Work Text:
The League had been doing some clean-up after a short but destructive battle in Star City’s industrial area when Hal remembered what he had been about to ask Bruce in the morning when they had been interrupted by Ollie and Dinah calling the League for some help with belligerent aliens.
It had taken a long time and quite a lot of shouting in megaphone constructs while trying to prevent them from smashing too many things around, but the lost young alien tourists who thought throwing containers at each other was fun and quite reminiscent of their planetary game of sjsjdjak, for lack of a better translation, had finally got home without making any casualties.
Hal made another giant dustpan and used his complementary brush and a giant hand construct to clear out the warehouse he was in of its rubble.
He couldn’t see Bruce from where he was since he was probably helping out elsewhere so Hal used their comms.
"Hey baby, I was thinking about taking Damian to the airbase for “Bring your child to work” day, what do you think ?" he asked as he pushed the last bits of rubble in his immediate vicinity into the dustpan.
There were a few seconds of stunned silence on Hal’s comms as Hal had a look around the warehouse, who now seemed mostly clear.
"Bruce ?" Hal asked, suddenly hesitant.
He had just left the warehouse, just in case it was a problem of reception.
He had thought it was a good idea, but he was starting to feel concerned by the delay of Bruce’s answer.
In his peripheral vision, he had seen Barry slow down slightly and wondered if the Flash was getting tired of running around. Hal himself was getting tired of making constructs.
Between the battle and the clearing up, they had been here for nearly five hours now.
"Codenames, Lantern,” Bruce’s familiar voice finally said in that half-exasperated and half-fond tone he reserved for family.
It was warm and a bit amused but Hal could easily discern some dismay here too.
"You're serious ?" Hal said.
He hadn’t answered his question and he was insisting on codenames ? There were no civilians around.
"Deadly. We're still in the field. That and you didn't switch to a private channel. I recommend that you do.”
Hal winced and changed channels immediately.
He had just noticed that Barry hadn’t just slowed down but stopped walking altogether and was staring at him.
"I swear I didn't mean to out us," he told Bruce but his husband hadn’t sounded mad.
"I know. It had to happen someday. Maybe it was for the best,” Bruce said softly.
They had been hooking up more or less regularly for five years and married for one and a half. Hal had adopted Damian ten months prior and was well integrated in Bruce's family. His family.
It was unrealistic to think they were never going to slip. It had probably been a matter of time before one of them betrayed themselves by a word or a gesture. Hal still felt quite bad about it.
"Barry is looking at me as if I’m an alien in disguise,” Hal complained.
"At least he'll stop trying to set you up with one of his cousins. In any case, in answer to your question : Damian will be delighted,” Bruce said.
“You think ?” Hal asked, smiling even if Bruce couldn’t see him.
“I can take him to Wayne Enterprises or you can take him to Ferris Air. I’m quite sure it’s a no brainer for him. Or for any twelve year old kid.”
“Is it normal that I feel like I've won at parenting or is it just because I’ve not been a Dad for long ?”
“I’m afraid you gave up on normal when we got married,” Bruce observed.
Hal hummed and flew around a bit, trying to look for Bruce while avoiding his other teammates.
“I gave up on normal when I got my ring. Well, the one that doesn’t have our names engraved on them. Do you think we can switch back to the common channel ?” he added.
He had spotted several of his colleagues. Diana and Clark were doing most of the job because of their strength and were at the center of the wreckage.
Bruce should be more in the periphery of it, doing what he could with gadgets and human strength.
“Depends if you’re attached to your eardrums. I can hear Ollie shouting from here,” Bruce said.
It was a figure of speech, but Hal would catch sight of Oliver’s green attire more easily than he would Bruce’s black garb, which allowed him to disappear in the shadows in broad daylight.
There, some green. Hal looked a bit closer. Yes, it was Ollie. Bruce should be at hearing range. Here ! He had climbed up on the top of a container God knew how and was sitting there with his binoculars.
“That bad, um ?” Hal asked, landing next to him.
Which would do absolutely nothing to make their friends stop talking, because now they probably had spotted Bruce too.
“I think they’re grilling Clark. Um. Ollie is pissed but I’m not sure what he’s shouting about. Lipreading only gets you so far and with Ollie’s mustache, it’s almost impossible. Do you think Clark told them about the wedding and Ollie found out your brother was your best man ?” Bruce asked him.
“Hey, would it be so bad if we just left them to it and went back to the Manor discreetly ?” Hal asked, and Bruce laughed.