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Hal had known something was wrong before he had opened his eyes. However, he couldn't have guessed what it was for the life of him until he saw for himself.
"What…" he said as he pushed his sheets aside and sat up.
His hands looked different. Felt different.
Wait. His whole body looked and felt different, for the excellent reason that it wasn't his.
So, he had changed bodies with his soulmate. He didn't have to look in the mirror to know who he had changed bodies with.
He was familiar with this body. He had seen Bruce naked plenty of times in the Watchtower's showers.
The voice that had gone out of his throat was also a clear giveaway. It was a bit too low pitched to be Hal's. Longer and thicker vocal folds, his mind had supplied uselessly.
Hal tried not to think too much of what else in his new body could be thicker and longer. Debbie had told him that the larynx was a secondary sexual organ, once.
Hal had helped her with her anatomy exam's reviewing when she was a med student and they were dating, ages ago. He had thought Debbie could be his soulmate back then but they had broken up when she had moved to Spain for an internship.
They hadn't seen each other in a while but they had stayed good friends after parting ways and Debbie had sent him an invite when she wedded her soulmate about a decade ago. She had met Esteban at the hospital she was working in after she had become a doctor. They had been working in the same unit and working up the nerve to ask each other out when they had swapped bodies one morning.
They had been inseparable ever since. A real fairytale.
Well, superheroes didn't get fairytale lives. Not the censored versions that ended well, anyway, so there was no point in envying Debbie.
After his failed couple relationship with Carol, Hal had hoped his soulmate wasn't a civilian. He had also sworn he would never date one ever again.
Hal had stuck to his word. He hadn't really dated anyone since Carol.
Hal wasn't so in denial he couldn't face the truth : he knew he liked Bruce in a way he really shouldn't. It'd only get him in trouble.
He hadn't thought for a second that Bruce could be his soulmate and did his best to forget about his feelings for his longtime friend and teammate.
So far, it hadn't been very effective. Every amused smirk, pointed look and half-smile directed his way made Hal's treacherous heart miss a beat.
Hal placed himself in front of the bathroom’s mirror, looked at the dark rings under his eyes. Bruce’s eyes. You could see them better on Bruce’s pale skin than on Hal’s own.
Hal hesitated for a second before he really “tried” Bruce’s face, making faces. He almost had Bruce’s scowl right after a few tries. He needed to work on Brucie Wayne’s dashing smile and airheaded airs, though.
He had quickly got tired of playing with Bruce’s expressions. It had started feeling a bit invasive after some time and maybe a bit childish.
Hal had checked his phone. No unread texts, no missed calls. So Bruce didn’t know yet, probably wouldn’t for some hours. It was nearly 7 in Coast City, which meant it was almost 10 in Gotham - Bruce was certainly asleep.
Hal would have let him sleep if he hadn’t been freaking out quite a bit. He couldn’t wait for hours before Bruce found out they were soulmates.
"Oh this is going to be fun," he muttered under his breath as he grabbed his phone.
He almost jumped at the sound of the voice coming from his throat. He wasn’t used to it yet.
"Bruce," a tired voice answered.
It was quickly followed by a swear. It hadn’t taken Bruce long to figure out something was off. Briefly, Hal wondered if he was alone. Bruce hadn’t mentioned anyone, but he was usually discreet about his liaisons.
“Of course,” he heard Bruce mutter.
Hal also heard movement - Bruce had probably stood up to have a look at his reflection - but didn’t pay much attention to it. He had stilled when Bruce had spoken.
It was a thing to have the voice of another person and entirely another to hear another person talk with your voice.
That and Bruce hadn’t sounded too enthusiastic.
"I suppose you've figured out why I'm calling, um ?" Hal asked in Bruce's voice, giving it unusual inflections.
Having Bruce’s body was odd, but the most puzzling change for Hal was his voice, and Bruce’s.
