Chapter Text
Sometimes, Hal Jordan was persuaded some divine entity from a galaxy or another hated his guts and made his life miserable on purpose.
It was exactly what he was thinking as the Dlivan queen offered one of her daughters' hand to him as a thank you.
Hal had a ridiculous amount of more or less appropriate thank you gifts in a vault in OA. He didn't wish to add a wife to the collection. Especially since the prospective wife looked quite opposed to the idea.
Her eyes had turned an interesting muddy green shade and Hal doubted the subtle hiss that went out of her mouth meant compliance to her mother's wishes.
"Er thank you but I - I can't marry your princess." Hal said.
Displeased and hissing noises emanated from the crowd and Hal didn't need the translation provided by the ring to know he was upsetting the Dlivan.
Things had been going so well. Bruce and him had been welcomed warmly, the Dlivans had accepted the League's point of view on using Earth to test their experimental weapons, accepted to do their tests on some nearby planet that wasn't inhabited and signed all the right papers.
All that in less than 24 hours.
It had just been too perfect. Something had had to go wrong.
The Queen had started to explain that marrying one of her children - she had many of them - was a common way to seal treaties here and that refusing would be an offense on her and her daughter who was barely seventy years old and beautiful.
Indeed, she was young by her people's standards. It made her younger than Hal if you considered longevity.
Beautiful was also a relative term here. Hal had no doubt the translucent skin of the princess was highly praised around those parts as must be her jade colored eyes and thin sparkling hair.
As it was, Hal was more drawn to the servant standing next to her. Their opaque skin gave them a much more human appearance, as did their brownish eyes. That, and they looked more male than the princess did.
However Hal knew better than to express his opinion on the matter aloud.
"Your daughter is perfect, my Queen, and so are you. I wouldn't dare to offend such powerful people. The matter is that I already have someone." Hal said.
Bruce had moved closer to him as the Queen's tone had turned more threatening. Why did this shit have to always happen to Hal and not to him ? This was irritating.
Their hosts had started murmuring around them, too many ushered voices at once for the ring to translate what they were saying.
Fidelity was highly praised by these people. Hal remembered having been told so. He hoped he remembered well as he tried to identify the emotions in their voices.
Surprise. Wonderment. Defiance.
Some emotions that Hal couldn't even pick. Were those high clicks or low ones ? It would entirely change their meaning.
Shit. What if they didn't believe him ? Would it be considered as high treason or something ?
Hal felt himself panicking but then Bruce's arm pressing against his discreetly.
Maybe not discreetly enough because it seemed to have caught the attention of some.
"Him ?" the Queen asked.
"Me." Bruce answered, a hand falling heavily on Hal's shoulder. "My Queen." he added when Hal elbowed him lightly.
Bruce's hand on Hal's shoulder felt more like a sentence than it should have been. No doubt Bruce was quite displeased with their situation and Hal hated to think he was going to owe him.
They had been lovers in the past but not for long. Hal wondered if brief encounters for stress relief could count as a relationship. If not, he was seriously lacking in the couple relationship department. And honestly, that wasn't much of a surprise.
The Lantern life was not one for steady relationships. Or maybe it was just that Hal had never tried hard enough.
“Yes, that’s him. He’s my partner. Right, sweetheart ?” Hal said, looking at Bruce.
If he hadn’t already been certain that Bruce was on the verge of murdering him, he would have been then. All things considered, it might be safer to just stay here with the nice people of Dliva instead of spending a few hours in the Javelin with Bruce.
Excited discussions had bursted all around them.
Hal took Bruce's hand in his as a silent thank you. Bruce didn't let go, which owed him a quick glance from Hal to whom he signaled the Queen was watching them with a lightning quick head movement that Hal wasn't sure he hadn't dreamt.
The Queen dismissed them to talk to her counsellors. However, it didn't give them the opportunity to communicate - they were under heavy guard the whole time.
Fifteen minutes later, they were called back by the Queen.
"Our people couldn't let you go without proving our well-known generosity." the Queen started.
Hal would have loved to stop her then and tell her they didn't need anything but interrupting royals rarely ended well and disagreeing with them was usually even worse.
Mercifully, Bruce kept his mouth shut. Well, he was better than Hal at this game most days.
"We would like to thank you both. Please present your bare hands so we can bless you."
"Hal ?" Bruce murmured.
"Do it." Hal answered in the same tone as he got rid of his gloves in a quick motion.
Bruce took off his gauntlets slowly. He was clearly reluctant, and it showed how much he trusted Hal.
It was a nice thought. Bruce didn't trust that many people, after all.
And what could go wrong, uh ? Hal wondered so as the Queen touched each of their hands and started singing, along with her counsellors and her people.
The Queen hadn’t reigned for long and there weren’t many reports on her people - they were a rather young population. So Hal wasn’t certain what they could expect.
"Now we're going to mix your essences to perform the Miracle." the Queen said, clapping in her hands twice.
