Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It wasn't the first time they took care of Wally while Iris was busy. Far from it in fact. They made a great team when Barry let the kid join them on patrol or when they just headed out for searching Christmas presents for everyone like they did now.

Wally was running to and fro in the mall with Barry and Hal walking calmly behind him.

“You'd think he was five years younger.” Barry said and smiled warmly at his best friend who laughed.

“As if you're any different whenever Christmas comes around, Bar. Do I have to remind you of last year?”

Barry winced. He rather Hal wouldn't. Last year Barry had still been hung up on his other best friend Iris and desperately tried to find the perfect present for her that would make her admit she was in love with Barry, too. All his former attempts had failed so it wasn't that far off to assume he would be unsuccessful again. And he had been. He had thought that the bracelet would be his ticket to a relationship with Iris but she had just seen it as a thoughtful gift from her almost-brother. During the last year, many things had happened and Barry must have fallen out of love with Iris without noticing at one point because when he had looked at her a few weeks ago, he had seen nothing but the beautiful woman who he, once again, considered a sister. It was weird after all these years of hopeful pining, it was over. Just like that. He still hadn't figured out why it had happened but he knew that one day, he would.

Hal laughed again at the priceless expression on Barry's face.

“Well, good that you're having so much fun, Hal.”

“With you? Always.”

And that simple answer wasn't meant to make him feel warm all over. Barry blamed it on the eggnog they'd had before coming here with Wally.

Speaking of Wally, the teenager came running back to them, lots of shopping bags dangling from his arms. Without speaking, Hal took most of them from him to carry them while Barry took the rest.

“I just need to find something for.” Wally hesitated for a moment. “For someone.”

Hal grinned. He knew as much as Barry that Wally meant his new best friend and Batman's sidekick Robin or as he was otherwise known Dick Grayson. Him and Wally had been off to a rough start but and quickly become inseparable once they had gotten over their differences.

“What have you thought of? Maybe something from the electronics store?”

“Nah.” Wally immediately declined. “It has to be something special. Like-”

Something seemed to have caught his eye and Wally dashed off again.

“Kids these days.” Barry smiled.

“Yeah, but he's turning more and more into an adult whenever I'm not looking.” Hal replied with a warm smile of his own. When he looked at Barry his eyes seemed to sparkle.

Barry felt speechless for a moment until he forced himself to get some words out.

“I know what you mean. Before we know it, he'll take over the hero business and we're not needed anymore.”

Hal put the arm that wasn't holding the shopping bags over Barry's shoulder and pulled him a bit closer.

“I think we still have some time before that happens.”

“I found it!” They suddenly heard Wally yell with the enthusiasm of a child.

“Yeah, maybe you're right.” Barry smiled while this warm feeling spread in his chest again.

Chapter Text

Helen first saw them standing together next to the giant flower bouquet at Carol's wedding. A devastatingly attractive brown-haired man with a bomber jacket and a cute blond at his side. They seemed quite comfortable with each other and the blond laughed about something the former had said. They stood there. Snickering like little children. She had a feeling she knew the brunette from somewhere. She just couldn't put her finger on from where exactly. Maybe she would ask Carol later on.

The cute one pointed at something in the crowd and they broke out into laughter again.

Helen turned her gaze away when Carol approached her in her white dream of a wedding dress and pulled her into a hug.

“Thanks for coming here, Helen. I know it's a long way from New York to Coast City.”

Helen hugged her back.

“Please, we've been best friends since college. It's not like I'd rather be anywhere else on your big day.”

The slowly let go of each other.

“I'm glad you finally agreed to marry Frank instead of- What was his name again?”

“Hal Jordan.” Carol sighed. They'd had this argument hundreds of times before.

And whit that Helen remembered where she had seen the brown-haired guy before. Hal Jordan. Right. The trouble maker in her company.

“Before you even start, he is a great pilot. Probably the best I've ever had. But don't you dare tell him that.” Carol defended Hal before Helen could even open her mouth.

