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"Stay here." Hal had murmured, kissing Bruce’s forehead before putting some clothes on to get the door. “It’s probably Mrs. Jameson again, she never remembers which door is her sister’s.”
The old lady went to her sister to bring her to Mass nearly every Sunday morning. She often failed to recognize the right door.
Bruce murmured something sleepily and Hal had a last tender look at him as Bruce rolled closer to Hal’s side of the bed before he left the room.
“I’m coming,” he announced loudly as the doorbell rang more insistently as he grew suspicious.
Mrs. Jameson usually didn’t ring so forcefully.
Hal wished it had been her instead when he opened the door to a whole bunch of familiar faces.
“Oh this is just great,” Hal muttered under his breath when he caught sight of his friends.
What time was it ? He and Bruce had been up late and natural light flooded the floor. Definitely too late for one of Mrs. Jameson’s visits. Hal tried not to yawn at his visitors’ faces.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY !" Barry said and it must have been the signal because then they started singing.
On Hal’s doormat. The singing was loud and atrocious and Hal was searching his mind for a more or less polite way to close the door on his friends.
Oliver, Dinah, Jess, Simon, Barry and Iris were there, smiling at him.
They all looked way too awake for his taste. There were balloons.
"Okay. What are you doing here ?" he asked, because they couldn’t seriously have come all the way here just to wish him a happy birthday and manage to annoy all the residents by the same occasion.
Hal was still unsure whether he should usher them in or not. It was a shame manners were a thing so ingrained in his brain.
Oliver tapped the Lantern’s shoulder.
"Isn’t it obvious ? You didn't mention any plans for your birthday, so we made some for you !” the vigilante said, obviously very proud of his idea as he walked in Hal’s apartment totally uninvited.
The others followed after him and gathered in Hal’s living-room, which started looking a bit crowded.
"Has it not occurred to you that I may already have plans which didn't include you ?" Hal groaned.
He wished he could go back to bed and to Bruce without any explanation. It should be illegal to call on your friends unexpectedly.
"What are you talking about, you were sleeping !" Oliver said and Hal realized he had put his t-shirt on back to front and was still barefoot.
"I wasn't sleeping alone," Hal eventually said in a frosty tone, crossing his arms.
He would only notice later that it brought attention to his hands.
His relationship with Bruce wasn't something they would have been able to keep for themselves much longer. Not after last night.
There was a pause. His friends hadn't known for sure that he was seeing someone. Barry had hinted that he had noticed Hal was Earthside more often these days, the last time they had had lunch together.
"Well, your girlfriend can get dressed and join us," Ollie said generously, making a vague hand gesture.
Hal kept glaring at him.
"Ah, boyfriend ? It's fine, you know. We… suspected it could happen," Barry said more or less diplomatically. “Well, you remember my cousin Jane ? She has a girlfriend now and -”
Iris clasped her hand on Barry’s mouth before he could say more and placed her petite frame in front of his taller one.
Hal tried not to feel embarrassed over the fact that Barry and his wife discussed his private life.
“Sorry about him. He meant we’d be delighted to meet your friend,” Iris said firmly.
Her smile was genuine. Hal refrained from sighing.
"I’m really regretting getting out of bed," he muttered, rubbing his hands over his tired eyes.
He should have let Bruce answer the door and deal with their friends, so he wouldn’t be the one dealing with the awkwardness.
"Wait, is it an engagement ring ?" Dinah asked, grabbing Hal's left hands in hers.
The day before had been a bit of a blur and Hal hadn't noticed he was still wearing his ring and putting it on display when he had crossed his arms.
“Not now…” Hal grumbled as multiple surprised gasps and exclamations filled the room, just as the door of the bedroom slammed open.
Bruce, wearing dark boxer shorts and an open shirt for all clothing, had marched toward Hal before turning toward the visitors.
“Now, if you please, I'm taking my husband back to bed, where he belongs. For the love of whatever you hold dear, shut up and get the hell out,” Bruce snarled, intertwining his hand with Hal's and dragging him inside the bedroom and closing the door behind him without a further glance at their dumbstruck friends.
“Much better,” Bruce sighed as they fell back in bed and the voices of their friends went more and more muffled until the door of Hal's apartment banged softly.
“You have the manners of a caveman. They meant well, they couldn't know we’ve just got married yesterday and stayed up all night afterwards.”
“Don't tell me you wanted them to stay.”
“Not really what I had in mind for today,” Hal said before he kissed Bruce's neck. “I love you,” he added tenderly as Bruce wrapped an arm around him and entangled their legs.
Bruce hummed sleepily.
“Love you too,” he whispered, kissing Hal's ring finger just above his wedding band. “Happy birthday, Mr. Jordan-Wayne.”
“Who would have thought we would get there when we first met ?” Hal asked, his eyes focused on Bruce's matching band.
“I knew.”
Bruce’s eyes stayed closed but Hal had heard his words clearly.
“Love, it was ages ago,” he protested as he moved a bit closer.
Bruce’s eyes snapped open and he looked at Hal with intent.
“And I've wanted you from the start. I didn't understand it at first. I fought it when I figured it out. I couldn't — after Selina, I didn't want to be falling in love with anyone else. I gave up on romantic entanglements and the likes. I was happy just sleeping around. I hadn't planned for you. You're such a fascinating creature, Hal. You're so alive, so vibrant, so — I don't even have the words for it. There's something about you I can’t explain.”
Communication wasn’t always their strongest suit but Hal could tell without hesitation that he was one of the very few people Bruce talked to so openly. Bruce trusted him and Hal knew how much it meant. The thrill of it dazed him sometimes.
“It took three whole months for you to tell me you loved me back but I can't say it wasn’t worth all those sleepless nights when you say stuff like that,” Hal answered, smiling.
In the morning light, he looked like he had appeared from a myth. Some hero with sunkissed hair and tanned skin, resting at his lover's side before he had to fight thousands of dangers once again.
But for now, Hal was there with him and Bruce wanted to make the best of the day. It was to this end that he ran his hands through Hal's hair and kissed him again.
The rest of the universe could wait.