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─ ⋅ Slice of (an exasperated step-dad’s) life ⋅ ─

Summary; Spin off to my slice of (a first-time dad’s) life Clex fic; LINK | Hal Jordon moves into the Wayne Estate to help Bruce with his kids after he loses his apartment for the millionth time… luckily Bruce said he could live for free in exchange for help with his kids.

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⋅ ─ Prologue; Evicted

Summary; Hal gets evicted for the millionth time after going off world for two months… | This is just a short prologue (I said I'd write this fic back in may and I've only just been able to get to writing it).

Hal was bored, and incredibly tired… he needed a drink, and a nap. He breaths in the fresh spring air, and is just glad to be home, after two months off world it’s nice to be home. All he needs now is to get home-home, and back to his apartment - he had around two hours before a JL meeting that bats had scheduled which was really annoying, but he was kinda glad he got to go and have an excuse to have bats be all protective of him…

The bat usually ended up, in his own way, fawn over whoever got back, and made sure they were ok, and not harmed. He usually was worse with Hal, but the man was pretty sure it wasn’t due to requited feelings and more so that Hal didn’t have a partner or kids that could patch him up the way everyone else did. It kinda hurt seeing that the bat defiantly just the fact that he saw Hal as incompetent however the man himself couldn’t keep his heart from fluttering ever so slightly… ok a lot. It was a lot.

He went off into his daydream, thinking about kissing that stupid bats face, and wondering what exactly was under the cowl… what colour was his eyes, he knew his hair was dark as Hal had seen a couple strands coming out of the cowl after a big fight and Hal just… swooned. He couldn’t even help it.

He finally got home, and instantly saw the huge pile of letters - mostly from his landlord…

Fuck.

He was getting evicted, and the day he had to move out by was… tomorrow. Great. He was just going to get a nap in, and then pack his shit, it wasn’t much due to him not being able to because he usually got evicted easily - especially as he had to get slightly dodgy apartments because of his God-awful credit score.

Maybe someone could let him crash on their couch? He wasn’t sure, all he needed right now was to sleep. And so, he just laid down, still in his green lantern uniform he just flopped onto the bed and fell into instant sleep…

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⋅ ─ Chapter 1; Moving in

Summary; Hal moves into the Manor

Hal woke up about two hours later, and went straight up to the watch tower…

He instantly spotted the bat, he was so worried about seeing him, he hasn’t showered, and he just looked gross - especially as he was able to move away and find someone else since they were the only two there.

“Ah, Jordon, hello” he looked over… fuck. He was only wearing a domino due to the heat and was just- God he was gorgeous.

“Hey, spooky” he smirks, leaning over slightly with a suave tone and a shitty attempt at flirting, the man in font just raised an eyebrow, and smirked… almost amused,

“Hm, you trying to seduce me into getting you housing?”

“Ah- what… how did you” he said, stuttering through his words,

“Hm, I do need help with something,”

“Oh? What’s up?”

“Look, I know you, you get evicted around six times a year at this point - so, I have an offer” … now Hal was sweating, “look, if you want, I can let you stay with me, I have more than enough room IF you help me out with my children.”

“You… spooky… the bat, the” Hal clears his throat, “I am vengeance” he says, in a silly impression of the man and doing the vampire pose, his arm covering his face with his arm, “you! Have kids?”

“…” Bats just stares, “yes”

“Damn… alright, lets meet them, and I’ll see what we’re in for with this”

“Good. Hm, Clark is here, let’s start the actual meeting talk”

-

And so, Hal was here. At the bat cave, because of course the bat had a personal zeta tube straight to the bat cave. Of course, he did.

“Really, a personal zeta?”

“When you see my kids, you’ll understand why I need to get home as quickly as possible” he pauses, “ready to be let in on the identity because seriously if you do and you tell anyone, I will make you wish I killed”

Ok… very, very scary but he was ready! Ready to be let into spook’s life, because even if the man did have kids, and probably a partner he could maybe… possibly… be friends- even if the yearning was for more. So, he just nodded, serious as the man took off the Domino he was wearing… he was-

Who is that? Why was bats so paranoid he’s just a dude?

“I am Bruce Wayne”

… why did he say that like Hal would gasp or something.

“Ok, I am Hal Jordon” he chuckled, brows furrowed in confusion and he swears the bat- no Bruce, blushed, embarrassed.

“You- don’t know who I am?”

“No?”

“Oh,” Bruce just blinked, he’d never met anyone who didn’t know him. Even some Aliens knew him if they had a connection to Earth media- so this was… odd? Refreshing? Either way he was happy, it meant Hal didn’t know about all of his Brucie escapades and his image wasn’t destroyed in Hal's mind... maybe he could hide that side of himself from the lantern, hiding the shameful side of what is ironically shamelessly a whore.

He was enamoured by Hal anyways, but in his casual attire it just made things worse, he knew the man was a piolet but wearing the whole jacket with his last name on only made Bruce picture himself with the same one…

God, he needed to snap out of this.

