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“What’s happening here ?” Bruce asked.
A few League members were waiting in the corridor in front of the meeting room. A familiar voice was rising through the door but they couldn’t hear what the person was saying. Well, Clark probably could.
“Hal’s been shouting himself blue in the meeting room.” Barry sighed. “He's been in communication with Oa and it has been a while - I think he said it was personal when he asked us to wait outside ? It wasn’t supposed to take him long.”
Bruce sighed and made for the door.
“Wait, Bruce, I really don’t think - you shouldn’t-” Barry said, bravely attempting to prevent a third world war.
Batman ignored him and went into the room.
“My spouse.” Hal was saying in a deadly tone. “We’ve been married for eight years.”
Bruce quickly closed the door, wondering how much the others may have heard.
“Hal. What’s going on ?” he asked as he looked at the virtual three-horned creature Hal was talking to thanks to his ring.
They hadn’t seen much of each other in the morning. Hal had flights to log and Bruce had to go to a board meeting.
“Hey.” Hal said, offering him a tight smile. “You wouldn’t happen to know where our damn marriage certificate is ? Apparently there’s been a fire in the Oan Archives’ section where copies of Green Lanterns’ marital records were kept so they’re looking for every Lantern they had ever heard of and checking if they’re married or not.”
“There were only paper copies of the certificates ?” Bruce asked Hal, frowning.
Hal pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You would think it isn’t possible, in such a place. But Frizas is quite young for his species and he’s twelve years late in the numerisation process of the Archives. Should I add that he’s the one who accidentally set the fire ?”
“You seem tense, Sir. You could ask for a dissolution.” the Three-horns suggested.
Hal threw him a dirty look and Bruce placed his hand on his torso as if to prevent him from lunging at Frizas despite the fact that they were worlds apart.
“I am not getting a divorce now anymore than I did the four last times you asked these past ten minutes, thank you very much.” Hal groaned. “Frizas thinks Lanterns should marry Lanterns and have baby Lanterns.” he added for Bruce’s benefit.
“You seem frustrated.” the three-horned creature quipped.
Hal’s lips tightened and his right hand formed a fist. Bruce subtly brushed his covered arm against the side of Hal’s uniform in a soothing motion. Hal relaxed at the contact, letting their proximity anchor him.
“Frizas, can’t it wait for a week or two ? Green Lantern Hal Jordan will be in Oa then and he could bring you the certificate.”
A copy, at least. He wouldn’t trust the guy with an original of anything.
After some artful negotiations, they said their goodbyes and Hal opened the door to let other Leaguers enter the room.
“Everything’s settled ?” Clark asked Bruce in a low tone as he took a seat next to him.
Bruce tilted his head in Hal’s direction. His husband seemed to take notice and answered with a discreet nod as he kept chatting lightly with Diana and Dinah.
Hal had left the Watchtower to give a hand to Oliver on an operation in Star City and Bruce had chosen to stay here and get some paperwork done, since their plans for the day had been canceled in the sake of friendship.
He was starting to regret his decision. Barry and Arthur had claimed they were going to do the same but apparently none of them could write a report while silent.
“I swear he said that.” Barry insisted. “He said something about being married. He never talked to you about it ?”
“Come on, Barry. If it was anything serious, you would have been there. Maybe it’s an alien marriage he got into with a hot alien girl when he became a Lantern and he was too embarrassed to mention it.” Arthur said in a very unconcerned tone.
“Maybe you should concentrate on your work instead of speculating on Hal Jordan’s lovelife.” Bruce snapped.
Hal’s friends - and his, unfortunately - had an uncanny tendency to prove themselves to be nuisances.
“Come on, you hate not knowing things. You’ve barely reacted to the news, don’t you want to know who Hal's wife is so you can run a background check on her or something ? Or... have you already done it ? Wait, did you actually know that Hal was married ?” Arthur asked, suddenly much more interested.
Barry and him had stopped pretending they were doing any paperwork.
“I did.” Bruce hummed without sparing them a glance as he typed some more.
“You know who he is married to ?” Barry asked.
He looked curiously hopeful. Bruce collected information on everyone but he wasn’t the kind of man who would share them. Especially this one.
“It’s a conversation you should have with him, not me,” he said.
And one he needed to have with Hal too. They wouldn’t be able to keep their relationship secret for much longer. Leaguers were nosy.
