I can handle it!!!! (she said, clearly not handling it)

and them slowly realizing, bit by bit, interaction after interaction, that Hal somehow isn't treated the same as the rest of them

Barry gets hissed at when he hands out bottles of water to the survivors of a Poison Ivy attack. Hissed at. By a human. Genuinely hissed at-

Arthur is generally more accepted because he's around more often, but a group of teenagers still accidentally spill their milkshakes over his entire suit. The entire thing. Not a single inch is milkshake free. Arthur is so tired of this city.

Clark gets bodily injured. (Not really, even Gothamites can't physically hurt him, but man can they try) Superman is the most loathed hero in Gotham. They throw shit at him. They try to trip him when he's walking past. Someone actually managed to lasso him once and hang him from a roof for a short period before Clark recovered from the shock and remembered he could fly

Even Diana and J'onn get distrustful looks and scoffs and cold shoulders thrown their way.

But Hal?

Hal is standing against the wall casually chatting with a couple he just rescued. Hal is playing soccer in the street with the kids that just called Barry a 'wannabe Signal' even though they're nothing alike. Hal is hugging a teenager and offering to walk her home after Clark 'made' her cry.

I will say that you are perhaps the only blogger on here who consistently lives up to their username. You DID hit a nerve with this one. You hit a nerve every damn time.

#I love OP's name it just immediately sets the tone for this post

#Living up to your username

thanks and in answer to ur question yes u hit every nerve

not even a dc fan but this appeared on my dash randomly and this even gave me a pang in MY heart. you definitely hit that nerve

#brother (gn) you hit so many nerves #and I love it

#dear haveihitanerve #YOU HAVE HIT A NERVE #im super sure people tell you often but WTF WHATS WRONH WITH YOU?

-activity anon

(I can stop if you want, I would be very entertained if you figured me out though)

every time you appear I shed a tear. (in a positive, joking way)

I LIKE TOO MUCH STUFF

YOU COULD BE LIKE FIFTY DIFFERENT PEOPLE

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHICH FANDOM THIS IS SPECIFIC TO😭

slowly learning each others habits and little quirks over years of slow accumulation of traits, except some of it is unintentional and others of it is fully with purpose

Like, Hal wakes up one morning after crashing hard after his mission and finds a coffee on his nightstand. He takes a few sips, shrugs off the bad taste, and goes on with his day

the next time it happens, the coffee is a little sweeter. Hal drinks a little more of it

over and over again, mission after mission, until its the perfect combination of milk and sugar and coffee, and then its that, every time.

Some things are just learned through time.

Hal learns Bruce has nightmares but usually wakes up silent and just roams the house by himself for a bit before its an acceptable time to wake up because he happened to be coming home right around the time that it happened. So now he has his ring set up a sensor outside Bruce's door that wakes him so they can 'accidentally' both be awake and keep each other company

Bruce notices the way Hal is always fidgeting with his jacket in some way shape or form, but its less about the jacket and more about just having something around his shoulders that can act as a cover, so he always has blankets or his own jacket laying around for when Hal doesn't and can drape it around him if he needs it

Hal's toilet breaks at some point and he has to share Bruce's for a while and they learn each others skin care routine (Hal doesn't have one) and Bedtime routine (Hal has a seven step process to brushing his teeth and flossing)

Hal learns Bruce likes to sleep with the curtains drawn tightly while Hal prefers to have a window cracked slightly

Both of them sleep with one leg out from under the covers and the rest of their bodies snuggled underneath tightly

Hal spots an empty bagel bag in the trash and buys the brand whenever he comes back from a trip

Bruce notices the way Hal's eyes stray on jewelry commercials and the next time he comes home there's a ring holder on his nightstand

Hal spies an old glove in the attic when he asks about cookbooks because he wants to try his hand at some more advanced stuff now that he has the space and money for it, and buys a new one

just. just little things that they pick up on about each other without intentions, or sometimes with intentions just because of the space and time they spend together

Hal puts in effort to notice how Bruce takes his coffee in the morning, and learns his moods to know whether or not he eats breakfast and if he's in the mood for it, what he generally eats so he can make it for him, since he wakes up early

Bruce puts in effort to notice how Hal winds down after a long day and makes sure the bath is always stocked with his favorite scents and soaps and that he has a really soft and fluffy robe to slip on afterwards and that they have Hal's favorite brand of popcorn and his comfort movie playing when he emerges

Hal coming home from a two month long mission with long, matted hair and a scruffy beard and he mutters a hello and an apology to Bruce and brushes past him into his 'guest' room and falls asleep.

when he wakes up the next morning his boots have been removed from his feet and cleaned, sitting next to the door of his room, and there's a cup of coffee and some eggs and bacon on the table next to him

Hal scarfs it down and rolls his eyes about 'rich people and what they make their servants do' before he shuffles into the horribly lavish bathroom to shave

Then he sits in front of the vanity mirror for a while, just staring at his hair. He doesn't even know where to start

Bruce knocks on the door even though its open, poking his head inside

"I could do it for you." He offers, hovering outside the door even though it's his house. "If you don't want to cut it. I could- clean it. For you. If you want."

And hell, sure. Alright. Hal has never paid attention to his hair before, go wild.

Bruce takes him to the bathroom and washes his hair and Hal genuinely falls asleep because its so soothing and calming and its the most caring thing hes been treated to since he was a child and his mom would rub his back when he was throwing up

Bruce washes and dries and brushes his hair for him and when hes done he presses a soft kiss to Hal's forehead, braiding the front strands of his hair to the back so it doesn't interfere with his fighting

'its just a part of the marriage act' Hal tells himself, even though they're completely alone inside the Manor.

"Thanks." he says, aloud, and Bruce waves him off like it's nothing.

But it's not. Hal hasn't been taken care of since he was a kid. But bruce acted like it was something special, like it was a reward for him to be able to take care of him.