“Ahem, so, if you follow me, I can introduce you to my children”

“Alright” Hal gave him a soft smile, “so, what lucky lady got the infamous spooky to have kids?”

“None, they are adopted, I’m- in all senses a single father”

“Oh!” -  maybe he sounded a little too excited but Hal couldn’t help it… his chance wasn’t gone, maybe getting into the kid’s good books would help him anyways.

Bruce left the cave, Hal trailing behind him, and shouted out a simple, “Boys!”

Three kids all came rushing in, with an elder man walking normally behind them, which Hal didn’t even notice as he was just so enamoured by the décor, and how… expensive everything looked. He hoped he didn’t break anything, God all of this looked like it was worth more than Hal’s entire existence…

“Dad” was sung out in chorus by the two younger boys, with the older one saying something like ‘tata’ or ‘tati’ - Hal wasn’t exactly sure, he assumed it was a word for dad? Maybe.

“Boys I want you to meet Hal, Hal these are my children… Dick, Jason, and Tim” he said, pointing to each,

All of the boys greeted Hal in unison saying a sing-songy “hello” as if they’d been practicing this, it was kinda cute.

“Dick is the oldest, he is 13, then Jason who’s 9, and Tim who’s 6 - all of them are adopted however that isn’t to say I love them any less, they’re mine, and not getting away so easily, I’ve got them now” Bruce says, the last part about ‘having them’ clearly being sarcastic and with the way the boys giggle seemed to be a running bit.

“Yep, Tati is stuck with us” the eldest… Dick (who names their child Dick was all Hal could think) said, using the word again, Hal must’ve made a visual confused face as the boy quickly clarified, “Tati is Romani for dad, I’m Romanian, and was in a traveling circus”

“Yeah, Dick is teaching us how to fly” Jason smiles, clearly very excited while Dick stands tall at the praise,

“Yes, but only when me and Alfred are here,” he says, almost as a warning to the kids and a clarification to Hal, “which, I’m sorry Alfie, Hal this is Alfred, he insists on the role of butler however he did raise me, and the kids are very adamant on his role being their grandfather” Bruce visibly softens and Hal’s heart does a flip at the slight of the mans shoulders relaxing - he’d never seen the ‘big bad bat’ be so… calm, or at peace before, it was nice - really nice.

And so, Hal found himself as the new live-in babysitter for the Wayne’s any time he was on-world. He didn’t really protect much of a city anyways while on earth, just did the big disasters and occasionally pitched in with anyone who needed help, so now he got to play house with bats- or Bruce…

Which has reminded him; research Bruce Wayne…

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⋅ ─ Chapter 2; Dad’s crush… is the babysitter?!

Summary; The boy’s scheme, and Bruce and Hal have their first “date” (yes, the title is a parody of all those stupid anime/manga titles)

Hal had been living in the manor for a month or so now, Bruce and Alfred hadn’t left him alone in the house with all three of the boys so far (just one, or two), whether it be just because they didn’t want to until the kids were comfortable or whether it just hadn’t happened - Hal was glad either way, it meant he could just get used to living there without stressing over too much all at once, the kids seemed to like him and Bruce was getting more, and more comfortable and relaxed than he was at the start of Hal living there, so he called that a win.

He’d even been invited to a Wayne gala as Bruce’s plus one… it made him feel special. He knew Bruce probably just wanted him to watch the kids, but he couldn’t help but have a small flutter in his chest when Bruce asked…

Dick woke up in the middle of the night crying… Hal was walking past as the insomnia still had it’s hold… he’d been better since moving into Wayne Manor, but he knew it wasn’t just about to fully go away just because of some Egyptian cotton sheets. Walking past Dick’s room to get back to his room, hearing small sniffles as he holds onto his mug.

“Hey Dickie,” he whispers, opening the door ever so, as the boy looks up at him,

“Hi…”

“C’mere, kiddo,” Hal gives him a small smile, as he places his mug carefully onto the bedside table, sitting down next to Dick and pulling him into a hug, “Wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

“Bad dream” Dick’s voice was muffled through the older man’s shirt, as Hal rubbed circles on the boys back in an attempt to comfort him… he’d done so before with his younger brother, but was never truly good at comforting.

“Hm, that sucks, what was it about?”

“You, and dad…”

“Oh?” …that came as a surprise, what could have possibly occurred to make it bad?

“You, and Tati got married… because, Tati like-like’s you so obviously you’re gonna get married in the future, but in my dream, you decide you don’t like me anymore, because I’m not a kid like Jay or Timmy, and I’m… you” he sniffles more, making Hal’s heart just break, pulling him into another tight squeeze,

“Awe, kid, you don’t have to worry about that. Besides I doubt your dad really does like me anyways… and even if he did, I’d never let anyone get rid of you, your too precious” he says, emphasising it by cupping Dick’s cheeks and pushing them together with his palms making the boy giggle as Bruce himself walks in,

“Hey, sorry, I only just got back, is everything ok?” he asks, clearly worried, Hal knew by now Bruce had some serious paranoia, and maybe a slight hint of OCD, as he had to check everyone’s rooms before he could sleep (even Alfred’s, and Hals) … it was a must, he always checked Alfred’s, then Dick’s, then Jason’s, Tim’s before finally peaking ever so slightly into Hal’s before going to bed himself.