“I know, I know. So you've told me time and time again. But he really wasn't the best choice of partner for you, Carol.”

She wasn't trying to be mean. Really. Helen was just looking out for Carol and what was best for her as best friends often did. If that included telling her when she was in a relationship that wasn't working out then so be it.

After a few minutes, Carol disappeared again and so had Hal Jordan and his blond friend behind her. 

She saw them again a few hours later when they were sitting at a nearby table and eating some leftover cake. Well, more like his friend was eating enough cake for two while Hal just watched him. In her curiosity, she stepped a bit closer to get a better look at them.

Hal was slouching in is chair and smiling fondly at the blond who currently stuffed his face with food and tapping his feet so fast his whole right leg almost seemed to vibrate. Hal seemed to notice as he gently put a hand on his friend's leg to still it and let it lie there. The vibrating stopped instantly and both smiled at each other in a way that Helen couldn't quite figure out. She averted her eyes and allowed them their private moment.

Seeing as third times the charm, she saw the couple later on again when most of the guests and the wedding couple had already disappeared. They stood once again closely next to each other. It had gotten a bit chilly once the sun had gone down and the stars had come out. The blond seemed to be wearing Hal's jacket against the cold night air while the other leaned slightly against him. They seemed to be talking a low voices until Hal pointed towards the bar and seemingly went to get them drinks.

That was her chance to finally talk to the cute guy!

She walked over to him and held out her hand.

“Hi, I'm Helen.”

She could see some sort of recognition in his eyes.

“Oh, you must be Carol's best friend from college!”

“Yeah, that's me.”

He took her hand and shook it gently.

“I'm Barry. Pleased to meet you.”

Now so up close she could see that he had impossibly blue eyes and an extremely cute smile.

What was she supposed to say? Her mind seemed blank.

“I was wondering if-”

“Here, Bar. Your drink.”

Hal seemingly came out of nowhere. She must have been so absorbed in her own thoughts and Barry's presence that she hadn't heard him coming back.

When Barry didn't take his drink, Hal took his hand and put it around the glass.

“Here, sweetheart.”

Even if the tone was slightly teasing, it suddenly became clear to her. The laughing, the touches, the way they stood too close to each other for friends.

„Oh! You are...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I should have realized sooner.“

Barry didn't realize at first what she was implying while Hal grinned at his side and put a hand around his shoulders.

„Now, if you don't mind.“ He made a shooing motion.

The brown-haired man than tightened his hold on Barry's shoulders and pulled him away.

Helen could still hear the loudly hissed “What is wrong with you?” from Barry. She shook her head. She should have known right from the start. The cute ones were always taken.

Chapter Text

It was one of the rare cases of Hal being on earth for more than just a few days. Exactly on this day four years ago, they had met for the first time and instantly hit it off. Okay. Maybe not instantly. More like love at second sight. Or third. Hal being his usual reckless self and telling Barry his secret identity after only two minutes probably had helped a bit. He had thought it only fair since he had already known that Barry was the Flash. Together they had saved a bunch of kidnapped children and fought the responsible villain last year. So this year it was hopefully a bit quieter. They had booked a table at their favorite restaurant in Central City (not the jazzy one from last year on Hal's insistence) and decided to meet for a friendly dinner. Shortly after they had gotten the menus, Barry excused himself to got to the bathroom. Hal had once again more or less borrowed Barry's phone when they had entered the restaurant and now played Candy Crush on it while Barry was away.

A cute petite waitress came over with two menus for them and stopped in her tracks shortly in front of their table when she noticed that Hal was alone.

“Oh. Should I come back later?” She asked. She was actually pretty cute with her long eyelashes framing her bright blue eyes and her long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. She was totally Hal's type and usually he would have flirted with her instantly but he had promised Barry beforehand to behave. Today was supposed to be all about the two of them and not Hal's libido, as Barry had put it.

“No, no, it's fine.” Hal replied. They had been here so often that Hal knew Barry's order by heart so he ordered for the two of them. He knew Barry wouldn't mind.

