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Chapter Text

            Y/N looked down at her short dress and glared at the wall in front of her. When she became a Green Lantern, she didn’t see herself having to dress up for some fancy gala. She also didn’t see herself joining a little league of superheroes that had a headquarters in outer space. While she was grateful that there was another human Green Lantern that was able to show her the ropes and get her involved in the Justice League, she sometimes wished that the ring didn’t choose her. (Imagine being asleep at 3 in the morning and a freakish green glowing ring shatters your bedroom window. Yeah. Not fun.) She bit her lip as she looked at her swanky surroundings. She certainly wasn’t used to all this glitz and glamor. She worked as an archeology research professor in Keystone City. It was a great cover for her other job, since she didn’t have to be on campus extremely often (research doesn’t just do itself!) Since she spent most of her time up in space or out on a dig, she didn’t really have a gala-ready dress. She was grateful that Diana had a whole closet of dresses that she could borrow. The only downside was that her and Diana had very different fashion tastes. Diana liked to show skin – there was no shame to it, but that meant that Diana’s dress was on the short side, and it hugged her in the places she didn’t want to be hugged.

            She was waiting for her surveillance partner to make their way into the party. It was purely a recon mission – they got a tip on a new Luthor scheme and the only way to figure it out was to go to the LexCorp event. She sincerely thought that Batman and Superman should’ve done this whole thing – Batman was the detective after all, and Luthor was Clark’s baddie. Like, if Star Sapphire was out screwing stuff up, Y/N would be the one on it. (It’s a long ass story.) Diana had a prior engagement, Batman was the one in the Watchtower listening through the hidden mics, and Superman was on retainer just in case something went down at the event.

            Y/N tapped her heeled foot against the marble floors, sipping her warm champagne since she had a death grip around it. When the hell was her partner gonna show up? She was predicting that it would be Barry, but she quickly realized that he wouldn’t be her “date” since he was taking care of some stuff in Central City. Captain Cold managed to freeze 40 city blocks and the Flash was having to deal with that mess. There’s no “quick” fix to that. It was nice being so close to Central City since her and Iris were good friends. Arthur was an option, of course – then again, he liked to stay in Atlantis – he only really came to the surface for league meetings and the occasional world ending catastrophe. J’onn would probably be the one they’d send. She loved J’onn and he could transform into literally anything he wanted. He’d obviously come in his human form. He’d be a pleasant “date” – the mission would be simple with no bumps.

            “WEE-WOO! Somebody call a FIRETRUCK because THIS GIRL is on FIRE!”

            Y/N whipped around to see what idiot decided to shout right next to her and quickly balked when she saw Hal in his tux, holding a glass of red wine to his chest. She glared at her best friend, quickly punching him in the arm, hearing him let out a hiss.

            “What was that for!”

            “You buttmunch! You told me that you had to do some stupid test flight out in the Mojave tonight! Why didn’t you tell me you’d be my gala partner?”

            Hal let out a laugh, his brown eyes sparkling, “That takes the fun out of it. Damn Y/N/N, you’ve got one of the most powerful pieces of technology in the universe on your finger… it’s a shame that it can’t transfer to your brain.”

            “You’re lucky you’re my best friend, Hal, or I swear—”

            “Hey, I’m your date tonight! Not your best friend.” Hal smirked, and Y/N pouted, downing the rest of her champagne.

            “Yeah, only for tonight, thank God. Just remember that since I am your date tonight, you shouldn’t be hitting on other women.”

            “Aw,” Hal pouted, glancing around the large room, the night skyline of Metropolis shining in the large windows, “but there’s so many! And they probably have money! Just gotta find me a divorced woman who wants a boy-toy.”

            Y/N rolled her eyes, grabbing Hal’s arm and dragging him with her to get closer to other people, “can’t believe you’d give yourself to a cougar.”

            “Hey, I’m an equal opportunity employer,” Hal winked.

            “Oh my God—” 

            “Stay focused,” Batman’s voice scolded the two superheroes, and Hal nearly jumped out of his skin.

            “Fuck, Spooky!” Hal cursed, nearly spilling his glass of red wine on himself, “God, we have to be dressed like some circus act tonight and now we’ve got you in our ears? What did I do to deserve this?”

            “You are aware of your mission, but let me remind you,” Batman sighed. Y/N could just see the detective pinching the bridge of his nose, “you’re supposed to find intel about LexCorp’s newest tech. Something akin to a nuclear device. If it’s finished, he’s ready to sell it to the highest bidder. Somebody in there must be in on the black-market bet. Find them.” 

            “You’ve got it,” Y/N breathed, clearing her throat.

            Hal rolled his eyes at the woman next to him and let out a huff, “you’ve got something on your nose there, Y/N/N.”

            “Hey! I’m trying to do our job with minimal interference,” She spat, “I don’t want Bats’ voice in my ear any more than you do. I also can’t wait to get out of this dress if you can even call it that. It feels like saran wrap…” 

            Hal looked at his best friend and felt his stomach flutter. He had noticed her outfit earlier, but he didn’t really focus on it – he just wanted to make her blush. However, he was the one blushing now. The dress hugged her nicely, and her hair was nicely styled. He never really saw her hair done the way it was. She usually had it up in some high ponytail. She hated to have it in her face – it wasn’t very pleasant fighting with your hair down and in your way – and it tended to weigh you down quite a bit in space.

            The dress had a plunging neckline and long sleeves. It went down to her lower thigh. and Hal felt a smile paint his lips. He looked at her legs and felt his knees buckle. God, he could drink her in for hours. He quickly jumped out of his trance when he saw Y/N send him a weird look.

            “What kind of thoughts are you having, Casanova?” She snarked, a laugh leaving her mouth, “tell me who you were gawking at. I’ll give you your chances…”

            Hal cleared his throat awkwardly and shrugged, searching the room for a woman that she’d believe he was into. He certainly did not like Y/N in a sexual way. No way. She was his best friend, the first person besides Barry that really got him, you know? He was a GL for about three months before she landed on the scene. When Kilowog told him that another human had been chosen, he demanded the Bolvaxian take him on the journey to pick up the new GL. While he annoyed the shit out of Kilowog by pretending that he was her trainer/mentor, him and Y/N hit it off. She would follow him into space, and they’d work closely together. Wherever one was, the other was close behind. He was so happy they protected the same sector, and he had no issues with her “stealing his thunder” from time to time on the Justice League. Damn, he wished he could make her feel the way she makes him feel. He shook his head again. STOP IT, HAL! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU! GET NEUTERED!

            “Her.” Hal shrugged, nodding at a gorgeous woman. She looked like being beautiful was effortless, and Y/N couldn’t help but begin comparing herself to her. He didn’t notice Y/N shrink into herself.

            Yeah, of course Hal would go for her. Hal had a type, Y/N had noticed. Of course, he truly was an equal opportunity flirter – he flirted with all kinds of women and men, but he never did it to her. Some of his comments could be flirty and suggestive, but it was always part of a bigger joke. Y/N looked away, hiding her disappointment.

            “You got a type, Hal,” Y/N snickered, putting her hands on her hips. Hal’s eyes followed her hands and he bit his lip. He held her around those hips once before when her ring ran out of battery and she began to fall out of the sky. It took him a whole week to get the feeling of her out of his hands.

            “I do not!” Hal put a hand on his chest, offended.

            “You do! Remember Carol?”

            Hal shivered. Star Sapphire (which he did take some responsibility for) had it out for him, but she suddenly became Y/N’s nemesis after their first encounter. He really didn’t know why, but he knew it was something personal, but him and Y/N tended not to dive too deep into the psyche of their opponents. If they could get them taken care of and off the to-do list, they were happy.  

            “God, I’m trying to forget you little ass…”

            “Hey, isn’t that a best friend’s job? To remind you of all your romantic mistakes?”

            “It’s not fair when my list is longer than yours.”

            “Hey! I just like to take it slow,” Y/N murmured, standing closer to Hal.

            “Hmm…you know, you’re really turning me on with all that talk about waiting until marriage—”

            “UGH, Hal! That’s not what I meant--”

            “What did I say about focusing on the mission?” Batman’s annoyed voice bled through the mic and Y/N felt her cheeks heat up.

            “Sorry,” She whispered.

            “That’s kind of perverted, Spooky,” Hal snarked, his upper lip forming a snarl, “listening in to our private conversations—”

            “I wouldn’t have to if you could be trusted. Now get on with it. You’ve been talking to each other for the past forty-five minutes. I doubt either of you are in the market for Luthor’s nuclear weapon.”

            “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Hal grumbled.

            “Your chances with her are probably at a 7. You look good in your tux, it’s nicely cut. I think she’s used to dating men with a higher paycheck, but maybe you could charm her,” Y/N sighed, pushing back her shoulders, “I’m going to go and start hitting up the left side of the room. Wanna take the right?”

            “Whaaaat?” Hal whined, sticking out his pale bottom lip, “But I’m your date tonight, your arm-candy. Come on, Y/N/N, you’ll never get a chance like this again, to parade me around like a trophy. They’ll all be wondering how the hell you were able to pull such a handsome, sexy, confident—”

            “Self-obsessed, shallow…” Y/N smirked, putting her arm around his. Hal pulled her closer out of instinct and smirked.

            “Let’s go.”

            Hal and Y/N were the social butterflies of the Justice League. Clark was shy, Batman was a recluse, Diana preferred to fly under the radar, Barry was able to engage in fun conversation at times, but he still had many introvert qualities – Iris was definitely the extrovert in the relationship --  and J’onn liked to keep to himself. Hal and Y/N could strike up a conversation with anyone. Her and Hal played their roles well at the gala – they seemed to just flow within each other. Every perfectly timed joke, their banter – Y/N felt her throat start to get ticklish when she realized that she wasn’t acting. She wasn’t playing a role. She was being herself and so was Hal. 

            “Oh, what gorgeous rings!” An older woman squealed, quickly grabbing Y/N’s hand. Y/N didn’t like being yanked, and Hal was ready to jump the lady until he realized where they were. Y/N felt sweat begin to bead at her forehead. Batman had told her not to wear her GL ring since it could be a giveaway, but she always felt more secure with it on. She was sure to modify it for the night – GLs were able to disguise the look of their ring if they kept their focus on it. It still had a slight green glow to it, but the lantern emblem was hidden by an emerald. She was grateful she thought ahead. The woman then grabbed Hal’s hand, tilting her head at his ring.

            Y/N nearly let out a cackle. She was sure Batman told Hal the same thing, but he didn’t ever listen – either that, or he was feeling a bit scatterbrained having to scramble to secure a tux and get ready for some party that he’d rather duck out of. Hal was lucky that he was able to disguise the look of his as well. However, it still had a slight green glow, just like Y/N’s. He prayed the woman wouldn’t bring it up.

            “These are unique wedding rings! Please forgive me for my intrusion,” the elderly woman apologized upon seeing Y/N and Hal’s panicked faces.

            Y/N felt her cheeks heat when she realized the woman thought they were married. She began to stammer a response before Hal pulled her closer to his side. She let out a breath of relief when she felt his warm embrace.

            “Only the best for my baby,” Hal cooed, rubbing her shoulder with his thumb, “I wanted to get her a ring that was as special as she is.”

            “Aw!” The woman smiled, shyly looking at the H/C, “you’ve got yourself quite the charmer, Mrs.…?”

            “Jordan!” Y/N croaked out, seeing Hal stiffen a bit, “I’m Y/N Jordan. This is my husband, Hal.”

            “Well believe me when I say you’re the best-looking couple here! Now where’s my husband, I want him to meet you guys…”

            “Oh, that’s quite alright—”

            “JAMES!” She shouted. An older gentleman quickly turned around from talking with Lex Luthor and Y/N and Hal looked at each other. Could this guy be the person they were looking for? He quickly excused himself and made his way over to his wife.

            “Dear, I was talking to Mr. Luthor…”

            “I’m sorry, James, but you’ve got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Jordan! They are just adorable.”

            “Oh,” James cleared his throat, a bit annoyed at his wife’s antics, “I’m James Jones.”

            “The James Jones?” Y/N asked, wanting to jump in the air and sing in celebration. James Jones was known for his billionaire lifestyle and his penchant for collecting weapons from various eras. The Justice League had some intel they were going to follow up with – he may be selling WMDs overseas. He could be the one wanting to bid on Luthor’s nuclear weapon.

            “The one and the same. Tell me, Mr. Jordan, what is it that you do?”

            Y/N nearly let out a hiss. The fucking Patriarchy.

            “Ah,” Hal squeezed Y/N’s shoulder. He knew she was ready to pop off, “Well, I’m a test pilot.”

            Y/N realized what Hal was doing. It was risky for them to be using their real names – it was on her for revealing Hal’s full name. She didn’t expect Hal to also tell the truth about where he worked. She could just see Batman putting his head in his hands.

            “Oh, a test pilot…now that’s interesting,” James perked up, a smile revealing his white teeth that were just a little bit too straight.

            “Sure is. Every day is different. I love it.”

            “Can you tell me about some of the newest aircraft? I know that it may be a breach of contract, but I’m very close with the Secretary of Defense. Come on, you can tell me…”

            Hal looked at Y/N who gave him a look. He was able to read that look within seconds. Lie, but make it believable. Earn his trust.  

            “Of course, why don’t we get a refill on our glasses, and I’ll tell you about the…Explorer…Craft…”

            Y/N knew Hal had this under his control and she turned back to Mrs. Jones. The woman was excited to have the attention back on her and Y/N decided to humor her.

            “Leave it to the boys to run off and talk about their toys,” Y/N smirked. Mrs. Jones nodded, smiling.

            “Yes, it’s a very precious thing to James. He’s quite close with Mr. Luthor. He always gives James the newest tech. Why, there’s something Mr. Luthor has created that he asked James to come see a few days ago. We’re here tonight to make sure we’re the highest bidder.”

            Y/N stared at the woman with wide eyes. What the heck. Did this woman really just blab to her the intel they needed?

            “Press her.” Batman instructed to Y/N through the earpiece. She was already going to do that, of course, but leave it to Batman to think that she had Hal shared one braincell.

            “Really? You know, Hal is always interested in the latest military tech. That’s one of the reasons he loves being a test pilot. We’ve heard rumors about a LexCorp weapon, but I haven’t heard anything else about it! Is that what James is trying to secure?”

            She heard Batman let out a groan. Y/N sighed. She probably could’ve worded that a lot better. Come on, she was an archeologist when she wasn’t being a space ranger -- interrogation techniques were very different in space, and a lot of the stuff she dug up in her other job were either already dead or an inanimate object!

            “Ah, so your husband also has his eye on the weapon?” Mrs. Jones laughed, shaking her head.

            “Oh, no,” Y/N was sure to deflect, not wanting Mrs. Jones to clam up because she thought that Hal wanted his hand in the pot, “we certainly don’t make enough money to be able to secure such a thing.”

            “Oh, that’s a relief. James would kill for that WMD Mr. Luthor has.”

            Y/N had to fight to hide the smile on her face.

            Hook. Line. Sinker.

            “I’m sure! It’s worth a pretty penny.” She cleared her throat, looking over at Hal and James. She could tell that Hal wasn’t really getting anywhere – he obviously had to keep coming up with fake aircraft names. She’d have to go rescue him soon. What to say, what to say? She didn’t look sickly, so she couldn’t just say she was ill…and she didn’t have her cellphone on her to pretend to get an emergency phone call. Suddenly, an excuse came to her -- she knew Hal would kill her if he heard her excuse, but she had to do it.