Magic. Miracles implied magic most of the time. Or intervention of a God of some sort, and that was never good news in Hal’s experience. Hal hadn’t foreseen this. There hadn’t been any hint that these people knew any magic so far. He turned toward Bruce to warn him.
Bruce seemed to perceive his tenseness and adjusted to the situation before Hal could open his mouth, taking a step forward and pushing Hal a bit backward. Hal would have protested if the feeling of dread wasn’t getting worse every second. He wasn’t a Robin Bruce had to protect.
That, and it was ineffective - Bruce couldn't offer them protection against what Hal suspected to be pure magic.
At Bruce’s sudden movements, the guards around them had seized them. Hal was thinking fast. If he used a construct now, their progress here would be null.
That and he wasn’t sure they could fight that many people.
Hal had to rectify the situation somehow. He could do that. The unexpected was his area.
“My Queen -” Hal started just as Bruce turned toward him to ask justification for his concern.
"You're going to sleep for the time it will take to perform the miracle." the Queen concluded as the nearest guards blew some powder into their faces.
Bruce and Hal could only share a quick frantic look before their knees failed them.
Half a second later, they had both fallen asleep on the rich carpets of the throne room.
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Bruce felt a pounding in his head even before he opened his eyes. He could hear a voice. Jordan's. Might as well explain the headache.
"Come on, Bruce. Wake up." Jordan was saying, and Bruce could feel hands on his face.
Gloved hands. The contact was uncomfortable. He pushed the hands away without opening his eyes. He doubted daylight would help the headache. It made Jordan laugh. What an idiot, Bruce thought.
"Hey, hey. It's me. It's Hal." he said, grabbing Bruce's hands.
I know. Bruce thought as he opened his eyes.
Only to close them again.
"You're okay ?" Hal asked gently, his hand petting Bruce's hair.
"Go away." Bruce grumbled between his teeth.
He felt nauseous.
"Not happening. I am obligated to take care of my partner. That and you've been sick ever since the Dlivans tried to wake us up."
Hal yawned then and Bruce tried opening his eyes slightly once again. Hal did look exhausted, and apparently he hadn't been sick himself.
"How long had it been ?"
Hal hesitated there for a second. Bruce didn't press him, letting him convert Dlivan time in human time.
"You've been sick for three days. You've woken up twice but you were so confused then, it isn't surprising if you don't remember. You've reacted badly to whatever they dosed us with. I'll ask for your allergies but I doubt it would be useful. I am quite certain we don't have that stuff on Earth."
"Why aren't we home already ?" Bruce asked, looking at Hal's face.
"You've been really sick, Bruce. For a while, I wasn't even certain you were going to make it. They have doctors here and I didn't want to take any chance at transportation." Hal said softly, as Bruce tried to sit up.
He pushed him back lightly. Bruce glared at him but didn't resist the light push. Hal sighed and lied down next to him on another bedding, his body turned toward Bruce.
"Just so I get this straight. The Queen of this place tried to poison us and you let her doctors poke at me ?" Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Believe it or not, I am not a specialist of diseases induced by rare alien plants." Hal said moodily. "However, I could tell that you were dying. I did my best to keep the situation under control and I know you feel unwell but with all I've been through these last days, I am not going to let you tell me I did a shitty job at taking care of you."
"I can take care of myself." Bruce mumbled, crossing his arms.
Their surroundings had started to spin when he had tried to sit up too fast and hadn't stopped yet.
"Sure." Hal said, and he muttered something else but Bruce didn't quite catch it. "You should eat and drink. It's from our own stock, I promise." Hal said, helping him in a sitting position slowly.
He opened a flask of water, cradled Bruce's head before presenting him the flask.
Bruce seized the flask and pushed Hal away. There was nobody around and no need to pretend they were a real couple.
"What is wrong with you ?" he said, taking slow sips.
"Not enough sleep." Hal said, yawning again.
Bruce rolled his eyes at him.
"I am fine, you can sleep."
"I wish but I am just going to rest for a second, here." Hal said, yawning again as Bruce took a mouthful of his ration.
He had fallen asleep before Bruce had finished eating half his portion. Bruce had prudently decided to keep the rest for later and had lied down again.
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Next time Bruce woke up, Hal was talking to a Dlivan woman at the door with animation in ushered tones.
"...can't... don't have... how... promise you we'll bring you back but you have to come with us." Bruce caught him saying before he went through a coughing fit. "My partner... take... later... Miracle." Hal said, and he handed something to the woman but Bruce was too focused on his breathing to notice what.
A second later, the woman was no longer there and Hal was at his side, rubbing his back.
"Hey. You're okay ?" Hal asked.
Bruce nodded. He felt better than he had before.
"Your fever broke. We have a few details to take care of, but if you're still feeling well I think we shouldn't delay our return any further and go back home."
Despite his words, Hal still looked as if he hadn't got any sleep.
"You should sleep instead of worrying about me." Bruce said as he took the offered water supply from Hal.
Hal laughed and shook his head. Something had changed in his gaze. Maybe it was relief at seeing Bruce well. One could always wish.
