. The amount of time you talk about him is insane, Hal.”
Hal shrugged, his cheeks coloring.
“Not my fault if he’s infuriating," he mumbled.
Barry’s gaze was too piercing and knowing for his comfort.
“Maybe he’ll be less infuriating if he wasn’t so infuriated.”
Hal threw him a dark look.
“Ah ah, very funny.”
Barry sighed.
“Just saying, you should talk to Bruce.”
“Yeah, not happening.”
There was a League meeting, two weeks after that. Hal had put off his glove so he could see the marked skin of his wrist. He couldn’t help but feel like he should test Barry’s theory, at least to prove him wrong. Also, ruling out this possibility would make him feel far better.
Soon enough, Bruce - who must have a radar for wandering minds - turned to Hal.
“Jordan, could you pay attention for once ?”
Hal blinked as he distinctly saw the numbers change. He looked at Bruce and back at his wrist, half hidden by the table.
Bruce must have followed his gaze and noticed the naked skin because he took a sharp intake of breath.
“Whatever is bothering you, we can talk about it later. Back to today’s invasion -”
It was another excruciating fifteen minutes before the end of the meeting. Bruce had kept his eyes - well, lenses - on Hal the whole time. He must have felt that Hal’s instinct was screaming to him to run and that Hal wasn’t above following it.
After the meeting, Bruce gestured to Hal to follow him. Hal did, not certain that having this discussion in Bruce’s quarters was going to make it easier.
“Wait for me,” Bruce instructed before walking in a closet.
Hal looked around. The room seemed purely functional. A bed, a desk - with locked drawers to keep sensible files, certainly - with a chair, a coffee-maker and two cups on a small table with another chair.
Hal sat on the edge of the bed. It was where Bruce found him when he came back, in ordinary - well, as ordinary as a two thousands dollar suit could get - clothes. He hadn’t put a jacket on and had rolled up his sleeves. Hal tried not to drool. Bruce seldom looked aware of how beautiful he was.
“Is the mattress to your taste ?” the business man asked.
Hal didn’t even blush.
“Changing took you longer than I expected, Narcissus.”
Bruce laughed and sat next to Hal but kept some distance between them.
“You’re still in uniform.”
Hal hadn’t realized. He changed back into his clothes - a simple T-shirt and jeans. He couldn’t help looking at his wrist. It wasn’t the same number it had been when Bruce had left the room. Bruce caught his gaze.
“We need to talk about this," he said gently.
He showed his own wrist to Hal in a trusting move the man wasn’t sure what to do with.
“I know,” Hal had said after a few seconds had passed, more to see Bruce’s skin react than to grant him an answer.
+ 2 words. Hal shuddered. He was the one who did this. It was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.
“I really thought you knew,” Bruce said.
It wasn’t a really good icebreaker, but casual conversations about feelings weren’t really Bruce’s area.
“Because you did. Had for quite sometimes now,” Hal realized.
Well, Bruce was a detective. Wouldn’t do to miss that.
“I only was certain after the second League meeting.”
Hal hated having such a good memory, because he was almost certain Bruce hadn’t talked much this time because himself had been yelling accusations at him. The numbers on Bruce must have skyrocketed.
“It was what ? Eleven months ago ?”
“Something like that,” Bruce shrugged, but Hal wouldn’t be surprised if he could tell him the exact number of days.
“And couldn’t you have said anything ?”
They weren’t really skilled at peaceful conversations. Hal was often too accusatory and Bruce always pressed the wrong buttons.
“At first, I didn’t have enough data to know for certain that you were trustworthy -”
Hal jumped at that.
“I am your soulmate, of course I am trustworthy, you bastard !”
“Being my soulmate doesn’t make you a good man. Your actions and motivations do. I needed time to analyze then. Anyway, third months in, I thought you must have figured it out - our fights were getting worse and surely the distance that space provided made you yearn for your soulmate.”
Hal sat back, crossing his arms.
“You mean you. You’re my soulmate.”
Bruce nodded. A few seconds passed.