            “Oof,” Y/N held her tummy, wincing.

            “Oh goodness, are you alright, sweetie?” Mrs. Jones asked, concern flooding her gentle features.

            “Oh, I’m alright,” Y/N let out an awkward laugh, “Hal and I have been trying to get pregnant for months. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather recently…and I’ve missed my--”

            “Oh!” Mrs. Jones beamed, patting Y/N’s shoulder, “Why, I think that means that you and your husband have a little one on the way! Do you need help? I can help you to the bathroom and get Mr. Luthor’s aides to get you some ginger ale, and –”

            “No, No, I’ll be fine…” Y/N cleared her throat, “but I better grab Hal. I think it’d be a good time for us to head home before it gets too late. Being tired isn’t really good for the baby.”

            “That’s right! Do take care, Mrs. Jordan!”

            “You as well, Mrs. Jones.” Y/N quickly made her way to Hal and she saw him slump a bit in relief when she grabbed his arm.

            “Please excuse us, Mr. Jones,” Y/N breathed, grabbing Hal’s hand between hers. She ignored the flutter in her chest.

            “What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Hal murmured, kissing the crown of her head.

            “Oh, your wife looks quite flushed…”

            “Of course, she is!” Mrs. Jones smiled as she made her way over to her husband, beaming. Y/N’s eyes widened. Oh shit, Mrs. Jones. Don’t blab it, Hal will faint!

“She’s pregnant! You know, it’s an old wives tale - having sickness this early might mean they’re having a little boy! Oh, if he looks anything like his father, he’ll be absolutely gorgeous!”

            Hal let out a croak, his brown eyes widening. Y/N winced, shrugging her shoulders. Hal quickly composed himself, swallowing harshly, tightening his grip around her waist.

            “I thought we promised we weren’t going to tell anyone until after the ultrasound, darling…” Hal cleared his throat.

            “Mrs. Jones just caught me…but we’d better get home. I’m getting queasier every minute. I certainly don’t want to ruin Mr. Luthor’s gala.” 

            “You’re right. Well, thanks for the conversation, Mr. Jones. Best of luck with your collection.”

            “Thank you, Mr. Jordan.”

            Y/N and Hal quickly hurried to leave the gala hall and as soon as they escaped outside, Hal ripped off his bowtie and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his dress shirt.

            Y/N kept her mouth shut, yanking off the heels from her feet. She winced when she noticed she had some blisters. Thank God her ring let her fly. She would hate to have to stand on her feet any longer than she had to.

            “I got intel from Mrs. Jones. I’m sure Mr. Jones was a locked safe…”

            “Sure was,” Hal was surprised at how Y/N got directly to the point. She usually joked around right after a mission. “Kept asking me about the planes I was flying. I just started listing shit that explorers use. Like, Compass and Globe. Dude bought it, though.”

            “That’s good. Bats got all the stuff recorded, I’m sure. Hopefully we won’t have to go to any more of these damn galas,” Y/N spoke the last bit loudly. She crossed her arms when Batman didn’t respond. He must’ve turned off the comms as soon as he got what he needed.

            “Yeah,” Hal smirked, cursing himself. He knew he should bring up the whole Mr. and Mrs. Jordan thing, but he was afraid to. It was just the logical thing to come up with, right? So was the pregnancy. It fit their cover well. He looked away, looking down at his ring. God, why did he feel so desperate for that to be reality? Y/N was one of the dudes! One of his best friends! It should repulse him to his core to think about kissing her and proposing to her and putting a little Hal Jr. inside her. The kid they’d produce would probably be the most insufferable, annoying, loud, and adorable thing to ever grace the planet. He wondered if the baby would have his hair or Y/N’s. Would he have his eyes or Y/N’s eyes? Would he have Y/N’s cute nose?

            “…Hal?” Y/N waved her hand in front of his face, and he quickly focused on her, licking his lips.

            “What?”
            “Thanks for following with the story back there. I’m sure it repulsed you as much as it repulsed me!” She laughed stiffly.

            “Yes! You almost gave me a heart attack. Me, a father? Please. Marriage also makes me want to slam my head in a door. Can you imagine!”

            Hal wanted to tell her that she was the only person he could see himself marrying. He shook his head of the thought. Y/N. Is. One. Of. The. Dudes. Like Oliver! Like Kilowog! You don’t want to marry Kilowog, do you?!

            Y/N knew this was classic Hal and while she felt her chest cave in a bit, she quickly punched her friend in his shoulder. He let out another yelp.

            “Damn, Y/N/N!”

            “Gotta keep you grounded. As if you could ever catch someone like me.”

            “Oh please, if I caught you, I’d throw you back in the radioactive pond I got you out of.”

            “Radioactive? You little—” 

            “Hey, don’t ask me! You’re the one that fell into the sewers on Graxos V!”

            “You pushed me!”

            “Nuh-uh! That was all you, baby girl.”

            She rolled her eyes, and she quickly created a curtain construct that would shield her body from Hal’s. She pulled off Diana’s dress before putting her ring back on and suiting up. She did not want the “saran wrap” on her body any longer. She then pulled down the curtain construct.  Diana’s dress was nicely folded and safe in her arms, along with the heels she bought the day before.

            “Finally free!” Y/N moaned, stretching.

            Hal looked away to hide his massive blush. He took a deep breath and recovered.

            “Now you look like the woman I know. Felt like I was getting catfished back there.” Hal let out a guffaw when Y/N glared at him.

            “Sometimes I wonder if you’re my best friend or my biggest enemy…”

            “I like to keep you on your toes, my little glow stick. What are you doing tomorrow?”

            “The same old same old,” Y/N groaned, seeing Hal activating his ring and his uniform hugging every bit of his body, “An early morning at the new dig site in Utah, write up my findings…probably stop a bad guy or two on my lunch break…”

            “Hm, sounds fun…you wanna…. uh, hang out tomorrow?”

            “My place or yours? I’ve got beer…”

            “Definitely yours. I think my fridge is permanently empty…”

Chapter Text

            “Are you out of your damn mind?!” Y/N hissed, walking quickly to keep up with Hal’s strut and Kilowog’s large strides.

            “Do you really have to ask him that question, Y/N/N?” Kilowog snickered, looking back at the female.

            “Yeah, I guess that is a stupid question…but what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Y/N went right back at Hal, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to face her. The brunette came to an abrupt stop.

            “What else are we supposed to do to help this planet? It’s led by dictator! The best hope is his daughter ascending to the throne, but he won’t let her unless she marries someone he picks, which is gonna be another dictator—”

            “Jesus Hal,” Y/N grumbled, crossing her arms tightly, “we can empower the citizens to take back their planet! With three GLs helping them—”

            “Yeah, Y/N, and then we create an even bigger mess! How does that make the Corps look—”

            “Since when have you cared about the Corps’ reputation—”

            “Hey! Both of you poozers should care about the Corps’ reputation—”

            “NOT NOW, KILOWOG!” Y/N and Hal cried, causing the Bolvaxian to let out a huff.

            “I have got to stop getting assigned to missions that you’re both on…”

            Y/N and Hal ignored Kilowog’s comment and continued to glare daggers at each other. Hal couldn’t understand why Y/N wasn’t agreeing with his idea – he knew she disliked toppling governments (many civilians would be killed in the process, and these operations usually caused a power vacuum which was a nightmare down the road for the corps to take care of) so he was trying to please her with this in the first place. Why was she being so damn difficult?

            “And if you die in this stupid little duel? What good does that do?” Y/N snapped, clenching her fists, “you die, and the dictatorship continues! Besides, why would you marry this princess? Do you expect to stay here and rule the planet—”

            “That is the last thing you should be worried about—”

            “I am not worried! And no! You’re not going to get married to a princess from another planet just to get them out of a—”

            “If I win the duel against her potential husband, I get a say in the future of the planet – I can just keep the marriage ever happening and give all power to the princess. Then the people of this planet have a chance at survival!”

            Y/N closed her eyes and took some steadying breaths. She didn’t like this idea – not one bit. Hal would fight some huge alien without his ring. Her and Kilowog couldn’t provide any assistance. She would be forced to watch Hal potentially die in front of her very eyes.

            And if he wins…does he enter a legally binding marriage with this princess? No way. Not possible. She wouldn’t allow it! She quickly calmed herself down while Hal stared at her intensely. Kilowog watched the two humans duke it out from the side. He knew better than to get involved in Hal and Y/N’s squabbles. They always patched these little bumps in the road up after everything was said and done.

            She bit her lip – she felt that familiar tightness in her chest. She swallowed dryly. It almost felt like…No. No way. She was not jealous! What a ridiculous idea – her, jealous? Jealous of Hal marrying someone else? Ha! Now that’s funny. Who would want to marry that pain in the ass? Certainly not her! Nope. Nuh-uh. Nada.

            “I have to do this, and you know I do,” Hal breathed, seeing how torn up over the situation Y/N was. He hated seeing her like this…but he wasn’t going to roll over and do things the way she wanted.

            “Fine,” Y/N squeaked, quickly regaining her composure, “but if you are getting your ass kicked, nobody can hold me back. I’m going into the ring with you and kicking that fucker’s ass.”

            “I expect nothing else from my little glowstick,” Hal sent her a teasing smile and she rolled her eyes.

            “Yeah, if I don’t get in there first!” Kilowog spoke up, happy that the two were in harmony once again.

--

            Y/N sat on the sidelines as Hal got ready to challenge the man that the dictator had picked for his daughter to marry. Y/N truly did feel for the princess – it must be awful not being able to choose who you were going to marry. Her eyes quickly went back to Hal who looked absolutely perplexed at the small amount of weapons he was given.

            “…yeah, he’s going to lose this,” Kilowog crossed his arms.

            “Kilowog!” Y/N hissed, smacking his arm, “Do you have to say that?”

            “I’m just being honest!”

            “I’d prefer for you to lie right now!” Y/N exclaimed, putting her hands over her eyes and letting out a stressed whine, “I swear—”

            A loud siren went off when the duel began, and Y/N was unable to finish her sentence because Kilowog quickly yelled,

            “GO HAL! KICK HIS ASS!”

            Y/N sat in her seat, deciding to ignore the irony going on here. She clasped her hands together and prayed that Hal would get out of this in one piece .

--

            Like Kilowog rudely predicted, Hal was getting his ass kicked. Y/N winced each time Hal was thrown. Hal was talented at many things, but he desperately needed his ring to even have a chance against this huge alien. She saw Hal cough up some blood when he was slammed against a wall, and she quickly stood.

            “I’m getting in there—”

            “Y/N! Not yet,” Kilowog grabbed her, shaking his head, “he could turn this around—”

            Hal was quickly knocked out by a sucker punch.

            “…Okay, maybe not—”

            “I’m subbing in!” Y/N yelled, jumping over the railing into the ring. Kilowog let out a grunt, putting his head in his hands.

            Those damn humans never thought anything through. He was definitely a better bet against this alien guy – Kilowog had a couple of inches on him. Y/N looked like an ant compared to the alien in front of her!

            “Haha!” The dictator cackled, getting a kick out of this mess, “Little girl, you have no chance of winning this. How about you accept defeat and leave my planet?”

            “Let’s level the playing field,” Y/N shouted, creating a construct, “your guy can use all the weapons at his disposal, and I get to use my ring.”

            “No deal!” The dictator scoffed, “That’s ridiculous—”

            “My King,” The potential husband spoke up, obviously confident in his abilities, “I will easily crush this human like a bug, just as I did the other. Let her use her ring if she thinks it’ll save her life. It may be more entertaining – she’ll last a little bit longer than the other one – make this a nice show.”

            “Hmm…” The king contemplated the offer before shrugging, “That’s acceptable.”

            Y/N growled under her breath at how the king underestimated her, but she knew that would ultimately make her win this entire battle.

            Everyone watched with bated breath as Y/N masterfully used her constructs, knocking the alien she was dueling with on his ass quite a few times. She did not avoid all the punches and weapons, though, and her uniform was ripped around her midsection since she was nearly skewered by a javelin.

            Hal let out a soft groan when he came to, his vision blurry. He spat out the dirt in his mouth and felt panic rise in his chest when he saw Y/N, of all people, dueling the alien that knocked him out. He was relieved when he saw that Y/N was allowed to use her ring, but that relief was suddenly replaced with worry.

            What if she died? Was she out of her damn mind? Hal didn’t want to stop and think rationally, but his brain made the decision for him as his bones screamed at him when he tried to move. Is this what Y/N was being so up in arms about? She said that he could die. Now she could die, and he felt his heart fly to his throat. He wasn’t scared of anything, but the idea of losing his best friend made him want to claw at his chest.

            He was brought back to the present when he heard the alien let out a loud grunt. Y/N had managed to back him up into a corner and get him to fall to his knees. After a few moments, the alien forfeited. Y/N had an aggressive way of fighting with her ring, and she was a formidable opponent. She wasn’t extremely polished yet, but she was learning more and more every day.

            The worry that plagued Hal’s chest was now replaced with incredible pride. Of course she’d win the duel. She was Y/N. His Y/N.

            “YEAH!” Kilowog shouted, quickly running into the ring, picking Y/N up in joy.

            Y/N let out a loud laugh, shaking her head.

            “Put me down, Kilowog! I have a princess to wed!” Y/N cackled, happy when Kilowog sat her down. Hal saw her gaze immediately go to him.

            “Hal!” She shouted, bolting over to him and going to her knees, “Are you alright? Let me see…” Y/N didn’t let Hal get a word in edgewise, quickly looking over his cuts and scrapes. She let out a disapproving hum when she saw that he had a gash on his right shoulder.

            “Always on your right, huh?” She breathed, shaking her head, “when we get onto the ship, I’ll patch you up. Can you stand?”

            Hal melted at her touch, wanting to close the gap between them. He saw Kilowog clear his throat loudly and Hal let that idea leave his brain. He’d have to really start watching himself. Besides, Y/N was just being sweet and caring for him! Yeah! That’s all that was. He had to get his mind back in the game.

            “Let’s get you married to your princess, Y/N…” Hal smirked, graciously accepting Y/N and Kilowog’s hands to help him up off the ground.

--

            “While I am flattered at being able to potentially marry you, Princess,” Y/N rubbed the back of her neck as she felt heat fill her face, “I’m afraid that I’m already married to my Green Lantern duties.”

            “Miss Y/N of Earth, thank you so much. I cannot thank you all enough for believing in me and fighting for my ability to rule my planet democratically. I also think it best that we do not marry…I have someone else in mind…” The Princess glanced shyly over to another alien across the room who waved.

            “That’s great to hear.” Y/N smiled.

            “Thank you…Please take this as a token of my gratitude,” The Princess spoke, handing Y/N a gorgeous silky material that reflected various colors off its white base. Y/N tilted her head as she admired the fabric.

            “I heard that it was a human custom for the bride to wear a veil. This is what we wear on my planet when we get married. The reflective colors represent all the seasons and emotions you will go through with your betrothed – together until death. I would be honored if you would wear this on your wedding day…”

            Hal quickly perked up next to Kilowog and that did not go unnoticed by the Bolvaxian. Hal walked up to Y/N like a guard dog and touched the fabric, intrigued by the feel of it. It was lightweight and felt like water even though it was dry. The colors mesmerized him, and the Princess looked between the two Green Lanterns.

            “I wish you the best of luck,” The Princess smiled.