“You want us to respect Hal’s privacy. You ? You probably know the color of his toothbrush.” Arthur snorted.
Bruce barely refrained from saying that he did, but not for the reasons they would have expected.
A few days later, they had all been invited to Barry's for an informal League reunion.
Jessica had been running late and when the doorbell rang, Hal had offered to get the door and they’ve started chatting lightly in the vestibule.
“You’re wearing a ring.” Jessica said, frowning, when he helped her out of her coat.
Hal was forced to notice that she was right. Hal was spending a few days in Gotham before his next mission and he had taken a couple of days off to spend them with Bruce at the Manor, which meant he had been wearing his wedding ring on his hand and not under his clothes around his neck.
Apparently the news hadn’t spread as fast as Hal had thought they would when Bruce had told him about the discussion he had witnessed between Barry and Arthur. He wondered briefly if Bruce had bribed them or if they had been too busy to share the news with the rest of the League.
“Well, you too. We tend to do that.” he said casually.
Jessica rolled her eyes at him.
“Not your Lantern ring. Is it -”
“Ah. I don’t suppose you’ve heard about my recent interest in jewelry ?”
He could hear Bruce laughing at something a woman - Dinah, he thought - had said from another room. He made his way to the living-room, Jess on his heels.
“Is it -” Jessica asked in a soft tone, but there was no need for it.
It was kind of her but they were surrounded by especially observant people, he doubted any of them had missed the piece of metal circling his ring finger. He was surprised nobody had said a word before. Maybe it was because nobody had had an occasion to corner him yet.
He met Bruce’s inquisitive eyes for a second, waited for an encouraging nod, and spoke up as the other guests greeted Jessica.
“I happen to be married.” Hal said, loudly enough for the conversations to stop. “So yes, it’s a wedding band.” he said, showing his left hand to the assembly.
There were a few murmurs and Hal knew he would have to deal with the hurt look on Barry’s face and the displeased one on Oliver’s, but it could wait.
For now, they could just enjoy the day.
“You could have told me I was still wearing it.” he told Bruce later, looking down at his wedding ring as he climbed in their bed.
“Um.” Bruce said, feigning to keep reading a report of some sort.
“You wanted them to see it. Which new recruit was looking at me a bit too appreciatively for your taste ?” Hal asked, shaking his head.
“That ring just happens to look good on you.” Bruce answered.
“And ?” Hal asked, kissing his neck and Bruce threw the report on the nearby nightstand.
“And I may have overheard Jessica telling Barry she thought you and her new colleague would make a lovely couple.”
He could feel Hal’s lips stretched into a smile against his skin.
“How long before they find out, do you think ?” he murmured, peeling Bruce’s t-shirt off.
“Not much longer, I assume.” Bruce said, kissing Hal.
Actually, Hal’s closest friends left him alone for two weeks before staging some sort of intervention on day 4 of his return from Oa.
Oliver had suggested they went for drinks to celebrate Hal's return, which wasn't unusual. However, the questioning that followed was very much not their usual.
Bruce seldom joined the other Leaguers in their outings - he and Hal had other ways to celebrate and he was a busy man - but he had had a bad feeling about that one and thought Hal may need some support.
He wasn't wrong. They hadn't finished their first beer when the questioning started.
“Hal, the other day at Barry’s, you said you were married, did you mean -” Oliver started saying.
“The whole thing, with an officiant and rings and stuff ? Absolutely. I’ve signed papers and everything.” Hal said, crossing his arms.
All his friends had their eyes on him and it was quite unnerving. Especially since he could see Bruce reacting at his uncomfort, his hand twitching - his husband wanted to reach out and he couldn't, and Hal knew it must kill him on the inside.
Hal tried to convey to him that things were okay with his eyes but he knew Bruce was only minutes away from extracting him from the room, discretion be damned.
“Okay, but is it real ? I mean, was it for practical reasons or - are you kind of trapped in this ? Maybe we could help you - “ Oliver insisted.
Hal pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes before dignifying his friend with an answer.
“Wow I can’t even tell you how wrong you are. I am happily married. Very happily. There’s nothing practical about my marriage, believe me. I am married because I wanted to be, and I am still very much in love with my spouse.” Hal said.
He had paused to look at each of his friends. They all looked either surprised or doubtful. Well, not Clark, who was strategically silent and Bruce, who looked… not so concerned anymore. He looked like he was going to lean over the table, grab Hal by the collar of his jacket and kiss him senseless.