“I understand that you’ll have made another choice if you could but I thought that yearning for your soulmate was as inevitable as breathing. I didn’t realize you wouldn’t feel what I did,” Bruce said.
He wasn’t looking at Hal but something in his bearing felt strange. He looked defeated somehow. Well, it had been a long day, and a long meeting after that.
“I did feel - something. I have been thinking that Barry was my soulmate for quite some time. I talk to him when you and I have a fight, and when I went back home, the numbers kept having changed, so it was an easy mistake to make. And I -”
Bruce made a vague gesture. Hal stopped speaking, looking at him quizzically, but Bruce refused to make eye contact.
“Please, spare me your touching love story with the Flash,” he said, his tone colder than necessary.
Hal tilted his head back and laughed.
“You’re really full of shit. What I was trying to say was that I couldn’t get why I wished I was fighting with you instead of wishing to spend time with my soulmate. It makes sense now.”
Bruce looked at him then, and Hal had that strange feeling that made him feel like Bruce could see his naked soul just looking into his eyes. It was disturbing to say the least.
“And stop doing like I think having you for a soulmate is a curse. It was a bit of a shock at first, and I am not saying I am totally comfortable with that, but hey you’re in the League and know about my double identity, which is a real comfort," he added.
Hal hadn’t been very enthusiastic at the idea of breaking it up to his soulmate. It was more than many could bear, at least Bruce could understand that life.
Bruce raised to his feet and went to lean against the wall. Overdramatic idiot. Probably spent too much time intimidating villains to act normally during conversations.
“I am glad to be convenient," he said, and there was again a sharp edge to his tone.
Hal smirked.
“Come on, Bruce. What were you expecting from me ? A love confession, maybe ?”
Bruce glared at him but didn’t say a word. He had crossed his arms. Hal got distracted by the displayed muscles there for a few seconds.
“You know what ? Just get out. This conversation is over. I am tired, you’re tired and we should go back home before we say things we’ll regret.”
Bruce rarely minced his words with Hal and the pilot wondered what made him hesitate instead of twisting the knife in the wound as he usually did.
“Wait, you were the one who wanted to talk about being soulmates, not me - what made you change your mind ? Was it something I said ? I don’t think - oh. Wait, you’re in -” a single look at Bruce convinced him to not dig further. “I - I’ll go. Good night.”
All things considered, Hal felt bad for Bruce. He wondered what his soulmate had done after their conversation that night. If he had called Clark, maybe. But a hurt Bruce calling his best friend to talk about his feelings seemed as unlikely as flying pigs.
Well, with what Hal had seen since he had had the ring, flying pigs were at least ten times more likely.
Hal himself had hesitated to talk to his own best friend about it, and Hal was well more emotionally adjusted than Bruce. So he had manned up and talked to Barry about it when they met next, a few days later, leaving out the part about Bruce’s feelings.
“Did it go any further than that ?” Barry had asked.
“What ?”
“All this pent-up tension… I think there’s a betting pool run by Ollie for when you two will do something about it.”
Hal looked at his hands, tracing the apparent veins with his mind.
“That’s… Not funny.”
Barry covered his hand gently.
“Indeed, you don’t seem to be in a laughing mood. Hal, you guys fight every time. I am sure he’ll come around, whatever it is about.”
“I just - I don’t know what to do about all this," Hal groaned.
Barry put a comforting arm around his shoulders, and Hal leaned on him for a bit. He was a really good friend and Hal would never thank him enough for it.
“A bit much to process, eh ? I am sure it will be fine. Under his high and mighty airs, Bruce is a great guy and I know he’s not good at communicating and at apologizing, but you know he cares even when he doesn’t show it.”
“I appreciate that you assumed that it was him and not I who did something wrong like the good friend you are but that’s just not true. I messed things up.”
“What ? Did you kiss him ? I didn’t think he would object.”
Hal looked horrified at the idea.
“No ! Why would you think that I had done that ?”
“You’re into guys and Bruce is a handsome guy. Seemed logical. Did I mention the obvious crush you have on him, by the way ?” Barry said.