            It went over Y/N and Hal’s heads (as always) and they thanked the princess for her kind words. When the trio made it back to the ship they arrived on, Y/N took a deep breath and leaned against one of the seats.

            “Come on Hal, I’ll patch up your shoulder.”

            “Thanks,” Hal breathed, making his way over to Y/N.

            “So…are you going to wrap Hal’s wound with the veil?”

            “Absolutely not!” Y/N gasped, looking at Kilowog incredulously, “I’m going to wear that on my wedding day and Hal better not get any of his stupid blood on it!”

            Hal let out a snicker, shaking his head, “You gotta find someone willing to tie the knot with you first, Y/N. Who wants to be stuck with you until death?”

            Well, I wouldn’t mind it…Hal answered to himself before quickly smacking down the intrusive thought.

            “You have a lot of nerve to be talking to me like that when I’ve got a stitching kit in my hands.”

            “Message received. Kilowog, how about we get out of here?”

            “I’ve been waiting to hear that since we landed!”

Chapter Text

Ah, Valentine’s Day. It was a polarizing holiday – you’d have some people that were really excited for it (oh, to be in love and have that be reciprocated…) or detested it (single pringles.) Quite frankly, it was just a holiday that was made up to sell cards and chocolates, but Y/N was, for once, not that skeptical this year. Mainly because she actually had a date this year. That was a point in her “win” column, and she was excited. All her closest friends had someone. Iris had Barry, Dinah had Oliver, Kilowog had a wife on Bolvax, Tomar-Re had a wife and a new child named Tomar-Tu, and Arisia had a cute little boyfriend from her sector. (Of course, they didn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day on their planets, but hey, same thing!)

            Her best friend? Hal Jordan? Well, he had a steady rotation of dates. For as long as she had known Hal, he always had a date for Valentine’s Day. Hell, he even had one that he had to cancel that one year when they had to stop an asteroid from obliterating the earth. Hal was pouty about it, but Y/N quickly put him in place – “you won’t have a date when the earth explodes!” The thought of Hal having dates made her insides shrivel up, but she figured it was because she was jealous that he was able to get so many dates – not that he was going on dates with people that were not her.

            Yeah. Totally not that.

            Hal had a date this year (as always) – it was one of his coworkers at Ferris Aircraft, one of the secretaries. Hal was very successful with the secretaries. The man knew how to charm and flirt his way into anyone’s heart. Y/N found his typical one-liners disgustingly cheesy and stupid, but she’d never say that to his face. Then again, he never truly flirted with her and followed through, so maybe his stuff really wasn’t all that cheesy…

            Okay. Why was she thinking so hard about Hal? He had his date, and for once, Y/N had one too. She leaned over her bathroom sink as she put some makeup on, thinking about him. Her date was a fellow professor at Keystone City University – he worked in the anthropology department. He had accompanied her on a dig a few weeks ago, and they had a lot in common. He was tall and had brown hair and brown eyes. He was soft-spoken and considerate, and he knew his way around a research paper.

            Whew – was it getting hot in here?

            When Y/N excitedly texted Iris and Dinah a picture of her date for their approval last night, she got laughing emojis in response.

            Y/N sent at 7:55pm: why are you guys laughing!

            Iris sent at 7:57pm: no reason…(:

            Dinah sent at 7:57pm: yeah, no reason (: he’s cute

            Y/N sent at 7:59pm: nice try, ladies…come on, tell me!

            Iris sent at 8:01pm: he just…looks like someone we know

            Y/N sent at 8:02pm: what? who!

            Y/N sent at 8:05pm: hello? don’t leave me hanging! :(

            Iris sent at 8:05pm: nevermind, its nothing too serious. enjoy your date tomorrow!

            Dinah sent at 8:06pm: yeah! get some, Y/N/N, it’s about time you did!

            Y/N sent at 8:07pm: TELL ME OR I’M GOING TO CALL BARRY AND OLIVER RIGHT NOW AND TELL THEM THAT YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO MAKE THEM BECOME FRIENDS AGAINST THEIR WILL!!

            Iris sent at 8:10pm: hal

            Dinah sent at 8:10pm:  hal

            Y/N remembered staring dumbly down at their group text when Dinah and Iris texted her their answer at the same time. That was ridiculous! Her date looked nothing like Hal Jordan! What were they smoking?

            Y/N sent at 8:11pm: LMAOOOOO that’s a stretch

            Iris sent at 8:12pm: he totally does! look at the photo!

            Dinah sent at 8:12pm: yeah. they both have the same shade of hair, and they have brown eyes. their noses are a little bit different, i guess. how tall is this dude?

            Y/N sent at 8:15pm: …6’2” BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING!

            Iris sent at 8:17pm: omg Y/N, you’re totally dating hal’s clone!! we told you that you had a thing for him<3

            Dinah sent at 8:18pm: lmao, I can’t believe your brain played you like that. that guy is the nerd version of hal jordan.

            Y/N glared into her mirror as she began to line her lips. She adored Iris and Dinah, but she was giving them the silent treatment today. How could they say that she was going on a date with a clone of Hal Jordan? Please! Hal Jordan wished he was her date – her date was smart and shy and polite and Hal Jordan was loud, boisterous, extroverted and exciting. She stopped. Shit. Did she just insinuate that her date was boring?

            “Get them out of your head, Y/N…” Y/N breathed to herself, capping her lip liner and grabbing her lipstick. She didn’t have a crush on Hal! She was finally going on a date, and she should be excited.

            Once she got her face together and pulled on her dress, she knew she was cutting it close. She put her phone on her bed as she grabbed her shoes. She took a deep breath as she put her shoes on her feet. Her mind wondered back to Hal. She wondered how he got ready for dates. She wondered if he ever got a little bit nervous before a date, like she was. She looked down at her rug solemnly.

            She wondered if he kissed on the first date. His lips were so pretty and looked so soft. She wondered if he used tongue. Oh, that’d probably feel really, really nice--

            “Oh MY GOD,” Y/N resisted the urge to smack her forehead, “stop thinking about Hal!”

            She stood up and walked back into her bedroom, seeing that her phone was ringing – it was from her date. She cleared her throat and simmered down before answering.

            “Hello?”

            “Hey! Y/N, um, how are you?” Her date spoke with an awkward twinge to his voice. Y/N raised an eyebrow.

            “I’m okay…how are you?” Y/N leaned against her doorframe, perplexed. What was going on? They had 10 minutes before their date, and he’s calling her now?

            “I’m okay, too. Uh, I don’t…I don’t know how to say this in a better way,” The man let out a frustrated sigh, probably running a hand through his hair.

            “…you’re cancelling our date, aren’t you?” Y/N let out a soft sigh, fighting back her disappointment. She really should’ve seen this one coming.

            “It’s not because of you!” He exclaimed, desperate, “It’s because of me.”

            “Classic…” Y/N muttered under her breath.

            “Sorry, I didn’t catch that?”

            “I said I understand!” Y/N coughed out, glad that her sarcastic comment was not heard by this man. She just wanted to get off the phone.

            “Look, my ex came back to town this evening and she wants to rekindle the relationship…”

            “Oh, I see,” Y/N tried to put a pep in her voice, “yeah, you were talking a little bit about her when we were on that dig…”

            “Yeah! That’s the one. She was very forward, and um, I want to see if this will work out, between me and her…”

            “I totally understand,” Y/N fought against her voice cracking, “I wish you the absolute best! You sounded like you really liked her.”

            “Listen, I think you’re really cute, Y/N. I wouldn’t have asked you out for Valentine’s Day if I didn’t think you were…”

            “I’m flattered,” Y/N glowered, unable to hide her tone.

            It went over her co-worker’s head.

            “So if this thing doesn’t work out between me and my ex, I’d like to get together with you…you know, gotta keep a cute back-up in my pocket, right?”

            “Goodbye.” Y/N spat, hanging up.

            A cute back up in his pocket? What the fuck! She wasn’t some beef jerky you could put in your pocket and pull out to eat later! Her hands were shaking in anger, and she quickly pulled up Iris’ contact information.

            “I can’t…” Y/N sighed, shaking her head. Iris and Barry were most likely out on a date – she remembered Barry talking to Hal about his valentine’s day plans in the watchtower two weeks ago, and it sounded like something Iris would really enjoy. Dinah was with Oliver, probably also having a great time. She didn’t want to take them from their good time and make them worry about her. She could handle herself.

            She felt tears leak out of her eyes and she wiped them away, not caring that her mascara might run. She looked down at her hand and stared at her ring. It glowed green slightly, and she sniffled. She had no fear, she was a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Specially chosen from billions in the universe to have a powerful ring that could protect the innocent. Why did she feel so small right now?

            There’s nobody else I’d rather have watching my six than you, Y/N/N…

            Y/N knew in that moment who she needed to see. She threw away all logic and reason. She needed her best friend, and she was going to him. She suited up and flew out of her apartment window, headed straight for Coast City.

--

Hal was having his usual Valentine’s Day. There was a pretty woman in his apartment, and she was doing the typical motions – giggling at his jokes, sitting closer to him, putting a hand on his knee. While these things did get repetitive, it was better than being alone. He’d have to get over that whole pesky “being alone on holidays makes me sick” thing, but he could live with it for a little bit longer. He’d never admit it to a soul, but he had hoped to spend Valentine’s Day with his best friend this year. He wanted a break from the ingenuine connections and have a fun night with Y/N. AS FRIENDS. Yeah. Friends. He didn’t wonder how their night would end up if they played a game of Truth or Dare. He didn’t wonder what it would feel like to pull her body on top of his and kiss her senseless. And he certainly didn’t wonder what it would feel like to hear her whisper that she adored him.

She was something in his life that was steady. He knew he could always turn to her. And he needed that in his life. So, he was just projecting, right?

He was concerned about these weird feelings, but he took it in stride. It was just a logical thing, right? They were constantly at each other’s sides, and their work was stressful. Yeah! Besides, women and men could be good friends without any stupid lovey-dovey feelings getting in the way.

He barely noticed the woman in front of him scoot closer and flutter her eyelashes. She put a hand on his chest and smirked.

“I’ve heard a lot of rumors about you,” She teased, biting her lip, “and I wanna see if they’re right…”

“Oh, you have?” Hal asked, in his own world.  

“Mmhm…” She breathed, touching his chin.

Hal closed his eyes and imagined it was Y/N who was whispering to him and her hand that traced up his face. Would her lips be as soft as he imagined they’d be? Would she giggle into their kiss and tease him? Would she trace her hands down to his…?

            Hal fell out of his trance when he heard a rapid knock on his front door. The secretary let out an annoyed huff, crossing her legs. She was obviously hoping to get some action, but Hal felt slimy about imagining Y/N for a minute there.  

            “Didn’t know you were expecting company,” She bit out, pulling out a compact mirror to check her lipstick, “I thought it was all about me, tonight…”

            Hal grimaced. Yeah, he needed to stop using the washed-up lines that he was so fond of giving out, especially since he hardly ever meant them. He cleared his throat as he made his way to the door.

            “It still is. Just hang on, it might be important…”  

            When he opened the door, he gasped. Y/N was on his apartment’s doorstep in a pretty dress (which covered more of her body than Diana’s gala dress) and her hair was obviously styled for a date. It framed her face and his heart thumped wildly against his chest. He glanced to her face, and he felt his heart disintegrate.

            Her mascara was running, and her nose was leaking. She had lipstick on, but it was smudged. Hal steeped forward and pulled Y/N into his grasp, running a hand through her hair. He shushed her and pulled her tighter into his chest.

            “Who did this.” He demanded.

            “I-I…” Y/N was not expecting Hal to be so protective, shaking her head, “n-nobody. Myself, I guess...”

            “Hal?” A feminine voice sung behind her best friend, “Come on, I miss you…”

            Y/N winced, pulling out of Hal’s embrace even though he tried to hold her even tighter. She cleared her throat, humiliated for the second time that night. She totally forgot that he had a date. She was grateful that he was still dressed and had no lipstick stains on him, but she knew that he was probably ready to take the woman to bed.

            “Shit.” Y/N swallowed dryly and stood back, whispering, “I…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your date, Hal!” Y/N wanted to bury herself underground for another archeologist to find in 100 years, “I wasn’t thinking. Here, we can talk about this tomorrow! How about I come to yours after work? I have a late lecture, but—”

            Hal didn’t wait for her to finish, quickly putting his arm around her and pulling her into his apartment. Y/N stumbled after him – what the hell was he doing?

            “Date’s over, Jessica.” Hal directed, pulling Y/N through the living room where his date was sat. He didn’t even look at her, fussing over Y/N’s shaking body.

            “Excuse me? My name is Janie—”

            “Yeah, okay, Janie, date’s over.”  

            “Hal!” Y/N scolded him; eyes wide. What the hell was he doing? She was at a loss for words, and she tried to send an apologetic look to the date Hal just dismissed.   

            “Who is this!” The woman shrilly shouted, beginning to grab her stuff. Y/N tried to duck and cover. What did Hal just drag her into?

            “Someone important,” Hal spat, gently pushing Y/N to his bedroom, “and she comes first. Leave.”

            “You’re unbelievable! You know what, you’re just as awful as they all say!” Janie sent a look that could kill, “No wonder Carol warned us about you.” Hal followed the woman to the door to make sure that she left.

            “Then you should’ve listened, huh?”

            “Ugh!” The woman stomped out of Hal’s apartment and slammed the door behind her.

            “Have a good night!”  Hal yelled behind her.

            He quickly turned and ran to his bedroom. He saw Y/N sat on his bed, shell-shocked. Did Hal seriously just break a date for her? Her head was spinning, and she wondered if this was even real life. Was she in the twilight zone?  

            “Y/N,” Hal breathed, kneeling in front of her as she sat extremely still on his bed, “What happened, sweetheart?”

            “What did you just do?” Y/N couldn’t hold back her tears, sobbing into her hands. Her makeup was getting everywhere, but she didn’t care, “Fuck, what did I do? I just ruined your date! Why did you do that? I was going to leave—”

            “I wouldn’t let you leave if you tried,” Hal interrupted, grabbing her hands, “besides, you’re better company.”

            “Hal!” Y/N protested, shaking her head, “I ruined Valentine’s Day—”

            “Someone ruined your Valentine’s Day,” Hal asserted, not wanting to hear any more of Y/N’s pity party. “Tell me who.”  

            Y/N cleared her muddled throat, wiping her nose on her dress sleeve. Hal didn’t even cringe at that, quickly running to his bathroom and grabbing her a roll of toilet paper to blow her nose. She gratefully took it and took a deep breath.

            “I must look so pathetic. The guy I was going to go on a date with,” Y/N steadied herself, “he called me to tell me he was getting back with his ex.”

            “What an asshole,” Hal spat, shaking his head. How dare someone treat Y/N that way? She was better than anyone or anything! He would die to have the opportunity to take her out on a date, “Where does he get off?”

            “It gets better,” Y/N sighed, trying to use the toilet paper to wipe her eyes. Hal noticed and dashed off to his bathroom again, bringing over some makeup wipes that she had left at his apartment a few weeks ago. She was about to grab one when he beat her to it, pulling one out and beginning to gently rub her makeup away.

            “Better as in bad, or better as in good?” He was so gentle, and his fingertips expertly worked around her eyelids.

            “Bad,” Y/N scoffed, “He then told me that he wanted to keep me in his pocket in case it didn’t work out with his ex.”