He wasn't actively trying too but Bruce just didn't use his voice the way Hal did and Hal could hear in his own voice more exasperation than he would have injected in it as Bruce answered him.
"How fast can you meet me at the Manor ?"
"So, we're not just staying under the radar for the day ?"
Most people would just call their bosses and tell them what had happened. You got a day off when such a situation arose.
Well, Hal had already been taking a day off to do some paperwork for the Corps and the League. Or Hal was telling himself so. Carol had benched him when he had disobeyed her instructions once more.
He hadn't even been doing it on purpose, but surely Carol should have seen his way was the most effective to achieve -
Stop. He would have time to think about that later.
"I have things to do," Bruce was already grunting in Hal's voice.
It didn't seem as impressive.
"Sure, unlike the idle unemployed guy that I am. Oh wait, I remember now : I'm the one with a job."
"I know you happen to have a day off," Bruce retorted.
Why were vigilantes so nosy ? Maybe it was just Bruce, though. He must have heard Hal telling Barry about Carol not allowing him to fly.
"Still, I could have planned for… I don't know, important stuff," he said in an unconvinced tone.
He smiled when he recognized it. It sounded very Bruce-like.
Hal half expected Bruce to say Hal had not planned anything in his life ever.
"Hal," he only said.
In Hal's warm voice, it almost sounded fond.
"Let me get dressed and I'll be there in no time," Hal said, banishing that train of thought from his mind.
Bruce didn't think of him fondly.
"Don't take too long checking my body out in the mirror."
"You shouldn't give me ideas. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. All things considered, don't do anything I would do. I suppose we're meeting in the Cave ?" Hal asked.
"Yes," Bruce said before he changed his mind. "No. It was Cass' birthday yesterday and most of the kids stayed the night at the Manor. Most of them are probably nursing a headache or sleeping and won't get out of their rooms before noon but I can't take the risk of them seeing me with your face if they venture in the hallway."
Hal thought twice before speaking. He should have done it three times.
"Or, you know, you could just tell them what happened," he had suggested.
It was possible it just hadn't occurred to Bruce to do so and it was not something Bruce had deliberately classified as an impossibility.
"No."
Hal laughed harshly.
"Sure. How could you explain to your children that your soulmate is the unremarkable and embarrassing Hal Jordan, um ? Better pretend nothing happened," he said.
"Hal -" Bruce started but Hal cut him off.
"See you," he said in a clipped, defensive tone that didn't sound completely out of character in Bruce's tone, and he hung up before Bruce could try to explain himself.
There was absolutely nothing to explain. Bruce was ashamed of their bond and Hal was angry for letting it bother him and for believing anything positive could have come out of this call in the first place.
He could have ignored Bruce for the rest of the day but to what end ? They would still have to work together semi-regularly.
So Hal just kept his feelings for himself and got ready for the Manor.
Hal had been careful to clear his mind as he showered, touching and washing Bruce’s body while avoiding taking too many liberties. He had the feeling Bruce would have known if he had.
Dressing up as Bruce had been a new experience. Hal hadn’t given much thought to how he would dress and picked a simple white T-shirt and faded jeans. He hadn’t been able to put them on after toweling himself dry and putting on some clean underwear.
Hal had taken some time trying to put on and off a variety of clothes to finally settle for a loose shirt that didn’t look that loose on Bruce’s body and another pair of jeans less narrow at the hips. The blue of the shirt set off Bruce’s eyes. Hal had the unnerving vague impression he had been getting ready for a date as he looked at the pile of clothes discarded on his bed.
In the meantime, Bruce had texted him to meet him in the Cave, finally. Hal wondered if Bruce had changed his mind because of what Hal had said. Yelled. Whatever, he didn’t remember and it would be best not to dwell on it.
Forgetting about his feelings for Bruce for the day seemed the right course of action, here. Hal had managed to keep his cool and left for Gotham feeling a bit more confident about what would come.
In the Cave, Bruce and Hal had looked at each other awkwardly when they had caught sight of each other, checking each other out.