She wrote everything down on her note pad and kept smiling at him throughout his talking. Hal was used to women – and men – smiling at him in all kinds of variations. He knew he was attractive so he thought nothing of it until she had finished taking their orders and she left with a: “It's really cute that you know your boyfriend so well, you know what he wants to eat even when he's not there.”

That shocked Hal so much he wasn't able to reply for a moment. Once he had recovered from the fact that once again someone had thought of them as a couple, he yelled after her.

“We're not boyfriends!”

She hadn't seemed to hear his outburst but a lot of other people had and were throwing glares his way for disturbing their peaceful dinners.

Damn it all! Why did people keep assuming they were a couple? Was it the hugging? He was pretty sure best friends were allowed to do that without ending up in a relationship. The constant touching from Hal? He couldn't really help it! Barry was so incredibly warm thanks to his faster metabolism, it was sometimes pretty cold in Central City and Hal was used to warmer weather so he clang to his best friend's side more often than not. That was all there was to it. The fuzzy feeling in his stomach whenever he did so and the actual need to touch Barry when he hadn't seen him for a while was nothing more than his body being confused. That was all there was to it.

When Barry came back, Hal was still sitting there and thinking about the waitress' words. The speedster noticed that his best friend wasn't playing with his cellphone as he usually did and raised one eyebrow a bit.

“Everything alright?” He asked.

“Peachy.” Hal replied.

Somehow Barry didn't quite believe that. Something seemed to have happened during the short time it had taken him to go to the bathroom.

“You know you can talk to me right?”

“I know.”

Barry nodded. He knew that Hal knew but sometimes people just needed a little reminder of certain facts.

“Is it about Carol?”

Hal shook his head. No it really had nothing to do with his once again ex-girlfriend Carol Ferris.

“So what-”

“Please.” Hal interrupted him. “Just drop it, okay? It's not that important.

So Barry dropped the topic. For now.

They stuck to safer topics like they usually did in public. Talking about their activities as Flash and Green Lantern was just a tad too dangerous among other people. You never knew when someone decided to listen in. so that would have to wait for later. So they talked about Barry's work in the lab and the newest plane Hal was supposed to fly in a few days, about how much Wally was improving and what had happened to their friends while Hal had been away.

They were both laughing about Olli's latest unsuccessful attempt to woo Dinah when the waitress came back with their food.

She put their meals in front of them and smiled warmly at them.

“I must say I wish I had a boyfriend who bothered to remember my favorite food. You must call yourself pretty lucky.”

Barry flushed bright red while the waitress walked away again.

“Why does this keep happening to us?”

Hal sighed deeply as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and most days he probably did.

“I don't know, Bar. Let's just...”

He paused for a moment.

“Let's just pretend it didn't happen.

Chapter Text

The truth was: Barry ran hot. Thanks to his fast metabolism his body temperature was higher than that of a normal human being at 38,5 degree Celsius. So it didn't take much for him to develop a fever when he used h is speed to save the world and pushed his body temperature even higher with the exercise. So far his proteins hadn't denatured like cooked eggs usually did. So everything was okay in Barry's opinion.

Hal had a completely different idea of the situation.

Barry's face was red and sweaty when he stopped after punching Gorilla Grodd in the face and defeating him. Hal flew over to Barry while Batman was busy detaining the giant ape. They were currently in Gotham where Gorilla Grodd had tried his latest scheme. The three of them had teamed up to take the villain down. Well, more like Batman had grumbled a lot and Green Lantern and Flash had tagged along to help him.

“Stupid monkey.” Was the first thing Barry heard from his best friend when he was close enough. “I'm probably gonna have a headache thanks to him.”

Then Hal looked up and took in Barry's face. He saw Hal's eyes widen with concern and tried to wave it off.

“It's not that bad, GL. You know I can take care of myself.”

No that Hal cared from the way he looked at Barry. His green-clad friend stepped forward until his body was almost touching Barry's and gently put a hand on Barry's forehead.

“I'm pretty sure you fave another fever, Flash.”