            “What?” Hal was careful not to poke her in the eye, quickly taking another wipe out and using it to wipe her lips, “You’re not a piece of beef jerky that he can just—”

            “That’s exactly what I thought!” Y/N exclaimed, pulling Hal’s hand with the wipe away from her mouth. She nearly let out a laugh – he even thought of the exact metaphor as her.  

            “You deserve better, Y/N/N. What’s his address?”  

            “Hal.” Y/N scolded him, shaking her head, “I don’t even know his address. Besides, it doesn’t matter. At least I didn’t go on a date with him. I didn’t have to waste my time…”

            “I’m glad you didn’t go on a date tonight,” Hal couldn’t keep his words in his mouth, and he winced. He prayed Y/N wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

            “Ha. Well, I’m glad that you…made someone angry tonight?”

            “Eh, it’s nothing new. I wasn’t really feeling her anyway. If anything, I should be thanking the dude that stood you up for bailing me out of this mess.”

            “So, I guess he’s technically our hero tonight?” Y/N snickered.

            “Hey, now that’s pushing it. I’m the hero here.”

            Y/N let out a soft laugh and Hal joined in, pulling her into a tight hug. Y/N nuzzled her head into his collarbone and closed her eyes. This is exactly where she was supposed to be tonight.

            “Come on, I’m starving,” Hal grabbed his wallet from his dresser and pulled on his jacket, “And I’m sure you are too. Come on, my treat.”

            “Hal! No, it’s okay, I can head home, you’ve already done so much—”

            “You don’t have In-N-Out in Keystone, Y/N,” Hal deadpanned, rolling his eyes, “I’m not going to deprive you of that. You’ve already had a shit night.”

            “Fine, if you insist…” Y/N happily followed behind her best friend, taking a seat in the passenger side of his car.

            As they passed under street lamps, Y/N gazed at her best friend. His eyes were on the road, and he was doing a horrible rendition of the song that was playing on the radio. Normally, she’d be singing with him, but she wanted to take a moment to commit this to memory. She thought back on her night. Even if her date did go as planned, would she be having this much fun? She bit her bottom lip, taking one last long look at her best friend. She would much rather be here with Hal than on some stupid date.

            “Come on, Y/N!” Hal exclaimed, looking over at her briefly, “I can’t hit the falsetto!”

            “And you think I can?” Y/N asked, incredulously.

            “Uh, yeah, you’re a chick—”

            “You’re going to try to hit it anyway—”

            “I’ll be gone…in a day or TWOOOOOO!”

            Yup. Hal tried to hit it…and so did she. They erupted into laughter and Y/N gently slid her hand over Hal’s on the gear stick and didn’t move it until they got to their destination.

Chapter Text

Y/N let out a huff of a breath at the speed dating thing Iris dragged her to. Iris was one of her close friends since Barry was Hal’s other best friend. When Hal met up with Barry and Iris was around, Hal would invite Y/N out on the outing so that he wasn’t the awkward third wheel. It helped that Y/N’s home base was right next to Barry’s. She enjoyed being close to Iris since she also kind of understood the superhero life. She was aware that Barry was the Flash (he was her husband after all) and she was aware of Y/N and Hal’s identities. Y/N had a mock dig set up that day in Keystone for her students, and Iris went and picked her up as soon as the woman put down her trowel. Y/N was not expecting Iris to come visit her, but the woman was a master at persuasion. After a few horn beeps, Y/N sighed and decided to spend the weekend at Barry and Iris’ house. Little did Y/N know this was all part of a master plan.

Hal was Barry’s best friend, and the speedster could read him well. Quite frankly, everybody could see the affection that the two GLs had for each other, but they were blinder than those cave fish that have no eyes. To encourage Hal and Y/N’s relationship to blossom, Barry and Iris plotted. So, right after Iris picked Y/N up from the late evening dig, she drove them directly to a singles night at one of Central City’s bars downtown.   

She had no intention of encouraging Y/N to date one of the men there. Usually, the guys weren’t the cream of the crop, and she wanted Y/N to realize just how great Hal was for her. She’d just have to keep an eye out to make sure that none of the men in the bar looked like Hal, because that was Y/N’s kryptonite. She and Dinah still couldn’t get over how she had nearly gone out on a date last Valentine’s Day with a man that looked identical to the pilot. Her and Dinah were happy to hear that Hal took care of her that night, but they were a bit disappointed that he didn’t take care of her, if you know what I’m saying.

Hal would always call Barry on Friday nights to tell the blonde all about the crazy stuff he got into that week – and that also fit perfectly into the plan. In those phone calls, Hal would gush about Y/N for at least ten minutes. Therefore, when Hal would make this phone call tonight, Barry would let it organically “slip” that Iris took Y/N to a singles night. If Barry’s scientific hypothesis was true, Hal would go into an absolute tizzy and haul ass to be in Central City within seconds.

Barry and Iris weren’t dumb, and they planned each minute meticulously. This was it. This was going to be the night that Hal and Y/N finally confessed their stupid feelings.

Y/N pushed her straw around in her glass, listening to Iris’ running commentary about the men that were present in the small bar. Y/N let out a groan when Iris started calling her out.

            “Come on, Y/N! You’ve been single for like, forever. Just give this speed dating thing a try. It’s just casual. Everyone in the bar is looking for someone, so you can’t really strike out…”

            “Iris, I totally get what you’re saying, but I don’t think anyone here is interested in me…which is understandable since you dragged me here right after I lectured my students and did a mock dig!”  Y/N grumbled, nodding down at her dirty cargo pants and loose button-up shirt that was tucked into them, “it looks like I’ve been rolling around in dirt…”

            “Hey! I think it makes you the complete package,” Iris laughed, sipping her drink, “besides, I’m sure there’s some guys here that might find it exciting…”

            “I think they’d probably find my other job a bit more exciting,” Y/N rolled her eyes, slurping her drink through the black straw, “Can’t we go somewhere else for a drink—"

            “Nope!” Iris cut her friend off, quickly looking down at her phone that buzzed. Y/N let out a disappointed sigh and looked down at the bar counter as Iris read her text message.

            Bar sent at 9:15pm: Just got off the phone with Hal, prepare for a hot-headed pilot to kick down the door…

            “Perfect…” Iris breathed. “Um, I’m going to run to the bathroom real fast, will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?”

            “Sure! Trust me, I don’t think you have to worry about me being picked up in this outfit…”

            “I’ll be back in a flash,” Iris quickly spoke, quickly making her way to the bar bathroom. Iris winced. God, she was starting to say that too!

            “Geez, she sounds like Barry,” Y/N said under her breath, playing with her straw. It wasn’t that Y/N couldn’t get dates – she had dated over the years, but she had far too many disaster dates/relationships. (Just take last Valentine’s Day, thank you very much.)

            She would find herself excited at the beginning of the date, but her interest would almost always drop off mid-way through the date. She was extremely slow with physical affection, and it was God-awful when she’d be in the middle of making out with someone and Hal’s face would flash behind her eyelids. Each time she had to abruptly stop and apologize.

            She never got a call back after those incidents – who could blame them? She originally thought Hal appearing behind her eyelids with his easy smile was a one-time freak thing, but it kept popping up. It then got to the point that she’d imagine it was Hal’s sweet lips pressed against her – but it never felt…right. Probably because it wasn’t Hal Jordan who was sucking her face. She reasoned that she felt such a way because the only guy she hung out with constantly was Hal. He was her best friend, and she was severely sleep-deprived. She totally didn’t have a crush on him or anything. That’d be just…a law against nature! Besides, Hal was just so comfortable to be around, and he was familiar. Like coming home to a nice apartment with candles glowing and the fireplace crackling in the middle of the winter. He was a warm hug, a delicate embrace, the wind kissing your face when you step out into a summer breeze. He was like the first snow of the season falling on your eyelashes.

            She was woken from her thoughts when she heard the sucking noise that came when a drink was empty. She let out a sigh and decided to order another. She knew Iris was going to force her to stay until the end of the night, so she might as well get a little bit tipsy to survive it. She was ready to pull out her phone and mindlessly scroll when she felt the fancy drink in front of her be plucked from her grasp.

            “Damn, how can you drink these things?” A familiar voice judged, letting out a gag when he took a sip, “it’s like drinking a unicorn…”

            Y/N’s eyes lit up when she turned and made eye contact with a familiar flight jacket that had a “JORDAN” name patch on the left breast.

            “Hal!” Y/N exclaimed, thoroughly shocked.

            “Remember how I said it was a shame that your brain wasn’t as advanced as our rings?” Hal whispered, beaming his heart-stopping smile.

            “Screw you,” She rolled her eyes, patting the seat next to her. Hal took a seat and ordered a beer, putting his head in his hand. Y/N blushed a bit under his gaze, looking to the other side of the bar. “Why are you here in Central City?”

            “I was just relieved of watchtower duty,” Hal fibbed in a whisper, clearing his throat, and thanking the bartender when he got his beer, “and it’s so lonely in Coast City. I think they turned off my electricity this month…again.”

            Hal would never admit that he was deciding what take-out to order when he called Barry and the speedster dropped a bomb on him – something about Y/N being at a singles night with Iris.

            “I told you to invest in a calendar, Hal,” She snickered, sipping her drink, “you never pay your bill on time.”

            “My lantern provides enough light. Hey, you try to fly death machines and then get dragged off to space. Or, worse yet, have to bail one of your best friends out of her messes.”

            “Hey now! It’s usually me bailing you out of your buffoonery. And I get dragged off to space just as much as you do, thank you very much.”  Y/N glared at the handsome man across from her, crossing her legs. “I can handle myself perfectly. When was the last time you were able to handle yourself, Harold?”

            “Mind telling me why you’re at a singles night, Y/N M/N L/N?” Hal smirked, reveling in Y/N’s obvious embarrassment. She avoided eye contact with him -- she was frustrated that he used her full name and changed the subject on her. He truly knew how to push her buttons. 

            He tried to hide his slight jealousy. When Barry told him that Y/N was out potentially getting some at some seedy bar in Central City, he knew he had to show up and protect his friend. He knew better than anyone what men were like. They were callous, careless…and Y/N deserved more than that! This was simply a recon mission to save his best friend and GL partner.

But to say that he was surprised would be an understatement. He knew Y/N was reluctant to date (unlike him…he was kind of a serial dater). However, he had also began to slow down in his dating. He hadn’t had a date in over three months, and it was all thanks to Y/N and her stupid cute face. And her stupid cute voice. And her stupid cute jokes and her stupid cute way she cared about him.  So, of course, when Barry gave him the news, he sought his glow stick out immediately.

            And he wasn’t lying about his electricity being turned off. He was hardly ever at his apartment in the first place. He was either off in space, at the airfield, stopping intergalactic invasions on earth with Y/N, or fluttering around her. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Y/N would go to a singles night. He had his heart in his throat when he basically busted through the bar door, and he felt relief flood his senses when he saw Y/N sitting alone at the bar in her digging outfit. He nearly cackled when he saw her – only she would be stuck caked with dirt at a singles night.

            “I’m here because Iris dragged me. She figured I needed to get out more since I haven’t dated in several months. And of course, I had to come as soon as I finished with my dig for today…” She sighed, nodding to her get-up. Hal smirked.

            “I like the ‘fit. It keeps the creeps away from you.”

            “Ha, yeah. I kinda look like a gravedigger...”

            “Damn, Bar, taking a dark turn, huh?” Hal sipped his beer again and moved closer to his best friend, so that their knees made firm contact. They quickly leaned into each other to talk, in their own world. They tended to do that.  

            “I’m surprised you came to the singles night, Hal…with all the extraterrestrials you’ve romanced…”

            “Hey!” Hal exclaimed in a high voice, upset with Y/N’s blasé tone, “That was only a few times! And it was never a long-lasting thing. Hell, Y/N, you’re the longest relationship I’ve had, and the best…”

            She felt her heart speed up and she quickly grasped her thigh to keep her grounded. She looked into his brown eyes, and she couldn’t ignore the gentle gaze. He looked genuine, and she knew if she kept looking into those eyes, she’d fall into them and she’d drown – and she would love every minute of it. She looked away, shaking her head.

            “Nobody else would put up with your arrogant butt. You’re lucky that you are easy on the eyes and fly cool planes...”

            “Mm, so you only keep me around to gain ‘SkyMiles,’ huh?” Hal gave her a smug smile, leaning closer to her cheek, nearly in her lap, “I may be able to sneak you on more of my test flights if you’ll join a certain club with me…”

            Y/N rolled her eyes even though Hal made her flutter in all the right wrong places.  She pushed him back by his shoulders, absentmindedly dusting off the collar of his flight jacket. He was never seen without it.

            “Hal Jordan, you are a piece of work. You better watch yourself or I’ll just pick you up in my arms and dump you in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I think that’s a better option than spraying you with a hose. How else are you going to learn?”

            “And maybe I’ll take you up into space, take your ring, and abandon you on the International Space Station so your physical condition would match your mental one.”

            “Why you little—”

            “Hal!” Iris exclaimed as she walked up to Y/N with wide eyes, “Y/N didn’t tell me you were coming!”

            Iris nearly rubbed her palms together like an evil genius. Her and Barry didn’t play around, and they were sick of the obvious pining between Y/N and Hal. She was relieved that he showed up.

            “Because I didn’t know he was going to be here,” Y/N spoke up, quirking an eyebrow. She saw Hal stick his tongue out at her.

            Iris looked over the pair with knowing eyes, crossing her arms before letting out a sigh. They truly shared one braincell.

            “You know if I didn’t know better, I’d say that Hal sought you out tonight, Y/N. What’s a man who lives out in Coast City doing in Central City?” Iris decided to stir the pot. She had a few drinks in her as well, and she was enjoying making the man sweat. 

            Hal looked away, clearing his throat before finishing his beer, placing it down on the bar. Y/N looked at the ground, trying to get the thought out of her head.

            “H-hey, I have an assignment at Whiteman Air Base, that’s only 60 miles from here…and I figured…” Hal choked out, lying through his teeth.

            Y/N hid her laugh behind her hands, loving how awkward Hal was. He was a suave man, always ready to put on his charm but when it came to certain things he fell flat on his face. It was always extremely amusing to witness.

            “Suuuure. Are you gonna drive the 60 miles back to the base tonight? It’s already pretty late. Don’t bases have curfews or something?”

            “As if I’d let my ass sleep in the barracks. I’m staying with you and Barry. I’d let Y/N fly us back to hers, but I know she’s gonna force me to sleep on the couch, like she always does. I don’t get it. I’m 6’2”, Iris. I think she could stand to let me sleep in her bed and relegate herself to the couch, huh? That’s gotta violate the Geneva convention.”

            “Hey! It’s my apartment, you’re lucky I invested in such a comfy couch after the first few times you crashed at mine. Don’t listen to him, Iris.”

            “Well Y/N is staying with me and Bar. I have an idea! We have one guest bed, why don’t you share it with Y/N? She’s always complaining about being cold at night.”

            Y/N was horrified, and she sent Iris a deadly look. Iris smiled a shit-eating grin at her friend and clasped her hands together. Y/N didn’t dare lift her head to see Hal’s face.

            “Well, I better be going. Barry likes an early night and I have to grab some stuff for breakfast tomorrow. You have a house key, Y/N. Will you take her to ours, Hal?”

            “Yeah. See you in the morning, Iris…” Hal grumbled, looking to the side. He had no problem with Iris but sometimes she was too on-the-nose.