It was quite uncomfortable to watch someone else literally walking in your skin.
"Wow. I mean, turtlenecks clearly work for me," Hal said to defuse the tension that was settling between them.
"My clothes are a bit too big on your body. Too large at the shoulders and at the waist."
"You don't say. You don't know how many shirts I've tried putting on this morning. I haven’t given so much thought into an outfit since prom night.”
“Um. Looks nice with my eyes.”
“I noticed,” Hal said without thinking.
Thankfully, Bruce didn’t raise a remark.
“I didn't think you would have given much thought to your prom’s outfit.”
Bruce sounded quite skeptical.
“Well, Jim ruined my tux a few hours before because he was angry I was going to leave after graduation. I had to improvise and borrow stuff from Jack and an understanding friend last minute. My date was still mad that my tie no longer matched her dress. She didn’t talk to me for the rest of the night and went home with a football player. I don't think she ever talked to me again until the end of the year."
"Sounds terrible," Bruce commented, shaking his head.
"Come on, everyone loves high school drama," Hal remarked.
"Teenagers love high school drama. Did you have any difficulty with your ring after we had swapped bodies ?"
He couldn't have not noticed that Hal had been wearing his Lantern uniform upon his arrival, but Hal had quickly got rid of it. Wearing the ring in Bruce's body made him feel quite uncomfortable and the flight here hadn't been a very pleasant experience.
Though it may have more to do with Hal's budding anxiety than with him adapting to having a different body.
"No. I was a bit worried the ring wouldn't recognize me but it did fine."
It hadn't resisted Hal's will, which had been really comforting.
Hal remembered a time when it hadn't opposed resistance to Bruce's will too.
Maybe they were not soulmates for nothing.
"So, why did you want me to make the trip here ? Please don't tell me you have a business meeting you can't miss, I really don't feel like sitting through a board meeting all afternoon on my day off."
Bruce grimaced.
"I wouldn't have dreamed of putting you through that. Thankfully for us, Tim is the one who's been managing Wayne Enterprises with Lucius lately. I've other things on my plate at the moment," Bruce said, rubbing at his -Hal's- eyes.
He probably wished he had slept more. Hal felt a bit guilty for having woken him up early.
"Batman stuff ?"
Bruce hesitated, considered Hal for a bit and nodded before proceeding to detail his latest investigation to Hal.
"They're moving the weapons tonight. I have to be there and I don't have enough time to figure out some arrangement with Alfred for tonight. I tried to put it on but my costume doesn't fit your build exactly and we don't have enough time to adjust it before tonight. You'd have to be me."
"You want me to be Batman," Hal stated, a bit startled.
He had known it would probably be something like that but hearing it from Bruce was different.
"Just for tonight," Bruce said.
He looked uneasy, as if he would have rather asked for anything else first.
"Okay," Hal said, shrugging.
Relief painted itself on Bruce's -Hal's- face shortly, before his gaze darkened.
"Hal, you might meet some trouble there. You rely a lot on the Lantern force. How are your hand to hand combat skills ?" Bruce asked.
Hal laughed. Bruce thought he was using the ring too much ??
"Seriously ? I'm a Lantern, remember ? And I do have physical training."
It wasn't like Lanterns never fought dirty or their enemies never engaged in hand to hand combat.
Bruce didn't say anything, apparently assessing Hal silently. Hal was about to make a snarky comment when the Dark Knight opened his mouth again.
"We'll use our JL comms, then. I'll be there in no time if you need back-up."
Hal looked at him in puzzlement.
"You won't have your armor."
He would be wearing Bruce's suit and you just didn't go on an op in jeans and turtlenecks.
"I'll manage. But someone needs to put the Batsuit on."
Batman had authority there that Bruce wouldn't have in another costume. Hal really had to replace him for the evening.
"You'd better be careful. I'm not telling your kids their Dad is dead because he thought armor was optional in the field," Hal warned.