Barry wanted to reply in a snarky manner but Hal's hand was cold against his skin and felt so, so good. A quiet sigh escaped Barry's lips.

“Yup, that's it.” Hal suddenly said. “No more running for you today.”

“Huh?”

Hal pulled his hand away from Barry's head and Barry almost protested. Then GL pulled him even closer, put a strong arm around the Flash's waist and took off. By that stage Barry was becoming dizzy from the heat inside of him and it showed in how he didn't protest at all about being manhandled by his best friend. He put his head against Hal's shoulder and an arm around his waist. The green on his uniform was hot but the black was cold. He tried to keep upright while they flew but it was pretty difficult for him by then.

He noticed Hal talking to someone on the communicator – probably Batman – about taking Barry home. Thank god they hadn't really caused any damage this time around and Bruce didn't have to do the clean up all by himself.

Barry pulled his head away from Hal's shoulder.

“Hal?” Barry asked quietly. At first he wasn't even sure the other had heard him. He almost tried again when Hal answered with a “Hmm?”.

“Thank you.”

His best friend smiled warmly at him and used his free hand to brush a sweaty strand out of Barry's face.

“No problem.”

He let his head sink down against Hal's shoulder again and tried to convince himself that the flush on his face was just from the fever.

They kept quiet for the rest of the flight.

When they finally arrived at Barry's flat, Hal put him gently down on the couch and rushed to the closet to find a thin blanket for Barry. After Barry resembled a burrito more than a human, Hal brought him some ice in a towel to put on his forehead and disappeared into Barry's kitchen for a while.

Barry himself turned on the TV and watch a documentary about ants which would usually fascinate him but he just didn't have the strength to concentrate right now. He could hear Hal pottering around with pots and pans and briefly wondered what his best friend must be doing.

A while later, and for Barry it had felt more like a few seconds, Hal reappeared from the kitchen with two plates full of food.

He put one of them on the coffee table in front of Barry. It smelled delicious.

“I didn't know you could cook.”

“I have a little brother and my mom was scarcely at home thanks to her two jobs. Of course I can cook.”

He put the stills lightly cool towel next to him and set himself upright to be able to eat. His fever had gone away mostly and now he could feel the hunger from his running. He took a bite and was surprised it tasted as good as it smelled. Barry himself lived from take out so it was a nice change.

“Why are we usually going out instead of you cooking for me?”

Hal's eyes seemed to twinkle and he flashed Barry a smile.

“We could stay in next time.”

“We should.”

Barry didn't even try to pretend that the flush was coming from the fever this time around.

Chapter Text

Hal had met Barry’s so to speak sister Iris a few times already at Jitters and Star Labs whenever he hang out with the speedster outside of their shared work. She was an incredibly smart, beautiful and overall amazing woman. No wonder Barry was in love with her. He hadn’t known that back during Iris’s and his first meeting and had shamelessly flirted with her. Not that she had reacted to his usual tactics with more than an eye roll and a snort.

“I’m not really ready for another pretty boy in my life just yet.”

Hal had backed off and they kept the rest of their conversation friendly until Barry returned form his patrol. A few days later Barry told the pilot about Eddie and Hal understood. Iris and him became pretty good friends afterwards and they would chat at Jitters while Hal waited for Barry to come back from work.

It was a slow day and most of Jitters was empty so she had asked him how the two of them had met and Hal told her about the case of the missing kids and how Barry had tried and failed to hide who he was. She was laughing as Hal went on about how he had recognized Barry thanks to his voice.

“So he didn’t do this weird thing he does with his vocal cords?”

“Well, he tried to afterwards but by then the damage had already been made.”

He looked down at the paper cup of coffee in his hands and smiled when he thought about the look Barry had given him back then. He took a sip from his drink when Iris asked something that almost made him spit coffee all over the counter.

“So is that when you fell in love with Barry?”

Instead of doing a spit take, Hal swallowed the hot liquid the wrong way and started coughing violently. When he had calmed down again after a few moments, Iris was still looking at him.