            Y/N and Hal ordered another round and continued to talk in whispers. Their little whispers would be interrupted by huge bouts of laughter and Y/N shoving him back by his shoulder. When they finished their drinks, Y/N let out a sigh and began to stand up.

            “Come on, Hal. Apparently, Barry likes an early night. Besides, they usually turn this bar into club past a certain hour. I think we’re both a bit too old for this scene…” Y/N sighed and stretched, pulling out some cash to pay for the drinks.

            “Hey, don’t worry, I’ve got it,” Hal pushed her hands back and handed the bartender his credit card.

            She lifted an eyebrow. Hal would sometimes pay for them, but she didn’t mind taking the bill. She made a little bit more than Hal, and he was truly run ragged with a lot of things. However, Hal began smacking his hand down on the check whenever it was brought to them. It was really her turn to pay the last three times. She had no idea what Hal was pulling, but she resigned to her fate. If Hal wanted to pay and feel like a provider, she’d let him. She’d be sure to get him back in the morning. All she had to do was sneak the cash into his wallet, like she always did. (And of course, the flyboy never noticed…)

            They walked out of the bar and Hal protectively stood closer to her side as they walked, fighting the urge to put his arm around her. They just looked so…right together. He huffed and cleared his throat, shaking his head. He was officially going nuts. Y/N was his best friend – the first person he met that understood. She was only a best friend and would remain that way. He had to get over this little infatuation. She was the best thing in his life, and he’d never jeopardize the relationship they had.

            He was famous for his lack of commitment in relationships. He never cheated on his dates, but he did tend to slip out at the first sign of attachment. He had an attachment to Y/N that ran deeper than anything he could ever imagine but it didn’t scare him. He needed someone who was able to fly up high with him, but also pull him down to earth and stand up to him and his stupid ideas. She wasn’t afraid to challenge him and give him some headaches. Sure, it made him want to pull his hair out, but he always secretly appreciated it. She looked out for him unlike anyone else had.

            He lost his father at a young age and his mother never supported his desire to be like his dad and fly planes. His mother had died a few years back, and his oldest brother still refused to talk to him. He talked to his youngest brother occasionally, but there was still a disconnect. Hal was the one who ran off and flew the planes and worried their mother to death. In turn, his older brother blamed him for their mother’s death. Hal knew he wasn’t responsible in the least for it, but emotions were still high between the Jordan boys. He wouldn’t find support there. He wouldn’t find support at Ferris Aircraft. Barry understood at a certain level, but the speedster was lucky to have Iris and her family. Hal had himself.

            But he also had Y/N.

            “So…wanna suit up and get back to Barry’s faster or do you wanna fly to mine and sleep on my apparently shitty couch that violates the Geneva convention?” Y/N offered, trying to erase Iris’ teasing. She hoped that Hal didn’t internalize Iris’ whole thing about sharing a bed. She can’t believe that Iris brought up the fact that she got cold at night while staying with the Allens. Barry was a great host and a little bit of a people pleaser, if we’re being honest – he’d turn the thermostat up to 100 if his guest asked for it (even though it’d kill him.) Iris had a strict thermostat policy.

            “Hmm…as much as I’d love to see you try to make your couch comfy for me, I think we can manage at Bar’s. I’ll crash on their couch – it is so much better than yours…” Hal snarked.

            Did he want to share that guest bed with Y/N? Oh, hell yes. He wanted to spoon her, pull her close to his chest and imagine that she was his. He wanted to protect her from everything and let her know that she wasn’t alone either. He wanted to bury his nose in the crown of her head, inhaling the smell of her familiar shampoo. He wanted to run his long fingers along her arms as she slept so he could feel the electricity in his fingertips. He wanted to see her bed head and sleepy face when the sun would creep in through the window. He wanted to caress her face with his lips until she crashed hers onto his because she was notoriously impatient. He shook his head of his lovesick thoughts when Y/N spoke up.

            “Alright, I’ll suit up – you better do it too—”

            “Hey, I’ll suit up and fly us to Barry’s. No use in us both using up our batteries…” Hal would never admit he just wanted to have an excuse to hold her. He saw her raise an eyebrow and try to analyze him for a moment before she let out a sigh and gave up. She was tired…

            “Oh, my hero,” She sarcastically breathed, walking into his open arms. Ugh, she loved the crush of him against her. It was so steady. She felt so safe in his arms. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the intimate closeness until they walked into the Allen household, going their separate ways to sleep.

            The next morning, Y/N couldn’t understand why Iris and Barry were glaring at her and Hal over their pancakes.

Chapter Text

Bright green and violet light shot through the inky black of space – crashing into each other violently, equally matched in many ways. While most people would think this was a pretty light show, Y/N was fighting for her life.

            To be honest, Y/N should’ve protested when Guardian Ganthet assigned her to check for suspicious space debris by Zamoran. The debris was about to enter their orbit, and the Guardians suspected foul play from the Zamorans, also known as the Star Sapphire Corps. Lucky for Y/N, Y/N’s main nemesis called Zamoran home – Star Sapphire.

            While Y/N initially thought the Star Sapphire Corps was kicking patriarchy’s butt and taking names, she quickly revoked her lukewarm support when one of them nearly killed her in her first big fight. She learned that Star Sapphire was Hal’s ex and former boss, Carol Ferris. While it was well known that the Star Sapphire crystal truly had the ability to completely change a person if they were susceptible to its properties (heartbreak, love, etc.), Y/N had one hell of a nemesis on her hands.

            While Star Sapphire’s initial focus was to kill Hal Jordan, her focus quickly left him and went to Y/N. Lucky her. Y/N hated the concept of it all. Her male best friend’s ex hated her guts. It made Y/N feel so slimy…but Y/N knew that many heroes didn’t get to hand-pick their nemesis. She knew Hal was dating Carol when she first met him, but their relationship quickly ended soon after. She had no idea why Star Sapphire had it out for her – and she wished she did so they could potentially talk it out instead of shooting constructs at eachother. Y/N could think about that later, though – she was kind in the middle of a fight.

            Y/N slammed a large beam of green light into Star Sapphire, breaking the woman’s focus and sending her back several feet.

            “I don’t want to fight you, Star Sapphire!” Y/N shouted, ready for the woman’s retaliation. Y/N knew that it was a lost cause, but she’d never stop trying to get through to Carol.

            “You don’t want to fight me?” Star Sapphire scoffed, regaining her balance, “don’t tell me the Green Lantern Corps has lost its edge…” She moved her wavy black hair out of her face and fired up her ring to cause more damage and pain for the Green Lantern in front of her.

            “I’m not your enemy, Carol!” Y/N grunted, annoyed that she was able to get a nasty sucker punch in with a violet fist construct, stumbling back.

            “Hal Jordan crushed me, and I will not rest until I crush him back!” Star Sapphire didn’t like Y/N using her name, “Don’t you ever flatter yourself again, thinking I’m your nemesis—”

            “I don’t see you avoiding me to go attack Hal on Oa! You always fight me, even when Hal is in the vicinity!” Y/N snapped back, shielding herself from the woman’s next construct, “Oof! Come on Carol, remember Beyonce’s Lemonade album? Us ladies have to stick together and all that good stuff—”

            Y/N should’ve known bringing up Beyonce would distract her from the task at hand – before she finished her sentence, Star Sapphire had wrapped Y/N into a tight rope-like construct, beginning to suffocate her like a boa constrictor. She let out a choked noise, trying to figure her way out of this bind.

            “I can’t wait until your stupid voice is choked out of you,” She growled, continuing to tighten the construct by the second.

            Y/N let out a yelp, observing the violet rope around her body. Okay. Y/N could do this. Star Sapphire was so focused on revenge (for some reason) and it left Y/N an opening. Using all the willpower she could afford at the moment, Y/N sent a burst of green energy off her body, throwing Star Sapphire backwards along with her failed construct. Y/N then put up a green forcefield around the woman to buy herself some time to decide her next move. Y/N saw Star Sapphire get frustrated, and that meant this fight was about to go supernova.

            “CAN’T YOU SEE THAT THE BASTARD IS IN LOVE WITH YOU?!” The scantily clad woman shrieked, infuriated.

            Y/N tried to stop herself – she truly did – but it was futile. Y/N threw her head back and laughed until there were tears in her eyes.

            “Yeah, Okay…” Y/N composed herself, still supporting the green forcefield, “good try at distracting—”

            Y/N spoke to soon – Star Sapphire was able to get her revenge. Y/N looked down to see violet crystals begin to crawl up her legs. Shit!

            Star Sapphires had the ability to crystalize their opponents and make their victims be stuck in a state of suspended animation. Y/N knew that if she allowed this to happen, she’d be as good as lost. It was very difficult to get out of the crystal once it began to form.

            “I fought Hal before you were fully trained,” Star Sapphire spoke, glaring into Y/N’s eyes, “and I always wondered how exactly I’d crush him…”

            Y/N tried to ignore the woman’s words, focusing all her will to her ring. Y/N was able to phase through some objects with her ring once or twice, but the results always varied. She had to use all her strength to do so. Y/N knew she couldn’t use excessive force on the climbing crystal, so she decided to be all-in on her last mode of defense. Star Sapphire continued to talk, obviously not watching what Y/N was attempting to do.

            “But when I saw how concerned that lowlife was with your wellbeing the first time you and I crossed paths, it clicked. It’s the best way to torture him!” Star Sapphire floated closer to Y/N, her eyes lit up in sick glee, “Before I even get my hands on him, he’ll already be begging for death…because he would’ve lost you.”

            The words Star Sapphire spoke were not lost on Y/N, but she couldn’t stop to question her, even though she wanted to. This was one hell of an attempt to distract the Green Lantern.

            Carol couldn’t be trusted as Star Sapphire, and love was the name of the game when it came to manipulation. Y/N felt the crystal creep its way up her hips, and beads of sweat were starting to drip down her face. She was almost there – she’d be able to phase in a matter of seconds if she kept her focus. Star Sapphire didn’t shut up, though.

            “You should blame Hal, Y/N. He’s who sealed your fate with his arrogance and inability to be faithful to anyone else.”

            Y/N knew she had to use the last bit of her energy to survive. She began to softly breathe out the Green Lantern oath.

            “In brightest day, in blackest night…”

            “Hal looked into my star sapphire crystal when I confronted him…and was able to see his heart’s desire, the love he’s missing…”

            “No evil shall escape my sight…”

            “And you know who he saw?” Carol raised her voice shrilly, the crystal now covering Y/N’s chest, working its way up to her throat,

            “Let those who worship evil’s might…”

            “YOU!”

            “BEWARE MY POWER, GREEN LANTERN’S LIGHT!”

            Carol and Y/N screamed at the same time, and Y/N phased through the crystal, nearly knocking out Star Sapphire. The woman let out a shriek of pain, falling back into Zamoran’s orbit. Y/N watched other members of the Star Sapphire corps fly out to grab their leader, and they sent Y/N a nasty look. They wouldn’t dare try to kill the Green Lantern – that was for their leader to do…and she would someday.

            When the women collected their leader, Y/N was left alone in space, drifting along.

She was absolutely drained, and so was her ring’s battery. She had put so much effort into breaking out of the crystal that she had no energy left. She floated out in space, her muscles aching. She knew that Star Sapphire ultimately won this fight. Y/N was too far from Oa, and there was no GL in this sector. She knew that the protective casing her ring had around her would eventually begin to glitch and disappear, causing her to fall victim to the vacuum of space. The silence, the endless darkness.

            She couldn’t give up hope, though. If she did die, she wanted to make sure that the GL Corps would be able to find her body. She knew Hal could only have closure that way – if her body was never found, she knew he would go feral looking for her.

            “Ring,” Y/N croaked, fighting to keep her eyes open, “send a homing beacon to…” Y/N paused. Her first instinct was to say Hal’s name, but she didn’t want him to discover her like this, and he’d be so close to Zamoran. This could’ve been one big elaborate plot to draw Hal to the planet and kill him. She swallowed dryly, “send a homing beacon to Tomar-Re…”

--

            Hal was with Kilowog and Tomar-Re on Oa, standing around the main battery. The three of them had just returned from a fact-finding mission in Sector 2682. While they did find some valuable information, Hal was bummed that there wasn’t anything dramatic happening that he could tell Y/N about. Sometimes this job was so boring—

            Tomar-Re let out a soft sound of surprise when his ring began to beep. A map quickly appeared in front of him, a construct from the ring.

            “Green Lantern L/N is in critical life support due to low battery power in Sector 1416.” The ring spoke.

            “Y/N?!” Hal shouted, pushing Kilowog out of his way to get a better view of Tomar-Re’s map. “What’s she doing in the Star Sapphire sector—”

            “I had sent her there to examine spaceship debris,” Ganthet appeared near the three lanterns, causing Hal to flail in surprise.

            He hated when the Guardians just showed up out of seemingly nowhere.

            “She sent the homing beacon to Tomar-Re,” Kilowog spoke, a bit perplexed – he was sure that she would call for Hal. There had to be a reason she requested Tomar-Re.

            Tomar was a good friend of Y/N’s in the Corps, and she trusted him with her life. He had saved her butt a few times on some of her first missions where Hal wasn’t present. She knew that if Tomar found her body, he would be sad, but he wouldn’t be as devastated as Hal would be. Tomar was level-headed, and he’d bring her body safely back to Oa, and probably make sure Kilowog kept Hal at bay until her body was properly patched up for viewing. He had no idea what state she would be in.

            “Lantern L/N’s battery level is on…1.5 percent.” The ring spoke with finality.  

            “Tomar-Re, Lantern L/N sent the homing beacon to you. I trust that you will be able to find her and return her to Oa,” Ganthet spoke.

            “No way!” Hal shouted, standing his ground, “I’ll go and get her! I’ll get to her faster, I’ll—”

            “Lantern Jordan, the homing beacon was not sent to you.” Ganthet stared the human down, and Hal didn’t flinch in the slightest.

            “I’m going to her—”

            “You are not—”

            “I’M GOING!” Hal yelled, getting ready to shoot off the planet. He was stopped by Kilowog gripping his shoulder tightly.

            “Hal, Y/N asked for Tomar. The more you argue and fight this, the more her battery level drops. Tomar could be on his way by now—”

            “She needs me!” Hal croaked, desperate, “She needs me! I need to—”

            “Lantern Jordan, you are in no state to—”

            “Tomar, go!” Kilowog demanded his friend. Tomar didn’t have to be told twice, rocketing off Oa and heading toward Y/N’s last location.

--

            Y/N felt the protective force field around her body begin to glitch. She let out a soft sob, staring at the stars that surrounded her.

            “Battery level is at 0.4 percent, reaching critical status.”

            Y/N heard the robotic voice of her ring, and she felt her chest constrict. Would that be the last thing she ever heard? She closed her eyes. Her life didn’t flash before her, surprisingly. She was a little bit bummed about it. She kind of wanted to see her greatest moments before she kicked the bucket.

            She let out a long breath, sucking in more oxygen from her force field. In a matter of minutes, she would lose her oxygen barrier and she’d be unable to breathe. Her body would also probably be torn apart by the vacuum of space. She winced.

            There were a lot of things that Y/N hadn’t accomplished. For one, she was positive she hadn’t fallen in love with anyone yet. She hadn’t experienced what it was like to be loved so wholeheartedly by someone. She felt her bottom lip wriggle. Love was not the most important thing in the universe to her, but it still kinda sucked that she didn’t get to experience at least one good romantic relationship while she was alive.