He was deadly serious. He didn't think he would be able to look Dick Grayson in the eye and tell him his mentor -scratch that, father- had died. He remembered the times a quite young Dick followed Bruce around everywhere as discreetly as he could -not that much- like a lost puppy and Bruce pretended not to notice. He was probably not even a Robin at that time, if his stealth skills at the moment were any indication.
"So, tell me more about your case," Hal asked, shaking his head.
Bruce did. They spent the whole afternoon in the Cave working on it until the sun set , Bruce explaining and Hal memorizing in a limited timeframe.
Then, sooner than he would have thought, it was time for Hal to get ready for Bruce's operation.
"How heavy is the armor, by the way ?" Hal asked, eyeing the plates.
"Heavier than it looks," Bruce admitted. "But you'll do the fitting later. It'd be best to take care of the make-up first."
Bruce had been walking toward another part of the Cave, Hal on his heels.
Hal grabbed his arm and they both stopped walking, Bruce turning around with a sigh.
"Wait, what ?"
"Do you think my eyelids are naturally black ?" Bruce said, and he started walking again.
Hal caught up with him, unwilling to drop the subject, as they went into a part of the Cave Bruce wasn't familiar with.
"Wait, I don't know how to apply this stuff. Do I really have to ?"
"It's not rocket science. Allow me, I'm used to it," Bruce said, pausing in front of a mirror.
Hal looked around him. A rank of mirrors was set over a bunch of counters faced by stools. Bruce turned on the spots of the first mirror and gestured for Hal to take a seat.
Hal did it a bit reluctantly as Bruce grabbed some make-up Hal couldn't identify with certainty and sat on a stool he placed in front of Hal.
"Try to sit still," he said.
Hal took a deep breath that made Bruce's -his- eyebrows skyrocket on his forehead as their knees bumped together and Hal ordered his body still.
Or he thought he did.
"Hal, can you stop twitching ? I'll make it quick," Bruce assured Hal a few seconds later as he tried putting some eyeliner on his face.
He had worked with Robins with ADHD who had had trouble staying put long enough for Bruce to put eyeliner on them but Hal seemed to be something else entirely.
Truth be told, Hal seemed apprehensive.
"I'm not used to make-up," the Lantern mumbled, burying his hands in Bruce's dark hair in a bad parody of Gustave Courbet's Le Désespéré.
"It can be washed off," Bruce said, annoyed by Hal's antics. It was merely a bit of eyeliner used as eyeshadow. He grabbed Hal's jaw firmly to keep his face still.
It was quite effective. Hal's heart even stopped beating for a quarter of a second too long.
"Close your eyes. It's a miracle I haven't poked you in the eye yet," Bruce remarked.
Hal's stomach was making knots and it wasn't just because of Bruce's touch, but he complied more readily than Bruce thought he would.
"I know. It's just… Me and make-up, we don't go well together," Hal tried to explain in an apologetic tone that didn't suit Bruce's voice without giving too much away.
Really, Bruce didn't need to hear the whole story.
"This isn't a beauty pageant and you're wearing my face anyway. I promise a bit of make-up won't kill you."
Even Damian hadn't made such a fuss about putting make-up on his face.
"Ten year old me would have loved to know that," Hal mumbled under his breath but he kept his eyes closed as asked.
Bruce's hand hovered over Hal's face for half a second.
"What do you mean ?" he asked in a softer, more controlled tone Hal used to speak with young kids who had been witnesses of terrible things as he kept applying eyeliner to Hal's -his- eyelids.
Hal grimaced. It made Bruce's sigh so Hal let his facial muscles relax and actively tried to stop moving.
"I haven't had make-up on my face since that time Sarah thought it would be fun to doll up her little cousin," Hal started saying.
Bruce waited for more but Hal had stopped talking altogether.
"You didn't like it."
Bruce didn't say anything else.