“I am sorry if we offended you in some way but you’ve never hinted at being married before, so we thought maybe something was off with your marriage.” Dinah said.
Most of the people around the table seemed to agree with her.
“Nothing’s wrong with my marriage, stop making stupid assumptions about it.” Hal growled.
“Well apparently it had been going on for some time and we didn’t know about your wife, so it wasn’t so wild of an assumption to make. Does she even know about the Lantern stuff ?” Barry pointed out.
The worst of it was that Hal could see the care and concern behind his friends' reasonings. Maybe it had been a mistake not to be more open about his marriage with his friends.
“Look, things are not always like they seem.” Hal said in a quieter tone.
Barry grimaced but didn't say anything, taking another sip of his beer instead. Oliver just wasn't as tactful.
“You can’t keep that kind of secret from someone you’re married to, unless you don’t want that marriage to last. Making your marriage a dirty little secret doesn’t help. Does anyone even know you’re married ? Does your spouse want anyone to know you’re married ?” Oliver said.
“Enough.” Bruce said quietly but it didn't stop Oliver.
"All I am saying is, that someone who would care about you wouldn't -"
“Enough !” Bruce yelled and Oliver finally shut up.
Bruce was livid and Hal… Hal wasn't sure what to make of the whole mess.
“Apologize.” Hal's husband exiged from Oliver in a low tone that was more Batman's than Bruce's.
Hal finally found his words again.
“Bruce, this isn’t necessary.” he said in a soft tone.
“I said, apologize.” Bruce growled.
He was standing now, his hands flat on the table. He looked magnificent, Hal thought briefly before focusing on finding a way to deescalate the situation but Oliver's tongue was quicker than anyone's brains, including his own.
“We were only asking Hal important questions about his mysterious marriage. And who do you think you are ? Hal can tell us if he’s uncomfortable.”
Bruce was now shaking with anger.
“You’re interrogating my husband about our marriage. He told you it was a love match and you tried to twist our relationship into something it was not. I refuse to watch and stay silent as you pretend that my husband doesn’t mean the world to me. “
“Wait, you’re married to Bruce ?” Oliver asked.
“I am.” Hal said, looking at Bruce with a soft smile and reaching over the table to put a calming hand on his. “What of it ?” he added when he noticed the shift in the atmosphere of the room.
“Hal, you’re joking, right ? Bruce ?” Oliver said.
Hal squeezed his husband's hand.
"Yes, Bruce. Your friend. The man I love. Our marriage is not up for discussion."
"Let's go home." Bruce said quietly.
Hal had not noticed until then that his own hand, the one not wrapped around Bruce's, had turned into a fist.
Hal nodded and they shared some terse goodbyes with their friends. It wasn't all bad, though. Clark clapped Hal's shoulder and he saw Dinah squeezing Bruce's arm.
Back at the Manor, Bruce had avoided him until they went to bed.
“I am sorry.” he had eventually said when Hal had let his head rest against his shoulder, a hand stroking his husband's hair.
“Bruce, what are you even sorry for ?" Hal sighed.
Bruce apologized for things he wasn't responsible for on a semi-regular basis and didn't even open his mouth for apologies he should really make.
“I know you didn't want to tell them that way. I fucked this up for you.”
Hal sat in the bed and Bruce imitated him.
“You didn’t. Bruce, look at me. You didn’t, okay ?” Hal said, cupping his face.
“I shouldn’t have risen to the bait. I shouldn’t have told them we were married.” Bruce said, looking away.
“It’s fine, Bruce. They would have found out, sooner or later.” Hal said, stroking the tense jaw of his husband.
Bruce's eyes finally met his.
“But we could have prepared them better. My outburst -”
He was stopped by Hal's lips on his.
“Was a very public and sweet love declaration. Oh, I am angry that you didn’t let me handle this when it was so blatantly my problem to deal with but defending the people you love is in your nature. Expressing your feelings in public, very much less so, so I appreciate the effort. That was worth it just to see their faces. And Bruce ?” Hal said, letting his hands wander on his husband's torso.
“Yes ?” Bruce asked in a raspy voice.
“It would take much more than that for me to doubt your love for me. Or mine for you, for instance." Hal said. "But since actions speak louder than words, let me show you how much I mean it." he whispered in Bruce's ear.