            She never got to tell Hal how important he was to her. She had failed, and she prayed that her death wouldn’t destroy him. He was a lot more sensitive than he looked.

            “Y/N!” A familiar voice spoke. Y/N was a bit out of it, so she let out a soft groan, “I found you! You have .1 percent battery left. Come on, let’s get you to Oa.”

            Y/N was wrapped up in a force field and they shot off towards Oa. Y/N looked at Tomar-Re in a daze, thankful that her friend was able to save her life.

            Maybe she still had the chance to experience the things she wanted to, but she could worry about that later. She was just ready to be carried to the main battery to charge her ring before taking a nap for three weeks. She closed her eyes and made herself think about how relieved Hal would be.

--

            When Y/N woke up in the medical bay on Oa, she was assaulted by the amount of people around her bed. Arisia was there – she was a sweet teenager that had really taken to Y/N and asked her for advice all the time. She was sat next to her bed with her big eyes full of worry. Y/N looked to her left to see Kilowog who was looking at her vitals. Tomar-Re was sat in the other chair near her bed, slowly falling asleep.

            She felt something warm at her side, crushing her into the bed’s railing. She looked down to see Hal asleep next to her, his head on her shoulder.

            “She’s awake!” Arisia cheered.

            “Hey! Welcome back to the land of the living, Poozer.” Kilowog teased, his large hand giving her a noogie.

            Tomar-Re woke with a start and quickly recovered, smiling at his friend. Y/N stuck out her hand for him to touch.

            “Thank you, Tomar…” She squeezed her friend’s hand.

            “Don’t mention it.”

            “I owe you one.”  

            Hal was the last to notice she was awake. He looked up at her and she felt her breath be robbed from her lungs. His eyes were red and so was his nose. He had been crying. Y/N knew that the man probably tried to hide it, maybe even yelling “I’M JUST ALLERGIC TO SOMETHING HERE.” She was sure the amount of sleep he got next to her was the most sleep he had in a while.

            “Oh!” He spoke, falling out of the bed before jumping up and shoving Arisia out of the way, “Oh, Y/N…” He spoke, grabbing her and crushing her into his chest. He nearly fell on top of her in the bed, and Kilowog let out a gag.

            “Get a room!” He shouted.

            “Shut up…” Hal murmured into Y/N’s shoulder, holding her close.

            Y/N had no idea how to react except to hug him back. She ran a soothing hand through his brown hair, shushing him as he held her tight.

            “We better give them a few moments,” Tomar-Re awkwardly sighed, opening the medical bay doors.

            “Y-yeah…I hope you feel better, Y/N!” Arisia whispered, hi-tailing it out of the room.

            Kilowog was the last to leave, shaking his head, “Jordan, get a grip. And remember you’re in recovery, Y/N!”

            Y/N felt Hal pull out of her embrace when everyone had left. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her.

            “Hal…”  Y/N breathed, happy to see his smile.

            “FIRST OF ALL,” The man shouted, his smile quickly fading, “the next time you are about to die, maybe send the homing beacon to ME instead of our pal Tomar-Re? I can’t believe you! After all we’ve been through…you’ve seen my weird rash!”

            “Not voluntarily!” Y/N retched, shaking her head, “Hal, listen—”

            “AND ANOTHER THING, I have no idea why the hell you were out in Sector 1416? Are you not aware that there’s a whole corps out there that is ready to rip your insides out—”

            “Well—”

            “Don’t you start! What’s up with this whole ‘tough’ thing, Y/N? That’s my job! It’s your job to nag me! Not the other way around!”

            “Harold, I swear, if you don’t let me talk—”

            “I could’ve lost you.” Hal whispered, biting his bottom lip as he simmered down, “I…I could’ve lost you, Y/N.”

            Y/N pinned her mouth shut, watching Hal rub at his eyes. Hal was never one to show his deep emotions, so she decided to let him get it all out. He quickly regained his composure by taking a deep breath.

            “The next time you’re assigned to some petty mission, let me know so I can ditch my boring one and come with you on yours. You obviously saw some action. Who the hell—”

            “Star Sapphire.” Y/N blurted, worried that Hal would cut her off again. Hal’s expression hardened and he looked away.

            “Is that why you didn’t send the homing beacon to me? Were you worried I’d fall into a trap?”

            “Y-Yes,” Y/N admitted. That was only partially the reason – the main reason was because she didn’t want Hal to find her in such a state, but she’d never admit that to him.

            “What a stupid reason,” Hal hissed, putting his hands in his hair as he paced, “you were the priority. Carol can do all she wants to try and kill me, but she should be terrified to touch something that’s—”

            Hal nearly blurted “mine” but clammed up quickly. He saw Y/N look to the side, feeling guilty. He let out another breath and shook his head.

            “Sorry. I’m just a little…”

            “I know, Hal. And I’m sorry. The fight wasn’t as bad as some of my battles in the past, but she did do a whammy on me. I was able to phase with my ring…and this time, I didn’t get a bloody nose!”

            “Yeah, you just depleted your energy and the battery in your ring and nearly got suffocated by space.” Hal dead panned.

            “Hmph…” Y/N huffed.

            “I’m still proud of you, though…what’d you phase through?”

            “Star Sapphire was trying to crystalize me. It’s that weird thing only their corps can do. There’s no force in this universe that allows someone to break through the crystal once it starts creeping up the body. It took a lot of effort and focus, but I phased through and threw her back into Zamoran’s orbit.”

            “Geez,” Hal whispered, putting a hand on her forehead, “you’ve been out for a day. Not long in the grand scheme of things, but damn, did you take your time to wake up…”

            “My sincerest apologies,” Y/N rolled her eyes at Hal.

            “…I’m sure that Star Sapphire had some wicked things to say. Was she talkative?”

            “You know it, that’s her whole M.O.”

            “Lay it on me! You know I love me some drama.”

            Y/N looked down at her hands. Now she was between a rock and a hard place. If she kept her mouth shut and didn’t tell Hal what Carol said to her, he’d suspect something crazy went down (well, something crazy did go down, but nonetheless.) If she fibbed to Hal and said some mild stuff, Hal would be suspicious too. She decided to go with telling some half-truths.

            “You know, her typical speeches. She’s out to crush you, even though I pointed out that she tends to target me…”

            Hal sucked his lips into his mouth. Yeah. He’d never tell Y/N this, but he knew why Carol was out to get Y/N. When she first confronted him a few years back, she forced him to look into the star sapphire crystal she had. She saw that he saw Y/N, even though he had known her for less than 6 months. It enraged Carol since she had her suspicions during their relationship. Hal did take some responsibility. He did break Carol’s heart, and he had hurt her badly. And that’s why she was susceptible to the power of the star sapphire.  He just cut and run – he had conflicting feelings and he didn’t want to disappoint someone else. He wasn’t a cheater, and he was sure that Carol knew that – Y/N and him were just friends – even to this day. It annoyed him that the woman was out to kill Y/N – she was innocent in all of this. He wasn’t.

            When Carol forced him to look at the star sapphire crystal she had in her hand at their first confrontation, he was surprised to see Y/N’s face. Was she really his heart’s desire? He hadn’t known her that long, but he knew he was starting to have strong feelings for her. He really didn’t want to have those feelings, but his heart was stubborn as hell. He still wondered what it meant to see Y/N and nothing else in that crystal, but that was a topic for another lonely night.

            “Sounds like her…” Hal managed to comment, “I do wonder why she attacks you if she wants to kick my ass…”

            Hal damn well knew why, but he was unaware of what Carol told Y/N during their fight. Star Sapphire was out to kill Y/N because she knew that would kill Hal Jordan. Two birds, one stone. Y/N decided not to divulge that. She wondered if the whole star sapphire crystal story Carol told her was true. She decided it wasn’t. Hal couldn’t be stupid enough to look at the crystal!

            …

            Wait. He definitely was.

            “It’s over now. I’m back on Oa, my ring is charged, and my body isn’t screaming at me to lay down. I say it’s been a successful day.”

            “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” Hal pointed at Y/N, glaring at her. She quickly put her hands up.

            “I can’t promise that, but I can promise I won’t get into another sticky situation for about 12 hours. How about that?”

            “Fine.” Hal bent down and left a soft kiss on her head, grateful that she was able to live another day at his side. He quickly pulled away, scrunching up his nose. “Ugh. Take a shower, you’re sweaty.”

            “Get out of here!” Y/N shouted, throwing a pillow at Hal as he ran out of the room.

Chapter Text

Hal wasn’t the biggest fan of Y/N and him being separated. He had no issues if they were miles or galaxies apart – if they were in the same atmosphere. He disliked when one of them would be on earth and the other would be in space. Right now, Hal was on earth, and Y/N was currently on a mission with Arisia in Sector 2815, where the teenager was from. There were some intense meteorite collisions occurring, and Y/N thought it would be a good time to train Arisia on techniques – dodging, blasting (the proper meteorites) and keeping an intense focus.

            Arisia was originally supposed to be Hal’s mentee – he told her some stories about other GLs in the corps, and she met Y/N as soon as the woman showed up to help the Corps fight Krona. (Yes, Hal did tell Arisia some stories about his “partner” and he may have been heavy on the praise.) The teen adored Y/N and Hal was quickly left in the dust. It was a no brainer – Y/N would be Arisia’s mentor. It did make Hal proud – Y/N was his first mentee (NO MATTER WHAT Kilowog or Y/N say! He was very advanced at three months – that was three months that he had on Y/N, which means he had more experience than her. And that means she was his mentee, not Kilowog’s!)

            Hal landed near a large mine located in northern California. He was informed that there were some miners trapped. Law enforcement figured that a Green Lantern was the best fit for the job – the constructs were gentle enough to keep fragile humans safe, and they were also strong enough to move several tons of rock. Hal moved the boulders that blocked the cave entrance and flew inside. It was a total mess – rocks and rubble filled many passageways and what Hal thought would take a tight fifteen minutes quickly turned in to an hour. He let out a harsh cough when dust filled his lungs, and he was sure to strengthen the forcefield around himself. Once he got to a large opening, he decided to scan for life – it’d be faster than zipping through all the different passageways.

            “Ring, scan for life.” Hal instructed.

            “Scanning…there are two life signatures.”

            “What?” Hal breathed, raising a brown eyebrow.

            Now that wasn’t right – while Hal made his way up to the mine, he received intel that at least twenty miners were trapped. He felt his heart sink. Had eighteen died while he was taking the time clearing the rubble? He shook his head. No. Maybe the ring was wrong.

            “Ring, re-scan.” Hal harshly demanded, getting impatient.

            “Scanning…there are two life signatures.”

            Hal let out a groan, quickly creating a megaphone construct. He cleared his throat, “Hello. This is Green Lantern. If you are trapped, please make some noise.”

            Hal stopped and listened, using the ring to scan for soundwaves. There were some sounds, but it was just rock settling. He felt his chest tighten. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, many of the miners could’ve perished. He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in his chest.

            “Ring, where are the two life signatures located—”

            “Right here.” A familiar voice sang out.

            Hal felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he turned to find Star Sapphire on top of some rubble.

            “What are you—” Hal stopped when he saw that Star Sapphire had someone at her feet. Two life signatures. He saw the familiar shade of Y/N’s hair between Carol’s slim fingers. Y/N, in her Green Lantern uniform, was bloodied and broken. Hal could hear her raspy breathing.

            “Y/N!” Hal shouted, moving to get closer to her.

            “Watch it, Jordan!” Star Sapphire cut Hal off – “You come any closer, and I’ll make sure there’s only one life signature your ring can find.”

            Hal paused, weighing his options. His head felt fuzzy, and he shivered when he saw the crimson blood drip off Y/N’s body.

            “H-Hal,” She croaked, letting out a hiss of pain when Star Sapphire yanked on her hair.

            “Let her go, Carol! It’s me who hurt you, not Y/N—”

            “You truly aren’t that bright,” Carol scoffed, knocking Y/N onto her back. Y/N was too weak to move. Hal desperately wanted to as his ring to check Y/N’s vitals, but he was frozen in place, fear gripping his heart.

            He hadn’t felt fear like this in a very, very long time. And fear is the enemy of will.

            “There’s only one way to make you pay for your crimes, Hal. Killing you is too easy. You may feel pain when your neck gets snapped, or you’re burned alive…but that’s just physical pain. That’s not enough.”

            “Carol, let Y/N go – I mean it. You won’t leave here in one piece if you—”

            Star Sapphire put her heeled foot over Y/N’s throat, and the woman beneath her began to choke.

            “NO!” Hal shrieked, putting his hands up, “Don’t…”

            “You broke my heart and today I’ll break yours,” Carol smirked, putting her hands on her hips.

            “You won’t get me back this way—”

            “Get you back?” Carol laughed out loud, incredulous, “I don’t want you back. God, you and Y/N sure love to flatter yourselves—”

            “Carol. Let Y/N go,” Hal pointed his fist at Carol, steadying himself, “Let’s talk. Please.”

            “It’s too late for that—”

            Hal shot off his ring and Carol masterfully dodged the green beam, putting a violet construct around Hal’s upper body, trapping his hands against his thighs.

            “You want to play like that?” Carol huffed, quickly picking Y/N up by her hair so her bloodied face could be seen fully by Hal, “talk to him. Tell him how you feel.”

            “Hal,” Y/N sobbed, “it’s okay,” She swallowed, “I love you—”

            “Say it louder!” Carol coldly barked.

            “I love you—” Y/N raised her shaky voice so Hal could hear her clearly, “I love you.”

            “What do you say to that, Hal? You and I both know how you feel. Are you brave enough to respond?”

            Hal panicked, trying to get out of Carol’s construct. He couldn’t focus. His eyes went from Y/N’s crumpled form to the sick glee on Star Sapphire’s face.

            “I-I can’t focus,” Hal breathed.

            “Aw, did you hear that, Y/N? Looks like loverboy doesn’t love you back.”

            Hal saw tears stream down Y/N’s face, wiping away some of the blood that was caked there. It broke him.

            “No, no, Y/N, Y/N, baby…I lo—”

            “Too late!” Carol sneered.

            A sickening crack echoed around the mine, and Y/N’s body fell with a thud on the rocks. Carol had snapped her neck. Hal was released from the violet construct and went to his knees, screaming.

            “No! No, no, no—”

            “All you do is hurt people, Hal. Me, your family, Y/N…”

            “I-I didn’t—”

            “You didn’t what, Hal? You didn’t mean to betray me, forcing me to become this?” She gestured to herself, “you didn’t mean to be so afraid of commitment you got a woman you apparently loved, killed? Her last memory is you struggling to say you love her because you don’t. You’re incapable.”

            “I—” Hal’s hands began to shake.

            “What makes you worthy to wear a ring that powerful? You couldn’t even save her or the miners. All those people, killed. Maybe no one deserves the power you selfishly took.”

            Hal let out a sob, looking at his ring. Carol was right. All of this…was on him. If he was honest with Carol, she wouldn’t be Star Sapphire. If he was more focused, he could’ve saved the miners sooner. If he had told Y/N how he felt…

            “Y/N deserved her ring. I don’t deserve mine.” Hal cried, pulling the GL ring off his finger. His uniform disappeared, and he put his hands over his face, his body wracked with sobs.

            “I hope you have the decency to do what’s right, Hal,” Carol coldly spoke, getting ready to make her exit, “and suffer for your many sins.”