Hal was glad his eyes were closed. It made speaking easier.
"I was enjoying it alright until my uncle walked in on us and claimed that make-up was for sissies and whores and beat Sarah and I up like a real man," he revealed.
"Hal…"
Bruce's hand had left his jaw to grasp his shoulder.
"It was thirty years ago and my aunt Rachel left him and took their kids with her when Sarah told her what happened. I haven't seen him ever since. He's probably dead, It's okay," Hal said, cautiously opening an eye and then another since Bruce had stopped touching his face.
It was, according to Bruce's own stern face (well, Hal's face, really), very much not okay but Bruce didn't push.
"Are you done ?" Hal asked and his companion nodded quietly.
"Does… does it look good ?" Hal asked.
He wasn't sure what he was asking about exactly but he had felt the need to ask.
"Perfect," Bruce said in a quiet tone and it didn't sound like they were talking about make-up anymore. "Get dressed," he added, showing him where to get his equipment.
He put a basic superhero suit with black light armor, a domino mask, a hood and a utility belt on as Hal put Bruce's usual suit on.
They stared at each other for a bit.
"Time to go," Bruce eventually said.
Bruce's intel had been good but the shipment had been late and Hal spent a lot of time crouching on a container in the cold until the thugs he was spying on declared that a new date would have to be settled.
Bruce was perched on another container, somewhere in the shadows on Hal's left.
They stayed in position fifteen minutes after the last goons had left the docks and went all the way back to the Cave.
"So it was all for nothing. I haven't been of much use," Hal said as he put off the cowl in the Cave.
It was still quite early but Bruce hadn't asked him to patrol. Surely the kids would cover that since Bruce had been busy with his own investigation.
"Being Batman isn't as glamorous as many people think," Bruce said, getting back into civvies. "I do a lot of waiting."
"Yeah, I know how the vigilante gig works," Hal nodded. "You know what ? It was kind of fun, crouching in the shadows in your suit with your cape."
"Was it ?" Bruce said with an amused smile.
He was wearing Hal's face but something about that smile was all Bruce.
Hal tactfully tried to ignore what it made to his stomach and decided not to deal with the psychological implications of that.
Bruce cocked his head to the side. Hal rarely did that but he had noticed Bruce did when he was intrigued. It usually looked cute on Bruce's face but a bit strange on his. Hal must have been staring.
"Uh, yes," Hal said, stumbling upon his words.
They had given each other space to change into comfortable casual clothing but were somehow finding themselves quite close to each other now.
"Do you want help removing the eyeliner ?" Bruce asked, gesturing to Hal's face with his chin.
Hal nodded, his throat dry, and went back to the room with the big mirror.
He wondered vaguely if looking at yourself in a mirror and seeing the face of someone else could create some sort of cognitive dissonance before deciding he didn't care and facing his -Bruce's, really- reflection.
Black make-up was smudging Bruce's familiar high cheekbones. Hal smiled as he noticed it made him look a bit like a raccoon. An exceptionally good-looking one.
Bruce could get covered in mud and blood and still look good. Hal had seen it time and time again on the Watchtower showers after messy battles that made most people look like trash.
Bruce grabbed a started pack of make-up remover wipes on the counter and sat in front of Hal again, on the counter this time.
"Raise your head," he said softly.
Hal did as he was told and closed his eyes, his breath shortening a little when Bruce cupped his jaw.
He felt the cool of the moistened wipe against his skin as Bruce endeavored to remove the make-up from his face conscientiously.
Hal refrained from telling him he wasn't made of glass as Bruce cleaned his face with studied gentleness. It wasn't like Bruce's softness wasn't enjoyable.
It felt nice to be cared for instead of being the one caring for the world and Bruce's protective instincts made him a good carer. He probably didn't mind.
"Did - did Selina teach you how to apply make-up ?" Hal asked.
The Waynes had probably died too early for that and Hal doubted Alfred had taught Bruce.