Barely two weeks later, the Manor’s bell had rang and Hal had gotten the door since he had never gotten used to having a butler to do it for him and he had frozen on his own doorstep.
“Just give me a minute.” he had said very rigidly before shutting the door in his closest friends’ face.
He took a deep breath and went to find his husband. Bruce had stopped working and was on his feet the second he saw Hal's face.
"Are you okay ?" he asked, grabbing Hal's elbows.
“Bruce, could you have forgotten to tell me why you asked me to keep my schedule clear for today by any chance ?” Hal had asked, pinching his nose.
“Our guests are already here ? I thought having them over would be nice.” Bruce said.
Hal was quite certain he meant that he had thought it would please Hal, not that it was something he had planned to enjoy himself. Bruce's selfless actions weren't always pleasant for the people involved.
“So they insult our marriage and you invite them to our home to offer them a more intimate view of it ? Your mind is such an interesting place, babe."
Hal’s opinion on Bruce’s mind was usually quite complimentary but at this moment “interesting” seemed to have a bad connotation attached to it.
“You don’t approve.” Bruce said, frowning.
Hal just knew he was wondering what he had done wrong here and sighed. Of course Bruce had only wanted to help, which was going to lead to an excessively awkward situation. Well, he was well aware of Bruce’s faults when he had married him.
“I - I don’t want them to tarnish what we have. You know it was one of the reasons I wanted our marriage to be a quiet affair in the first place. And they did just that.” Hal told him.
He had always feared their reactions to the news, he had known they would be judgemental about it and when it had indeed happened, he had felt hurt.
Some of the hurt must have showed on his face, since Bruce had wrapped his arms around his waist gently.
“I just want to give them a chance to see it the way it really is.” he told Hal.
Hal wasn't sure he could bear more judgment from their friends, especially inside their home. It was a safe place for them. He didn't want Bruce to get insulted in their own house.
“I get that, but what if they don’t ? Also, have you ever heard of heads-up ?” Hal said, bumping his forehead lightly with Bruce's.
“I didn’t want you to get nervous.” Bruce said.
“It’s a success.” Hal said, laughing against his ear.
“If they don’t see our marriage for what it is, maybe we should just get better friends.” Bruce said, and Hal nodded.
That was how they had ended up telling their friends the story behind their relationship.
“Maybe you could tell us more about you two, if you want ?” Dinah had asked.
“What do you want to know ?” Hal had answered, sharing a side glance with Bruce.
Their hands brushed against each other as Bruce picked up his glass.
“How long have you been together ?” Barry asked.
He had expected this question. He also knew that their friends may have not realized they had been together for a while. Their ease around each other had already raised some eyebrows. Hal hadn't been as conscious of how much they touched each other casually since the start of their relationship. Everytime Bruce's arm had brushed against his side, every time he had moved around Bruce and let his hand rest on Bruce's hip or his side for less than a second he had felt their friends' gazes on them. The scrutiny was making Hal nervous and jumpy.
He itched to touch Bruce like he normally did here. Bruce spared him a single look before he made his way to Hal and sat next to him. He had put his hand down on his knee. Hal's hand went to cover it.
"Do you want me to answer that one ?" Bruce asked when someone cleared their throat.
“No, it's fine." Hal said, shaking his head to regain his composure as he started drawing patterns on his husband's hand and looked back at their friends. "It’s just that it's a complicated question. We've been more or less together since the beginning ? I mean, it wasn’t anything serious at first. And we did break up quite a few times before we got tired of it and planned for something a bit more permanent.” Hal said, looking down at Bruce's hand now intertwined with his.
Bruce's ring caught the light and Hal brought it to his lips on impulse.
“Break-up number 3 was entirely on you.” Bruce reminded him.
It kind of was. Hal had started to realize he was falling in love with Bruce and promptly freaked out. The memory of it made him smile. They had been so young.
“Sure, babe. Whatever you say. Bruce proposed about eight years ago. We broke up one last time right after. I know, Spooky. This one was on me too but hey, you’re at the very least partly to blame for all the others. It took me six months apart from Bruce and a very close call on a mission to admit I should have said yes straight away and we got married on Oa when I was fully recovered from that mission.”