            As soon as Star Sapphire appeared, she was gone. Hal scrambled to find Y/N’s body. He needed to hold her. He didn’t want her body to go cold. He didn’t want it to be left in this hell hole. He let out a frustrated groan when her body was nowhere to be found.

            He cried in anguish, and time no longer existed. He wanted to die here. What was the point? All his sins – there was no way he could be redeemed.

            “Hal? Hal, listen to me!”

            Hal was sure he was hearing things now, that voice sounded like—

            “It’s Batman. Listen. However this looks, this wasn’t your fault—”

            Hal dared to look up at the man, dismayed. How could he say that? Hal was completely at fault—

            “Whose fault is it, then?” Hal managed to whisper, taking a deep breath, “I was the one with the most powerful weapon in the universe, I had fought Star Sapphire before, and each time—”

            “Hal—”

            “My arrogance and cowardliness led to Y/N being killed. I don’t…don’t even have her body…the corps…my God—”

            “Because Y/N isn’t dead. Her body was never here—”

            “I know what I saw—”

            “Your ring said there were two life signatures, right?”

            “Y-yes—”

            “You and Star Sapphire were the only ones here. No miners. No Y/N. Just you and her.”

            Hal looked up at Batman with wide eyes. Wait. Wait. Two life signatures – how could Hal have misinterpreted—

            “This entire scenario was created to convince you that you made a bad call, but you didn’t.”

            “I was afraid that—”

            “No. You weren’t really afraid,” Batman replied sternly, “You were dosed with a synthetic of Scarecrow’s fear toxin.”

            It all started to make sense, but what he saw felt too real. He slowly stood up.

            “But…but Y/N—”

            “Is fine. Look,” Batman motioned for Hal to put on his ring. Hal did so, suiting back up, “you should have a message from her, I contacted her as soon as I found out.”

            Hal wasted no time, having his ring project the message that was left. Y/N’s face popped right up, and he felt his body nearly collapse in relief.

            “Hal! Hal,” Y/N moved the hair out of her face, “Batman just contacted me. I’m here! I’m alive,” Y/N gestured to herself and her surroundings, “I’m still out in sector 2815 with Arisia! She’s doing a great job. She’s going to visit with her family, and I need to head to Oa with my report. As soon as I get my report to the Guardians, I’ll be back home to you. I’m alive, don’t worry so much, flyboy. See you soon.”

            The message cut off, and Hal closed his eyes. He would never delete that message. God, she was safe. She was okay. She was not dead. He didn’t fail. He still had her.

            “I have the antidote to the fear toxin if you—”

            “No. I’m fine without it. Let’s go.”

--

            It had been a few weeks since the whole Vandal Savage incident where he pulled the whole ‘an enemy of my enemy is my friend’ bullshit with the Justice League. Everyone’s nemesis was in jail, and Vandal Savage had been sentenced to life in prison. Hal was able to neutralize Carol, taking the star sapphire crystal away from her. He hoped that the crystal would steer clear of Carol, but the Star Sapphire Corps was loyal to their leader. She’d probably have the crystal in her possession by the end of the month.

While Hal had survived that whole encounter, he was still too…jittery. Every time him and Y/N were on a mission, he was right on her. He got yelled at a few times by Sinestro for breaking formation during some important operations. They still hung out as usual, but Hal did not whisper a word of what happened to him. Y/N was nosy and asked, but Hal shrugged and said he couldn’t really remember it thanks to the fear gas.

            Hal was now in Y/N’s bathtub with a nasty gash on his chest. Y/N had been battling a rogue member of the Red Lantern Corps in another sector. She was on her way back to the sector she shared with Hal, but got ambushed. It was only one member of the Red Lantern Corps, and Y/N was able to easily take care of it.

            But Hal didn’t believe that. As soon as he saw that Y/N’s location had stalled near the border of 2814, he went straight to her location. In doing so, he saw Y/N kick some ass, but he also got stabbed in the chest. (His focus was off for a split second…ugh.) When the threat was neutralized, Y/N took him to her apartment in Keystone City, and she refused to talk to him. He was still getting the silent treatment as she leaned over him in the tub with a washcloth. The weapon that stabbed Hal didn’t graze any major organs, but it sure did hurt. He drew in a breath.

            “Y/N/N…”

“I guess I should be thanking you for gracing my bathtub with your blood,” Y/N blew a piece of hair out of her face as she patched Hal up, using a washcloth to blot at the dried blood on his neck and chest. She was livid, and her lips were pursed. Hal winced at her tone.

             “Mmm,” Hal sucked in a breath, “you better never wash your tub – you could probably sell this for some good cash…”

            “I told you that I could handle it, Hal,” She sent a blistering look at the man in front of her. She continued to wipe at him with the warm washcloth, feeling him slowly relax under her touch. She tried to ignore the fact that he was bare-chested to her and in her bathtub where she would sometimes think some inappropriate things about him.

            “I know,” Hal mumbled.

            “No, you don’t know. If you knew I could handle it, then why did you show up? Hal. I’m as much a Green Lantern as you, and I’m just as advanced. I didn’t ask for backup. I can’t believe you tracked my location—” 

            “Y/N, come on. Someone’s gotta keep an eye on you after that crap you pulled! You were on the brink of death when Tomar-Re found you—”  

            “Hal.” Y/N scolded, shaking her head, “I mean it. I’m not a baby. Why are you less confident in my abilities now? You know that if I needed help, I’d let you know! Didn’t I inform Tomar that I needed help? I sent the homing beacon!”  

            Hal kept his mouth shut as Y/N worked over his wounds, grabbing a stitching kit from under her sink. He stared at the pink bath water around him. He didn’t want to let her know that the thought of her dying was weighing heavily on his mind. While the situation Star Sapphire put him in was one big lie and was in Batman’s stupid contingency plans (thanks, Batman) Hal still felt disturbed by it. Sometimes he’d lay in bed and see Y/N’s devastated face when he wasn’t quick to tell her he loved her. Did he love her? Yes, for sure. He was positive now. Did she love him? Probably not! He didn’t want to take the risk. He knew Y/N could handle herself, but what if there was one time she couldn’t?

They truly put their lives on the line each time they went out to protect innocent people. He kept firm in his belief that he would never tell Y/N what he saw.  

            “Hal!” Y/N exclaimed, frustrated with Hal looking spaced out. She completed her stitching of the gash on his chest, and she felt Hal’s heart begin to slow down. He must’ve been thinking of something that got his blood pressure up. She glared at him again, “watch yourself. You’re bleeding again…”

            “Sorry,” Hal murmured, licking his lips, “thank you…for patching me up, Y/N/N. You always have the gentlest hands…” Hal tried not to think of her delicate hands touching his body all over.

            “Hm, you weren’t saying that when I punched you in the stomach last week.”

            “Well, no shit, you punched me in the stomach!” Hal spat, rolling his eyes, “I swear…”

            “Gotta keep you on your toes. Did you want to bathe? Here, I’ll drain the water,” Y/N moved to pull the drain out of the tub, watching the pink water disappear. She didn’t want to fight with him. She knew he was just a little spooked, and she wouldn’t blame him for it. If he knew how it upset her, she knew Hal would watch himself more now.  Hal closed his eyes as she began to fill the tub with warm water once again. “I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got some clothes you left over here. Half of my closet belongs to you now. I’m gonna take all your clothes and just dump them at yours one of these days…and you know I’ll do it. Either that, or I’ll start charging you rent, and you can hardly keep up with the rent for your own apartment, mister.”

            “Please don’t ever leave me,” Hal croaked, unable to stop himself.

            Y/N’s eyes widened, and she whipped around to look at Hal, raising an eyebrow. Where the hell did that come from? She heard Hal shift in the tub, and he quickly stood (she thanked the Lord above that he still had his lower half covered by spandex – that ring was truly a godsend) before he gripped her to him, pulling her into his drenched body. She let out a breath, eyes wide.

            “Don’t leave me,” Hal breathed into her hair, leaving a delicate kiss near the tip of her left ear.

            “I don’t plan to,” She managed to whisper, touching his face.

She looked into his brown eyes and saw tears threatening to leak. She gently used her thumbs to wipe away the tears when he blinked harshly. She knew he saw something that truly wrecked him. Batman didn’t give her many details when he called her asking to send Hal a message. He just wanted her to basically confirm to Hal she was alive.

“I’d never leave your side. Who else is going to keep you safe, patch up your wounds? Certainly not Ranakar. That little blue dude would let you bleed to death in a gutter.”

            “Y/N,” Hal rumbled, shaking his head, “for once, I’m being serious.”

            She sealed her mouth shut and allowed Hal to continue to hold her even though she was absolutely soaked.

            “There could never be anyone like you.” Hal knew that was the closest to a confession he’d give to Y/N now. He wanted to beat himself up. Here was the woman who would sacrifice herself for him and he couldn’t even spit out that he loved her. He was far gone – he realized after the whole event that he loved her so much and had loved her for several years. He was terrified of the rejection, of the loss of her friendship. He felt her rub soothing circles into his back before clearing her throat.

            “I wouldn’t ever leave you, Hal Jordan,” Y/N softly smiled, running a hand through his hair, “you’re stuck with me…whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, well…”

            Hal let out a little laugh, shaking his head. He was very disappointed in the fact that Y/N didn’t pick his words up as a love confession. She was a little genius, truly, but she was dumber than a rock when it came to romance. Then again, he guessed he wasn’t very explicit with his confession.

            “Hm, you’ve always got jokes, don’t you?”

            “Of course, that’s why you keep me around. Now go ahead and get washed up. You reek of blood.”

            “Well, get on out of here…you gotta buy me dinner first if you want to see what’s under my tights.” 

Chapter Text

            Hal took a steadying breath as he looked at himself in the mirror. His suit hugged him in all the right places, and he adjusted his bowtie. He ran a hand through his brown hair and looked down at his watch. Ten minutes. He looked back in the mirror and took a deep breath. This has been a day that everyone has been waiting for. Ever since the Justice League came together, everyone was making bets for when this event would take place. It was a long time coming – nearly five years, in fact, and Hal couldn’t believe that it took this long. All the waiting and the “would he?” was coming to an end, finally. He was taken out of his thoughts by a small knock on the door.

            “Come in…”

            Y/N stuck her head inside and smiled at Hal, making sure her lipstick wouldn’t smear. He was playing with the lapel of his suit, and she let out a giggle.

            “Come on, Hal—”

            “Y/N!” Hal shrieked, quickly hiding his eyes, “we’re not supposed to see each other until—”

            “I think that only applies to Clark and Lois,” Y/N let out a sigh, rolling her eyes, “I’m pretty sure wedding guests can look at each other before the wedding.”

            Hal turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised, “The rules may have been updated.”  

            “Hal, I think I’ve been to more weddings than you have, and I’m pretty sure I know the weird rules. Come on, Lois is set to walk down the aisle in about ten minutes, and we have to get to our seats. I am not going to be stuck sitting behind Arthur, okay? I do not need salt water anywhere near my dress.”

            “No worries,” Hal sighed, walking up to her, “I sent Barry a text to save us some seats behind him and Iris. We’re all good.”

            “Either way, it’s super rude to show up and walk down the aisle while the bride is. Get a move on!” Y/N tugged on Hal’s bowtie, straightening it for him, “you’re hopeless...”

            “Says the person who nearly crashed into a satellite last night—”

            “I was tired!” Y/N whined.

            “And you’re also in the men’s restroom.” Hal pinched her cheek, and she smacked his hand away, letting out a huff.

            “Let’s go!”

            Hal walked loyally next to Y/N as they navigated the church in Smallville. Clark decided that he wanted to get married in Smallville and have the reception at his parents’ farm. He was sure that Lois protested since she was more of a city girl, but she was tickled with the idea. Lois was a good friend to Y/N when they had the chance to see each other, and, of course, Y/N and Hal were Clark’s teammates and friends.

            Lois and Clark were a couple ever since Hal could remember, and they were a good match. To be honest, Hal had thought Clark would’ve proposed to Lois years ago, but he did like to take things slow. He knew that he wasn’t really one to talk, though. He was in love with Y/N and had yet to utter a single word about it to her.

            He watched her move in her dress, quickly grabbing his hand when they made it to the chapel area, pulling him through the crowds of people chatting to find their seats. He let her pull him along, and he stared at their connected hands.

A few months ago, he had basically admitted his feelings to her when she was patching him up in her bathtub. He begged her to never leave him, and she promised she wouldn’t. He believed her, as he always would, but he was kind of frustrated that she didn’t get his underlying message.

            But he knew that he really wasn’t explicit, so he couldn’t blame Y/N. He was hoping that this whole thing would just happen organically, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. Y/N had to be super thick! If she was pining after him like he was her, he would’ve totally picked up on it…because he’s smart. He figured that he could wait just a little bit longer – he had already waited 5 years -- he never felt like there was a right time.

            Y/N was mad at him when he was in her bathtub, so that wasn’t a good time. Y/N was in the med bay after a battle with Star Sapphire, so that wasn’t a convenient time either. He didn’t have the courage to ask if he could share the guest bed with Y/N when they stayed with Barry and Iris. He didn’t want to give her mixed feelings on Valentine’s Day (and he was still sorting out his feelings too.) He guessed he could’ve said something to her after they saved that planet from a dictatorship, but Kilowog was there and while he was fond of the Bolvaxian, he didn’t want him there to watch him spill his guts to Y/N. The Luthor Gala was a bad place to do it too – he was still all in his head wondering if his feelings for her were love or just because she was cute and his best friend.

            He quickly realized during all those times and the countless others, his body was screaming at him to tell her. He was knocked out of his internal monologue when Y/N waved a hand in front of his face.

            “Earth to Hal.”

            “What?” Hal quickly looked down at her, seeing her hold back a laugh at his expression.

            “Our seats are here…” Y/N gestured to the pew next to her. Hal quickly let her in first and then sat next to her, seeing Barry and Iris in front of them.

            “I’m excited to see Lois’ dress,” Iris turned to speak with Y/N, engaging in some typical girl talk. Hal quickly put his attention on his other best friend.

            “Bar. How long do you think this is going to last?”

            “Hal!” Barry hissed, shaking his head, “A wedding is a beautiful thing, okay?”

            “Ugh, I forgot how emotional you get at weddings,” Hal sighed, shaking his head, “I’m looking forward to the reception.”

            “Enjoy the ceremony!” Barry exclaimed, “It’s what the wedding is all about.”

            “The wedding is all about the free food,” Hal hid his laugh behind his hand at Barry’s contemplative face.

            “…I do like free food.”

            Hal was about to respond when everyone quickly took their seats. Clark was stood at the front of the church, his bright blue eyes excitedly staring at the doors that Lois would enter through. He felt Y/N shift next to him, biting her lip in anticipation. Soon, Canon in D began, and the doors to the church opened, revealing Lois. She had a gorgeous white dress, and her dark hair was coifed back to show off her features. Everyone then stood as she walked slowly down the aisle to Clark. Y/N leaned close to Hal to whisper in his ear.

            “Her veil is gorgeous…you know, I almost considered giving Lois the veil I got from the princess a few years ago…” Y/N swallowed, “at this point, I don’t think I’ll ever use it…and it’s too pretty just to keep on the shelf.”

            Hal whipped his head to look at Y/N, flames going off in his chest. What? The veil was for her, not Lois! Y/N was supposed to wear it on her wedding day! God, he could just imagine her with that gorgeous fabric wrapped around her as she made her way up the aisle. All the various colors that would reflect off it would stun everyone, especially him. He wanted to see her in that veil, and he couldn’t believe she would even consider such a thing!