“Why does everyone keep thinking I want into my best friend’s pants?”

He cleared his throat to get rid of the last bit of coffee in his trachea and shoved his cup away from him. Yeah, he’d had enough of that for today.

“I’ve seen the way you look at him, Hal. Whenever you think he’s not looking and even sometimes when he does. Like you can’t believe something so beautiful would ever happen to you. I seen that look before.” She quietly continued. “Eddie used to have it.”

Before Hal could answer Barry plopped down onto the seat next to him, completely oblivious to their conversation. The speedster bumped his shoulder into Hal’s when he just looked at him dumbly.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.”

Hal faked a small smile while his mind still went into overdrive and he repeatedly heard Iris words in his head.

Barry seemed to feel something was up as he slightly raised an eyebrow but quickly ignored it in favor of pointing at the abandoned cup of coffee on the counter.

Hal nodded at him so Barry pulled it towards himself and emptied it in one big gulp. He chuckled lightly when his best friend open his mouth to tell them “God, I needed that!”

Barry closed his eyes and hummed now that his coffee thirst had been sated. It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds but Hal couldn’t take his eyes off Barry’s face. How soft his blond hair looked, his cheeks that were still rosy from the cold outside which accentuated his pale skin even more, his lips that were pulled upwards in a small smile that gave him that boyish charm he had and his long lashes that framed his unbelievably blue eyes. Superman and his supposedly perfection had nothing on Barry Allen. So maybe he did feel something for the speedster. Maybe he should stop denying himself what he actually wanted instead of going after what he thought he was supposed to want. Hal knew he was a complete train wreck and his track record with relationships was infamous among the hero community. But Barry knew him better than anyone and even after all the shit he'd pulled with even some of Barry’s dates they were still best friends. So maybe, just maybe…

Hal was still starring at Barry’s face when the speedster opened his eyes again. His best friend didn’t seem at all surprised when his own blue eyes looked straight into Hal’s brown ones. For several moments the world seemed to stand still. Hal had never heard of that outside of cheesy romance novels but here it was happening to him of all people. The air seemed to heat up between then and when Barry smiled warmly at him again, Hal knew that he was lost once and for all.

Seeing as there seemed to be a pattern with people thinking that Hal was Barry’s boyfriend, he wasn’t at all surprised when Joe West just assumed the same as everyone else. Maybe a bit disappointed because he’d been told over and over again how Joe was an amazing police detective.

It was the man’s birthday but they were keeping it small. Only family was invited for dinner today. When Barry had asked if he could bring Hal along, Joe had been way more enthusiastic than expected. As soon as Joe opened the front door, they knew why.

“So...this is your boyfriend?”

“Best friend!” Barry cried out immediately but Joe had already gone back into the house and hadn’T heard him at all.

By now, being used to being confused for a couple, Hal snorted.

“Seriously?! Even your adoptive father?”

Barry shot him a look but Hal just smirked back. Barry’s look softened almost instantly and he huffed out a laugh.

“Shut up, Harold.”

Barry shoved him playfully. He shoved back.

“Make me, Bartholomew!”

Chapter Text

He was going to do it. Hal was really going to do it. Today, he was casting his commitment issues aside and kiss Barry in front of everyone.

It was Barry’s 30^th birthday and the entire Justice League was celebrating on the Watchtower. Booster and Beetle had already crashed the party with the rest of the JLI which also included Guy Gardner to Hal’s displeasure. He liked Fire and Tora just fine, Barry loved chatting with J’onn and even Booster Gold and Ted Kord were likable in their own way so they had been allowed to stay. Hal still had no idea how someone like Tora could be with someone like Gardner. But to be fair most people would probably say the same thing about Barry and him and they would most likely after today since Hal had planned to out the two of them today. He had discussed it with Barry in great detail of the past few days and both had agreed that it was finally time for them to open up about their relationship. Barry himself would have been open about it from the start but Hal hadn’t felt quite as comfortable with it. Not because Barry was a guy but because Hal knew his own track record. So they had dated without telling anyone for the last 5 months and since they were still together and happy with each other, Hal wanted to let the others know. Maybe even to just rub it in their faces that he was capable of a lasting grown-up relationship as well. Just like the rest of them.