“Wait, that close call - you’re talking about the time you were called for back-up on that small planet that was used as a battlefield by two bigger planets and you got hurt so badly you stayed on Oa for four months or something to recover afterwards ? It was ages ago ! You’ve been married for all this time ?” Barry said.
“Yes. ” Bruce said, his leg pressing against Hal's, who had turned silent again.
"It was ages ago." Barry repeated, emptying his glass in one go.
Bruce's hand was now warming the back of Hal's neck.
“You’ve been together for more than ten years ?” Diana asked.
She hadn't emitted any judgment until then but she now looked quite nonplussed too. Bruce rubbed his eyes with his free hand and Hal finally spoke.
“Since we didn’t marry right away… Well, of course it was sort of an on and off relationship at first, but yes, I am quite certain it’s been a few years more than that, actually.” he said, clearing his throat.
"So you were together for that mission where you pretended to be married ?" Dinah asked in a lighter tone as Bruce poured more wine into their guests' glasses.
"Yes. Our marriage certificate was as legal as they get." Hal confirmed.
"Wait, you were a married couple pretending to be a non-married couple who pretended to be married ?" Oliver said slowly.
Hal smirked.
"It was a great vacation." he said and Bruce hummed his agreement.
"You had to prevent an intergalactic war and almost got beheaded for treason for your efforts." Diana reminded them.
"The keyword here is almost." Hal said, shrugging.
"Wait, you were already married that time I insisted to bunk with you so you wouldn't murder Bruce in his sleep." Barry intervened.
Hal laughed frankly, his head thrown back. Such a joyful sound. Bruce couldn't help but smile in his glass as he watched his husband's amusement relaxing his features. Hal looked so handsome. He caught Bruce watching him and offered him a soft smile before turning toward the rest of his audience.
"Yes. It took me some time to find the humor in the situation, to be honest. I had been on a mission right before and I hadn't seen Bruce for a long time and I considered murdering you in your sleep for offering." Hal said.
"You weren't there in the morning. You said something about going for a walk." Barry continued.
"Did I ?" Hal said, raising a cocky eyebrow.
"Bruce was the walk, right ?" Barry sighed.
"It was our fifth anniversary and my husband was two rooms away." Hal said, shrugging, his hand playing with the hair at Bruce's nape.
"Hal." Bruce murmured.
A warning. They weren't alone and he was two seconds away to kiss him senseless in front of their friends. Hal wisely let his hand drop on the sofa.
"Did you know ?" Oliver asked Clark.
Superman had yet to comment on Bruce and Hal's years-long secret marriage.
"I wasn't told." Clark said uneasily. "I figured it out. I mean, I knew they were seeing each other, not that they were married."
Well, he knew they parented Tim and Damian together but Bruce knew it was in their best interest to not mention it.
Clark didn't elaborate more. Hal did, a little.
"He walked on us in the Watchtower's showers." he said.
They had been between break-up 3 and break up 4, then, and so eager to touch each other before Hal left for an undetermined period.
The second time he had walked on them, maybe five years later, it was in the Manor and they had been fully dressed and asleep on the couch, limbs entangled. Bruce's eyes had fluttered open, he had taken notice of the Kryptonian in his living-room and told him to go away before burying his head against Hal's torso and going back to sleep.
Apparently Bruce had never mentioned it to Hal. It was possible that he only remembered this as a vague dream himself.
“How did you manage to hide it for that long ? The tabloids have never found out ?”
“We’re married by Oan law. It makes our marriage legal anywhere else in space but it won’t appear on Earth records, which is best for our secret identities.” Hal explained. "And I don't accompany Bruce on public outings in Gotham. Trust me, it's no hardship."
“How was the wedding ?” Jessica asked.
“We had to remind the officiant that we were human and that we couldn’t let fire bond us if we didn’t want to end up with first degree burns.” Bruce said dryly.
“Shut up, it was amazing.” Hal said, smiling.
Bruce couldn't resist it. He kissed Hal briefly in front of all of them.
“It was.”
They shared secretive smiles.
“If you ever marry, Jess, make it an Oan wedding. It’s worth it.” Hal told her.
“Oh yes ?” Jessica asked politely.
“If you like being thrown mud at by strangers, are not afraid of bathing in green glowing lakes and don’t mind signing your wedding papers naked, it’s absolutely perfect.” Bruce approved.
“You forgot to mention the moonlight.”