“I don’t !”
“Sure. Whatever you say.”
Hal thought about the past few months. About how all his fights with Bruce had turned more constructive and less petty. About how the yelling had diminished. About Bruce’s laugh and his eyes and the way he looked at Hal sometimes.
“Shit. I have a phone call to make.”
Depending on this conversation, he may have to call the Guardians and request to be assigned to another sector. However, it went better than Hal expected, meaning Bruce had just grunted Wayne Manor’s address to him when he asked to talk to him about a personal matter - which both knew meant soulmates - as soon as possible.
His nerves would have killed him if they had set this in a few days time.
Bruce was waiting for him in one of the living-rooms - apparently, rich people needed more than one but Hal couldn’t get what for - and looked up from the files he had with him when Hal entered the room. Hal thanked Alfred to have guided him here and they were left alone.
Bruce closed his files, stood up and greeted him with a handshake.
“Jordan. You wanted to talk,” he said immediately, going straight to the point.
He was in day clothing and Hal’s eyes stopped a second too long on his collarbone.
“Uh, yes.”
“What is it ?” Bruce prompted him, inviting him to sit in one of the comfortable armchairs.
Hal refused silently.
“You remember, the other night - “
“How could I forget ?” Bruce muttered.
Hal touched his wrist nervously.
“Be a dear and don’t interrupt me. Contrary to you, I know how to apologize when my behavior has been quite appaling. So, first thing first, I -”
Bruce stopped him before he went further.
“I'm a big boy, I can live with hurt feelings.” he said through gritted teeth.
Hal tutted, and Bruce’s impression of being treated like a child only increased.
“What did I say about interruptions ? So yes, I am sorry, I really am and I hope you’ll find it in yourself to forgive me.”
Bruce opened his mouth.
“Shh,” Hal said, but he didn’t know if Bruce shut his mouth because of this or because of the finger he had put on his lips in an incredibly intimate gesture.
Or maybe it was because of their newfound closeness. It made Hal nervous too.
Damn impulsive moves. Hal was used to trusting his instinct, but this time it seemed plain wrong.
“Yes, well, that wasn’t the only thing I wanted to say. You stunned me back then and I didn’t - this conversation is awful. I can’t find the right words for what I want to say. Can we do a 'too long, didn’t listen' thing ?”
Bruce just kept looking at him, brow furrowed. Hal resisted the urge to smooth the wrinkles away with his fingers.
“I thought about what you said. Well, didn’t say but you get what I am saying. I found out that my feelings weren’t what I thought they were. I might be in love with you or close enough. And I - if you want us to try for a couple relationship, I’d like that,” Hal said in a breath.
Bruce hadn’t visibly reacted to his little speech. Hal envied the man’s poker face.
“You talked to Allen.”
And that would be what Bruce focused on.
“About your feelings ? No. About mine ? Absolutely. We can’t all bury our feelings and sit on them waiting for them to kill us or something," Hal said.
Bruce’s face relaxed.
“You’re insufferable.”
Hal laughed.
“And you’re not ?”
Bruce shook his head with fond exasperation. It was an expression Hal had often seen on Bruce’s face when he was consterned but he had never noticed before the fondness beneath it.
“I’d like to. Try this couple thing,” Bruce said after a few moments of companionable silence.
“I am impressed by your self-control. I thought you’ll be swooning, at the very least. Or maybe call Clark to giggle with him about your new boyfriend.”
“My self-control is rather thin when you’re concerned. You better not try it.”
Hal looked thoughtful for a few seconds, his eyes sparkling.
“What are the risks ?” he asked, taking Bruce’s large hand into his.
Bruce leaned a bit and whispered :
“Currently ? To be dragged into the master bedroom and not allowed to leave until morning.”
Hal licked his lips. Bruce’s eyes followed his tongue.
“My schedule is clear,” Hal said, pulling on his sleeve to bring him closer.
Bruce stroked his cheek.
“We can take this slow.”
Hal nodded, before kissing him.
“Yeah. We should. Where’s your bedroom ?”