Ficlet: Loose Ends [1/1] Roy/Hal [Arsenal/Green Lantern]
Title: Loose Ends
Author: Perpetual Motion
Claim: Roy/Hal
Characters/Pairing: Roy/Hal, Lian [teenager]
Rating: PG
Word Count: 726
Prompt: writer's choice
Summary: Lian has two dads. Kind of.
Disclaimer: Complete lies. I lay claim to absolutely nothing.
Author's Notes/Warnings: This is set after "Tornado's Path" but not in any particular point in recent JLA canon.
Lian comes home from school one day, drops her backpack on the kitchen table, and hops up on the counter before asking a question Hal thought he’d managed to avoid years ago.
“You’re my dad, right?”
Hal puts down the potatoes and scrub brush and shuts off the faucet. “As far as I’m concerned. Why?”
“There’s a guy in my class, and he’s got two dads, too, and he calls them both dad.” Lian swings her legs and thumbs her feet against a cabinet. “Should I be calling you dad?”
“I never had a problem with ‘Old Man’,” Hal says. “You picked it out all by yourself, and that’s more than good enough for me.”
“Okay.” Lian goes quiet, looking down at the kitchen floor while Hal goes back to scrubbing potatoes. “Why haven’t you and Dad ever gotten married?”
“Weddings take planning,” Hal responds instantly. “And you have to come up with a list of people to invite who aren’t going to tell the list of people you don’t want to invite that you’re having a wedding. And people will spend months asking you how your wedding planning is going.”
“You could have eloped.”
“Think about what your Aunt Dinah could do to us if we tried.”
Lian grins. “Yeah.” She hops down from the counter and gets a towel from the drawer to start drying the potatoes. “But you could still do it, right?”
Hal wipes his hands on a spare towel and gives Lian his full attention. “You all right, kid?”
“Sure,” she says, but she won’t look at Hal.
“Look, I know your dad and I don’t say it much, but we do love each other, and we love you. If you think-”
“I don’t,” Lian cuts him off. “I know you guys are-you know-set and stuff. It’s not that.”
“You’ve got to say it to get a reaction to it,” Hal says when the pause turns into full silence.
“You’ve never adopted me,” Lian says quietly, still carefully drying a potato. “I just…I was wondering why.”
Hal can’t breathe for a minute. “I…” He shakes his head and takes the potato from Lian. “I didn’t even think about it,” he says after a few seconds. Hal holds Lian’s face in his hands and looks her straight in the eyes. “You’re my kid just as much as any kid is to any parent.”
“I know that,” Lian says. “I’m not stupid.” She tries to smile, and she tears up instead.
“Don’t ever doubt it,” Hal tells her. “No matter what, I’m your dad, too.”
“Okay,” Lian whispers. She hugs Hal, and he holds her tight, kissing the top of her head.
“Did I miss something?” Roy asks as he walks into the kitchen, grocery bag tucked against one arm. He looks at Lian and then at Hal. “Did you fight?”
“I never adopted Lian,” Hal explains as Lian wipes her eyes on her sleeve.
There’s a pause. “Well, shit,” Roy responds and sets the bag on the counter. He smoothes Lian’s hair and glances at the clock. “Who’s on monitor duty?”
Hal thinks for a second. “Wonder Woman,” he says. “And then Batman.”
“All right. Call Diana and see if she can track down a lawyer; let’s get this fixed.”
“It doesn’t-” Lian starts.
“We’re fixing it,” Roy says and pulls in Lian for a hug. “You’re our kid, kid. We should have made this official years ago.”
“Want to get married?” Hal asks, and Lian laughs.
Roy shrugs. “Long as we’re doing things-”
“I wasn’t-” Hal cuts off when Lian gives him a look. “Never mind.”
Roy laughs. “Kidding.”
Hal sighs in relief. “Oh, good.”
“Hopeless,” Roy says to Lian. “You sure you want to be legally associated with him?”
Lian looks at Hal, then Roy, then at Hal again. “I’m already related to you, Dad. It can’t get much worse.”
Hal howls with laughter as Roy messes up Lian’s hair and shoos her out of the room. “I’m calling Diana,” Roy says.
“I’ll finish dinner,” Hal responds and grabs Roy before he can leave the room. He kisses him on the mouth and presses a kiss next to Roy’s ear. “I’d marry you, if you want,” he says in a whisper.
“I know,” Roy whispers in return. “But I’ve got you, anyway.”