“How could I ? You looked amazing under the moonlight.” Bruce murmured and Hal blushed slightly.
"Are you always like this ?"
"Like what ?" Hal asked, puzzled.
He looked at Bruce but his husband just looked as confused as he was.
"I think Oliver is wondering whether you always look so horny for each other when you're not with us." Dinah said.
Hal had to admire Tim's stealth, he made several seasoned - but also partly drunk - superheros jump when he spoke up. Hal had spotted him thirty seconds ago leaning against the doorframe but he had not wanted to ruin the kid's entrance - just like Bruce, he had a flair for dramatics.
"Oh yes. It can make dinner awkward. And they're definitely doing it too when you're with them. They're just wearing lenses." the young man said.
"Hello Tim. How was Metropolis ?" Hal asked, offering him a shark-like smile not unlike Bruce's business one.
"Great. See you later." Tim had answered quickly while carefully dodging Clark's eyes before disappearing from the room in record time.
"What did I miss ?" Oliver asked, frowning.
"Our son and Clark's are dating and think they are discreet about it." Bruce said.
"Wait, your kids are Hal's too ?" Barry said, his jaw hanging open.
"Yes." Bruce said at the same time Hal replied "more or less."
"What do you mean ?"
"I don't want to share all the details but Bruce and I have been raising Tim and Damian together. According to Oa, I am a parent. According to Earth… I can't really sign adoption papers. Bruce said I could but I won't risk our identities."
In any case, Hal was considered a father by Oan law, which took precedence over Earth laws when a Lantern was concerned. He would get guardianship if anything happened to Bruce and that was what mattered.
"It's strange to imagine you with kids." Barry said.
"Actually, it's not." Oliver said thoughtfully and Hal wasn't sure if it was a compliment or a jab but he let it go.
Later, Hal had found himself talking with Jessica about recent developments in the Corps. She didn't seem very focused on the conversation and Hal was starting to wonder why she had stirred him a bit away from the group when she interrupted him.
“How do you do it ? How do you separate the field from your private lives ?” she asked, glancing from him to Bruce, who was talking to Diana at the other end of the room.
“It takes some practice. You get used to it. One time I almost got both of us and a dozen other people killed because I didn’t listen to his orders. I was angry at him, I was lacking experience in teamwork, we were in the middle of break-up number 2, and I was convinced I had a better plan. If it wasn’t for Clark - I’d rather not imagine the end of this sentence.”
Jessica stayed silent, coming to terms with it all.
“Civilian lives and yours depend on your ability to compartmentalize and not let your feelings get the better of you. Once you get that, you stop making as many mistakes. You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to go to Bruce in the field because I knew he was hurt or needed help but I couldn’t because if I released my concentration on my constructs, people would have died. It’s about self-control and discipline. You’ll have to learn.” Hal explained.
“Sorry ?” Jessica said, smiling at him quizzically.
“You and Barry. You’ll need to figure out how to make it work in the field too.” Hal said.
“Oh, we don’t… It’s not like that.” Jessica said, biting her lip.
“Maybe not. But be careful. It could be someday. It wasn’t like that for Bruce and I either, and look where we are now.” he said.
Bruce was looking at him from across the room. Hal smiled at him before shifting his attention to Jessica again. She had been watching him.
“You look happy, here.” she said quietly.
“I am." Hal nodded. "It’s my home. My family.” he told her.
There was so much warmth in his voice. His teammate hugged him fiercely.
“Thank you. When I took the mantle, I thought I had doomed myself to a lonely, loveless life. But then we met and you had friends and that was great. And then I found out you have it all. You have the Lantern gig but you also have friends and a family and you make it work. I have almost given up hope to have that one day.”
“You’re welcome." Hal said, holding her tighter and meeting Bruce's gaze above his fellow Lantern's head.
Him too had thought that the Lantern life would be a lonely life. How wrong he had been.
Soon enough, their hug ended and they went back to the center of the room. Hal talked a bit with Barry, who was gradually accepting the idea of Hal's marriage, and to Oliver, who still had a hard time understanding it but seemed less hostile toward Hal's husband and had apologized earlier.
Bruce had joined them and wrapped an arm around his waist. Hal had turned around slightly.
Is everything alright ? Bruce's eyes had asked him.
Everything's perfect. Hal's eyes had answered and he had gone back to the conversation he was having with their friends, leaning against Bruce.