“Everything is fine, spooky, don’t worry, Dick had a bad dream but he’s a brave kid, so a little reassurance and he’s all good, aint ya” Hal smiles, ruffling Dick’s hair as the boy matches his grin, as Bruce starts to smile as well.

“Hm, that’s good isn’t it, Hal keepin’ you safe, Dickie”

“Yep, he’s been a good dad” Dick says, giving Bruce a stage wink as the older man sighs, “sorry ‘baby sitter’” he says, hands making quotes around baby sitter,

“Daddy?” Tim asked, rubbing his eye, and looking up at Bruce while holding onto a batman plush… which made Hal smirk, he wondered if it was custom or if they just made those,

“Hey baby, c’mere” he smiles, picking up the very sleepy six-year-old…

“cute” Hal chuckles, as he watches Bruce kiss Tim’s cheek,

“Hm, so… I guess this means your all coming into my bed?”

“Yeah” Dick smiles, grabbing Hal’s hand… who didn’t expect to be dragged into this. His heart was racing and he was probably as red as Supe’s cape right now.

He got dragged into joining the, as Dick called it ‘cuddle pile’, and was now on the right side of Bruce Wayne’s bed…

“I got your tea, Jason will probably join us soon, but I didn’t want to wake him - Tim insisted though so I sent him alone” he confessed, making Hal chuckle coving his face with his hand, making Bruce go completely red… accidently forgetting he was holding Hal’s mug and taking a sip, looking away.

Hal knew it was stupid, but the idea of an indirect kiss was making his heart race more, he was so giddy… God he was pathetic.

“I want to cuddle now,” Dick pretty much demanded, and Hal jokingly tackled him, making the boy fall into a fit of giggles, as he play-fought with Hal.

Jason and Tim came in a moment later, and the five of them all settled down, and ended up cuddling…

Waking up, Hal found himself with his head in the crook of Bruce’s neck, his arms wrapped around both Tim, and Dick with Jason laid into Bruce’s other side. It felt weird… but safe? It was a strange sensation for Hal, he hadn’t really been able to describe as he just ended up with his eyes closing again, and trying to preserve the moment of serenity. Not really wanting to think about any implications…

-

A week later, and Bruce still hadn’t made a move, and neither had Hal. So, the boys decided that enough was enough - they’d been subject to their dad talking about the lantern for hours after meetings, raving about how annoying he was and now he was there, Bruce did nothing!

So, they set up a meeting… kind of, they may have just met up in Dick’s room, but it was a meeting in their little hearts.

“Ok, so, Tati like-like’s Hal, and Hal totally like-likes Tati so- we need to get them together”

“Hm, totally, maybe we can make them a meal?”

“Ohh yeah, say we play restaurant, and then they row- romance” Tim suggested, the little genius still struggling with pronunciation,

“Perfect! Ok, I will cook, since I’m the only one who can… Dick you can set up, and Tim you can do music” Jason added on to the idea, with Dick nodding along.

“Otay!” Tim smiled, he enjoyed pressing the buttons so this would be fun.

“Hm, Tim, you suggest it to Tati”

“Ok, I go now?”

“Yeah, tell him to clear his… erm… work thingie, and meet us in the kitchen with the table” Dick tells him, struggling with remembering English words, he just opts to go with the closest thing in simple terms.

“Ok”

Somehow, Bruce found himself here, at the dining table… Hal across from him, while Jason cooks, Dick plays waiter, and Tim is on aux. Surprisingly, it’s… nice, he was laughing with Hal, and Jason’s cooking smelled great. It was sad to remember why Jason was so good at cooking so young, but he was just mentally blocking that… just for tonight.

The music was actually alright, and was some old school romance, with Frank Sinatra playing, followed by just some classical music. Hal seemed to be enjoying it too, and he was very impressed by Jay’s cooking, which did make Bruce proud, he loved his kids, and he was so proud at all of their achievements… he complimented Jason a lot, which was good as he ended up seeing him pop up over the counter with a little smile on his face.

After dinner the boys insisted that they go up to their room, suddenly deciding, and insisting, the game was also ‘hotels’ and that they had ‘booked’ Bruce’s room for the night - followed with them insisting every other room was ‘fully booked’.

So, with Alfred promising to watch the boys, Bruce and Hal ended up putting on a movie.

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─ ⋅ Slice of (an exasperated step-dads) life ⋅ ─ - Chapter 1 - Solar_ashh - Batman - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]