“Damn straight.”
My Table
Author: Perpetual Motion
Claim: Roy/Hal
Characters/Pairing: Roy/Hal, Lian [teenager]
Rating: PG
Word Count: 726
Prompt: writer's choice
Summary: Lian has two dads. Kind of.
Disclaimer: Complete lies. I lay claim to absolutely nothing.
Author's Notes/Warnings: This is set after "Tornado's Path" but not in any particular point in recent JLA canon.
Lian comes home from school one day, drops her backpack on the kitchen table, and hops up on the counter before asking a question Hal thought he’d managed to avoid years ago.
“You’re my dad, right?”
Hal puts down the potatoes and scrub brush and shuts off the faucet. “As far as I’m concerned. Why?”
“There’s a guy in my class, and he’s got two dads, too, and he calls them both dad.” Lian swings her legs and thumbs her feet against a cabinet. “Should I be calling you dad?”
“I never had a problem with ‘Old Man’,” Hal says. “You picked it out all by yourself, and that’s more than good enough for me.”
“Okay.” Lian goes quiet, looking down at the kitchen floor while Hal goes back to scrubbing potatoes. “Why haven’t you and Dad ever gotten married?”
“Weddings take planning,” Hal responds instantly. “And you have to come up with a list of people to invite who aren’t going to tell the list of people you don’t want to invite that you’re having a wedding. And people will spend months asking you how your wedding planning is going.”
“You could have eloped.”
“Think about what your Aunt Dinah could do to us if we tried.”
Lian grins. “Yeah.” She hops down from the counter and gets a towel from the drawer to start drying the potatoes. “But you could still do it, right?”
Hal wipes his hands on a spare towel and gives Lian his full attention. “You all right, kid?”
“Sure,” she says, but she won’t look at Hal.
“Look, I know your dad and I don’t say it much, but we do love each other, and we love you. If you think-”
“I don’t,” Lian cuts him off. “I know you guys are-you know-set and stuff. It’s not that.”
“You’ve got to say it to get a reaction to it,” Hal says when the pause turns into full silence.
“You’ve never adopted me,” Lian says quietly, still carefully drying a potato. “I just…I was wondering why.”
Hal can’t breathe for a minute. “I…” He shakes his head and takes the potato from Lian. “I didn’t even think about it,” he says after a few seconds. Hal holds Lian’s face in his hands and looks her straight in the eyes. “You’re my kid just as much as any kid is to any parent.”
“I know that,” Lian says. “I’m not stupid.” She tries to smile, and she tears up instead.
“Don’t ever doubt it,” Hal tells her. “No matter what, I’m your dad, too.”
“Okay,” Lian whispers. She hugs Hal, and he holds her tight, kissing the top of her head.
“Did I miss something?” Roy asks as he walks into the kitchen, grocery bag tucked against one arm. He looks at Lian and then at Hal. “Did you fight?”
“I never adopted Lian,” Hal explains as Lian wipes her eyes on her sleeve.
There’s a pause. “Well, shit,” Roy responds and sets the bag on the counter. He smoothes Lian’s hair and glances at the clock. “Who’s on monitor duty?”
Hal thinks for a second. “Wonder Woman,” he says. “And then Batman.”
“All right. Call Diana and see if she can track down a lawyer; let’s get this fixed.”
“It doesn’t-” Lian starts.
“We’re fixing it,” Roy says and pulls in Lian for a hug. “You’re our kid, kid. We should have made this official years ago.”
“Want to get married?” Hal asks, and Lian laughs.
Roy shrugs. “Long as we’re doing things-”
“I wasn’t-” Hal cuts off when Lian gives him a look. “Never mind.”
Roy laughs. “Kidding.”
Hal sighs in relief. “Oh, good.”
“Hopeless,” Roy says to Lian. “You sure you want to be legally associated with him?”
Lian looks at Hal, then Roy, then at Hal again. “I’m already related to you, Dad. It can’t get much worse.”
Hal howls with laughter as Roy messes up Lian’s hair and shoos her out of the room. “I’m calling Diana,” Roy says.
“I’ll finish dinner,” Hal responds and grabs Roy before he can leave the room. He kisses him on the mouth and presses a kiss next to Roy’s ear. “I’d marry you, if you want,” he says in a whisper.
“I know,” Roy whispers in return. “But I’ve got you, anyway.”
“Damn straight.”
My Table