"Ah. You're not the only thing I am losing sleep over." he said, not looking at Bruce.
"So you did marry that princess ?" Bruce asked with a smirk.
"Yes, you're definitely feeling better." Hal said, shaking his head.
"And did I imagine you half threatening that woman at the door of kidnapping ? Why do you need her for ?" Bruce asked.
He really wanted to hear Hal's answer to this because he couldn't figure it out.
"I told you there are a few details we should take care of. First, you need to know that we've not been here for a few days but for months." Hal said, looking at Bruce.
"I have been sick for months ?" Bruce asked, frowning.
He hadn't felt like it. His body didn't look like it had gone through months of sickness and he didn't feel that tired. Hal shook his head, denying his assumption.
"No. The powder they used on us froze time for us. The Sleeping Beauty way. I am sorry about that. When we woke up - when I woke up, at least - , your body started reacting to the powder. You weren't in any danger before that." Hal explained.
Bruce shuddered. He didn't like the idea of being put to sleep for an uncertain duration of time. Hal looked nervous, much more than the situation he had presented so far warranted.
"There's more to it, right ? We were supposed to sleep so they could perform a miracle. What kind of miracle, Jordan ? What happened ?" Bruce asked, seizing Hal's shoulders.
Hal grimaced but Bruce wasn't certain if it was because of his request or if he had squeezed him too hard.
"I am not sure you're ready for what's next." Hal said.
"Jordan..."
Hal wasn't a coward, which could only mean the situation was quite exceptionnal and he expected Bruce to react badly to it.
"Pretty sure after that we're on a first name basis." Hal muttered before he started giggling nervously for a few seconds.
"Honestly, what could -" Bruce asked, annoyance piercing through his voice.
"Look, I know those are mind shattering news, so I want you to take a long breath and remember you were the one who decided to pretend we were an item." Hal said seriously.
"You're worrying me." Bruce answered truly.
He didn't like that Hal was taking so many precautions before updating him.
"Yeah ? I've been in that state since I've woken up." Hal said, laughing nervously again.
"What kind of nightmare had they gifted us ?" Bruce asked.
How many times would he have to ask ? At his words, Hal's gaze had clouded and Bruce noticed he had clenched his fists.
"Please never say that again. This isn't a nightmare. A strange dream, maybe, but it has never been a nightmare." Hal said.
He sounded quite defensive.
"Maybe you should be the one to take a breath."
"Believe me, you're no more ready for this than I was, and I did my best to warn you." Hal insisted.
"Come on, Jordan, that can't be that bad, just tell me."
Hal sighed.
"It's not bad. Stop saying stuff like that about -" he started saying before being interrupted.
Both him and Bruce turned toward the door when a clear voice resonated between the walls. A woman was there, with a bundle in her arms.
"Sir Lantern, I've been called by the Queen. Can I leave your miracle with you ?"
Bruce stayed very still as Hal picked up the blanketed form from the arms of the Dlivan woman and came back to him.
"You're going to find it very funny, but guess which other signification the word Dlivans use for miracle has ?" Hal asked.
"Child." Bruce said, his voice catching a bit in his throat as he looked at the tiny shape in Hal's arms.
Hal smiled at him. It was a bit tentative, but it was a smile nevertheless, with a hint of joy to it. He was happy, Bruce realized with a start.
"Yes, child. It's a girl. She's asleep for now but she has your eyes. I know it's a lot to take in so our baby girl and I are going to give you some alone time to process this, okay ?" Hal said.
His arms were full, which may explain why he kissed Bruce's forehead instead of squeezing his leg or shoulder. Anyway, that was what Bruce told himself.
"Hal, that's not..." he started saying, his eyes focused on Hal's arms and the baby they were wrapped around.
"I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have and ask our hosts when I won't be able to answer but I really think you need some time to think on your own, first." Hal said.
"What if I want to hold her before that ?" Bruce asked, crossing his arms.
"Do you ?" Hal asked, his voice guarded.
He had stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Bruce.
"Uh..." Bruce said, looking at the baby.
Did he want to ? He wasn't so certain. This wasn't really a baby, was it ? It was made by magic or something. Not completely real.
"I love her. I do. But when they told me about her, I just wanted to scream at first." Hal explained. "I wasn't given the opportunity but maybe you'd want to do that first."
"Hal, you shouldn't get too attached." Bruce warned him.
"They said she was a gift. They'll let us take her." Hal assured, smiling at the baby. "We're going to bring you home, little one."
But should they take her ? Bruce was thinking. Did she belong to Earth ? How much human was she ?
"Hey. Don't worry too much about her. I did enough worrying for us both. She's healthy and I am sure we'll manage, okay ?" Hal said. "A little miracle."
Bruce looked at the both of them, Hal and their - he couldn't say daughter, she wasn't that, she wasn't a baby really, just something put together with some alien magic - , he looked at Hal and the "miracle" he was rocking in his arms. All he could feel was heartache.