            “Don’t tell me you gave it to her!” Hal exclaimed, incredulous. Y/N looked at him with a bewildered expression, not expecting him to get so defensive.

            “She’s not wearing it, is she? I still have it…”

            “Oh.”

            “…Why do you care anyway?”

            “Uh—”

            “SHH!” Barry turned and shushed his friends, tears in his blue eyes from the beauty of the wedding.

            Y/N and Hal looked at each other, rolling their eyes. Barry really loved his weddings. When Lois made her way up to Clark, everyone quickly took their seats to watch the ceremony. Marriage usually made Hal feel…icky. It was a major commitment, one that you couldn’t just shrug off. Sure, some people did, but what was the point in even doing it if you didn’t see it for the long term? With his responsibilities as a test pilot and a Green Lantern, he knew that marriage probably wasn’t in the cards. Carol was right – he wasn’t fond of commitment. He could commit to the Green Lantern Corps, and commit himself to helping innocent people, but he didn’t know if he could commit to someone romantically.

            After Carol became Star Sapphire, he thought he was eternally fucked. Carol was a close friend, and he had messed it all up – and it wasn’t just one mess up – it was a whole mountain. He’d forget dates. He’d flirt with other people. He’d avoid any deep conversations. When Carol, as Star Sapphire, dared him to look at her Star Sapphire crystal, he was positive that he wouldn’t see anything in it.

            It was supposed to show your heart’s desire, the love that you’ve been missing. Hal didn’t have any other desires in his heart, and there was no love that he was missing, per se. He was shocked to his core when he saw Y/N’s face. He hadn’t even known her that long, but her smile and laugh were all that he could see and hear. He could hear her whispering sweet nothings to him, and he wanted nothing more than to fall right into that fantasy. Upon seeing his reaction, Star Sapphire went off the rails. Hal couldn’t commit to Carol or to others he had flings with, but he could commit to some woman he had met less than a year ago? He wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone, but that’s what he did. He inflicted pain.

            He couldn’t live with himself if he inflicted that pain on Y/N. He drowned out the wedding before him and looked at Y/N. She watched Clark and Lois with great interest, and he could see every little expression she made. He could tell that she was very excited for her friends and their love for each other, but there was something lurking behind all of that. He looked to the front again so that nobody could catch him gazing at Y/N.

            Y/N kept her eyes glued to Clark and Lois as they exchanged their rings. She had a smile on her lips, but her chest felt emptier and emptier by the minute. She meant what she said – she did want to give that veil to Lois for her wedding day. While she would never forget that mission, she felt guilty having such a gorgeous veil and knowing that she’d never use it. She concluded earlier this year that love and marriage weren’t in the cards for her.

            She was off planet more than half of the time, and she was starting to piss people off at the university. Due to priority-one calls from Oa being more recent as of late, she had missed major conferences, even missing two of her lectures. She knew that she would have to start looking to teach at another university or find another profession. Hal’s job at Ferris Aircraft was in jeopardy too, due to all the demands put on them.

            She was in love with Hal Jordan, but to tell him that would put everything at risk. She knew that she was falling in love with him at the gala. When she heard Mrs. Jones call her “Mrs. Jordan” it just sounded right. What an honor it would be to have that title. Y/N knew that Hal was rough around the edges, but he didn’t need to be fixed. Why in the hell would anyone want to fix him? He felt like flight itself. She’d never forget the first time she flew up into the air with her ring. She was a bit worried, and since she had a slight fear, she face planted right in front of Kilowog. Hal watched from the side before running over and helping her up. Kilowog told her to try again, and Y/N bit her bottom lip.

            “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this…”

            “You are,” Hal affirmed, making sure she was looking him right in the eye, “I’ll help you.”

            “I don’t know. How do you know I’m not going to fall out of the sky again and break my entire body?”

            Hal leaned close to her and shook his head, “You won’t. I promise.”

            “How do you know?” Y/N snarked back.

            “Because you’ve never flown with me before.”

            He comforted her and challenged her unlike anyone else had before. He was hardheaded, and while it drove her up the damn wall, she learned so much from him. Over the years, they learned how to speak their own language, work in their own ways. He was her partner in every single sense of the word. Y/N was broken out of her thoughts when the pastor spoke the words that everyone was waiting to hear.

            “You may now kiss the bride.”

            Loud cheers broke out in the chapel, and Clark lifted Lois’ veil to give her a quick kiss on the lips. She didn’t let him pull away shyly, she kept his lips firmly on hers and Y/N let out a laugh when she saw how red Clark turned.

--

            After dinner, they were led out to one of the barns where the reception would be held. String lights were hung all around, and it was gorgeous. It was now time for the couple’s first dance, and everyone stood around the dance floor to watch Clark spin Lois around. Y/N bit her bottom lip as she watched, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked to see Iris holding Barry’s hand, her head on his chest. Dinah and Oliver were getting ready to go out on the dance floor next, and Y/N had never felt so…alone. She had tried to push the idea of marriage and true love out of her head for years. She wasn’t made for that. She was hopelessly in love with her best friend, and she was a major liability.

            She was a Green Lantern. She couldn’t guarantee when she’d be on earth, and she couldn’t fully guarantee their safety. While Barry and Clark and Oliver were able to focus on their cities (and the world at large when needed) she had to keep an eye on the entire sector of 2814, Oa, and various other territories. She’d be good to have as a fling, but she couldn’t do those. She got too attached – she couldn’t just be casual. And it was unfair to entertain anyone since her heart was set on one man and would stay that way.

            God, she had tried. She had tried so hard. Did she regret falling in love with Hal? No! Absolutely not! He was on her mind all the time. His whispers, the feel of his lips against her skin. She swore that when they stood next to each other, she could just feel him in her bones, her teeth. When she looked at the Star Sapphire Crystal, she saw Hal. She knew it wasn’t fake. She truly did want him. Then again, who didn’t?

            Anybody would be lucky to get the attention of Hal Jordan. Y/N continued to stare blankly as the other couples filled up the dance floor. She played with her fingers, trying to decide where to escape to. She didn’t even notice Hal coming up next to her, watching the couples spin and giggle.

            “You seem jealous,” Hal teased, gently bumping her hip with his. Y/N clenched her jaw and willed herself to keep up the banter. She tried to think of a clever comeback, but she couldn’t. She let out a soft sigh.

            “That obvious, huh?” Y/N refused to look at Hal, “I guess you don’t have that problem, though.”

            “I don’t know about that,” Hal whispered, shaking his head, “I’m kind of jealous too, I guess.”

            Y/N whipped her head to look at him, her eyes wide. Hal only had one beer tonight, so he wasn’t drunk. And he didn’t do drugs. She eyed him, frustrated that he wouldn’t look her in the eyes. He continued to watch the couples.

            “What?” Y/N shook her head, “When we went to that Luthor gala two years back, you said you’d rather, and I quote, ‘slam your head in a door than get married.’” She would always remember his words. They echoed in her mind whenever she’d fantasize about her and Hal being the ones in front of their friends exchanging vows.

            Hal cleared his throat, finally looking at Y/N. His brown eyes were unreadable for once, and she wasn’t used to that. He bit his bottom lip in thought.

            “I know,” He took a deep breath, “but…a lot has happened since then.”

            “Like what?” Y/N breathed, somewhat afraid of the answer. She felt her heart squeeze against her ribs painfully.

            “I don’t know,” Hal felt himself getting a bit bolder. He had to tell her. It was killing him, and this wedding was really getting him all out of whack. “I guess maybe…” He touched her chin to make sure they were looking into each other’s eyes, “I’ve met someone who is changing my mind.”

            If the music wasn’t so loud in the barn, Y/N was sure that everyone would be able to hear her heart rip in half. Hal had met someone? Someone who had actually changed his stubborn mind? She fought the tears in her eyes. This was it. She would never love again. She couldn’t bear it. She decided to be strong. She had to be happy for him. If she couldn’t have love, she wanted him to have it. He deserved the world.

            “Someone has made Hal Jordan consider settling down?” Y/N cleared her throat, pulling her face out of his gentle grasp, unable to look in his eyes much longer, “S-she must really be something…I’ve got to meet her sometime.” Y/N blinked her eyes shut. She had to get out of here. Just for a few minutes.

            Hal stood there, dumbfounded. How was she still not getting this? He winced, unsure of himself now. Maybe she really didn’t love him like he loved her. If she loved him like he loved her, she would’ve totally got what he was saying!

            “E-excuse me,” Y/N pulled out of Hal’s arms and flung herself outside of the barn. She had to get out of there. She needed to breathe.

            “Y/N!” Hal exclaimed, “Y/N, wait!” He followed right after, thankful for his long legs. He caught up to her in no time, on the edge of one of the many cornfields on the Kent farm.

            “I just need to be alone,” She scolded Hal, her eyes glistening with tears in the moonlight, “I’ll be back in. Just go dance or something.”

            “No.” Hal stepped forward and grabbed her by her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. He put his pointer finger under her chin and pulled her flush against him. She let out a soft croak, puzzled.

            “Listen to me.” He demanded. Y/N nodded, her full attention on him and his warmth. Hal was emboldened by the feel of her against him, and he went all in.

            “We’ve established the fact that commitment and my name don’t belong in the same sentence. It’s the one thing I…kind of fear. I hate that. After six months of knowing you, I began to wonder about you,”

            Y/N stared at him with big eyes, hanging off his every word. Hal licked his lips and continued.

            “When Star Sapphire showed me the Star Sapphire Crystal when we crossed paths for the first time, do you know what I saw?”

            “No,” Y/N breathed.

            “I saw you, Y/N. I saw your face and your smile. I could hear your laugh and your whispers of how much you loved me and needed me.” Hal placed a hand on her cheek, wiping away the tears that rolled down her cheek, “We’ve known each other for five years. Five years of friendship between us. No walls, no bullshit. That whole time, I’d find myself looking up at my ceiling trying to understand one thing.”

            Y/N felt her breathing hitch.

            “If I don’t like commitment, if it makes me nervous…then why the hell do I adore being committed to you? Why is my true fear losing you?”

            Y/N felt her body catch on fire. Did…did Hal just...? She saw a sweet, sheepish smile paint Hal’s lips and he sent her the most loving look she had ever seen. He was putting it all out there for her, and it was hers to take or leave. She felt words bubble to her throat.

            “Hal, I—”  

            “I never told you what I saw that night Batman had to call you to confirm to me you were alive. Star Sapphire dosed me with fear toxin, and I had a hallucination where you died…” Hal refused to stop, grateful that Y/N didn’t try to fight for the next word as she usually did, “Star Sapphire snapped your neck because I couldn’t say that I loved you quick enough. After that, I was constantly on you, and I’m sorry. I never doubted your abilities, but I knew that if you were taken from me, I wouldn’t want to see who I’d become.”

            Y/N let out a soft gasp of realization, wrapping her arms around him and holding him even closer. She couldn’t imagine the pain he must’ve felt. No wonder he was so beat up over it.

            “I realized in that moment that I had tried to hide from my feelings for you for years. I brushed it off, tried to rationalize it. I serially dated half of the galaxy, and you had to witness every shred of it…” It pained Hal to think of the hurt that she had been through, “So I had a really nice way of showing my love for you. But you need to know that it was always you. You. You were the one in my mind, Y/N. I couldn’t kiss anyone without thinking about you. Couldn’t do any of the other stuff either without dreaming of you being the one under me. Hell, I would say your name. That, of course, was fun. Can’t tell you how many times I got slapped for that…” Hal was just vomiting everything up at this point, unable to stop. He had held this inside for so long, and he had no intention of keeping anything else from her.

            “Oh, Hal,” Y/N whimpered, tangling her hand into his hair, putting her lips to his neck. He felt years of stress leave his shoulders, pressing his lips shyly to her forehead.

            “I’m in love with you, Y/N L/N. And I always will be. You said that you would never ever get rid of me, and that I was stuck with you. Well, you’re stuck with me. Forever.”

            “I love you,” Y/N finally spoke, their noses brushing together, “no matter where you are. Whether you’re galaxies away or right next to me. I’ve loved you for years. I was just scared of losing you if I told you…and I can’t tell you how many inappropriate thoughts I’ve had about you,” She blushed and hid her face in his shoulder, hearing him laugh.

            “I’d love to hear those thoughts sometime,” Hal smirked, tickling her sides. She let out another laugh, shaking her head.

            “I’m serious. I adore you. Every bit of you, even the annoying parts. And…” Y/N licked her lips, “the reason I didn’t give Lois the veil was because I still held onto the hope that I’d marry you someday.”

            “I would’ve fought Clark for that damn veil,” Hal murmured into her hair, hugging her tightly, “that veil belongs to us.”

            “Us? The princess gave that to me if I remember correctly…”

            “And I’m the one that’s going to give you the chance to wear it,” Hal retorted, grabbing her hands and putting them in his.

            Y/N playfully glared at him before she stared at his soft lips. She had dreamed about those lips so many times. She felt herself shudder as Hal leaned in closer. Y/N closed her eyes and smashed her lips onto his, taking him by surprise. Hal didn’t waste a second, gripping her tightly and pushing their bodies together. They tangled their hands in each other’s hair, and Y/N happily allowed Hal to explore her mouth when his tongue licked against her bottom lip.

            It felt so good. She couldn’t believe that she was able to survive this long without his intimate touch. She let out a soft moan when he rolled his hips against her suggestively. She gripped him tighter, placing a hand against his chest. They continued to explore each other’s mouths, and Y/N quickly snapped out of her stupor when she felt Hal pull down the zipper on the back of her dress.

            “Hal Jordan!” Y/N scolded, trying to zip her dress back up, “I am not having sex with you in a cornfield!” Hal smirked and kissed down her neck to the peak of her breasts. She rolled her eyes, feeling her resolve weakening.

            “We’re not going to have sex in a cornfield, who do you think I am?” Hal murmured, pulling the zipper down more, “We’re going to make love in a cornfield.”

            Y/N moaned again when he began to suck the junction between her collarbone and neck, and she used all her willpower to push him back. They stared at each other, and Y/N panted. It was torture to lose the feel of his lips on her skin.

            “I am not letting our first time together take place on the Kent family farm.” Y/N stood her ground, putting her hands on her hips.  

            “Then let’s get out of here, glow stick,” Hal breathed, activating his ring. Y/N let out another whine. God, he looked sinful in that uniform.

            “We’re at a wedding, Hal! We can’t just leave!”

            “Do you really want to go back in there with me sporting this,” He nodded down to his erection, “and your pretty neck covered in my love bites?”

            Y/N froze. Damn. Harold had a point. Besides, she didn’t know how long she’d be able to last in the barn with Hal. She already wanted to be pinned down and worshiped by him.

            “My place is closer,” Y/N hurriedly spoke, activating her ring as well, “Come on, we can make it in a flat 2 minutes.”  

            Hal held her close as they flew over the cornfield, and they were on their way in a matter of seconds. Clark and Lois were standing outside the barn talking to their guests when they saw two green streaks in the sky.

            “Looks like Hal and Y/N are out,” Lois smirked.

            Clark’s face was bright red, and he let out a shiver. He basically heard most of their conversation (thanks, super hearing…) and he was grateful that Y/N talked some sense into the pilot.  

            “I’ll be sure to save a slice of cake for them to have at our next JL meeting…”