Hal was hyper aware of how close he stood to Barry during the entire party but no one seemed to even bat an eyelash. Which was kind of weird. Wasn’t it noticeable that they were a couple and that Hal was standing just a bit too close? Maybe he wasn’t really as obvious as he had thought seeing as no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.

An hour into the celebration Olli and Dinah made an appearance and Hal hugged the two of them first before Barry even had a chance to. Oliver still wasn’t exactly friends with Barry but they were on their way of getting there. Olli’s jealousy had gotten much better since he and Dinah had become an actual couple and she could reign him in whenever necessary.

They had brought a big red and yellow cake with them as a surprise for Barry who was smiling like a little kid. Hal kept forgetting that Barry hadn’t really celebrated his birthday during the last few years since he didn’t really have any family left and Hal was too often in space to even remember what month it was on earth. Flash was a very friendly person but also very private when it came to things such as his birthday. So him celebrating it in such a big way was special and rare. Maybe it was because Hal had kept pestering him about throwing a party. Turning thirty was a pretty big event after all. Not that Hal was too keen on celebrating his own 30^th birthday in about two years from now. But Barry didn’t have to know that yet. They would cross that bridge when it came to it.

So when everyone came together to watch Barry cut the cake and congratulate him, Hal took his chance, kissed Barry on the cheek and waited for the storm to come. But nothing happened. Maybe he should have kissed him on the lips instead of the cheek since that could still be seen as friendship behavior. But really? Nothing at all?!

Barry himself was smiling warmly at Hal, gave his hand a squeeze and started cutting the cake.

Hal was dumbstruck. Why was no one reacting in any way whatsoever?

Guy was the first to say something.

“Come on! We all know you have a giant bromance going on. You don’t need to rub it in our faces all the time.”

Hal blinked. What?

“Bromance?”

“Yeah.” came Guy’s reply. “Your girlfriends are going to be jealous when they figure it out.”

Hal blinked again.

“What girlfriend? What the hell are you talking about?”

Hal couldn’t make heads or tails of this conversation. No one else seemed to bother with it and ate their cake in peace. Except for guy.

“Like I wouldn’t notice you’ve been distracted lately and kept asking to be put on earth duty. So...now lady friend?”

Hal was surprised Guy had even noticed these things but Gardner was often smarter than people were willing to give him credit for. Hal should have known. He had just arrived at the wrong conclusion.

“There’s no girlfriend, Guy.”

Hal was becoming exasperated. He obviously pressed against Barry’s side who only commented with a slightly stern “Hal.” that he ignored completely and wrapped his arm around the blond’s waist.

“I’m with Barry.”

Guy snorted.

“Yeah right.”

Hal was flabbergasted. His mouth hang open for a moment before he could recover. Was this guy for real? Hal looked at Barry who seemed equally surprised to have heard that answer.

Before Hal could answer Olli of all people stepped closer and opened his mouth.

“Hal. It’s okay. We know you’re best friends and really love each other and we know you’re not boyfriends. The both of you told us often enough.”

“But he really is my boyfriend!” Hal cried out. “Why does no one believe me?”

In a last desperate attempt to correct everyone’s mistake, he turned to Batman.

“Bruce? Come on. Tell them Barry and I are really together. You don’t give a fuck about our privacy. Tell them!”

But Bruce only shook his head. He was not getting involved in this madness.

Barry started chuckling beside him.

“Maybe we should have told them sooner about us.”

Hal grumbled. This was ridiculous. This couldn’t really be happening. And they hadn’t said they weren’t boyfriends that often before, right? Right.

Hal was still pressed to Barry’s side and tucked his cold nose against his warm neck and nuzzled into it a bit more. If they didn’t want to believe them, Hal would have to make them believe. One way or another. He could feel Barry kissing the top of his head while their friends kept celebrating Barry’s birthday.