There was a pause in Bruce's ministrations before he wiped down Hal's left cheek again.
"No. I learned on my own. It's not like I can do complex stuff with make-up. Selina's make-up skills are much greater than mine. Dick and Steph are quite good at it too. The others manage. Tim and I mostly just smudge make-up on our faces when we need to."
Bruce didn't touch Hal's face again as he talked and Hal's eyelids tentatively fluttered open but his soulmate clicked his tongue.
"Keep your eyes closed."
Perhaps it was because it sounded like Hal's but his voice had an odd quality to it.
"I thought you were done," Hal said.
"Not quite," Bruce said, cupping Hal's cheek like before again.
No, not like before. Both of Bruce's hands were cupping Hal's face. Hal was about to ask what was wrong when he felt Bruce's breath on his face.
Oh. Oh.
Hal opened his eyes.
"It'd be a lot more disturbing to keep your eyes open for this," Bruce pointed out, gently.
Hal grabbed Bruce's neck and closed his eyes before smashing their faces together messily. It was more their brand than Bruce's excessive delicateness.
Bruce didn't hesitate to kiss him back just as roughly.
"God, Hal," he murmured against his ear as they pulled apart. "I've wanted to do that for ages."
"You mean kissing yourself ?"
Bruce laughed quietly.
"That was odd, wasn't it ?" he said, but he was smiling.
Hal smiled back. It felt nice, even if Bruce was looking at him with Hal's own face. Maybe it was for the best because Hal was quite certain he would melt if Bruce's eyes zeroed on his face like that.
Indeed the kissing had been strange, just as uncomfortable as it was exciting.
"Um, I don't know. I could get used to kissing such a handsome face," Hal said, smiling.
"Do it again, then," Bruce challenged him. "We only have a couple of hours before we swap bodies again."
"Let's make the better of them, then. It's a once in a lifetime experience. Where -"
Bruce grabbed his hand and they almost ran to his bedroom. They were lucky not to meet anyone in the hallways.
"Stay," Bruce had murmured against Hal's hair when he had tried to move away from him later.
"This is going to be awkward in the morning," Hal protested.
"It won't be less awkward if you leave now," Bruce remarked, nuzzling Hal's -his- bare shoulder.
"Tomorrow is going to be different. We're going to swap bodies again," Hal reminded him.
"Yes, and ?" Bruce asked in confusion.
He wasn't sure where Hal was going, here.
"Do you really want me to be there when you wake up ?"
Bruce looked at Hal.
"Who else ?" he said so earnestly that Hal's heart jumped in his chest. "Hal. You assumed earlier that I didn't want to be bonded to you. That's… not true. You're not unremarkable by any stretch of the imagination, sweetheart," Bruce said, playing with Hal's fingers, intertwining their hands.
"But then why did you say -"
Bruce shut Hal up with a kiss.
"I have kids. They'll always have to come first. I believe the eldest ones would be pleased to know we're… um, doing whatever we want to be doing. But I can't just tell Damian that we're soulmates over breakfast. He's eleven. He still thinks his mother and I could get back together, I have to prepare him for the idea that I'm moving on and that I have someone else in my life."
"Oh," Hal said stupidly as if someone had turned on a lightbulb in his mind.
"It doesn't mean I don't love you but I need time before we make things more official. If you want to, that is," Bruce said, a hand on his thigh.
He didn't even seem to notice but Hal had to redirect his thoughts away from Bruce's physical warmth to focus on their conversation.
"Bruce. You can't just drop words like that on people's lap without a warning," he said, because Bruce's hand wasn't the only thing that had made Hal's brain short-circuit.
"What did I say ?" Bruce asked, oblivious.
Hal smiled and kissed him.
"Nevermind. Hey, Bruce ?"
"Hum ?"
"Do you think the sex will feel just as good when we'll get back in our bodies ?" Hal asked.
"I think it'll feel better. But why don't we find out in the morning ?"